X-Dragon Era

Amidst a flash of golden light, Xin Yun and Chu Rui appeared on a cliffside, next to a cottage draped by a cascading waterfall and surrounded by birdsong and fragrance. Looking over at the cliff's edge, Po Kong was sitting cross-legged on a large boulder by the waterfall, his eyes half-closed, deeply immersed in cultivation.

In theory, not just anyone could come here; this area could definitely be considered the core territory of the Po Kong Clan. It was impossible to get through from the sky above or from the ground below, the only way was to appear directly here like Xin Yun and Chu Rui had done.

The moment Xin Yun and Chu Rui arrived, Po Kong's body jolted, and then he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze shining brightly as it fell upon Chu Rui. Then his brow suddenly furrowed, clearly because he had noticed Xin Yun's presence.

If it had been someone else, Po Kong's temper would have led him to curse out loud, but with Chu Rui, everything was different. Po Kong wouldn't bear to blame her for anything. If he ever made her cry, that would truly be an irreparable heartache.

As for Xin Yun, even though they hadn't spent much time together, it was certain that he was one of the few friends Po Kong had. As for his other friends, they were also members of the Fantasy Dream Team, like Ming Xuan, Yi Luo Xiang, Yan Qingying, Zixia...

The saying goes, "When friends come from afar, is it not a joy?" Po Kong was more than happy to welcome Chu Rui and was equally delighted by Xin Yun's arrival. Friends are hard to come by and having finally made one, he couldn't afford to lose, and in comparison, Xin Yun's status in Po Kong's heart was no less than Chu Rui's.

Keep in mind, not just anyone could earn Po Kong's friendship. One needed not only skill but capability, potential, a promising future. Ordinary people weren't qualified to be his friend—not that they didn't want to, but that they couldn't!

Seeing Po Kong awake, Chu Rui clapped her hands and smiled at Xin Yun, "All right, I've brought you here. There's nothing else for me to do, right? There's too much going on at the bank, so I won't keep you company anymore."

After receiving Xin Yun's consent, without waiting for Po Kong to come over, Chu Rui disappeared from in front of the cottage in a flash of golden light, leaving Po Kong looking utterly disappointed.

However, although he was internally full of disappointment, Po Kong could not afford to lose his manners on the surface. Chu Rui might have left, but Xin Yun was still there, wasn't he?

Quickly composing himself, Po Kong laughed heartily, "I didn't expect it to be you. How come... What made you think of visiting me today?"

Smiling at Po Kong, Xin Yun shook his head, "What, can't I come to see you if there's no particular reason? If I'm not welcome, then I can just leave..."

"No, no, no..." Hearing Xin Yun's words, even though he knew it was a joke, the relationship between the two wasn't yet at that level to jest too freely, so he hurriedly walked a few steps to catch up to Xin Yun, holding onto his arm and walking together toward the front of the cottage.

At Po Kong's behest, several maids quickly served up pastries and tea. Meanwhile, Xin Yun and Po Kong sat on either side of a wooden table, catching up on the past year's gains.

"Wow!" It was fine not to talk about it, but once the conversation started, Po Kong was shocked to discover that Xin Yun had actually reached the One Star Purple Crystal level! By comparison, Po Kong, who had been at the same Five Stars Crystal level as Xin Yun a year ago, had only just reached Nine Stars Crystal and was preparing to unite the nine dragons to advance towards Ten Stars.

Some might not think the difference was significant, but that wasn't really the case. The gap between Nine and Ten is one star's worth, and the same goes for Ten to One Star Purple Crystal. Plus... the difficulty of bridging these two stars is great, and one could even get stuck there unable to move forward. Even if not stuck, it wouldn't be possible to catch up in just a short time.

To put it simply, given Po Kong's current realm, to achieve the unity of the nine dragons required at least half a year, and to then break through to One Star Purple Crystal would require another half a year at the least. With both combined, in just one year's time, Xin Yun had already taken a one-year lead over Po Kong! How incredible was that?

In the face of Po Kong's amazement, Xin Yun didn't bother explaining. The reason that Po Kong was progressing so slowly was that the Chain Dragon was holding him back. Otherwise, even though slower, it would not have been by this much.

For example, in the recent World Academy selection tournament, everyone's ages were more or less the same, and Po Kong was even considered one of the older contestants. But in terms of strength, everyone else was already at the Ten Stars Crystal level, except for members of the Fantasy Dream Team, who were all below Five Stars Crystal. The root cause was that Po Kong was dragged down by the Chain Dragon, while Xin Yun and the others did not rely on Dragon Crystals to enhance their strength.

As the casual conversation continued, it didn't take long for Po Kong to steer the topic towards Chu Rui, frequently making indirect inquiries, trying to probe the relationship between Xin Yun and Chu Rui, fearing that Xin Yun might swoop in and steal his love.

The reason for such fear wasn't unfounded paranoia. The phrase "Those nearest to the water get the moon first," coupled with Xin Yun's unique charm, suggested that Chu Rui would find it hard to resist if he decided to pursue her.

However, what others might not understand, Xin Yun knew all too well. Chu Rui was too rational, too clever. Her wisdom allowed her to see through all falsehoods, and to make a girl fall in love, it was essential to provide her with a sense of fantasy, a task which was virtually impossible for Chu Rui.

Moreover, even if it were possible, Xin Yun absolutely wouldn't do it. Let alone others, just Yan Qingying and Yi Luo Xiang were already causing Xin Yun enough irritation; he had no intention of getting involved with anyone else. If Xin Yun were a playboy, he could have easily taken in both girls, but since he chose not to do so, Chu Rui didn't stand a chance. (To be continued, for further developments, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)