Hell's Handbook

Chapter 214: The Dragon Ancestors

The roars of the warriors who were once legends of this world resounded in the valley. Su Jin was very pleased with the way they were feeling. Perhaps it was the way this world was, or perhaps these legends who only focused on becoming physically stronger were more brawn than brain: either way, it had been pretty easy to rile them up and make them turn on the draconic race. Doing that hadn’t been much of a challenge to Su Jin.

Fabian, on the other hand, was so happy he could die. Every person in this valley was a great historical figure, and even if they weren’t, they were definitely some of the most powerful humans who had ever lived. As a student of the empire’s magic academy, he felt as though he was in a museum for heroes.

Su Jin glanced at Fabian. This young man was the first person whom he approved of in this Challenge and didn’t want him to die in this fight.

“Fabian, we’re going to embark on a difficult war later, so… I think you shouldn’t come along,” said Su Jin directly.

Fabian blinked at him in surprise, then said excitedly, “We’re going to annihilate the dragons! How could I miss that? I’m going to fight even if I end up dying in the process.”

Su Jin frowned. He wasn’t really able to understand why the people of this world were so obsessed with slaying dragons. In this world, as long as one could slay a dragon, it didn’t matter what sort of person you used to be. After you died, you would become a hero in history textbooks. That was why Fabian seemed so enthusiastic about slaying dragons. Furthermore, they were on their way to completely eliminate the dragons, which would be something that would change this world.

Su Jin couldn’t talk Fabian out of his enthusiasm and passion, so he gave up. Once Angel and the rest were ready to go, she invited Su Jin and his team to ride her back.

He wasn’t going to say no to that. They had no other way to get to the ancestral land of the dragons. Angel turned herself into an icy dragon, then lowered her body.

Su Jin looked at her and said awkwardly, “Er… could I sit on a different dragon instead? I might catch a cold this way!” Angel sprayed a mouthful of frost out and froze him immediately in annoyance.

In the end, an earth dragon became their mode of transportation instead. Once they all got on his back, they flew into the air. Su Jin turned to look at an empty space beside him and laughed. “My friend, it’s been quite a while now. Don’t you think it’s time you showed yourself?”

The rest were puzzled by Su Jin’s actions, but a figure slowly began to appear next to Su Jin. It was the old timer who had left the group first.

The old timer smiled at Su Jin and asked curiously, “You knew from the start that I was following you guys around?”

“No, I only guessed that you wouldn’t stray too far away, but I didn’t know you were right beside me. But when Angel and the rest started their journey toward the ancestral land of the dragons, I was very sure,” said Su Jin casually.

The old timer smiled faintly and said to Su Jin, “My name is Zhao Kai. My Spirit Power is my aura.”

“Your aura?” Su Jin looked puzzledly at Zhao Kai.

Zhao Kai did not say anything. He stood quietly in front of Su Jin, and slowly disappeared before reappearing again.

“You have the ability to become invisible?” asked Situ Jin curiously.

Su Jin shook his head. He looked rather surprised as he said, “It’s not the ability to become invisible. Rather, you’re able to adjust how much of your presence can be felt? You didn’t conceal your presence, it’s just that so little of it could be felt, everyone would naturally not notice you at all without even realizing it.”

Zhao Kai clapped his hands and complimented Su Jin, “Very clever! Not many are able to understand the mysterious way my Spirit Power works after seeing it just once.”

Su Jin rubbed his nose and said, “I watched a TV drama once that featured something similar, otherwise I wouldn’t have guessed it so quickly. So, you’ve stayed close to me all this while, but your aura was too faint for me to notice, is that right?”

Zhao Kai nodded and smiled as he said, “You seem pretty clever. I think one can only survive if you follow a clever person around.”

“Your Spirit Power is so formidable, so why do you still need to follow us around? You could just look for a dragon, get close to it without it realizing, then slay it when you get a chance,” said Situ Jin.

Zhao Kai shook his head. “There are no invincible Spirit Powers in the Handbook. I am able to reduce my aura to the point where nobody can detect me, but once I have the intention to kill, my Spirit Power will no longer work. Besides, I don’t have the ability to slay a dragon by myself. So, your idea doesn’t work for me.”

Su Jin nodded slightly. Just like what Zhao Kai said, there was no Spirit Power that was invincible in the Handbook’s universe. Those with psychokinesis were considered one of the most powerful owners, but the problem was that it was too difficult for one to increase the upper limit of this Spirit Power. Most owners who received psychokinesis often either decided to get rid of it in hope of receiving another, or they would hold onto it and end up dying anyway because they simply couldn’t become more powerful.

But for Su Jin, his psychokinesis had grown significantly, and he was now at an advantage among veterans. He could deal with most situations now.

“Mr. Su, how did you know he would be nearby?” asked Zhou Xinyu curiously. She couldn’t understand what Su Jin and Zhao Kai were talking about at all.

Kano Mai smiled and explained to her, “According to the way the Handbook is set up, one cannot stray too far away from where the main action in the Challenge is happening, or you’d be killed immediately. The Challenge has come to a point where the main action will move to the ancestral land of the dragons. If Zhao Kai doesn’t quickly come along with us right now, he’s going to die.”

