Dragon Race Council
"This situation must be quite rare even within the Dragon Race, right?" Su Ming speculated.
Dragons are known for their powerful physique and tenacious vitality; ordinary duels should hardly result in fatal consequences.
"That's true." Zijin nodded in confirmation, her eyes gleaming mischievously. "So, I was thinking, should I just issue a formal challenge to Gelie, and then, in the heat of battle, accidentally slip up?"
Before she could finish speaking, the Blue Dragon Lanlie, which had been flying steadily beneath her, suddenly shuddered! It threw Su Yan and Zijin off its back and then slammed back down heavily.
"But defeating that Gelie won't be easy." Zijin steadied herself, seemingly unfazed, and continued her calculations, "I need to think carefully about how to successfully ambush him—"
"How did you manage to so naturally blend the phrases 'a fair and square challenge' and 'a sneaky ambush' into the same plan?" Su Ming couldn't help but complain.
"Hmph, who told that guy to say he was going to pluck my wings first?" Zijin retorted angrily.
Lanlie finally couldn't hold back any longer and interjected, "Where did the saying 'pluck out the wings' come from?"
"It was clearly stated in Gelie's previous challenge letter!" Zijin replied, "He said that if he won, he would 'reward me with my wing'!"
Lanlie remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking in an extremely weak tone, "In the ancient dragon language, 'wing' symbolizes assistance and protection, while 'serve' represents service and respect." He tried hard to recall the wording, "If you win, I will serve you with wings" means: If Dragon King Gelie Lie wins, he will willingly step down to the position of subject, assisting and respecting you as the new king.
A deathly silence fell over the dragon's back; the two remained speechless for a long time.
"Next time you write a letter, could you use something that everyone can understand?" Su Ming finally sighed helplessly.
Even in normal written dragon language, Zijin would struggle, let alone in ancient dragon language!
"--I'm used to it."
Lanlie's enormous wings trembled slightly, and a strange ripple spread out from the center of his dragon back. The blue camouflage scales covering it receded like water, and from the center point, golden scales shimmering with an ancient luster quickly emerged and were revealed.
"Your Gelie Ge Lie, why?" Zijin's voice was filled with deep confusion. "The Council of Elders will never agree to your idea of making me succeed as the Dragon King, will they?"
"No dragon would be willing to have a bone dragon become the king of the Dragon Race," Gelie Lie said in a low voice.
He suddenly lowered his flight altitude, and his massive dragon body swept over a vast area of farmland.
Su Ming peered down and saw that the fields below were crisscrossed with paths, the crops were growing well, and there were many goblins, humans, and dwarves working diligently among them.
"Dragon Valley is vast, but as the dragon's mouth grows, we have to bring in other races to cooperate, relying on their labor and farming techniques." In the howling wind, Gelie explained the current situation, "Only in this way can we produce enough food to feed the entire tribe."
"Division of labor and cooperation is an inevitable trend in development," Zige commented.
"However, as various collaborations unfold, we Dragon Race always find that contracts that seemed fair at the time of signing often end up hurting us the most," Gelie sighed heavily. "Take this fertile land below, for example. The contract stipulates a ten-year lease, with 30% of the output paid as rent. It seems reasonable on the surface, right? But these shrewd farmers will deliberately choose to plant a so-called premium 'wheat' with extremely low yields."
Yin'er caught up, and Stacy, on his back, asked curiously, "Why?"
"Because this premium wheat commands a higher price," Gelie explained. "They'll raise livestock in the wheat fields, using the wheat stalks as feed. At the same time, they'll designate a small area to grow high-yield but low-quality ordinary wheat, specifically to pay us that 30% rent."
"This is a classic strategy of substituting output for production and diverting revenue through value transfer," Zijin pointed out. "The actual land rent value handed over to you in the end is probably less than 10% of the nominal value, isn't it?"
"Hmm," Gelie Lie responded heavily.
"No merchant is honest!" Su Ming couldn't help but sigh. "But this is common in the business world. The key lies with the Dragon Race; they need to implement effective management and supervision."
"I know, but the problem is that the vast majority of Dragon Race are simply incapable of such management," Gelie replied. "It's easy for them to breathe fire and scorch an entire field, but most dragons simply can't figure out how much trickery those goblins and humans are up to."
"Skilled in combat and destruction, but not in business management?" Stacy concluded.
