The last flicker of hope in Natasha’s heart had already shattered.
Her once heavy-hearted expression now turned listless and weak.
Pulling her hood tighter against the howling snow, she left the icy palace of the Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon alone.
Because most sub-dragons had wings, there were no paths for walking on the snowy mountain.
Natasha had to rely on her spiritual power to lift her feet as she had on the way up, carefully stepping on the soft snow and slowly making her way down the mountain.
A strange hue appeared in the distant sky, but Natasha was so absorbed in thought that she didn’t notice it.
It wasn’t until a clear voice rang beside her ear, pulling her out of her reverie.
“Hey, little half-dragon, is this snowy mountain the territory of the Frost Crystal Sub-Dragons?”
Natasha lifted her head and saw a silver-white pureblood giant dragon standing in front of her, having approached silently without her noticing.
She inwardly scolded herself for being so lost in thought that she ignored her surroundings.
Remembering that the silver dragon was waiting for her reply, Natasha hastened to answer, “This is the domain of the Frost Crystal Dragon King, but…”
Only now did her slightly foggy mind catch up.
She widened her eyes, staring at the silver dragon’s golden pupils and the human perched on its back, her voice rising in surprise at the end: “Are you… a Silver Dragon?”
It was truly strange.
Silver dragons usually had tri-colored pupils—red, blue, and white. As a half-dragon herself, Natasha inherited this trait.
But she had never seen a silver dragon with golden pupils before.
“Yes, little half-dragon.” Lu Qiuchen responded in a haughty tone.
Hearing the two dragons converse, Zhang Cheng belatedly felt something was off.
Since Lu Qiuchen entered the sub-dragon gathering, she seemed brimming with confidence.
Based on her mindset, Zhang Cheng reasonably guessed that Lu Qiuchen believed no creature in the sub-dragon territory could threaten her, and that she could act at will here without restraint.
In fact, this was true.
According to the game forum’s data, most sub-dragons only reached the Saint rank upon adulthood, capped at level 139—the legendary stage—never touching the Celestial level in their lifetimes.
Moreover, most sub-dragons had diluted dragon bloodlines and, coupled with the giant dragons’ own habits, many could not even reach the legendary rank.
Only a few with purer bloodlines could achieve it.
When it came to chasing levels, the long-lived species were less motivated than the short-lived.
Lu Qiuchen, already at level 132, was roughly equivalent to a 3,000–4,000-year-old ordinary giant dragon.
Not only could she utterly crush the older sub-dragons, but it was certain she would not fall behind in combat.
Recalling Lu Qiuchen’s earlier embarrassing experience, Zhang Cheng felt this place was indeed good for adjusting one’s mindset.
Since there was no real danger if trouble arose, Zhang Cheng decided not to interfere and let her act as she pleased.
Uh… should I hide and cooperate with her from now on? Standing on a dragon’s back might lower Lu Qiuchen’s dignity.
Thinking this, he immediately jumped down from Lu Qiuchen’s back.
Earlier, Zhang Cheng had seen Natasha walk here with ease, but when he stepped onto the snow, he found it incredibly soft, and under his weight, he sank deep, creating a pit.
Luckily, a massive boulder lay beneath, and the snow only reached his waist.
Zhang Cheng’s blunder caught Natasha’s brief glance before she automatically ignored the human again, her eyes now fully fixed on the powerful silver dragon’s agile figure.
“Y-You… Greetings, honorable Silver Dragon Lord!”
Hearing the silver dragon’s affirmative reply, Natasha dared not look directly, folding her trembling hands in prayer.
Her words stammered with excitement.
This was her first time meeting a Silver Dragon… This elder must be a senior in their race, right?
She mustn’t leave a bad impression!
Suddenly remembering she still wore her hood, which was disrespectful to the Silver Dragon Lord, she hurriedly removed it, folded her hands again, and bowed deeply to Lu Qiuchen hovering in the sky.
“Silver Dragon Lord, have you come here knowing our plight to save us?”
Natasha looked up at the silver dragon, her face filled with hope.
A haze crossed Lu Qiuchen’s mind—what kind of greeting was this? Had she been discovered spying by the half-dragon tribe this morning?
