Chapter 156: The Dragon Antler Ranch, Bloodlines, and True Spirits

Chapter 156: The Dragon Antler Ranch, Bloodlines, and True Spirits

Year 1258 of the Starlight Calendar, Spring Awakening (March).

Finally, the Dragon Bone Tower was fully repaired.

Su Nan immediately initiated the base relocation project, focusing on Base 1.

Base 1 had most of the facilities that the Dragon Bone Tower possessed, but the tower's were more comprehensive and advanced.

For facilities like the insect nest that the tower lacked, a room could be modified to serve the purpose.

The relocation process went smoothly.

From now on, the apprentices would live, train, and study in the Dragon Forest.

At the top of the Dragon Bone Tower, Su Nan stood before the control center, his eyes fixed on the 3D holographic model.

[Eco-Garden: Dragon Forest]



[Level: Large (Damage: 48.23%)]



[Current Energy Remaining: 95.23%]



[AI Assistant: Butler 1]



[Areas: Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3]



[Facilities (Dragon Bone Tower): Residential Area, Storage Area, Laboratory, Training Area, Workshop, Transformation Area Control Center, Elemental Pool (Miniature), Insect Nest]



[Servants: Clay Golems × 423, Flower Sprites × 52, Forest Children × 3, Red-Eyed Crows × 67, Gremlin × 1]



[Defense System: Large Spatial Barrier]



[Combat System: Golem Army (Stone Golems × 426, Dual-Blade Spiders × 85, Elite Stone Golems × 20, Iron Golems × 5)]



Su Nan nodded in satisfaction as he reviewed the data displayed next to the 3D model.

After more than half a month of recharging, the elemental pool was nearly full.

The restoration of Zone 2 had also begun.

Although it was only in the initial stages, with the assistance of the clay golems and flower sprites he brought from Base 1, the recovery speed should significantly increase.

"Maintaining optimal operation in Zone 1 requires 35.12% of the energy cycle."

"Once Zone 2 is restored, it can be kept in minimal operation mode before introducing new dragons, which will require 53.66% of the energy cycle."

"Combined, that's 88.78%."

Almost ninety percent of the energy ratio!

If you add the 3.06% needed to maintain minimal operation in Zone 3, it exceeds ninety percent.

The 3.06% is for maintaining the basic operations of Zone 3, including the daily running of the Dragon Bone Tower's various facilities, such as lighting, experiments, and transformations.

The additional energy cycle consumption depends on the energy used by the wizards (apprentices) for experiments, potion-making, crafting magical items, and creating puppets.

This can be virtually limitless.

Su Nan checked the energy consumption records through Butler 1.

A thousand years ago, during the peak energy consumption period in the Dragon Forest, the Dragon Bone Tower once used up to 47.23% of the energy cycle, nearly causing the energy cycles in Zones 1 and 2 to collapse.

"Fortunately, we don't have to worry about that for now."

Su Nan muttered to himself.

Currently, the base only has one third-level wizard apprentice, and there are only a few second-level apprentices.

The energy consumption for experiments and crafting is unlikely to exceed 10% of the energy cycle.

Moreover, Zone 2 hasn't been fully operational yet, so there's no need to worry about insufficient energy cycles.

"The military force has also increased significantly."

The original Dragon Forest had only about 100 stone golems, but with the additional garrison forces, the total number of golems has now surpassed 500.

However, the increase in military strength isn't very useful.

The Dragon Forest is a semi-dimensional space, partially isolated from the material world. Apart from the teleportation portal Su Nan controls, no one can enter.

Unless someone possesses the power to tear through the spatial barrier and knows the coordinates of the Dragon Forest, which is impossible on the current Starlight Continent.

Therefore, there's no need to worry about external enemies attacking the Dragon Forest.

Perhaps because of this, the original builders didn't construct any external defense systems, only stationing a few golems.

These golems were likely used to capture sub-dragon species within the Dragon Forest.

As a result, Su Nan transferred the higher-level stone golems and elite dual-blade spiders from Base 1 to the Star Alliance.

Base 1 is now largely a shell, with only the magic plant garden remaining.

Of course, Su Nan doesn't plan to let Base 1 go to waste.

It will serve as a transit station for materials between the Dragon Forest and the surface world.

The same applies to Base 2.

With the teleportation array in the Dragon Forest, Su Nan can now travel quickly between the surface and the underground world, eliminating the need for an additional Base 2.

The facilities from Base 2 have been moved into the Dragon Forest, leaving only the magic plant garden and a portal to the Dragon Forest as a transit station for future material transfers.

