With half a game of chess, I vanquish all demons!

"Me? I am a curse!"

The black cloud dragon revealed its sharp teeth and grinned wickedly. Its innocent expression suddenly turned into a mischievous and cute look, like a child who had successfully pulled off some prank.

"A curse? What curse?"

Zhao Yao frowned even more deeply and subconsciously took half a step back to distance himself from the black mist.

The black cloud dragon floated in mid-air, hands on its hips, swaying its body triumphantly, its voice clear and crisp like a bell:

"Those who kill members of the royal family will be cursed."

Don't you know? This is the rule, a rule set by the royal family!

"rule?"

Zhao Yao raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes."

The black cloud dragon circled him once, leaving a thin trail of black energy, and threatened him with a frightening expression:

"Whoever kills a member of the royal bloodline will be cursed and will never have peace for all eternity!"

Impressive, right?

If you're so powerful, why don't you possess me?

Zhao Yao's thoughts raced, and he made up his mind.

He stood still, letting her fly around him, his face calm as still water, and said:

"What are the conditions for being cursed?"

"condition?"

The black cloud dragon stopped in front of him, tilted its head and thought for a moment, then pointed to its chin and said matter-of-factly:

"Naturally, whoever killed a member of the royal family is possessed."

"But I wasn't possessed by you."

Zhao Yao looked at her and pointed out the key point.

"Yeah, that's strange."

The small black cloud dragon looked puzzled.

That's a bit silly. It seems her living appearance is just an illusion; she doesn't actually possess independent thinking abilities...

Could it simply be a manifestation of some kind of spirituality?

Zhao Yao gazed at the black cloud dragon, pondering its movements, and then spoke up to offer a reminder:

"How does the curse determine who killed Yun Chi or a member of the royal family?"

"Whoever exudes a murderous aura and harbors murderous intent is the one."

The black cloud dragon shook its head, looking completely confident.

"That's not allowed."

Zhao Yao said calmly.

"Eh?"

The black cloud dragon froze, its small face full of confusion:

"Why not?"

"Because I was the one who killed the cloud dragon, but I had no intention of killing it."

As Zhao Yao explained, his body completely relaxed.

"No intention to kill?"

The black cloud dragon moved closer, its small nose formed by black energy almost touching Zhao Yao's face.

She looked him up and down, as if trying to find a flaw in his face:

"Since you've already killed them, how could you not have the will to kill them?"

Zhao Yao's gaze followed hers, his eyes clear as water, and he calmly said:

"That's just my nature; I'm naturally inclined to hate others very little."

I like it more than anything else.

I love the beauty of all things in the world, and I appreciate the beauty of all things in the world…

He paused here, thinking of Yan Rouyun.

"Heave-ho!"

He took a deep breath and continued:

"Killing Yun Chi is just something I have to do."

It wasn't that I hated her, nor was it that I was bloodthirsty; it was that I needed to do it, so I did it.

"..."

The black cloud dragon stared into his eyes for a long time, and the mischievous smile on its little face gradually disappeared, replaced by an indescribable expression.

She stepped back a little and muttered:

"This is so boring..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Yao suddenly raised her hand, and a jade-colored radiance surged from her palm, covering the black cloud dragon.

"Hey? What are you doing?"

The black cloud dragon cried out in alarm and turned to run away, its small legs, formed from black energy, flapping rapidly in the air.

Zhao Yao moved even faster, his jade-like radiance enveloping the black cloud dragon within it.

"Help me~..."

She struggled a few times in the jade net, which shrank smaller and smaller, engulfing her body, silencing her voice, and drawing her into the jade block, solidifying into a jade pendant the size of a thumb.

The jade pendant is smooth and lustrous, with ink-colored patterns spreading across its surface. It is inlaid in the center of the jade pendant, resembling a sleeping dragon.

Zhao Yao took the jade pendant in his hand, examined it over and over to make sure it was sealed tightly, and then put it into his jade ring.

"Keep it for now, we'll talk about it later."

Zhao Yao muttered to himself, then turned and walked toward the dragon corpse of Yun Chi.

The dragon's corpse lay sprawled on the rocky beach.

Under the moonlight, the dragon's scales shimmered with a deep blue luster.

He crouched down, placed his hand on the dragon's corpse, and the jade ring flashed. The enormous dragon corpse slowly shrank and was absorbed into the ring.

After carefully collecting the dragon's corpse, Zhao Yao stood up and looked out at the sea.

Night had fallen, and the sea was pitch black, with only the distant horizon gleaming faintly with silver light.

puff~

He raised his hand and waved it, and jade-like light surged around him, condensing into a small, white, jade-like boat on the sea.

pat~

He lightly leaped onto the bow of the small jade boat, which began to move forward silently.

Under the night.

The jade boat, gleaming with a soft light, carried him and drifted into the depths of the sea.

……

As the sky begins to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

With his exceptional eyesight, Zhao Yao spotted a ship in the distance.

It was a three-masted sailing ship, old and worn, with several patches on the sails, and it was drafting deep, as if it were carrying a lot of cargo.

A thin, dark-skinned man stood at the bow of the ship, looking around with a monocular telescope.

telescope?

Is this some kind of disordered material?

It shouldn't be...

In a flash, Zhao Yao retrieved the jade boat, fell into the water, and swam towards the other boat.

"Help--"

He shouted, not loudly, but it carried far across the vast sea.

As if hearing his cry for help, the dark-skinned, thin man at the bow of the boat trembled as he held the binoculars and immediately looked in this direction.

He paused for a moment, then turned and shouted at the top of his lungs into the cabin:

Someone's there!

There's someone in the water! Throw the rope quickly!

In an instant, the boat became lively, with footsteps and shouts blending together.

A moment later, a thick hemp rope was lowered from the ship's side, and several sailors leaned over the railing to look down, their faces filled with curiosity and tension.

wow~

wow~

Zhao Yao swam to the side of the boat, grabbed the rope, and climbed up in a few quick movements, landing on the deck.

pat~

He stood on the deck, soaking wet, and bowed to the crowd with clasped hands.

"Thank you all for saving my life."

"Don't mention it. We make a living at sea; how could we not save someone who has fallen into the water?"

The speaker was a middle-aged man in his forties.

He had dark skin and a weathered face. He wore a faded short jacket and had a short knife at his waist. He looked Zhao Yao up and down, his gaze lingering on his face before glancing at his clothes. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

A delicate-skinned scholar...

His movements were so swift and precise, it didn't seem like he was a martial artist.

The middle-aged man looked at him and asked directly:

"Brother, where did you come from? How did you fall into the water?"

"The boat encountered a storm, capsized, and drifted for a whole night."

Zhao Yao answered casually, water dripping down his clothes.

"storm?"

The middle-aged man repeated the words, looked up at the cloudless sky, then at the mirror-like sea, his lips twitched, but he didn't ask any further questions.

He turned to the other sailors and gave them instructions:

"Go and get me some dry clothes and a bowl of hot soup."

Thank you.

But it's not necessary.

Zhao Yao waved his hand.

hum~

A jade-colored radiance exploded from his body, instantly expelling the moisture.

"This... "

Everyone on the ship was speechless at the sight.

"Wow, that's awesome, bro!"