The last rays of the sun were setting on the horizon when a spatial distortion brought, from a distant galaxy, two figures of nearly opposite proportions. The whale and Ruri appeared on the central planet of the Dragon Ascent Sect. As soon as they arrived, a wave of Qi and heavenly laws surrounded them. It was so dense it felt like they had plunged to the bottom of a deep ocean.
Alm and Bruno took a deep breath, absorbing the energy of that divine world, worthy of the greatest sect in the universe.
The planet, called Dracalyth, was located in the galaxy with the highest concentration of Qi and heavenly laws in the entire universe. Its size was colossal, at least six times larger than Gloom Planet, with countless distinct biomes, each radiating the most complete and profound laws of the universe.
The Dragon Ascent Sect housed dozens of pure dragon races. They all cultivated and lived safely, but only nine of them belonged to the elite that governed everything.
The couple was transported directly to the heart of a glorious, multicolored city. As soon as they arrived, two figures rushed to greet them. The whale saw Runula and Yue side by side, both smiling. According to Ruri, the two had become great friends.
The contrast between them was obvious. Runula maintained the same appearance as when they first met: she looked like a human child, but the black scales covering her body revealed her lack of skill in metamorphosis. Yue, on the other hand, mixed elven traits with those of a winged beast, wearing flashy clothes that accentuated her curves.
"Finally, you’re here," said Yue, looking at the whale with excitement. "I wanted to show you the whole planet, but my dad ordered me to take you to him right away. The nine clans are gathered, waiting for you… did something serious happen?"
Runula spoke calmly beside her, "Don’t be too nosy. Master is very busy and doesn’t have time to waste."
"But he owes me one! He took my sword at the Convention, and I even practiced the laws of the earth to be able to use it," Yue retorted, before glaring at the whale. "You bullied the young ones and took our stuff. I want compensation!"
Runula snorted. Yue was less than twenty years old and was mentally comparable to a spoiled human teenager. Despite that, she wasn’t malicious; her innocence made it hard to feel anger toward her… just constant irritation.
She and her brother were the only young Azure Dragons born in the last ten thousand years. The Azure Dragons were the most powerful race in the sect, possessing the bloodline closest to the primordial dragons.
Naturally, they were talented in all the areas dominated by the other eight pure dragon races. They could train in multiple aspects with ease; there was no comparison to the other races.
The Azure Dragons were the absolute rulers of the sect. Only when the previous generation failed to produce a powerful descendant in time would another race temporarily take control.
Each of the nine races had a few thousand members. In each generation, they fought fervently to ensure descendants and prevent their numbers from dwindling. But since they lived five times longer than any other race, only a small portion managed to have children before dying. Even so, over the millions of years, their numbers continued to decrease alarmingly.
In this generation, the twins Yue and Yuan were born and became heroic disciples. While other sects had a dozen disciples with that title, in Dragon Ascent Sect, it didn’t make sense. Young ones from other races could never compete with the two, so only they held that position. The plan was for one to become the hero and the other, the next sect leader.
Ruri spoke softly: "Yue, you haven’t even made Runula fight in her true form yet. Master only helps those who are dedicated."
Yue lowered her head, frustrated, and muttered dramatically, "This is so unfair! Runula spends all day training and training… where’s the fun in that? And that black saber she uses, with a unique magical glow? Why don’t you bet it in a game? Or maybe give me a chance to see if it shines brighter than my new dragon necklace?"
"You’re unbelievable…" Runula snorted, rolling her eyes. "That was made by master; it’s not a toy, and I’ll never give it to anyone. You have to be dedicated to earn something from him. But you can’t even focus for an entire day of training."
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"An entire day?" Yue raised an eyebrow. "I like fighting... but my true passion is finding and admiring beautiful and cool things. Without that, my life has no meaning!"
Ruri narrowed her eyes with a cold expression, visibly annoyed. Alm and Bruno couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh. Yue was the total opposite of Ruri, who was dedicated and intense in everything. While Ruri gave her all, Yue avoided training with the same skill she used to hoard treasures.
But in truth, they weren’t that different. When Ruri was younger, she also loved to collect treasures and beautiful things. However, after going through so many problems and hardships, she set that passion aside to focus on getting stronger. The war she faced, along with memories from another life, had taken away the joy of pursuing what she once loved.
