Chapter 106 - 92: Large-Scale Preparation

As soon as the first task was officially released, nearly all the major families mobilized. This task could be said to be a shortcut for laying the foundation for the family’s future generations. Despite the fact that the family couldn’t collect the Crystal Cores for them, they could prepare the best weapons, the best potions, expensive magic scrolls, and life-saving puppet substitutes. In a nutshell, they took with them as much as they could carry.

However, comparatively speaking, Long Yi was carrying fewer items this time.

Huge quantities of replacement clothing, numerous condiments, and a hefty amount of various textbooks. Long Yi did not want to miss this task, but he also didn’t want to remain in the second year when he returned to school. So, why not bring along textbooks from the second, third, and even the fourth year? Thankfully, due to Bajie’s enormous size and corresponding spatial capacity, there was ample room for storage.

Ai Lin brought an even larger bag, all gifts from General Tyron – bundles of scrolls imbued with powerful mana and golden potions that instantly restore stamina. There was also a pair of puppet substitutes, which could teleport you a hundred meters away from potential fatal injury in an instant.

In short, she had a lot, but certainly none were more than Long Yi’s. But then, Long Yi didn’t really need much.

As Long Yi’s Dragon fighting aura level increased, his power also started to become more and more formidable. The regular Dragon-slaying Sword felt so light in Long Yi’s hands it was as if he wasn’t even holding anything. So, Long Yi had a bigger War Dragon Sword customized by Uncle Golden Hammer.

With a three-metre-long body, the thickest part of the sword was close to twenty centimetres. Other than that, there was nothing notable about the oversized Dragon-slaying Sword. It had a pitch-black skin, no polishing, retained traces of hammering, the blade was as wide as three fingers, and it emitted an icy-cold chill.

That’s it.

That was Long Yi’s specification; the task wasn’t about showing off at the opening ceremony, so the less flashy things were, the better. Of course, he didn’t dare say this to Ai Lin, who was altogether too pleased with her sparkling silver body.

A few days later, the task finally began.

All the people in the academy couldn’t suppress their excitement. Flying Dragons rushed out in all directions. Earth Dragons, too, trudged forward, shaking the ground with their heavy footsteps, all heading toward the imagined battlefield in their hearts.

Long Yi, however, was in no rush. It wasn’t until the academy quieted down that he slowly emerged from his dormitory. Ai Lin was already waiting outside. They walked side by side toward the academy’s main gate.

Then he ran into the cook and the mosquito brothers.

"Brother Long, go for it! Annihilate all those monsters! Don’t leave any for them!"

The cook chimes in.

"Heh, go ahead and annihilate everyone. Loot their Crystal Cores while you’re at it. The rules don’t say you can’t."

The mosquito sneered.

"Haha, don’t worry. Slaying a few hundred of those level nine monsters will get me the win!"

Long Yi laughed.

"Do you think a level nine monster is a chick!"

A voice came from behind.

It was Wesley, hurriedly arriving.

Wesley’s face was tired and worn out, his usually immaculate jaw was covered with stubble. His eyes were sunken in and starting to darken.

"I finally made it here, just in time. Here, take this."

Before setting out, Wesley showed up hastily, handing Long Yi two thick stacks of documents. Upon scanning through, the first document listed various monster statuses, habits, potential damage, and so on, while the second one was the information of all the students that might conflict with Long Yi at the Dragon Knights Academy.

This task was centered around Crystal Cores to prove the completion of the task, counting the number and quality of Crystal Cores for final settlement. Therefore, there was a high possibility of a bigger fish eating the smaller one. Strangely enough, snatching away Crystal Cores wasn’t explicitly prohibited in the rules, and that warranted caution.

Or perhaps this was something the Imperial Dragon Knights Academy purposely glossed over. After all, competition amongst peers was just as crucial for survival in the battlefield!

Looking at the trio in front of him, Long Yi was genuinely touched. Especially Wesley, who worked tirelessly in such a short amount of time to compile so much information. Born and raised in a world steeped in modern warfare, Long Yi knew too well the importance of intel in a battle.

Without uttering a word of gratitude, Long Yi placed the two stacks of documents into Bajie’s space and heavily patted Wesley’s shoulder. Then, he turned to the trio.

"You guys stay sharp and don’t you dare stay in the first grade when I come back. I won’t respect you otherwise!"

"Don’t worry, Brother Long! We absolutely won’t be left behind you by then!"

Upon leaving the Academy, rather than leaving Academy City immediately, Long Yi headed straight for the Dragon God’s Temple.

The Dragon God’s Temple was still thriving. With the commencement of the academy’s missions, even more people were visiting the temple. Some of the students began to offer gold and silver, praying to the Dragon God for blessings, hoping they’ll acquire more Crystal Cores in the task, trade them for more military merits.

Old Black Dragon Tyl couldn’t stop smiling, his love of money no less than any member of the Dragon Clan. He loved cash and was exceedingly greedy.

Seeing Long Yi and Ai Lin arrive, Tyl greeted them with a warm smile. When he saw Bajie slowly swaying behind Long Yi, a newfound spark appeared in his eyes, while an affectionate feeling involuntarily reflected on his face.

"Ahem!"

Long Yi cleared his throat, signaling to a certain old dragon not to show his emotions in public. Tyl immediately woke up, gave a small smile, and the three went into the backroom together.

