Chapter 291: News of the Undead

The White Dragon Lord flew east. For safety, Ten Thousand Dragon Island was located behind Kumlinge, far from the continent. He had set up a large Illusion Array over the island, hiding the entire place. Without knowing its exact location and the method of entry, finding it was impossible.

Flying over the Muxue mountains and gliding past lush primeval forests, the White Dragon Lord left the Kumlinge region and arrived over the ocean.

After flying for another ten or so minutes, he reached the sea where Ten Thousand Dragon Island was located.

From the sky, the sea where the island sat looked like nothing but a vast, boundless ocean. The waves curled slightly, and marine fish leaped in the water. It looked incredibly real.

Because it was real. The power of magic had transposed the imagery of a sea region several kilometers away directly to this spot, much like a 3D live broadcast. What illusion could be more convincing than reality itself?

The White Dragon Lord plunged headfirst into the water, swimming beneath the surface toward Ten Thousand Dragon Island.

To pass through the Illusion Array, one had to travel underwater. Entering from the sky would cause an intruder to unknowingly fall into the illusion, unable to break free—even for an ordinary legendary powerhouse. As for a High-Tier Legend, the White Dragon Lord hadn't considered that problem when designing the array.

It wasn't long before he saw the island's foundation beneath the sea and heard the resonant roars of dragons. The White Dragon Lord broke the surface and soared into the sky.

He flapped his dragon wings, scattering water droplets in all directions like pearls tumbling from a silver plate.

Hovering in the air, the White Dragon Lord gazed at Ten Thousand Dragon Island ahead.

Ten Thousand Dragon Island was massive, heavily forested with towering ancient trees. At its center sat a lone, low-slung mountain that covered a tremendous area. Numerous caves had been deliberately carved into the peak by dragons as residences. The Dragon Beast Academy was situated right at the summit. Currently, dragons of all sizes were flying in and out of the mountain.

The sight reminded the White Dragon Lord of the scene he had witnessed in the Holy City of Bahamut, where myriad dragons roared in unison and their wings obscured the sun.

Of course, the current Ten Thousand Dragon Island was still far from housing ten thousand dragons. Counting the hundred-plus dragons brought back from Madilan World and the dragon beasts the White Dragon Lord had collected from various regions, the total draconic population on the island only numbered around five hundred. Moreover, the vast majority were juvenile dragon beasts.

However, if it continued developing at this pace, the White Dragon Lord believed that in a few hundred years, it would become a Ten Thousand Dragon Island worthy of its name, forcing the entire dragon world to pay attention.

The White Dragon Lord flew toward the summit of the lone mountain. Every Adult Dragon that saw him nodded in respect.

The dragon beasts, on the other hand, had mixed reactions. Those who had been educated longer knew that the White Dragon Lord was the academy's founder and promptly expressed their reverence. The smaller dragon beasts merely looked bewildered. They had never seen one of their own kind this large. A few bold, playful little dragon beasts even tried to fly onto his back to play.

The White Dragon Lord wasn't angry. Instead, he teased them back. These newly born, uneducated dragon beasts were like human infants. To him, they were just children who couldn't contain their curiosity.

After teasing the little dragon beasts for a moment, the White Dragon Lord reached the summit, which housed over a dozen massive platforms.

On the platforms right now, the Adult Dragons from Madilan World were lecturing the sitting dragon beasts on knowledge from the dragon inheritance, occasionally cracking a magic whip to strike a wandering, mischievous dragon beast. This was the main body of the Dragon Beast Academy.

What? A holistic education?! Nonexistent!

Strict teachers produce outstanding students!

Watching the teacher dragons hand out exam papers, the white dragon felt truly happy for the little dragon beasts.

The White Dragon Lord observed for a while, then approached a cave near the summit. This was the principal's office, which also served as Soglamo's residence and laboratory.

The moment he entered the cave, the White Dragon Lord smelled a pungent herbal scent.

It was a familiar smell; clearly, Soglamo was conducting another magic experiment.

As a white dragon with a true name but lacking the dragon inheritance, Soglamo was constantly thinking about how to advance to the Legendary Rank Realm. Therefore, after receiving funding from White Castle, he spent all of his free time doing magic experiments.

However, this half-dragon beast with legendary experience was doing an excellent job managing the academy. He had established a series of academic regulations, including what the dragon beasts needed to learn at each age stage and the scheduling for teachers.

As long as there were no issues with his primary duties, the White Dragon Lord naturally didn't care what Soglamo did in his spare time.

Since Soglamo was doing a magic experiment, the White Dragon Lord wouldn't go in and disturb him. Many magic experiments were inherently dangerous; it would be bad if Soglamo failed because of his interference.