But she quickly realized she was overthinking; the half-dragon clearly did not know her true purpose.
“No, I’m here on other business.”
Lu Qiuchen’s eyes narrowed as she sensed trouble from the half-dragon before her, refusing outright and unwilling to explain more.
Though she had once been a half-dragon herself, it had been less than a day, and she held no deep feelings for the race.
Furthermore, Gael’s sincere feelings for that female knight convinced her that if the half-dragons ever faced life-or-death moments, Gael would step in.
There was no need for her to meddle now.
Lu Qiuchen was always purposeful; having gotten the answer from the half-dragon, she did not linger, telepathically signaling Zhang Cheng to get on—no, to mount the dragon—and flapping her wings to depart.
Knowing that the mountain’s resident dragon was the real protagonist of this trip, Lu Qiuchen radiated intense dragon aura to announce her arrival.
Seconds later, she sensed a response from the mountain—an aura weaker than hers but still powerful—and the other party was already stirring.
Zhang Cheng leapt up at Lu Qiuchen’s call, just as she prepared to take off.
Then a loud roar came from the mountain, somewhat awkward in tone—perhaps a local dialect?
“Strange Silver Dragon! You have entered my territory. Leave quickly!”
Seeing the true master appear and their hostile attitude, Lu Qiuchen ceased advancing and instead loudly projected her voice with spiritual power:
“Frost Crystal Dragon, I heard you have the Celestial Fragment…”
Lu Qiuchen said this to bait him, knowing he had already identified her and could sense the power gap between them.
If the Celestial Fragment was not in his possession, he would likely refuse to provoke her and possibly reveal its whereabouts.
“You want the Celestial Fragment as well? Then come up and get it. I can give it to you, but you must pay a fair price.”
There was no respect in the Frost Crystal Dragon’s tone, which irked Lu Qiuchen slightly.
But upon hearing him admit the Celestial Fragment was in his hands, she pardoned his rudeness and immediately activated spatial teleportation.
“Silver Dragon Lord, are you also here for that crystal? Could you lend it to my tribe…?”
Natasha’s heart had just begun to hope when she looked up, only to find the silver dragon and that strange human already vanished.
‘Gone? That must be it. Did I leave a bad impression on the Silver Dragon Lord? But we really need that crystal. If only the Silver Dragon Lord could get it from the Frost Crystal Dragon King… Given we were once of the same kin, there might still be hope!’
Though being rejected and going back to disturb the Frost Crystal Dragon King again was unwelcome, Natasha thought this might be their last chance.
She gritted her teeth and canceled her plan to descend, turning back to climb up the mountain once more.
If they could borrow that crystal from the Silver Dragon Lord, the tribe’s elders stuck at the Epic rank could likely break through to the Legendary within decades.
Once even one succeeds, the half-dragon tribe’s status in the Beastmen Kingdom could be maintained for centuries.
As the half-dragon princess and next chieftain, Natasha had the duty to seek better prospects for her people, even if it meant taking risks.
Teleporting to the mountaintop, Zhang Cheng showed good judgment by jumping down and following Lu Qiuchen into the massive crystal palace to meet the lord of this vast territory: the Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon.
The Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon and the Silver Dragon both commanded ice and water attributes and had similar lifestyles, yet their appearances were vastly different.
True to its name, the Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon was surrounded by dense ice elements.
Though slightly smaller than Lu Qiuchen, its body was covered with deep blue, sharply edged ice, giving Zhang Cheng an impression of majestic and imposing strength.
On the way here by giant dragon flight, he had seen many sub-dragons imbued with elemental energy, suggesting that this might be a characteristic of the Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon’s domain.
“Silver Dragon, I welcome your arrival.”
Perhaps confident in his strength or accustomed to being in a superior position, the Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon met Lu Qiuchen’s visit with calm and dignity, showing no deference or nervousness like other sub-dragons.
It was as if Lu Qiuchen’s mighty dragon aura did not exist.
Lu Qiuchen had initially felt somewhat displeased by the Frost Crystal Dragon’s behavior but quickly adjusted her attitude.
Her purpose here was to obtain the Celestial Fragment, not to inspect subordinates.
