Chapter 154: A Slave Does Not Kneel to Two Masters

Long time no see? Was that directed at him? Du Fang stood frozen, stunned by the figure before him clad in a blood-stained robe, unsure how to respond.

Because Du Fang was certain—there was no one like this person in his memory, not even a trace. This had to be their first meeting.

Yet, why did the other party look so familiar, like an old acquaintance?

Du Fang furrowed his brow as he regarded Ye Zong.

“Do I know you?” Du Fang asked.

Ye Zong adjusted his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and smiled. “No, it’s me who knows you.”

Ye Zong’s heterochromatic eyes glimmered with an eerie light as he looked at Du Fang. Vaguely, he seemed to glimpse the overlapping shadows behind Du Fang, and that blood-colored jade-like palm.

In an instant, a vast oppressive force, as if the stars themselves were crashing down, bore heavily upon him.

Yet, Ye Zong’s eyes flickered, and the pressure vanished like a gentle breeze, leaving no trace.

Du Fang slowly rose, his gaze fixed on Ye Zong. The sudden appearance of this man brought a tremendous sense of oppression upon him as well.

It could be said that this blood-robed man was the strongest being Du Fang had ever encountered.

The depth of his dream spirit was suffocating.

Ye Zong recognized that bloody handprint—it was not the first time.

The familiarity it invoked made him realize the great secret residing within Du Fang.

“There’s a handprint on you. That handprint... I know it,” Ye Zong said with a calm voice.

“Was it from the dream calamity outside the capital?” Du Fang asked.

Ye Zong nodded. “Your trip to the capital must be related to that calamity. Are you planning to enter it?”

Du Fang nodded.

“Recently, that dream calamity has been chaotic, a mix of all sorts. You may go, but it’s somewhat dangerous.”

“Of course, perhaps it won’t be much trouble for you,” Ye Zong chuckled lightly.

This was Ye Zong’s first time seeing Du Fang in person.

Besides the extraordinary handsomeness, what shocked Ye Zong most was the overwhelming sense of pressure and fear emanating from him.

How many years had it been since he last felt such goosebumps-inducing dread?

Just as the two were about to continue their awkward conversation, the convoy gradually came to a halt.

After all, the drivers had caught sight of Zhao Lingyin’s fall from the vehicle through the rearview mirrors.

Cold sweat broke out on all their brows.

The convoy stopped on the highway, pulling over into the emergency lane.

Cang Yuan was the first to get out, spotting in the distance Zhao Lingyin, disheveled and covering her reddened forehead with a look of grievance.

Cang Yuan was speechless.

What was going on? Zhao Lingyin was a gifted dream weaver, the owner of a half-domain—how could she have fallen from the vehicle?

Could it be that Du Fang had beaten her again?

In the middle of the night… beaten again?

He silently grumbled as he jumped off the vehicle and slowly approached the compartment where Du Fang was.

Glancing casually inside, his body suddenly tensed.

Huh!?

He seemed to have caught sight of a familiar figure.

Recognizing it, Cang Yuan’s scalp tingled, and he was struck with shock.

“President... President Ye?!” Cang Yuan exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes wide with astonishment.

President Ye Zong, how could he appear here? In the dead of night...

Elusive as a ghost!

Ye Zong looked at Cang Yuan with a smile, nodding. “Well done. Facing two nation-fallen beings without a hint of retreat—truly worthy of our capital’s elite raiding squad.”

A flush appeared on Cang Yuan’s face, as if receiving praise from his idol.

His blood surged through his veins.

He stood at attention, legs together, heart ablaze. “Thank you for the commendation, Commander!”

“Commander, how come you’re here? What about Lingyin...” After his excitement, Cang Yuan couldn’t help but ask curiously.

“She was beaten by me. She deserved it,” Ye Zong replied coolly.

“As for why I’m here, I just happened to meet a friend and stopped by to check things out…”

Cang Yuan opened his mouth but found no words.

What could he say? The man was the president—he could do as he pleased.

Ye Zong turned and glanced once more at Du Fang, a faint smile gracing his face.

“I will arrange for you to visit that dream calamity.”

“I look forward to your performance.”

With that, Ye Zong stepped down from the vehicle.

He strode calmly toward the prison transport.

Inside the prison vehicle, Black Dragon King, Gold Dragon King, and Red Dragon King suddenly snapped awake, their eyes fixed with morbid interest on Ye Zong outside, a chill creeping up their spines.

“The President of the Daxia Dream Weavers Association... Ye Zong! The pinnacle of humanity!”

Gold Dragon King and Red Dragon King were dumbfounded.

They had only hijacked a vehicle—and failed.

How had this drawn such a formidable figure?

Hijacking a vehicle... were the consequences now this severe?

Ye Zong looked at them with a smile.

His gaze swept over the three demonic dream kings. He was curious why the Demon Emperor had personally appeared to take them away.

