Chapter 395 - 291: The Little Ghost and the Old Ghost

As expected, the prison was utilizing the Power of Rules, something that Long Yi was extremely familiar with. Back in the library of the White Dragon Empire, Long Yi, against his better judgment, had resisted the Power of Rules, nearly losing his life. Later on, with the help of Yavenny, he was able to heal. Of course, by seizing that opportunity, Long Yi had acquired his own avatar - that was the large, motionless statue in his private space. Initially, the Fine Gold Golem had mentioned that if one wanted to engage in avatar combat, the only way was through the Power of Rules, which was something one could only comprehend and not convey using words. It can be encountered but not obtained through desire; it was impossible to teach.

Last time, Yamir’s help brought benefits to Long Yi, but it also resulted in him losing the Power of Rules that resided in him at that time.

This time, the Power of Rules appeared again, but Long Yi was no longer the same person as before. Inside the Dragon God’s space, his physical condition had been optimized to an unprecedented level!

Ding Ge, his mentor, taught Long Yi how to decipher rules. At this moment, Long Yi sat close to the cage, staring blankly into the distance. His gaze appeared contemplative or simply vacant. However, in Long Yi’s eyes, the rules had already been projected into his mind, so clearly that every detail was visible.

Rules were the most direct way to cast energy, and they also offered the highest efficiency for the casting. Compared to methods like magic or Fighting Aura, which required calculation to cast, rules were faster, more direct, and more powerful.

The soldiers guarding Long Yi had been warned earlier; they were only responsible for overseeing Long Yi. No matter what he did in the cage, they were not to have any interaction with him. At the same time, they were to report any of Long Yi’s actions to Tilian.

But now, he was just sitting and daydreaming. Did they have to report that? Unnecessary, right?

So time passed, minute by minute, with Long Yi just sitting there, lost in thought. Eventually, he started lying down, lost in thought. No one noticed that one of his hands was slowly moving towards the prison’s pillar, with a tiny bolt of lightning continuously flowing over Long Yi’s fingertips.

At this time, Tilian was in his laboratory, engaging in intensive thought processes with his two brains.

He had captured Long Yi alive, isolating him from all external contacts, even his Mount Dragon couldn’t find him. Little Zi, the only servant of Long Yi, had also been locked in the cage. Her psychic-type magic had no effect on the surrounding soldiers. The cage was made from a special metal, incredibly sturdy. Most importantly, it was full of the Power of Rules. This power could act directly on the body and soul, completely dismantling a person’s resistance.

No loose ends whatsoever!

Now, it all depended on the White Dragon Empire’s reaction. Deprived of Long Yi suddenly, the White Dragon Empire was losing its biggest combat power. All their movements had to consider the life and death of Long Yi, especially Fairy Dragon Ai Lin who loved Long Yi dearly. Who knows, she could be persuaded to help us at a critical moment, becoming a valuable asset to our forces.

Perhaps...

Hmm... Capturing Long Yi was undoubtedly a brilliant move!

At this moment, there was a knock on the laboratory door.

Subsequently, the Emperor of the Green Dragon Empire, accompanied by his guards, walked in. The Green Dragon Emperor, named Jim Green, was a nearly ninety-year-old man. He was completely bald save for a sparse white beard on his chin. Yet, he seemed pretty spirited.

"Tilian, look at this news," the Emperor handed him a scroll. As Tilian unrolled and read its contents, his expression subtly changed.

"The White Dragon Empire has announced that Long Yi was kidnapped by a spy from the Green Dragon Empire. The whole White Dragon Empire has entered a war state, massively gathering at the border of the Green Dragon Empire? This... doesn’t make sense, does it?"

Tilian’s eyebrows furrowed.

Obviously, there wasn’t any leak in their plan. Whether it was arranging for a Chameleon Knight of the White Dragon Empire to impersonate Long Yi months in advance, or infiltrating the academy until they challenged Long Yi, every maneuver seemed flawless. Most importantly, they used a Black Wormhole. That was the signature magic of the Black Dragon Empire, how could anyone suspect it would be the Green Dragon Empire’s doing?

"A few days ago, our main spy embedded within the Fourth Legion was captured alive, and his Chameleon was missing," the Emperor revealed.

"Did he leak information?" inquired Tilian.

"Impossible, he was dispatched to the White Dragon Empire very early. He was unaware of your plan."

"Unless..."

"Unless the White Dragon Empire had already set their sights on the Green Dragon Empire!" Emperor Jim’s beard twitched.

That was the only plausible explanation.

Although the Green Dragon Empire were allies of the Black Dragon Empire, they never truly wanted to participate in the war. Compared to the Blue Dragon Empire, who was a hardcore henchman of the Black Dragon Empire, the Green Dragon Empire typically played a cheerleading role in war.

