Dragon Boat Secret Realm 32: The Dragon Scale Incident

As the Dragon Boat carried Su Qing, Tang Yue Ling, and Tian Ning through the giant fish’s innards, bursting through the bloodied breach into daylight, the entire Dragon Boat Secret Realm roared with excitement.

The decayed, creaking ship groaned under the wind’s pressure, its parts clattering in a chaotic symphony, as if one more strain would shatter it midair.

Yet it held firm, carrying the trio out of the fish’s foul, stench-filled body.

It was truly a flying ship, needing neither wings nor water, soaring by its own power.

As they emerged from underground, soaring above Dragon Scale Island, the island awoke from its slumber.

It rolled over heavily.

The motion flipped its grassy hills, trees, streams, and countless creatures into the sea, sending waves crashing.

The island didn’t care.

Trailing Dragon Scale Island were smaller isles, linked like a sharp blade.

They were its tail fin.

The moment the Dragon Boat escaped its stomach, the fish’s dream of becoming a dragon shattered. Heartbroken, it whipped its tail fin, slamming the sea, and with a body larger than the island itself, it leapt upward!

A tsunami surged, crashing toward onlookers on nearby islands.

“It’s a high-tier demon beast! Run!”

“Dragon Scale Island *is* a fish!”

“She was right!”

The giant fish, deaf to human cries, exhaled a thunderous steam blast. In the white mist, it opened its maw, revealing teeth like small mountains, aiming for the tiny airborne boat.

The Dragon Boat, with its hundred-meter-long white dragon bone, was a mere toy before the fish.

Su Qing realized they’d crashed into a shadow.

The shadow was closing in, strangling them.

They were in the fish’s mouth!

Disciples from various sects, airborne to escape the tsunami, craned to see who rode the Dragon Boat.

Was it a prodigy from Yan Yi Sect? A genius from He Rong Faction?

Or a famed figure from Sword Sect?

But before they could identify the riders, they saw the fish’s massive teeth closing.

“Trouble!” Spectators, more anxious than those aboard, shouted, “The Dragon Boat’s going to be eaten!”

“Damn it, enough already!” Tang Yue Ling roared, unleashing a thousand radiant top-grade spirit stones. Nearly a thousand golden artifacts shot outward.

Tian Ning soared like a black bird, her Xue Jin Sword flashing. A white streak sliced off a meter-high tooth.

The tooth crashed into the sea, raising towering waves.

Under their cover, Su Qing reached the control platform.

It bore Xiao’e’s style—childlike yet distinctive, even as a renowned master.

“Hold on!”

Amid the chaos, Su Qing roared, leaning hard to one side, yanking the helm fully. The boat spun 180 degrees, shuddering pitifully, every part screaming as if about to collapse.

The fish’s teeth drew closer, the shadow engulfing them, leaving only a sliver of light on their tense faces.

Tang Yue Ling gripped the rail, smacking the rickety hull. “Lousy boat, hold together!”

Tian Ning hung upside down, her sword lodged in the deck’s cracks, keeping her from falling.

Su Qing fared little better, half her body dangling out, clinging with one arm.

She’d known her arm training after Tang Yue Ling’s phoenix artifact would come in handy.

The boat teetered on collapse but held, twisting 180 degrees midair under Su Qing’s control. Half-rolling, it screeched, barely squeezing through the narrowing gap at the last moment.

The fish’s jaws snapped shut, too late. Exhausted, it plummeted, crashing into the sea, sending up a massive splash.

They’d escaped.

But before they could celebrate, the boat, having defied danger, gave up. It went limp, refusing to move.

Su Qing pounded the deck. “Don’t quit now!”

Tang Yue Ling, furious, wanted to tear it apart. “You’re done for!”

They were ready to abandon the cursed inheritance.

Tian Ning, cheeks puffed, held back a shout. She fumbled at her waist, pulled out the fire spirit bead she’d scorned, and tossed it into the boat.

She hadn’t expected much, just a desperate try.

To their shock, the boat absorbed the red bead, perking up. No longer slacking, it paused midair, as if debating whether to dive or soar.

“Should’ve known you wanted this,” Su Qing muttered, feeding it her water spirit bead.

The boat had no mouth, but a cracked seam sufficed.

Absorbing both beads, it glowed blue and red, exhaling heavily. A chemical reaction seemed to ignite within, jolting violently.

Su Qing’s voice wavered. “What’s it doing?!”

Onlookers below, just relieved, tensed again. Closer now, they finally saw the figures aboard.

Tang Shitao spotted them first. Tang Xueshan and Tang Qimei wept with joy. “Yue Ling!”

