# Chapter 164: Killing Intent
Could the true form of the Old Man of the Heavenly Treasury be a dragon?
Gao Jing's heart was shaken with doubt.
This truly defied all understanding. The Old Man of the Heavenly Treasury was an existence of the present age, and the dragon race had vanished from the world long before this.
The present age, in the general sense, referred to the period from the first year of the Dao Calendar to the current year, 3918.
In other words, the dragon race had not appeared in human eyes for nearly four thousand years—perhaps even longer.
If the Old Man of the Heavenly Treasury was truly a dragon, someone should have discovered it long ago.
Was it because of this reason that the Old Man of the Heavenly Treasury had later disappeared?
Gao Jing cut short his thoughts. Now was not the time to investigate historical secrets; those did not matter. What mattered was that this place bore the name of the Heavenly Treasury Dragon Palace, and the opportunity of the divine-power Inner Prefecture very likely lay within.
He did not know whether he was the first to discover that the path lay in the water.
Had someone arrived before him? Or did each person see a different Heavenly Treasury Dragon Palace?
Following the long passage forward, Gao Jing came to a halt.
Because behind the Crimson Jade Archway, he saw a person.
That cowardly boy of the Zhang clan with Zhou Heavenly Circulation cultivation... his name was Zhang Yong, was it not?
"You're here alone? Where are the others?" Gao Jing held no particular designs on him at this point. Everyone had already entered the Heavenly Treasury Secret Realm; the slots were gone. Driving him out would serve no purpose.
But his tone was hardly courteous.
The Jinghai Gao clan, as a "rising house" of the Qi Kingdom, had always bristled at those ancient noble families who considered themselves the old guard. They believed such families were out of touch with the times and should have been swept away by history long ago. This was also the source of his earlier displeasure that Zhang Yong, with his weak cultivation, had claimed a slot through mere ancestral privilege.
Zhang Yong seemed entirely unconcerned by what had transpired by the Full Moon Pool. He jerked a thumb behind himself and said casually, "They're all inside the Dragon Palace. There are five Dragon Palaces underwater in total, and each one holds only a single divine-power seed opportunity."
Gao Jing immediately wanted to rush into the palace, but checked himself, asking warily, "How do you know?"
"There." Zhang Yong tipped his chin forward. "It says so right there."
Looking where he indicated, the back of the Crimson Jade Archway was indeed inscribed with simple rules.
Five Dragon Palaces beneath the water. Each palace admitted a maximum of ten people, and each held a single opportunity.
And behind this Crimson Jade Archway, the character "Two" was carved—presumably marking it as the second of the five Dragon Palaces.
Most people, dazzled by the sight of the Heavenly Treasury Dragon Palace, would not think to examine the back of the archway.
"How many did you see go in?" Gao Jing asked.
"Five."
Gao Jing nodded and was about to walk into the Dragon Palace.
Zhang Yong added, "By the way, another person from your Gao clan went in too. But I heard his scream earlier—he seems to have been killed already."
Gao Jing's expression darkened. Entering the Heavenly Treasury Secret Realm, he had of course prepared himself for such an eventuality. Still, it was regrettable to lose a helper.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Don't imagine that telling me this will make me go soft. You'd do well to keep hiding here. But if you dare come in and compete with me for the opportunity, I will show no quarter."
"It's fine." Zhang Yong finally pulled his gaze away from the Crimson Jade Archway and looked at Gao Jing, smiling.
"I just wanted you to die knowing why."
...
The interior of the Heavenly Treasury Dragon Palace was the height of extravagance. Anyone with an eye for value, upon entering, would be dazzled and bewitched.
Jiang Wang, on the other hand, was perfectly calm.
He did not recognize a single material. Pearls, rare wood—to him they were simply somewhat prettier.
Before entering the Dragon Palace, he had observed the introduction on the back of the Crimson Jade Archway and knew that the palace was likely where the direct competition would take place. He still did not know what form the opportunity of the divine-power Inner Prefecture would take.
This Dragon Palace bore the number four.
Jiang Wang estimated that he belonged to the fourth batch of people to discover the path in the water; after all, he had lost considerable time on the riverbank.
But it was also possible that the order of entry into the Dragon Palaces was shuffled. Nothing was certain.
He had just finished searching the main hall when he heard footsteps behind him.
Jiang Wang spun around.
Ever since entering the Heavenly Treasury Secret Realm, he had maintained a state of combat readiness at all times. Especially inside the Dragon Palace—letting one's guard down was the last thing one should do.
For the back of the Crimson Jade Archway had only described the maximum number of entrants per palace. There was no minimum.
This meant... one could kill everyone inside, then take one's time searching the palace at leisure, without having to wait for the opportunity to appear and then contend with a crowd.
Jiang Wang himself had no intention of doing so, but he could not guarantee that others would not think the same.
"The heart must harbor no intent to harm" was a maxim not everyone believed in, but "the heart must never lack vigilance against harm"—that was surely the truth.
The person who entered had clearly come from excellent breeding. Raised in luxury, his bearing carried an unmistakable air of nobility.
"Might you be a friend of the Chongxuan clan?" The man smiled before speaking. "Outside, I saw you with Chongxuan Sheng. I am Tian Yong."
"Jiang Wang." Jiang Wang maintained an appropriate distance.
Tian Yong did not waste words. After a survey of the hall, he said to Jiang Wang, "I'll take the left wing hall; Brother Jiang takes the right. Each relies on luck—how does that sound?"
"Fine." There was nothing to be gained in the main hall regardless, so Jiang Wang turned and headed for the right wing hall.
He did not object to killing, but neither did he believe killing was the best approach. Especially now, when the opportunity had yet to appear—it was not yet time for contention.
If Tian Yong had no intention of striking early, so much the better. But if he meant to play some trick of a blow from behind, Jiang Wang's hand had never strayed from his sword hilt.
Dragon Palace was a very distant concept for Jiang Wang. Dragons were creatures of myth.
In many legends, Dragon Palace represented the ultimate in luxury and splendor. What he saw now was indeed just that.
The wing hall was quiet, with only the sound of his own footsteps.
Evergreens burned throughout the hall; the flames seemed to have flickered for thousands of years.
Since entering the Heavenly Treasury Secret Realm, he had not encountered any other living beings. Perhaps the only living creatures within the realm were the cultivators who had entered.
This Dragon Palace was no different.
The reason he had agreed to explore the right wing hall was that Trace-Quest indicated Chongxuan Sheng was also in this direction.
But within the Dragon Palace, there were no signs of passage.
"Is the Heavenly Treasury Secret Realm a place where the real and the illusory intermingle? Half true, half false?"
Jiang Wang searched as he walked, not letting any place go unchecked.
No one knew what form the opportunity would take, or how it would appear.
After searching several wing halls in succession, he still found nothing.
Time trickled away, and Jiang Wang grew gradually impatient.
At that moment, he suddenly heard a scream!
It was Tian Yong's voice.
From the main hall just ahead.
Jiang Wang turned instantly, threading through halls and doorways like lightning. In less than ten breaths, he had returned to the Dragon Palace's main hall.
Standing scattered about the hall were five people.
To be precise, four of them had faintly surrounded a man wearing a wealthy man's hat.
They appeared to be cultivators who had entered the Dragon Palace after Jiang Wang and Tian Yong had split up to search.
At the feet of the wealthy-hatted cultivator, Tian Yong lay rigid on the ground, his face a livid blue, all breath gone—thoroughly, irrevocably dead.