"A monster?" The old man sitting at the Xiangqi board raised his eyebrows in a surprised manner.
"That’s really funny coming from a monster such as yourself. Who is this individual? Someone from the ninth heaven?" The old man then asked.
"No, he’s someone not related to the Nine Heavens, and he’s currently in the first heaven— the Lower Heaven." The man with the golden hair said.
"Lower Heaven? It’s been a very long time since I’ve heard of that place." The old man mumbled.
"Anyways, how talented is this individual?" He continued.
"I don’t know," said the handsome man.
"I mean I don’t know the full extent of his talents. However, if I had to compare him with someone, it’d probably be the Demon Sealing Clan’s ancestor."
"What!? This individual is comparable to that monster who ate his way to the peak? How is that even possible? That man is one-of-a-kind and has no equal." The old man doubted the handsome man.
The handsome man turned around with a profound smile on his face, and he spoke in a calm voice, "Who said he was comparable to the ancestor? This young monster might be even crazier than the ancestor."
The old man stared at him with a stunned face, and after a moment of pure silence, he burst out laughing.
"Someone even more talented than that monster who single-handedly annihilated the entire Demon Clan that once ruled the entire Nine Heavens? Have you finally gone senile, my friend?"
The handsome man continued to smile despite the old man’s mocking words, and he said, "Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you in the future."
"Whatever." The old man shrugged, and he continued, "Anyways, what about our match? If you don’t want to continue playing, it’ll be my victory and your loss."
The handsome man then returned to his seat and said, "My loss? I don’t lose— the Great One doesn’t lose!"
Meanwhile, back in the Dragon Temple, after entering the portal, Yuan was transported to what appeared to be inside a large city underneath a dark sky that had countless flickering stars, giving the place natural but subtle brightness.
"This is the Dragon Temple?" Yuan raised his eyebrows, as he didn’t expect the place to be a city.
However, there was something weird about this city. It was too empty and quiet even if it was late into the night, almost like nobody else was there.
"What should I do here?" Yuan looked around for clues.
The first thing he noticed was the numbers counting down in the sky, and the next thing that stood out was this massive dragon statue very far in the distance.
[167:59:10]
"If the numbers are how long I have left in this place, then I have 7 days to explore this place, but where should I go first?"
After pondering for a moment, Yuan decided to head for the dragon statue, as he recalled the Great One telling him that he would be able to find its Legacy there.
"Once I take a look at his Legacy, I will try to find the treasure room."
With that in mind, Yuan began making his way to the dragon statue by flying there.
And the more of the city he saw, the more clear it was to him that he was alone in this city.
Meanwhile, shortly after Yuan entered the Dragon Fissure, Feng Yuxiang asked Long Yijun, "How long will the Young Master have inside the Dragon Temple?"
"That will depend on the Dragon Temple itself. It might only allow him to stay inside for a few days, or it could let him wander for a whole month. I cannot really say how long he’ll be inside, I’m sorry."
"I see..."
Long Yijun suddenly retrieved a small toy-like house and tossed it on the ground. The house grew in size until it was the size of a large house, and it was the same house he used at the Mystic Realm.
"You ladies can stay in this building in the meantime. I won’t be able to stay here for too long since I have a lot of work to do. Tell Disciple Yuan to contact me once he comes out." Long Yijun said to them.
"Thank you." Feng Yuxiang said.
Sometime later, Long Yijun left the scene and returned to the sect master’s headquarters, where a couple of figures could be seen gathered outside the door.
Most of these people were sect elders, but one of these figures didn’t look to be part of the Dragon Essence Temple, and they were even wearing a veil.
"Sect Master, you have a guest!" The Sect Elders there immediately said to him the moment they noticed him.
The veiled figure suddenly stepped forward and lifted the veil covering her beautiful face.
Long Yijun was taken aback when he recognized this face.
"Sect Master Song? What are you doing here?" Long Yijun asked her.
"I’m here to speak with Disciple Yuan," she said in a calm voice.
"You still haven’t given up on that...?" Long Yijun shook his head.
Obviously, he’d heard from Elder Shan and Elder Xuan about Song Ling’er desire to take Disciple Yuan as her own disciple after what happened at the zither competition.
"I will never give up on someone with such gifted hands and talent for music!" Song Ling’er said.
Long Yijun sighed and turned to look at the sect elders there.
"You guys can leave. I will handle things from here."
"Yes, Sect Master."
The sect elders bowed to them before leaving the scene.
"Let’s talk inside." Long Yijun said as he entered the building.
"I don’t want to talk to you. I want to talk to Disciple Yuan. You may be the Sect Master, but Disciple Yuan’s decision is what matters the most." Song Ling’er said to him.
"Well, unfortunately for you, Disciple Yuan isn’t available right now, so you’ll have to speak with me instead." Long Yijun said.
"Where is he then? I can go to him instead."
"That’s impossible since he’s technically not in the sect." Long Yijun shrugged.
"What? Then where’d he go?"
"Who knows."
"Che..." Song Ling’er sucked her teeth before following Long Yijun inside the building.