Gelie slowly shook his head. "No, it's our entire Dragon Race that's being left behind by the times." His sigh was filled with a sense of vicissitude and helplessness. "The world of short-lived species is developing too fast. New knowledge, technologies, and rules are emerging endlessly. For us dragons, our long lifespan has become an obstacle to keeping up with the times."
"Long years don't always accumulate wisdom; past knowledge, if not updated in time, will become an obstacle to understanding the real world," Yin'er's voice was deep.
Su Ming thought to himself, "This is only in another world, and you can't even handle it. If we were facing Earth's era of knowledge explosion, wouldn't we all collapse?"
However, based on Su Ming's deduction, if Earth were to become the host, these ten thousand dragons would not be enough to "cause harm" to human civilization. The first wave of attacks would exhaust their elite combat power, and they would have almost no war potential afterward.
The actual process may have some fluctuations, but in any case, humanity will never lose!
But if we go back fifty years, it's hard to say who would win the war between humans and dragons. Even if humans ultimately prevailed, it would be an extremely difficult victory.
Fifty years is a short time for a dragon, filled with play and sleep.
"Our younger generation was born two hundred years ago," Gelie said, his words filled with worry. "A dragon may not even be fully grown before its knowledge and ideas become outdated. It is we, the old dragons, who are more aware of the seriousness of the problem."
Zijin rubbed her temples. "But dragons are still an extremely powerful race, possessing enormous innate advantages. Go out and explore more; the situation can improve!"
"You're absolutely right," Gelie said. "We need more dragons to go out and enter the outside world; we also need more external scholars to come in and bring new ideas and technologies—we need a bridge, a powerful medium. Or rather, what we need is you, Zijin."
The scholar-level knowledge of the Zijin Titled Scholar, along with her influence in the other world, are precisely the resources that Gelie craves. In comparison, her formidable combat power becomes insignificant.
****
"Is that so?" In the wind, Zijin's sigh carried a hint of understanding and detachment. "I apologize, Your Gelie Lie, but please allow me to decline your favor and kindness."
"Why?" Gelie's voice was deep and filled with confusion.
"You're willing to accept a bone dragon because it's barely even considered a dragon, right?" Zijin looked directly at him, her tone calm yet firm. "But the core of my life has already been transferred to this human body."
"We can ignore that," Gelie said magnanimously, trying to persuade, "You just need to appear in the form of a bone dragon."
"But I refuse," Zijin said resolutely. "I've decided to live on in this body. Even in the future—" She paused slightly, deliberately avoiding everyone present, "I will marry, have children, and experience birth, aging, sickness, and death like a human, until this body returns to dust."
A heavy silence fell over the room; no one spoke.
Suddenly, a deep and majestic power emanated from Gelie's massive body.
Zijin gently patted Su Ming beside her, "I'll handle it."
Su Ming understood, Gossamer Wings of Darkness instantly unfolded. His figure soared up and landed steadily on the broad back of the nearby Yin'er, standing side by side with Stacy.
The Divine Favor Scepter and the power of Flight Spell shone in Zijin's hand. She shifted her body, creating distance between herself and Gelie.
"Do you dragons usually resolve disagreements by fighting?" Su Ming asked Yin'er.
"Yes, this is one of our ancient traditions," Yin'er replied in a low voice.
"But isn't this bullying the weak?" Su Ming retorted bluntly. "Whether she wins or loses, it won't change Zijin's mind, nor should it affect her freedom of choice!"
Gelie's poised movements faltered slightly at Su Ming's words.
"You—won't let the outcome of this duel change your decision?" he asked Zijin.
"Of course not." In the wind, Zijin's voice was exceptionally clear and resolute, carrying an undeniable certainty. "My decision is final! My response to your challenge is simply—I want to beat you up!"
"[Can you defeat him?]" Su Ming asked worriedly. "[Gelie is a giant dragon, and Saint Rank being who has lived for countless years.]"
Even if the power level is the same, their enormous size represents completely different dimensions. The dragon's massive body is definitely not for nothing.
"Of course I can't beat him," Zijin frankly admitted. "But he's getting on in years. If I use all my trump cards and unleash my full power, I can still make him suffer a bit in a short time."
Was she planning to cause mutual destruction? Su Ming caught the emotion surging beneath her words and was somewhat puzzled.
"Are you angry?" he asked.
Zijin was awakened by Su Ming's question and suddenly realized the nameless anger in her heart. She herself had not even realized that when Gelie arranged for her to inherit the Dragon King as a bone dragon without explanation and intended to force her to walk on it, a strong anger had been churning in her chest.
