Chapter 380: A Cut Above the Rest

Chapter 380: A Cut Above the Rest

In the skies above, Cangyu was split in two, as if it were two separate worlds.

On one side loomed a massive city built upon a plateau, with buildings stretching as far as the eye could see. Even with Ji Xinghuo's vision, he couldn't make out the boundaries from any direction; the city spanned at least thirty kilometers!

And this was just a small fraction of the entire metropolis.

The city streets were a maze, with towering skyscrapers that rivaled those of Earth's supercities. The population was incredibly diverse, with various races living side by side.

A rough estimate placed the percentage of all human branches at less than half.

And the number of powerful beings was countless.

Ji Xinghuo had never seen so many fourth-rank and above Extraordinary beings in one place. Fifth-rank legends were common, though sixth-rank powerhouses were still rare. The few that were present moved with an entourage, their status clearly extraordinary.

But what truly left Ji Xinghuo awe-struck was the other half of Cangyu.

The scarlet sky seemed ablaze, reflecting the fiery volcanoes below.

These were all active volcanoes, densely packed and each towering over three thousand meters high. Lava flowed constantly from their peaks, snaking down to their bases and forming rivers and lakes of molten rock between the mountains.

As far as the eye could see, there were countless volcanoes.

Among them stood one that soared above the rest, reaching a height of over ten thousand meters. It belched forth smoke and flames endlessly, staining the sky red.

Yet, the heat from these volcanoes was blocked by an invisible wall, dividing the city in two. The ejected lava cooled as it rose into the sky before falling back down into the lava lakes, seemingly returning to the volcanoes' depths and starting the cycle anew.

This was an enormous man-made volcanic group!

At first glance, the volcanoes appeared natural, but upon closer inspection, one could see that the pale blue mountains were constructed from a peculiar material.

Dotted across the volcanoes were structures built for habitation, but they were far outnumbered by dragon nests.

The primary residents of this half of the city were true dragons.

"Canghuo Dragons!"

Although this was Ji Xinghuo's first encounter with this species of true dragon, he recognized them instantly.

The Canghuo Dragons, like the Linyan Dragons, belonged to the "Flaming Dragon" species.

They shared similar physiques—their bodies were incredibly muscular, possessing four limbs and broad, powerful wings. Their dragon heads were fearsome, and even the young dragons exceeded ten meters in length. Adult dragons measured over twenty meters, and those exceeding thirty or forty meters in length were not uncommon.

With a casual sweep of his eyes, Ji Xinghuo spotted hundreds of Canghuo Dragons, distinguishable from the Linyan Dragons by the color of their scales.

The Canghuo Dragons' scales were pale blue, and their bodies were slightly more slender than their cousins'.

They made their homes in the volcanoes, some lounging by the lava rivers, others playing with their young, and some soaking in lava pools with only their heads exposed, seemingly relishing the heat.

The Canghuo Dragons thrived in such extreme environments.

Most of their nests were built within the volcanoes, and half of Cangyu had been transformed into a massive dragon hatchery for their propagation.

Atop the peak of the tallest volcano, which soared over ten thousand meters high, stood a white city—the stronghold of the Canghuo family.

Ji Xinghuo didn't dwell on it for long. As the ruling family of the Azure Flame Domain, the Azure Flame family surely housed a Dragon King within their ranks—the very same Star Shepherd Saint, a powerful cultivator, that he sought.

The people revered this dragon as the "Canghuo Dragon King."

The Dragon King ruled over this vast city and at least a hundred billion square kilometers of starry territory surrounding it. Within this domain lay dozens of stargates, each leading to planets that also fell under the Dragon King's dominion.

The extraterrestrial races inhabiting those worlds were likewise subject to the Dragon King's rule.

Furthermore, the positioning of these planets formed a contiguous block in the galaxy, with hundreds of light-years of starry space falling within the Dragon King's realm.

With such an expansive territory, the resources at the Dragon King's disposal were unimaginable. And it wasn't just his personal might that was formidable; the Dragon King commanded a legion of Dragon Lords, as well as innumerable armies comprised of dragon warriors, Extraordinary beings, and extraterrestrials.

Boom!

A dull thunder reverberated through the sky, drawing Ji Xinghuo's attention upward. High in the heavens, a colossal array measuring over three hundred meters in diameter hung suspended in midair—a yueqian array.

From within the array emerged a silver dragon, its length exceeding fifty meters. Upon its back sat a Dragon Lord. After leaping through the array, the dragon flew into the volcanic cluster and soon disappeared among the intricate structures nestled between the mountains.

The yueqian array in the sky gradually faded, sinking back into the void.

Not long after, another dragon soared into the skies above Cangyu, approaching the yueqian array. As it drew near, the Dragon Lord on its back shot forth a beam of light, activating the array, which promptly formed a passage for them to enter.

