Although New Year's Day had passed several days ago, and the atmosphere within the territory had gradually calmed down, the New Year's Day activities always remained a topic of lively discussion among the residents.
The free flow of food and drinks, the intense arena and gladiatorial matches, and the open-air bathhouse—these activities that the common people could personally participate in allowed them to thoroughly enjoy themselves.
Many who had witnessed the true form of the True Dragon also tirelessly boasted about it to outsiders and those who hadn't been able to attend the celebration.
And there was the fireworks display that lit up the night sky, and the singing that echoed through the territory at regular times each day, gradually becoming the bell that marked people's rising in the morning and resting at night.
There was also the singing that always came from the mountains, and the True Dragons Sanctuary that gradually became a sacred place for the Imperial Guard to worship. And the Tree of Life that continuously exuded natural and life energy every day, and so on.
All of this slowly began to coalesce within the territory's residents a concept of a nation, a concept of culture.
Even if still nascent, it was like a seed buried in moist soil, gradually taking root and sprouting.
People also began to no longer fear the True Dragons from the bottom of their hearts. Many regarded the True Dragons residing high in the mountains as deities who spread civilization, and the True Dragons walking among humans as wise rulers.
These residents merged the divine and human aspects in their hearts, bestowing a dazzling radiance upon the True Dragon s atop the mountains, even if it was merely a one-sided, beautiful wish.
Germott walked with a swaggering gait, retracting his wings, as he moved through this city whose establishment he had overseen.
The wide streets were spacious enough for several True Dragon s to walk abreast, so Germott wasn't concerned that his enormous size would cause any trouble.
Even though the city was still undergoing expansion, opportunistic merchants had already occupied the shops along the well-repaired streets in the city center.
There were also peddlers pushing carts with wheels, hawking their goods on both sides of the street. The owners of these carts were generally not professional merchants, but rather residents of the city and villagers from nearby settlements who set up mobile stalls to supplement their household income.
Some Kobold Soldiers responsible for maintaining city order would patrol back and forth on these particularly busy streets with many mobile stalls, occasionally shouting to stop peddlers who occupied the main thoroughfares with their stalls, so as not to disrupt the flow of traffic.
Germot ambled along, occasionally nodding to residents who dared to greet a True Dragon directly.
Behind him followed several armored guards, a privilege afforded to every Dragon Lord.
While it was hard to say whether these guards were protecting the White Dragon or if the White Dragon needed to protect them, one shouldn't overlook the power rooted deep within the soul of living beings; sometimes even insignificant individuals can create miracles, let alone these powerful warriors.
However, the only role of these guards now was to pull out their bulging money pouches to pay for whatever the Germott took a fancy to, and to act as emotionless carriers.
Although the items and food used by ordinary creatures were somewhat small for a True Dragon, they could serve as collectibles and snacks for the True Dragon.
Soon, the guards behind him were carrying and shouldering items, their bodies completely laden, and a strong oily scent lingered on their oil-stained white cloaks.
These guards were almost all dressed like the Imperial Guard, the only difference being their white cloaks. The True Dragons in the Dragon clan envied the exceptionally brave Imperial Guard under Kalon's command, so they initiated a series of imitative behaviors.
According to regulations, each Dragon Lord could have a personal guard of one hundred individuals, but Germott was not in a hurry to fill all the positions in his personal guard.
On the Night of New Year's Day, after hearing the ambition of the True Dragons clan's leader, this White Dragon had already conceived the idea of capturing some Frost Giants to serve as his slaves and personal guards in the future.
At the end of that vast grassland in the Dragon Clans Territory lay the frozen ice plain of the far north, and the source of the grassland's waterways originated from that desolate land of ice and snow.
But even in the most barren places, life emerges; life always finds its own way.
That desolate land, perpetually covered in ice and snow with continuous glaciers, also harbored powerful predators and rulers; many White True Dragon tribes lived in that region.
Moreover, in the Northern Continent, the only White True Dragon with its own unique title, Sacris the Ice Prison, ruled over numerous White Dragons, engaging in perpetual warfare with the Frost Giants, another dominant race in the frozen wasteland.
Although this White Dragon, rumored to be able to transform the land into an icy hell, was powerful enough, the Frost Giant King, the strongest monarch among the Frost Giant race, also possessed power capable of confronting a Legendary being.
But no one knew how truly powerful this Frost Giant King was, because no one had ever dared to easily set foot in the areas ruled by the Frost Giants, let alone challenge this king and overlord.
The only verifiable achievement was the tale, circulated in the Northern Continent and sung by bards, of him felling an adult White Dragon with a single axe blow.