That feeling was like wanting to smash something to pieces!
On the other side, Gelie completely stopped gathering power, a move that greatly surprised Stacy. The "Lie" in Gelie's name wasn't just for show.
"Gelie Majesty, your temper has become much milder," Stacy said with a questioning tone.
"After all, we're getting old." Gelie sighed deeply, his tone carrying a heavy sense of powerlessness. "From beginning to end, it was we Dragon Race who had something to ask for. We longed for that magical device that could circle around and take in the vast terrain and vegetation of the land, we longed for that powerful productivity that could build magnificent warships, and we longed for your management methods and concepts that could keep thousands of individuals on a huge ship in an orderly and efficient manner."
"This is what I saw during my trip to Northern Ice Island as an investigator, and it was the purpose of my visit," he explained frankly. "Even though we were prepared beforehand, everything you showed us was beyond our imagination—it utterly shocked us."
"Originally, we placed our hopes on Yinfei." His voice carried a sense of vicissitude and deep sorrow that seemed to transcend time. "She was the most outstanding dragon of the Mesozoic Era, frequently traveling between the territories of various races and managing diplomatic affairs with remarkable skill. We had high hopes that she could shoulder this heavy responsibility—but we never imagined that she would join the embrace of a cult, even going so far as to slaughter her own kind."
****
The atmosphere grew somewhat tense.
Seeing that Gelie had no intention of continuing, Zijin had no choice but to stop and fly to Su Ming's side.
"Your Gelie Ge Lie, I have a suggestion," Su Ming said. "Zijin is willing to do her best for this homeland and contribute to the Dragon Race to the best of her ability. As her partner, I am also willing to provide full assistance with the Final Bone Mad Machines. At the same time, we also have a request, which Your Majesty is surely already aware of?"
"You urgently need a base for development," Gelie said bluntly. "I can allocate a piece of land near Dragon Gorge Port —in that most convenient location—to Zijin." He paused. "According to the ancient customs of the Dragon Race, Zijin, as a member of the Dragon Race, has the right to manage a thousand hectares of land."
Su Ming quickly calculated in his mind: This area is more than enough to build a factory, no calculation needed, there's simply not enough space!
Even in his homeland, the largest factory, Foxconn Longhua Campus, is only 230 hectares in size.
And this is just the share that the Zijin can get for free simply by virtue of its "household registration"!
"Very well, these damned landlords!" Su Ming clicked his tongue inwardly. Ten thousand dragons occupying a vast territory of over a million square kilometers, can they really be so arrogant and domineering!
"Of course, you also need to offer commensurate benefits and provide honest terms for cooperation," Gelie added.
Land is certainly part of it, but this base, located in the core area of Dragon Race, inherently represents the powerful protection of the Dragon Race. Paying a reasonable price for it is only natural.
"That's only right," Su Ming nodded in agreement. "Therefore, my suggestion is that Zijin doesn't necessarily have to be the Dragon King." He pondered for a moment, "In my homeland, many heads of state, though symbols and representatives of their countries, do not actually manage specific political affairs."
"If Zijin were to become the Dragon King, it would inevitably cause many problems, and might even lead to a split within the Dragon Race. But what if she only serves as the General Chairperson of the Dragon Race?"
Upon hearing this, Gelie's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he actually showed some interest.
"The specific responsibilities can be divided more clearly and formally," Su Ming continued, elaborating on his concept. "The General Council Chairman could possess voting rights surpassing those of the Grand Elders and would hold full authority over all political affairs, forming a system of checks and balances with the Elder Council, where they would rely on each other."
How should the specific rules be formulated? What kind of political system should be designed for a huge group with tens of thousands of members? Su Ming had no idea.
But that doesn't matter, he has plenty of cattle and horses to serve him.
[Miao Xin, notify the Dodder, there's work to be done!] Su Ming quickly communicated with Miao Xin through mental link.
He instinctively wanted to share his view, but Miao Xin flatly refused.
[I know! Don't look, I'm taking a shower!] Miao Xin replied irritably.
Su Ming was speechless and choked with emotion.
What bath? Shouldn't we be brushing ribs on the Little Spiky Head?
"Wait a minute." Yin'er suddenly spoke up, raising a crucial question, "So, who will be the next Dragon King?"
His own light collided with Gelie, and then with the Zijin floating in the air.
This dragon selection is so difficult to decide!
****
Bubing Island, Thousand-Blade Dragon Cliff.
