Immortal Paladin

319 Bearer of Dragons

[POV: Ren Xun]

Ren Xun had prepared himself for hard negotiations, but this… this he had not foreseen. He sat on the governor's throne, posture steady, though deep within his chest his heart drummed like war drums.

"I dare ask, why seek me now?" he said evenly, his voice carrying across the hall.

Deng Chan's emerald gaze sharpened like a dragon's claw. "Don't play me for a fool, prince. Surely, you've anticipated this. After sending so many of your agents looking for us, they were bound to make enough noise for us to hear."

She got it right.

It had been Ren Xun's intention to be loud and be heard, a way to tempt the enemy to do something or anything. Maybe in their ignorance of the dragons' hatred for a certain faction, they would do something to piss them off and advance Ren Xun's agenda.

Deng Chan continued. "As for why I sought you now? It is to claim what we are owed. The late Emperor Nongmin promised us a home… this, he achieved. But more than that, he promised us a Dragon King to rule us and continue our bloodline. The latter he has yet to accomplish. With your Empire on the brink of destruction, we shall now take what we are due."

Ren Xun folded his hands before him, his voice calm yet sharp as a drawn blade. "Fine… But understand this. I shall provide you with a method to propagate your race and ensure the survival of your species, but there will be no love, no affection… only the responsibility born of a binding contract. This relationship is nothing more than a transaction."

Deng Chan's lips curved, but there was no warmth in the expression. "We are fine with that. We are dragons. We care not for transient things when the future of all dragonkind is at stake. So, who is it going to be?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I've heard a great many things about this existence called Da Wei—"

"It's me."

The words cut through the chamber like thunder. Silence fell heavy and absolute. To borrow a certain Da Wei's vocabulary, awkward silence dominated the halls.

Deng Chan blinked, her composure cracking just enough to show genuine surprise. "Excuse me?"

Ren Xun straightened, his voice low but firm. "I am willing to offer myself to you in exchange for the dragons' might."

For a heartbeat, no one moved. The white-robed attendant's mouth opened slightly. Hei Yuan looked at him as though he'd grown another head. Even the air seemed to thicken, as if the hall itself was waiting for someone to break the spell.

From Ren Xun's left, came a sound, sharp, bright, and utterly out of place.

Ren Jingyi threw her small hands into the air and doubled over laughing, her golden hair falling over her eyes. Her laughter rolled across the hall like a wild stream over stones.

"Pffft… HAHAHAHA!" she gasped between fits. "You? You're going to… to… HAAAHAHAHA!"

The tension cracked, and for a moment, even the dragons' expressions shifted, one of mild confusion, and another of faint amusement.

Hei Yuan's eyes narrowed into daggers as he turned to the little blond girl by Ren Xun's side. His glare was enough to silence most men, but Ren Jingyi was far from most.

She only slapped her knees and howled even harder. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha~! That's so funny! You are like a twig at best, Ren Xun!" she gasped, her voice carrying through the throne room. "They said immense cultivation and strength that would match dragons… but you? They might crush you under their waist… Ha ha ha ha ha~!"

Ren Xun's jaw tightened, his teeth grinding against one another. He immediately regretted bringing her here. A prince negotiating for survival and power should have had gravitas, not a child's jeering commentary. But worse than the mockery was the realization that her jab might not be so far from the truth. However, the truth was Ren Xun have a plan and he intend to see it through, no matter how strange it sounded.

Deng Chan tilted her head, her lips curling into an amused, predatory smile. "I am afraid the goldfish was right. I don't mean offense, prince, but you would be crushed in between my thighs if we were to do the deed right now from where you sit."

The chamber went silent for a beat, then Ren Jingyi puffed her cheeks and stomped her little foot.
"Goldfish? Did you just call me goldfish, like an insult?"

Before Jingyi could escalate further, a tall shadow loomed behind her. Hei Mao reached down with one hand and pinched the scruff of her collar as though she were no heavier than a kitten.

Her limbs flailed, and her voice turned into muffled indignation. "Mfff-luflflf-! Put me down, you brute!"

Hei Mao bowed his head toward the dragons with solemn grace. "Apologies for the behavior of my sister-disciple. She grew up spoiled by our master and thinks of everyone as inferior to her."

Deng Chan's emerald eyes glimmered as she studied Hei Mao. Her attendants exchanged whispers behind her, scales shimmering in faint light. She licked her lips just slightly, but enough for Ren Xun to notice.

