Chapter 15 - The Dragon Rider

　　Since the Immortal Fantasy Continent and the Magic Fantasy Continent merged together, the martial arts and Taoism of the East and the fighting qi and magic of the West had a fierce collision, true qi versus fighting qi, Taoism versus magic, sword qi and fighting qi stirred horizontally and horizontally, and the Taoism and magic were splendidly powerful. 　　In the early days, during the great confrontation between Chinese and Western cultivators, the power of Taoism and magic was unquestionable, and every slightly accomplished cultivator and middle-ranked or above magician had super terrifying strength. They are able to directly manipulate the energy of heaven and earth, one monk can deal with dozens of western warriors, and one middle-ranked magician or above can also deal with dozens of eastern martial artists. 　　However, the number of monks and magicians is scarce, and the cultivation of Taoism or the study of magic is extremely demanding on one's physique, so Taoism and magic are not widely popularized. In addition, monks are far away from the world, rarely appear in front of the world, so monks are the most mysterious in people's eyes. In the process of cultivation, magicians need a lot of expensive magical materials, so in order to become a magician, leaving money is not feasible. 　　Cultivation of eastern martial arts or western fighting qi, although there are also requirements for physical fitness, but not harsh, the average person is able to cultivate, but because of the different physical fitness, the achievements will naturally have significant high and low points. Comparatively speaking, the martial artists who practice physical arts should be inferior to the monks and magicians, unless close combat, or these martial artists are not the opponent of those who directly manipulate the heaven and earth yuan qi cultivators. 　　Of course, nothing is absolute, among the Oriental martial artists, there are some who can cultivate their cultivation to a very high level, any practitioner who sees this kind of powerful Oriental martial artists will have a headache. 　　Moreover, among the Oriental martial artists, there are occasionally people who are able to cultivate a world of power, and their super-terrible strength can be described as invincible, which is the nightmare of all cultivators. However, as we all know, the progress of martial arts is slow, the kind of martial arts to cultivate to the extreme realm of the world of martial arts practitioners, hundreds of years of rare to see, so martial arts gradually declined. 　　Like the Eastern martial artists, although the number of Western martial artists who practiced physical arts was large, their average strength was also far less than that of cultivators and magicians. However, among these martial artists, there are some special practitioners whose super strength is no weaker than that of monks and magicians, and these people are the Dragon Knights in the eyes of the world. 　　In order to become a Dragon Knight, you must first tame a dragon of your own. 　　Of course, the dragon also has a strong and weak points, the western dragon according to the weak and strong can be divided into the earth dragon, flying dragon, sub-dragon, giant dragon, holy dragon, there are five levels, and the continent and the five levels of practitioners correspond to the mainland, and thus there is a dragon knight, flying dragon knight, sub-dragon knights, giant dragon knights, holy dragon knights of the five levels of the Dragon Knights. 　　It can be seen that in order to become a Dragon Knight, one must reach the rank realm and tame a dragon that matches their realm. Therefore, all Dragon Knights are strong, in a sense, the reason why Dragon Knights use dragons as their mounts is to prove that they have great strength. 　　In the Western Continent, the number of Dragon Knights was scarce, and Holy Dragon Knights were even more rare, but Dragon Knights who had reached this realm were all superb and terrifying, and even cultivated magicians and monks did not dare to oppose them easily. 　　After Chen Nan returned to the Qi Shi Mansion from the Royal Ancient Book Depository, he remembered the trip to the underground tomb just now, and was still a little frightened. 　　"This old man is really inscrutable, he actually didn't kill me to silence me, but I'd better leave this place of wrongdoing as early as possible ......" 　　