Xeno'jiiva!

Black Pattern City.

A city built of massive black stones, it looks extremely retro, rugged, and exudes a wild atmosphere.

The exact date of this city's existence is impossible to verify.

The current city lord, Black Pattern Lord, defeated the old city lord a hundred years ago, led his tribe to take over the city, and renamed it "Black Pattern City".

The Ancient Saint Empire was actually the earliest name for the Ancient Saint Civilization.

At that time, the Ancient Saint Empire was a truly unified country.

The founder of the empire was the first ancient Ancient Saint in the history of the Ancient Saint Civilization, and later generations called him "the First Ancient Saint Yuan Tuo".

It is said that before this "Primal Ancient Saint" appeared, the crawlers were just a group of weak creatures that were preyed upon by ferocious beasts.

Until the appearance of the "Primal Ancient Saint," who, like the protagonist of a novel, rose from a chieftain of a small tribe to conquer all directions and annex other tribes in a short period of a hundred years, eventually forming a unified "Ancient Saint Empire." The title of Ancient Saint was passed down from that time.

The reptiles believe that the "Primal Ancient Saint" was a "Holy Serpent Messenger" born in accordance with the will of the Holy Serpent, a divine being sent from heaven to save the reptiles from fire and water.

In fact, regardless of whether the "Primal Ancient Saint" was the messenger of the Holy Serpent.

In short, after the emergence of the Ancient Saint Empire, the Reptile civilization continued to grow, eventually becoming able to contend with the ferocious beasts, instead of feeding on their blood.

The "Primal Ancient Saint" established a unified crawler language and script similar to the Wizard Common Tongue, and transformed tribes into city-states.

Furthermore, it passed down many methods that lead directly to the Ancient Saint sages' path; these methods are collectively known as the "Ancient Saint Method".

Based on the Ancient Saint Method and the Reptilian Civilization, each era can give birth to Ancient Saint who can be compared with the "Ancient Bloodline beasts," also known as "Ancient Beast."

Thanks to the protection of these Ancient Saint, the Reptilian Civilization has been able to continue to this day.

At its peak in history, during the later years of the Primal Ancient Saint, there were a total of eighteen Ancient Saint of the same era as the Reptilian Civilization, known as the "Empire Eighteen Saints".

The eighteen saints united around the Primal Ancient Saint. Under his leadership, they not only initially resolved the "fierce beast" mountain weighing down on the crawlers, but also actively expanded their territory, conquering north and south! However, with the disappearance of the Primal Ancient Saint...

The once unified Reptile Empire, like countless human empires throughout history, is now facing the fate of fragmented city-states and lords, and the chaos continues to this day.

After that, there was no more peerless powerhouse like the "Primal Ancient Saint" who could subdue numerous Ancient Saint, unify all tribes and city-states, and establish an absolutely unified "Ancient Saint Empire".

The fragmentation of the Ancient Saint Empire into numerous city-states is the prevailing theme today.

Each city-state was a small, sparsely populated tribal society, whose lord held absolute power and could arbitrarily dispose of the city-state's inhabitants.

Today, the Ancient Saint Empire comprises hundreds of city-states.

Some powerful tribes often establish their own city-states, and then divide up a territory centered on the city-state.

Non-tribal crawlers within the territory are all "outsiders," and outsiders have a lower status than natives within the city.

Since the disappearance of the Primal Ancient Saint, the city-states have been at war year after year, with no end in sight, and the people are suffering. Small tribes like those led by Chief Kaku can only risk their lives to eke out a living in the primeval forest where ferocious beasts roam.

Coupled with the invasion of ferocious beasts, and beset by both internal and external troubles, the Ancient Saint Civilization has declined far beyond its peak.

Currently, there are only thirteen Ancient Saint, each ruling their own territory, making it difficult for them to unite. Furthermore, the Ancient Saint Empire is facing the predicament of being surrounded by powerful enemies.

To the south of the Ancient Saint Empire lies a vast sea, in which many powerful civilizations, no less powerful than the Ancient Saint Empire, reside.

The most representative example is the "Mosasaurs Empire" established by the "Ocean Reptilians". It was an empire established by several Ancient Saint Sea Reptile Clan rebelled against the Ancient Saint Empire. Relying on the rich resources of the ocean, they recuperated and thrived, and later rose to prominence, repeatedly invading the borders of the Ancient Saint Empire.

