Chapter 445: Dragon Academy Graduate

The war between the Titan Race and the Dragon Race raged on, showing every sign of escalating. In the Abyss, the Chromatic Dragons led by Tiamat and the followers of the Dark Titans were locked in a ferocious struggle, reducing the demons across several abyssal layers to ash.

A small-scale skirmish broke out in the Rootless City between the Gem Dragon Clan and the Star Titans. The only factions still exercising restraint were the Dragon God of the North Wind and the Luminous Titans in Mount Celestia.

But anyone with a discerning eye could tell this restraint would not last long. Though Mount Celestia remained peaceful, the Metallic Dragons and Titans had clashed repeatedly in other regions.

The myriad factions of the multiverse had long sensed the shifting winds, pulling back their forces to avoid getting dragged into the conflict between these two great races.

After all, counting only Abomination Rank powerhouses, the Dragon Race boasted nearly a hundred. This included the Chromatic Dragons, Metallic Dragons, Gem Dragons, other dragon species, Time Dragons, and various legendary dragons, alongside the three illustrious Dragon Kings.

Getting all these Abomination Rank dragons to obey the orders of a Dragon King was practically impossible, but if called upon to fight the Titans, nine out of ten would answer the summons.

The situation was much the same for the Titan Race.

A chaotic melee involving over a hundred Abomination Rank powerhouses would be an absolute catastrophe for the entire multiverse.

This catastrophe was bound to sweep up the Yafeiawei Empire eventually, but not today.

So far, the upper echelons of the Yafeiawei Empire remained remarkably calm. The White Dragon Lord even had the leisure to watch the graduation ceremony of the Dragon Academy.

He had received a report from the academy instructors that a blue dragon from the first batch of students had awakened from its slumber, and the White Dragon Lord had come specifically to witness this historic moment.

Through the planar surveillance function of the main Magic Tower, the White Dragon Lord laid eyes on the Dragon Academy's very first Adult Giant Dragon student.

On a terrain of gravel and crushed rock, a blue dragon poked its head out of a burrow. It groggily blinked at the sunlight and gave a loud snort, shooting sparks from its damp nostrils.

The blue dragon—Woodark!

Roar!

An excited dragon's roar echoed across the land, causing a herd of grazing camels in a distant oasis to lift their heads and look around in panic.

The dry, searing wind of the desert carried the scent of camel to Woodark. Saliva dripped through its jagged teeth. Its long slumber had burned through far too much energy; it was now emaciated, ravenous, and in desperate need of sustenance.

Flapping its expansive wings, Woodark shot up into the sky. Once high in the air, it began gliding toward the camels, only to feel an unbearable pressure pressing down on its body. A hint of helplessness flashed through its eyes.

It was intimately familiar with this pressure, having experienced it many times before.

Every time they crossed into a new physiological stage, the academy students would feel this weight. It was a magic array set by the Dragon Academy's dean, Amos Winter's Breath, designed to force dragons whose strength had substantially increased to move on to the next living zone.

However, that legendary dean—someone so powerful he was recorded into the Dragon Inheritance of every major dragon species—was not entirely unaccommodating. He had left a buffer period. They were given two full days, time meant for newly advanced dragons to gorge themselves.

Woodark was incredibly excited. It realized it was now an Adult; the time to graduate from the academy had finally arrived.

Riding high on this excitement, it reached the oasis, unleashed a blast of lightning from its maw to electrocute a large swathe of camels, and landed among the carcasses to devour them ravenously.

Just as Woodark was happily feasting, the distant sand swelled slightly, rippling like a boat cutting across the surface of the water.

The blue dragon snapped its head toward the disturbance, a flash of disdain in its eyes. It knew exactly what those things were—sandworms.

Sandworms were a type of Transcendent Beast that lived in the sand. Their average strength hovered at the High Tier, with exceptional individuals growing to the Master Tier. They were pack creatures, capable of moving rapidly underground and possessing extremely sharp hearing. They had heard the commotion of the blue dragon's hunt and had come looking for a slice of the pie.

These worms were covered in thick carapaces, possessed sharp mandibles capable of piercing dragon scales, and could spew acidic fluid. The academy had specifically brought them in to serve as annoying trial monsters for the young blue dragons.

If Woodark was still in the Young Dragon Stage, it might have feared this swarm. But now, it felt it could wipe out these annoying bugs with a single breath.

Stopping its meal, the blue dragon faced the approaching swarm. Lightning crackled in its mouth, but just as it prepared to unleash its breath, it remembered the purpose of these insects in the young dragon zone. Resigned, it abandoned the urge to kill.