She could pretend a bit in front of other sub-dragons, but there was no need to cling to her giant dragon superiority with a fellow legendary sub-dragon.
Following dragon customs, Lu Qiuchen wasted no time and got straight to the point: “What conditions must I meet for you to hand over the Celestial Fragment?”
“That depends on what you can offer.”
The Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon raised his head, eyes blazing as he stared at Lu Qiuchen.
“I currently need magical items to enhance my power. Equipment or items that boost combat strength would also be considered.”
Hearing his demand, Lu Qiuchen frowned in dilemma.
Magical items to boost power? She only had the Celestial Fragment, which was out of the question to give up.
As for other similar items, if she had any, she would have used them herself by now—there was no way she’d be hoarding them.
Items to enhance a dragon’s strength were even rarer unless the other preferred humanoid combat.
In that case, she could commission dwarves to forge a mithril magic staff, but even then, it wouldn’t be very meaningful.
“Your demands are too high.”
Lu Qiuchen rejected him flatly, then looked at the Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon’s face and suddenly realized something.
This frost dragon was in middle age, brimming with vitality, but so desperate to pursue power must mean he was in some kind of trouble rather than seeking to break through to Legendary.
After all, he had only recently reached Legendary rank, and the chance of sub-dragons reaching the Celestial stage was too slim to hope for.
With this in mind, Lu Qiuchen decided to try again, further intensifying her dragon aura to fully showcase her strength:
“How about this—if you’re in trouble and need help, maybe I can solve it for you?”
But the Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon completely ignored her suggestion and curtly refused:
“Hmph, I won’t lower my conditions. If you don’t have what I need, then leave and never come again. My territory does not welcome your kind.”
Only then did Lu Qiuchen realize his exorbitant demand was a deliberate way to make things difficult for her.
He knew she couldn’t trade him such an item and never intended to hand over the Celestial Fragment.
Does he think I won’t fight?
Lu Qiuchen narrowed her eyes, tensing every muscle into an aggressive stance.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll just have to take it by force.”
The atmosphere in the palace instantly turned tense and hostile.
Zhang Cheng sensed trouble and silently urged Lu Qiuchen not to kill the other, while stepping back to watch the impending battle outside the palace.
He wasn’t worried about Lu Qiuchen’s safety.
After all, one dragon was level 132, the other only level 127—a five-level difference.
Besides level, Lu Qiuchen was superior in every aspect.
What Zhang Cheng hadn’t expected was that the battle was decided within just a few rounds.
The two dragons vividly demonstrated to Zhang Cheng the enormous gap between sub-dragons and giant dragons.
It was only when the silver dragon pinned the Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon beneath him, pressing his front limbs on the other’s neck, that the frost dragon understood why the elders in the memory inheritance never provoked giant dragons.
Even though he was a prodigy among sub-dragons, having reached Legendary rank shortly after adulthood, and at only 3,000 years old could rival the old sub-dragons in other territories,
this advancement speed was considered high even among giant dragons.
He had taken pride in this, thinking he had earned the right to challenge a giant dragon.
The power gap between him and the silver dragon didn’t seem large on paper, but the fight was nothing like he imagined.
The innate talent difference between giant dragons and sub-dragons was simply too great.
Just as he cast his shield, the silver dragon unleashed several level 6 fire spells.
While he wondered how a silver dragon could wield fire magic, the shield shattered, and the silver dragon pounced.
Magic duels were normal—after all, silver dragons were the mages among giant dragons, and their magic power and mental strength were superior.
But he was no pushover.
The Frost Crystal Sub-Dragon’s body was far tougher than the silver dragon’s, and his surface was covered with ice crystals formed from ice elements.
These crystals had grown with him and were now extremely hard.
The silver dragon’s foolish choice to abandon his advantage and pounce into close combat was sheer madness!
He wanted to counterattack but suddenly felt heavy, trapped by earth gravity magic.
Then came binding spells from various elements.
Without room to move and unable to outmatch magic, his proud physique became nothing more than a live target, struggling in vain.
Luckily, the silver dragon did not strike lethally.
Though wounded, his injuries were not fatal.
But now, with his neck tightly grasped by the silver dragon, he dared not move at all.
“Where is my Celestial Fragment?”
A cold voice came from above.