Dragon Tamer - Chapter 142
Chapter 142: Chapter 143: Devouring the Sword
Translator: 549690339
“Every inscription has its effect, its origin, and its story,”
“Take the Guardian Rune, for instance. It senses the situation of its owner, and if the latter fails to notice a lethal blow coming from a blind spot, the Guardian Rune will spontaneously radiate light and conjure an armor shadow to protect its keeper.”
“The Combat Rune, meanwhile, merges with the owner’s fighting spirit. It awakens when the owner’s desire for victory and fighting will is overwhelming, bestowing upon the vessel a power suited to the current battle, or even some ancient secret techniques.”
“Generally speaking, the older the vessel, the more likely it is to awaken an inscription. These vessels have witnessed many events through the changes of time—including familial upheavals, the rise and fall of sects, and changes of national territory. They absorb the obsessions of those people and gradually develop their own souls.”
“However, not all soul inscriptions are active. They need the right environment, the right event, and the right owner to fully shine.”
Zhu Heavenly Officer’s explanation was relatively simple, and Zhu Minglang had not heard anyone in his clan mention these inscriptions before.
It seems that only when casting art is learned to the highest realm, and the vessel itself manifests a degree of extraordinary quality, will Zhu Clan Inner Court pass on this knowledge of inscriptions, allowing an already perfectly forged vessel to undergo further baptism and transformation!
No wonder all the Sword Sects hold Zhu Gate in such high esteem.
A sword cultivator’s sword is extremely important. With a fitting sword inscribed with runes, one’s strength can increase significantly, and in certain situations, even burst forth with an unusual power…
“What you saw just now was fragments of an inscription. I’ve repaired and integrated them together, turning them into a Combat Flame Rune, which I have branded onto that chest armor plate just earlier,” Zhu Heavenly Officer continued.
Zhu Minglang nodded.
It seemed that Zhu Heavenly Officer was determined to personally craft a set of Heavy Armor for his Dragon Beast.
This armor was not only intended to make Big Black Tooth more powerful but also to conjure an armor shadow to protect Zhu Minglang’s life in critical moments.
“Father has worried himself over me,” Zhu Minglang looked at Zhu Heavenly Officer and slowly bowed.
In Zhu Minglang’s memory, Zhu Heavenly Officer was an exceptionally busy man, who he could only see during mealtimes most of the time.
Zhu Minglang might not have understood this in the past.
But now he understood that for a large family door like theirs, with everything from the prosperity and decline of the clan to issues like Zhu Tong being bullied and abused, time was never enough.
“Sigh, since your mother left to pursue a monastic life, if I neglect you completely, I will truly become a lonely man. I’m still hoping that you will have the chance to go to Miao Mountain one day and plead on my behalf,” Zhu Heavenly Officer sighed deeply.
“Father, stop struggling with that idea. Just look around within the Supreme Court Court Empire for a suitable old maid and start a new family,” Zhu Minglang said.
“What are you talking about? Once I’m done with matters here, I’ll personally go to Miao Mountain. If she won’t come back with me, I’ll just stay at their Miao Mountain Sword Sect!” Zhu Heavenly Officer said.
“Father, don’t be so naive. The Miao Mountain Sword Sect does not allow men to enter. At best, they’ll sever your tendons, at worst, they’ll cripple you. I once broke into their sect and nearly lost my life. If it wasn’t for my youth and the fact that I was indeed born to my mother… I would probably have to spend the rest of my life in bed,” Zhu Minglang shook his head.
“Once Zhu Gate grows stronger, I will gather all forces to invade Miao Mountain Sword Sect and exterminate them. Even if I have to snatch her back by force,” Zhu Heavenly Officer said.
“So, this is actually the biggest motivation for Father to expand the sect. Well then, Father, you should work even harder. Once you unify all the powers within the Supreme Court Court Empire, I could truly become a Crown Prince,” Zhu Minglang said.
“That’s what I told your grandfather too.”
Miao Mountain Sword Sect.
It is known as Swordswoman Mountain.
The entire sect consists only of females, even the country it’s located in is called the ‘Country of Daughters’.
It’s not that there are no men in this territory, but the ones in power are all women. Men have a very low status there, and the vast majority are male slaves.
Since his cultivation at Yao Mountain Sword Sect, Zhu Minglang had hardly seen his mother.
In his impression, this mother never cared much for familial affection.
Including her only biological son, she didn’t seem to treat him any differently from ordinary people.
Breaking into Miao Mountain Sword Sect happened when he was seventeen.
He had two thoughts at the time. The first was to see the mother he hadn’t met for many years, and the second was to challenge the strong cultivators of Miao Mountain Sword Sect.
As a result, he was severely taught a lesson by a Swordswoman with a profound cultivation base.
He still wasn’t clear about the exact level of cultivation of that Swordswoman.
Given the chance in the future, Zhu Minglang would definitely seek her out again to reclaim the face he had lost at seventeen!
Zhu Heavenly Officer had also visited several times over the years, but unfortunately, he too was denied entry.
Thus, for both Zhu Minglang and his father Zhu Heavenly Officer, Miao Mountain Sword Sect was a sore point!
“Your Black Dragon isn’t of very high rank, so the best material I could choose for it was Volcano Crystal. Better ore would be too much for it to bear, suppressing its wildness,” Zhu Heavenly Officer said.
“It’s already much better than the crudely made Silver Green Heavy Armor I had before,” Zhu Minglang glanced at the parts of the Heavy Armor soaking in various pools and said.