To the north of the Ancient Saint Empire, within the vast and endless "Intis Mountain Range," lies a newly emerging and powerful empire.

The "Wind God Empire" was established by the "Feathered People." According to the crawlers, the Feathered People were born later than them, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Feathered People are descendants of a mutated crawler.

However, almost all of the Feathered People possess the ability to fly. Relying on their aerial advantage, they have rapidly risen in the Intis Mountain Range and are now harassing the northern border of the Ancient Saint Empire.

Within the Ancient Saint Empire, apart from a few powerful Ancient Saint, the only ones capable of effectively harming the Feathered People and engaging in aerial combat are the Flying Lizard race led by the "Severing Sky Ancient Saint".

Black Pattern City.

Levi and Kaku were sitting in a tavern.

They drank the incredibly bloody "Blood Demon Wine" brewed by the crawlers.

I listened to an old man talk at length about the history of the Ancient Saint Empire and the current situation.

The old man's Kane, and he was one of the few cultured people in Black Pattern City.

He was once the librarian of a city-state where an Ancient Saint resided. Later, because that Ancient Saint perished in war, the city-state was destroyed, and the library was burned to the ground.

Kane became a slave to foreigners, wandering from place to place until he finally arrived in Black Pattern City. Because of his education, he became one of the stewards of the city lord's mansion.

In his spare time, he would come to the tavern to drink, boast, and show off his knowledge. Gradually, he became quite well-known.

"Lord Kane, where did the Primal Ancient Saint?" Levi asked.

Kane followed the sound and glanced at Levi, Levi crimson scales caught his attention.

Because the Fire Lizard Race holds a relatively high position within the Ancient Saint Empire.

Even in foreign cities, the Fire Lizard Race need not worry about being discriminated against because they are foreigners.

After all, who would dare to discriminate against a powerful race that gave birth to Ancient Saint?

Moreover, as is well known, the Primal Ancient Saint were born into the Fire Lizard Race, which has given the Fire Lizard Race a relatively superior status to this day.

Therefore, in Kane's view, the pair of Levi and Kaku were like noble young men of the Fire Lizard Race, traveling and adventuring with their Green Lizard Clan servants.

"The exact date of the Primal Ancient Saint is unverifiable, as historical records have been interrupted by years of warfare. The lifespan of Ancient Saint was only about five hundred years, and some extremely powerful ones might have lived for a thousand years, but compared to the long history of the Ancient Saint Empire, this is merely an insignificant ripple... Therefore, the Primal Ancient Saint, alas, has most likely perished." Kane sighed. Of all the many Ancient Saint recorded in history, the Primal Ancient Saint he admired the most.

"If the Primal Ancient Saint were still alive, would the Wind God Empire and the Mosasaurs Empire dare to act so arrogantly in front of the Ancient Saint Empire? The Primal Ancient Saint alone would be enough to suppress these traitors of the Reptilian Civilization!" Kane said indignantly.

"Lord Kane, are there any other countries north of the Intis Mountain Range?" Levi asked.

"I don't know either. No one can cross the Intis Mountain Range alive. Those Feathered People who hover high in the sky and look down on the earth are not to be trifled with." Kane shook his head.

Levi pondered to himself, "Now it seems that there are three maps that have been explored in this plane."

Ancient Saint Empire, Wind God Empire, Mosasaurs Empire.

The three great empires share a common origin, tracing their ancestry back to the Reptilian Civilization, only now they have gone their separate ways.

The common problem plaguing the three great empires was the "fierce beasts".

"If the two neighboring empires can rival the Ancient Saint Empire, then there must be quite a few Ancient Saint level experts. Judging from this, there are dozens of Ancient Saint level experts comparable to Fourth Ring Wizard on the map I currently know of."

In the Wizard World, even ordinary mid-level wizarding organizations wouldn't be able to muster so many level four experts. The difficulty of conquering this plane is greater than I imagined; I must proceed cautiously.

Fortunately, these thirteen Ancient Saint are not a united front. Perhaps I can sit back and watch them fight, supporting an absolute dictator similar to the Primal Ancient Saint as a puppet. This way, I can control the entire Ancient Saint Empire, rule this country from behind the scenes, and then annex the Wind God Empire and the Mosasaurs Empire to explore the wider borders of this world.

