Conquest of the Dragon Sovereign

The young Feicui Long was kneeling, trembling with his head lowered, yet still able to see what was happening around him. He was surrounded by a large number of people in front of a grand throne that stood at the back of the hall.

Many people looked at him with disdain and mockery, many others with indifference, and a few with a certain sorrow, pity, and kindness.

An imposing figure stared at him, emanating an overwhelming and extremely powerful aura. He looked at Feicui Long for a moment before speaking: "Feicui Long, you know why you're here, don't you?"

Feicui Long, with a trembling voice, spoke and timidly responded: "Yes, sa-sanctuary master."

The figure nodded and continued his speech: "According to the sanctuary's rules, everyone must be useful for the ultimate purpose of this sanctuary. For the sake of the mortal races, the sanctuary must protect paradise. To achieve this, everyone must have the capability to do so. The sanctuary has no place for the weak and useless, even less for those who are incapable of awakening the gift granted to them by the ancient pact."

Hearing this, Feicui Long couldn't help but tremble even more.

But the figure pretended not to notice and continued: "That is why, Feicui Long"—he momentarily interrupted his speech to whisper in a low voice, though he knew that everyone in the hall would hear due to their high cultivation—"my son..." "that, following the sanctuary's rules, here and now, I exile you from the sanctuary. You will be allowed to take your most precious belongings and be given enough money to start a new life far from these lands. Additionally, you will be assisted in obtaining citizenship in a weak nation."

Then the person seated on the throne stood up and spoke again, this time in a more serious tone: "This last part is not only for Feicui Long but for everyone present here, regardless of their rank or power, and even for those belonging to the sanctuary who are not present. Nothing and no one is absolutely forbidden from interfering with Feicui Long's life, whether for better or worse. Therefore, you must sign this contract stating that neither you nor any other member shall interfere in Feicui Long's life, not even people close to you or those who do not belong to the sanctuary."

After this, a series of lights appeared. These were the contracts he spoke of, floating in front of everyone's faces. The sanctuary master then gave an order: "The sanctuary guard will ensure that you all sign the contract."

At that moment, a man who had been standing discreetly to the left of the throne stepped forward, releasing an aura, not as powerful as the master's, but still intimidating enough to suppress everyone. Then, the man shouted loudly: "You all heard the sanctuary master! Those who disobey his orders will face the full wrath of the guard!"

Following this, several figures emerged from the crowd, each deliberately releasing their aura.

The crowd quickly rushed to sign the contract. The sanctuary master was an unpredictable person, but when it came time to act, he would not hesitate for even a second, regardless of one's role in the sanctuary.

Once everyone had signed, the sanctuary master spoke again: "Good. Now, Feicui Long, member of the sanctuary, no, Feicui Long, my son, I will grant you one last and greatest gift from me. I will allow you to bear the surname of the Feicui clan."

After these words were spoken, the crowd fell into a deathly silence, almost as if they couldn't process what had just been said.

It was then that a vigorous elder stepped out from the crowd and said: "Sanctuary master, I can respect your decision that we are not to interfere in the exile's life, but allowing him to keep the surname of the glorious Feicui clan!? That goes against the core rules!"

The sanctuary master, who had already anticipated this reaction, responded: "Pfff, Supreme Sage Azmudin Azim Demir, I understand you are concerned about the rules, so let's have the scribe of the Golden Hand, Ananya Rathi, refresh your memory on the rules."

Following this, a beautiful woman with a caramel-colored skin tone, large proportions, and bright yellow eyes, who had been on the right of the sanctuary master and whom everyone seemed to have not noticed until now, stepped out from the side.

The woman, named Ananya Rathi, spoke in a soft and gentle voice: "Oh, Supreme Sage Azim, please allow me to remind you of the rules." She accompanied her words with a slight bow, modest, polite, and refined.

She then took out a beautifully adorned and carefully preserved book. She opened it delicately and began to read: "In the sanctuary, there is an established regulation based on ten core rules, which determine the functioning of the sanctuary, founded and created according to the pact of the Feicui clan with the former lord of the paradise of all races. This pact allowed the Feicui clan to extend the grace of the agreement to any member of the mortal races who joined the sanctuary..."