"I wouldn't mind," she purred, her voice velvet and steel, "even if it was the young Shadow King himself."

Just going according to plan…

Wit had always been Ren Xun's sharpest blade, and now he unsheathed it with all the flair of a seasoned duelist. Rising from the governor's throne, his voice rang clear through the hall.

"How dare you so indolently and insolently refer to his venerable Hei Mao, as some mere and young Shadow King!" His finger jabbed forward like a spear, and his tone carried the full weight of righteous indignation. "Do you not see? He is an Immortal Ghost of immense power! Disciple of Da Wei! The Ancestor of the enigmatic Abyss Clan!"

The words cracked like thunder through the chamber.

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Deng Chan, proud and poised a heartbeat before, stiffened. A flicker of unease crossed her eyes. Her green-robed attendants whispered hurriedly, their faces paling as they clutched at their sleeves, their draconic scales shimmering faintly in agitation.

"Apologies!" Deng Chan blurted, her voice tight though she struggled to keep her mask intact. "I didn't mean to offend."

Ren Xun suppressed a smirk. He didn't even know where to begin imagining how a ghost could possibly help dragons reproduce, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that his gambit had struck home.

They had underestimated Hei Mao. Their senses had failed them; of course, they couldn't measure his true depth. Dragons were powerful, yes, but perception could still be fooled by the unfathomable. To them, Hei Mao must have seemed merely formidable, not the dangerous ghost he truly was.

And yet, Ren Xun knew it wasn't just Hei Mao's cultivation that shook them. It was the half-truth he had dropped, the one word that carried the weight of ancient nightmares: Abyss Clan.

Long ago, the Abyss Clan had stood shoulder to shoulder with dragons as equals, even rivals. For Hei Mao to be tied to that era, to that bloodstained legend, was enough to rattle even the proudest dragon princess.

Hei Mao, until now silent as stone, finally stirred. His spiritual pressure surged outward like an invisible tidal wave, flooding the throne room.

The air itself quivered. Torches guttered. The walls of the chamber groaned under the sudden weight of his presence.

The three dragons gasped in unison. Scales erupted across their skin in an uncontrollable reflex, their bodies trembling as if preparing for battle or flight.

For a heartbeat, the throne room became a battlefield without weapons.

With a blink, Hei Mao withdrew his pressure. The weight vanished, leaving only silence and ragged breathing behind.

Hei Mao's voice was deep, hollow, yet undeniably commanding. "You are forgiven."

The dragons bowed their heads.

It was time for Ren Xun to unleash his trick, less of a strategy and more of a con.

"I understand your misgivings with myself offering to you, Princess Deng Chan," he began solemnly. "But know this, it was neither a jest nor an attempt at insult. The blood of the Final Emperor Nongmin and the Dragon God of Riverfall both flows in me. Give me time to grow, and I will bear the strength enough to fulfill my duties to you in due time. But for now… for now, I need the might of the dragons to repel my enemies."

His declaration was bold, audacious even, but laced with the undeniable echo of lineage.

Deng Chan's emerald eyes narrowed, her green scales along her jaw shimmering faintly as if stirred by emotion. She stepped forward, her presence filling the chamber, and her answer came sharp and decisive.

"Fine! Then you have a deal. In a thousand years' time, we shall have your seed!"

The words resounded like a bell toll.

Ren Xun inclined his head, hiding the twitch of a smirk beneath his calm facade. Inwardly, he exhaled in relief. He had bought himself time, a thousand years' worth of it. That was more than enough. By then, after their enemies were dust, after their Empire rebuilt itself anew, surely he would have found a way to wriggle free. Surely Nongmin or someone else could take his place when the moment came. One way or another, he would slither out of this draconic bargain.

But for now, he had secured the dragons' strength. That was victory enough.

Deng Chan's gaze softened, though hunger still lingered in her expression, both for power and for what his bloodline promised.

"I shall have my dragonkin return to the land of dragons to bring more of us," she said with a proud lift of her chin. "While I myself shall attend to you, oh, new Dragon King!"

The words struck like a thunderclap.

Hei Mao raised a single brow. Hei Yuan couldn't hide the way his jaw tightened in shock. And Ren Jingyi… oh, she simply gaped before breaking into a grin wide enough to split her face, delight and disbelief mingling all at once.

