Chapter 79

Under the blue tiles and gray pavilions, the air was thick with the scent of ink. When Zhan An turned his gaze back, the once vibrant city before him suddenly lost its color.

It was the bold and clear lines of ink that outlined the charm of the entire Red Lotus City, even the gently undulating mountains and ancient pagodas in the distance became the farthest strokes of the landscape...

The candy seller was merely a few simple sketches.

The teahouse waiter trying to attract customers was just a blob of ink.

The hurriedly moving carriages and travelers, though now still, were meticulously depicted in their toil and bustle.

Zhan An touched himself, wondering if he had also turned into an ink painting, but he still had blood and flesh, and was warm.

"Which great master is waiting for me here, painting this city? I am truly honored," Zhan An said to the ink city.

His voice echoed in the painted city, but no one responded. On the long street before him, a dark shadow suddenly appeared. This shadow was tall and imposing, almost reaching the city gate, making the wide road beneath it seem narrow and cramped!

The dark shadow approached step by step, causing the ink city to tremble. When it reached the crossroads, the vendors, pedestrians, and soldiers had all vanished, the entire street was cleared, leaving only Zhan An and this giant ink beast!

The dark figure was clad in armor, its hair like flames swaying in the wind. Although completely drawn in black ink, the varying shades still gave it a powerful aura of fiery flames!

"Fire麟Dragon?"

Zhan An recognized this creature.

And it was an ink-drawn Fire麟Dragon. For some reason, when it approached him, it felt like a real Fire麟Dragon standing before him, its majesty and sanctity undiminished!

Zhan An knew this was definitely not an illusion.

The city he was in was real, and the ink-drawn Fire麟Dragon before him was also real. As a Divine Mortal, he could not be deceived by a simple folk painting illusion.

The artist who painted the Red Lotus City and waited for him to fall into the trap must be an unparalleled master...

But did the Ancestor Dragon City-State have such a powerful person?

Zhan An could not recall anyone who could reach this level, to make a painting so real that even the dragon in it was no less impressive than a real Fire麟Dragon!

"If you want to kill me, why not show yourself? As a Divine Mortal of the Ancestor Dragon City-State, I am at least your senior," Zhan An said, not retreating a single step as the Fire麟Dragon approached.

His voice still echoed, but the artist did not appear.

Zhan An frowned.

Could it be a powerful person from another city-state?

Did Li Ying beg a Divine Mortal from another city-state to kill him?

"Roar!"

The Fire麟Dragon roared like a divine bull, stomping the ground, and a massive wave of flames surged, engulfing half the city.

The wave of flames approached, and even though it was just ink, the heat and impact were no different from molten lava. Zhan An's sleeves were almost set on fire.

Zhan An leaped up, as light as a wild goose, stepping on the ink-drawn eaves, quickly retreating toward the city gate.

The ink flames destroyed the houses and pavilions on the street. As the Fire麟Dragon pursued, the flames grew higher, threatening to engulf half the city!

Leaping onto the dome of the city gate, which was also made of ink, Zhan An used the eaves for leverage.

In an instant, the city gate shattered into pieces, and Zhan An, like an arrow released from a bow, almost left a long trail of shadow in the explosive burst.

Piercing through the wave of flames, a massive curtain of fire was torn open by Zhan An.

Facing the Fire麟Dragon, Zhan An was unarmed, but his fist glowed with intense light, distorting the ink city around him with the force of his punch!

"Boom!"

The Fire麟Dragon slid backward, the punch's energy exploding at the crossroads, turning the ink city into a mess of scattered ink, losing its original form.

The Fire麟Dragon shook, not falling but being pushed back. The flames on its body briefly extinguished, but with a roar, they surged again, even more intense than before!

Zhan An's expression grew more serious.

He had thought the ink dragon would be just a facade, easy to shatter, but the ink Fire麟Dragon was as solid as steel, and his punch left his arm numb.

Moreover, he hadn't used his Divine Mortal powers for years, and his strength was far from what it used to be.

Retreating a bit, Zhan An stared at the Fire麟Dragon, trying to find its weakness in this shadowy painting. Since it was a painting, there must be something different from reality. If he could find the essence of the painted city and dragon, he could defeat them effortlessly!

"Rumble!"

A massive sound came from the collapsed city gate behind him. Zhan An felt an unprecedented terrifying aura, making his neck cold and his skin crawl!

He turned around and saw the city wall...

The city wall of Red Lotus City was tall and sturdy, capable of withstanding even a demon-level creature.