Levi said to himself.

He already had a preliminary plan in mind.

"Fire Lizard boy, if you are interested in the Primal Ancient Saint, you can go and see the city-states where those Ancient Saint were stationed if you have the chance. Black Pattern City is just a small place."

After a hearty meal and drinks, Kane patted his belly, flicked his forked tongue, and leisurely left the tavern.

He and Levi hit it off very well; it had been a long time since he had met a young crawler like Levi who was willing to listen to his eloquent talk.

"Kane, Lord Kane," Levi said with a smile.

Inside the tavern, Levi and Kaku continued to drink.

"My lord, where shall we go next?" Kaku asked.

"The City Lord's Mansion," Levi said calmly.

The City Lord's Mansion.

On the training field.

A burly Lizardmen covered in gray scales and clad in bone armor wielded a greatsword. The gust of wind generated by the sword's swing caused sand and stones to fly across the training ground, and an invisible heat wave permeated the area, creating quite a spectacle.

This was none other than Mengka, the Black Pattern City.

The members of the Black Pattern Tribe are all members of the "Black Spotted Lizard" clan, which are among the strongest reptiles. Black Spotted Lizard have extremely strong defenses, are naturally powerful, and are all brave and skilled warriors.

"Lord Mengka, there is a Fire Lizard outside requesting an audience," a servant said as he entered.

"Fire Lizard?" Mengka frowned slightly. "Let him in."

Not long after, a Fire Lizardmen covered in Red Scales walked in, accompanied by a very ordinary green lizard reptile.

"Greetings, Lord City Lord," the Fire Lizardmen said respectfully.

"What business do you have with me, the city lord?" Mengka asked.

"I want to...become the city lord." Levi smiled slightly.

Mengka's expression changed.

The next moment, Levi's body shot out, the Fire Dragon True Body appeared, blazing with flames and flashing with Strength Rune.

Mengka raised his greatsword and slashed at Levi. His blood began to boil, white smoke billowed into the sky, and scorching flames spewed from his mouth, turning the greatsword red-hot.

"Scorching Heart Severing Strike!" Mengka roared in a low voice, his face contorted in pain. He knew the newcomer meant no good, so he attacked with all his might from the very first move.

Levi neither dodged nor evaded; his scaled fist slammed into the scorching hot sword. The sword trembled violently, cracking Mengka's palm, and the greatsword flew away, landing some distance away.

The red-hot greatsword scorched the ground black, turning it into scorched earth flaming with flames in a short time, demonstrating the extreme temperature involved.

In contrast, Levi's fist was unharmed, only slightly emitting white smoke.

"Too weak."

In a flash, Levi appeared behind Mengka, grabbed Mengka's neck with his large hand, and pressed down hard.

Mengka fell to the ground with a thud, his face hitting the ground with a thud, raising a cloud of dust.

"With just a little effort, you'll be dead," Levi said calmly, his eyes cold.

Mengka was pinned to the ground, unable to move.

The city lord of Black Pattern City was weaker than he had imagined. He felt that his strength was not even as good as that of the likes of Bo Gang, let alone comparable to a senior wizard of the Third Ring.

"Who are you? Among the thirteen Ancient Saint, there is no one like you!" Mengka asked in fear.

The outcome was decided in a single move.

The gap between him and his opponent was too great; the opponent was definitely a powerful figure at the level of Ancient Saint.

You must understand, he was at least a powerful Ancient Snake Level expert. In this Ancient Saint Empire, only Ancient Saint could easily defeat him, Mengka.

Mengka is familiar with all thirteen Ancient Saint, and the one closest to the one before him is undoubtedly the Burning Sky Ancient Saint.

The problem is that the Burning Sky Ancient Saint usually stays in his own Burning Sky City, so how could he possibly come to his small Black Pattern City?

Could it be that the Fire Lizard Race actually has two Ancient Saint? "Who I am is not important. What is important is that if you don't obey, you will die." Levi's voice was indifferent. He revealed a trace of Ancient Saint Aura. The majesty of the Ancient Saint swept over like a tide, engulfing Mengka.

"What... what do you want to do?"

"Stop struggling, offer up a wisp of your soul, and sign a contract with me. I will guarantee not to kill you, otherwise..." Levi took out a Contract Stone Slab and threatened.