Although everyone in the room had heard this story thousands of times, no one dared to interrupt the Golden Hand scribe. Her great power, derived from her contracted creature and the support of her twin sister, along with her influence and good relationships with many important figures, commanded a respect that no one dared to question.

Ananya Rathi stopped her explanation and smiled with a sweet smile, before speaking again: "Sorry, I don't want to bore you with the story you've all heard before."

She cleared her throat slightly and said, "So I'll get straight to the point. The core rules establish everything most important for the sanctuary. Among them, we have rule number one: The orders of the current leader of the Feicui clan will always take the highest priority, even having the power to override or modify any rule, norm, or law within the clan, including the core rules, with only five exceptions: rule number one itself, rule number three, rule number five, rule number seven, and rule number nine. To modify or override these, they must be discussed and approved by the council of supreme sages, with the approval of the sanctuary master in case the leader has not chosen to be the sanctuary master himself and has instead opted to appoint someone from within the clan or externally, provided they have undergone the sacred ceremony and agreed to sign the contract of absolute loyalty. In addition to these, those who hold a supreme rank, namely supreme ancestors, supreme elders, and supreme guardians within the Feicui clan, also have the power to vote and decide."

Ananya Rathi finished reading rule number one and then looked at Supreme Sage Azim with a very sweet smile before saying, "As we can see, Supreme Sage Azim, rule number one only establishes five exceptions, none of which include the core rule you mentioned, since the rule you're referring to is rule number ten: Any person who is unable to fulfill the pact, whether due to lacking sufficient power or because their contracted creature is not strong enough or has not awakened, must leave the island in exile. They will be allowed to take their contracted creature and their most cherished possessions, as well as be granted a sum of money to rebuild their life. Additionally, they must sever all ties with the sanctuary. If the person belongs to the Feicui clan, they must, in addition to all of the above, renounce their surname and their connection to the Feicui clan's bloodline."

Ananya Rathi struck with full force, giving Supreme Sage Azim no room to breathe: "So the sanctuary master has not broken any rule, on the contrary, Supreme Sage Azim, by opposing this, you may be violating one."

The crowd, which had been listening to Ananya's reading in silence, began to debate noisily, casting glances at both Ananya and Supreme Sage Azim. He had been acting powerfully before, but when Ananya had started giving him a lesson on the rules, he had shown irritation. Now, his expression had darkened, and he was just about to respond when...

A loud, clear laugh echoed: "HAHAHAHAHA!", a mix of ominous and sinister tones, filled with obvious disdain and mockery, coming from the back entrance of the hall. Upon hearing it, the entire crowd fell into a deadly silence. Supreme Sage Azim, who was about to speak first, was left speechless, his mouth hanging open. His previously irritated expression had shifted to one of fear and deep concern.

From the doorway emerged another incredibly beautiful dark-skinned woman, her features identical to Ananya's, with only one difference, her eyes were violet. This stunning woman spoke in a cold and arrogant tone, saying, "I believe I just heard that some idiot challenged the orders of the Feicui clan leader, but I'd like to think no one is foolish enough to try breaking the sanctuary's rules in front of me, right?"

Overwhelmed by fear, Supreme Sage Azim began to stammer as he uttered the woman's title and name: "T-the l-l-leader of the H-hall of Judgment, Ka-Kaushini Malhotra? What are you doing here!?"

The young Feicui Long glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but he couldn't help feeling a shiver run down his spine. Kaushini Malhotra, known as the Silver Hand Executioner, was the twin sister of the Golden Hand Scribe. However, despite sharing the same blood, she bore a different surname.

This was due to an incident years ago: the current leader of the Rathi family had killed the heir of the Kaushini family, one of the most powerful martial houses in the sanctuary, in a practice duel. Although the Rathi family held similar power, they weren't willing to risk an open war, especially with their leader at the time weakened by illness and the heir too immature to take charge.

As a means of reconciliation, they offered one of the twin daughters, who were the current leader's own children, as an adopted daughter to the Kaushini family. Thus, Kaushini was raised in a completely different environment, which shaped her into the opposite of her sister. While Ananya was kind, sweet, and intelligent, Kaushini was instead harsh, cold, and calculating.