Though after their refusal, the Demon Emperor left swiftly.

Still, there was an undeniable feeling of concealment.

Finally, Ye Zong’s eyes settled on Black Dragon King.

The elegance was gone, and he trembled, yet still stood firm, refusing to kneel.

“Why won’t you kneel?” Ye Zong asked curiously, even intensifying his oppressive aura.

But Black Dragon King’s spine seemed to harden; he simply would not bow.

His stance was entirely different from when he faced Du Fang earlier.

“I kneel to no master but one!”

Black Dragon King declared with unyielding pride.

“My loyalty to my lord is sworn by the heavens! I will not kneel to anyone else!”

Nearby, Du Fang approached.

Black Dragon King immediately knelt upon seeing him.

“My lord!”

Gold Dragon King and Red Dragon King stared in disbelief, then rolled their eyes and knelt as well. “My lord!”

Ye Zong’s smile broadened.

He fixed his gaze on Black Dragon King, his heterochromatic eyes radiating an eerie light.

“Good, very good.”

“Clinging to the right leg, huh?” Ye Zong chuckled.

“Well, in these times, clinging to the right patron is indeed important.”

Shaking his head, Ye Zong said, “For Du Fang’s sake, I’ll spare your lives.”

“Otherwise, you’d all be dead tonight.”

Though spoken with a smile, the murderous intent and absolute certainty in his tone left no doubt.

The members of the Cang Lang Squad behind were numb.

For Du Fang’s sake? The President of the Dream Weavers Association would show such favor to Du Fang?

Who was Du Fang?

Just a rookie dream weaver, albeit with great potential—

But the president’s attitude was strange.

Could it be that Ye Zong intended to take Du Fang as his disciple?

That was possible.

But was Ye Zong already growing tired of Zhao Lingyin as a pupil?

Everyone turned to look at Zhao Lingyin, who was dawdling in the distance.

Inside the prison vehicle, the three demonic dragon kings felt a heavy stone lifted from their hearts.

Gold Dragon King and Red Dragon King nearly shed tears.

They hadn’t expected the benefits of submitting to Du Fang to show so quickly.

If they hadn’t recognized Ye Zong, they might have thought he was Du Fang’s plant all along.

“Let’s go. We’ll continue driving—should reach the capital before dawn,” Ye Zong said with a smile, addressing Cang Yuan and the others.

“Yes!” Cang Yuan responded loudly, standing at attention.

“Oh, and let Zhao Lingyin run back on her own,” Ye Zong added—revenge from a teacher was always simple and unadorned.

Then Ye Zong patted Cang Yuan’s shoulder, looked deeply at Du Fang, nodded slightly, and stepped into the deepening night.

The air rippled, blurring Ye Zong’s silhouette.

“Get some good rest when you reach the capital. Also, complete your professional evaluation at the Dream Weaving Tower. This competition for top scholar...”

“I look forward to your performance, Du Fang.”

As the last word fell, Ye Zong’s figure vanished completely.

The night was hazy.

Du Fang watched Ye Zong disappear along the highway, his eyes narrowing slightly.

From Ye Zong’s words, Du Fang understood that the dream calamity imprinted during the newcomer invitational in Jiangling City was the one outside the capital.

Ye Zong must have met his wife there...

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said “long time no see.”

It seemed...

Du Fang had to enter that dream calamity, whether for his wife’s embroidered shoes or for his wife herself.

Everyone returned to the vehicle compartment.

The engine roared to life, shattering the night’s silence.

The convoy resumed, accelerating toward the capital.

On the highway, Zhao Lingyin pouted, shouldering her Flame God Gun, striding with long legs as she ran along.

Her teacher...

Such a petty-minded person.

...

Ye Zong’s speed was impossible to track.

Everything around him blurred past like lightning.

Then he stabilized, his blood-red robe billowing fiercely in the gale.

High above, he hovered like a blood-red moonbeam casting crimson light.

Below lay a desolate mountain village, shrouded in a chilling aura.

A dense wave of dream spirit pulsed ethereally around the village’s outskirts.

Beyond the village, sensing Ye Zong’s presence, figures from various factions unleashed their dream spirit senses to investigate.

But upon detecting Ye Zong’s form, each recoiled in fear, shrinking back into their dream spirits, unable to move.

Ye Zong scoffed, utterly indifferent.

He stepped forward toward the village.

Boom!

The dream spirit parted like a towering tidal wave, carving a deep path.

Ye Zong strode slowly onto this newly opened path, each step echoing coldly.

Around him, observers breathed heavily, eyes filled with astonishment, quickly sending out word.

The dream spirit tide around the village fell like a curtain, engulfing Ye Zong’s blood-robed figure.

No one knew what the President of the Daxia Dream Weavers Association, Ye Zong, intended by venturing so deep into the small mountain village in the dead of night.

[End of chapter.]