"As the Grandmaster of the Shou Clan. I declare that from today forward, there will be no more weakness." Vienna stood atop his blade, Shingji, and his other sword Hamon flew around him, "My disciple Shou Xin has left on a journey to gain strength because he cannot rely on all of you for anything at all. Not in battle, not in coin, and not in mind. He seeks to shoulder the burden of the blade all alone. Will you all watch?"
There was a deafening silence, they wished to speak, but his aura silenced them.
Those of the Shou Clan who had trained, albeit briefly, under Vienna hated him to their cores without any room for growth at all.
"Ha. How disappointing." Vienna looked over the crowd coldly, "You have gained riches. You have gained a clan. You are no longer trail walkers nor clan lost. You are Shou. Yet, all of you don't even amount to a pinky of your Master. How can you then sit idle?"
He slowly raised a hand and Hamon began to hum with a sharp sword cry like a thousand Qillin's rampaging.
"Once again, from today forward weakness will no longer be tolerated in the Shou Clan of my making," Vienna raised a single palm, his pupils shivering as he closed it, "Run."
—
"Grandmaster Nufu, Lord Shouai has left to explore a Demon Gate, entering the far reaches of the Demon Realm. He may not return, should we withdraw?" Tai Yu, who dared not speak of titles before the Grandmaster, stood quietly beneath his shadow within the room.
"Hm… It would be interesting, wouldn't it?" Grandmaster Nufu grinned but soon shook his head, "But no. It is far too dangerous if Vienna should run wild, I will not be able to protect you all. We might never recover from the wound he would inflict."
Grandmaster Nufu quietly turned around revealing his figure.
"Give the Shou Clan plenty of support. Help them turn their little town into a city and put them in our debt." He said lightly with a devilish grin, "It is not without reward to assist a mad dog when it is rampaging in another's home. However, stay hidden at all costs, should you be found, you know what to do."
"Yes, Grandmaster."
—
"Princess Yiyu, our Shouai Merchant Armada is truly glad to see you on such a fateful day!" Guo Long bowed slightly, "For what does Hall Master Wo's daughter come to such a place for?"
"How did you know?" Wo Yiyu put down the cup of tea she was about to drink from, her eyes locking onto Guo Long like a hawk.
"Princess Yiyu, this one dares not lie. The entirety of the Exiled Courts influence is quite focused on the innermost regions with the greatest strength of gates, it's influence is waning here. Information flows freely among the Wild States."
"Hmph. That is just a fancy way of saying you have spies in the External Affairs Office, do you know how dangerous that is, merchant?" Wo Yiyu stood up and turned her back to him instead seeking out the sunlit balcony as she looked over Shouai Town.
"I presume you seek to make an offer, looking for support in the Wild States to return home with. It will not work." Guo Long shook his head, "The Wild States, as you know, are those furthest most underdeveloped areas in the entire Exiled Court. The greatest strength you will find here from natural beings is hardly worthwhile to return with."
"Who said I seek to bring back great strength?" Wo Yiyu's words rang like thunder.
He knew what she meant.
There was only one achievement worth any weight within the Southern Hall, a problem which plagued the External Affairs Office for centuries.
Unification of the Wild States.
In total, there were six Wild States, of which each of them carried dozens of regions and each region had dozens more provinces creating an area many times larger than even the largest continents.
A super continent of sorts.
To unify such a place was not an easy task as one could not do so with force alone, many had tried already, great Dao Refinement Cultivators and powerful beings akin to deities in the eyes of man, yet they had all failed.
Why?
Because the Wild States were unfathomable.
The towns and cities were not power centers, but rather sanctuaries in this land where beasts roamed with strengths enough to knock down kingdoms in days.
The Wild States were what was left of the first invasion into the Wild Lands, every direction had them.
The Southern, Northern, Western and Eastern Hall's each served as bulwarks against the possible threat of beast invasion from the Wild States, which in turn stood as the weak wall against the Wild Lands, where beast empires reigned with supreme strength.
"It's impossible." Guo Long shook his head, "Even if the Princess manages to somehow come to control one of the Wild States, it is still impossible. Even the Feng Clan which is renowned for its size and ferocious strength of body has hardly managed to sway a single state with force alone. There is a reason why they must sell their daughter to ally themselves. It is because they cannot do it themselves anymore."