Through this incident, he now finally understood the old saying, "There are people outside of people, and there are heavens outside of heaven." That old man appeared to be old and frail in appearance, but he was an absolute expert with horrifying cultivation, this was another fifth order cultivator that he had seen after Zhuge Xifeng, and it was even possible that he had already surpassed the fifth order. 　　"Kid is being nymphomaniac again, really no talent!" Old Poison Monster had his hands on the courtyard wall, looking towards him. 　　"Shit, perverted old man you're spying on me again!" Chen Nan walked out from the house. 　　"Heartbeat is better than action, let's go, let's go see your cool water together." 　　"You ...... "Thinking of Nalan Ruoshui, Chen Nan's heart hesitated for a while, if he left like this, I'm afraid that he would never be able to see this woman with the first good feelings in the future. 　　"Oh, I forgot, it's Ruoshui, hehehe ...... "The old poison monster had a playful look. 　　If Chen Nan didn't have regard for the old man's poison, he really wanted to beat him up. 　　Old Poison Monster laughed, "A Dragon Knight came to the Qi Shi House today, so many people went to see his dragon, your Ruoshui would have wanted to find you to go see it together, but you weren't there, so she went first. Let's go, we'll go and join in the fun too." 　　Dragon rider was synonymous with the strong, dragons were powerful and mysterious creatures, Cinnan was also interested in hearing about it and followed the old poisonous monster outside. 　　Today, the Qi Shi House was different from the usual calm, the house gladiatorial arena was full of people, even the old witch, who was rare to see on weekdays, gave up her "great cause of magic research" and came here. 　　This was the first time Chen Nan had seen so many magicians gathered together, most of them were powerful cultivators, and of course, there were also researchers like the old poisonous monster who had outstanding talent in a certain field. Most of these people were over thirty years old, and there were only three or five young people like him who were around twenty, so he quickly spotted Nalan Ruoshui. 　　Nalan Ruoshui was dressed in watery blue, like an orchid in an empty valley, ethereal and ethereal, light and dusty. After she saw Chen Nan and Old Poison Monster walk into the gladiatorial arena, a faint smile appeared on her serene face. 　　Cinnan waved at her, "Ruoshui." 　　The old Poison Monster called out strangely from the side, "Ruoshui, I'm coming, half a day without seeing you is like an autumn and a half ......" 　　Chen Nan stomped hard on the old man's foot, a pig-killing squeal came from the old man, drawing a sideways glance from the crowd. 　　Nalan Ruoruo's face appeared to smile as she said, "Chen Nan why are you walking so carelessly!" 　　The old poisonous monster screamed, "He's not careless, he's bent on it." 　　Nalan Ruoshui ignored him and continued to say to Chen Nan, "Next time, if the ground is uneven, exert yourself a little harder to avoid mixing it up." 　　Old Poison Monster: "......" Watching Cinnan and Nalan Ruoshui walk towards the arena together, Old Poison Monster indignantly shouted, "Crossing the river and breaking the bridge." 　　In the middle of the gladiatorial arena ambled a huge and ferocious creature, with a dark green scale armor glistening with light, hideous and terrifying. Needless to ask, this was the dragon of the Dragon Knights. The dragon was about seven feet long, with two horns on its head and a pair of huge fleshy wings on its abdomen, looking quite ferocious. 　　Next to that dragon stood a tall youth, the youth had a handsome appearance, his body was stout, his sturdy physique was full of explosive power and had a masculine beauty. 　　Nalan Ruoshui's face surfaced a trace of a strange color, saying: ''See, this person is that Dragon Knight, he is the son of the Great General Sima Changfeng, his name is Sima Lingkong, for ten years he has been practicing in the Western Continent with a high level person, and now he has returned after completing his studies. He has now been enshrined as a Qi Shi by the Emperor, and officially moved into the Qi Shi Mansion today." 　　Chen Nan nodded his head and said, "Oh, the head is so big, hmm, do Qi Shi still need to be enthroned?" 　　"Of course, every Qi Shi enjoys the treatment of a national scholar, so how can they not be enthroned." Saying that, Nalan Ruoshui glanced at him and said, "Of course you belong to the exception, you are a Hidden Qi Shi, but ...... alas, you ...... would be much better if your powers were fully restored! Even if you don't have no enviable honor as a national scholar, but at the very least, you have a powerful strength ...... "At the end of her words, she was more or less sad. 　　