“The Volcano Armor can easily withstand attacks from Lord-level Dragon Beasts, and if you can awaken the Combat Rune, your Black Dragon’s strength could contend with some High-level Dragon Lords,” Zhu Heavenly Officer said.
“That’s a significant improvement!” Zhu Minglang was somewhat surprised.
Armor alone could elevate Big Black Tooth, a Dragon General, to the level where it could battle with High-level Dragon Lords—no wonder Dragon Armors were so expensive!
“Spend these days learning well. In the future, as your Dragon Beasts grow stronger, you can forge even more powerful Armor for them and infuse more inscriptions. Sadly, time is limited; otherwise, I could cast a suitable set of Dragon Armor for each of your Dragon Beasts…” Zhu Heavenly Officer said.
“This Volcano Armor made by Father is already very good, its value is immense.” Zhu Minglang said.
His own dragon beasts were still in a stage of growth; forging armors for them prematurely might lead to the armors being quickly outdated.
Therefore, before their strength had stabilized, Zhu Minglang was in no rush to craft Dragon Armors for them.
Take Little White, for example, it would soon reach the Monarch Level after some time.
Once it reached the Monarch Level and its attributes stabilized, he could then forge a perfect Dragon Armor for it.
“Actually, it’s good that you’ve become a Dragon Shepherd, you can fully leverage our Zhu Clan’s advantages, other Dragon Shepherds simply can’t compare with you in this aspect,” Zhu Heavenly Officer said.
Zhu Minglang was studiously learning, and Zhu Heavenly Officer had also explained the prerequisites of forging to Zhu Minglang, personally demonstrating the assembly of parts.
The combination of parts was crucial; it had to account for the dragon beast’s physique to avoid the Heavy Armor restricting its agility after being worn.
Before they knew it, night had fallen. Zhu Heavenly Officer tried to infuse another Inscription to make this Volcano Armor even more powerful.
But the final Inscription infusion failed.
And with that, the Inscription shattered, nearly dispersing on the spot.
Fortunately, Zhu Heavenly Officer promptly gathered the fragments together and repaired them.
“This Volcano Armor can only take one more Inscription at its limit. Later, I’ll have the Hall Master of the Armor Casting Hall install a ring of Thunder Guiding Nails on this Volcano Armor for you. It will significantly amplify the lightning released by your dragon beast,” Zhu Heavenly Officer said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, pointing to the place where the armor pieces were joined.
Zhu Minglang nodded and made note of those connecting points.
With this luxurious Heavy Armor, those who thought Big Black Tooth was merely a Dragon General were probably in for a tough time!
Having completed his studies in the casting art for the day, Zhu Minglang was also slowly mulling over the Dragon Equipment for Bai Qi, Qing Zhuo, and Mo Ye.
Bai Qi and Qing Zhuo may not look as big, but forging armors for them was actually more difficult; their agility had to be considered.
As for the Sword Spirit Dragon…
Zhu Minglang fell into deep thought.
In essence, the Sword Spirit Dragon was a sword.
But could it wear Dragon Armor?
With this question in mind, Zhu Minglang left the Armor Casting Hall. As he passed by the Sword Casting Hall, the Sword Spirit Dragon suddenly made a noise, strongly requesting Zhu Minglang to head inside the Sword Casting Hall.
Zhu Minglang stepped inside the hall and summoned the Sword Spirit Dragon.
The Sword Spirit Dragon’s crimson body floated next to Zhu Minglang, its sword tassel tail gently swaying.
Suddenly, the Sword Spirit Dragon flickered and flew into a pool of flames in the grand hall as if it was eyeing a table full of delicious food, excitedly circling around the fire pool.
It had been more than a month since they came here from the Yaoshan Sword Sect.
The Sword Spirit Dragon had practically been abstaining from eating and drinking.
For a moment, Zhu Minglang thought he might be able to save on the expenses of a powerful dragon, but now he felt that his initial thoughts were a bit naive.
Indeed… the Sword Spirit Dragon began to “eat”!
Its sword body trembled gently, causing ripples to appear in the surrounding air.
As the sword’s vibration frequency increased, the swords in the fire pool being tempered started resonating with it, and soon after, all the other swords in the grand hall, including the unfinished ones, began to act similarly.
Suddenly, all the resonating swords flew up in an orderly fashion, gravitating towards the Sword Spirit Dragon…
At that moment, the Sword Spirit Dragon manifested a mountainous Sword Soul shadow. One could see all the refined, exquisite, and ornate swords in the Sword Casting Hall flying towards the shadow of the sword peak and swiftly merging into it, seemingly becoming part of the sword-shaped mountain.
In the hall, there were at least several hundred Sword Products.
Many were finished products that could sell for tens of thousands.
But in that brief moment of distraction, all were absorbed by the Sword Spirit Dragon into the shadow of the sword peak!
Earlier, while in the Armor Casting Hall, Zhu Minglang had been contemplating whether to ask Zhu Heavenly Officer for reimbursement for some Dragon Food expenses.
But witnessing the Sword Spirit Dragon’s actions, Zhu Minglang thought it might be better to handle these minor issues with the three dragons on his own.
The absorption of the swords did make the Sword Spirit Dragon stronger.
But this one meal equated to how many years of food expenses for the other three dragons!
Fortunately, this was at the Zhu Clan. After all, how could one call it stealing when it involved one’s own belongings?
If it were any other Family Door, this would have led to ruin!
