Chapter 191: Selvara’s Hell Training Pays Off
Deep beneath Garvek’s hidden courtyard, the air was damp, cold, and heavy with the smell of old blood.
Unlike the clean merchant courtyard above, the underground rooms looked exactly like what they were.
A damn rat nest.
Stone walls covered the passageways, iron cages lined the corners, and several sealed crates were stacked neatly beside a long wooden table.
Inside those crates were Qi restraints, slave contracts, and a few unconscious slaves who were about to be sent to different buyers before dawn.
Garvek stood beside the table, calmly sorting through a pile of items with one hand.
He was a thin middle-aged man with narrow eyes, a trimmed beard, and expensive gray robes that made him look more like a merchant than a bandit chief.
A servant beside him carefully recorded each item on a bamboo scroll.
Garvek picked up a jade bottle and clicked his tongue. "Send this one to the young master from the Hanau Family. He likes obedient ones."
The servant quickly nodded. "Yes, Chief Garvek."
Garvek then glanced at another crate. "As for those two, send them separately. Don’t put them on the same route. If one shipment gets discovered, the other can still arrive."
His voice was calm, almost bored.
After all, to him, this was not some evil act.
It was business.
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from the passage.
A subordinate rushed in, his face pale and covered in cold sweat. "Chief Garvek!"
Garvek frowned. "Why are you panicking?"
The subordinate dropped to one knee. "Someone attacked the base!"
Garvek’s eyes narrowed. "How many?"
The subordinate raised one trembling finger. "One person."
Garvek paused, his expression turning strange. "One?"
The subordinate swallowed hard. "Yes. He’s wearing black clothes, a black mask, and black gauntlets. He calls himself the Black Dragon."
Garvek stared at him silently.
The subordinate continued with a trembling voice, "He said he is a demonic cultivator, and tonight, he is starting his conquest to rule the world."
The room became quiet.
Garvek’s face twitched.
A moment later, he let out a cold laugh. "What kind of stupid bullshit is that?"
The subordinate lowered his head even more.
Garvek placed the jade bottle down and rubbed his temple. "Another idiot gained some strength and started thinking he’s the main character of the world?"
His eyes turned cold with disdain. "Black Dragon? Conquest? Rule the world? He sounds like some third-rate wannabe villain who hasn’t been beaten enough."
Two men standing near the wall opened their eyes.
Both carried Second Stage Golden Core auras.
One was broad-shouldered with a heavy saber on his back, while the other had pale skin and thin fingers covered in poison rings.
Garvek glanced at them. "Handle him."
The broad-shouldered man cracked his neck. "Understood."
The poison-ring cultivator smiled faintly. "Should we kill him or capture him?"
Garvek waved his hand impatiently. "Break his limbs first. If he has backing, we sell him back. If not, throw him into the cages and see whether some demonic sect wants to buy a crazy dog."
The two Second Stage Golden Core cultivators nodded.
Their auras rose as they walked toward the passage.
Garvek picked up another jade slip, his expression already returning to calm. "A Black Dragon, huh?"
He sneered. "Let’s see how long that stupid dragon can scream."
---
Back in the courtyard, Damian slowly turned his head toward the main hall.
Two Golden Core auras were rushing toward him.
One was heavy and fierce.
The other was cold and poisonous.
A moment later, the broad-shouldered saber cultivator and the pale poison-ring cultivator stepped out from the corridor, their robes fluttering as their pressure spread across the courtyard.
The saber cultivator looked at the broken guards on the ground and snorted. "You’re the idiot calling himself the Black Dragon?"
Damian tilted his head beneath the mask. "That depends. Are you here to kneel or die?"
The poison-ring cultivator’s eyes narrowed. "Arrogant little bastard."
Damian spread his arms lazily. "Come on. I’ll let you attack first."
The saber cultivator’s face darkened. "You’ll regret that."
His Qi exploded, wrapping around his saber like a roaring beast.
"[Mountain Splitting Saber]!"
He rushed forward and swung with both hands.
BOOM!
The saber light crashed down like a falling boulder.
At the same time, the poison-ring cultivator flicked his fingers.
"[Hundred Venom Serpent Needles]!"
Dozens of green-black needles shot through the air, each one carrying poisonous Qi strong enough to rot flesh and cripple meridians.
From the hillside, Linsey’s face changed. "Master!"
Helena’s hand tightened around her weapon. "He’s not dodging."
Damian really did not move.
He stood there calmly as the saber light fell and the poison needles reached him.
A second later, the attacks landed.
BANG!
Dust exploded across the courtyard.
The saber cultivator’s eyes shone with cruel satisfaction. "Hmph. Acting tough only gets you killed."
The poison-ring cultivator smiled coldly. "Idiot."
Then the dust slowly scattered.
Damian was still standing there.
The massive saber was pressed against his shoulder, but it had not cut through.
The poison needles had struck his chest and arms, but they had snapped against his skin and black gauntlets like brittle twigs.
Damian slowly lifted his head.
His mask hid most of his face, but his voice sounded delighted. "That’s it?"
The two Golden Core cultivators froze.
Damian rolled his shoulder, and the saber was pushed away by pure physical strength.
His body had endured Selvara’s hell training.
His meridians had survived Chaos Qi compression.
His flesh had been strengthened again and again by countless body-strengthening pills and his Chaos Dragon Bloodline.
Against ordinary Golden Core cultivators like them, his body alone was already a nightmare.
Damian stepped forward.
His black gauntlets flexed slowly, and chaotic light crawled across the sharp knuckles like hungry flames.
"Good."
His voice carried a twisted excitement.
"Now it’s my turn."
The saber cultivator tried to retreat, but Damian’s hand shot out and grabbed his face.
THUD!
Damian slammed him into the stone floor hard enough to split the tiles.
The poison-ring cultivator’s face turned pale. "Monster..."
Damian slowly turned toward him, laughing beneath the mask. "No."
His black gauntlet tightened around the saber cultivator’s head, pressing him harder into the cracked ground.
"I’m the Black Dragon."