Chen Nan did not notice Nalan Ruoshui's dissimilarity, but his heart was also a bit lost, he was about to leave this place, he might never see this beautiful famous doctor again, but here and now, he could not say anything. 　　Nalan Ruoshui said, "Look, this dragon is really mighty, I've never seen such a huge, strong creature." 　　"Mighty? Any way I look at it, I think it looks like a big bellied lizard with wings." 　　"Puff," Nalan Ruoshui laughed. 　　"Geez, what kind of vision do you have, that's a dragon yeah!" 　　Chen Nan said, "Last time I was in the western border mountain range, a green dragon I saw was thirty feet long, compared to that green dragon, this dragon is simply a dragon grandchild or dragon baby." 　　"Really, is it really that big?" A puzzled look appeared on Nalan Ruoshui's face. 　　"Gahhh, this kid is right, what he saw was a giant dragon, and giant dragons are all over thirty feet long. This is nothing more than an ordinary flying dragon, slightly more advanced than a ground dragon that can't fly." The old hag came behind the two Chen Nan at an unknown time. 　　Chen Nan turned back and greeted his terrifying neighbor. 　　The old hag nodded and continued, "The dragons in the West are divided into five classes, in order, Earth Dragon, Flying Dragon, Sub-Dragon, Giant Dragon, and Holy Dragon. Except for Earth Dragons that can't fly, the rest of the four orders of dragons can fly. The Earth Dragon is about five feet long, the Flying Dragon is about seven feet long, the Sub-Dragon is between fifteen and twenty feet long, and the Giant Dragon is at least thirty feet long. As for the Holy Dragon, I haven't seen it, but I've heard people say that Holy Dragons are rare and special dragons, and their powerful strength is not necessarily proportional to their body size." 　　Nalan Ruoshui laughed, "Granny Magic is really knowledgeable." 　　"Gah gah, how can I say that I have also spent some time in the Western Continent, if I don't even know about this, won't I be laughed at. However, you girl's mouth is really sweet, really pleasing to the eye, much better than that little girl Chu Yu, that little girl wants to escape when she sees me." 　　The Dragon Knight Sima Lingkong in the field was explaining something to the crowd of onlookers, who were listening with great interest. At this time, the little princess Chu Yu suddenly appeared with a thief's head, she kept looking towards the center of the field as if she was looking for someone. 　　Chen Nan and Nalan Ruoshui glanced at each other and both couldn't help but reveal a smile. 　　The old witch grunted in anger, ''This dead girl! Am I really that scary? Every time I come to the Qi Shi Mansion, I sneak around, humph, it really pisses me off!" 　　After scouting the "enemy situation", the little princess let out a long breath and ran to the center of the field like a lively elf. 　　"Sima Lingkong, how dare you not report to this princess after coming back!" 　　The crowd had smiles on their faces after seeing this absolutely beautiful little devil, but the originally radiant Sima Lingkong wilted like a deflated ball. 　　"Good day, Your Highness." 　　The little princess's spiteful nature appeared to the fullest, saying, "The few people who went to the western continent to cultivate, after they came back, they all reported to me, but you were the only one who didn't go, say, is it that you didn't prepare a good gift for me?" Saying that, she circled around the flying dragon and said, "This dragon is not bad, is it a gift for me? But it's a bit too ugly, never mind, I'll accept it reluctantly." 　　Upon hearing this, Sima Lingkong's face turned green at that moment, and with a bitter smile, he said, "Princess Yu, this is my mount, the gift I prepared for you is still at home, and will be delivered in a while." 　　Chen Nan finally understood the meaning of the word "infamous" in the Imperial Capital, whoever saw her had a headache. One could imagine how the miserable childhoods of these noble children in the Imperial Capital were spent in the first place. 　　"In that case, you don't want to give this dragon to me?" 　　"Not ...... this ......" 　　The little princess grunted and said, "Cheapskate, don't worry, I don't want such a small and ugly monster, the dragons I saw in the Westland Mountain Range are much bigger than this one of yours." 　　Sima Lingkong wiped a cold sweat from his head and said, "This is just a flying dragon, of course it's not as big as those giant dragons." 　　The little princess said, "Is this dragon obedient, can I ride it and fly up to the sky?" 　　"Of course you can." 　　"Great!" An excited look immediately appeared on the little princess's face. 　　