Chapter 431: Debating Tiamat

"I didn't expect the Spatial Lockdown Magic Array to require a Heart of the Plane. How troublesome!" Grand Duke Silver Dragon shook his head in distress. Even for Abomination Rank powerhouses, an Intermediate Heart of the Plane was a rare treasure. As a High-Tier Legend, Grand Duke Silver Dragon didn't even have the qualifications to handle items of this caliber.

The White Dragon Lord thought for a moment beside him, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "I have a way."

"What way?"

"We have the Intermediate Heart of the Plane deliver itself to our doorstep."

"Deliver itself? Is there really such a good thing?"

That night, the White Dragon Lord dined with his younger dragon siblings in White Castle, telling them about the Dragon Academy.

"His Majesty the Platinum Dragon God has issued a divine decree, ordering metallic dragons from other planes to send their young into the Dragon Academy on the Rodoro plane. Now, the number of young dragons in the academy is growing by the day..."

Felicia frowned upon hearing this. "Amos, with so many metallic dragons, won't the chromatic dragons get bullied?"

"Don't worry about that. His Majesty the Platinum Dragon God is going to build a temple in the Dragon Academy. He'll have all the young dragons receive his teachings, regardless of whether they're chromatic, metallic, or even gem dragons."

"I see," Felicia nodded. She grabbed a piece of fruit and was about to toss it into her mouth when she suddenly froze. The fruit dropped from her lips.

Smack!

She slammed her claws on the table and shot up. "How can that be?! How can chromatic dragons be forced to study the teachings of His Majesty the Dragon God of the North Wind?! Amos! I absolutely do not agree!"

"Relax, relax!" The White Dragon Lord waved a hand dismissively. "It's not mandatory. If the chromatic young dragons aren't willing, we won't force them into the North Wind Temple."

Felicia paced back and forth anxiously. "Amos! The Dragon Academy only has a temple for His Majesty the Dragon God of the North Wind. This is far too unfair to the chromatic dragons. We should build a temple for Her Majesty the Dragon Queen as well! Let the young dragons receive the Dragon Queen's teachings!"

"You make a fair point. Later, I'll have some shrines built for Her Majesty the Dragon Queen."

"Not shrines! A temple! A temple on the same scale as His Majesty's!"

"On what grounds? His Majesty the Dragon God of the North Wind promised that if the Dragon Academy ever encountered danger, he would send down an avatar to help resolve the trouble. Furthermore, he gave me this." Saying this, the White Dragon Lord brought out the divine artifact—the Emblem of Light. "This is a divine artifact, and a rare healing one at that, whereas Her Majesty the Dragon Queen hasn't contributed anything."

"Oh, my heavens!" Felicia clutched her head, her face filled with horror. "Has His Majesty already bribed you?! Amos! You've changed!"

"How can you call it a bribe? His Majesty the dragon god gave this to me to save my life. I've completely made the Titan Race remember me this time around. This is His Majesty's care. But, then again..."

Pausing for a moment, the White Dragon Lord continued, "In the Dragon Academy, who knows how many chromatic dragons will throw themselves into the embrace of the Dragon God of the North Wind because of this."

"Amos! As chromatic dragons, we must stop such a thing from happening!"

"Why?! His Majesty the Platinum Dragon God ordered the metallic dragons to accept the academy's teachings. This benefits the young dragons, and it greatly guarantees the Dragon Academy's safety."

"Her Majesty the Dragon Queen can protect her believers too!"

"When the Dragon Academy is attacked, are you certain Her Majesty the Dragon Queen will step in to help?"

Felicia fell silent for a short while. "No! I have to tell Her Majesty the Dragon Queen!"

Seeing his dragon sister close her eyes in silent prayer, the White Dragon Lord's spirits jolted. He signaled Elena and Willy to leave.

She was coming!

Before long, "Felicia" opened her eyes. A divine gleam as solid as substance shot from her draconic pupils, and a wave of dragon might mixed with divine authority pressed toward the White Dragon Lord.

But as an Abomination Rank dragon, even if Tiamat's true body were to arrive in person, it would be impossible to affect the White Dragon Lord with mere pressure.

"Good day, Her Majesty the Dragon Queen," the White Dragon Lord said, offering a dragon's salute.

"Good day?" Tiamat laughed in anger. "How exactly am I supposed to have a 'good day'?"

"Amos! Amos! What a good child of mine you are! Siding with outsiders! Helping that bastard steal my believers!"

The White Dragon Lord said solemnly, "Her Majesty the Dragon Queen, the clustered young dragons require protection!"

"Don't change the subject on me! Speak! Why are you helping that bastard steal my believers?! As a chromatic dragon, helping me strengthen the chromatic dragons is what you should be doing!" Tiamat's avatar stared fixedly at the White Dragon Lord.

