Chapter 171: 171. Song of the Storms – 2

The Storm Dragon stared at William with widened eyes; the calm expression he had maintained until now was visibly disturbed.

“How do you know all this? ” he asked in shock; his tone was no longer playful.

William did not shift his posture or panic. He remained seated with confidence; his expression was composed.

He had carefully watched Yun Long’s reactions from the moment he mentioned the true origin of the Tempest Sword. What reassured him about the situation the most was not the old dragon’s shock itself, but the absence of rage in his tone.

The old dragon had not unleashed his aura or tried anything funny like threatening him.

That alone told William that Yun Long was not blinded by arrogance and could see the consequences of his reckless actions. He was not impulsive like other dragons.

“Well, I can’t tell you how I know. That is a trade secret.”

He leaned slightly forward and rested his elbows near the edge of the low table.

“The only reason I reminded you of this fact is to make something clear. Until the real owner of the tempest sword technique tells me to stop using it, I will continue to use it.”

His eyes did not blink as he spoke.

“However,” he added with a small smile, “I can promise that my mouth will remain sealed about your secret.”

He raised his index finger gently and placed it in front of his lips in a light gesture.

The Storm Dragon had already regained his composure. He lowered his gaze to the polished wooden surface of the table; his fingers remained frozen in place as the aftereffect of the heavy realization.

The silence stretched for several seconds.

Finally, he looked up again.

“What do you need?” he asked.

William tilted his head slightly, as if confused.

“Need what?”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed faintly.

“What do you need in exchange for taking an oath under the name of the heavens?” Yun Long clarified in a firm tone.

William’s lips curved faintly. “You were quick to catch on.”

He slowly raised his hand and extended all five fingers.

“Five summons,” he said clearly. “You will take an oath to respond to five summons of mine and fight against my enemies whenever I call you.”

The expression on the storm dragon’s face shifted.

“Are you serious, brat?” Yun Long’s voice rose, and irritation flashed in his eyes.

“Do you think I am joking?” William answered without the slightest hint of retreat, making the old dragon exhale sharply and raise two fingers of his own.

“Make it two.”

“Four.”

“Three,” Yun Long countered firmly, holding up three fingers.

William clicked his tongue softly. “Tsk, fine.”

Outwardly, he appeared mildly annoyed. Internally, the system could almost hear his even laughter.

Yun Long straightened his back and regained his dignity.

“Before the oath,” he said slowly, “tell me who else knows about this.”

“No one,” William replied without hesitation.

A deep frown appeared on the dragon’s face. “What do you mean, ’no one’?”

“I mean exactly what I said,” William answered in a plain tone. “No one else.”

“Then who told you?” Yun Long’s voice rose slightly, unable to hide the weight of the question.

“All I can tell is that it’s not someone from Aris,” William replied calmly.

That answer caused the dragon’s brows to knit together even more tightly.

“Add that statement to your oath,” Yun Long said, pointing at William with fingers that trembled just slightly. The implications of what William had just suggested were too significant to ignore.

William nodded without resistance.

He started taking his oath clearly.

“I, William Kaiser, take an oath under the name of the heavens. The secret about Storm Dragon Yun Long and Sword Saint Klaus’s origins will remain within my heart as long as Yun Long fulfills his oath. The secret about their origins has neither been shared by me nor shared to me by anyone on the Aris continent.”

When he finished, the hall became silent.

Yun Long inhaled sharply as he saw no backlash or rejection to the oath by the heavens; that meant that the heavens had accepted his words.

That meant William had spoken the truth.

Which meant the source of that knowledge was beyond Aris.

The realization unsettled him, but before his thoughts could spiral further, he exhaled and spoke his own oath; his voice was resonant and solemn.

“I, Yun Long, Dragon of Storms, take an oath…”

A few seconds passed as he finished taking the oath.

William listened carefully to every word. He checked his words carefully, ensuring no loopholes. Once satisfied, he nodded slowly.

“I think I should leave now,” William said calmly as he stood. “You need time to process this.”

He gave a small smile. “And do not worry. I will not misuse your oath.”

Yun Long remained expressionless.

“As you walk through the door behind, you will be able to return,” he said quietly.

With a wave of his hand, three small jade tokens appeared in the air and floated toward William. “These may be used to summon me.”

William accepted them without comment.

He stepped back and turned toward a door that had appeared at the far end of the hall. His footsteps echoed softly across the wooden floor.

Behind him, the Storm Dragon watched his back in silence. There was no hostility in his gaze. There was no warmth either. What remained was unsettled curiosity and alarm.

He had summoned this boy to examine him; instead, he now had more questions than answers.

Just before reaching the door, William paused.

A thought surfaced, and he turned around.

“By the way,” he said casually, meeting Yun Long’s eyes again, “why didn’t you try to kill me when I used your secret to bargain?”

William knew Yun Long would not have killed him outright. At worst, he would have tested him. Yet the dragon had not even released even a suppressive aura.

That was unusual.

Yun Long held his gaze. “The storm told me not to,” he answered.

William raised an eyebrow slightly.

“You listened to the storm?”

The old dragon’s expression softened faintly.

“The storm has saved my life countless times. I trust it more than I trust myself.”

William smiled lightly. “Storm is smart.”

He turned before the dragon could react to that comment.

He stepped through the door, and in the next instant, the palace vanished.

He stood back inside his dorm room.

[The hell, host!!! Why did you play with your life?

William rolled his shoulders.

“No, I mean… you had the teleportation scrolls ready, right?”

[Yess, Do you think that lizard would have given you a chance to escape if he truly wanted to kill you?]

William walked calmly toward his table.

“Why are you whining? We secured a great deal.”

[You are too reckless.]

“Yun Long is an elder astral warden; every step he takes, he has to justify in front of the council. If he had killed me before knowing about how many more people I told about this, then there was a chance that his secret might have been exposed to other astral wardens, and that would make him the biggest enemy of the council.”

“Do you think he would have risked killing me only to summon his own death?”

[But you just took an oath that no one on Aris knows about his secret except you, he just needed to silence you, didn’t he?]

“Yes, I did tell him that no one on Aris knows, but that statement only added the possibility that I have connections beyond the heavenly boundary; even if he is safe for now, he risks making big unknown enemies.”

“This fact acted more as a deterrent than as reassurance to him; even if the gods can’t descend right now, that doesn’t mean they never will, and he knows it too.”

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