The White Dragon Lord decided to first take a stroll through the residential area of the giant dragons from Madilan World to see how they were recovering.

Madilan World had no magic elements, which had left its native giant dragons stunted and unable to cast spells, but their dragon inheritance remained intact. After arriving in Nordhill, their spellcasting abilities were slowly recovering.

Because the Adult Giant Dragons had missed their prime developmental window, their physical growth could no longer be made up for, leaving them with no hope of reaching the Legendary Rank in their lifetimes. It was just like a human suffering from childhood malnutrition that caused slow physical development; no matter how many supplements they took in adulthood, they could never grow taller.

Growing taller was out of the question, but growing fatter was still easy—oh, no, becoming stronger was still possible.

The White Dragon Lord pondered the condition of the Madilan World giant dragons as he flew.

"Hello! Amos!"

A pleasant, surprised shout snapped the White Dragon Lord out of his thoughts. He turned to see a small head popping out of a massive cave nearby.

It was the first dragon the White Dragon Lord had met in Madilan World, the runaway little brass dragon—Sanibel. Back then, it was with this little fellow acting as a guide that the White Dragon Lord had managed to find the Overseas Dragon Island of Madilan World.

Only a few years had passed, and the little brass dragon had already grown several sizes larger than the White Dragon Lord remembered.

Seeing the handful of mud turtle eggs in the little brass dragon's claws and the food scraps stuck around its mouth, the White Dragon Lord couldn't resist teasing.

"Little guy, you're living quite a comfortable life."

This was also one of the reasons the White Dragon Lord had placed the Illusion Array's entrance underwater—it made it convenient for the Murlocs to transport supplies to Ten Thousand Dragon Island.

"Of course!"

The two dragons had spent a few days together, and the little chatterbox, Sanibel, had long since grown familiar with the White Dragon Lord. Hearing his teasing tone, it shot him a provocative look and tossed the mud turtle eggs in its claws.

Little dragons like Sanibel hadn't lived in Madilan World for very long and were currently in their golden stage of development. Once they grew up, they would be no different from normal giant dragons. Therefore, the White Dragon Lord had specifically ordered the Murlocs to satisfy all of these little dragons' food needs, even providing a specialized supply of Transcendent Beast meat.

The little brass dragon, not realizing how good it had it, spoke in a resentful tone.

"I'd be living even better if you could get Principal Soglamo to assign a bit less homework."

These little dragons with intact inheritances were in a completely different situation from the dragon beasts, and their education systems were also different.

"Hah?! It seems the teachers are still giving you too little homework, seeing how much free time you have."

The White Dragon Lord pretended to mutter to himself.

"Looks like I'll have to tell Soglamo to arrange a few more classes."

"Oh! No! You are a Devil!!!"

The little brass dragon gasped, covering its face, and the White Dragon Lord was thoroughly amused.

Perhaps the White Dragon Lord and the little brass dragon had been a bit too loud, because a rustling sound came from a neighboring cave. A red dragon walked out, its face practically writing out, "I am very unhappy."

Just as it was about to shout a reprimand, the red dragon caught sight of the White Dragon Lord hovering in the air and hastily swallowed its words.

"So it is Lord Amos."

"Sugmaru, you look like you've grown quite a bit stronger!"

"Hahaha! Isn't that the truth."

The red dragon spread its wings, stretching its body.

"I've finally escaped that damned cage of Madilan. The air in Nordhill is filled with the fragrance of magic, and I can feel myself getting stronger!"

The red dragon looked at the white dragon's massive size and dejectedly folded its wings back. Though it had escaped, the lost time could not be reclaimed, and its physical development could never be made up for. Just like a dwarf facing a normal person, Sugmaru's heart filled with inferiority.

This was also the common mindset among the Adult Dragons from Madilan World. Therefore, the White Dragon Lord had arranged for them to live in isolation on Ten Thousand Dragon Island, and they agreed to the arrangement. As long as they completed the light teaching rotations assigned by Soglamo, they would be supported by White Castle—why wouldn't they do it?

"No need to be discouraged, Sugmaru. You still have a chance to step into the Legendary Rank as long as you're willing to work hard, just like Soglamo."

The path the White Dragon Lord pointed out was indeed viable, but the journey was arduous, and not all dragons were that diligent.

Laziness! That was a giant dragon's true nature.

Sugmaru nodded. After chatting with the White Dragon Lord for a short while, it shrank back inside to continue sleeping.

The White Dragon Lord shook his head helplessly. No matter the creature, as long as they were diligent, they had a chance to change their fate. But "laziness" and "muddling along" ruined the opportunities they could have grasped.

Having woken its neighbor, the little brass dragon's enthusiasm for conversation dampened. After chatting with the White Dragon Lord for a bit longer, it shrank back inside to finish its homework—because failing to complete it meant getting whipped.