"With only one base, we won't have to run back and forth anymore, and many things will be much more convenient."

Su Nan smiled with a relaxed expression.

"In the future, we won't need to open more magic plant gardens. We can allocate a section of Zone 2 for planting magic plants."

The Dragon Forest is different from the outside world. As long as the energy supply doesn't cut off, the concentration of energy particles can always be maintained at a high level, sufficient for the growth of magic plants.

A small plot of land in Zone 2 is equivalent to over a dozen magic plant gardens on the surface.

"It's time to start taming sub-dragon species."

Su Nan reached out and swiped through the air, and a holographic image appeared before him.

The image showed a steep mountain wall covered in caves, with creatures that resembled a combination of dragons and antelopes, with golden scales, flying in and out of the caves.

The Dragon Antelopes, a powerful and graceful sub-dragon species.

A thousand years ago, many legendary knights tamed them as mounts.

They are quite simple sub-dragon species, loyal to their owners, and possess formidable combat strength.

An adult Dragon Antelope has the power of a First Circle Legendary, and as they age, they gradually grow stronger, reaching up to Third Circle Legendary.

When Su Nan discovered the many sub-dragon species in the Dragon Forest, he had the idea of forming a dragon cavalry.

After several days of selection, he ultimately chose the Dragon Antelope.

In addition to their loyalty and strong combat power, Dragon Antelopes prefer to live in deep, dark caves away from civilization, making them highly adaptable to dark environments.

This means that even in the dark and damp underground world, their combat strength won't diminish.

A Dragon Antelope cavalry army sounds incredibly powerful!

However, taming sub-dragon species is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process.

Adult Dragon Antelopes are almost impossible to tame, so taming must start from the juvenile stage.

Sub-dragon species inherit some characteristics from dragons, including extremely slow growth.

Even with the use of growth catalysts, it takes at least a decade to raise a juvenile Dragon Antelope to adulthood.

"The Knight Guard is still too weak. They don't even have a single Grand Knight yet, and they need more time to grow."

"Starting to tame Dragon Antelopes now means that in a decade, when the Knight Guard has grown stronger, they'll be ready to pair up with the Dragon Antelopes."

After a moment of thought, Su Nan had a complete plan in mind. He swiped on the 3D holographic model, dividing out a section of land for future taming of the Dragon Antelopes.

"Let's call it the Dragon Antelope Ranch."

Once the area was designated, Butler 1 would naturally arrange for the clay golems to handle the specific tasks.

Su Nan then went to the main laboratory in the Transformation Area, his personal large laboratory.

Yinlong was already waiting in the laboratory. When he saw Su Nan arrive, he crawled over and affectionately rubbed against his chest.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Su Nan smiled and patted Yinlong's head.

With an ample supply of high-grade sub-dragon blood, Yinlong's bloodline has been rapidly improving.

His bloodline concentration has now exceeded 50%, and his combat strength has also reached Third Circle Legendary.

The enhancement in bloodline and strength has also made Yinlong larger.

His head-to-tail length exceeds thirty meters, and even when lying down, his height is nearly four meters.

If not for his ability to dematerialize, Yinlong's movements within the Dragon Bone Tower would be severely restricted.

"The highest sub-dragon bloodline concentration in the Dragon Forest is the Magic Tyrant Dragon at 85.37%."

"Once Yinlong exceeds this threshold, his bloodline concentration will improve more slowly."

"After that, reaching 90% should allow him to break through to Fourth Circle Legendary."

Su Nan thought to himself, but his actions were swift. He skillfully performed the bloodline fusion surgery on Yinlong.

Currently, Yinlong undergoes an average of three surgeries per month, with the time in between used to assimilate the bloodline power.

The frequent bloodline fusion surgeries have also given Su Nan a significant amount of proficiency in his [Biological Transformation] skill.

Su Nan estimates that in another two to three months, his [Biological Transformation] skill should reach Level 4.

Time flew by, and soon it was the month of Blazing Fire (July).

Just after the first decade of the month, Su Nan successfully constructed the sixteenth Star Ring.

[Su Nan Yannest, Human Male]



[Spirit: 50.93 / Constitution: 45.88]



[Skills]



Star Ring Meditation Lv17 (130/5000000)



Potion Making Lv4 (8635/10000)



Biological Transformation Lv4 (529/10000)



Puppet Crafting Lv5 (1023/20000)



Magic Item Crafting Lv4 (5477/10000)



"Only two more Star Rings to go."

Su Nan exhaled with delight.

