Chapter 7 Don't Take Land for Granted

  It's been a while since Li Mu took office, and every day he has nothing to do except accompany Ao Ran on trips to play in the mountains and waters. Qing Shui Village is a poor village with very little land to manage. To be precise, since these days, apart from secretly attending Zhao Xiaoyue's wedding, Li Mu really had nothing else to do.

  This day is the gathering of young generations of immortal families from all four seas, apart from the outstanding youths from the east, south, west and north, other scattered immortals' juniors or disciples will also come to participate. The gathering takes place every fifty years, named as exchange promotion, but in fact it's a competition among various factions' younger generations for status. As the host of the East Sea, Dragon King Ao Guang attaches great importance to it.

  His dragon princes and princesses should be married or hanged, so all hopes are pinned on this little princess. The East China Sea has always been the leader of the four seas, and Ao Guang cannot lose this position.

  Early in the morning, Ao Ran prepared to go ashore and find Li Mu, asking him to help her consolidate her spellcasting skills. However, as soon as she stepped out of the door, she was intercepted by her mother, Longmu Xing. With a stern gaze, Longmu asked, "Ran'er, where are you going?"

  Awkward and nervous, she immediately put on a smile and came to the Dragon Mother's side, bowing her head in greeting: "Ran'er greets Mother." She didn't want the Dragon King and Dragon Mother to know about what had happened outside. If they found out that she was bullying people again, she would definitely be punished. Thinking for a moment, she made up an excuse: "Mother, I went to review the new magic techniques I just learned."

  Ao Ran was a piece of flesh that had fallen from the Dragon Mother's body, and the Dragon Mother could see through Ao Ran's lies at a glance. The Dragon Mother gave her a sidelong glance, but instead of exposing her, she asked, "I heard that there is a new young land on the shore, is this true?" None of the nearby lands had not been bullied by Ao Ran before.

  Ao Ran knew that the Dragon Mother already knew about her affairs outside, and she didn't dare to hide it anymore. She nodded obediently and confessed: "Mother already knows? I was just playing with him, and I didn't bully him."

  "You only know how to play. In a few more hours, your new generation gathering will begin, and by rights, we elders should not interfere. The East Sea is now sparse in population, your older brother was killed by Nezha, your fourth sister...". Remembering her own children with tragic fates, the Dragon Mother couldn't help but feel some sadness, looking at Ao Ran with pity, and continued to say: "Now the entire East Sea relies on you alone. If you don't make an effort, the position of the Four Seas' leader will not be preserved. How can your father face the future?"

  She knew that her daughter was willful and playful, so whenever Rao Ran went out, she would send someone to follow her. Firstly, she was afraid that Rao Ran would get into trouble outside, and secondly, she wanted to know what Rao Ran did when she was outside.

  The Dragon Mother only saw Ao Ran's playful side, but didn't see his hard work practicing magic on the shore at midnight. Her true feeling shouldn't be worry, but relief.

  "After mother, I will definitely not let you and the king down." Ao Ran was like a well-behaved child in front of Long Mu, considerate and quiet. If Li Mu saw this scene, he would not believe that this person was Ao Ran even if he was beaten to death! How can one person have so many different personalities?

  She has a strong personality, is focused and determined, calm and likable, clever and sensible. It's almost as if she was born to play every role, or is it because she herself is an all-around actress?

  "Come on, let your mother see what progress you've made these days. The Ice Condensation Technique that your father taught you, how's the practice going?"

  Along with Longmu, they arrived at the Dragon Palace's martial arts arena. The Dragon King Ao Guang was already waiting there. Ao Ran gave a courtesy: "Daughter pays respects to Father King."

  Ao Guang's expression was calm and composed, with a slight nod of his head. His two dragon whiskers swayed gently in the windless air, exuding an otherworldly elegance.

  "However, you should cast your Glacial Spell once and let your father take a look." The Dragon King said.

  She nodded slightly and walked to the edge of a specially isolated pool. Suddenly, she changed from being gentle and lovely to being exceptionally focused and determined, her eyes fixed intently on the pool, her face unusually solemn. Her mind quickly ran through the incantation techniques that Li Mu had taught her, her hands formed a seal, and her lips parted slightly. In an instant, the surrounding spiritual energy rapidly condensed, and with a flick of her wrist, the surface of the pool was immediately covered with a layer of hard ice. This move she made was even more beautiful than Dragon King's.

  "This...” The Dragon King and the Dragon Mother were somewhat incredulous. In just a short half year, Ao Ran had actually mastered the difficult spell of Instant Ice Formation, which was rare in the history of the dragon tribe. When the Dragon King Ao Guang learned the Instant Ice Formation back then, it took him nearly a hundred years to reach the realm of instant casting.

  Taking a closer look, Ao Ran's movements and techniques were quite different from what he had taught. Ao Guang thought for a moment and felt that something was off. If Ao Ran had discovered this on her own during training, then she would be the most talented dragon in the history of the Dragon Clan. Otherwise, there must be someone more skilled guiding her in secret.

  Ao Guang took two steps forward and asked: "Ran Er, tell your father honestly, who taught you this?"

  Seeing her father's excited appearance, she was overjoyed. A child getting acknowledged by their parents is the most comforting thing. However, she knew that nothing could be hidden from her father and mother, so it's better to confess herself rather than letting them find out. Besides, there's nothing to hide anyway.

