“How did you come to unlock this ability?”
Azmakul asked, scratching his chin as observed the layout of the Jade City.
“It’s a domain, the special ability of the human race.”
Alan answered, also marvelling at his masterpiece of a city. He had to admit, the Jade Palace was quite…marvelous.
With the grand palace in the center, there were four main roads that led to it, the city was divided into eight sectors, while most of the buildings in between the roads were empty, or simply nonexistent plots of land that Alan simply used as a space for his soldiers to rest, There was a lot of room for employment.
Though the city itself may be lacking, one could not say that about the palace that stood at the very center, made of gleaming white jade. The spires were tall, and carved into them were aesthetically pleasing yet mysterious runes. They glowed in the dark, Alan only knew that.
It was exactly that type of castle that existed in fantasy novels and cliché titles. Except, this castle wasn’t a hub of romance, but of war. The serpents of glass and jade slithering up the spires proved that.
The army in the city was equally formidable. Alan knew that even with his regeneration, and infinite mana, he would have an incredibly difficult time in defeating the warriors of the Jade Palace.
He knew they would be annoying, because they mimicked him. The soldiers of the jade palace would march forward even if they lost parts of their body. Just like Alan would.
They may not have his overpowered regeneration, but they simply didn’t care. The soldiers imitated their king’s style of battle. They were just as reckless as him.
To advance even if you lost half your body.
To advance even if your head exploded.
To advance even if you lost all your limbs, using your head to march.
Worst of all, they could not tire. They were like an undead in that aspect. Infinite stamina. They did not know exhaustion. They acted exactly like Alan, even if they didn’t have his powers.
Alan wasn’t complaining, however. That army of his was his greatest strength.
The jade palace may not be a directly offensive domain like that of Sword Saint Arken, Graveyard of Redeemed Steel. Or that of Ezra’s, Mirror world. But it was definitely more versatile.
It may not give an absolute and sudden boost to power, but if Alan had to compare his domain to theirs, he would choose his own without any bias.
After all, could his master raise an army of soldiers who did not know exhaustion? Soldier’s filled with blood thirst and power?
Ezra could do it with the unique properties of his domain, but the Mirror World couldn’t do everything the Jade Palace could, because it was severely limited because of the mana capacity of its user.
Ezra was human, after all. Alan would never admit it, but he was so angry at his loss, he was obsessed with Ezra for a while.
That may be the only time in his life where he researched about his opponent a lot. He could only theorize, with Sabrina’s help.
Even then, he had to admit he didn’t even know what Mirror World could truly accomplish. Graveyard of Redeemed Steel was also an excellent domain. Sword saint Arken had told them about it.
He knew what the Graveyard of Redeemed Steel could do, but he could only theorize about Mirror World. That irritated him more than anything whenever he thought about it.
Well, he would know more if he had a chance to fight Ezra again. He would know…
A bit of solace was that the Jade Palace was a special domain, unlike the others. Alan would be lying if he said he wasn’t proud of that fact.
“How unusual.”
After a period that felt like ages, Alan finally heard Azmakul speak. He was still stroking his chin, or a non-existent beard. His actions were strange, sometimes his hand would be stroking his chin…or simply stroking the air.
‘Is it a beard I can’t see?’
How unusual, and concerning. Alan turned towards the city and asked Azmakul, curious.
“How is it unusual?”
Why was his domain unusual? He could only hope Azmakul wouldn’t just turn around and say; ‘It’s an issue, young prince! The domain is filled with flaws!’
He hoped not… He had enough on his hands already. He did not want to deal with another thing he had to fix! Like, come on!
There was the thing with sorcery, the one with his teammates, the one with the aura breathing technique, the one with the Eternal flame, linked to his aura breathing techniques…
He just had too much on his plate! His appetite may be voracious, but not this much!
“The special ability of the human species? How odd.”
Before he could even ask, Azmakul continued.
“How odd… A species as weak and new as theirs has the requirement of the Legendary rank, How odd indeed.”
“Legendary rank?”
“The rank after epic, young prince. After that is the Mythical rank, followed by Divine, and then at last, Supreme. An individual earns the title of Legend when they are able to manifest their own world into the universe, a representation of their hardships, journey, ideals, and the
like.”
Hearing about all that, Alan wanted to inquire about how an individual reached those ranks. He knew all adult dragons would become epic ranked beings… But if he was being honest.
‘Fuck that, I am not waiting that long…’
A dragon took a long time to become an adult… He was not waiting that long.
He didn’t even think he had enough time, if he was being honest.
“How does one reach the epic rank, and the ones after? What are the… requirements, I guess?”
“Hmm.”
Azmakul stroked his chin, and remained silent for a while. Was this a habit of his as well?
Why did all old people have to force him to wait before answering? So annoying. “Though all dragons reach the epic rank when they come of age, the basic requirement of reaching the rank of epic is the physique. When an individual knows enough of their physique, and how to augment it with mana or any other energies, they undergo a physical transformation. It comes naturally.
It can be forced, but it is better to progress naturally. Forcing it can lead to… consequences.”
Although he wanted to know it could be forced, He was not ready to know about the consequences that Azmakul mentioned with such a grim expression.
He asked about the ranks of Legendary and beyond.
“What about the rest?”
“As I said, an individual earns the rank of a legend when they are able to influence the world in many ways. The representation of…their mind. The rank of legendary is achieved when the mind is augmented. It is a mental transformation.
How much you can influence the world is very important, it has a direct link to the rank of Divine. The rank of mythic is achieved with the augmentation, and realization of the soul.
That is the simplest explanation of achieving the rank of [Mythic]. Elder dragons are at this
rank…”
Azmakul stopped, but when he saw Alan’s look of curiosity, he couldn’t help but sigh.
“You are too curious about a far future. Advancing is not as easy as you think it is, young
prince.”
“I know, just tell me about the ranks of Divine and Supreme.”
Azmakul laughed at the curiosity of the young dragon, and sat down on the walls of the jade
city, looking up at the sky.
It was as dark as ever, the dark clouds above painted an eerie sight. The night sky of Lanekia was as… Creepy yet comfortable as always.
Creepy to the rest, comforting to Alan. If his dignity and the strong winds above weren’t
stopping him, he would have already found a snowfield and jumped right into it, treating it
like a pool.
“Try to think, young prince. How does one reach the divine rank? I will give you a hint, what I
just mentioned. There are two parts.”
Alan paused to think, staring at the dark sky.
The hint was obvious. It had to do something with the ranks of Epic, Legendary, and Mythic.
It was quite simple, the first part, of course.
“The physical, mental, and spiritual transformations… I’m guessing it’s a sort of
combination?”
He thought it was quite good, and reasonable as well.
“Yes, one of the prerequisites of reaching the rank of divine is the combination of those three, freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
enhancing them to new levels and gaining a deeper understanding of oneself, and the laws
that government our universe.”
“And what is the second requirement?
Alan asked, Azmakul didn’t move his head to look at him one more time, but continued to
stare at the sky.
The dark, dreary sky.
“Take a look, prince. It’s about time it showed anyways, hastening the process for you
shouldn’t be too much trouble.”
He said, and raised his hand towards the sky.