Kalon had long lost track of time; it was a habit he had formed since his birth. Dragons generally had no concept of time; it was useless to them.
These Dragons were bound by specially prepared shackles on all four limbs, and they were only given a fixed amount of food each day to keep them alive.
Even in these meager portions of food, the Mages had mixed in a large quantity of magical potions to suppress the Dragon's magical bloodline, preventing them from going mad on the ship.
Therefore, not only did the Dragons have very little space to move, but their bones and muscles would also soften when they moved, so they had to curl up into a ball. Their heads were buried in their wings, like large cats huddled together sleeping.
Kalon also rested with his eyes narrowed, his head tucked under his folded wings.
Right next to Kalon, the White Dragon camid, who was sleeping, was extremely restless, muttering something incomprehensible, and gurglingly sucking on his own wingtip, as if he was eating something delicious in his dream.
The Red Dragon sighed helplessly and sank his consciousness into the Heart Energy Vortex.
Strands of complex or pure Heart Energy were swallowed by the rune cluster, then it spat out some barely perceptible Heart Energy that merged into the vortex.
Kalon discovered that at some point, the Heart Energy connected to White Dragon Germott had become exceptionally solid, and the individual Heart Energy he drew from Germott was also the most abundant.
Next were Camid and Klenaya. These two Dragons were extremely convinced by Kalon, especially Camide. He entrusted his already limited wisdom to Kalon; perhaps to the White Dragon, the Red Dragon had become his external brain.
Following them were the other Young Dragons and the Centaur Tribe. The Heart Energy they provided to Kalon was not significantly different. The Young Dragons provided slightly more, but the Heart Energy provided by the Centaur Tribe was surprisingly increasing.
Finally, there were the Kobold dependents. Although these Kobolds were numerous, the Heart Energy each could provide was very little, which should be due to the individual power of the Kobolds being too weak.
Lastly, there was the Ogre Giant. This Soul-Devouring Giant Monster, which had already been counter-controlled by Kalon, now also established a faint connection with him, along with some of the Ogre's Heart Energy. It seemed the Red Dragon's actions left a deep impression on these Ogres.
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of leather soles touching the ship's deck approached. This should be Will Clarence's footsteps. These days, this human noble had been looking for opportunities to persuade Kalon to sign a contract with him, coming over almost every day.
Kalon did not want to bother with him. If he could, the Red Dragon would meticulously crush every bone in this human's body and then throw him on the grassland for the jackals to savor. 'It's best if I don't find an opportunity,' the Red Dragon thought sinisterly.
To Kalon's surprise, it was not William Clarence who came, but the smiling Magician Xiusier.
Mimi Eye? Kalon wanted to ignore him even more!
The Magician gently squatted in front of the motionless Red Dragon, patted the Dragon's wing covered in fine red scales, and said with a smile, "Hey, Young Dragon, do you want to hear a story? A story about Dragons!"
"Not interested. Don't play such boring tricks in front of me, Mage. I'm not a child who likes to listen to stories," the Red Dragon grumbled.
Hsiusir did not care about the Red Dragon's reaction. He smiled and began to tell the story on his own.
"A long, long time ago, on the glacial plains of the far north, there was a White Dragon who believed that most Dragons only instinctively used their power, like a pig with power. If a pig's consciousness were transferred to a Dragon, it wouldn't do too badly."
"To escape this predicament, this White Dragon embarked on the path of seeking knowledge. It first found a low-level Mage and formed a contract with him, promising to guard the Mage's family for one generation, in exchange for a portion of the Mage's inheritance after his death."
Kalon's ears, tucked under his wings, had quietly perked up. Anyway, he was just idle, so listening to this Mage tell a story for amusement was fine.
The Mage suddenly paused and smiled slightly, then continued, "This White Dragon was very trustworthy. After guarding the Mage's family for a full hundred years, it gained the Mage's genuine trust. Thus, this White Dragon obtained the Mage's knowledge on how to touch a true corner of this world."
"After completing the first contract, the White Dragon found a mid-level Mage and similarly signed a contract with this Mage, guarding the Mage's family, and then also obtained a portion of this Mage's inheritance."
"In this way, under the White Dragon's good reputation, eventually a Legendary Mage who was nearing the end of his life sought it out and signed a contract with it. What the Legendary Mageleft for the White Dragon was knowledge about the essence of power."
"All extraordinary creatures in the world have their own power seeds. The Dragon's power seed is their Evil Dragon bloodline. And this White Dragon, in just a few hundred years, used this knowledge to cross the threshold of Legendary in its life essence."
Life essence crossing the threshold of Legendary? Although Kalon's own inheritance did not contain information about this White Dragon, he knew that the power of the True Dragon race far exceeded the scope of other defined power levels.
From the perspective of the extraordinary rank system, ordinary Dragons would generally exceed the defined power level by two ranks. And a White Dragon, which is the lowest bloodline among the Five-Colored Dragons, would generally need to reach Ancient Dragon and Elder Dragon to possess Legendary strength, meaning a White Dragon would need to be at least a thousand years old to have the ability to contend with a Legendary. Even so, the White Dragon's bloodline mostly did not support them crossing the Legendary threshold.
Yet this White Dragon used a few hundred years to cross the Legendary threshold in its life essence, becoming more powerful and dangerous than those Elder Dragons, and even more like a fantasy.
Kalon's interest was piqued. His head emerged from under his wings, intending to listen to what the Mage would say next.
Hsiusir's tone gradually intensified, "This White Dragon even killed a Legendary-ranked Titanafter venturing into astral travel. It was called 'Winter's Breath'; it possessed the breath of destruction that brought winter to all life. And the Legendary Mage who created all of this belonged to my lineage of Mages; we call ourselves Research Mages!"
The air gradually solidified. After a long time, the Mage looked at the Red Dragon, who seemed to be in a daze, and couldn't help but wave his hand in front of the Dragon's eyes, "Speak, Young Dragon!"
"What should I say?" Kalon was startled, his thoughts still on what the Mage had just said. The true side of the world... what he saw when he triggered his extreme perception should also be part of the true side of the world, right?
Mimi Eye Mage Hisusir's eyes widened, looking a bit exasperated, "Young Dragon, your talent is far stronger than that White Dragon's. You shouldn't be like those Dragons, indulging in your bloodline. Follow me, I will help you, and you can help me. If you and I join forces, our future is limitless!"
The Red Dragon idly swung his tail, remaining silent. This promise was not only grand but also hard to swallow. Dragons were Dragons, Kalon was Kalon. What did someone else's business have to do with him? Moreover, the situation was not yet clear; he should observe and wait, rather than making a blind choice.
The Dragon's silence represented a certain attitude. The Mage's eyes narrowed again. He stood up and looked deeply at the Red Dragon, "There is a True Dragon hidden in your eyes, Young Dragon. If you change your mind, I will help you!"