"If it is I, then it is possible," Wo Yiyu said with a faint sense of arrogance, "The winds blows where I make it. The leaves fall at my every word. The world turns on my tongue and I say the Wild States will belong to me."
Guo Long didn't react, but his pupils shrank.
Arrogance.
Strength.
Intellect.
Backing.
These things, he had learned in his long life, were a recipe for disaster or great fortune, and as a merchant, he had more than enough income to keep himself afloat even if he invested some.
He would not go bankrupt at any rate.
"You have moved this old man, Princess. I will pledge monetary support, as an investment into the future leaders of the Exiled Court." Guo Long slightly lowered his head.
Wo Yiyu glared at him.
She naturally understood that he was taking a net negative loss decision, he would not lose any sleep over this choice and was not imbedding himself on her side.
He was completely safe in the bubble he had created himself.
"Sly old man."
"Hoho… ho." Guo Long slowly raised his head and took a sip of tea as he she left, "I wish you luck, Princess…"
As the door closed, Guo Long set down the empty cup of tea.
"You will need it."
—
"They've passed." Shou Xin calmly breathed out a sigh of relief as he pulled himself out alongside Feng Wuqing.
"They'll be back."
"Who?" Shou Xins eyes became like a starry sky as he looked back, finding a strange looking human with two bulls horns and the whites of his eyes black leaning against a shepherd's stick.
"Easy now son, you don't want to get hurt." The shepherd flicked his hat back all the way so it hung on his back, "You passed through a Realm Gate. You're disoriented."
"Where is this?" Feng Wuqing asked benignly, her blind eyes and smaller physique making her seem friendly.
"This is the Demon Realm, lass." The shepherd began to smile.
Roar!
A vast, exploding noise came from the depths beneath the cracked earth and before they could react, a massive shadow flew up from the large divide between islands.
"Dragon!" Feng Wuqing's eyes went wide!
"Welcome to Dragons Row!" The shepherd let out a long belching laugh and leaned back, falling into the cloudy abyss from which the dragon had risen!
In the next moment however, he appeared once again, this time standing on the back of a giant condor like beast rivalling the size of even a dragon!
"Take the plunge!" The shepherd tapped the condor beast beneath him and it took off, flying into the far distance!
Shou Xin and Feng Wuqing felt their worlds upturned.
"It was a real dragon…" Shou Xin's pupils had shrank into pinheads, "...Woah."
"Right? It was huge!" Feng Wuqing stood up, her voice sparkling, "It's scales were so pretty! And it's eyes, did you see it's eyes?"
"I did! They were a gorgeous golden glow like the early morning sun!" Shou Xin explained the best he could about what he saw since she couldn't see.
The two of them talked about it for a while longer, that was the kind of being a dragon was, inspiring both fear and awe!
"It's scales were like a lightless night, yet it's eyes were the sun making one feel like they were gazing at the sky itself!" Shou Xin continued.
"Humph."
His pupils shrank as he swiftly turned!
A person stood there, looking at them with an arrogant look on her face.
"Who is it this time?" Feng Wuqing asked, still riding the high of seeing a dragon for the first time.
"Golden eyes like suns, skin as dark as night without a single star within." Shou Xin said cautiously, "Dragon."
Feng Wuqing's exultation immediately drowned as she focused on the human form dragon before them.
"Continue." The gorgeous dragon woman said with a upwards tilted head.
Shou Xin's eyelids twitched.
"...Your true beauty cannot be honestly described any further. Suns for eyes and scales of lightless night. A majestic form inspiring awe and fear." Shou Xin said calmly, "It is beyond description."
Her eyes shone at his words!
"I like you!" Appearing before him in less than a blink, she grabbed his collar, "You, become my servant!"
"No."
Immediately, the air took a dark turn.
It was not shocking however, to Feng Wuqing that Shou Xin would decline so decisively.
After all, if there was one being that would be hunted across the Exiled Court by their most powerful experts even if said person was without cultivation, it would be a Dragon Worshipper.
Dragon Servants.
Because of the sins of the ancient dragons against the Exiled Court and the lands of humanity, they were hated to the bone whilst the Flood Dragon's who fought them tooth and nail are considered as deities and worshipped instead by the human race.