Overall, although the warfare in the far north was relentless, the White True Dragon tribes were still at a disadvantage. While White Dragon s could fly and held the initiative in the sky,
the Frost Giant race possessed strength capable of directly contending with True Dragons. Their thrown weapons and stones could easily bring down less cautious True Dragons.
Although Germott didn't care about his fellow True Dragons living in the frozen wasteland, the hatred rooted in the White Dragon's bloodline made him naturally dislike Frost Giants.
When Frost Giants captured White True Dragons, they would chain them, cut off their claws, knock out their teeth, and then use them as slaves and sexual outlets.
White True Dragons were no less brutal; however, White Dragons would not attempt to enslave Frost Giants, but rather eat them as food after their release.
"Calm down, Germott, rationality is the primary virtue of a Chromatic Dragon,"
The White Dragon shook his head, thinking of such scenes; the influence from his bloodline immediately became apparent, causing the unprovoked hatred in this White Dragon's heart to instantly show signs of igniting.
At this moment, the guards following behind the Dragon Lord stopped, because Germot had arrived at his destination for this trip: the Department of Magical Integration.
"Lord Gemot," the Imperial Guard Squad Leader guarding the entrance immediately saluted the Dragon Lord.
Germot nodded, then stepped into this vast complex of buildings.
The White Dragon governed this city, so the Department of Magical Integration, arguably the most crucial place in the Dragon Territory, also fell under the White Dragon's jurisdiction.
However, the White Dragon Lord was not Yug the Gnoll; he didn't need to personally visit the Scholars' laboratories. He simply used shapeshifting to transform into a tall, white-haired youth and walked into an office where Scholars awaited to report to him.
"Oh, esteemed Lord Germott, good day," Tichi, who was waiting there, immediately stood up from his chair the moment the door opened. "Would you like a cup of tea from the Eastern Continent, or a cup of sweet fruit wine?"
"A cup of tea, please. I'd like to taste this," the white-haired youth Germott leisurely walked to the tall wooden table and sat in the main seat.
A nearby elven maid, dressed in a short skirt and floral robe, swayed her graceful figure and exited the room.
Although these elven maids had no access to secrets or knowledge in this place, for safety's sake, every elven maid was required to sign a confidentiality agreement to prevent any possibility of leakage.
"Speak, why such an urgent summons? There had better be something wonderful about to happen. My time is precious, and I don't want to hear your nonsense!"
Although Dragon Lord Getmott respected knowledge, he wasn't particularly fond of this alchemy madman.
Especially after having once entered this alchemy professor's laboratory, which was filled with various strange reproductive organs, the fellow even tried to trick the White Dragon into replacing his dick with a Horse's, which truly left the White Dragon speechless.
"Hehe, Lord Germott, I've succeeded," Alchemy Professor Tichi's excitement was palpable, and he gesticulated wildly as he spoke: "The first trial dose of the dragon blood potion, I have successfully developed it. Based on my deductions and the summary of experimental data, although the efficacy of the first diluted dragon blood potion is less than one percent of actual dragon blood, this is a good start."
"What? It's been developed so quickly?" Germott's calm demeanor was also broken by surprise. The 'Kings of Knowledge' plan set by Kalon was not known to every Dragon Lord; currently, only three True Dragons understood this plan, and Germot was one of them.
And this White Dragon Lord understood well what the successful implementation of this plan could bring to the Dragon clan.
Just as Kalon said, the kingdom of the True Dragons would become nourishment for the Dragon clan, a long ladder for the Dragons to ascend. The two could mutually promote each other's growth.
Even now, the Dragon clan had already greatly benefited from the sorcerers and the conquest of the Green Field Forest plane. Knowledge brought power, and it also brought opportunities for evolution.
"You've done very well, alchemist Tichi. I will commend you to Kalon; this is a significant and undeniable contribution," Germott's attitude became respectful. Changing faces was a skill Chromatic Dragons were born with.
"No, no, no, you misunderstand, Lord Gemot, I am not here to seek commendation," the Alchemy Professor's expression became fanatical, and he said: "I need you to grant me permission to conduct further experiments related to the dragon blood potion."
"The actual efficacy of the dragon blood potion still needs to be tested on various races to be definitively determined, for the purpose of improvement and optimization."
Although the white-haired youth Germott's eyes were as dark as a human's, they now quietly lit up, like a pair of golden lamps igniting.
"Do you need a large population for experiments?" Germot smiled, taking out a token made from Red Dragon scales from his bosom, but then slightly frowned and put the token away.
A white token, representing the White Dragon Lord's symbol, was pulled from his magic spatial pouch, made by sorcerers, and tossed to Tichi.
