Mystical Journey

The incident that happened during the ceremony had greatly provoked Boris and Leona. From that day on, they were unusually determined to practice their Draconic Auras. They would often ask Garen for help regarding various problems as well at the same time.

Garen did not hold back from teaching them. His knowledge was excessively plentiful to the point where these two little fellows had the misconception that he was an Elder Dragon with an abundance of experience.

It seemed like none of the difficulties that they had encountered were too hard for Garen.

More than a month gradually passed like that.

Third Elder stabilized the overall situation and imprisoned both Great Elder and Second Elder while announcing that they had officially formed an alliance with the Deladia Empire. The princes and princesses of the Empire would come and select partners from the clan to form Eternal Contracts.

Eternal Contracts were unlike ordinary Soul Contracts. Lives would need to be linked in exchange for these contracts to be signed. These were formidable commitments that every creature could only sign once in their lives.

They did not have any other functions except for their only purpose, which was to share lives.

In other words, the lives of the dragon race and humans that signed these Eternal Contracts would be treated as one before they were split into two equal parts after that. The dragon race whose lifespans greatly surpassed the humans would undeniably find this extremely unfair.

The dragon race’s lifespan would be reduced by at least half due to this. Moreover, human lifespans were usually insignificant in comparison to that of the dragon race.

The weaker members of the dragon race would live to at least a thousand years old.

This rule had caused dissatisfaction among numerous White Dragons, especially the members of the dragon race who had set themselves high above the masses. No dragon would be willing to make an agreement with a Contractor unless they were of the standards of specialized Level Six Professionals or above.

However, the side of the Deladia Empire had taken the initiative to explain that only princes and princesses who had potential would sign these Eternal Contracts on their behalf. It was not difficult for promising geniuses with aristocratic statuses to become Level Six Professionals in the future.

Moreover, the Deladia Empire truly possessed an abundance of princes and princesses on their side. There were a few hundred of them at least. The geniuses that were selected from this group of people did not fall too short. However, realistically they would not be valued highly in their own country despite their aristocratic statuses because there was a surplus of them.

Hence, their positions would be greatly secured if they could find a powerful White Dragon to sign a contract with them.

Thus, this activity was quickly launched in the Dragon Clan. However, it was only limited to Adult White Dragons because they were currently the ones that could form into the greatest powers and forces within the shortest amount of time. Humans could not spare a few decades waiting for Young Dragons to become adults. As for Dragon Whelps, that was simply impossible.

Therefore, this transformation would not affect Garen greatly.

He continued training in his own cave. His Draconic Aura had finally reached Level Five after being upgraded by his Potential Points. After training himself painstakingly and consuming all of his last ten Potential Points that he had accumulated, it was beyond his expectations that he only reach the Level Five stage.

Draconic Auras that were only at Level Five or below had to be stimulated by certain specialized realms before they could be upgraded. That was only one of its fundamental changes. It was similar to all the other professions as there seemed to be only one dividing line before Level Six could be achieved.

Another change that he had discovered was that his body’s attributes had finally exhibited certain phenomena which meant that his Potential Points needed to be increased.

He would previously require one Potential Point every time he wanted to increase one attribute. However, it had directly jumped to needing three points now. Now that his body had undergone a single change, it seemed that his previous Potential Points were not as effective anymore.

After all, Garen’s current Attributes had already surpassed fifteen points on average by now. He belonged to the standard domain of Level Seven creatures.

Since the standard of a regular Adult White Dragon was between thirty to forty points, he had already greatly surpassed the normal standard now.

According to Garen’s secret observations, the strongest Warrior named Phosphorus and the five Ice Dragon Guards who were his subordinates were perhaps the only ones who possessed characteristics that were stronger than Garen among the entire White Dragon Clan. He could not seem to see the limits of Phosphorus’ power, but he knew that he had achieved the Level Nine standard at least. It was naturally impossible for him to lack great power as a Warrior who dared to directly confront Third Elder who was a Level Ten existence.

If the Elder was considered as the strongest source of combat power within the entire clan with the presence of the Divine Staff, Phosphorus and his Ice Dragon Guards were the strongest forms of support and strength in the clan. Phosphorus grasped the military power in the palm of his hand completely while all of the Dragon Guards and the training of the Teenage Class were arranged by him.

Garen received an invitation after training in the cave for a short while. It was an invitation from Third Elder.

Third Elder’s grandson had given him some face and released Boris and Leona the last time. Therefore, he needed to pay a return visit no matter what this time as an indication of gratitude.

After all, this was an extremely brutal political struggle. It was highly likely that Garen would not eliminate someone completely as he did not want to ruin his attachments towards the clan.

Garen tidied up briefly and brought a few little gifts which were the Crystal Cores of the Giant Frost Iguanas that he had brought back when he left to hunt. He had yet to finish absorbing them completely and left a few for future use. It was a good time to use them now.

It was a good opportunity for him to give them out as little presents now.

Garen left the cave immediately and followed the Dragon Guards that had arrived before flying towards the highest point of the Elder’s Peak.

A white ice palace was being built there now without him knowing. Numerous human and dwarf craftsmen were currently hard at work up there. White Dragons would fly around the area occasionally to protect it.

These people were not surprised when they saw Garen and the two other dragons flying over. They had clearly arrived here some time ago and had already gotten used to it much earlier.

They flew along the side of the palace toward the back before quickly descending in front of the entrance of a large cave where numerous frozen water stalagmites had formed. These sharp frozen water stalagmites enveloped the main door that led to the cave. All of these pointed stalagmites were as dangerous as sharp thorns that were aimed precisely at the entrance of the cave. They seemed like sharp swords that were suspended above the head of every creature that entered in order to deter them.