Sima Lingkong patted the Flying Dragon and said, "When you fly up later, be more peaceful, got it?" 　　The Flying Dragon unexpectedly nodded rather humanely. 　　The crowd was greatly surprised. 　　The little princess was also a bit surprised and said, "It can understand human language." 　　"Of course, dragons are intelligent creatures, and even though it's only a second-stage flying dragon, it's able to understand some simple human language." 　　The little princess excitedly climbed onto the dragon's back. At this time, the old witch was behind the crowd and called out, "Yu'er, if you want to fly you can learn magic from me, see how easy this is, why bother riding someone else's dragon." After saying that, the old witch floated up and came to the center of the field. 　　The moment the little princess saw the old witch, her face changed greatly, but soon her face piled up a sweet smile again. 　　"Hello granny, I have something to do, I'm going back to the palace." After saying that, she quickly slid down from the dragon's back and drilled out of the crowd like a loach. 　　The crowd of spectating wizards looked at each other in disbelief before finally erupting into a fit of laughter. 　　The old witch exclaimed, "Little girl wants to run away when she sees me, come back." She recited an incantation and quickly chased after her using the Wind Soaring Technique in the Wind System. 　　From afar came the little princess's cry, "Don't, I really need to go back to the palace ......" 　　...... 　　The little princess was still caught back in the end, beaming her little mouth, but not daring to snap. 　　When Chen Nan saw her look of embarrassment, he could no longer hold back and burst out laughing. Nalan Ruoshui pulled the corner of his coat and said, "Don't laugh, can't you see that everyone else is holding back, if the little girl sees it, you'll be in deep shit then." 　　Of course Chen Nan understood the demonic nature of the little princess, when the little princess gazed at him here, he immediately stopped laughing. 　　The old witch laughed, "Gahhh, don't be upset, so many people want to beg me to teach him, but I don't teach them, don't you want to fly up to the sky, I can hand it over to you!" 　　The old witch recited an incantation, a curtain of watery blue light surrounded the little princess, causing her to float into mid-air. 　　"Is it fun? As long as you learn from me, you can do it too." 　　Although the little princess had a look of excitement on her face, she firmly shook her head after hearing the old witch's words. 　　The old witch was so angry that she immediately stopped the delivery of magical energy, and the little princess screamed as she fell from the air until she was almost on the ground when she was held up by a soft glow, however, her little face was already white with fear. Chen Nan finally understood why the little princess was so afraid of the old hag, and at the same time, why she was unwilling to worship the old hag as her teacher. 　　At this time, Sima Lingkong stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Greetings to the Magic Granny." 　　"Well, excuse me. Not bad young man, having your own dragon at a young age." 　　Sima Lingkong said, "Senior is too kind, the younger generation is far from senior. Back when senior was cultivating in the Western Continent, his fame spread far and wide, and there are still people who mention you today." 　　The old witch rattled and laughed, "You're already very good, I guess in the younger generation, you're already considered a tough character, as long as you're willing to work hard, you'll definitely become a fourth-ranked Dragon Knight in the future." 　　Old Poison Monster didn't know when he ran behind Chen Nan and Nalan Ruoshui again, he muttered in a low voice, "This dead old woman is really shameless, look at her smug look, I really don't know what kind of luck she had in mixing up that Grand Magician credential. But this kid covered in muscles is really strong, to be able to become a Flying Dragon Knight is already very uncomplicated for his age." 　　Chen Nan nodded his head in agreement, he had long since felt the powerful force out of Sima Lingkong's body, the second ranked Flying Dragon Knight really lived up to its name. 　　The little princess took advantage of the old hag's efforts to speak and stood up to sneak out of the crowd. After a while, the old witch suddenly realized that the little princess had disappeared, and in a fit of anger, she continued her "great magic research". 　　At this time, Sima Lingkong suddenly discovered Nalan Ruoshui, his eyes lit up, and he walked over through the crowd of people watching the flying dragon. 　　