Su Jin continued, “That’s right. Also, Mr. Zhao has proved to be very intelligent right from the beginning. How could such an intelligent person make such a rookie mistake?”

Zhao Kai laughed and didn’t say anything. But Zhou Xinyu had more questions. “If that’s the case, then if you hadn’t rescued me earlier, I’d be dead meat?”

Su Jin shook his head and explained patiently, “When the action begins to move elsewhere, the Handbook will give you some hints. Your Handbook should have glowed and become pretty warm just now.”

Zhou Xinyu looked enlightened and she nodded vigorously after hearing what Su Jin just said. “You’re right! I… I thought that was the way the Handbook was. So, that’s a hint to me?”

“Remember what I said at the beginning of the Challenge. The Handbook will decide on your fate, especially for a newbie. If you notice anything strange about your Handbook, you should open it and check immediately,” said Su Jin seriously.

Zhao Kai remarked, “Telling a newbie such detailed information is useless. They can only grow rapidly once they experience the cruelty and horror of the Handbook for themselves.”

Su Jin didn’t refute that. Nobody told him anything about the Handbook when he was a newbie too. The harsh reality of the Handbook’s universe taught him how to survive.

Dozens of dragons continued to fly through the sky, flying over high mountains and crossing vast oceans before finally arriving at an island far from their starting point. This island was huge and looked like a small continent. There were mountains and rivers and all sorts of landforms on this island, as well as the sounds of dragons roaring.

“Let me reiterate the plan. We will split into three teams. One team will search for the Dragon Soul Crystal. Regardless of whether it has powers or not, we’ve got to rid ourselves of this threat before the dragons use it against us.

“A second team will go and search for your family members who have been locked away by the dragons. If they are still alive, you can decide if you want to continue with this rebellion. But if they’re no longer alive, I don’t think I need to say more. We will proceed with this battle.

“The last team will follow Angel. You will all change into your human form and question the leader of the dragons so as to stall for time.” Su Jin had come up with a simple plan for them. Since he wanted to complete this Challenge perfectly, he had to make sure he covered all areas. He didn’t want anybody to have any regrets, or it might affect his point total at the end.

All of them agreed with Su Jin’s plan. One team immediately changed back into their human forms once they landed on the island. This was a strange sight on the island, since this was the Dragon Island. Even the humans turned dragons seldom appeared on this island in their human form, and they never appeared in such numbers either.

A large group of dragons followed behind them because they had sensed something different in the air and had come to take a look at what was going on. The other two groups split into the teams that Su Jin had assigned them earlier, so one went to look for the Dragon Soul Crystal, while the other went to look for their family members.

Angel led her team along with Su Jin and the other owners toward where the leader of the dragons lived. Her face was filled with fury, so all the other dragons that had been drawn to the commotion knew that Angel was definitely here to create trouble.

A fiery dragon quickly blocked Angel’s way. He snorted and said, “Angel, you’ve brought so many of your fellow humans turned dragons to the Dragon Island. What are you trying to do?”

“Move aside, Klaus! I’m going to tear you to pieces once I’ve spoken to the leader!” yelled Angel angrily. The fiery dragon had turned out to be none other than Klaus, who had tried to spring a sneak attack on Angel and also tried to attack the children in the storehouse. It turned out that he had actually returned to the Dragon Island after his failed attempt.

Klaus became enraged and he bared his fangs and claws, ready to fight. Just then, an elderly voice resounded in everyone’s ears.

“Klaus, dragons are not allowed to kill each other on Dragon Island. Are you going to go against the rules that I have set?” The elderly voice carried an authority that could crush everything in its way. When that voice spoke, all the dragons instantly fell to their knees out of respect for the owner of this voice. Zhou Xinyu was a newbie and her knees nearly gave way too, but thankfully, Kano Mai caught her in time.

Klaus was an arrogant fellow, but he didn’t dare to disobey the leader either. He immediately fell to his knees and cried out, “O great leader of the dragons! I wouldn’t dare to go against your commands!”

The leader ignored Klaus and said, “Angel, my child. Why have you brought so many companions back to Dragon Island?”

“O great leader of the dragons! I would like to request an audience with you,” said Angel in a loud voice.

“Your request is approved,” spoke the elderly voice. He agreed to let Angel speak to him in private.

Klaus dared not stand in her way anymore. He reluctantly moved aside, flames spewing out from his nostrils angrily as he watched Angel and the rest walk on.

Angel led the rest through the forest, a mountain and past a waterfall to finally stop at the foot of a cliff. The entire cliff was engulfed in a white mist, and it was impossible to see what was behind the white mist. Just then, the mist swirled and cleared itself, as though something had magically sucked it away.

The view in front of them slowly became clearer. The one who had sucked away the mist was actually a giant dragon head. It was hard to tell exactly how big this dragon was. His head alone was almost as large as Angel in her dragon form.

“All praise to the almighty leader of the dragons!” When faced with the leader of the dragons, even Angel felt fear and trepidation in her heart.