"Ah-che!"
Without warning, Lanmo let out a deafening sneeze.
The powerful shockwave nearly sent Chloe flying as she walked by.
The Saint Rank Blue Dragon was utterly perplexed. How could its skin, which automatically generated heat due to the out-of-control entropy law, have caught a cold?
Surely it's not like a dragon is thinking about him?
"It's time to get to work!" Chloe steadied herself and snapped, her face stern. "All you do is play around all day. Come help move the stone slabs!"
Lanmo reluctantly removed the motion sensors strapped to her body.
"Um," he leaned closer to Chloe, his tone pleading, "Could you update another game that Su Ming gave you?"
Chloe glanced at him. "Your recent work performance has been quite lackluster."
"No, I'm very enthusiastic!" Lanmo's spirits lifted instantly. He rushed to the area of the magic array ruins, took a deep breath, and suddenly pried up a huge stone slab from the ground.
"Tell me, where are we moving it to!" he shouted with overwhelming force.
****
When Su Ming and his group arrived at the Dragon Court, it was already afternoon.
Dragon King Gelie immediately summoned the Dragon Race elders for an emergency meeting.
Besides the two Grand Elders, Lanmo and Yinfei, each clan of the Dragon Race usually has one to three ordinary elders who together form the Elder Council, the core of power.
In addition, the Jade Dragon has a Grand Elder, Zhimeng.
Today's meeting is being held at her residence, on the shores of the mysterious Thousand Illusions Lake.
Surrounded by lush, verdant trees, the surface of Thousand Illusions Lake resembles a giant, solidified piece of jade. Despite the gentle breeze, the water remains eerily still, as calm as a mirror.
After a brief exchange, the dragons Zhimeng and slowly formed a huge circle. Then, a pale green magical light rose from Zhimeng and spread outwards like ripples on water.
"Jadeite, Shared Dreams!"
In an instant, all the dragons fell silent, their forms slightly solidified, and their consciousnesses collectively sank into the shared dream world dominated by Gelie.
****
Outside the venue, at the top of a towering ancient redwood tree, on its thick, gnarled branches, Zijin and Su Ming sat side by side, gazing at the scene on the shore of Thousand Illusions Lake below.
After leaving the frigid Arctic Circle, we sailed and flew south, where the temperature steadily rose. Now, the sun was shining brightly, and the warmth was even more pronounced.
Both of them took off their thick coats. Underneath Zijin wore a light-colored wool sweater; the soft fabric clung perfectly to her figure, outlining the girl's demure curves.
As agreed, Gelie first convened this internal preparatory meeting, and then held formal talks with them.
"I'm talking about Zijin." Su Ming withdrew his gaze and turned to the person beside him, "What you said to Gelie earlier surprised me. Are you really planning to live primarily as a human from now on?"
"What's wrong?" A hint of confusion appeared in Zijin's eyes. "My life core has always been inside Ailisha's body, and I've been trying to accept and adapt to it."
"But didn't you say that before?" Su Ming recalled a conversation they had shortly after entering the ice plains, "You said you were more used to being a dragon than to seeing yourself as a human?"
"Ah, I said that?" Zijin's eyes widened in disbelief. "How could I say such a thing!"
"--I've heard that this Zhimeng Weaver can share fragments of past memories through dreams." Su Ming pointed to the Tranquility yet Magic Power vibrant Thousand Illusions Lake ahead. "How about we ask her for help and have a 'replay' of the past to verify it?"
"--don't want!"
****
Zijin found a bunch of green grass from somewhere, plucked a tender stem, put it in her mouth, and chewed it a few times. "Mmm, it still tastes familiar from my memories."
Seeing this, Su Ming followed suit and picked up a plant as well. The plant had delicate pinnate compound leaves, with layers upon layers of tiny leaflets, resembling a small comb.
Bring it close to your nose, and you can smell a light and lingering herbal fragrance; however, the taste is bitter, mixed with spiciness.
"Is this flavor good?" Su Ming frowned and asked doubtfully.
"It's just a moment of reminiscing," Zijin said nonchalantly, her fingertips deftly plucking a few tiny purple buds from the tip of a grass stem and tossing them into her mouth. "This is the flower with the same name as me; it was my favorite snack when I was little."
She squinted, as if lost in memories of the past.
Su Ming's heart skipped a beat. He immediately dropped the grass in his hand and then tightly gripped Zijin's wrist.