"Ruoshui is also here, if you want to see the Flying Dragon, I'll just bring it directly to your home." 　　At this moment, Chen Nan suddenly felt his right hand tighten, being clutched by Nalan Ruoshui's warm and soft little hand. 　　"No need, I'm just accompanying Chen Nan to take a look." 　　Sima Lingyun's eyes shot out two cold bolts of electricity as he looked at the hands the two of them were holding and then at Chen Nan, saying, "Who is he?" 　　Nalan Ruoshui calmly said, "He is someone I can commit my life to." 　　Chen Nan's expression was stunned, and then his heart felt a little uncomfortable. Nalan Ruoshui had obviously known this muscular man for a long time, and was clearly using him as a shield, and he had a feeling that he was being used. 　　Sima Lingkong's eyes were on the verge of spewing out fire, he stared viciously at Chen Nan and said, "Kid you go aside, this is between me and Ruoshui, I hope you don't get involved in it." 　　The old Poison Monster standing behind Chen Nan said, "Young man don't speak so harshly, speak properly if you have anything to say." 　　At this time, those Qi warriors who were surrounding the Flying Dragon noticed the abnormality over here and turned their heads to look over here. 　　Nalan Ruoshui said, "Let's go." She took Chen Nan's hand and walked towards the outside of the gladiatorial arena. 　　Sima Lingkong was enraged and rushed to the two of them in a flash, saying angrily, "Ruoshui, I want you to pay attention, you're my fiancée now, don't pull and tug with others, this is not only degrading to my family, but also your family's discipline." 　　Nalan Ruoshui angrily said, "Nonsense, who is your fiancée? Please show some self-respect, don't be credulous, get out of the way!" 　　She pushed Sima Lingkong away with one hand and pulled Chen Nan outward with the other. Chen Nan was very unhappy in his heart, he wanted to shake off Nalan Ruoshui's hand, but hesitated and ultimately did not pay it off. 　　The Qi warriors inside the gladiatorial arena were talking. 　　Sima Lingkong stood in place for a while, a cold smile spreading from the corner of his mouth as he chased after them. 　　After Nalan Ruoshui and the two of them ran out of the arena, they went straight to Chen Nan's compound. 　　In front of Chen Nan's courtyard gate, Sima Lingkong chased after them and said, ''Ruoshui, why is this? You know that I am fond of you. Before long, my father will be coming to your house to propose marriage, now how can you be with an irrelevant person?" 　　Nalan Ruoshui Dao: "You die of this heart, I won't marry you." 　　"You ......" Sima Airspace flashed a stern aura in his eyes and said, "Good, you are really good at this, humph, by the time your father agrees, I will see if you marry or not." 　　His eyes flashed ferociously as he said to Chen Nan, "Kid did you take what I just said as a whisper, I told you to stay away, did you hear me? Get lost!" 　　Chen Nan's heart was already very unhappy, when he heard this, he was immediately enraged, the family Xuan Gong that he had forcefully suppressed could not help but surge up, a powerful aura erupted from his body. 　　Nalan Ruoshui was afraid that Sima Lingkong would make a move against Chen Nan and blocked in front of him. At the same time, the warriors sent by the Grand Princess to guard the Houyi Bow sensed a powerful power fluctuation, and seven figures appeared in front of the three in an instant. 　　Chen Nan secretly cried out in shame, blaming himself for being too impulsive as he quickly internalized his power, his powerful aura flickering away. 　　A few people in the scene were suspicious for a while, Nalan Ruoshui and a few warriors eventually thought that the compelling killing intent was erupted by Sima Lingkong. Sima Lingkong, on the other hand, thought that the powerful aura came from the few warriors in front of him, because at the moment, there was not a trace of power fluctuation on Chen Nan's body, and no matter how he tried, he could not feel the aura of a cultivator within him. 　　Sima Lingkong sneered, ''Kid are you a man? Hiding behind a woman, what kind of skill is that?" 　　Chen Nan gave him a cold look and said, "What are you barking at? People don't like you at all and you still want to stalk them, how shameless." 　　Sima Lingkong laughed back in anger, "Hehehe, you soft food guy, if I don't break you into pieces, I'll ......" 　　"Enough! Sima Lingkong you're done, if you keep being rude and making trouble here, I'm going to sue you at His Majesty's place." Nalan Ruoshui's face was blue, at this time, she lost her usual composure. 　　