Three Flood Dragons soared through the sky, pulling a carriage that rose from Skywind City and headed toward the imperial capital.
Inside the carriage.
Ian Song had taken over the most comfortable spot in the carriage, while the rightful owner, Third Prince Drake Liu, was forced to sit lower down.
Meanwhile, Chloe Snow, Lena Wei, and Flora Thrall clustered around Ian, while Yanna Zhou, Rosie Ning, Wes Wei, Conrad Wu, and Holly Hong occupied another area. The newly recruited maid was driving outside.
"You're the Third Prince of the Dragonfolk, so why aren't you staying in your own clan and instead running over to the Human lands?" Ian glanced at Drake Liu and asked casually.
A look of hesitation flashed across Drake's face, but he quickly made up his mind and said solemnly, "This concerns a huge secret!"
At this, he paused and glanced at the others.
Understanding his meaning, Ian spoke up directly: "Go ahead. They're all people I trust."
Drake continued, "Boss, have you ever heard of the Creation Sky Monolith?"
"What the heck is that?"
Ian Song looked puzzled.
"The various cultivation legacies on Manggu Continent didn’t just appear out of nowhere. Legend has it that, back when the beings of Manggu Continent knew nothing about cultivation, a mysterious object called the Creation Sky Monolith suddenly flew in from the cosmos and landed here. The Monolith carried all sorts of techniques, divine arts, secret skills, and powerful divine weapons and treasures. Beyond that, it also held forty-nine strands of Creation Divine Light. Whoever obtains one of those lights can transcend the gods and become a being even greater than a god!"
Hearing this, Ian’s interest was piqued, and everyone else perked up to listen.
"So you came to the Human lands just for the Creation Sky Monolith?" Ian asked thoughtfully.
Drake Liu nodded. "Back then, the Creation Sky Monolith only stayed on Manggu Continent for ten years before flying away. Now, the Dragonfolk gods have calculated that the Monolith will descend again, and this time it’ll land in Human territory. That’s why my father, the Dragonfolk Emperor, sent me here under the guise of sightseeing—to gather information. Once the Monolith really lands, the Human lands will probably become a battlefield for the gods."
Hearing this, Ian started thinking about a lot of things—like why the Insect Horde and Goblins were suddenly attacking the Humans.
Why had they suddenly launched attacks on the Human race?
Could it be that they also learned the Creation Sky Monolith was about to descend?
"Do you know exactly when and where the Creation Sky Monolith will land?" Ian pressed.
Drake shook his head. "Not exactly. Probably within three years, but the exact location is unclear—most likely somewhere in Human territory."
Ian didn’t dwell on that topic any longer, and changed the subject: "How many gods does your Dragonfolk clan have?"
Drake thought for a moment. "The Dragonfolk live much longer than Humans, so we have more gods. As far as I know, Humans have a bit over a hundred gods, but the Dragonfolk? At least several hundred!"
"That many?"
Ian was a bit surprised.
Drake explained, "Once you become a god, you get a lifespan of tens of thousands of years. Unless there’s a god-war, you basically won’t die. There’s an agreement among all the major races: unless your whole race is facing extinction, gods aren’t allowed to intervene. So, gods almost never die in battle. The Dragonfolk may have hundreds of gods, but compared to the top two races—the True Dragon Clan and the Heavenly Phoenix Clan—we’re nowhere close. From what I’ve heard, the True Dragon Clan has over two thousand gods, and the Heavenly Phoenix Clan is about the same!"
Ian asked, "What forms do the True Dragons and Heavenly Phoenixes take?"
Drake replied, "They’re in beast form. Their talents are just too monstrous—only after reaching the Demigod Realm can they take human shape. But when the Heavenly Phoenixes do transform, every single one is an unrivaled beauty. Boss, if you ever get the chance, you should try a Heavenly Phoenix girl for fun!"
At this, a lecherous glint flashed in Drake’s eyes.
Ian ignored the last comment and asked, "If they’re so powerful, why don’t they take over the whole continent?"
Drake thought for a bit and said, "First, the True Dragon Clan and Heavenly Phoenix Clan already control the best territories on Manggu Continent—they don’t care about the rest, kind of like city people looking down on mountain villages. Second, both races have very small populations. The True Dragon Clan numbers only about ten thousand, and the Heavenly Phoenix Clan just over eight thousand. Even if they conquered the whole continent, they wouldn’t have enough people to actually rule it!"
"Makes sense!" Ian nodded.
Drake continued, "This time, when the Creation Sky Monolith descends, all the top young talents from every race will gather in the Central Domain. If you get the chance, Boss, you should crush all of them!"
"Why?" Ian asked.
Drake explained, "Because for a year after the Creation Sky Monolith descends, gods can’t enter it. Only young experts like us can go in. If you don’t beat those guys into submission ahead of time—
once you’re inside the Monolith looking for opportunities, they’ll try to mess with you and you’ll miss out on a lot. But if you’ve already made them submit, then once inside, they won’t dare go against you—and you’ll get all the good stuff!"
At this, Drake’s expression turned serious. "From what I know, among all the major races, only two people could really threaten you: Ao Tian from the True Dragon Clan and Feng Jiu from the Heavenly Phoenix Clan.
Both are once-in-a-millennium prodigies. As soon as they stepped into the Demigod Realm, they had power on par with gods. Ao Tian even killed a minor race’s god with his own hands. Feng Jiu hasn’t killed a god yet, but she did fight Ao Tian to a draw!"
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
For most of that month, Ian and the others spent their time in the carriage. Besides probing Drake for the secrets of this world, Ian also tried his best to study the Radiant Emperor’s Immortal Canon, the Thunder Hell Astral Canon, but the time was too short to gain much.
"Boss, how did you end up transmigrating to this world?"
After a month together, Drake and Ian were now pretty familiar with each other. Drake was no longer so intimidated, so he took the chance to ask while they stopped in a city to rest.
"What about you? How did you transmigrate?"
Ian looked at him and asked.
At this, Drake looked a little embarrassed. After fidgeting for a while, he finally said, "In my last life, I was just a broke loser. One time I was watching a video and, well, you know... I accidentally knocked over my water cup, got electrocuted, and died. Then I transmigrated!"
"Hahaha!"
Even Ian, who wasn’t easily amused, couldn’t help but laugh at Drake’s bizarre transmigration story.
"Boss, I told you how I transmigrated. Now it’s your turn!"
"I came here on purpose!"
Ian said. With his current strength, he wasn’t worried about Drake leaking the secret—even facing gods didn’t scare him.
"You can transmigrate on purpose?"
Drake looked skeptical, but then something occurred to him and he got excited. "Boss, does that mean you can go back to your old world?"
"I can!" Ian nodded.
"Really?" Drake got even more excited. "Boss, when you go back, can you take me with you?"
"Depends on how you behave!" Ian glanced at him.
"Ah!" Drake felt the urge to howl at the sky, then solemnly declared, "Boss, don’t worry—from now on, I, Drake Liu, am your most loyal little brother!"