The White Dragon Lord replied calmly, "Her Majesty the Dragon Queen, as a descendant of Io, strengthening the Dragon Race is also my responsibility."

"So you help that bastard build a temple and toss me aside?! Don't forget that I am the bloodline origin of the chromatic dragons!"

"Actually, Her Majesty the Dragon Queen's temple is also on the schedule," the White Dragon Lord said, spreading his claws in a shrug.

Tiamat raised a brow. "Very well, what do you want by luring me here?"

"It's like this, Her Majesty the Dragon Queen. We need a certain material to add a layer of defense to the Dragon Academy. This layer of defense is the Spatial Lockdown Magic Array on this world's dimensional barrier."

Tiamat looked up, her gaze piercing through endless illusions to see reality. "Nordhill's Spatial Lockdown Magic Array is indeed extraordinary."

"Exactly. Even for Her Majesty the Dragon Queen, coming in would have been quite difficult if Felicia hadn't guided you from inside the plane. And apart from the young dragons, I will not permit the existence of any other sapient creatures within the Rodoro plane, making this plan absolutely flawless."

The White Dragon Lord continued, "And setting up the Spatial Lockdown Magic Array requires a precious material—an Intermediate Heart of the Plane."

"So, you are scheming against me!"

The White Dragon Lord remained silent, effectively giving his tacit consent.

Tiamat frowned. "Build a temple for me, and I will personally guard the growth of my descendants."

"Her Majesty the Dragon Queen, do not forget the lesson from the Sincaro Titan World last time. Back then, you intercepted that majesty, and His Majesty the Platinum Dragon God intercepted the Luminous Titan. I don't know about the Star Realm, but I imagine there was quite a commotion there as well."

The White Dragon Lord pressed on. "In the event that you three majesties are intercepted again, I cannot guarantee the Dragon Academy's safety against the titans' schemes. At the very least, I couldn't keep it entirely intact. The young dragons are simply too fragile."

"I admit everything you say is true, but do not forget..." Tiamat leaned close to the White Dragon Lord, baring her fangs. "I am Ti! A! Mat! And no one has ever been able to take a treasure from my hands!"

"Then it cannot be helped. I will just have to think of another way. Rest assured, Her Majesty the Dragon Queen, you and His Majesty the Dragon God of the North Wind are both bloodline origins of the Dragon Race. You will still have your temple, it's just..."

The White Dragon Lord extended a thumb and forefinger, forming a tiny gap. "Your temple might just be a tiny bit smaller than His Majesty the Dragon God of the North Wind's."

"Are you threatening me?!"

"I merely have a tiny bit more respect for His Majesty the Platinum Dragon God than for you," the White Dragon Lord said, bringing out the divine artifact, the Emblem of Light. "After all, a generous elder is always more respected than a stingy one."

"You actually dare call me stingy?!"

"It is simply the truth. Any slightly rational sapient creature would draw the same conclusion." The White Dragon Lord maintained his calm expression and made a gesture of seeing a guest out. "If Her Majesty the Dragon Queen is unwilling to contribute to the Dragon Academy, then I won't see you off."

Tiamat felt a headache coming on. She was truly reluctant to part with an Intermediate Heart of the Plane. However, just as the White Dragon Lord said, if he really built her temple one size smaller than that of her rival and older brother, the Platinum Dragon God, she would lose a massive amount of face.

The most crucial point was that the White Dragon Lord was an Ancient Giant Dragon. Even Tiamat couldn't push him too hard. If she forcibly drove one of her own people over to the Platinum Dragon God's side, it would be an even greater loss.

One had to know that across the entire multiverse, the number of Abomination Rank chromatic dragons didn't exceed ten. These Abomination Rank dragons were foundational pillars in the war between the dragons and the titans.

"Fine, you win! But I have a condition!"

Joy lit up the White Dragon Lord's face. "What condition?"

"You must carve the fact that I contributed the Heart of the Plane onto a stele in draconic script, praising my achievements. Let the young dragons know who is protecting them. Not just the chromatic dragons; the metallic dragons must know as well."

"No problem!"

"Also, I will hand down a divine decree telling the chromatic dragons of other planes to send their hatchlings into the academy as well. You must ensure that our chromatic dragons can suppress the metallic dragons in the academy."

"I very much welcome chromatic dragon hatchlings from other planes entering the academy. But as for whether they can suppress the metallic dragons, that will depend on the efforts of the young dragons themselves."

The White Dragon Lord thought it over. "How about this: Her Majesty the Dragon Queen provides some combat knowledge, and I will teach this knowledge to the chromatic young dragons so they possess greater combat strength."