Lizardmen are also humanoids, so theoretically the contract on the Contract Stone Slab should also be effective against them, but only if the other party voluntarily offers up their soul.

Mengka saw the stone tablet in the man's hand. Although he didn't know what it was, there was no doubt that it was at a disadvantage for him.

But in the current situation, with such a huge disparity between the enemy and ourselves, he seems to have no other choice.

"I will do as you say..." Mengka sighed and said.

"Don't worry, I always keep my word," Levi said with a squinting smile, sending chills down one's spine.

Mengka felt as if a calamity had struck him from the sky. He had no idea where this Ancient Saint had come from. He was really in for a world of trouble.

Ultimately, Levi and Mengka signed an unequal treaty.

After signing the contract, Mengka felt as if there was some kind of constraint on his soul. He feared that if he violated the terms of the contract, he would suffer a terrible fate, which made him feel utterly hopeless.

"Once I reach Fourteenth Order in my Scarlet Dragon Breathing Technique and add another contract slot, I won't need to go through all this trouble," Levi thought to himself.

He currently holds two positions in the Scarlet Contract, one given to Deep Sea Baron Baghdad of the Deep Sea and the other to the Blood Clan Skein. Both are quite important to Levi, and he cannot break the contract.

Outside the door, the guards seemed to have heard the commotion and rushed in.

"Lord City Lord, are you alright?" the guard asked. "I'm fine, you may leave. I just sparred with this Fire Lizard friend," Mengka said calmly, though inwardly he felt bitter. This wasn't a sparring match; it was a one-sided crushing defeat...

"What does the Ancient Saint want to do? You might as well tell me frankly. I, Mengka, am just the lord of a small border town with limited abilities. With the Ancient Saint's discerning eye, I suppose you wouldn't even look at my remote city-state?" Mengka sighed.

"You are very smart and pragmatic. A wise man is one who is pragmatic. My goal is simple: to unify all the city-states and make the Ancient Saint Empire great again," Levi said, looking very serious.

"My Lord Ancient Saint...forgive my bluntness, but this matter should also be the goal of the other thirteen Ancient Saint. However, since the Primal Ancient Saint disappeared, no one has been able to unify the Ancient Saint Empire," Mengka said.

"How will you know if you don't try?" Levi said confidently. "You can continue to be the city lord. I was just joking. I'm not interested in your position as city lord. I just need you to do things my way from now on."

Levi wasn't sure if he had the strength to defeat an Ancient Saint, otherwise he would have gone to the city-states where the Ancient Saint were located and taken Ancient Saint down long ago.

To be on the safe side, it's better to control an ordinary city lord first, and then gradually make contact with those Ancient Saint saints after gaining a deeper understanding of this world.

In the days that followed, Levi Wei settled down in Black Pattern City.

It has to be said that as the lord of Black Pattern City, Mengka knows far more than Kaku.

Through Mengka, Levi gained a deeper understanding of the situation of the thirteen Ancient Saint, and he also obtained the "Ancient Saint Method" that he practiced from Mengka.

Inside a mansion in Black Pattern City, Levi sat at a desk, on which lay a rough sheet of paper that appeared to be made of animal hide.

The writing on the parchment is the common language of the Reptilian Civilization, which Levi has mastered. In addition, there are all sorts of actions and postures.

After he finished reading it, he fell into deep thought.

"This seems similar to the Knight's Breathing Technique Inheritance Diagram. The only difference is that this Ancient Saint Method only has a small figure pattern, but not the Candle-Holding Black Snake like in the Black Snake Breathing Technique... Is it a censored and modified version of the Knight's Breathing Technique?"

According to Mengka, the practice of the Ancient Saint Method is based on the incantations, key points, postures, and movements recorded in the Ancient Saint Method. It involves devouring large amounts of the flesh of specific ferocious beasts to obtain energy, modify the Lizardmen's body, and ultimately continuously achieve physical evolution.

It transforms from an insect into a lizard, the lizard into a snake, the snake grows old and ancient, and finally becomes a saint.

These are the four stages of Ancient Saint Method practice.

The Ancient Saint Method that Mengka gave to Levi was obtained by him from the ruins of an abandoned Ancient Saint Temple, and it was called the "Flame Blood Ancient Saint Method".

