Chapter 147
Chapter 147
Meanwhile…
Cork assumed his draconic form and left the forbidden grounds where the dragon eggs were kept, heading off to report the details of the Dragon Domain Trial Tournament to the realm’s highest authorities.
About five minutes later, he arrived at a resplendent palace. The majestic structure towered at the heart of the Dragon Domain, and its plaque bore three bold, flowing words:
Dragon God Temple!
Without question, this was both the Dragon God’s residence and the place where he administered official affairs.
Cork pushed open the doors. Inside, he saw a handsome, slender man with silver hair. Standing before the silver-haired man was a rugged-faced, muscular blond man.
Both wore grave expressions, as though they had been discussing something important.
[Dragon God Abel] (God-Tier BOSS)
[Dragon Domain Guardian ยท Yun An] (God-Tier BOSS)
…
When Cork arrived, both men turned to look at him at the same time.
“Greetings, Dragon God and Dragon Domain Guardian!” Cork bowed before reporting, “The Dragon Domain Trial Tournament concluded successfully, but there was an unexpected development.”
Yun An looked surprised. “What happened?”
“A dark horse named Rod emerged from nowhere and took first place in the tournament. Moreover… he received a score of one hundred!” Even as Cork spoke those final words, he still found them difficult to believe.
If he had not witnessed it personally and confirmed that the Dragon Profundity Mirror was functioning properly, he never would have believed anyone could earn a perfect score in the trial.
In all 105 editions of the tournament, no such freak had ever appeared!
“One hundred?!”
Dragon God Abel was stunned. He exchanged a look with Yun An, but instead of showing delight, both men grew even more solemn.
Seeing their expressions, Cork asked at once, “Judging by your expressions, Dragon God, Dragon Domain Guardian, has something happened?”
“Earlier, I sensed a momentary fluctuation in the energy of the barrier protecting the Dragon Domain, so I came to inform the Dragon God. Unexpectedly, he had sensed the same thing,” Yun An explained frankly.
A fluctuation in the barrier’s energy?
Cork frowned. “You mean… someone has infiltrated the Dragon Domain?”
“We cannot rule out that possibility!” Abel nodded. “Anyone capable of such a feat must possess extraordinary strength. This Rod you mentioned might not belong to the Dragon Domain at all. His purpose in infiltrating our lands may be…”
“!!”
Cork, Abel, and Yun An’s expressions changed at the same instant.
“The dragon eggs!”
“ROAR!!”
A draconic roar shook heaven and earth.
Dragon God Abel transformed into a sacred dragon that shone with brilliant golden light, then raced out alongside the other two men.
“That doesn’t make sense!”
Yun An frowned. “We only decided yesterday to add a dragon egg to this year’s tournament rewards specifically for Submit and Perish. No one else should have known…”
They had never publicly announced the dragon egg reward. Even if someone coveted the eggs, they should not have learned about the opportunity so quickly.
Something about this felt wrong.
“We can ask him after we catch him. If this is a misunderstanding and Rod truly is a prodigy of the Dragon Domain, we will naturally apologize. But if he is not, then even a god-tier powerhouse should not imagine he can come and go through the Dragon Domain as he pleases!” the Dragon God declared, murderous intent surging from him.
“This is my fault!”
Cork’s expression filled with self-reproach and frustration. “I should have acted more cautiously. But for some reason, I believed that scoundrel’s lies and took him straight to the place where the dragon eggs are kept!”
Even now, he could not understand how he had made such a foolish decision.
…
At the same time, within the dragon egg repository…
Zhou Ming and Submit and Perish were rapidly searching for dragons suited to them.
“Good thing I had the Take It on Faith Card. Otherwise, Cork never would’ve brought me here so easily!” Zhou Ming inwardly celebrated his good fortune. His gaze burned with excitement as he cast Inspect on the surrounding eggs, searching for one of truly exceptional quality.
In truth, he already had a plan.
Since the dragon eggs still counted as items, Xiaoyou’s Super Lucky Star could affect them!
The thought instantly lifted Zhou Ming’s spirits.
After searching for quite some time, he selected a dragon egg that looked promising.
