Starting My Cultivation With Time Management-Chapter 882 - 22 Luo Yan Speaks of History

Luo Yan continued speaking, “The Jiaolong clan gave up the North State to the Xuan Gui, went to the Central State, and after enduring countless hardships, finally conquered the Horned Clan. The Divine Dragon Tower rose from the ground in the imperial capital, signaling the initial establishment of their dominance,” and saw that the Jiaolong seemed to have little joy, but rather a sense of grinding its teeth.

And when it came to “The Jiaolong clan took advantage of the geographical benefits of the Central State and their alliance with the Xuan Gui Clan from the North State to conquer all directions with ease, and ultimately established the Jiaolong Dynasty,” the Jiaolong snorted coldly and disdainfully said in a hushed transmission,

“It was just luck. Without the alliance with the Xuan Gui Clan, how could they have conquered the other three states so easily? Besides, in my opinion, it’s not truly conquest, it’s just that they saw the combined forces of the two states as too powerful and didn’t want to fight against you.”

“Senior speaks from a place of wisdom,” Luo Yan complimented without a change of emotion, while secretly making some guesses.

This Jiaolong… seems to have had a very poor relationship with its clan before getting trapped here, doesn’t it?

“You don’t need to guess,” the Jiaolong said coldly, “I belong to the blood puppetry school within our clan, which does not get along well with their meat puppet faction.”

“After I got trapped here, it’s highly probable that the blood puppetry school has fallen into decline. Hearing that their meat puppet sect has led the Jiaolong to revival, of course, I am displeased. Is that not normal?”

So it’s a dispute over doctrinal orthodoxy… Luo Yan couldn’t help but chuckle silently.

The intensity of a sectarian dispute can be seen from the example of Shushan. The irony lies in that both sides believe their school is for the good of the organization and think the other is harming it, and therefore are determined to take down the opposition at all costs.

Ending a sectarian dispute is only possible when one side’s power completely overwhelms the other, forcing them to submit.

Now it looks like this Jiaolong might have fallen to this state as a result of being defeated in a sectarian struggle.

Considering the spells Shi Yao taught him, which seemed to lack any that manipulated blood, Luo Yan could be quite certain about this.

After finishing the story of the Divine Dragon Tower and the City of Myriad Monsters, Luo Yan stopped just at the right moment, looking meaningfully at the Jiaolong.

The Jiaolong was extremely frustrated, on one hand, the feeling of being controlled was very unpleasant, and on the other, it really wanted to know how the Jiaolong clan declined later…

This is where Luo Yan’s cunning is evident. If he hadn’t mentioned the transition from prosperity to decline of the Jiaolong earlier, it would have been fine to stop here.

But now, already aware that the Jiaolong Clan is on the brink of collapse, yet still clueless about which nemesis has caused their downfall, how could the vengeful Jiaolongs ever rest in peace?

“Listen carefully,” the Jiaolong said, foregoing any further chit-chat and explaining the Sacrificial Refinement Method to Shi Liuli in detail.

The nature of Dragon Blood is fierce; those not of the Dragon Clan often cannot withstand it, hence the need for multiple layers of sealing on the Dragon Blood.

After absorbing it into the body, you refine one layer, then unseal another, repeating this over and over. It’s extremely troublesome.

Seeing Shi Liuli’s distressed expression, the Jiaolong couldn’t help but feel somewhat satisfied, but remembering that he was still waiting for Luo Yan to continue, he quickly feigned a selfless demeanor as if he were saying “I have no secrets to hide,” and communicated privately to Luo Yan:

“I’ve explained the Sacrificial Refinement Method, as for the crucial part… why don’t you first talk about how the Jiaolongs fell.”

Thus, Luo Yan began to describe the events of Emperor Ying Long, speaking of how his father-in-law was born with an extremely high Bloodline Rank, a rare prodigy in a millennium among the Jiaolong Clan. He maintained an alliance with North State, actively sought marital ties with West State, secretly fostered good relations with Eastern State, and combined both military and diplomatic efforts with South State. In the end, he held the entire world firmly in his grasp, solidifying the status of the Jiaolong Imperial Clan even more.

The listening Jiaolong was quite pleased: after all, his hatred was solely for the Meat Puppet Sect of the past, and it was not such that he couldn’t let go of his grievances against descendants from who knows how many generations later. He repeatedly praised:

“Exactly, exactly! Commanding myriad demons, none dare disobey; that is indeed the domineering presence our Jiaolong Clan should have!”

A sneer formed in Luo Yan’s heart, but he continued to talk about how Emperor Ying Long, against all objections, insisted on marrying the daughter of a criminal, causing shock throughout the world.

He had thought the Jiaolong would rage and curse, but to his surprise, the Jiaolong clearly didn’t mind, saying:

“As the Emperor, naturally he can marry whomever he wishes. Who dares to gossip about the Emperor’s family affairs? Do they take the Jiaolong Clan’s claws for blunted tools?”

“That…,” Luo Yan hesitated for a moment, then said, “At that time, it seemed like the Jiaolong Clan itself wasn’t really in favor…”

“Ridiculous!” the Jiaolong finally erupted in anger, “With such a sovereign within the clan, everyone should fully support him. How dare anyone sing a counterpoint to the clan leader?”

Then, he suddenly seemed to remember something, became melancholic, and sighed:

“Continue.”

Luo Yan spoke of how Emperor Ying Long embarked on an expedition to the Mortal Realm, only to tragically meet defeat and never return. Faced with criticisms from all sides, the new Emperor adopted a conciliatory approach, and so on.

The words infuriated the Jiaolong, who couldn’t stop cursing, his claws restlessly scratching back and forth on the ground:

“Outrageous, truly outrageous! The more critical the moment, the more we must respond with strength. To choose conciliation, isn’t that showing weakness? With this one event, the Imperial Clan’s prestige was utterly eradicated!”

Luo Yan chuckled inwardly, thinking that might not necessarily be the case.

Often, the choice between showing strength or weakness is essentially a gamble.

There are numerous historical precedents where those who chose aggression ended up defeated, and those who showed weakness ultimately turned the tide.

Had the Jiaolong Clan not chosen to conciliate, it might have intimidated the surrounding untrustworthy forces, but it might also have provoked a united assault.

At the gambling table, before the outcome is revealed, who can know the result?

Luo Yan continued on. After “apologizing to the world and signing humiliating treaties,” came “the Emperor’s assassination, the struggle for succession amongst the three dragons,” and ultimately “the Crown Prince’s elopement and the Qilin’s entry into the capital.”

These series of events turned the Jiaolong ashen, leaving him without even the strength to shout “scoundrels.”