To practice this Ancient Saint Method, one must use the flesh and blood of a creature called the "Flame Beast" as a foundation and consume it over a long period of time.

By absorbing the unique "Flame Blood Energy" from the flesh and blood of the Flame Beast using Ancient Saint Method, and using this "Flame Blood Energy" to transform the entire body, refining the internal organs and tendons, cleansing the marrow and tempering the bones, and changing the blood, one becomes Ancient Saint.

The stronger the Flame Beast, the better the effect.

Reaching the highest level of cultivation allows one to rival the king among the Flame Beast.

Ancient Beast - Flame Blood Wild Hunt Dragon.

This is a powerful entity that lives underground and is often accompanied by magma.

The Flame Blood Wild Hunt Dragon contains "Ancient Bloodline".

The so-called Ancient Bloodline is said to be the bloodline left behind by a few "Ancient Kings" who stood at the top of billions of living beings at the beginning of the world's creation.

Sky King - Oseros, Forest King - Diusiss, Ocean King - Ernis, Underworld King - Mobius.

The four Ancient Kings, representing the elements of Earth-Fire Wind-Water, and water in creation, each ruled over Four Ancient Kingdoms.

Legend has it that the four Ancient Kings were all under the command of the supreme Holy Serpent, who followed the Holy Serpent's will to create this world and maintain its order.

At that time, neither the Feathered People nor the Creepers had been born.

Only the ferocious beasts of different factions, commanded by Ancient Kings, roamed the skies, forests, oceans, and even the earth.

Therefore, whether it is the Ancient Saint Empire, the Wind God Empire, or the Mosasaurs Empire, they all have great fear of the Ancient Bloodline.

Later, the powerful ancient empire seemed to fall apart overnight, and the four Ancient Kings perished one after another.

The flesh and blood of Ancient Kings were devoured by surviving ferocious beasts, giving birth to the first Ancient Beast. The Reptilian Civilization most likely emerged around this time.

These are all legends and stories, some true and some false, that Levi obtained from old man Kane during this period.

Levi had a vague feeling about "Ancient Kings," "the Primal Ancient Saint," and "the Ancient Saint Method," and so on.

All of these things are inextricably linked to the ancient wizard who entered this place.

"Who entered this place? And what is their purpose in doing all this?"

Levi gazed at the blueprints that recorded the Ancient Saint Method, lost in thought.

The next day.

Levi gazed at the Flame Beast that Mengka had sent.

This is a large piece of meat that looks very ordinary, weighing about 100 pounds. It is very solid, and even though it has been dead for so long, its surface is still radiating high temperatures. This should be the so-called "Flame Blood Energy".

Levi took a small amount of blood and placed it into the Rowling Crystal.

[Red Fire Snake Bloodline 56%, Stone Red Lizard Bloodline 68%... Nether Lantern Dragon Bloodline 1.5%]

Upon seeing this, Levi's expression changed.

"Nether Lantern Dragon?"

His database did not contain any information about this Dragonkind.

"If I have the chance in the future, I'll have to find out what kind of Dragonkind the Nether Lantern Dragon is."

In this world, Levi has found the bloodline descendants of two Dragonkind.

Jade Dragon, Nether Lantern Dragon.

During this time, Levi studied the Supreme Sacred Serpent worshipped by the Reptilian Civilization.

According to the records and descriptions of the Holy Serpent that have been left behind, it is an Holy Serpent with its head and tail connected. It coils around in the sky, constantly rotating, radiating holy light, dispelling darkness, and illuminating believers, just like the sun.

From this perspective, the Holy Serpent and Levi's family crest, the Black Snake, share similarities.

However, Levi did not see the most prominent feature, "holding a candle," so he could not be certain that the Holy Serpent was the Black Snake.

Now, he has discovered the bloodline of the Nether Lantern Dragon within the body of a ferocious beast containing Ancient Bloodline.

According to legend, the Ancient Bloodline consisted of the bloodlines of the four kings under the command of the Holy Serpent.

"The Nether Lantern Dragon, could it be the Candle-Holding Black Snake... Could the Black Snake be a general under the Holy Serpent? Or perhaps, a disguised form of the Holy Serpent..."

I'm stuck on the word count; I only managed 6,000 words today.

Sorry, I really can't write anything more in a short time. I'm already on the high-speed train for a business trip.

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