"What's so good about this kid, what's he capable of, he can't even be considered a gigolo, Ruoshui you ......" 　　"You shameless!" Nalan Ruoshui gritted her teeth in anger, she turned around and pulled Chen Nan into the courtyard. 　　Sima Lingkong was just about to follow him in, when a few warriors beside him reached out and stopped him, one of them said, "Sir Sima please stay, the Grand Princess has an order, no one is allowed to take half a step into this courtyard unless approved by her." 　　At this moment, Sima Lingkong was almost mad, his heart raging with anger, roaring, "Why? How did that pair of dogs go in?" 　　"Because this was originally Duke Chen's compound, and Miss Nalan was ordered to be healing his body." 　　"What, that trash is also a Qi Shi?" 　　A few warriors stopped speaking. 　　Sima Lingkong's mind gradually calmed down as he gave a vicious glance towards the courtyard and turned to leave. 　　After reaching the courtyard, Nalan Ruoshui quickly released Chen Nan's hand and twisted her face to the side, saying, "I'm sorry." 　　The unhappiness in Chen Nan's heart had faded and he said, "It's nothing." 　　"Aren't you going to ask me why I did it?" 　　"I'm waiting for you to say it." 　　Nalan Ruoshui turned her body around and said, "My father is Nalan Wencheng, the left minister of the dynasty, and Sima Lingkong's father is Sima Changfeng, the Great General of Tiger's Might of the dynasty, both of them are important ministers of the Chu Kingdom, but they have always been at odds. In recent years, some ministers in the court have maneuvered from there, and only then did the relationship between the two ease, and later on, some people suggested that the two families tie the knot as children and daughters, thus improving the relationship between the generals and the ministers." 　　"When the generals and ministers are at odds, it is not good for the country, so my father promised those who maneuvered from it, and at that time, the General of Tiger's Might also readily agreed to it. Others may not know Sima Lingkong's character, but I know it well, in recent years he had returned to the imperial capital several times, and every time he came back he would make some kind of flirtatious and smelly affair, he is simply a flirtatious and vicious young man." 　　"I understand my father's difficulties and know that he is bent on serving the country. I hate a flirtatious and vicious young man like Sima Lingkong, but I am powerless to change this fact. A few days later Sima Changfeng is going to send someone to his door to propose marriage, I have no choice but to irritate Sima Lingkong and make him loathe me, thus ruining the marriage, so ......" 　　"So you dragged me and deliberately appeared in front of Sima Lingkong to stimulate him?" 　　"Yes ...... I'm sorry." 　　"Alas, you really don't understand a man's heart, this will only backfire." Chen Nan really had some sympathy for Nalan Ruoshui, this woman who was usually incomparably serene had such a helpless heart, as a noblewoman, but she could not dominate her own happiness, and could only be used as a bargaining chip in politics. He let out a long sigh and said, "How can I help you?" 　　Nalan Ruoshui's eyes showed a mist of water, her voice trembled a little, saying, "I don't know ...... I don't even know what I should do ......" 　　"Otherwise ......," Chen Nan was tempted to say, "Otherwise I'll take you with me." But as the words reached his mouth, he swallowed back, although he now had a hint of good feelings towards Nalan Ruoshui, liking was not the same as love. However, he had already decided to lend a helping hand if necessary. 　　"Or else what?" Nalan Ruoshui had a hopeful look on her face. 　　"You can run away from the marriage and come back after things have passed." 　　Nalan Ruoshui was a little disappointed, saying, "I'm a woman, where can I go, I've never traveled far, not to mention I have little experience in the jianghu, I'm all by myself ...... oooh ......" 　　At the end of her words, she could no longer hold back and lost her voice and cried. Chen Nan scratched his head awkwardly, he didn't have a handkerchief, and finally raised his wide sleeves to Nalan Ruoshui's face. 　　Nalan Ruoshui tugged over his sleeve and gently wiped her tears, and finally suddenly flung herself into his arms and let out a loud cry. 　　"What should I do? What the hell am I supposed to do ah ...... oooh ......" 　　Chen Nan was at a loss for words. 　　Nalan Ruoshui cried for a while, her voice gradually decreased, and finally said quietly, "If you have a distinguished life, if you have a worldly power ...... I ...... I'm leaving."