Alm had an idea. Yue was a Pure Dragon, and in that race, liking to hoard things was almost natural; she just took it to the extreme. He rummaged through the inventory and found something long forgotten.
It was a talisman. It looked like a simple piece of yellow paper, about two inches wide and six inches long. Strange lines were drawn on it, radiating a mystical glow, unlike anything natural.
This talisman had been with them since the quest on the Devil’s Mountain in the Underworld. It was low-level and useless now, so it had been forgotten, not even worth throwing away.
As soon as Alm pulled out the talisman, Yue’s eyes sparkled with pure curiosity. "What’s that?"
"A simple talisman," Alm replied, with a satisfied smile.
The dragons, proud of their natural power, rarely engaged with external creations or anything that wasn’t born with them. Even though this was the number one sect in the universe, they looked down on these external powers.
"Wow… so beautiful!" Yue murmured, mesmerized by the glow of the lines on the talisman. She had never seen something like this up close, though she obviously knew what a talisman was.
"Want it?" Alm lightly waved the talisman in his hand, and Yue’s eyes followed the movement like a hungry child eyeing candy. "I’ll give it to you, but you have to stop complaining about the convention."
Yue nodded exaggeratedly in agreement. She then took the talisman with the utmost reverence, as if it were the greatest treasure she’d ever held. Her eyes sparkled as she immediately started inspecting the object.
"This was made with…" She named four rare beasts, a peculiar herb, and some laws, speaking with total conviction. Her dragon bloodline was fully active, allowing everyone to feel it.
Alm and Bruno were surprised. They could use tattoos to figure out the laws, but they’d never know the other materials the talisman was made of. Yue had figured it all out just by touching it and using her bloodline.
The pure bloodline, so close to a Primordial Dragon, was no joke. But it was clear the young girl’s talent added to it.
"Thank you so much, sir!" Yue said with a wide smile. "This is going to be my new treasure!"
Alm nodded and asked casually, "Hmm… would you like more?"
Yue’s eyes widened in excitement. "You have more talismans?"
"Not exactly. I’ll give you a different task than training with Runula; maybe you’ll enjoy it," Alm explained, as Yue’s eyes sparkled in anticipation. "If you do it perfectly, you’ll get more talismans, each one unique. How does that sound?"
"If it means more cool stuff, I’ll do whatever it takes!" she replied eagerly, full of enthusiasm.
The whale nodded. It seemed they had discovered this young girl’s latent talent. Talismans need to be made using some kind of paper, which could be crafted from beast hides or leaves from precious plants. Additionally, some material for inscription is required, involving an endless variety of components.
In other words, creating talismans requires a lot of treasures and flashy items, which need to be fused with the laws. The result is completely unique objects that don’t naturally exist and can unleash peculiar effects.
Talisman experts were extremely rare, far rarer than alchemists and blacksmiths. Pills and weapons were everywhere in the cultivation world. But in this universe, Alm and Bruno had never even seen a talisman.
In the other universe they came from, talismans were very rare, and even in the queen’s universe, it seemed hard to find one. Most talismans were likely in the hands of a few, kept hidden as life-saving tools.
Turning Yue into a talisman creator also aligned perfectly with her hoarding personality and her love for beautiful and rare things. She’d come across many materials, like herbs, minerals, and treasures that she already loved. This had the potential to become a fun activity for her, where she’d feel fulfilled. At the same time, she’d be useful, and her power would grow in a different way than usual.
’She’s smart, and her natural talents make her perfect for this. If we motivate her correctly and she truly enjoys making talismans, we’ve struck gold,’ Alm thought to himself.
Bruno listened and understood: ’Got it… Dragons would never dedicate themselves to this, but she’s young and rebellious. Let’s ask Nebai and the dwarves to find some basic recipes and methods. If we study a bit, the system might give us a talisman technique or Dao.’
With that, the whale moved, guided by the two.
Yue practically skipped along, holding that useless talisman, but one that definitely had a glow and aura that couldn’t be found anywhere else.
They stopped at the Larimar Market in the city. A dwarf led the market, someone who knew the whale from when he visited the dwarf galaxy. They requested these materials and knowledge from him, then headed to the meeting place.