"Spit it out!" he said anxiously, and with his other hand he tried to pry her mouth open without saying a word.
Su Ming didn't recognize the plant Zijin, but since it was a girl's name, he looked it up a bit. He didn't remember much else, but one thing stuck with him: its other name was "heartbreak grass"!
"What are you doing! You—stop—I'll throw up! I'll throw up!" Zijin was both embarrassed and annoyed by his sudden action.
Seeing that Zijin had spat out all the grass and withered flowers from her mouth, Su Ming finally relaxed and let out a long sigh of relief.
Gelsemium elegans isn't actually that poisonous; ingesting a small amount of its alkaloids shouldn't cause any problems.
In the right dosage, it can even be used medicinally.
"Why?!" Zijin rubbed her wrist, angrily demanding an explanation.
"It's poisonous!" Su Ming replied.
"How could it be poisonous?" Zijin didn't believe it. "When I was still Faerie Dragon, I ate this all the time!"
"You know that's when the dragon is!" Su Ming said helplessly.
****
A small Red Dragon flew gracefully closer, with Stacy sitting on its back. She held a large bunch of brightly colored, plump, and juicy unidentified fruits in her arms.
"This is the little dragon I met last time I came, Hongxi!" Stacy nimbly jumped off the dragon's back, landing steadily on a branch, and introduced her.
"Hello, Hongxi!" Su Ming raised his hand and greeted her in a friendly manner.
Hongxi seemed a little shy, responded softly, and then quickly flapped its wings and flew away as if startled.
"This child is rather shy." Stacy smiled as she watched Hong Xi fly away, then shared the fruit she was holding with the two of them. "Have something to eat first; who knows how long these dragons' meeting will last."
Su Ming took the fruits, which carried a fresh scent and still had glistening water droplets on their skin from being washed. He handed a few to Zijin, who wiped the grass juice off her wool sweater, snorted, and took them.
Su Ming picked one up, took a big bite, and juice spilled out, filling the air with a sweet fruity aroma.
"This is the kind of food humans should eat!" he said contentedly.
****
A large meeting was still being held on the lakeside below. After everyone had eaten their fill, a smaller meeting began to take place in the treetops above.
"Ailisha's form itself possesses exceptional spellcasting talent," Stacy explained to Su Ming while munching on fruit, regarding the recent problem Zijin had encountered. "The two additional Faerie Dragon innate talents have exceeded the limits of what it can handle, becoming a heavy burden."
"What's the solution?" Su Ming pressed.
"Remove one," Stacy answered crisply. "The White Pheasant Healer and the Bronze Cormorant Scholar didn't realize that a sharp weapon can't be infinitely sharpened and strengthened. Zijin's body can only perfectly support one Faerie Dragon's talent at most. Of course, that's how magical research is; often, problems can only be discovered through practice."
"Therefore, my only option is to fuse with the ' Elemental Resonance ' origin," Zijin interjected. "Only in this way can I regain a balance in my affinity and control over the six elements."
"Understood." Su Ming nodded. "This kind of process of stripping and fusing origins requires the use of the dragon's Land of Ancestral Spirits, right?"
"That's just one crucial step," Stacy corrected, "We'll still need you."
"Me?" Su Ming pointed to the tip of his nose in surprise.
"Yes, you will share one of the source," Stacy said confidently. "It would be such a waste to let such a precious source, which was separated with great difficulty, go to waste."
"Uh, you mean, to attach the diamond-shaped Faerie Dragon scale from Zijin's head to my body?" Su Ming quickly understood, but his face showed doubt. "Won't there be any problems with doing this?"
"I've done a thorough compatibility test," Stacy said confidently. "The results show a high degree of compatibility. You and Ailisha are genotyped identical."
During this time, Stacy has also made up for a lot of knowledge in the field of DNA, which she calls "life rune sequences".
Su Ming had some doubts. He was a human from Earth; was the resemblance between him and the humans of this other world really that high?
"Don't worry," Stacy reassured her. "Even if something goes wrong, it can be removed. At most—it'll just cause you some suffering."
"Alright!" Since that was the case, Su Ming stopped being coy and readily agreed.
He knew that the rhombus-shaped primordial scale containing the "Whispers of the Stars," once fitted, would surely grant him power by improving his physique.
There are bound to be risks in the process, and there may be some unknown costs involved.
However, the expanded mental pool effect that comes with "Whispers of the Stars" is precisely what Su Ming urgently needs to improve.
So, it's worth a try!