"Uncle Tyl, you see we’re about to go on a mission. Do you have any lifesaving elixirs or ultimate weapons, or even some young, unmarried dragons that you could give us?"

Long Yi jested gleefully.

"We have life-saving elixirs, but they are for grown dragons. If a human or juvenile dragon were to consume it, they would explode."

Tyl stated seriously, whilst producing a sphere, the size of a fist. It was transparent, brimming with energy, with no one really knowing its actual purpose.

"What about the ultimate divine weapon then?" Long Yi anxiously inquired.

"We do have the ultimate divine weapon. Back in the day, my knight used a Dragon Spear. Ten meters long, it’s entirely made of Shadow Silver. One hundred and thirty-six precious gems are embedded into it, greatly enhancing its Fighting Aura ability. Additionally, it has a damage-deepening spell personally added by the then Elf chief, which turns any wound it inflicts into an open wound. At the time of its use, more than eighty members of the Dragon Clan met their end under this Dragon Spear. Whenever it made an appearance, all fauna within a radius of a hundred miles would scatter."

Speaking with equal sincerity, Tyl summoned a ten-meter-long, black Dragon Spear into his hands. A rich, blooding smell emanated immediately, followed by an even stronger energy fluctuation that swept over Long Yi’s feet, causing all the goosebumps on his body to rise up.

"Maybe just a little more dragon then!"

Shivering, Long Yi meekly suggested.

"Not happening!"

Tyl flatly refused.

"Eh? But you were just so agreeable! Didn’t we agree to give whatever was asked for?" Long Yi expressed his surprise.

"Who agreed with you! Dragon eggs are not for the taking!" Tyl cried out, caught between laughing and crying.

"Of course they are, I’ve noticed some interesting little dragons behind that door of yours. Why not just give them all to me. I promise to treat them like my own family! Like my own siblings!" Long Yi replied earnestly, his face gleaming with eagerness.

"In your dreams! All the dragons in there are prized species! Just to look at them once costs a hundred thousand gold coins! You already managed to scam a Shadow Dragon and a Fairy Dragon from me, what more do you want!"

Tyl cursed loudly.

"But look how dangerous our upcoming mission is, as you know, I, Long Yi, have been targeted by very bad people. If something were to happen along the way, what could become of my poor little dragon, Bajie!"

While speaking, Long Yi pushed the plump Bajie forward, who immediately made a pitiful face, opened his big mouth, and pretended to sob. He even managed to squeeze a tear out of his eye, which fell onto the wooden floor and ignited a small flame in a puff.

"Oh, my ancestor! This is a wooden floor!"

Tyl stomped out the fire and saw Long Yi about to say something else. Suddenly, Tyl raised his hand and stopped Long Yi from continuing. His eyes softened as if he was a kindly old man.

"Ah, your mission this time is indeed really dangerous, I have nothing especially useful, but come, I have prepared a special gift for you."

Saying this, Tyl took out a palm-sized black scale from his robe. Under the light, there was a strange glow and energy flowing within the scale.

"You——"

Long Yi was puzzled, this seemed to be a scale from a Black Dragon, more specifically, a soft scale from the belly of an old Black Dragon. Although it was a soft scale, it was as hard as metal due to the dragon’s age.

"I’ve engraved runes into it which can merge with your dragon scale armor. It has a special effect against attacks from the Black Dragon series." Tyl explained slowly, not going into details, but Long Yi already understood.

Long Yi had been attacked by the spies of the Black Dragon Empire and almost lost his life to the dragon breath of a Black Dragon. The Dragon Scale armor that he had could provide some defense, but once directly faced with the breath attack of an adult Black Dragon, the young Dragon Scales provided by Bajie would be utterly inadequate.

Now, Tyl had given his own dragon scale to Long Yi, not only for the survival of Long Yi but for the sake of Bajie—his child, Bajie, the Black Dragon!

Then, Tyl lifted his hand and placed it on Long Yi’s shoulder.

"And these are for you."

Buzz!

A mysterious force of the dragon surged out, and Long Yi felt something new in his mind.

"What did you do?"

When Long Yi opened his mouth, he gave himself a start. Because the words that came out of his mouth were very peculiar! They were not human language but Dragon Language!

"I’ve transferred all my Dragon Language to you through an inscription. From now on, your Dragon Language will be more fluent, and you will never have to worry about it again."

Tyl said.

What a gift!

This is truly a great gift!

Long Yi didn’t care about studying at all. Although he wasn’t a genius like Ai Lin, he could still ace a regular course and be top of the class. Dragon Language, however, posed a huge problem for him. Although he didn’t know why, he could unleash abilities even with incorrect Dragon Language. Still, this was a hidden problem. Now, Tyl eradicated this problem for Long Yi. No longer burdened by the issue of Dragon Language, Long Yi could focus more on casting magic during combat without worrying about language errors. The biggest benefit was that he no longer had to endure the torturous classes led by the Elf teacher!

"Uncle! Thank you! I really appreciate it!"

Long Yi couldn’t help but tightly grasp Tyl’s hand, tears of gratitude streaming down his face. His overwhelming joy was completely apparent.

Tyl was puzzled, this kid who was unafraid of anything seemed overly emotional. Was it really necessary?