Jinzi’s unusual behavior quickly drew the attention of the miners. When the workers gathered around, they were greeted by the sight of the majestic golden dragon swaying its massive head, begging for pats. The scene utterly shattered their long-held image of the proud and aloof golden dragon.
Perched atop Jinzi’s head, Shu Bao awkwardly waved his chubby paw at the crowd. “Uh… hi there! I’m your boss’s friend.”
This time, no one dared to ask for proof. The workers exchanged bewildered glances until, finally, an Imperial mage stepped forward. “Honored guest, is there something we can assist you with?”
The sudden politeness from the Empire’s people left Shu Bao momentarily unprepared. With Jinzi at his side, he decided to get straight to the point. “Where is your boss right now?”
As soon as the question left his mouth, confusion swept across the faces of everyone present. None of them had expected Shu Bao to ask such a question. Fortunately, the Imperial mage remained composed and answered. “His Majesty is currently in the Imperial Capital, handling matters related to the Kingdom of Dragons.”
Shu Bao: !!!???
Wait, WHAT?! His Majesty?! What’s going on here? Since when did Lan Qing become His Majesty? And what on earth is the Kingdom of Dragons?!
The immense shock and confusion left Shu Bao stunned for quite some time. When he finally snapped out of it, he looked down at Jinzi under his feet and whispered, “It’s not what I think it is, right?”
Jinzi let out two confirming roars, then spread his massive wings and took to the skies, stirring up a whirlwind and cloud of dust. The miners, unfazed, stepped back to avoid the dust cloud and watched the golden dragon’s receding figure for a moment before returning to their work.
Of course, the day’s work-break chatter revolved entirely around the sudden appearance of this mysterious “friend”.
“Hey, I remember when His Majesty first conquered the mine and freed us, he had two friends with him, one of whom was a mouse!”
“I’ve heard my father mention that too! I didn’t think it was real!”
“That was almost ten years ago, wasn’t it?”
…
With bits and pieces shared among them, the miners quickly pieced together Shu Bao’s identity.
Meanwhile, Shu Bao sat atop Jinzi’s massive head, deep in thought. During his time away, what earth-shaking feats had Lan Qing accomplished to rise directly to the position of Emperor? It seemed while Shu Bao was busy, Lan Qing wasn’t idle either—his achievements were even more jaw-dropping.
Shu Bao wasn’t yet sure about the time discrepancy between the Chaotic World and the time he spent in the Mechanoid City ruins. Judging by the scale of the tavern’s development and the standardized operations of the mine, it seemed likely that a considerable amount of time had passed.
Soon, Jinzi brought Shu Bao to a massive teleportation array. Jinzi roared softly twice as if to reassure Shu Bao not to worry.
Shu Bao, of course, wasn’t nervous—he was just preoccupied, pondering what Lan Qing had been through over the years.
Jinzi’s large eyes strained to look upwards but couldn’t catch sight of his own head. When he noticed that Shu Bao’s little claws hadn’t stopped tapping on his skull even after being reassured, he decided to pretend nothing was happening.
The teleportation array was located in what appeared to be a large resource transfer hub. The area was bustling with activity, not just from Imperial personnel but also individuals in attire marking allegiance to other factions. However, all the overseers wore Imperial uniforms.
Clearly, the site was under Imperial jurisdiction—or more accurately, it was highly likely that Lan Qing had later established this facility to streamline the transport of Earth Crystals.
When Jinzi landed in the teleportation array, the overseers noticed but didn’t intervene. Instead, they even assisted in activating the teleportation.
As the teleportation array lit up, the giant dragon and his passenger vanished in a flash. One of the staff members who had activated the array couldn’t help but rub his eyes and ask a colleague nearby, “Did you see that? It looked like there was a mouse on Lord Jinzi’s head!”
“Impossible! What kind of mouse would dare climb onto a dragon’s head?” The colleague chuckled at the absurdity.
However, rumors of His Majesty having a mouse as a friend quickly spread across the transfer hub.
The speed of gossip was evidently no match for the swift movements of those involved. The enormous teleportation array is connected to yet another resource hub. However, the resources here extend far beyond Earth Crystals. This transfer station spanned an expansive area and was divided into various specialized zones.
Sensing Shu Bao’s curiosity, Jinzi deliberately flew a circle over the transfer station with Shu Bao perched atop his head.
The people inside the hub were familiar with Jinzi. Some even waved warmly in greeting. Of course, Jinzi, maintaining his ever-cool and aloof dragon persona, didn’t bother responding.
From the sky, Shu Bao had an even clearer view. He spotted a section dedicated to Phoenix Feathers, another for metals, and yet others for rare items like Sinking Ice and Greenwood Dusk. There were also countless magical items Shu Bao didn’t recognize.
“Lan Qing really done well for himself!” Shu Bao remarked, impressed. Although he hadn’t yet seen the Imperial Capital, the well-organized and resource-rich transfer hub below already spoke volumes about how effectively Lan Qing was managing the empire.
“Roar~” Jinzi responded with a proud growl as if to say, “Lan Qing’s achievements also have something to do with dragons like me.”
Shu Bao immediately reached out his plump paw and patted Jinzi’s head repeatedly. “Jinzi is amazing too! You’ve become a remarkable big dragon!”
Among their dragon clutch, aside from the ones gifted to the Nan Ming Legion, Jinzi had grown the fastest and was already an adult. Meanwhile, Yinzi, Laifu, and Jiao Jiao, having accompanied them to the Mechanoid City ruins, were still little ones.
