Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

The sudden visit from the Feathered Clan of South State truly surprised the Azure Dragon Clan.

In the eyes of the high-ranking members of the Dragon Clan, the Xuanwu Clan of North State was the most likely to formally visit.

After all, they were facing a two-against-one situation, simultaneously combating the Qilin Clan and the White Tiger Clan, and were undoubtedly overextended.

If North State's Xuanwu could successfully rally Eastern State's Azure Dragon and South State's Vermilion Bird, they would create the so-called "vertical alliance," attacking Central State from three directions. Then, West State's White Tiger, isolated and overwhelmed, would have no choice but to surrender.

If they failed to persuade the Azure Dragon Clan, then even though the Xuanwu and Vermilion Bird alliance could stand against the combined forces of the Qilin and White Tiger, if the Azure Dragon of Eastern State sided with the Qilin of Central State, and coupled with the White Tiger of West State, it would form the so-called "horizontal alliance." The Xuanwu and Vermilion Bird then, split between north and south, would each fight alone and were almost certain to be defeated.

Therefore, when Gui Ling'er came to visit, the Dragon Clan's upper echelon also admonished Long Long, telling him to take good care of this little turtle.

Besides the Xuanwu Clan, the next likely visitors would naturally be the Qilin or the White Tiger.

The reason, as mentioned before: winning over the Dragon Clan was a crucial component for victory, but considering Long Long and his comrades had once suffered assassination attempts and plots in Central State, the Qilin would have to pay a price if they truly wished to form an alliance.

Of course, the least likely to visit were from the Feathered Clan of South State since the relationship between the two was not deep, and the Vermilion Bird was far less concerned with the outcome of the war than the Qilin, Xuanwu, and White Tiger.

Yet, the current situation was that the Vermilion Bird was the first to visit, which is why the Dragon Clan hurriedly arranged hospitality, for fear of appearing rude and being ridiculed.

The Feathered Clan from South State liked to wear splendid attire, preferring mostly vibrant colors. It's said that each member of the Feathered Clan had their own unique dyeing formula, and they would deliberately distinguish the colors to avoid making the mistake of wearing the colors of the high nobility, to avoid the Feathered Clan's cruel punishment of "plucking feathers."

The Feathered Clan members now sitting in the reception room were clearly wearing two colors: the ones in intense red were of the Vermilion Bird, and the ones in brilliant gold were of the Golden Crow.

Long Long, Long Hu, and Gui Ling'er, led by several attendants, entered the main hall. As soon as they stepped in, two gazes fell upon him.

Seated in the foremost guest position was a young and beautiful woman with long hair dressed in red, with delicate phoenix-like eyes, who was chatting and laughing with Clan Leader Qin Beiwang:

"Is this the Long Long who discovered the ancient ruins on Divine Dragon Island? He truly comes from noble lineage; such an impressive appearance indeed."

"Indeed," Qin Beiwang called Long Long over, "come and greet Princess Feng Yan."

"No need for formalities," the princess from the Vermilion Bird raised her hand lightly, "though I have a retainer who, having heard me praise you a few times, is somewhat unconvinced and would like to have a competition with you."

Long Long: ???

"I dare not," he quickly declined with a bow, "on Divine Dragon Island, it was merely a stroke of luck..."

"Jin Yan." The princess dismissed his refusal and called out languidly.

At her side, a young Golden Crow Cultivator in a golden robe immediately stood up, bowed, and said:

"Golden Crow Cultivator Jin Yan, wishes to learn from your esteemed skills."

Clan Leader Qin Beiwang looked slightly taken aback, seemingly wanting to say something, but Princess Feng Yan immediately spoke up:

"It's just a friendly match. Moreover, I've heard that Long Long, even before his Transformation, once single-handedly escorted someone's daughter, braving a long journey from South State to Eastern State. Is that not so? With such strength, I'm sure he can teach a lesson to my overconfident retainer."

Before their Transformation, members of the Demon Race did not possess the basic rights of cultivators; even if they were killed, they had no recourse. Making it through two states untransformed was indeed something to boast about.

However, Qin Beiwang could vaguely sense that this princess of the Feathered Clan was probing for something. Considering there really was no need to refuse, he turned his gaze toward Long Long.

Helpless, Long Long could only lead the Golden Crow Cultivator away from the Jianmu, musing in his heart:

It's probably because Long Hu and I activated the Teleportation Array using the Golden Crow True Fire Fan inside the Fire Element Cave at the Tri-foot Mountain Range, and the Golden Crow Clan on the ground detected it!

No, they might even have gone underground and found the Teleportation Formation archway left behind!