He now gains around 4800 points of proficiency in Star Ring Meditation each day, increasing with the growth of his spirit power.

At this rate, constructing the seventeenth Star Ring will take about two and a half years.

"Within eight years, I should be able to construct the remaining two Star Rings."

"By then, even if my Spirit hasn't reached 60, it should be close."

With the pure divine energy provided by the Death Bell Beetles, Su Nan's Spirit growth has accelerated significantly.

"I need to find a way to boost my Constitution further."

Just last month, Su Nan gathered enough materials to refine a fourth Magic Pattern Core. However, his current Spirit and Constitution are not sufficient to handle a Level 4 Magic Pattern Core, so he hasn't fused it yet.

The fusion requirements for a Level 4 Magic Pattern Core are 51.22 Spirit and 54.39 Constitution.

In terms of Spirit, Su Nan estimates that absorbing the divine energy two more times should be enough to meet the requirement.

While his Constitution is lagging behind, the Dragon Blood Fruit can still help him improve it relatively easily.

After all, his current Constitution of 45.88 is roughly equivalent to that of a mid-level Grand Knight, which is far from the level of a Legendary Knight.

"Without fusing a bloodline, it's still slow to enhance my Constitution."

Despite this, if given the choice, Su Nan would rather consume Dragon Blood Fruit to gradually strengthen his body than casually fuse a bloodline.

Fusing a bloodline can provide immediate power, but it comes at the cost of severely limiting future growth potential.

For example, if he were to fuse the Death Bell Beetle bloodline, his future strength would be hard-pressed to surpass the ancient aberrant beast, the Scream Beetle, which is the source of the bloodline.

Due to this defect of bloodline fusion, the path of advancement for wizards after becoming a wizard is divided into two major routes: Bloodline and True Spirit.

Su Nan's goal has always been the True Spirit path.

Only True Spirit Wizards can reach the highest realms.

"The alternative metals for the Magic Pattern Core are almost fully researched."

There are a total of eighty-nine alternative metals required for the Magic Pattern Core. Of these, twenty can be purchased with gold coins. Su Nan has already researched sixty-seven of the remaining sixty-nine, leaving only two more to complete.

It should take no more than one or two months to finish.

After that, as long as his Spirit and Constitution keep up, he can infinitely enhance his Magic Pattern Core.

Late at night, in the forest cabin.

Moonlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the interior.

Around a large table, eight people were seated.

Aside from the Hunter, all other members of the forest cabin were present, a rare occurrence.

Surprisingly, the Traveler was also there.

"Quite unusual, I didn't expect you to show up," the Wand remarked, eyeing the Traveler with surprise.

"I thought you had died in some obscure corner," the Skeleton said with a hint of malice in his tone.

Ignoring the Skeleton's comment, the Traveler shrugged at the Wand and said, "I had some issues to deal with, but thanks to the player, they're resolved. I'll be more active in the future."

The others glanced at Su Nan with surprise, not expecting these two to encounter each other outside the forest cabin.

"By the way, where's the other new member?" the Traveler looked around curiously, frowning in disappointment, "Not here?"

"Obviously," the Black Forest said nonchalantly, "Probably held up by something."

In the forest cabin, this was a common occurrence, and the others didn't mind, proceeding with the usual trading process.

When it was the Traveler's turn, he looked at the Wand with a sincere expression and said, "Wand, I want the key to the Starlight Tower. It's very important to me. Could you name a price and trade it to me?"

The Wand was taken aback, then shook his head, "Sorry, the key to the Starlight Tower is also very important to me. I don't intend to trade it."

"Don't waste your time, Traveler," the Black Forest said bluntly, "If the Wand was willing to trade, I would have made a move long ago. It wouldn't be your turn."

The first time the Hunter attended a gathering, only the Black Forest and the Traveler were absent.

After learning that the Hunter had brought the key to the Starlight Tower during that gathering, the Black Forest regretted not being there. He had tried to trade with the Wand in subsequent gatherings but was firmly rejected.

The Traveler sighed in disappointment but didn't press the matter further, placing a few bottles of sub-dragon blood on the table.

"Who wants them? Name your price."

All eyes turned to Su Nan.

In previous gatherings, whenever sub-dragon blood appeared, Su Nan would always bid and secure it.

Over time, they all knew that Su Nan was determined to obtain sub-dragon blood and stopped competing with him.

However, to their surprise, Su Nan shook his head this time.

"I don't need it."

The others exchanged puzzled looks.

Only the Traveler knew that with an entire Eco-Garden at his disposal, Su Nan no longer lacked sub-dragon blood.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end