Chapter 920: Chapter 72: The Ancestral Dragon, Body of the Spark! (7000)_4
The memory fragment of the Quenched Steel Dragon God gazed at Ian with its dim silver dragon pupils.
[Successor of future generations, are you a dragon? Or a human who has received the Dragon Blood? It does not matter. Whether you are a dragon or not.]
It said calmly: [Now, I will tell you the true nature of the True Dragon.]
[A True Dragon is a âSpark.â At least, we, the third generation True Dragons, are beings catalyzed by the Ancestor and the Mentor using the âSpark.â]
It raised its hand, pointing to the silver brilliance beyond its chest carapace, the location of the âHeart Coreâ: [My true name is âThor.â Starna is not my name, but the name of the âSpark Civilizationâ that gathered everything from the mother star eons ago, transforming it into a spark, and launching it into the cosmic void, collected by the Creators.]
[According to the Mentorâs conjecture, the initial True Dragons were âLiving Blazesâ used to observe and record everything about the myriad creatures and civilizations between the Star Seas, preserving them. In the process of observing a civilization, True Dragons would also grow gradually, arming themselves with their technology, becoming the most powerful beings on that planet (Ultimate One).]
[Is this for reaping or for protection? According to the Spark Civilizationâs preservation protocol we possess, both the Ancestor and the Mentor believe itâs âprotection.â Our Seniors would intervene in the disputes of civilizations, guiding them not to self-destruct, and for the sake of not impacting the development of civilizations, we can only use the technology we observed and not overly advanced powers.]
[For example, the technology of the âStarna Civilizationâ that I inherited created my âInheritance Memoriesâ... Theoretically, once I grow into my Complete Form, I will possess power equivalent to the entire Starna Civilization, and I will also use this civilizationâs power to protect, to guide them themselves.]
[In one Starfield, there can only be one True Dragon. Once the period of five hundred years passes, a new True Dragon will replace the old one, to prevent biases from the accumulation of technology and emotions... just like the feelings I developed for the Mountain People.]
[But Terra is special.]
[I donât know exactly why itâs special, but indeed, five great Ancestors and several Mentors have converged here... They keep silent about this, expressing nothing even towards Star Prison Tianyu... but without a doubt, Terra is special; Ancestral Dragons of this level should not exist within just one Starfield, they came for some extremely grand plan.]
[But that plan ended before it even began... an accident happened to the Creators who were leading the plan.]
At this point, the memory of the Quenched Steel Dragon paused.
When it spoke again, it had shifted to another topic: [Only by reaching the Fourth Energy Level, where the Heart Light is recondensed into a solid form, does a True Dragon become a real True Dragon, considered âmatureâ, holding the true Spark Legacy, possessing the power to create a whole new âecosystemâ centered around itself.]
[This ecosystem is the ecology of those civilizations within the âSparkâ, where our very existence can transform the terrains of planets, allowing alien life to thrive in unfamiliar lands.]
[This is the secret of the True Dragon, and why all the True Dragons that stayed in Terra instead of heading to Dragon Island build their own Dragon Kingdomsâwe naturally try to transform the world, in times of crisis, creating our own realms and civilizations, continuing the existence of our internal Spark ecology.]
[But I did not do so... I do not wish to spread my ecology, the Spark of the Starna Civilization has remained within the Iron Dragon Nest.]
[My true descendants are the Mountain People.]
[And before I pass away naturally, or perish in a confrontation with another True Dragon, I have been researching a technology... a technology to create True Dragons.]
[It is not the technology the Mentors and Ancestors used to create us, nor is it the technology to make True Dragons immortal... but a technology to transform an ordinary human into a True Dragon step by step.]
[Aside from me, many others, humans and dragons are studying it... the Dragon Worship Cult, truly an interesting group of people.]
It laughed, with a profound meaning: [Even though we had not succeeded until my death, I indeed left my brand in the Bloodline of all the Mountain People... their inheritance related to Dragon Blood will greatly improve, capable of adapting even in very harsh environments...]
[Of course, thereâs no difference from a typical holder of Dragon Blood, the Golden Folk also possess similar capabilities, but at least, I have grasped part of the power to change the essence of human Bloodline.]
[I know, after my death, those people who had united because of me will disband, and even fight each other... Life is selfishly self-centered, life is greedily incessant, I understand them.]
[Thus, I grant them a consistency in their Bloodlineâas long as my Emissary exists, the Mountain People will understand that they are truly one body, the descendants of the Quenched Steel Dragon Solstina.]
[I will give them the âBlood Consensus.â]
The ancient True Dragon looked Ian in the eye, and said calmly, "If you wish to inherit my legacy, this is the sole condition."
"Become my Emissary, protect my subjects."
"It doesnât need too long, it doesnât need too much, just ensure they do not perish and awaken the âConsensus of Bloodâ."
At this moment, Ian thoroughly understood.
He finally understood why every True Dragon couldnât understand each other, couldnât accept each other.
He finally understood why the Dragon Soul of True Dragons is so unique, able to accept any kind of body.
He also finally understood why Sio, despite being a fifth-generation True Dragon birthed by a mother, was a blank slate rather than a complete inheritor of the King of the Mountain!
Because... the essence of True Dragonsâ blood is not those powers!
Those powers essentially originate from the Spark, from the civilizations they had once observed! The true power of True Dragons is the âuniversalityâ that can fully adapt to any civilization, any life form, any mode of existence!
They are indeed related to the Spark... because they themselves are the very Spark of civilization!
Understanding all of this, Ian also understood the desires of the Quenched Steel Dragon.
The Mountain People are essentially a conglomerate of different kinds of Terra People, including the Iron Folk, the Golden Folk as well as the White Folks, and the Crimson People, a large fusion overall.
And the Quenched Steel Dragon hoped to truly create a group of âDragon Folksâ with its power!
It did not succeed. Thus, it awaits the ones who follow to complete it.
"Thereâs no need for you to say it."
He took a deep breath, eye to eye with this ancient memory.
Ian calmly replied, "I would do the same. Or rather, I am already doing it."
Of course, not only for the Dragon Folks... his goal is not merely to protect one race.
But to go higher and farther... beyond the true ancient nests of True Dragons, to the far reaches of the Star Sea.
Above the Sky.
"That is a promise. Moreover, they still exist."
The ancient True Dragon closed its eyes, its rugged scaled face showing no emotion, but the surge of its soul seemed like a smile: "That is a good thing."
In that instant, within the Soul Space, the phantasm of Quenched Steel Dragon Solstina shattered, transforming into endless surging fragments of memory, tumbling sceneries of mists, converging towards Ian.
And Ian took a step forward, meeting these memories that he had once experienced.
The young man felt a sudden searing pain in his right hand, and a silver Dragon Head mark emerged on the back of his hand.
Above the Dragon Head, a crown of iron thorns hung high.