Tiamat nodded in agreement. As one of the oldest dragons, the combat experience and knowledge she possessed were a precious treasure. This would help the chromatic young dragons seize victory.

Once everything was settled, Tiamat's true body teleported the Heart of the Plane over.

The crystal-clear gemstone floated in the air, emitting a dazzling radiance. It was so alluring that the White Dragon Lord felt the urge to claim it for himself.

Perhaps afraid that looking at it a second longer would cause her heartache, Tiamat glared at the White Dragon Lord and vacated Felicia's body.

While possessed by the Dragon Queen, Felicia had still been able to see the outside world and understood the whole sequence of events. "Amos! You actually tricked me! Don't run!"

The White Dragon Lord instantly vanished via teleportation. In excellent spirits, he brought the Heart of the Plane to Sky City and sought out Merlin Heavenly Principle.

"Speaker, the material is sorted," the White Dragon Lord said, presenting the resplendent Heart of the Plane.

Merlin Heavenly Principle paused in surprise before reacting a moment later. "That's quite efficient, Amos. It's barely been any time at all."

"Wait a moment. My true body happens to be free; he'll be over shortly."

"Do you not need to prepare other materials?"

"The combined value of the other materials doesn't even amount to half of the Heart of the Plane. My true body will bring them."

The White Dragon Lord waited in the Speaker's office, taking the opportunity to notify Grand Duke Silver Dragon. Before long, Grand Duke Silver Dragon arrived alongside Merlin Heavenly Principle's true body.

"Let's go. The materials are ready. We'll go add this layer of defense to the Rodoro plane now."

Merlin Heavenly Principle's true body teleported to the Rodoro plane together with the two dragons, heading toward the Rodoro plane's Heart of the Plane.

The principle of the Spatial Lockdown Magic Array was to utilize a second Heart of the Plane to install an auxiliary heart onto the plane requiring defense, vastly increasing the toughness of the dimensional barrier.

Soon, the two dragons and one human arrived at the Heart of the Plane.

Merlin Heavenly Principle used magic to push aside the magma surrounding the Heart of the Plane, revealing a large empty space. He took materials out of his Dimensional Bag one by one, then accepted the Heart of the Plane from the White Dragon Lord's claws, keeping busy around the plane's core.

"Amos, you handle these materials..."

...

A month later, the White Dragon Lord and Grand Duke Silver Dragon beamed with joy at the sight before them. In front of them, a complex, three-dimensional magic array now surrounded the Rodoro plane's original Heart of the Plane. The Heart of the Plane gifted by Tiamat rotated alongside the original, like a pair of binary stars.

Merlin Heavenly Principle looked at his masterpiece with a face full of pride. "Now, we just need to link the main tower of the plane's defense system with the Spatial Lockdown Magic Array, and the task will be complete."

It took merely a few minutes for the White Dragon Lord to connect the main tower of the Rodoro plane's Magic Tower Defense System and the Spatial Lockdown Magic Array. He operated the Magic Tower Defense System, transmitting elemental energy into the Spatial Lockdown Magic Array.

The three-dimensional magic array emitted an intense radiance. With the Spatial Lockdown Magic Array activated, the White Dragon Lord could feel that the Rodoro plane's space had become as unshakeable as a fortress of iron and bronze. Even if he exerted all his strength, he could only stir up a few spatial ripples, utterly unable to tear through space.

Now, one could only freely enter and exit the Rodoro plane via the Teleportation Platform in the main tower of the Magic Tower Defense System.

Beside the main tower, two massive temples were under construction. They were the temples of the Five-Headed Dragon Queen and the Platinum Dragon God.

According to the White Dragon Lord's plan, from now on, the first stopping point for young dragons arriving at the Dragon Academy would be the main tower. Inside, dragon teachers would impart basic knowledge to the young dragons and leave magic markers on them.

Once all the preparations were complete, the young dragons would enter the temples to pay respects to the statues of the dragon gods before being teleported to other magic towers within the defense system to live in their respective zones.

White dragons, who preferred the biting cold, would be teleported to the northern ice plains. Red dragons and gold dragons, who preferred hot climates, would be sent to the southern regions. Green dragons would be sent to the forest regions...

In their respective living areas, the young dragons would face challenges designed by the White Dragon Lord. Competition for food, competition for territory, and even competition for treasure—these rivalries would accompany their growth.

The Magic Tower Defense System possessed a surveillance function, which, combined with the magic markers, made it extremely convenient for the dragon teachers to monitor the young dragons' living conditions. They could see whether food was plentiful and whether hunting posed enough of a challenge, thereby selecting exceptionally talented individuals for focused cultivation.

Through the Magic Tower Defense System's surveillance function, the White Dragon Lord observed the land from what felt like a god's-eye view, watching the scenes of the young dragons sleeping, flying, and hunting.