"So that's how it is," Ji Xinghuo murmured, understanding dawning on him. The yueqian array in the sky was clearly distinct from the public arrays.

Its construction and technology were far superior, akin to highways connecting the vast True Dragon Empire. It formed a network of yueqian arrays spanning the empire's domain, but only Dragon Lords were privileged to use them.

On Earth, a Dragon Marquis would be equivalent to a Heavenly King.

However, the average strength of a Dragon Marquis was evidently far superior to that of a Heavenly King. In addition to their own power, they also had a mighty true dragon by their side. When facing off against a typical Heavenly King, it would be a two-on-one battle.

Ji Xinghuo retracted his gaze.

The public array was located in the center of Cangdu, on the side of the city with ambient temperatures, not far from the invisible wall that divided the city. The sky array, on the other hand, was on the volcanic side.

After exiting the public array on Qinghong, he wandered aimlessly along the streets.

The seemingly ordinary city actually incorporated a lot of aether technology. The streets were clean and tidy, the building materials were unique, and even the trees lining the roads seemed to conceal a deeper mystery. However, what intrigued Ji Xinghuo the most were the pedestrians.

There were too many races!

Most of them were unfamiliar, and Ji Xinghuo couldn't tell if they were natives of the Star Realm or extraterrestrial aliens.

There were over a dozen types of humanoid races alone.

Due to convergent evolution, similar natural environments in both the Star Realm and the galaxy tended to produce analogous races, possessing limbs and features, and walking upright. However, there were always some differences in their appearances and attributes.

Of course, even if they looked alike, different races were reproductively isolated.

The distinctions were even more pronounced among the races with bizarre appearances.

Nevertheless, regardless of race, strength, or status, the passersby all gave way to Ji Xinghuo, some even detouring long before they got close.

The pseudo-dragon beings he encountered were especially respectful, greeting him with reverence.

It seemed free and easy, but there was a strict hierarchy.

Based on his appearance alone, Ji Xinghuo could feel the privilege of being an upper-class citizen in the True Dragon Empire.

It was only at this moment that he suddenly realized how strikingly similar Earthlings and True Dragon beings looked.

In terms of height, build, features, and skin, Earthlings and True Dragon people were almost identical. Perhaps the biggest difference lay in their demeanor—the innate pride and confidence of the True Dragon people, as well as their perfect posture, were hard for ordinary Earthlings to imitate.

However, as long as an Earthling dared to impersonate a True Dragon person, especially if they were handsome or beautiful with an exceptional physique, and fused with an exotic species bearing the aura of a true dragon, it would be enough to pass as the real deal.

Another distinguishing factor was the eyes.

The irises of True Dragon people had a certain spark, each with a unique color and an oppressive aura.

Usually, Ji Xinghuo's eyes were quite subdued, his black irises unremarkable. But to disguise himself as a True Dragon person, he slightly activated his "Overload" ability, causing his eyes to constantly flicker with electricity, his gaze as piercing as lightning! Even another True Dragon person would find it hard to differentiate the fake from the real.

Not to mention other races.

"I wonder if there's reproductive isolation between Earthlings and True Dragon people," a thought occurred to Ji Xinghuo.

Soon after, he seemed to understand something.

Was the Winged People's wariness of Earthlings related to their physical resemblance?

The existence of the Titanium Cobalt Dragon People in the Asia-Pacific Community was no secret, and the Winged People must have known about them as well.

The Winged People were cautious of Earthlings and dared not invade openly, resorting instead to causing trouble through the Qian Yuan Association. It was very likely that the existence of the Titanium Cobalt Dragon People made the Winged People speculate about a connection between the Asia-Pacific Community and the Titanium Cobalt Family.

Combined with what the leader had told him, this seemed to be the case.

"Time to go shopping," Ji Xinghuo reminded himself.

He snapped back to attention, constantly scanning with his electromagnetic perception as he walked. Though he appeared to be wandering aimlessly, he had actually been avoiding Fifth-Rank and above powerhouses to prevent any unnecessary trouble.

Qinghong turned into a less crowded street. After a few turns, they reached an isolated area.

Ji Xinghuo immediately jumped off and shrunk Qinghong into his pocket.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

With a flash from his Flickering Battle Boots, Ji Xinghuo teleported several dozen meters away, exiting from another direction. He quickened his pace to distance himself from the area before taking to the skies and landing on an aerial corridor connecting two skyscrapers.

Passing through the corridor, he entered a shopping mall.

Ji Xinghuo browsed casually for a while before spotting a store that caught his interest. He walked in nonchalantly.

"Honorable sir!"

An enthusiastic employee greeted him.

Ji Xinghuo glanced at him. The employee's physique was slender like bamboo, his skin a deep green. He had two pairs of arms, one pair resembling sharp blades. His entire being resembled a praying mantis standing upright, yet his large eyes shone with intelligence and rationality.

