Dragon Overlord Unbound

Author: Orville Lincoln

Chapter 1: Out of Prison and Straight to the Altar

Words : 2553 Updated : Jan 22nd, 2026

"Old man, I'm getting out. Take care of yourself." At the Zerton Women's Prison, Ander Yale watched the scruffy old man squatting on the floor, gnawing a chicken leg. His eyes were full of reluctant warmth. "Mm. Your five years are up. Time to roll," the old man grunted. He flipped the stripped bones aside and licked the grease from his lips. "But remember this-don't go around telling people you're a cultivator once you're out." "It's the Era of Declining Dharma. People only believe in science. As a cultivator, you'll cause a stir." Ander bowed his head. "Your disciple will heed Master's decree." Five years ago, a rich punk harassed Ander's girlfriend. Ander smashed the punk's head in and was sent to this Women's Prison. The female inmates were wolves. A man had finally fallen into their yard; Ander's fate went without saying. That night was worse than death. When it ended, the old man who had watched from the sidelines was stunned-Ander hadn't been drained dry. Curious, the old man examined him and discovered Ander bore a rare sacred physique for cultivation, a Pure Spirit Root. Thanks to that heaven-defying root, Ander survived the Women's Prison and its predators. That root was extraordinary-top-tier even in an age when the Dao flourished. In the Era of Declining Dharma, it was one in ten thousand. Overjoyed, the old man took Ander as his disciple and passed down everything he knew. There was a catch, though. The Nine Suns Divine Skill was domineering, but it held a fatal flaw: too fierce, prone to backlash. To balance yin and yang, its practitioners needed to seek partners of strong constitution for Dual Cultivation from time to time. In prison, with the female inmates "taking care" of him, it wasn't a problem. Once free, Ander would have to find his own solution. Smacking his lips, the old man offered one more warning. "Also, disciple-the Yale family of Dorlye is a behemoth." "I know you have a feud with them, and your strength now is plenty. But it's still not enough to move against the Yale family of Dorlye." "Train ten more years before you seek revenge. Remember." Ander lowered his gaze. "Your disciple understands." He agreed aloud, but something cold flashed in his eyes. Ten years? He couldn't wait. Back then, Braylon Yale, the heir of the Yale family of Dorlye-now its patriarch-was a lecher who spread his seed everywhere. After a drunken night, he forced himself on Ander's mother. Ander was born a bastard. His mother thought that since her child carried the Yale bloodline, the family would have to acknowledge them. She brought Ander to the Yale family's gate. They scorned them. They called her an ugly sparrow trying to land on a phoenix's branch, said a bastard had no place at the Yale family's door, told her she was delusional. When she demanded Braylon take responsibility, he flew into a rage. His men beat her half to death. He threatened that if she ever exposed the bastard child and damaged the Yale family of Dorlye's name, mother and son would end up without a grave. Desperate, Ander's mother fled Dorlye to Zerton and raised him there. She worked herself into illness and died with a grievance in her heart. That wound festered inside Ander. He'd been powerless then, no match for the Yale family of Dorlye. But on the path of cultivation, Ander did what others could not. His talent was extraordinary. He would pay them back-hard. One day, he would kick in the Yale family's gate in Dorlye, grind that heartless man's head under his heel, and ask him whether he was human-or an animal... Ander kowtowed three times to the old man and left the prison. He had barely walked out when the Women's Prison erupted in wails. "Old man, how could you let Ander go? What about the two hundred of us sisters?" "You rotten geezer, bring our little Ander back. Without him, I can't sleep!" "Ander was the only man who could hold up in our prison. Now he's gone, who's going to let us have our fun?" The moment Ander stepped through the prison gates, a wedding procession blocked his way. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Ander Yale?" Ander frowned. "That's me. What's this about?" The man in front smiled. "Ms. Lydia Juggins sent us. Mr. Yale, you walk out of prison and head straight to a wedding with Ms. Lydia." "Heh. Even we can only say-blessed by luck. Please, get in." Get in the car? Ander's brows knit. Lydia Juggins was the girlfriend for whom he had swung his fist five years ago. In the five years he spent inside, she hadn't visited him once. And now, the moment he got out, she wanted to marry him? She was that kindhearted? Ander was no longer the hot-blooded virgin he'd been. He let out a dry laugh and got into the car. He wanted to see what trick Lydia planned to play. The luxury convoy, drums and gongs beating, rolled all the way to the Juggins Villa. The Juggins family was first-class in Zerton, with a lofty pedigree. In the villa's grand hall, Lydia Juggins stood in a lavish gown, an amused smile playing at her lips. "Cousin Alexis, Ander will be here any minute." "Heh, congratulations-you found the perfect match." "Sure, he did time. But paired with a fool? That's still workable." Alexis Juggins had once been the Juggins family's number-one debutante, one of Zerton's top beauties. A strange illness had damaged her brain. She'd become a simpleton. She didn't understand Lydia's sneer. She just giggled twice, vacant and sweet. Her mother, Emery Casson, burst into tears. She glared at Alexis's father, Quinton Juggins. "You're really going to sit and watch?" "Hand our girl-born a jewel-over to an ex-convict? How can you stomach it?" Quinton sighed. "After that illness, Alexis's mind and body both failed. Now she's a cripple in all but name." "The old master says she's an embarrassment to the family and wants her married off. There's nothing we can do." Emery sobbed harder and bit out, "Fine, she can marry." "But I raised Alexis with blood and sweat. She used to be so brilliant and beautiful, brought the family so many achievements. Why must she be given to a morally rotten ex-convict?" Quinton had no answer. His heart soured. Favor in the Juggins family had followed Lydia ever since Alexis's mind dulled. When Lydia's boyfriend went to prison five years ago, his business in Zerton fell entirely into Lydia's hands. Her name boomed. Overnight, she became Zerton's star female powerhouse. In the Juggins family, Lydia was the pearl in the palm-pampered by all. And the ex-convict groom was Lydia's deliberate choice. Old Master Juggins agreed at once. The family backed it wholeheartedly. "The groom is here! The wedding begins!" A rasping shout cut through the hall. Close to a thousand guests turned toward the villa doors. Ander, fresh out of prison and still in coarse clothes, was escorted inside. The crowd stalled, stunned. What kind of stunt was the Juggins family pulling? Even if Alexis had gone simple, her beauty remained. How could she be given to such a lowly ex-convict? Sight falling on Ander, Emery Casson cried out, "I'd rather die than let someone like him lay a finger on my daughter!" At the center of the hall, Lydia moved like a proud swan, heels clicking. She basked in the adoration of the city's young elites and stopped before Ander. "Ander, five short years and look at you. Heh-quite down and out." Ander took in the disdain lifting the corners of her mouth. His face stayed calm. "So this wedding isn't what they told me-that the famous Ms. Lydia Juggins is graciously marrying an ex-con like me. Is it?" Lydia laughed behind her hand, the sound full of mockery. "What do you think? While you were doing time, I soared. I built a multibillion-dollar group and became Zerton's top female powerhouse." "And you? A nobody who did time, a stain with nothing to your name." "Ander, we're not in the same world anymore. Get that straight." To her surprise, Ander nodded in agreement. "I think so too. We're not in the same world anymore." Five years of cultivation in prison had given Ander the old man's true legacy. He was not the hot-headed youth he'd been. This woman had already moved on. Ander had braced himself for that on the ride over. And fate had a sense of balance. Prison looked like disaster, but it had turned into fortune. Ander had become a powerful, enigmatic cultivator. So he agreed with Lydia-she was a petty, ungrateful woman. She wasn't in his league. His indifference, almost perfunctory, irked Lydia. In her plan, once he realized he'd been discarded, Ander should have looked pitiful and begged. "Ander, I know you're upset and saying that just to needle me." "Relax. I don't stoop to your level." "On the contrary, you did five years for me. I haven't forgotten." "So I arranged a grand wedding and let you marry into the Juggins family." "You don't deserve me as your bride. But my cousin who's a simpleton? She suits you. Marry her and you'll at least have food and clothes." Ander's lip curled. A mere Juggins family wasn't enough to make him marry in. But when he looked at the cousin Lydia meant, the sight rocked him. How could it be her?

Dragon Overlord Unbound

Chapter 1: Out of Prison and Straight to the Altar

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