Seeing the little brass dragon's expression as if it were bravely marching to its death, the White Dragon Lord grew even more resolved in this educational method of spurring the little dragons forward.

The red dragon Sugmaru was lazy, and so it could not step into the Legendary Rank, because it was just an ordinary red dragon. However, there were two exceptionally talented dragons from Madilan World: one Gold Dragon and one red dragon. Those two were the former top bosses of the Madilan Dragon Island.

When those two dragons were in Madilan World, their Creature Level was already Level 18. Now in the magic-rich environment of Nordhill, it was highly possible for them to break through to the Legendary Rank Realm.

The White Dragon Lord specifically strolled past the entrances of their caves and found that the auras on their bodies had indeed grown stronger. The red dragon even showed faint signs of a breakthrough.

Before long, the White Dragon Lord finished his inspection.

Overall, after the Adult Giant Dragons from Madilan World arrived in Nordhill, while they hadn't directly recovered to the Legendary stage, they had all grown somewhat stronger. If they didn't put in the effort themselves, aside from those two top bosses, none of them had any hope of stepping into the Legendary Rank.

As for the Adult Dragons from Madilan World, the White Dragon Lord couldn't exactly hold a knife to them to force them to work hard; it was entirely up to them.

Suddenly, the White Dragon Lord thought of the half-dragon beast, Soglamo. If Soglamo could advance to the Legendary Rank with an identity close to a dragon beast, it would be a surefire, inspiring tale of an underdog's counterattack. Getting Soglamo to help with a wave of propaganda then would absolutely serve as a massive stimulus for the giant dragons of Madilan World.

The power of a role model was limitless...

To think Soglamo actually had this kind of value?!

After mulling it over, the White Dragon Lord concluded that while the plan seemed absurd, it was actually feasible.

The White Dragon Lord casually strolled around Ten Thousand Dragon Island until he found that the magic message he had left at the entrance of Soglamo's cave had been triggered. This meant the principal of the Dragon Beast Academy had finished his experiment.

Inside Soglamo's cave.

"Senior Soglamo, how much do you know about the Desolation of Extreme Winter?"

"The Desolation of Extreme Winter?! Lord Amos, why do you ask? That place is extremely dangerous."

Sure enough, Soglamo knew about the Desolation of Extreme Winter.

"A friend invited me to go explore the Desolation of Extreme Winter together, so I came to ask you for some information."

Soglamo suddenly remembered that the white dragon before him was one of the few dozen entities sitting at the very peak of Nordhill's food chain.

The Desolation of Extreme Winter was dangerous, yes—even a legendary powerhouse could fall in there if careless. But for a High-Tier Legend, it probably was just so-so.

Thinking of this, Soglamo felt envious in his heart and spoke up.

"In the past, whenever I needed experimental materials, I would always search the edges of the Desolation of Extreme Winter. Even though the danger there couldn't compare to the deep parts of the Desolation of Extreme Winter, it still nearly claimed my life several times."

Soglamo fell into his memories.

"The Snow Demons there are exceedingly difficult to deal with. They can move freely through the ice and snow and launch their sneak attacks without a sound, making them very troublesome. The best way to shake them off is to fly into the sky, but the skies over the Desolation of Extreme Winter are constantly filled with a biting vicious wind. Those gales contain immense Magical Energy, and I couldn't withstand them for too long."

Soglamo swallowed hard and looked at the White Dragon Lord again.

"If it were you, Lord Amos, you might be able to tolerate the vicious wind there, but the higher you fly, the stronger the wind becomes."

"When walking on the ground, you must be extremely careful of the soft snow. Frost Dormancy Scorpions love to hide in the snow. The Frost Dormancy Scorpion is an elementalized transcendent creature; they can even lie motionless under the snow for years. Once struck by a Frost Dormancy Scorpion's tail, being afflicted by the cold poison is extremely troublesome. Even a Legendary Rank Warrior wouldn't be able to escape the Desolation of Extreme Winter while wounded."

"Also, undead appear in the Desolation of Extreme Winter."

The White Dragon Lord's eyes lit up; he had finally found some valuable information.

Necromancers were the absolute main force of the Cult of the Dragon, while liches and dracoliches were the upper echelons of the Cult of the Dragon. Adding what Lilith had said about the Cult of the Dragon's headquarters being deep in the Desolation of Extreme Winter, nine out of ten times, the undead Soglamo had seen belonged to the Cult of the Dragon.

"Senior Soglamo, where did you see the undead, and what were the exact circumstances? Tell me in detail."

Alright, today's is done, continuing tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for your legitimate reading support and tickets.

(End of Chapter)