Chapter 119: The Dragon Lords of the True Dragon Empire

Chapter 119: The Dragon Lords of the True Dragon Empire

Ji Xinghuo's eyes widened in surprise.

Previously, his attention had been solely focused on the peculiar artifact connected to him, causing him to overlook many other aspects within the electromagnetic field. Now, with just a slight sense, he was startled by what he found.

Two Heavenly Kings!

Within a range of less than 200 meters around the arrow-like artifact, there were two terrifying human-shaped electromagnetic fields!

Their strength was on par with the 'Zeus' he had sensed back at the Midpoint Fortress, one slightly weaker than Heinrich, while the other might be a level or two lower, but undoubtedly still a formidable Heavenly King-level opponent.

In the Star Realm, they were collectively referred to as the Sixth Stage.

In addition to the two Heavenly Kings, there were also two fearsome presences within the building, but their electromagnetic fields did not belong to humans. They were two genuine dragons!

This was the first time Ji Xinghuo had seen true dragons; he had only heard about them before.

However, he immediately recognized them as dragons.

Their size was immense; the smaller dragon had a body length of about 30 meters, while the larger one was nearly 40 meters long.

True dragons were one of the dominant races in the Star Realm, with numerous subspecies and varied forms.

These two dragons possessed the most common dragon-like appearance, with a body resembling that of a lizard-like creature, incredibly robust with four powerful limbs and sharp claws. They had a pair of broad wings that were longer than their bodies, granting them superb flight capabilities. Their necks and tails were long, and their heads were ferocious, capable of breathing destructive breaths.

At that moment, each dragon was resting within its underground cave, seemingly asleep.

Ji Xinghuo dared not linger his attention on the dragons for too long, fearing that he might disturb them.

Dragons possessed numerous unimaginable abilities.

Even though he was sensing them from a distance of two kilometers and through an electromagnetic field, Ji Xinghuo couldn't be sure that the dragons wouldn't notice his probing.

He couldn't afford to attract the attention of those two Sixth Stage powerhouses either.

"This complicates things..."

Instead of continuing forward and approaching the building, Ji Xinghuo sat down on a bench in the roadside garden.

The view from there was excellent, offering a panorama of most of Yunxiao City and the breathtaking sunset above the clouds.

However, he had no interest in the scenery at that moment.

With the presence of the two Heavenly Kings and the two dragons, he could already confirm their identities – they were Dragon Riders from the True Dragon Empire, a profession with another name: Dragon Lords.

The True Dragon Empire was a vast and boundless realm, ruling over countless stars and a population of trillions. It was one of the most powerful nations in the Star Realm.

Earthlings knew little about the True Dragon Empire.

However, just knowing that subordinate nations like the Tianyu King's Court existed, and that the True Dragon Empire had at least 200 such nations under its rule, one could glimpse the immense power of the empire.

The territory of the True Dragon Empire was not limited to the Star Realm; their influence extended back into the Milky Way Galaxy. Their dominion spanned the entire Orion Arm and a portion of the neighboring Sagittarius Arm, covering thousands of light-years. It was said that at least ten thousand planets capable of sustaining life and opening stargates were under the rule of the empire.

Compared to the True Dragon Empire, Earth was like an insignificant firefly in the presence of a brilliant moon.

The ruling class of the True Dragon Empire was the "True Dragon People," a rare human subspecies with a small population.

They possessed the knowledge to tame and raise dragons, and those with exceptional talent would adopt their own dragon from a young age, growing up together and eventually becoming qualified Dragon Lords.

Relying on the might of countless powerful Dragon Lords, the True Dragon People established their grand empire!

If the artifact were in the possession of one of those Sixth Stage Dragon Lords, Ji Xinghuo would have immediately given up all hope. He would have to at least reach the Heavenly King stage himself before daring to entertain any thoughts about it.

But now...

Ji Xinghuo cautiously probed again, confirming that the situation wasn't as bad as he had feared.

The artifact was at a distance from both Dragon Lords.

It was moving within a small range.

Accompanying it was a human-shaped electromagnetic field, its power several magnitudes weaker than the Sixth Stage Dragon Lords, but still not to be underestimated.

Due to the distance, he couldn't sense the etheric energy fluctuations.

However, judging from the strength of the electromagnetic field, this person seemed to be a Fourth Stage expert, equivalent to a Super Deviant on Earth, and male.

The artifact was with him, crafted into a necklace and worn around his neck.

At that moment, the owner of the artifact was practicing martial arts.

He held a longsword with an exceptionally broad blade and was sparring with an opponent in a martial arts arena. His opponent was strong, likely a Legendary powerhouse, but he was intentionally suppressing his strength to match his opponent. Despite this, he found himself at a disadvantage again and again, only barely managing to maintain his composure.

The two fought repeatedly, with the Legendary powerhouse losing each time, yet his formidable strength allowed him to save face in defeat.

Ji Xinghuo secretly observed for a while.

Gradually, he began to understand what was happening. The man wearing the artifact necklace seemed to hold a high status, leading his subordinate Legendary powerhouse in combat to hone his martial arts skills.

If one disregarded the difference in stages, the man's strength far surpassed that of the Legendary powerhouse.

The source of this power lay in his martial arts!

The man's martial arts prowess was extraordinarily high, even reaching an unbelievable level. He always managed to seize his opponent's flaws and make the most optimal choices.

When the two clashed, it initially appeared to be an evenly matched contest, but the outcome was decided swiftly.

Sometimes, a single move was all it took to determine the victor.