Kaushini Malhotra stepped forward toward Supreme Sage Azim with firm steps. When she stood before him, she spoke with a voice filled with contempt:"Eh, it seems that the Supreme Sage has become too arrogant. No, maybe the Supreme Sages' Council has given him the courage to try to challenge the Feicui Clan. Perhaps we should bring the Hall of Justice to the council, crush it to the ground, and rebuild it from scratch. Don't you think that would be fair for the rebels who break the rules, Supreme Sage Abraham Friedman?"

At the mention of his name, another Supreme Sage, who had remained impassive with his eyes closed, opened them with serenity. With a calm and firm tone, he replied:"If the Hall of Justice determines that the council has committed treason, so be it. This elder will personally accept the condemnatory judgment against the branch that this elder presides over."

Kaushini, seeing that the leader of the council did not respond to her provocations, simply let out a laugh and turned her attention back to Azim. Bringing her beautiful face close to his ear, she whispered:"Well, Supreme Sage Azim, will you admit that you committed an offense, or will you accept the punishment instead?"

Although she had spoken in the softest voice of all, everyone here could hear her. Many paled and felt some pity for the old Azim.

Supreme Sage Azim, still numb with fear, said in a lifeless, low voice:"I... I'm sorry, Sanctuary Master, please forgive this sinful elder."

Kaushini, with a smile that was not a smile, was about to say something to the old man, but then the Sanctuary Master nodded and spoke:"Alright, Kaushini, stop intimidating the old man. With this, I conclude this meeting. You must take the contracts to the subordinates and have them sign them; otherwise, the contract will activate, and they will die a horrible death, you and your descendants."

When the Sanctuary Master turned around to leave through the back door, Feicui Long, who had been kneeling, finally stood up and shouted with all his might:"Sanctuary Master, no, Father! I would like to make one last request as your son. I, Feicui Long, beg you!"

Kaushini, who had turned to leave with the leader, turned back, releasing her terrifying aura, and shouted:"Insolent! You are just an exile, and you dare to ask for something!"

The master stopped abruptly and, with a single hand, blocked all of Kaushini's aura. He glanced sideways at Feicui Long and said:"Go ahead, but make it quick."

Feicui Long, who had not hesitated for a second despite Kaushini's shout, spoke hurriedly:"I... I want to see my mother one last time and say goodbye to her..."

The master then nodded:"Alright, I grant it. I will tell Huo Baoshi to pick you up and take you to see her."

...

Then it was the turn of the evaluator, Allearys, who had seen how Feicui Long got lost in the memories of this life before awakening his past memories, so she had to move him to make him react.

Feicui Long, who suddenly woke up, felt a little embarrassed and replied:"To be honest with you, Miss Allearys, I don't know. The Sanctuary Master is an unpredictable person; you never know when or why he would change his mind."

Allearys then said:"I understand. I suppose it's difficult to know what someone of that level is thinking."

Feicui Long nodded and told her:"As for where I learned this rune, it was in the temple of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time. You can go learn it if you want; it will be in the middle of the central statue."

Allearys, who thought she wouldn't get an answer, was surprised and said:"But if it's the temple of the Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time, I don't think I can go learn it without being his devotee, let alone obtain permission to do so."

Feicui Long shook his head:"What is it that you desire, Miss? Power? Strength? Or is it something else? The Emerald Dragon God of Space and Time does not punish those who acquire power or strength through their own means, and that teaching is passed on to his believers. If you are able to learn it by yourself while you are there, you will be able to use it for yourself, and they won't cause you any trouble. But if you try to seize it or cheat, they won't allow it."

Allearys, surprised: "How are you so sure about that? Are you a believer, perhaps?"

Feicui Long, almost laughing, said: "No, I'm just someone a little curious."

Allearys, although a bit doubtful, simply accepted his explanation and said: "Very well, congratulations, Feicui Long, you passed with a perfect score. An assistant will come to take you to get your membership card."

Feicui Long, feeling a little embarrassed, looked at her and asked in a low voice: "Uh… Miss Allearys, could I take the leftover alchemy materials?"

Allearys, a little surprised, let out a laugh, 'Hahahaha,' and said cheerfully: "Of course you can. Anyway, these ingredients could no longer be used to make high-quality pills or would just be thrown at practitioners to waste. Take them all if you wish, even the preservation boxes. Consider it a gift from me."