Even Ren Xun, who had uttered the gambit himself, was left momentarily stunned. He, a Dragon King? That had not been part of the plan. He only wanted their strength… Not their crown! Yet here he stood, now saddled with a title that carried the weight of destiny itself.

Deng Chan's voice rang out again, clear and commanding, sealing the matter before any could question it further.

"Once my kin arrive, we shall begin the crowning rites. You will be our monarch in name and in destiny."

Ren Xun's heart hammered. He forced a composed smile, but inside, all he could think was: 'What in the heavens have I just gotten myself into?'

Never had Ren Xun imagined a scheme to backfire so miserably. He had thought of dragons as aloof, aloft, and untouchable, creatures who would scoff at mortals like him. Yet here they were, practically throwing themselves at his feet, eager to bind themselves under his rule.

'Are they so desperate?' he wondered bitterly. 'To expand their bloodline now, of all times, when war presses on every border?'

For a fleeting moment, he was tempted to drag his grandfather, Nongmin, before them and have him serve as their stud. But Ren Xun knew better. His grandfather would never abide by such a humiliation, nor relinquish his dignity. Nongmin had already made his intentions clear that he would relinquish the crown entirely to raise Da Wei to the throne. Ren Xun had no plans to confront the Final Emperor's decision.

He couldn't truly complain either. With this, the strength of dragons was his to command, or at least tethered to him. The problem now lay in the bonds themselves; how easily could he extricate himself from this role once the war ended?

Days passed. Above Yellow Dragon, great serpentine forms soared through the skies, there forms blotting out the sun and tails cracking against clouds. Dragons had gathered to witness his rise. The city, awestruck, trembled beneath their shadows, yet cheered all the same.

Ren Xun sat upon an elevated platform, the throne beneath him forged of sharp dragon scales, each jagged enough to slice his skin if he so much as leaned wrong. It was a throne meant to remind him: power was never without pain.

To his right stood Da Wei, clad in armor of gold, blue, and gray. Though Ren Xun knew it was merely Da Wei's Human Soul projection, it still weighed heavily. To his left stood Deng Chan, radiant in green, her scales catching the sun like emerald fire.

The ceremony began.

Deng Chan's voice echoed across the square, her words less ritualistic and more primal, for dragons were beasts at their core. She raised her hand, and silence fell over mortals and dragons alike.

"Ren Xun, blood of Emperor Nongmin and heir of the Dragon God's vein. Do you vow to fulfill your responsibility to us… to spread your seed into our wombs, so that our kind may continue?"

Ren Xun's jaw tightened. Heat touched his ears, yet he forced himself to answer. "I will."

"Do you vow to give your life, if need be, to ensure the survival of our kind?"

His hands curled around the throne's arms until his knuckles whitened. "I will."

"Do you vow to care for our future as though it were your own, to see us not as beasts but as kin, and to protect us with the authority granted to you?"

Ren Xun's voice rang louder this time, resounding with authority. "I will."

Deng Chan stepped closer, her tone final, her words as literal as her draconic nature.

"Then, from now on… You are our king, our fiancé, and the bearer of dragons."

The crowd murmured in awe. Some cheered already, though others shifted uncomfortably. To many, this was beyond strange.

Da Wei's voice cut through the murmurs, steady and powerful.

"I, Da Wei, believe in this man. Ren Xun will be a great king, not only of dragons, but of men. He will strive for mutual prosperity between your kind and ours. He will put the welfare of others before his own, and with his wit, he will labor to help the world become a better place. He is flawed, yes, as all of us are, but he will not let those flaws rule him. He will overcome them."

Da Wei turned, his gaze meeting Ren Xun's, fierce yet kind. "That is the faith I place in him. That is the faith you must place as well."

From beneath his cloak, Da Wei lifted a crown wrought of gold and black jade, encrusted with jewels carved in the likeness of dragons. He raised it high and, with solemn dignity, lowered it upon Ren Xun's brow.

The crown settled heavily, the weight of destiny pressing down on his skull. The dragons roared in unison, shaking the very skies. The people cheered, voices rising in a tide of adoration, awe, and hope.

Ren Xun sat crowned, his lips curved in a faint smile, yet deep within his heart, he whispered a truth that no roar nor cheer could shake.

"The only woman I will ever cherish is Lin Lim. My bride, my beloved… no matter what crown they place upon me, my heart belongs to you alone."

Too abruptly, deep in his heart, a painful searing sensation made itself known. For the first time, Ren Xun became aware of the formations etched in his heart... and he didn't like what he saw…