Take Moen, for example; the time she spent receiving blessings within the World Tree alone was enough to make up four sets of twenty-five years. Naturally, such a situation did not meet the entry requirements.
Starlight nodded thoughtfully. “Hmm... I remember there being only that one restriction on age. Wait, how old are you exactly?”
He looked curiously at the dwarven girl before him. According to the dwarven tradition of holding a Coming-of-Age Ceremony at thirty, since Stark had just turned thirty, Maela, his childhood friend, should have been around the same age.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Maela puffed out her chest confidently. “No problem at all! This young lady is—twenty-four! The age limit you mentioned is exactly what I’m scraping by under!”
“I didn’t have much of an opinion on it before, but now that I’ve received the blessing of the Goddess of the Earth, I naturally want to see what level I’m actually at,” Maela said, tapping the gem-like elemental mark on her forehead.
“Is that so? Then it’s definitely possible! My Grandmaster told me to arrive at Lionheart City before the start of spring. If I haven’t miscalculated, we have about two months of preparation time left,” Starlight calculated and replied.
“Great! I’ll go apply for travel procedures with the Patriarch in a bit!” Maela skipped in place with joy. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she narrowed her eyes at Starlight. “Want to have a warm-up match first? You wouldn’t refuse, would you?”
Seeing her eager expression, Starlight found it hard to decline and could only nod with a smile.
At the other end of the workshop, Stark poked his head out from behind an instrument with his frizzy explosion of hair. “Hey! If you want to fight, go to the training grounds! Don’t touch my experimental equipment!”
Before he could finish his sentence, a loose wire sparked with a crackle of electricity, scaring him into ducking back immediately.
...
Time flowed quietly like water, and the winter in Cinder City gradually passed amidst the steaming furnaces and sounds of laughter.
During these days, Starlight sparred with Maela in magic while also following Stark to research the mysteries of the Stone of Creation.
Stark’s research had made significant progress. After his analysis of Noah reached a conclusion, he locked himself in the laboratory again, not being seen for several days at a time.
Eerie red lights would occasionally burst from the cracks of the laboratory door, and sometimes excited, strange laughter would drift out, causing the passing dwarves to take long detours around it.
Taking advantage of this idle time, the four members of Starry Moon Shadow took a trip back to Dragon Valley to visit Little Gold and the Rift Dragon King.
Under Yserazor’s coordination, Dragon Valley had finally regained some vitality. Little Gold, despite being an exceptionally young Dragon King, had finally secured his position.
At first, Little Gold had a stony face, sulking because everyone had left without saying goodbye. But when Xia Duo gave him a specially made mechanical pendant from Cinder City, his eyes lit up instantly. He pretended to accept the gift reluctantly, then turned around and couldn't wait to hang it on his horns.
Yserazor’s reaction upon seeing Starlight was even more exaggerated.
The old dragon’s eyes gleamed as he reached out a claw and dragged Starlight into the kitchen. “Quick! It’s been so long since I’ve tasted your cooking, I’ve been dying for it!”
Consequently, the four of them stayed in Dragon Valley for another half a month until the snow and wind outside gradually lessened, at which point they prepared to leave.
It was no exaggeration to say that these two months were the most relaxed period for Starlight and his companions since their journey began. There were no endless battles and no dangers lurking at every turn.
They also took this opportunity to adjust themselves, returning their bodies to their peak condition.
“Hmph! You’re leaving me behind to go out and play again!” Little Gold crossed his arms, complaining with a look of displeasure. “Why do I have to stay here with this fat old guy and deal with all this boring government business!”
Po Kong laughed heartily and rubbed the horns on the little Dragon King’s head. “Be satisfied, kid! You’re the Dragon King; this is a good thing that countless people could only dream of!”
Little Gold rolled his eyes at him. “How about you come and handle the affairs here and let me go out and play for a few months?”
“That won’t do! Besides, I don’t understand your Dragon Tongue,” Po Kong said, waving his hands repeatedly.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. Doesn’t your Xia Duo know it? Both of you can just stay!” Little Gold said, gesturing toward Xia Duo.