The dragon might of an Adult Giant Dragon burst in all directions. The sandworm swarm, peaking only at the Master Tier, sensed the mortal danger and instantly turned back. The blue dragon went back to eating.

In the main tower of the Magic Tower Defense System far away, the White Dragon Lord nodded in approval. Knowing how to rein in one's temper meant the Dragon Academy's education had not been in vain.

Woodark swallowed more than a dozen camels, feeling about eighty percent full. Satisfied, it licked the blood from its jaws, flapped its wings, and took to the sky, flying toward the Portal zone at the very center of the Dragon Academy.

Under the effect of the magic array, the longer it stayed in the young dragon zone, the heavier the pressure would become.

It was time to head to the Portal and finally step out of the Dragon Academy.

Cutting through the white clouds, Woodark spotted the Portal from afar. It sat atop a solitary peak shrouded in a translucent Magic Barrier, radiating a prismatic light that naturally drew a dragon's eye.

Staring at the Portal, Woodark excitedly increased its speed.

But as it neared the peak, a powerful pressure forced it to lower its altitude until it finally had to land at the base of the mountain.

Woodark felt that something was wrong. It had never experienced this kind of pressure when crossing into new zones before.

It seemed this Portal would not be so easy to pass through.

Raising its guard, Woodark stepped through the translucent barrier. The scenery instantly shifted. To its shock, it found itself hovering over an ocean, where a massive dragon turtle floated on the surface, roaring up at it.

An illusion?!

It instantly realized this was a fabricated reality.

But this illusion was far too realistic!

The salty sea breeze, the dragon turtle's deafening roars, the unmistakable aura of a Legendary Rank Transcendent Beast.

This was a test, and the objective was to defeat the dragon turtle.

Woodark took a deep breath. Its current Creature Level was Level 20, while its professional class was a Level 17 Warrior. This Warrior level placed it at the very top among the academy's young dragons. Defeating a lesser dragon should be nothing.

A dense barrage of lightning crashed down from the sky, bombarding the dragon turtle. In response, the Legendary Rank creature manipulated the seawater, launching a counterattack into the air.

A Legendary Rank Level battle broke out!

Inside the main tower, the Dragon Academy instructors watched the battle and could not help but glance at the dean. This hyper-realistic illusion was the handiwork of the White Dragon Lord, serving as the final graduation exam for the academy's students.

After expending an immense effort, Woodark finally managed to kill the stubbornly relentless dragon turtle, leaving itself utterly exhausted in the process.

The scenery suddenly shifted again. In the blink of an eye, it found itself in a forest, stared down by a Legendary Rank desolate rock explosive bear. Its fur stood on end, and the steam billowing from its nostrils clearly displayed its fury.

There's more?!

Another vicious battle ensued, ending with the blue dragon victorious at the cost of minor injuries.

In a rotting swamp thick with mist, the blue dragon fought bravely against a multi-headed hydra with a terrifying array of tricks.

In the biting cold of a glacial wasteland, it clashed with a Legendary Rank Snow Demon weaving through the ice.

...

Among mountains that pierced the clouds, the blue dragon fought a bitter battle against an eastern giant eagle that commanded wind and thunder.

Each opponent was stronger than the last. Woodark went from overwhelming victories in the beginning to narrow wins, until the seventh battle, where the eastern giant eagle's talons finally pierced the blue dragon's skull.

Following its death, Woodark abruptly snapped out of the illusion. It gasped for breath, its widened eyes filled with terror. The sensation of those hook-like talons piercing its skull had been so incredibly vivid that it genuinely thought it had died.

In the distant main tower, the White Dragon Lord watched the panting blue dragon with satisfaction. "Making it to the seventh trial. Not bad."

This illusory path to the Portal consisted of nine trials, each more difficult than the last. The first three were relatively easy combat tests, the middle three posed a serious challenge, and the final three were sadistically difficult. Unless one was a dual Legendary Rank, clearing them was utterly impossible.

This was the Dragon Academy's final lesson for its adult students: learn reverence.

In the multiverse, countless creatures were stronger than dragons. The peak mortality rate for dragons occurred right after they reached adulthood, when a single arrogant provocation could lead to their demise.

After a short while, the blue dragon broke free from the lingering fear of death. Feeling the pressure on its body vanish, it looked up at the Portal on the peak.

Up close, the Portal no longer radiated that dazzling prismatic light, instead exuding a majestic, imposing aura.