The wall was also drawn in ink, but what made Zhan An incredulous was that the wall began to move, stretching out!

The bricks were like scales, the wall like bones, and the city wall that protected Red Lotus City came to life, transforming into a city-dwelling dragon, slowly raising its rock-like head, looking down at the tiny Zhan An...

Zhan An was deeply shaken. This painting technique was already at its peak, and the most terrifying thing was that this Divine Mortal could transform a dragon he had seen into a dragon beast in his painting!

The city wall of Red Lotus City definitely did not have this divine power. The one with such a legend was the Ancestor Dragon City-State, where it was said the city wall was a dragon's skeleton!

This artist was clearly a Divine Mortal of the city-state, having seen the true dragon bone of the Ancestor Dragon City-State, otherwise, he could not have used this painting technique.

"Ancestor Dragon's Divine Maiden, the pinnacle of painting, are you Li Ying's daughter?" Zhan An finally knew who the person in the painted city was.

However, when he left the Ancestor Dragon City-State, Li Ying's daughter was just a child. After several years, she had mastered such power!

Zhan An's words still received no response, as if the other party did not need to speak to a dying man.

The pressure from the city wall dragon made it impossible for Zhan An to move, and the Fire麟Dragon charged at him. Zhan An smiled bitterly, showing a calmness toward life and death...

He never thought that just showing his Divine Mortal powers would bring such a deadly disaster. He had no resentment or hatred, only a bit of concern for the two young ones.

He could defeat the Fire麟Dragon, as he had once shattered a part of the real Fire麟Dragon.

But the city wall dragon, with the soul of the Ancestor Dragon, was beyond his reach. The artist, who could paint it, was already at a higher level than him. He was no longer the young man who defied fate and did not believe in heaven. He had long exhausted his life's passion and determination, thinking he could find a quiet place to enjoy his old age, but he could not escape the entanglements with Li Ying.

"Rustle..."

Suddenly, all the ink flowed like water. The Fire麟Dragon running in front of him turned into a puddle of black ink, the flames dripping and splashing.

Behind him, the terrifying ink dragon slowly lay down, coiling its body, enclosing the ink city under its long body, and all the momentum dissipated in an instant!

It was like a bizarre and grand dream, and he was waking up on his bed.

In Zhan An's ears, the sounds of the bustling market returned, and the busy pedestrians surrounded him again.

The blue tiles and gray buildings were still there.

The stone road stretched ahead, and the distant hills and ancient pagodas were still visible.

The city wall of Red Lotus City stood solemn and majestic, made of white stone, gray rock, and pagodas, unmoving, not transforming into any lifelike dragon.

Everything was like a dream, and Zhan An's gaze swept through the bustling streets of Red Lotus City, but he still did not see the artist. The fear of being watched by the painted dragon continued to spread in his soul!

...

Red Lotus City, Ancient Pagoda Mountain.

A pool of red lotuses, a sky-watching platform, a stone table, an ink brush, and a woman in a blue velvet robe, her eyes like lakes, deep and beautiful, reflecting the city of Red Lotus and the crowds on the streets.

A man in light clothing, his forehead covered in sweat, watched the woman painting, his expression extremely serious.

"Speak," Nan Lingsha said.

"I followed my teacher's instructions to aid a team of demon-slaying mentors in Clear Stream City. When I arrived, all three mentors were dead, their deaths peaceful, and the demons had disappeared," Zhu Minglang took a deep breath and recounted the facts to Nan Lingsha.

While climbing the mountain, Zhu Minglang saw the strange changes in the city's ink. Although he did not know what Nan Lingsha was doing, the sudden deaths of three mentors must mean a powerful demon was at large, and he had to report it to the academy's higher-ups immediately.

"I will handle it," Nan Lingsha organized the ink bamboo bottle beside her.

"Be careful, the demon has at least three thousand years of cultivation," Zhu Minglang said.

Nan Lingsha still held the brush, but this time she painted in the air.

The ink did not fall, and a lifelike Qilin Dragon gradually took shape.

With a light touch on the eyes, the painted Qilin Dragon came to life.

"You will guard Red Lotus City for me," the Qilin Dragon knelt, and Nan Lingsha sat on its side, saying to Zhu Minglang.

Soon, the Qilin Dragon carried Nan Lingsha, flying through the mountain ridges, and Zhu Minglang had no time to ask how to guard the city before she was already miles away...

Zhu Minglang closed his mouth, looking at the peaceful Red Lotus City, feeling even more headache.

From aiding to guarding, how did he, a student who had just entered the Dragon Taming Academy, end up with so much responsibility?