His perception was incredibly sharp, as if he could grasp everything happening around him. He could delve into the deeper information of objects, sense subtle changes in energy, and analyze them thoroughly. From there, he would find a solution to overcome his opponent, and his attacks would always hit their mark, securing him victory!

"This ability..."

If it were anyone else, they might easily mistake it for a heavenly gift in martial arts.

However, Ji Xinghuo immediately realized that it had nothing to do with martial arts talent or some special ability. It was the power of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil!

"It's similar to the Myriad Phenomenon, yet different.

Now he could confirm that the peculiar artifact was indeed a part of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil, most likely one of its fragments.

The man had kept the fragment on him, borrowing a portion of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil's power.

"If I were to face him..."

Ji Xinghuo began to speculate in his mind.

"With the Myriad Phenomenon activated, I would definitely be stronger than him. However, the Myriad Phenomenon consumes too much starlight. As my strength increases, the Myriad Phenomenon allows me to see further into the future and becomes more powerful, but it also consumes more starlight."

Up to this point, 471 points of starlight could only sustain the Myriad Phenomenon for about ten seconds.

"If I can't defeat him within those ten seconds and my starlight runs out, then I would be the one at his mercy."

This was a possibility.

After all, the man's ability to maintain such comprehensive and subtle perception for an extended period was a concern.

Ji Xinghuo had watched him practice martial arts non-stop for five to six hours, maintaining an incredibly high level of combat readiness the entire time.

Although the man's ability was a pirated version, with the support of his powerful starlight, it might not be a guaranteed quick victory even against the genuine Myriad Phenomenon.

But that wasn't the key issue.

The real challenge was how to create an opportunity to face him? As expected, this man held a high status, and with so many True Dragon People serving him, he was undoubtedly a Dragon Lord himself.

There were five dragons in that building!

They were all calamity-level monsters. The strongest one was likely "Meteor" level, the slightly weaker one was "Quake" level, the other two were probably "Dazzling" level, and the weakest one was "Flood" level.

The Meteor and Quake levels could be roughly compared to the Sixth Stage or Heavenly King level.

The Dazzling and Flood levels were equivalent to the Legendary tier.

Although the five dragons varied in strength, even the weakest dragon was still several times more powerful than a monster of the same level.

A Flood-level true dragon could rival three or four Flood-level monsters!

Ji Xinghuo didn't know which dragon belonged to the man, but regardless, none of them were opponents he could defeat.

However, he didn't want to give up.

Ji Xinghuo got up from the bench and walked towards the building where the man was located. Soon, he came upon a sprawling complex of buildings, their style starkly different from the winged people's architecture in Yunxiao City. They were sturdy, heavy, with sharp lines, exuding a sense of power, yet also bearing the marks of ancient history, like a grand war fortress.

Even from a distance, one could see the grand entrance, with the words "Embassy of the True Dragon Empire" inscribed in Dragon language.

"As expected, it's the embassy of the True Dragon Empire," Ji Xinghuo sighed inwardly.

The embassy of the True Dragon Empire occupied most of the area on that street, and the embassies of other nations and extraterrestrial civilizations kept their distance from the Empire's territory.

He strolled around Yingke Peak like a tourist and even spotted Earth's embassy.

Although Earth was not unified and remained in a state of division, the countries had collectively established an embassy in the Tianyu King's Court under the leadership of the ADC.

However, it was merely symbolic and served little purpose.

In addition to the foreign embassies, Yingke Peak also housed many winged people's residences and shops, making it a bustling area.

Ji Xinghuo checked into a high-end hotel about a thousand meters away from the True Dragon Empire's embassy. When the winged attendant heard him speaking Dragon language and noticed his dress and style, which resembled that of the True Dragon Empire, he didn't dare to ask any further questions and promptly processed the check-in formalities.

Ji Xinghuo specifically chose a room facing the embassy of the True Dragon Empire.

Although the view was blocked by a large area of trees and flowers, preventing him from directly seeing what was happening inside the embassy, the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil provided him with more information.

There were many people in the embassy of the True Dragon Empire, numbering over a thousand.

Almost none of them were below the Third Stage.

Most of them were embassy staff and members of the congratulatory delegation, serving the five Dragon Lords and their dragons.

One of the two Heavenly King Dragon Lords seemed to be permanently based at the embassy, handling official duties, while the stronger Dragon Lord was the leader of the congratulatory delegation and held a clearly higher status among the True Dragon People. He had mostly remained in his room, meditating, without much movement.

Then there was the man with the necklace, whose status was second only to the two Heavenly King Dragon Lords.

The two Legendary Dragon Lords treated him with great respect.

"I wonder what his identity is among the True Dragon People?" Ji Xinghuo speculated, "Most likely, he's a direct member of a True Dragon family."

He observed in secret for a long time.

Around dusk, the man finally stopped practicing martial arts. After washing up and changing his clothes, he went to the underground cave in the embassy and approached one of the dragons.

"So, this is the one," Ji Xinghuo realized. This was the weakest of the five dragons, with a body length of less than 20 meters.

The man jumped onto the dragon's back, sitting in the saddle, and the dragon stood up and slowly walked out of the cave, flapping its massive wings to take to the sky.

From Ji Xinghuo's room, he could see a dragon with a body covered in yellow-brown scales soaring into the air, stirring up violent gusts of wind. It flew swiftly but didn't go far, soon landing on another mountain peak within Yunxiao City and disappearing from sight.

Ji Xinghuo retracted his gaze, his expression complex, and whispered, "Phosphorus Flame Dragon!"

He had already guessed the man's family.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end