As if on a pilgrimage, Woodark set foot on the path to the summit with a heart full of awe, climbing the steps one by one until it reached the top.

Standing before the solemn and towering Portal, the blue dragon looked back at the land behind it. This was the cradle where it had lived for decades, but it could not stay in the cradle forever.

Filled with a mix of apprehension and anticipation for the future, Woodark stepped through the gateway.

On the other side, the newly adult blue dragon walked out of an identical Portal. The only difference was that this one was surrounded by three majestic dragon statues: the Five-Headed Dragon Queen, the Platinum Dragon God, and the Gem Dragon King.

Beyond the statues lay a milky-white perimeter wall with a single gate. It walked toward the gate, which led into a grandly decorated hall. Upon entering, Woodark spotted a silver-haired elf.

Wait, no!

Woodark caught the scent of a silver dragon. This was a silver dragon in humanoid form.

Seeing a silver dragon was not surprising. At the Dragon Academy, there were just as many Metallic Dragons as Chromatic Dragons. Woodark had dealt with silver dragons plenty of times—sometimes as comrades-in-arms, sometimes as hostile competitors.

"Name?" the silver dragon suddenly asked.

The blue dragon was caught off guard. "Huh?"

"I asked for your name."

"Oh. Woodark. Woodark Beethoven Smith..." A dragon's true name was not like the true names of demons or devils, which carried the risk of being controlled if known. Thus, Woodark gave its full name to this silver dragon who seemed to be an academy instructor.

"Stop! I don't need your true name!"

The silver dragon used the Tower Spirit to pull up the blue dragon's information.

"Blue Dragon—Woodark. A native Nordhill dragon from the first batch to enter the Dragon Academy. Mother is Sunalina Wildsand. Spent its Wyrmling Stage in the third blue dragon wyrmling zone, during which it chose the Warrior class and learned War Roar at the Knowledge Exchange Center... Learned Heaven Collapses and Earth Tears during the Young Dragon Stage... The total value of this knowledge and your cultivation resources comes to 15.32 million gold coins."

Hearing that it had racked up such a massive debt the moment it graduated, Woodark felt its teeth ache. But it was true that it had consumed all those academy resources while growing up.

"Now, you have two choices. The first is to put this on credit, to be paid off within a strict limit of two hundred years. Once you scrounge up the money, just deliver it to the Yafeiawei Empire. The second is to join the Dragon Legion established by His Imperial Majesty. You will serve the empire, and once your term is up, you may freely choose whether to stay or leave."

The silver dragon continued, "Considering your future development as a professional, I recommend joining the Dragon Legion. Not only will you gain access to vast amounts of Warrior cultivation resources, but you'll also never lack for sparring partners. The Dragon Legion even boasts a powerful High-Tier Legend Warrior like Golden Bulwark, and the empire's Lord Willy..."

It did not take Woodark long to decide to join the Dragon Legion.

There was hardly anything to think about. The Dragon Legion was backed by an Abomination Rank dragon—Amos Winter's Breath—and supported by the immense wealth of the Yafeiawei Empire. It would be infinitely easier than heading to the mainland to struggle alone.

Not to mention, having lived in the Dragon Academy since childhood, it had heard the legendary tale of the White Dragon Lord's rise countless times. Like the vast majority of the students, Woodark was filled with reverence and gratitude toward the White Dragon Lord.

"A wise choice," the silver dragon said, not surprised in the slightest by the blue dragon's decision. "Then I'll give you another piece of news. The Dragon Legion is just getting started, so there are plenty of mid-level officer positions still vacant. His Majesty has decided to select from the newly joined dragons. I hear the selection process will be a tournament to weed out the weak. Prepare yourself well."

As it spoke, the silver dragon processed Woodark's imperial identification. "By joining the Dragon Legion, you default to joining the Yafeiawei Empire. This is a special identification made specifically for the Dragon Race. Keep it safe."

The blue dragon accepted the small card handed over by its silver dragon senior. It noticed that the front displayed a magical portrait of itself alongside basic information like its race, while the back featured a simple sketch of the White Dragon Lord and the crest of the Yafeiawei Empire.

"What use do I have for this thing?"

"It's incredibly useful. Members of the Dragon Legion can use this card to collect their salary at a provincial administrative center every ten years. You can also use it to access teleportation arrays within the empire, among many other functions. You'll soon learn just how precious this card is."

Under its silver dragon senior's guidance, the blue dragon walked out of the grand hall, where the sunlight was just right.

Back inside, the silver dragon sensed another pulse of magical fluctuation coming from the Portal.