Yin'er's Decision

Most importantly, being able to board this enormous and magical ship means that the Silver Dragon Guard can leave the frigid Arctic Circle and return to Dragon Valley!

Yin'er raised his massive head, his molten gold-like gaze falling on Zijin and Su Ming, who were huddled together in a low voice not far away. Since their first meeting, the natural and tacit interaction between the two confirmed that Stacy's previous description of their relationship was no exaggeration.

This stirred a deeper unease within Yin'er. Such a grave mistake could not be easily dismissed as a simple "intelligence error" or "being deceived." Elder Yinfei, what exactly did she do?

"For now, there's no need to worry about the Silver Dragon Guard's stance." Zijin ended her conversation with Su Ming, cracking her slender knuckles with a crisp click, her tone excited. "So, getting some 'interest' back shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"... Take it easy." Su Ming's tone was tinged with helplessness and indulgence.

"Yin'er." Zijin's voice suddenly rose, clearly piercing through the howling sea wind. She hovered in mid-air, her gaze fixed on the largest of the Silver Dragon, "Now that these minor troubles are resolved, let's get down to business."

"What important matter?" Upon hearing this, Yin'er straightened his massive dragon body.

"Your purpose in coming here is actually to stop me from vying for the Dragon King's throne. Have I wronged you?" Zijin's eyes flashed with a sharp light, her tone questioning. "This score will be settled with you now. Any objections?"

Yin'er faced the situation calmly, saying, "From my individual perspective, or from the perspective of the vast majority of Silver Dragon, we truly do not wish for an undead bone dragon to become the new king of our race."

"It's good that you admit it!" Zijin turned to Su Ming beside her and said, "Hold me!"

"Huh?" Su Ming was a little caught off guard when he saw the girl floating in front of him suddenly go limp, lose all her strength, lean back slightly, and fall towards the deck!

He immediately spread his magical wings, swooped down several meters, and caught the girl's soft body as she fell into his arms.

****

"Boom!"

In the center of the Pansy's deck, a huge cover opened to both sides, and a bone dragon, carrying a dense amount of dark energy, soared into the sky from the bottom of the hold!

This White Bone behemoth, which Su Ming once considered a colossal creature, now appeared thin and slender in comparison to Yin'er's body; even in terms of height alone, it was less than half the size of Yin Er.

However, every white jade-like bone that makes up the bone dragon's body is imbued with extremely refined dark Magic Power. Even in the deep of night, this power appears profound and mysterious, as if it is swallowing up the surrounding darkness.

"Yin'er, I can let this matter drop." Zijin's voice, amplified by magic and carrying the hollow echo unique to bone dragons, resonated clearly in the sea breeze, "All you need to do is—fight me!"

Faced with such a straightforward challenge that aligns with Dragon Race tradition, Yin'er had no reason to back down. The Bone Dragon Clan is not known for its brute force; Zijin's choice to accept the challenge in this manner also indicates that she has no intention of using the advantage brought by her rank.

Yin'er's massive body suddenly stood up, like a mountain rising from the ground. He suddenly spread his pair of silver dragon wings, and a powerful gust of air instantly surged across the deck, causing people's clothes to flutter.

The air rippled back and forth, carrying the intoxicating aroma of food. Steam billowed from the huge square pot, where a dazzling array of colorful ingredients tumbled and boiled in the scalding broth.

Yin'er did not see any flames, yet the heating effect of this giant cauldron was so efficient and mysterious.

He had no idea that the superheated steam, reaching temperatures of over 400 degrees Celsius, surging through the layers of the pot was what created this enormous cooking appliance that worked incredibly fast, without any smoke or fire.

Against the backdrop of rising steam, Yin'er's molten gold-like dragon eyes narrowed, and he made a decision. His massive head suddenly lowered, and in an ancient and solemn posture, his deep and resonant dragon language echoed throughout the entire ship:

"Yin'er, I submit to you and support you in becoming the new king!"

This sudden announcement caused a look of surprise to freeze on the skull-faced Miss Bone Dragon, who was hovering in mid-air and about to launch an attack!

****

"Just because of a hot bath and a 'pot' of stew, you're willing to let her be queen?" Su Ming asked Yin'er, holding Zijin in Ailisha's form, his tone full of confusion.

In the air, Zijin showed no sign of giving up. The soul fire in her eyes flickered as she glared menacingly at Yin'er.

But Yin'er ignored her gaze.

He took the enormous bone bowl, three meters in diameter, that had been assigned to him, curled up his long Dragon Tail, and joined the line of Silver Dragon waiting for their meals in perfect order. Together with the other young Silver Dragon, he patiently waited for his steaming hot food.