Qi Liwei, using a far-seeing artifact, confirmed, “It’s Miss Tian Ning!”

Qi Libei grumbled, “That woman’s up there too!”

Qi Liwei glared, silencing him. His face darkened, but she said, “It’s all about skill.”

Daozi, resting behind them, opened his eyes slightly. His dark gaze, like Tian Ning’s, was empty. After swallowing Qingmu Island’s wood spirit bead, he felt a breakthrough nearing. “Guard me,” he said.

Qi Libei, unconvinced, asked, “What about the Dragon Boat?”

The dragon bone wasn’t unique to the Qi family, but he hadn’t learned his lesson. Still bitter from Tian Ning’s warning sword, he couldn’t stand Su Qing’s triumph.

Daozi’s cold eyes flicked to him. “Don’t row against the current.”

Qi Libei faltered. Who was the water, who the boat?

Qi Liwei understood, glancing complexly at the cheering Sword Sect students.

Chen Minjing, laughing through tears, waved at Su Qing. “You’re okay!”

She noticed Jiang Xiaocao’s unusual silence. He’d searched frantically for Su Qing, nearly uprooting Dragon Scale Island’s grass.

Jiang Xiaocao’s amber eyes reflected Su Qing. After a moment, he tossed out his useless gold spirit bead, stomping it repeatedly.

He’d promised Su Qing they’d face the trial together.

Why was he still grounded?

Tang Yu dragged Tang Jiu, shouting, “Jiu-ge, it’s Su Qing! The one from our entrance exam! She was so weak then, now she’s on the Dragon Boat—amazing!”

“I know, I know,” Tang Jiu said, freeing his crumpled collar. “There’s only one Su Qing in Sword Sect. After her fight with Red Sun Sect, she’s famous enough without your introduction.”

He’d likely interview her for the reporter team after leaving the realm.

Ling Xiaorui, more excited than Tang Yu, bounced, shouting, “Su Qing, you’re Sword Sect’s gutsiest woman!”

Xie Ying, beside her, cringed, stepping away to feign unfamiliarity.

…

Some rejoiced, others raged.

Yu Huayi stepped forward, face darkening. “Impossible!”

According to Tianyuan Elder’s intel, the dragon bone wouldn’t activate until all five spirit beads were gathered.

Yan Yi Sect had informed her Qingmu Island was gone, its wood bead missing. Assuming the Dragon Boat wouldn’t appear, she’d shifted focus to other cultivation resources, breaking through to Foundation Establishment a half-month ago.

Yet, when all seemed settled, the Dragon Boat appeared.

And someone was aboard.

If she wasn’t mistaken, one was the sharp-tongued female cultivator she’d clashed with in Tianque City’s streets.
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Yu Huayi gripped her sword, knuckles white, veins bulging.

How could she accept this? She’d had prior knowledge, secured the earth spirit bead through hardship, yet it all meant nothing. She couldn’t swallow it.

And how would she explain this to Tianyuan Elder?

Shen Liuye reminded her, “Don’t forget the sect’s mission.”

Find the Dragon Boat and make it submit at all costs.

“Do you need to tell me?” Yu Huayi summoned a radiant token, broadcasting via transmission, “This sect leader’s token is as my presence. All Yan Yi Sect disciples, heed my command—”

Her eyes flashed ruthlessly. “Shoot down the Dragon Boat at all costs, by any means!”

Her cultivation wasn’t enough to target only Yan Yi disciples, so Sword Sect, He Rong Faction, and their allied smaller sects heard it too.

Sword Sect students erupted in fury:

“Shameless Yan Yi Sect, daring to steal our resource!”

“I was already pissed seeing three rogue cultivators get the inheritance, but this makes it worse!”

“You think you’re worthy of the Dragon Boat?!”

“Thieves, take this!”

Sword Sect students attacked nearby Yan Yi disciples. Though Yan Yi’s inner disciples were talented, late-stage Qi Refining, Sword Sect outnumbered them—1,800 to 300.

Qi Refining had the smallest power gaps. Several Sword Sect students ganging up on one Yan Yi disciple held the advantage.

He Rong Faction disciples mused, “We’ve never gotten along with Yan Yi Sect.”

“No idea why they want the Dragon Boat down, but stopping them will ruin their day.”

“And make ours better!”

“Sick of their arrogance—let’s go!”

With Sword Sect leading, He Rong Faction joined the brawl, turning it into a one-sided thrashing.

Stealing from Yan Yi disciples’ storage bags became Sword Sect’s unspoken secret.

It wasn’t theirs until it was eaten, right?

