Thief!

Winter of World Calendar Year 427.

Dragon Head City, Ancestral Temple Taiheng Palace.

A being covered in armor and with dragon horns walked into the Tai Heng Palace. On either side of the palace entrance, two stone statues stood.

Those were statues of two dragons, one with wings and the other wingless and long-bodied; both statues were extremely large.

It is a one-to-one replica of Li Shang and Kan Gong Erlong.

However, calling them replicas is inaccurate, because these two are not stone statues, but rather the two dragons themselves.

In the last great battle, the two dragons were seriously injured and on the verge of death, so Ye Long sent them back to the Tai Heng Palace to recuperate and heal.

Many years have passed, and Erlong's injuries have healed, but the missing parts have not grown back.

The most unique advantage of dragons is that they can become stronger as they age and time goes by.

By constantly absorbing and releasing the energy of the natural world, one day it will be able to ascend.

These two can be considered the purest dragon species.

Now, the two dragons have reached the lower level of the fourth tier.

The armored man walked past the two sculptures, and for a moment, the two sculptures seemed to move.

The man stopped and saw that the pupils of the two stone statues suddenly glowed.

"Little brother, you've come..."

"It seems you've gotten rid of that black fire?"

"We are so happy to see you back to normal."

The man in armor is named Dragon Sui. He is the first son of Ye Long and 004, and he and Shuanglong are half-brothers.

The three were injured together, but Dragon Sui was the most seriously wounded.

Because Bai Ye punched him so hard that half of his body was shattered.

Later, due to their injuries, all three were demoted. Dragon Sui removed his crown and was assigned to guard the Star Ruins at the bottom of that Withered Well.

The two dragons turned into stone statues and squatted outside the Tai Heng Palace.

Dragon Sui glanced at them, then quickly crossed a long staircase and arrived at the side hall.

The Temple of the Mother Goddess, which is also the palace of 004.

Dragon Sui arrived silently outside the palace, and then heard some sounds coming from inside.

"Good boy, don't cry, you have to be my best boy..."

Dragon Sui paused for a moment, then pushed open the door to the side hall.

The atmosphere inside the side hall was oppressive, the lights were dim, and a strange fragrance and a peculiar mist permeated the space.

At the far end of the side hall, there was a bed, where a beautiful blonde woman dressed in a black and gold robe sat.

She held an infant in her arms. The infant had snow-white skin and several soft, flesh-colored dragon scales on its body.

"Seventh brother, you must grow up quickly and become stronger than them."

Tap tap.

A series of footsteps echoed in the outer hall. Sarah 004 looked up at the newcomer, then looked down at the baby.

"Did Isis resurrect you?"

Upon hearing this, Dragon Sui knelt down on one knee. "Yes... my mother, she saved my life and freed me from the Yin Fire."

"I've regained my senses now."

Sarah smiled faintly, "Isis really does have the ability to resurrect. She kept it a secret for so many years, but she revealed it just to save you."

Why is that?

"Never mind, it's good that you survived. I don't care about anything else, but you, my children, you must live well. Not one of you is allowed to die."

"Dragon Sui, come and see, how cute your sister is!"

The child Sarah was holding was her and Ye Long's seventh child.

Dragon Sui lowered his head. "What's her name?"

Sarah lowered her head and smiled, "Your Father God said the name is Dragon Crystal, but your Father God has never understood your abilities."

"That's why I say, this child should be called a vengeful thief."

"But your Father God didn't like the name, so in the end he called you Dragon Crystal."

"So, why did Isis resurrect you?"

Dragon Sui slowly raised his head. "When a country is about to perish, there will surely be monsters. The Mother of Life said that this child will become the culprit who destroys the empire."

"As long as she stays here, she will gradually erode the fate of the Dragon Empire."

Sarah laughed. "She's not lying to you; she's telling the truth."

As she spoke, Sarah suddenly stood up and walked up to Dragon Sui. "She wants you to persuade me to give this child away, right?"

Dragon Sui: "If Father God discovers that the decline of the Empire's fortunes stems from the Seventh Prince, he will surely kill him without hesitation."

"Give me your hands," Sarah said, and the Dragon Sui stretched out its hands.

Sarah placed the child directly into Dragon Sui's arms. "Even you know, so we really can't keep her. Take her away, far away from the Dragon Empire, anywhere is fine."

"After all, she is my flesh and blood, so you should go with her."

Dragon Sui, puzzled, "Why?"

Sarah looked at him and said, "There are no so many whys. Just think of it as sacrificing yourself for the sake of the empire's long-term development and for your sister's life."

Dragon Sui looked at the baby in his arms and gradually fell into deep thought.

After Isis resurrected him, she gave him three instructions.

"Child, you are just a mortal with limited vision, unable to see the true nature of this world. Therefore, there are a few things I must tell you in advance."

"First, your mother god and Father God, they don't love you that much."

"Second, if you find that your parents are not in the main hall or the side hall, leave there as soon as possible."

"Don't speak. They can see you. They might be right next to you, but you just can't see them."

"Third, don't talk to your brothers and sisters."

"Do you have any other questions?" x2

Sarah's voice suddenly overlapped with Isis's voice.

Dragon Sui realized what was happening and quickly stood up. "No, if this is the task you assigned me, then I will definitely complete it."

"This time there will be absolutely no surprises."

Sarah smiled and patted his head. "Good boy."

After leaving the side hall, Dragon Sui wanted to leave Tai Heng Palace as soon as possible.

There was an eerie feeling permeating the place, which made him feel terrified and chilled to the bone. Was Tai Heng Palace ever like this?

Dragon Sui had forgotten when he last visited Tai Heng Palace.

It seems to be... when I was seven years old, or maybe eight?

To be honest, no one can really say what the Father God and Mother God are.

No one has ever seen the two gods in their true forms. Although they appear before humans in human form, their appearances are impossible to believe are their true forms.

The Yin Fire of the Bai Ye drove the Dragon Sui into madness.

But even in that mad world, he seemed to vaguely see the true forms of the Mother Goddess and the Father God.

A gigantic, dark cloud-like mass of flesh loomed over the entire sky above Dragon Head City, with countless grotesque, grinning faces hanging across the heavens.

Mucus dripped continuously from their mouths onto the ground, and tentacles grew from the ground, constantly waving over people's bodies.

Tai Heng Palace, on the other hand, resembled an insect nest, with a massive dragon skeleton coiled there, its eyes hollow, as if the flesh and blood of its body had been ripped out by insects.