Without the Golden Crow True Fire Fan, they certainly can't activate the Formation, but discovering that Long Hu and I disappeared from the cave for no reason, they will inevitably suspect us.

Considering that the other end of the Formation is the secret realm of the Fusang Divine Tree land that the Golden Crow Cultivators yearn for… Long Long came to this realization and was already certain that the Feathered Clan came looking for them this time because of this matter.

Otherwise, why would the Vermilion Bird Clan bring the Cultivators of the Golden Crow Clan instead of the many other Feathered Clans? What does that signify?

When Long Long reached the outer expanse of Duanguang Plains, he watched the eager Golden Crow Cultivator and sneered inwardly.

"Please enlighten me!" said the Golden Crow Cultivator stiffly, and immediately transformed into his Golden Crow True Body, flapping his wings and rising into the sky.

Long Long didn't bother with idle talk either, revealing his Jiaolong True Body and soaring into the sky.

Just as he gained altitude, he saw the Golden Crow Cultivator rapidly flapping his wings, sending a barrage of spherical flames toward him like a dense volley of gunfire.

This Golden Crow Cultivator had bloodline powers belonging to the Bing Fire of the Five Elements, specializing in mastering Fire System Spells, and it's well known that among the Five Elements, the Metal System and Fire System possess uniquely strong offensive capabilities, with Geng Metal and Bing Fire being the strongest. Hence, the indiscriminate attack of the Golden Crow's flames was a particularly sharp tactic against most Demon Race members lacking in combat experience.

But was Long Long a common member of the Demon Race? When sparring with Junior Sister Xu on a daily basis, he had already grown accustomed to dealing with Great Bright Fire. Moreover, since this Golden Crow Cultivator was only at the Transformation Realm, his Golden Crow flames didn't have nearly the fierceness and power of the Golden Crow True Fire wielded by the small fox. Therefore, Long Long remained unfazed, merely maneuvering his dragon body a few times before quickly moving out of the reach of the Golden Crow's flames.

The Golden Crow Cultivator was somewhat surprised to see him opt to retreat without hesitation.

In his past battles with Cultivators from the Dragon Clan, due to the generally cold and violent nature of the Dragons, they often wouldn't flee directly from the Golden Crow's fire but would mostly counter with Water System Spells.

However, his Flame Divine Skill was far stronger than those of a similar realm, and if the opponent countered with Water System Spells, his flames could turn water into high-temperature steam, thereby burning the opponent's scales and body.

As for Long Long... With such an experienced tactical awareness, he was clearly not an ordinary member of the Dragon Clan.

Realizing this, the Golden Crow Cultivator flapped his wings again, his expression clearly becoming more serious.

Interesting, let's have a good time! The feathers on its wings erupted in a jet of flames, suddenly accelerating in a dive toward Long Long, making a close approach almost instantaneously and sending its sharp claws quickly towards the three-inch area near Long Long's neck.

This was the Martial Technique "Capturing Dragon Claw" of the Golden-Winged Roc Clan, specifically aimed at the Dragon's "neck area", which was the most difficult point for a Jiaolong to exert force while twisting its body.

If he was caught by its claws and then hit with a Golden Crow Flame Burst, he would likely be left half-dead or crippled.

On the distant stands, Clan Leader Qin Beiwang also felt a shock surge through him because the Golden Crow Cultivator, named Jin Yan, was clearly faster than other Feathered Clan Cultivators of the same Realm. If Long Long wasn't prepared for the sudden attack, it could be bad!

Before he could voice any words of intervention, he saw the Golden Crow stretch out its claws like lightning, aiming for the vulnerable neck of Long Long.

The next second, it grasped at thin air.

Because Long Long had suddenly transformed into human form, his body quickly shrinking, just in time to dodge the Golden Crow's claw strike.

He stomped down with his foot, landing on his Dragon Chant Sword that he had just summoned, and then transformed into a Sword Light, instantly circling behind the Golden Crow and stabbing fiercely at its back.

The Golden Crow also reacted rapidly, deciding to directly withstand the Sword Light, taking the opportunity to recondense Fire System Spells for a counterattack, but it didn't expect the sword to separate from Long Long again before it could hit its steel-like feathers. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

Just as Long Long completed the close approach behind the Golden Crow, he suddenly reverted to his Jiaolong True Body, tightly coiling around the Golden Crow's body.

The Golden Crow immediately imitated, transforming into a human-shaped Dharma Body, trying to avoid the Jiaolong's strangulation by shrinking its body... Only to be hit hard in the back the moment it shifted to human form.

Long Long had feigned an attempt to strangle him, luring out his Transformation skill, and then lashed him hard on the back with his tail, completely smashing him into the ground.