Quentin Griffin gave his head a hard smack, placed his hand on his shoulder, and laughed, “I’ve said everything I needed to say. There’s just one last thing I want to entrust to you. Soon, the The Bennett Family will hold a family assembly, where the younger generation will compete in martial arts. The final champion will receive the The Bennett Family’s highest secret manual, ‘Dragon Seal’. This ‘Dragon Seal’ is the key for you to become a Dragon Warrior, so no matter what, you must get it for me. Remember, remember…”

This family assembly—Charles Griffin had indeed heard a bit about it, but it really had nothing to do with him.

“My strength is only good enough to beat up a few local thugs. If I go to the family assembly, I’ll just embarrass you, old man. And by the way, what the heck is a Dragon Warrior?”

“A Dragon Warrior… that’s a legend that disappeared long ago from the Dragon Sacrifice Continent…”

After saying this, Quentin Griffin still wore a smile on his face, his eyes full of longing, but the hand resting on Charles Griffin’s shoulder suddenly went limp and dropped, lifeless.

Charles Griffin was just about to ask what the Dragon Sacrifice Continent was, but then he saw Quentin Griffin’s arm fall weakly, and panic rose in his heart as he hurried to support Quentin Griffin.

Although his eyes were still open and his face still smiling, Charles Griffin realized he had lost all signs of life. This time, he was truly dead.

Charles Griffin’s mind was a complete mess.

Just a day ago, Quentin Griffin’s death was something he could accept. But when he started to dream of running away with this old ghost and living a carefree life, he ended up all alone…

Charles Griffin buried his head in pain.

“You listen to me—if you miss even one thing, I’ll make sure you die childless, even as a ghost.”

“I was never a good father. I didn’t take on even a shred of a father’s responsibility.”

“In this cruel world, your strength is everything. A man without strength is no better than a dog!”

“After I die, I hope that becoming stronger will be your lifelong pursuit.”

His words echoed in his ears again and again.

Charles Griffin had never expected that one day he would experience such a painful parting of life and death. He thought he’d long since lost his heart, but where did this heart-wrenching pain come from now?

It wasn’t until late at night, after confirming that this man would never wake up again, that Charles Griffin prepared to bury him.

Looking at the gaunt face of the man in the grave, Charles Griffin silently clenched his fists.

“Old man, I remember everything you said, and I’ll do as you asked. The things you told me to do—even if I waste my whole life, I’ll get them done for you. I’ve already changed my surname, and as for the Dragon Seal, that will have to wait. Becoming stronger isn’t something that happens overnight. And…”

He thought of what Quentin Griffin had said about digging out the dragon jade from his dantian.

“He’s already dead. If I desecrate his body, that’s a grave sin…”

Thinking this, he was about to give up, but then he reconsidered.

“No, that old ghost said the dragon jade was tormenting him, and he repeatedly urged me about it—there must be something more to it.”

Charles Griffin wasn’t one to hesitate. With that thought, he took out a dagger, glanced at Quentin Griffin one last time, took a deep breath, and cut open his dantian.

Sure enough, inside was a black jade pendant.

Charles Griffin placed the jade pendant on the ground, then tidied up Quentin Griffin’s body, covered it with earth, erected a tombstone, and after three bows and nine kowtows, he sat to the side, gazing at the strange jade pendant in his hand.

This was the mysterious dragon jade Quentin Griffin had spoken of.

“So it’s you who drained all his true energy and ruined his life?”

The mysterious dragon jade was a dragon-shaped jade pendant, carved with strange patterns, entirely black, the material looking very ordinary, even a bit old. Charles Griffin really couldn’t figure out how this thing could have tormented Quentin Griffin his whole life.

By now, night had fallen. Moonlight poured down, mist gradually filled the forest, and the mysterious dragon jade in Charles Griffin’s hand began to emit a faint glow. Charles Griffin was startled to find that the dragon jade in his hand had already disappeared.

“What’s going on?”

Before he could react, Charles Griffin felt a loud boom in his head, and his consciousness appeared in a gray, misty expanse. The mist churned endlessly, the sound of wind howled all around, and Charles Griffin couldn’t tell up from down—he could only look around in shock.

“This is exactly like the ‘sea of consciousness’ described in books. The sea of consciousness is the hiding place of the soul. Only after becoming a martial artist and opening the mind’s eye can one see the sea of consciousness. What’s happening to me?”

Shocked, Charles Griffin ran wildly through this sea of consciousness, but he felt he could never escape this endless mist. Just then, Charles Griffin saw a pitch-black, ancient dragon-shaped jade pendant floating before him, emitting a faint glow.

Opening his eyes, Charles Griffin’s gaze was full of suspicion and surprise.

“The mysterious dragon jade has entered my sea of consciousness. Is it trying to absorb my true energy?”

Charles Griffin was shocked.

“No way, I don’t even have any true energy. What’s it going to absorb, my farts?”

At that moment, a surge of powerful energy burst from the mysterious dragon jade, crossing the boundary between body and soul, and appeared in Charles Griffin’s dantian.

This surge of warm energy made Charles Griffin’s whole body feel wonderful.

“True energy?”

Chapter 3: Dragon Vein