[Black Dragon Egg] (Rare SS Rank): Black Dragons are renowned for the extraordinary strength of their bodies and their exceptional resistance to all forms of elemental power. The exact bloodline of the Black Dragon that will hatch from this egg is unknown.
…
Rare SS Rank!
Zhou Ming’s heart pounded as he reached toward the Black Dragon Egg, whose surface patterns glimmered with a dark light.
Whoosh!
The instant he touched it, he sensed an extraordinarily vigorous life force. Through the contact with his palm, the little creature inside the egg seemed to be “observing” the unfamiliar human attempting to establish a connection with it.
Zhou Ming smiled. “Come with me, little one, and I promise you’ll live like royalty!”
Thump!
A few seconds later, Zhou Ming felt a powerful repulsive force that knocked his hand away, expressing a clear rejection.
“…”
The smile vanished from Zhou Ming’s face. He shook his head and delivered his verdict. “I gave you the chance to change your fate, but you just weren’t up to it!”
With time running short, he had no interest in wasting it on such a foolish dragon. He turned to examine the other eggs instead.
Suddenly, inspiration flashed through his mind.
These were probably all ordinary dragon eggs. Their upper limit was likely the Elemental Dragon King level, but sacred dragons existed above the Elemental Dragon Kings!
Could higher-grade eggs be stored in a different section, with no opportunity for contestants to choose them?
Zhou Ming pondered the possibility, but his feet never slowed. He continued deeper into the cavern, searching everywhere.
Desperate times called for desperate measures!
The Take It on Faith Card might not remain effective for long. Once Cork came to his senses, Zhou Ming might lose even his chance to claim an ordinary dragon egg.
“I choose you!”
A delighted shout suddenly rang out nearby.
Zhou Ming glanced to the side and saw that Submit and Perish had selected an egg patterned in interwoven red and blue.
[Water-Fire Dragon Egg] (Rare SS Rank): Can hatch into a special Two-Headed Dragon possessing both water and fire elements.
A Two-Headed Dragon!
Zhou Ming raised an eyebrow. The man’s luck was not bad at all. He had actually obtained such an unusual dragon species!
Submit and Perish wrapped both arms around the Water-Fire Dragon Egg, grinning from ear to ear. When his gaze met Zhou Ming’s, he could not resist taunting him. “Give it up. There are barely any special dragon species in this entire cavern!”
“It seems the Dragon Domain truly does favor you,” Zhou Ming said. He understood perfectly well that Submit and Perish had not found the egg through personal luck. The man had known in advance which section contained it and had merely come to collect it.
“Hmph!”
Submit and Perish snorted. Having recovered from his earlier setback, he said proudly, “I admit you have decent potential, but a Dragon Soul Mage can transform every skill into a forbidden spell. My upper limit is far higher than you imagine!”
“Perhaps. But I should still remind you of one thing. If you ever enter the leadership and gain the power to influence the Dragon Domain’s fate, I hope you’ll prove worthy of the care it has devoted to raising you!” Zhou Ming’s tone turned meaningful.
“Hm?”
Submit and Perish sensed that Rod was implying something but had deliberately left it unsaid. He immediately pressed, “Rod, what do you mean by that?”
Zhou Ming did not answer. He continued deeper into the cavern until he reached its very end, yet still found no SSS-Rank dragon eggs.
What a shame…
Feeling helpless, he decided to simply choose an SS-Rank Fire Dragon Egg.
Thump!
Without warning, Zhou Ming’s heart pounded violently. Just as he was about to turn back, he suddenly sensed an intense surge of fire-element power.
He looked around again. His gaze settled upon the deepest wall of the cavern, and he approached as though guided by an unseen force. Raising his hand to the stone, he relied upon his “unlimited fire-element affinity” and vaguely sensed that something lay hidden beyond it.
Heavenrend!
Boom!
One punch shattered the wall, revealing a special barrier. Three dragon eggs rested quietly inside, radiating red, gold, and darkness respectively.
[Sacred Golden Dragon Egg] (Rare SSS Rank): ???
[Crimsonflame Sacred Dragon Egg] (Rare SSS Rank): ???
[Dark Sacred Dragon Egg] (Rare SSS Rank): ???
…