Not too long ago, Tilian arrived here. With the capacity of a special advisor by the Emperor’s side, he oversaw the construction of this series of projects. Their goal was to capture Long Yi. They said that the Black Dragon Emperor was very interested in Long Yi. He wanted to understand Long Yi’s secret to strength, even hoping to remodel Long Yi into a soldier for the Black Dragon, or even mass-produce soldiers at Long Yi’s level.

Emperor Jim of the Green Dragon Empire naturally did not want to agree to this, but he could not say no. Even though they were one of the Seven Nations, the Green Dragon Empire was limited in power. Lack of farmland and meat supply, coupled with a sluggish economy, left the so-called large nation with a huge facade but weak in reality.

Therefore, Emperor Jim of the Green Dragon Empire did not want to provoke the White Dragon Empire. Most of the time, the Green Dragon Empire played the role of a spy.

However, this time around, two unrelated incidents directly pushed the Green Dragon Empire in front of the White Dragon Empire.

This isn’t appropriate.

"Your Majesty, please prepare. Today we will take Long Yi back to the Black Dragon Empire," Tilian said.

"I’m afraid that won’t work," Emperor Jim replied.

"What?"

"I said, it won’t work."

"You old fool, are you planning on disobeying my orders?" Tilian’s face twisted hideously.

"You little brat, you don’t need to try and scare me with your bravado. I might fear the Black Dragon Emperor, but I sure don’t fear you. Long Yi is of no use to me. But he’s very valuable to the Black Dragon Empire! Don’t you think I could buy peace from the White Dragon Empire if I capture you and hand over both you and Long Yi?"

"You might buy peace from the White Dragon Empire, but soon your empire’s name would change from Tranquil Forest to Tranquil Desert! You’re aware of the trump card of the Black Dragon Empire, right?" Tilian roared.

"I’m aware, and that’s why I fear them. But I doubt I’ll live to see that day. Little brat, I’ll bet your brother would love to study what made you into what you are now,"

Emperor Jim remained calm and composed, still wearing a serene smile.

"You want support from the Black Dragons," Tilian suggested.

"Smart, no wonder you’re the boy with two brains."

"I’ll report your words verbatim."

"That’s fine, the Black Dragon Emperor never thought highly of me anyway. But I don’t think he’d appreciate the sudden addition of an ally to the White Dragon Empire, right? You’re smart enough to know that, aren’t you?"

Tilian had assumed Emperor Jim was a cowardly fool, but surprisingly, he was rather courageous. Of course, Tilian had anticipated this move.

Once his message reached the Black Dragon Empire, he was certain they would be ready. Now wasn’t the time to give up on the Green Dragon. No matter what, the Black Dragon would keep the Green Dragon safe.

Meanwhile, Long Yi was still slowly absorbing the Power of Rules. Little by little, he infused these powers into the avatar in his private space, slowly illuminating the Runes on the golden giant.

The amount of Power of Rules clinging to the cage was small. Unfortunately, those facing Long Yi would have found this power unbearable. Long Yi, though, found it too sparse.

In fact, even after he completely absorbed all the Power of Rules from the cage, it was only enough to light up one arm of the giant avatar. And this was only because he’d already summoned an arm after absorbing the Power of Rules once before.

So pitifully little.

Long Yi grimaced displeasingly.

The Power of Rules, palpable but invisible, was an element Long Yi handled discreetly. Nobody had a clue. The cage had lost its significance to confine Long Yi. After that, he began studying the net outside. That net, which kept Little Zi from leaving and also blocked psychic powers.

After careful observation, Long Yi noticed that this net was connected in a complex way to some device, which appeared to be some sort of rudimentary Crystal Core equipment.

Of course, the simplest way to disrupt the net was just to strike it with a sword. But for now, Long Yi had no intention of leaving. He was just waiting quietly for things to unfold.

By this point, several days had passed since Long Yi’s capture.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the border of the Green Dragon Empire was nearly unbearable. As one of the famed seven empires, the Green Dragon Empire had only about seven hundred active-duty Dragon Knights. Their training and equipment were far inferior to those of the White Dragon Empire. This was an unbalanced face-off. The White Dragon Empire had mobilized nearly fifteen hundred Dragon Knights in an overpowering display.

In response, the Blue Dragon Empire and the Black Dragon Empire both chose to maintain an eerie silence. However, Dragon Knights from the Black Dragon Empire started to appear on the battlefield covertly. The Black Dragon Empire was not entirely indifferent.

On the diplomatic front, diplomats from both empires were engaged in a fiery duel in a neutral country. The White Dragon Empire demanded the immediate return of Long Yi and the extradition of the four spies who kidnapped him. However, the Green Dragon Empire insisted that Long Yi was not kidnapped by their spies but others. The situation between the two empires was escalating, and the Dragon Knights escorting the diplomats were on the brink of war. The king of the neutral country had to personally mediate between the two sides to prevent his territory from becoming a battleground.

However, everyone in the world understood that war between the White Dragon and the Green Dragon Empires was almost inevitable. (To be continued... If you like this book, please vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)