Buoyed by Shu Bao’s head-patting buff, Jinzi picked up speed, his flight becoming even more exuberant. Rather than heading directly to the palace, Jinzi took Shu Bao on a grand tour of the capital. If not for the vast expanse of the empire’s current territory, Jinzi might well have flown Shu Bao over the entire realm.
After experiencing the capital’s grandeur firsthand, Shu Bao realized just how small Xia Wang City was in comparison. Whether in terms of scale or development, it couldn’t compete with this historically rich royal city. After all, the empire had existed in the Chaotic World for untold years—far longer than Xia Wang City’s mere thirty years of history.
This capital city’s architecture predominantly featured a steady gray tone and a cold, rigid Western-style design. Numerous fixed light sources illuminated the city, and glowing plants grew abundantly, adding vibrant splashes of color to the otherwise somber hues.
After circling the city several times, Jinzi finally brought Shu Bao to the heart of the capital. With a loud dragon roar, the palace guards raised their heads in awe, gazing reverently as Jinzi soared over the walls and flew toward the palace’s center.
Jinzi, familiar with the palace layout, landed smoothly in a courtyard. The space was expansive, with level flooring and no statues or plants—seemingly designed specifically for Jinzi’s landings.
As soon as Jinzi touched down, the doors of a nearby building swung open, and a familiar figure came into view.
The green-hat figure hadn’t yet noticed Shu Bao, instead chatting casually with Jinzi. “You’re back! Nothing unusual outside, right? No need to be too anxious—after all, those dragons are your parents, uncles, aunts, great-uncles…”
Mid-sentence, the figure froze, blinking once, then twice, before suddenly shooting up to Jinzi’s head with a shriek of delight.
“Shu Bao! Shu Bao! Shu Bao, you’re back!”
Shu Bao was immediately enveloped in Lan Qing’s signature 360-degree hug. The fluffy little furball returned the embrace with equal enthusiasm. But as they hugged, Shu Bao noticed something was off.
Lan Qing wasn’t just wearing a hat—he had gloves on too!
Noticing Shu Bao’s gaze, Lan Qing cheerfully flipped onto his back, showing off his claws. “Look! I really grew legs!”
Shu Bao: ???
When Lan Qing removed his gloves, Shu Bao saw four miniature dragon claws. They weren’t pseudo-claws—they were real dragon claws.
Jiaolongs might grow dragon horns, but they never developed dragon claws. The appearance of claws meant that Lan Qing was transforming into a true dragon! Shu Bao held onto his snake companion’s claws for a long moment, studying them in disbelief before asking, “What’s going on? Why did you grow legs?”
Lan Qing rolled back upright and carefully put his cherished gloves back on. “What’s so strange about it? Didn’t you say that if I drank that potion, I’d grow legs?”
Hearing Lan Qing’s matter-of-fact tone, Shu Bao suddenly understood the cause. Looking at his snake companion diligently adjusting his gloves, Shu Bao couldn’t help but sigh—sometimes being blissfully clueless had its perks.
When Lan Qing first drank that dragon-transforming soup, his evolution had followed the normal path for a Jiaolong. However, after Shu Bao left, there was no one to tell Lan Qing that growing dragon horns was the final stage of the process. Lan Qing, believing wholeheartedly that turning into a dragon meant growing legs, had unconsciously willed his transformation to go in that direction.
In this world where consciousness shaped reality, Lan Qing began growing legs. And since Shu Bao’s perception of Jiaolongs growing legs naturally included dragon claws, his more vivid understanding of dragon claws overruled Lan Qing’s vague concept of legs. Consequently, the Chaotic World turned Lan Qing’s legs into proper dragon claws.
Over time, Lan Qing’s steadfast belief that he could grow legs led to the natural growth of claws. Without needing any special opportunities or rare materials, Lan Qing unknowingly began the transformation from Jiaolong to a true dragon.
Even more remarkable was that because this transformation was endorsed by the Chaotic World, when Lan Qing finally completed his metamorphosis, there wouldn’t even be a tribulation. His evolution into a dragon would feel as natural as breathing.
After tidying up his gloves, Lan Qing prepared to take Shu Bao inside to discuss the Chaotic World’s changes over the years. However, at Jinzi’s plaintive cries, the two decided to forgo the room.
Instead, Lan Qing pulled a table out from his bracelet, followed by an assortment of delicious foods. A snake, a mouse, and a dragon gathered around the small table in the courtyard, chatting and eating together.
Occasionally, Jinzi would scarf down all the food on the table in one bite. Lan Qing would immediately replace the empty dishes with new ones. Jinzi folded his wings, sitting obediently with his foreclaws clasped together in his usual polite posture.
“How did you end up becoming the emperor of an empire?” Shu Bao asked eagerly. It was the question that had been burning in his mind.
Hearing this, Lan Qing sighed deeply. “Ugh, don’t even get me started. Remember how I said I was going to help the boss’s three brothers by buying all their taverns? Well, I kept searching for the boss’s third brother, and it turns out he doesn’t run a tavern—he runs an empire!”
Shu Bao: “…” Wow. Those three brothers are definitely the main characters in some epic story. What kind of luck is this?
“Buying an empire was so difficult,” Lan Qing lamented, sipping on a fruit. “I tried everything—hard tactics, soft tactics, even smacked the empire around a bit. It took two whole years to buy the empire. Paying back favors is just so exhausting!”
