Each piece of meat was cut to roughly the same size, ensuring a fair share among residents. After everyone received their portion, the crowd in the square had mostly dispersed.
The once-mighty flood dragon had been reduced to a skeletal frame. Its black bones were perfectly intact and highly valuable for collectors. Li Zhizhong placed the frame back on the cart and headed down another street.
When he passed Xu Zimo, he stopped. Seeing Xu Zimo's empty hands, he took one of the remaining pieces of dragon meat from the cart, smiled broadly, and handed it to him.
Xu Zimo smiled in return and accepted the meat. Li Zhizhong then resumed pushing his cart and disappeared around a corner into the pouring rain.
The drizzling rain turned into a downpour. Raindrops fell like strings of pearls from the eaves.
The soft pitter-patter of rain filled the air.
Xu Zimo walked back into the inn, shook off the rain, and ordered a few small dishes and a pot of warm wine at a table by the window.
He always enjoyed this kind of season.
...
“Enjoy your meal, sir,” the waiter said with a smile as he placed the wine and dishes in front of Xu Zimo.
“Hey, I wanted to ask you something,” Xu Zimo placed a spirit crystal on the table and smiled.
“Ask anything, sir. You don't need to give me that much,” the waiter said, eyes flickering between hope and unease at the crystal.
“You keep it,” Xu Zimo said.
“You know Li Zhizhong, right?” Xu Zimo asked.
“Dragon-slaying hero? Everyone in Seaside City knows him. He's more famous than the City Lord,” the waiter replied with a grin.
“Tell me his story,” Xu Zimo nodded.
“It’s a long story,” the waiter thought for a moment before responding. “If you’re not in a hurry, I’ll tell it slowly.”
...
“Our Seaside City is a border town, desolate and underdeveloped. No one wants to come here. Even the Ocean-Covering Empire barely manages it. For us, daily life is tough enough, let alone cultivation,” the waiter explained sadly.
“We’re near the Endless Sky Sea, which is like a treasure trove, sea creatures and resources are abundant. Locals rely on the sea to survive. But long ago, a group of flood dragons moved into those waters. We call them evil dragons. They took over the waters, and anyone who went to fish got eaten. People were terrified.”
“Doesn’t the Empire do anything about it?” Xu Zimo asked curiously.
“Sir, there are two threats: the dragons at sea and the Seaside Wolves on land. They’re both extremely cunning. They don’t stay in one place. The Empire sent forces multiple times but never wiped them out completely, so they gave up.”
“What does that have to do with Li Zhizhong?” Xu Zimo asked.
“Li Zhizhong has always had an enormous appetite, even as a child he could eat as much as three adults. His parents struggled to feed him and ventured into the Endless Sky Sea for food once. They were killed by a flood dragon. He was twenty then. One stormy night, he left to search for them and didn’t return for nearly a month. We thought he was dead, but half a month later, he returned dragging a flood dragon’s corpse. Since then, he earned the title of dragon-slaying hero. We villagers agreed: he would kill flood dragons to protect us, and we would feed him. He even shared the meat with us. It filled our stomachs and was rich in spiritual energy, great for cultivation. He became more famous than the city mayor.”
“Do you know him well?” Xu Zimo asked.
“Not really; he’s a loner,” the waiter replied. “Quiet and reserved. He lives in a small house in the north of town, has no friends, and rarely speaks unless spoken to.”
“I see,” Xu Zimo nodded. After finishing his meal, he returned to his room.
He was intrigued by Li Zhizhong. He could tell he’d never cultivated, yet he killed a flood dragon, which, though only at the Desolate Meridian Realm, was no ordinary foe. Li Zhizhong’s strength must be astonishing, almost at the Paragon Meridian level. His blood seemed to boil like boiling water, full of raw energy.
...
After spending one night in Seaside City, Xu Zimo left early the next morning. Using the old map, he headed toward the Endless Sky Sea to search for the Supreme-Yang Solar-Illumination.
The map was ancient, back then, the Primordial Heartlands hadn’t split into five continents, so many locations on it were unreliable.
He walked near the coast. Last night’s rain had stopped, but the sky remained overcast.
After walking a while, he suddenly heard howls. He looked to see a hillside ahead with dozens of wolves, giant and pitch-black.
When they saw him, the pack charged in a frenzy, howling wildly.
“Annoying,” Xu Zimo frowned. These had to be the Seaside Wolves the waiter mentioned, the other threat.
He casually slapped the air. A spiritforce hand formed above him. There was a loud “boom” as it descended, annihilating the wolf pack instantly. It left a massive five-fingered mark on the barren grassland.
The surviving wolves fled in terror, tails between their legs, howling as they ran.
Without stopping further, Xu Zimo continued south. Near the coast, he spotted a row of wooden structures, like inns or warehouses, by the shoreline.
Most were abandoned and falling apart, roofs collapsed. Only the front-most building was occupied; the rest were deserted.