The Pansy trainees also formed several long lines on the other side, getting their dinner from the same large pot.

"There's no benefit to fighting anyway." Yin'er moved slowly with the Silver Dragon formation, its massive head turning towards Zijin. "Bone King may not know, but don't you understand why I'm doing this?"

Upon hearing this, Zijin fell into a brief silence.

Yin'er quickly filled a huge bowl with fragrant stew. He carried the bowl with his Dragon Claw claws to the other side of the deck and began to enjoy it.

"This is the Arctic Circle with a harsh environment. However, you humans can eat hot meals here." Yin Er's voice carried a deep emotion, "And as the topmost creature on this continent, we dragons can't eat such carefully cooked and richly flavored food even in our own home, the Dragon Valley."

"It's just a difference in lifestyle," Su Ming said.

"Your Bone King, history, for us dragons with long lifespans, is not merely dusty words on a bookshelf, but rather memories left by yesterday's experiences." Yin'er's tone carried a hint of self-deprecation. "Humans, didn't they also start from eating raw meat and drinking blood, and develop into what we are today? So-called lifestyle habits are actually just expressions of the level of productivity."

He put down his bowl and looked at the remaining half of the risotto—it contained tenderly cooked beans and thick slices of marinated meat, a perfect blend of salty and savory flavors.

"We dragons can only obtain enough food to fill our bellies, so naturally we can only be satisfied with that kind of 'diet'."

"Dragon Valley, while vast in area, is also home to nearly ten thousand dragons, so resources aren't exactly abundant," Zijin added. "In addition, due to various factors over the years, the dragons' living conditions are actually not very good."

"So, if you," Yin'er's gaze swept over Zijin, "Possess the ability to lead the Dragon Race race forward, then what does it matter whether you are a bone dragon or made of flesh and blood?" He spoke with a detached pragmatism and directness, "So-called racial pride is utterly vulnerable in the face of cold, hard reality—or rather, we dragons with mere flesh and blood should reflect on why we need to seek help from a bone dragon?"

Several young Silver Dragon who were queuing up or already enjoying their food heard the elder's words. Their understanding of the long history might not be as profound as that of Yin'er, but when they looked down at their bodies, which had been suffering from skin problems for days and were now finally cleansed by hot water, and smelled the unprecedentedly tempting aroma of the food in their bowls, they simply buried their heads in their food and did not utter a word of objection.

****

Su Ming suddenly snapped his fingers crisply. A Silver Dragon that was about to be at the front of the line suddenly shattered and disappeared like a phantom, revealing its true form as a unicorn.

Caught off guard, Qiluo fell from mid-air and crashed into the giant bowl, which was three meters in diameter!

"Qiluo, can you finish such a big 'jar' of rice?" Su Ming looked at the sacred beast sprawled out in the bowl and sighed helplessly.

"... Can't I save it and eat it slowly?!" Qiluo said angrily.

The student in charge of maintaining order in the cafeteria quickly brought over her signature large iron bucket and filled it to the brim.

"Miss Sacred Beast, this way please!" They coaxed and coaxed, half-helping and half-dragging her out of the Silver Dragon's food bowl. "Please finish what's in the bucket first, and if there's any left, we'll definitely give you more!"

The interlude ended, Su Ming turned back to continue listening to Yin'er's story.

"Human civilization has only existed for a few thousand years, yet it has undergone tremendous changes and created countless miracles." Yin'er's voice was tinged with frost and rain. "And we, these self-proclaimed great dragons, have remained stagnant. These thoughts are not new to me. They have lingered in my mind ever since I set sail aboard the massive fleet of the Light Fleet."

"This vast, boundless ocean, which even we dragons deeply revere," he stretched out a massive Dragon Claw, its tip gleaming with a cold light, "Has been conquered and roamed freely by humans whose bodies are smaller than my claw."

"But dragons possess such immense power," Su Ming was still puzzled. "With your enormous size and a population of tens of thousands, you have always been a force capable of intimidating the entire world!"

Yin'er slowly shook his head. "The dragons' power is undeniable, but behind that power lies vulnerability. Our combat strength is extraordinary, but our consumption is also terrifying. A battle requires a long period of slumber to recover our strength, and if we are injured, the recovery period is even longer. In addition—" He suddenly turned to Zijin, "Bay Owl, haven't you given His Excellency the Bone King a detailed explanation of the specific details of our Dragon Race?"

"Anyway, we're going to the valley soon," Zijin replied casually. "He'll see it with his own eyes then, and he'll naturally understand everything."