Feicui Long, with a bright smile, thanked her: "Thank you very much, Miss Allearys."

…

Soon, he was taken to a room with a very peculiar artifact at the back. The assistant accompanying him asked him to wait, then approached the artifact and proceeded to enter all the information. Meanwhile, Feicui Long analyzed part of what he knew about how these identification cards are produced.

According to the information he had gathered, they are created by a series of secret workshops, which have different ranks and classifications. As far as he knew, they were classified as low-risk secret workshop, medium-risk secret workshop, high-risk secret workshop. Then there were ultra-secret workshop, mega-secret workshop, super-secret workshop, and forbidden workshop. They all had sub-classifications that were practically confidential, but some were not. For example, super-secret workshops had a sub-classification that was the highest one, called semi-forbidden workshops.

These workshops are very special since they are responsible for creating several very important things for the union, even being of vital importance, such as these identification cards, which are created in forbidden workshops. Each category is more confidential and, as its name implies, more "secret," adopting increasingly extreme measures to hide their location and members, as well as the knowledge they harbor. For example, while low-risk secret workshops are in plain sight and can be located, it is impossible to know what they hide or the knowledge they contain. In contrast, the forbidden ones—almost no one knows their location or if they exist within a pocket dimension.

The way confidentiality is protected in these workshops is extremely radical. All members must sign binding contracts sealed with the 4 supreme seals, one of which he had previously used. Depending on the workshop's category, the type and content of the contract vary, with the highest-ranking contracts being practically modified slavery agreements. For this reason, joining these workshops requires not only unwavering loyalty or an insatiable thirst for knowledge but also exceptional talent.

The people who sign these contracts are completely bound: they will never be able to speak about the workshop, not even under torture or threat of death. Furthermore, the contract protects their soul, making its review impossible. Although having a family is not prohibited, there is the condition that they must move into the workshop with the member and sign the same contract. If someone decides to resign, their mind and soul will be completely erased of any knowledge related to the workshop, permanently. Although theoretically, there might be some extremely advanced technique to overcome this protection, he doubted that such methods were within reach in the current state of this world.

The level of secrecy reaches its peak in the forbidden workshops. These specialize exclusively in a very limited number of tasks. For example, the nationality cards of the union are created only in Forbidden Workshop No. 1, while the UMIARH cards are produced in Workshop No. 3. Each card, depending on the union, is manufactured in a different workshop.

Saying that almost no one knows the location of these workshops would be an understatement. According to the documents he had consulted, only the founder and her direct subordinates knew the exact locations. Moreover, these subordinates were bound by contracts even more drastic than those of the forbidden workshops themselves, barely modified slavery agreements, which in practice made them absolute slaves. In real terms, the only person with full freedom was the founder. Not even the supreme council of 75 members, nor the current leader of the union, knew where the workshops were located.

Finally, the products manufactured in the workshops were not transported by conventional means. Instead, teleportation stations were used, like the one he had right in front of him at that moment.…While Feicui Long internally meditated on the greatest secrets of the union, the assistant had finally finished everything and said: "Mr. Feicui Long, you can collect everything here from the station. You may check it, including the gifts for becoming a beginner alchemist and the reward for achieving the highest score."

Feicui Long, emerging from his internal thoughts, approached the station and picked up his new membership card. At the same time, he took the opportunity to examine the station and its inscriptions. With a single glance, he could notice the slight spatial fluctuations. Although he was still far from recovering his powers, his familiarity with space, time, and dragon energy allowed him to clearly identify them.

Then he took a look at the gift. Apparently, it was a storage bag. As he knew, everyone was given one with a starter kit containing various things as a gift. The special thing was that this bag was clearly of higher quality than the normal ones. Although it was not very elegant, he could see the quality of the materials used and the inscriptions, with a clearly identifiable UMIARH symbol. Inside, it contained everything a kit would be expected to have - some herbs, all kinds of tools, books with recipes and alchemy materials, among other things - as well as energy stones, money, and more. But the surprising thing was that there were 35 energy crystals, 5 energy stone essences, and most impressively, an energy stone core.