“That’s even more of a no-go! I could never bear to let my Little Shadow suffer through that kind of exhaustion. So, Little Gold, you’ll just have to bear this heavy burden alone!”
Hearing this, Xia Duo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, expressionlessly pinching Po Kong’s ear. “Who’s yours? Have you no shame?”
“Who else could it be but you?” Po Kong begged for mercy while grimacing, yet he still leaned in with a grin. “Why don’t you say it yourself that you’re not mine?”
...
While they were fooling around, Yserazor dragged his ball-like body over to Starlight and Moen, looking down as he spoke, “The road you’re taking this time isn’t short. Considering you’ve cooked for me for half a month, let me give you a hand.”
As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and a petite figure with hair as white as snow emerged gracefully from the shadows behind him. Starlight looked down in surprise, meeting a pair of large, round amber eyes.
The girl who appeared from behind Yserazor completely subverted Starlight’s impression of the Dragon Race—she was only about as tall as Starlight’s chest, with long silver-white hair tied into two fluffy buns. Two small dragon horns poked out from her hair, looking very much like cute ornaments.
The girl’s fair face still had some baby fat, and one could see a few faint dragon scales adorning her forehead, shimmering with a pearly luster in the sunlight.
“Eh? Is she... really from the Dragon Race?” Moen leaned over, curiously observing the little girl who seemed to lack any of the majesty of the Dragon Race.
“Of course I’m from the Dragon Race!” The girl puffed out her cheeks, the small horns on her head glowing slightly because of her anger. But the next second, she shrank back like a startled small animal, hiding behind Yserazor’s massive body.
The old Dragon King let out a hearty laugh, turning around to gently push the girl forward. “This is Xi Xi, a genius of our Dragon Race that appears only once in a hundred years. She is one of the very few clansmen who can perfectly take human form without relying on the Dragon Ancestor's Legacy Scale. Since Aidanach and I have to guard Dragon Valley, let her escort you for a stretch of the journey.”
Only then did Xi Xi reluctantly move in front of everyone, adding in a thin, soft voice, “I—I am very strong...”
Moen couldn't help but reach out to pat her head, but Xi Xi nimbly dodged.
The little dragon girl protectively guarded her bun hairstyle. “No head-patting! It’ll stunt my growth!” Her huffy appearance made everyone present unable to stifle their laughter.
“Her appearance... she couldn’t possibly be an underage dragon, could she?” Starlight laughed and leaned down to be at eye level with Xi Xi. “Old dragon, this counts as hiring child labor.”
Yserazor laughed loudly, his round belly shaking with the laughter. “Hey! Don’t be fooled by this girl’s appearance!”
He reached out a finger and gently tapped Xi Xi’s forehead. “In terms of flight speed, no one in the entire Dragon Valley can catch her except for us old guys!”
“Th-That’s right!” Xi Xi also hurriedly nodded.
As if to prove herself, she suddenly hopped back a few steps. With a flash of dazzling silver light, she transformed into an entirely silver-white dragon.
Xi Xi’s original body was only about a dozen meters long, covered in scales as pure as moonlight, with a mother-of-pearl luster flowing under the sunlight.
“Wow! What a beautiful dragon!”
Xi Xi’s transformation also attracted Po Kong and Xia Duo, who were still messing around with Little Gold, and they immediately gathered around.
Little Gold curled his lip sourly. “Hmph, it’s just glowing... I’m gold, you know.”
Despite his words, the little Dragon King’s eyes honestly followed the rainbow light spilling from Xi Xi’s wings.
Meanwhile, Xi Xi raised her head proudly and let out a clear dragon roar. She gracefully spread her wings, revealing a pair of wing membranes as thin as a cicada’s wing and shimmering with rainbow light.
“Silver... which clan does Xi Xi belong to?” Moen asked curiously, looking at the incredibly beautiful Xi Xi.
Indeed, putting aside the special case of Little Gold, they had so far only seen members of the four great Dragon clans: Red, Blue, Green, and Black. A pure silver-white like Xi Xi was truly rare among the Dragon Race.
Rate on N.U.