  "As for the words to Father King, the way the daughter used was taught by that new land. In addition, he also taught the daughter other spells." Ao Ran replied honestly.

  "Ah!" The Dragon Mother looked at Ao Ran in surprise, clearly disbelieving her words: "A small piece of land, how can it have such abilities?"

  Ao Guang was also very surprised and hastily asked: "Oh, what magic is this? Let me see it."

  Ao Ran proudly received the praise of the Dragon King and naturally was delighted to show them the results of her hard work. So she demonstrated the ice shield technique, cage technique, Ice Blade, Five Elements Escape Technique and other magic spells one by one. The Dragon King and Queen were more and more surprised as they watched, even the usually stoic Dragon King Ao Guang couldn't help but change his expression.

  Although the spells that Ao Ran freely cast were not particularly profound or difficult to learn, being able to completely master and cast them with ease in such a short period of time was indeed no easy feat. Apart from his astonishing innate talent, some objective factors were also required. For example, having a good teacher to guide him, as well as his own tireless efforts.

  If it's really as Ao Ran said, these are all just a small young land deity's teachings, it's simply unbelievable. Land deities, the lowest rank of celestial beings, almost forgotten and hovering on the edge of mortal men, how can they be mentioned in the same breath as the powerful dragon tribe? Ordinary land deities, apart from earth escape techniques, hardly know any other spells.

  Could it be? This new neighbor isn't a human being? The Dragon King secretly suspected.

  Never mind what that small piece of land is about, at least the position of the Four Seas' First this time around, other powers can forget about coveting it. With Ao Ran having these dazzling techniques, plus her age, there shouldn't be any unexpected twists and she should be the champion. Thinking to this point, Old Dragon King Ao Guang's face once again revealed a hint of a relieved smile.

  "But you and that land, what's your relationship?" Ao Guang asked faintly.

  She rolled her eyes and turned them around in a sly circle, saying: "We're just ordinary friends." Of course, she couldn't tell Ao Guang that Li Mu was her slave.

  "Since we are friends, why not invite him to join the Four Seas Gathering this year? What do you think?" Ao Guang didn't care whether Ao Ran's words were true or false. On the contrary, he thought Li Mu would be a powerful person with high martial arts skills. He couldn't imagine that Master Li Mu would actually become a slave of his disciple. Inviting Li Mu to come to the East Sea as a guest also had his own purpose.

  It was originally intended, and there were at least 800 people who had been bullied by her since childhood, but bullying Li Mu was the most fulfilling and happiest thing. For such a big event as the Four Seas Gathering, she naturally thought of Li Mu, this "slave". Having such a capable slave can also be used to show off among the younger generation of other forces.

  As usual, the young generation gathering was not allowed to participate in those old dragon kings and old scattered immortals. As for who is the most powerful, several assessments were arranged, and they went to distinguish themselves.

  With just one sentence "Follow me", Li Mu was brought into the East Sea.

  Li Mu couldn't avoid the water curse, and it was only thanks to the calm avoidance bead that he was able to safely dive underwater. As soon as he entered the water, he encountered a large group of sea tribe dragon immortals who came riding on clouds and driving fog. Among them, more than half were young juniors, all of whom were proud disciples or closed-door students of various powerful factions. The famous scattered immortals, such as Penglai Xianren and Siamu Daxian, had already dispersed to the south, north, and west of the three seas.

  They saw Ao Ran, and suddenly two young and handsome princes descended from the clouds. One had a smile on his face that seemed to mock the world, as if nothing in the world was worthy of his attention. The other, on the other hand, had a humble expression, with a very friendly smile.

  The two saw Ao Ran, that frivolous and arrogant young master was the crown prince of the Western Sea Dragon Clan. He took the lead in greeting: "Little princess, did you come specifically to pick us up?"

  He glanced at the newcomer, suddenly disdainful and indifferent, and replied faintly: "Cut it out, don't be so self-righteous. Li Mu, let's go." Even the older generation behind him, Ao Ran didn't bother to pay attention to them, pulling Li Mu as they were about to leave.

  Xihai Long Taizi Ao Feng was also a proud and arrogant person. Seeing Ao Ran ignore him and instead hold another young man's hand, their relationship seemed ambiguous, and suddenly a flame of anger rose up. He blocked their path and asked: "Little princess, who is this? Why have I never seen him before?"

  "He's my newly acquired slave, a new land in Qing Shui Village. Of course, you haven't seen him before. Let me tell you, don't underestimate him, he has great abilities." Ao Ran looked at Ao Feng and his proud disciple Zhong Shang with a smile that was not quite a smile. The two of them were the hot favorites to win this gathering, but Ao Ran was confident that he could defeat them. However, before that, using Li Mu to humiliate them would also be a delightful thing to do.

  "Haha——" Ao Feng burst out laughing, pointing at Li Mu and laughing uncontrollably, as if he had heard the most hilarious joke in the world. After a long while, he finally stopped laughing and said: "Land? Did I hear that wrong? What can one land possibly do, and how can it be worthy of being with our immortal clan?"

  Li Mu was originally a very good-tempered person, but this kind of talk even someone with a little temper can't bear. Li Mu's face changed again and again, and he endured the insult from Ao Ran, after all, he knew Ao Ran didn't have malicious intentions, but what is Ao Feng, and how dare he look down on him?

  Li Mu gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "Don't take the land for granted, I really look down on people like you."