The assistant, seeing his happy expression, smiled and said, "Some things, like a few sets of tools and particularly 15 of the energy crystals, 4 of the energy stone essences, and the energy stone core, were added for achieving the highest score. The union values talent, which is why it expresses its greatest congratulations. Additionally, take this. This grants you an extra 20% discount, added to the 10% for being a direct member. We hope you continue advancing in the ranks, Mr. Feicui Long."

Feicui Long sincerely expressed his gratitude, collected his belongings, and left the union....

On the way to the next union, Feicui Long was very happy because there are several things that gather energy and can be used for cultivation, but the most common ones in all existence and the most widely used are only nine. These are divided into three groups, which can be classified and vary in quality according to the classification already established in the absolute treaty.

These three groups are, respectively, energy stones, energy crystals, and energy essences. They are further subdivided into three subtypes. Energy stones are divided into the energy stones themselves, energy stone essence, and energy stone cores, while crystals are divided into energy crystals, energy crystal essence, and energy crystal cores. Lastly, energy essences are divided into energy essence, energy essence core, and the last one is somewhat special because it has many special forms. The most common of these forms are four, energy heart, energy soul, energy spirit, and energy mind, but there are also rarer ones depending on the type of energy. For example, dragon energy has several, one of them being the dragon nascent soul. Each one has unique characteristics and abilities, even the four "common" ones.

Now, the reason for his happiness had to do with how each of these worked. Even though it might seem that, according to their grouping and subgroup, the improvement is purely linear, that is not the case. Unlike the quality improvement, which is quite linear, the improvement in grouping does not work that way, at least in general terms. What happens is that while the ones in the crystal group are indeed better than the stones, this is only in certain areas.

But if we look at it, stones contain a greater total amount of energy and are capable of storing more, plus they do so faster and more efficiently. So, the reason crystals are rarer and more valuable is because of the purity of their energy, its quality, and the concentration of their respective laws. The same happens with essence and crystals - essence contains less energy than a crystal, but it is even purer, and its concentration of laws is very high. That is precisely why it is called "energy essence."

But if we also look, for example, at the case of energy stone essence, which has purity, energy quality, and law concentration comparable to an energy crystal of the same quality grade, then an energy stone core is equivalent to an energy crystal essence. Interestingly, an energy stone essence is rarer in an energy vein than an energy crystal, and the same applies to the core and the crystal essence.

In the end, all of this may not seem like much, but it shows that there is simply no linearity, and therefore, in some cases, it is better to use one or the other, as each thing has a different use. In the case of energy stone cores, their value lies in their great storage capacity, absorption speed, and efficiency. Meanwhile, crystals are more useful for filtering and selecting energy, because although the term energy stone, crystal, or others is very generic, there are thousands and hundreds of types of energy - an innumerable amount. They only acquire these names due to neutral or attribute-less energy, and therefore, the generic term of this energy is used when speaking in general. However, it is possible to see fire energy stones or dragon energy stones, and this is where crystals stand out, as they are capable of filtering environmental energy very efficiently.

On the other hand, energy essences make excellent cores since they are even more capable of filtering energy and have higher purity and quality. Moreover, cases like the energy heart allow for the control of very powerful artifacts or formations.

Yes, this may seem confusing since many normally associate the core with the place where energy is stored, but this is not entirely the case. In fact, it would be a disadvantage. Only in some cases is it convenient to merge the two. Most of the most powerful artifacts have them separated so that, in case their storage is lost, they can continue functioning with the energy from the surroundings, albeit less efficiently and more slowly. For example, the flying ships of his younger sister, the Supreme Goddess of the Mastery of Inscriptions, Alchemy, and Refinement-Blacksmithing, make extensive use of this principle.

However, one of the most powerful versions ever used in the war against the Feilou Clan: the Divine Punishment Ships, had up to five cores to control different devices and a single storage unit. Because of this, even if the storage was broken, the ship could still continue destroying its enemies.

So, Feicui Long was happy to have an energy stone core since it allowed him to use it for much more advanced formations or other applications. And while it was true that it was only of mortal quality, ninth grade, supreme rank, and advanced level, it was possible to improve it artificially, and he knew how. So, he could use it later when he needed it. Who knows, maybe he would want to create a special artifact or something.