Alex next heard the Patriarchs chat about his Master and the phenomenon she had created. He heard them talk about the growing lack of Qi and how it wasnāt much longer before the Azure Dragon would have to pass along his position to someone else.
Alex found it surprising that the Azure Dragon, who seemed perfectly well and alive, was already thinking about such a matter. But then, he realized that while the Patriarch considered passing along his position soon,
soon
could still mean dozens and dozens of millennia.
They kept walking up the staircase, steadily climbing the building that went up for many kilometers. Halfway through, they arrived at a large opening with something written on the top that Alex barely recognized as "Body."
He hadnāt seen many texts after coming to this world, but whenever he did, it was written in the Beast Language, which he wasnāt fully proficient in.
"Body?" he thought for a moment. He remembered back to the few other gates they had walked past and the text that was written on them. He whispered to Pearl, asking him if he could help him with the translations.
Pearl could translate it, but he hadnāt paid as much attention.
Bai Jingshen instead spoke up and answered his questions.
"Weāve passed the Tail Gate. Then the Fourth and Third Talon Gates, and now weāre at the Body Gate," Bai Jingshen said.
Alex paused for a bit, staring at the tiger. "I thought you couldnāt read."
"Of course I can read," Bai Jingshen said. "Iām not illiterate. I just canāt read the words when they are bunched up together. On their own like this, itās easy."
Alex gave an apologetic smile. He looked back at the gate, now knowing what it was. Just then, something stirred in the back of his mind as he went through the names.
"Are there a Head Gate and Scales Gate by any chance?" Alex asked.
Bai Jingshen smiled. "Youāve noticed then," he said.
Alex nodded. "Itās the five sections of the army that the Azure Imperium had. Itās based on this?" he asked.
"If you recall, the first Azure Dragon that went down there had a child with a human female and gave birth to the first Dragon Emperor," Bai Jingshen said. "He helped his child form the Empire, so many aspects of that Empire came from his experience as an Azure Dragon. This was one of them."
Alex raised his eyebrows in understanding. "I see."
The group walked in through the Body Gate, walking past intricate hallways, and arrived at a massive hall. The hall was the size of a cathedral, with statues on giant pedestals belonging to Azure Dragons.
One stood at the center, large and proud. It looked no different than the current Patriarch, except perhaps a little more rugged, carrying a little more authority.
A small plaque hung by its side, and Pearl read it out loud for Alex.
"The Progenitor of the Azure Dragons, Qing Tailong."
Whoever had carved the statue had done a fantastic job. Looking at the craftsmanship, Alex almost believed it was the same person that had carved the White Tiger Progenitorās statue as well.
The group stopped in that hall for a few minutes as the Azure Dragon Patriarch showed the others around the room, pointing to a few statues and giving some tidbits about who they belonged to.
Pearl fully focused on the information, looking around at the sculptures of long-dead family members that he had never gotten to see.
Alex looked around at all of them, admiring them. But unlike Pearl, he had no connection to these, so he didnāt feel much for them. His eyes moved past them, lingering on any sculpture for no longer than a few seconds.
As he moved past the standing sculptures, his eyes went to perhaps the sculptures that were the best after the Progenitors.
There were two very distinct beasts carved on the walls, each covering the space between the doors on each side. They were the largest sculptures around there, but since they were carved directly on the wall, they didnāt stand out as well as they should have.
On the left was a massive dragon-like beast with a long serpentine body, covered in hard scales carved all over its surface. Its face appeared similar to that of the current Azure Dragons, mainly the two giant horns, long whiskers, a great mane, and the actual shape of the face itself.
Unlike the Azure Dragons, however, this dragon had a larger chest area than the rest of its body, and two giant wings came out of its back, feathered like that of a bird.
Surrounding the beast in the carved sculpture were giant clouds with rain and lightning surrounding it in its entirety.
The dragon looked like a lord of rain and lightning, master of the storm.
Opposite to it was a giant eagle-like bird, sculpted out of jade, with a wingspan twice as large as its body. Its feet were long with sharp blade-like talons, and its feathers thick like fur.
The sculpture of the bird appeared like a painting frozen in time at the moment of descent, like a bird of prey coming down on its target. One could almost see the wind breaking through its body, passing around it.
Despite a very humble appearance, the bird looked no worse than the dragon opposite to it. In fact, it looked like a lord of wind.
Alex stared at the two carvings in awe, a piece of him telling him what they were. But he couldnāt imagine ever getting a chance to see what these beings actually looked like.
Bai Jingshen walked up to him and stared at the carvings too.
"I was surprised the last time I came here as well," he said. "Do you recognize what these beasts are?"
"I have a guess," Alex said. "Will you confirm it for me?"
"Based on your reaction, I think you know you are right," Bai Jingshen said. "These are the two Primordials that the Azure Dragons are descended from."
"The Flying Raindragon and the Roc."