"Yes, I agree to your request. You may take my token and extract the prisoners held in the dungeons for experimentation."
"But I must warn you, you are not to privately use residents other than prisoners for experiments," Germot's gleaming eyes fixed on the alchemist madman before him, stating each word clearly: "If it's not enough, you can apply to me, and I will find a way. But you must remember, this experiment is sanctioned by me, not Kalon."
"Hehe, I understand," Tichi readily agreed. While some Scholars might appear to have low emotional intelligence, their intellect was sound. Tichi knew the White Dragon's objective.
"However, that's just one point. I have something even more important to report to you, Lord Germott." Tichi's eyes showed a strange color, eager for recognition.
In other places, this peculiar Scholar would only be called a monster reviled by everyone, but in the Dragon Clans Territory, where monsters were rampant, he received long-awaited respect and importance.
"What could be more important than this?" Germott's gaze returned to calm, but a stronger curiosity emerged in his eyes. In the White Dragon Lord's mind, Tichi's ability to complete the research on the dragon blood potion was already considered genius, especially compared to the unlearned True Dragon s.
"At the beginning of my research, I believed that all living beings could achieve their life evolution through bloodline modification," Tichi said. "But through my research and deductions, for other races, it can be described as bloodline evolution, but for ancient and noble races like True Dragon s, it's more appropriate to call it bloodline refinement or bloodline awakening."
"These ancient and noble races all have their own bloodline origins. Through the information and materials provided by Lord Kalon, I have discovered that within the bloodlines of True Dragons, there exist fragments from their origin,"
Tichi spoke eloquently, his expression fervent: "These fragments are like the spell models that make up a sorcerer's spells; the True Dragon's bloodline is formed by them."
"If the Dragon bloodline can continuously evolve towards these fragments rooted in the bloodline origin, one can obtain power closer to the origin."
"If those random fragments scattered among countless True Dragon s can be combined into a complete bloodline model, perhaps it means that the power of the origin can also be possessed by ordinary True Dragon s!"
Thump, thump-thump, thump-thump-thump,
A dull, powerful drumming sound echoed. It wasn't the sound of warriors beating drums, but the sudden, rapid beating of Germott's heart.
The heartbeats of True Dragons were usually heavy and slow, but now they were as rapid as war drums, showing how agitated this White Dragon's emotions were.
His shimmering eyes, even brighter than magic crystal lamps, also revealed the inner turmoil of this White Dragon at this moment. Bloodline refinement, if it could truly be as the alchemy professor Tichi claimed, would bring unimaginable benefits and assistance to all True Dragons in the Dragon clan.
Perhaps, this could allow some True Dragons whose will was not as firm as Kalon's to also gain opportunities for further advancement, allowing most Dragonss to embark on the path of awakening ancient bloodline glory, and Kalon would also become stronger as a result.
Whoosh,
Germot exhaled a thick white mist from his nostrils. His human face faintly transformed into a Dragons's countenance, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Respected alchemist Tichi, I believe that your research focus should be placed on this aspect from now on. Whatever your requirements, feel free to propose them."
"This research is too profound; it's difficult to complete with just me and a few apprentices. Therefore, I request the formation of a large team of Scholars, a larger laboratory, and more precise magical instruments,"
Tichi enjoyed the ecstasy and shock in the Dragon's eyes. Seeing such an expression gave him the same sense of accomplishment as seeing girls of various races achieve ultimate pleasure beneath him; this was one of his many pursuits.
"I can agree to that. Even if it requires using all the territory's resources, I will meet your demands," Germot unhesitatingly agreed to this seemingly simple request, which would actually cost a great deal of gold.
"Of course, most importantly, I need a lot, a lot of dragon blood, not just from Chromatic Dragons, but a lot of true dragon blood, even living True Dragons, to assist my research,"
Tichi secretly observed the Dragon Lord's reaction, lowering his tone as he said: "Without enough samples for comparative research, it's very difficult for me to discover those fragments in the bloodline and extract them for comparison and related experiments. That is the most difficult point."
Germot, of course, knew; he understood better than Tichi how difficult this condition was. Extracting a large amount of true dragon blood would cause incalculable damage to a True Dragon's future potential, and in severe cases, could even prevent a True Dragon from ever growing.
Although the True Dragons in the Dragon clan understood the benefits this research outcome could bring, they couldn't possibly harm themselves for an uncertain future. No one could guarantee that Tichi's research would definitely succeed, and Tichi himself dared not make such a promise.
"This matter, I cannot decide. I will report it to Kalon on your behalf," Germott suddenly sighed. He felt that the current Dragon clan still needed to become stronger!