“Please enter. The Elder is waiting for you inside,” said The Dragon Guard to Garen softly.

Garen nodded and drew his wings before taking long strides toward the inside of the cave and walking there.

Bang, bang, bang.

The deep noise of his footsteps could be heard when he stomped on the cave floor, yet he left no traces behind. Since numerous White Dragons had already threaded on this ground countless times, it was already extremely solid to a terrifying degree.

There were two Dragon Guards who were keeping watch on both sides within every hundred meters. When they saw Garen entering, these Dragon Guards awakened from their dazed states and merely glanced at him indifferently before collecting their thoughts and resuming their rest. They were clearly here to rest while keeping guard.

Powerful billowing Draconic Auras permeated throughout the interior of this entire cave endlessly.

Garen encountered five consecutive Dragon Guards along the way. Their Draconic Auras were ranked at Level Six at least. The thing that secretly shocked him was that the powers of Third Elder’s subordinates were clearly not weakened simply because the strength of the other two Elders had diminished.

The pure white cave that was tinged with light blue extended all the way towards a distance of a few kilometers. Garen only saw Third Elder who was currently talking to a human in a section within the cave where a skylight was located.

Sunlight cascaded through the skylight and formed a light pillar that coincidentally fell on Third Elder’s aged dragon scales. It gave him a few additional white halos, making him appear slightly younger.

Meanwhile, the person to whom he was currently speaking was around one hundred and eighty centimeters tall and considered to be average among the humans. However, the gold cloak on his body was draped over a dark gold full-body armor that he wore underneath, while a powerful sword that was embedded with colorless crystals hung at his waist. The circular crown on his head that was embedded with gold gemstones was the most eye-catching aspect of him.

The gazes of that man and Third Elder shifted over simultaneously and fell on Garen just as he had entered.

Whoosh whoosh!

It seemed like two consecutive fiery lasers had landed on his skin. Garen could only feel his entire body tremble violently before his ears were fully deafened instantly. His ears were then filled with a humming noise that sounded like the buzzing after thunder. Subtle internal wounds appeared within his body immediately.

The Draconic Aura throughout his entire body was released hurriedly. He covered his body in a defensive force field while his Draconic Aura increased from Level Three to Level Four to barely nullify the terrifyingly intense pressure that was brought on by the gazes of those two individuals.

His mind understood suddenly that he had chosen an inappropriate time to enter. Third Elder and this king were clearly exerting pressure on each other as a more convenient way to exhibit their powers as bargaining chips for negotiations. The frightening strength of these two Level Nine powerhouses had instantly landed on his body the moment he entered. Thus, this was the main reason why he had nearly vomited blood.

“Is that Garen?” Third Elder withdrew his pressure first.

Meanwhile, the other man smiled faintly and withdrew his Coercion as well. It seemed as though he had transformed from a prehistoric beast back into a regular middle-aged man.

There was a little black goatee below his chin while his short black hair made him seem experienced and tidy. He looked grave and strict from head to toe. Moreover, he gave off a dignified, lofty, and unapproachable air even when he smiled.

“So, what do you think about reaching a deal now about the matters that we were discussing, King Thunderclap?” Third Elder glanced at the king.

“Were you referring to this little White Dragon before me?” The King asked in a slightly pondering manner.

“Of course,” said Third Elder in a faintly proud voice, “as the most talented White Dragon in my clan, Garen will surely meet your requirements.”

“Requirements?” Garen’s eyes narrowed when he vaguely felt that the discussion between these two individuals was regarding him. “May I ask what you were going to tell me when you called me here, Elder?”

His mind felt somewhat uneasy when he thought of the news of the Eternal Contracts that were spreading like wildfire recently.

“I’ll need a period of time to observe,” said the King quietly. “You know that my choices include the Black Dragons and Red Dragons as well.”

“Your Majesty the honorable King Gus, Garen will definitely not disappoint you if you choose him. I believe that there are but a few prodigies in the other Dragon Clans that can rival Garen.”

“However, you must understand that Black Dragons are naturally immune to all spells below Level Seven while their hand-to-hand combat skills are stronger than White Dragon Whelps of the same age. Meanwhile, the magic abilities of Adult Purple Dragons are equivalent to Level Seven Great Wizards. These are better choices in my opinion,” said Gus while smiling.

“But will the other Dragon Clans promise to sign Eternal Contracts with you?” Third Elder smiled.

Indeed, both of them understood that if the White Dragon Clan was not helplessly forced into a corner with seemingly nowhere to go, they would not choose to sign Eternal Contracts with humans with short lives and become the dependents of the Deladia Empire.

The entire White Dragon Clan had turned into the shame of the White Dragon Mountain merely because of this. After becoming the shame of the entire dragon race, they abandoned themselves and gave up their nobility and pride as creatures with longevity. They would be spurned by the rest of the dragon race in the future.

This was a heavy price to pay.

Therefore, Great Elder and Second Elder had objected to it all along. However, they had never expected that Third Elder would secretly collude with the top-rate human powerhouses to take action immediately and imprison the both of them under house arrest. Had they not possessed excessively strong powers and loyal troops, Third Elder would have probably killed them long ago.

The King smiled and shook his head while looking at Garen.

“There’s no rush now.” He needed to find someone who would be useful to him before he could sign this Eternal Contract. After all, they would live and die together. Hence, if the White Dragon here was too weak and was killed by someone else, wouldn’t he instantly die as well?

“You may continue your deliberation, then. As a Pinnacle, you should have a three-hundred-year lifespan at least. Moreover, members of the dragon race with stronger talents have longer lifespans. Therefore, they will be even more beneficial to you,” said Third Elder while continuing to recommend Garen.