Unclaimed loot was fair game.

Sect disciples weren’t entirely useless. Yu Huayi’s call rallied over fifty Yan Yi disciples, all late-stage Qi Refining or early Foundation Establishment.

Their formation was unstoppable, a god-slaying force.

Their goal: unleash Yan Yi Sect’s exclusive technique—the Yan Yi Sword Array.

All disciples raised their swords forward.

At the array’s center, Yu Huayi’s face was grave, eyes resolute. Sensing spiritual fluctuations, she found her moment.

“Rise!”

“Swords sing as one!”

At her command, disciples chanted, channeling energy.

Fifty swords rose, lights weaving into a dazzling beam, like a starry river. The array’s peak power radiated lethal sword aura, stunning onlookers.

Worthy of Yan Yi Sect’s sword array.

Yu Huayi shouted, “One sword breaks all!”

The sword aura surged like a tide, rushing the airborne Dragon Boat!

“No you don’t!”

Tang Qimei and Tang Xueshan deployed eighteen array flags, blocking the sword aura, shielding the boat.

The array’s sword momentum was unstoppable, a peerless weapon. With fifty cultivators, its might was overwhelming.

Seventeen flags shattered, leaving one.

As it teetered, Jiang Xiaocao pressed his palm to the ground, praying, “Earth Mother, lend me your strength!”

The earth answered, grass surging like beasts, engulfing Yan Yi disciples.

Some, caught off-guard, were wrapped into massive grass cocoons.

Shen Liuye summoned earthfire to counter the grass.

The array faltered. Chen Minjing, sword like a brush, called, “Book Spirit!”

A translucent, ancient book appeared—her Wuya Pavilion inheritance: *Book Sword*.

It held one page of sword techniques.

Pointing at a mastered move, she shouted, “Break!”

The “Break” command unleashed a radiant sword light, charging forward like a meteor, striking the array’s gap.

The Break Technique, with falling-stone force, targeted vulnerabilities.

Unlike Su Qing’s brute strength or Tian Ning’s long-range precision, Chen Minjing excelled in wide-range attacks.

As expected, her strike toppled several Yan Yi disciples, weakening the sword aura, giving the boat’s crew a chance to counter.

As the final flag broke, the trio’s counterattack arrived—

A chilling, frost-sealing sword aura led the charge.
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Swift and fierce, it sliced the array like paper, coating disciples’ hair, lashes, and faces with frost.

Next came a domineering sword aura.

Unassuming at first, its immense force overwhelmed any who met it, pushing them back or toppling them.

Yu Huayi countered with a sword technique, neutralizing both auras. “Don’t falter—follow me!”

But a massive bell crashed from the sky, trapping her and Shen Liuye in the array’s center.

The bell’s hum thundered, dizzying Yu Huayi. Invisible waves battered her mind, its resonant tolls eroding her consciousness.

Behind the flags, the Dragon Boat was disintegrating, shedding decayed wood as if transforming.

It trapped Su Qing’s trio, forcing them to wait out its change.

Tang Yue Ling laughed triumphantly. “Worth sacrificing all my energy for this bell—enjoy it!”

Tian Ning’s face tightened. “The fish is coming again.”

While distracted by Yan Yi Sect, the fish had gathered strength, ready to leap and swallow them again.

Double trouble.

Su Qing, struck by inspiration, remembered her five unused wooden fish.

Their teleportation space was tiny compared to the fish—seemingly useless. But their origin was the seabed execution grounds, where this fish had escaped.

They might be its perfect counter!

As the fish leapt, faster and stronger, its stench and shadow loomed.

Desperate, Su Qing flung the five wooden fish.

They activated, exploding into a black vortex, charging the fish.

Golden chains—Lock God Chains from the execution grounds—emerged, sensing the fish. They coiled around it, binding it completely before it could resist.

The chains dragged their prey back into the vortex.

A fish the size of an island shouldn’t fit a tiny vortex, but the chains made it possible, compressing it into a ball.

With a “pop,” the wooden fish fell, and the vortex, chains, and fish vanished.

The sea below was empty—no trace of Dragon Scale Island.

Su Qing manually closed her gaping jaw.

She’d activated something critical.

The Dragon Boat, having absorbed the water and fire beads, calmed. Shedding its decayed parts, it revealed a white dragon bone, transforming into a red-and-blue-horned dragon.

Su Qing never imagined she’d ride a dragon.

Rain began falling in the realm, and a mirage appeared above the vanished Dragon Scale Island.

The heterochromatic dragon, carrying the trio, soared toward the sky’s illusion.