Chapter 490: Go to That Store to Investigate

"Duanmu De, Honorary Commander of the Yuanqi City Guard and Deacon Elder of the Haotian Academy." Leading the way was a cultivator clad in silver-white robes. He was one of those who, on that very day at the Sea of Clouds Square, had stood behind City Lord Zong Wu and witnessed Fang Qi slay the sword slave.

"The Sismogus Black Dragon of the Black Dragon Clan, Western Extremity Region," spoke a man of about thirty or forty, with golden curly hair and an exceptionally radiant countenance, who was slightly older than the rest, in fluent Lingzhou dialect.

Though these cultivators referred to them as Western Savages in their speech, the newcomers naturally could not admit to being "savage," mostly styling themselves as originating from the Western Extremity Region or the Western Extremity Realm.

As for the term "clan," it was naturally adopted in imitation of the cultivators of the Lingzhou Continent. They were divided into four major clans, and this man belonged precisely to the Black Dragon Clan.

In truth, only the languages used in Lingzhou and the Deserted Sea Region shared a common origin with but minor differences. The people of the Western Extremity possessed their own tongue, though, of course, many among them would study and master the language of Lingzhou.

Furthermore, quite a few had even taken Lingzhou names for themselves. For instance, Sismogus said, "You may also address me as Luo Piaoling."

Luo Piaoling's demeanor was exceedingly refined; perhaps because they were branded as barbarians, some among them grew even more fastidious regarding their etiquette and bearing.

Of course, there were also those who adhered more closely to the Lingzhou people's impressions of them. For instance, the red-haired youth beside him remarked in a clumsy, broken Lingzhou dialect, "A sword this thin isn't even enough to flossh teeth! Aren't you afraid of falling off when you step on it?"

"That will not happen." Duanmu De descended slowly to the ground and pinched a sword hand-seal. The flying sword beside him suddenly expanded, growing even thicker and larger than the two-handed greatswords they carried. "The wonder of this Sword Controlling Technique is such that it accommodates even those of massive stature."

With a sudden parting of his fingers, the sword immediately split into two, then into three: "Should you wish to fly together with others, that too is entirely possible. It all depends on one's personal attainment."

The group stared blankly once more.

It could even do that?!

"This is the second son of the Frost Dragon Clan's patriarch."

"You can likewise call me by my Lingzhou name," the handsome, red-haired man interrupted proudly as he leaped down from his horned drake. "When I came to Lingzhou, I personally chose a Lingzhou name for myself."

Lest you lot fail to comprehend my grand and lofty true name, he thought to himself.

Duanmu De secretly wiped away a bead of sweat, feeling immensely relieved that he did not have to memorize the names of these Western Savages, which were each more bizarre than the last, and hastily inquired after it.

The handsome, red-haired youth adopted an air of aloof indifference and spoke: "Lei Dazhuang!"

Duanmu De's face twitched. "...A fine name!"

"Naturally!" Lei Dazhuang said with a proud look. "I know that in your language, 'Zhuang' signifies strength, and strength denotes the powerful. Therefore, 'Dazhuang' means the strongest among the strong."

"..." Duanmu De raised a thumb and said, "The young master has indeed chosen an excellent name."

Beside him, Luo Piaoling's face also twitched uncontrollably.

Luo Piaoling then introduced the striking, heroic woman beside them in the red-and-white skirt armor: "This is Miss Theia of the Red Dragon Clan."

Duanmu De nodded slightly. To achieve the rank of a Martial King at such a young age meant she was a genius even among the Western Savages, where martial culture reigned supreme.

"This is Elder Andre of my Black Dragon Clan." He pointed toward an old man at the rear, clad in black armor with a short, tawny beard.

"And this is Elder Lu Mingwei of the Red Dragon Clan." He then gestured to a middle-aged man with shoulder-length hair beside him. "This elder's ancestors were also from Lingzhou."

...

"Please!" After a round of introductions and pleasantries...

"Where is City Lord Zong?" Duanmu De asked in a low voice.

"Saving seats at the internet cafe... He said to message him through the communication jade once the guests arrived..."

"..." Duanmu De's face darkened. "I shall first escort you all to the Taiwang Pavilion to rest, and we shall proceed to the Haotian Academy on an auspicious day."

...

Meanwhile, inside the Origin Internet Club.

Li Haoran asked, "You intend to... rebuild the teleportation array?"

Regarding this matter of teleportation arrays...

In truth, *The Legend of Sword and Fairy* featured displacement arrays (though in the original game, they could only be used upon reaching Shushan in Legend of Sword and Fairy 5), and *Diablo* also possessed waypoints.

Even *The Legend* contained random teleports, town portals, and instantaneous movement.

Yet the most convenient was undoubtedly the teleportation magic in *Harry Potter*. As long as the energy was sufficient, for regional travel alone, it might well be more convenient than the Sword Controlling Technique.

Of course, a failure could result in splinched limbs, making it naturally unsuited for combat.

At this stage, the most appropriate was likely the teleportation technology found in *Diablo*.

It could manifest as a spatial portal or an array disk, and it was, so to speak, highly mature.

However, the waypoints in *Diablo* also had their limitations; for instance, the traveler must have previously visited that specific waypoint and activated it before they could teleport there.

To teleport somewhere without such prerequisites required something akin to the portal found in the Arcane Sanctuary of Act II.

If such a mechanism could be deciphered, it might not even be impossible to teleport directly to other worlds, but the difficulty was by no means something these cultivators could easily unravel.

Thus, the only good news was that the Haotian Academy possessed that very technology.

...

"To think that this shop could even defeat the Nangong Clan and those divine swords." By the shores of the Abyssal Sea, where the black winds howled fiercely, a dark shadow upon the coastal stone cliff fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Though the Nangong Clan only brought forth three divine swords, two of them were of the 'Immortal-Slaying' grade."

"Which is to say, the opponent's strength lies above the 'Immortal-Slaying' grade?" The tone of the dark shadow seemed to carry a hint of avarice. "Could those dual Daoist pupils truly grant him such power? No... that ought to belong to us!"

The fine, cold rain and the eerie, gentle wind all around seemed to carry faint whispers, and a figure appeared like a phantom of the sky: "My eyes and ears have brought me fresh word. They are about to repair the teleportation array."

"We absolutely cannot allow them to repair the array." His voice was ethereal and drifting, as though it were the wind itself floating through the sky. "And we must prevent them from discovering the truth of that person's fall all those years ago... At least, now is not the time."

"If we must contend with that fellow whose strength has reached the 'Immortal-Slaying' grade, and add to that the power of the various major clans..." the ghostly figure said, "we may not have absolute certainty."

"Damn it..." the dark shadow said with bitter hatred, "our clan has reached its final hour. We have plotted for countless years and must obtain them. Otherwise... we... shall ultimately turn to ashes of the tribulation..."

A murderous aura seemed to manifest around them, as though no one could obstruct him, even if it meant his death and the dissolution of his Dao.

"Then..." Their voices grew increasingly indistinct, until finally, they vanished completely into the darkness, with only a faint murmur left behind: "Let us go and probe that shop..."