Not recognizing the race, Ji Xinghuo remained aloof. "I'll look around myself."

"Yes, sir."

The green alien dared not show any dissatisfaction. He bowed again and retreated to the side, his attention still fixed on Ji Xinghuo, ready to assist at any moment.

Instead of conventional books, the knowledge was stored on artificial crystal stones about ten centimeters long, a finger's width, and very thin, resembling bamboo slips from Earth. However, their storage capacity far exceeded that of their ancient counterparts by a million times.

These "stone slips" were created using aether technology and were commonly used throughout the Star Realm. Yet, their storage capacity paled in comparison to electronic chips.

Each stone slip could hold about ten books' worth of information.

Furthermore, they were limited to textual data, and both reading and writing required the expenditure of starlight, making them inaccessible to the average person.

Despite this, they were still the most convenient storage medium in the Star Realm.

Ji Xinghuo casually picked up a stone slip, infusing it with a strand of starlight to reveal its contents.

It was written in the True Dragon language, and after a quick glance, he realized it was a novel.

He put it back.

Ji Xinghuo browsed idly for a while, occasionally picking up a stone slip that caught his interest as a cover for his true intentions. Finally, he made his way to the "Geography and History" section and immediately spotted several titles that were exactly what he was looking for.

Dynastic History, Biographies of Dragon Emperors, Evolution of Dragon Territories, True Dragon Genealogy, Bloodlines and Genes, and Astro-Geographical Analysis of the Candle Star Dragon Domain, and more.

Ji Xinghuo had already studied some of this material.

However, he knew his knowledge was incomplete.

Even though the content of these dozen or so stone slips was relatively basic and did not delve into the true secrets, it would still provide him with a deeper understanding of the True Dragon Empire.

Feigning nonchalance, Ji Xinghuo flipped through the stone slips in his hands before casually selecting a few and moving on to other shelves, where he picked up a few more. He browsed the entire store in this manner.

"How much?"

He placed the stone slips on the counter before the employee.

The green-skinned alien quickly calculated the price and said with a broad smile, "Sir, the total comes to sixty-two thousand, but fifty thousand will be fine."

The currency, of course, was the True Dragon coin.

While True Dragon coins had a high exchange rate on Earth, their purchasing power in the True Dragon Empire was far inferior due to the empire's far superior productivity and the high cost of the stone slips themselves.

Without changing his expression, Ji Xinghuo paid fifty thousand True Dragon coins and left with the stone slips in hand.

From start to finish, he had avoided making eye contact with the staff and other customers, behaving arrogantly, but this was expected of a True Dragon.

In reality, Ji Xinghuo dared not speak much, afraid that he would give himself away.

After leaving the bookstore, Ji Xinghuo wandered for a moment before entering a restaurant, where he was once again accorded special treatment. He requested a private room and, after ordering, instructed the waiter not to disturb him. Only then did he take out the stone slips and begin to peruse them carefully.

The stone slips displayed a vast amount of textual information, which he rapidly scanned page by page.

His eyes did not blink.

With his super-processing thoughts, Ji Xinghuo could read at a speed more than ten times that of an ordinary person, and his enhanced comprehension made absorbing this knowledge highly efficient, especially since much of it was already familiar to him.

It took him a little over an hour to finish reading the stone slips he had purchased.

Qinghong had devoured all the food on the table, but Ji Xinghuo had not touched a bite. After settling the bill, he moved to another restaurant even further away, sequestering himself in a private room to continue his studies.

Half a day later...

Ji Xinghuo emerged from his third restaurant of the day.

He had finished reading all the stone slips he had bought, his mind now filled with a wealth of knowledge about the True Dragon Empire. While he couldn't fully digest it all at once, his understanding had definitely reached a new level, evolving from a vague impression to a clear and precise cognition.

This greatly reduced the likelihood of his disguise as a True Dragon being uncovered.

Ji Xinghuo looked eastward.

"To get from the Canghuo Domain to the Yuanci Domain, one has to pass through the Tungsten Mountain Domain. The fastest way would be to use a stargate, but since I'm not a Dragon Lord, I have to choose the safest route among the three available, which will take at least three days of flying, but I can't go too fast, either."

A route map appeared in his mind, and after some consideration, he chose the route of medium distance. Just as he was about to take off, he suddenly sensed something amiss.

He looked up to see three giant Canghuo Dragons descending from the sky.

In the fierce wind, the three Canghuo Dragons surrounded the street he was on, and more troops were approaching, causing Ji Xinghuo's heart to sink. He couldn't fathom what had gone wrong.

A loud voice boomed from the largest Canghuo Dragon's back, "Impersonating a True Dragon noble is a capital offense!"

Damn!

Ji Xinghuo hadn't expected to be exposed so quickly. Without hesitation, he turned and fled, shooting into the distance.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end