At that moment, all the dragons were completely silent, with expressions of pain. On the ground, Yulong and Yuan stood beside the lifeless body of the young Azure Dragon, both deeply shaken by their emotions.
After so many gods were killed by the whale at the convention, no one was surprised that he had the ability to kill that dragon.
The runic seal on Ruri’s blade was immediately recognized by everyone; it was a seal that all the disciples of the God of Forging created. Everyone knew that power was limited to just one move.
At the same time, the Dragons realized that overcoming the challenge and gaining a bit of minimal freedom was crucial for defeating the Celestial Dragon. If the whale had used his power from the start and the Celestial Dragon had ordered everyone to block head-on, it would have been tough to hit the enemy. After all, there were millions, and neither the whale nor Ruri would have enough weapons.
So, the blame for everything, including the young dragon’s death, fell on them. They were controlled and could only win the challenge after her sacrifice. If they had won earlier, she would still be with them.
But...
Amid the father’s and brother’s mourning, the whale made a smooth move. The power of faith released with the victory in the test flowed into the ’dead’ body. In an instant, the soft sound of a heartbeat was heard, and everyone’s eyes widened.
All the dragons, upon entering that place, had to empty their bodies of all Qi. Consequently, it was as if they had no cultivation; they could only rely on their natural energies.
None of this was planned in advance. But the moment Yue chose to take her own life and fell to the ground, Bruno activated the power of faith within her. He made her body stop functioning, hiding even the fluctuations of her soul. Being a pure dragon, she could remain in that state for months without consequences.
However, that was far from convincing. If the dragons still had their cultivation, they would clearly realize she wasn’t dead.
Alm and Bruno could obviously have defeated that Celestial Dragon without everyone needing to go through the test, but that was an opportunity with the dragons they wouldn’t let slip away.
Ruri and Runula, just feeling the whale’s calmness, already knew it was all a setup; he wasn’t cold enough to let that young girl actually die. Even if he couldn’t save her, they would try with all their might. The whale seemed emotionless on the surface, but everyone knew from his actions that it was just a facade.
Yue opened her eyes, staring at her father, brother, and the thousands of dragons watching her in shock. She was confused and murmured, "Huh? Did I do something really wrong this time?"
Ruri approached Yue and smiled slightly. "No, you acted perfectly. Thanks to you, that bastard was defeated. Be proud. Everyone passed the test with your help."
"How..." Yulong murmured in shock.
At that moment, Bruno activated the power of faith inside everyone. A chain in their mental sea was broken. He had planned this from the start, and he also altered each of their Empyrean runes.
"Her courage moved me, so I made it look like she died to give you an opportunity," the whale spoke calmly. "Anyway, everything’s been sorted out. Time is short. Now that you’ve passed the test, let’s get straight to the main point."
Yulong and the others had barely recovered from the shock, but upon sensing the whale’s seriousness, they landed on the ground and returned to their human forms through their bloodlines. The whale stared at them coldly and began to speak, slowly, in two parts.
"First: I am not the God of Forging."
"Second: I am a missionary on orders from Heaven’s Will. The heroes call me Heaven-Defier."
Everyone heard and took a moment to process those words... No one reacted, even after a few seconds of silence. The whale sighed and looked at Yulong, who was the first to react, his face turning pale.
"Let’s revisit that conversation we had back on planet Gloom." Yulong stared at the whale sternly. "Do you remember what you told me about the records of hundreds of heroes from your sect... and how they suddenly changed personality..."
He spoke slowly, and the more experienced dragons also recalled that conversation and the fact mentioned.
"Think a bit more. Something very simple and obvious is happening," the whale spoke slowly. At that moment, Yulong’s and the others’ eyes trembled with the evident answer.
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"But does this only happen to the heroes? In that conversation, you quickly picked a different target... was it really your will?"
"What..." Yulong murmured, completely disturbed.
The whale slowly completed: "What’s going on? It’s simple. My test aimed to see, first, if you have enough courage and will to fight. Now, I’ve removed what was stopping you from acting. Tell me: are the companions of the heroes the enemies?"
He asked coldly. All the dragons already had the answer in their minds, but they didn’t dare to speak, still confused. How had that thought never occurred to them? Everyone thought and answered to themselves. It was mental control. Very similar to what a slave experienced, unable to go against it without even knowing.
Yulong clenched his fists, needing to confirm: "The heroes... what happened to us? Who did this to all of us?"
"The same person I’m hunting. The heroes call her the Holy Goddess or something similar. All of you, everyone in this universe and in multiple other universes... you are just slaves, without the slightest chance of freeing yourselves; you’re not even allowed to think about it."
The whale paused and looked into Yulong’s eyes. "Remember that conversation we had? For a second, you guys felt the same compulsion you do now, but something quickly cut that thought and directed you elsewhere."
"… you freed us…" Yulong murmured, still in shock, as he looked at the whale. "That was your intention from the start… why? And what do you want from us?"
The whale scoffed, disdainfully. "Let’s just say a race that managed to raise those two young ones—and even though they’re the most powerful and talented possible, they’re still honorable and kind—deserves, at the very least, a chance. I tested you, and you passed."
He finished his speech, leaving everyone in thoughtful silence. Not caring about their reactions, the whale turned his back and started walking in one direction. A minute later, he activated his Behemoth lineage, and the ground slowly began to open up.
Everyone watched in astonishment as three glowing eggs, five meters tall, emerged from the ground. Ruri excitedly ran over to the whale, who waved at her. With his approval, Ruri grabbed the eggs and stored them in her beast world.
Runula and Deryu also moved, entering that world. Inside, Coltia was training Lieson, and now everyone would help incubate the three new members.
The whale waved again, and another part of the ground opened up, revealing a huge underground area. A crater began to expand. The dragons fell silent, while Yue was the only one to run excitedly, stopping beside the whale.
"Treasure, treasure… I want that!" she exclaimed, pointing enthusiastically.
Quickly, all the dragons rushed toward the crater, which stopped growing. Their bloodlines resonated with everything inside. There were countless things of various shapes within the crater.
"These are treasures for dragons, left by the Chaos Yin Dragon. That Celestial Dragon used them. There’s also a lot of knowledge left, mainly about the past war," the whale explained, and the dragons sighed in excitement.
Yue, however, scoffed. "I just want that shiny thing over there! I don’t care about the rest!"
The whale noticed what she wanted—a set of nine gigantic bracelets. It was a rare item made for dragons to use in their true form. The bracelets were connected by draconic energy, shiny, golden, and had a single immortal core, but their spirit had died over time.
"That suits you. Later, I’ll fix and enhance it," the whale said, and Yue jumped for joy, leaping into the crater and grabbing the bracelets.
The whale then looked at Yulong. "We have little time. In three hours, we’ll only have two full days left. Take advantage of everyone being here and gather everything for the sect. By reading the records left behind, you’ll understand better what happened in the war and who the true enemy is."
The dragons nodded and jumped into the crater. They could all feel exactly where the scattered items were located.
The whale turned to Ruri and spoke through the array. ’Things have changed a bit. Since they passed the test quickly, let’s seize the moment. When the Chaos Dragon regains its energy, give them all the techniques. After that, it’ll be easy to use the dragon to land the final blow.’
’Sure, no problem. Runula has been working on this the whole time. Now we can use the brothers to help. I’ll convert everyone to our side!’ Ruri replied with an excited smile.
The whale headed toward the exit, accompanied by the brothers and Ruri. Exactly one hour later, that whole little world was emptied. Even the bones of the dragons and the remains of the one who had died were taken by the sect.