Chapter 16

After a verbal de-escalation, the white dragon Pana noticed that the three black dragon hatchlings surrounding it appeared to have no ill intent.

It also got a clear look at the three hatchlings' appearance.

Their aura was unfamiliar, and their appearance was unknown to it.

Hatchlings that just entered the Emerald Academy?

Pana realized this.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you—what do you want to know? I'll tell you everything I know." The white hatchling, covered in scars, replied timidly.

Its voice was young and immature, and with that expression it bore not a trace of a fearsome dragon's demeanor.

Lai Ang looked at the white hatchling whose emotions had steadied a bit, thought for a moment, and asked the first question: "What special rules are there here?"

The self-styled teacher green dragon La De had said it would let the seniors here properly teach them the rules.

"Special rules?" Pana thought, glanced at Lai Ang, then whispered,

"Every so often, all the dragons in the dragon fort hold a combat ranking. The higher the rank, the greater the reward; the lower the rank, the lesser the reward—sometimes none—and there are punishments."

"Rank?" Lai Ang felt a twinge of unease and quickly asked,

"What growth stage is the strongest dragon here, and how many power levels does it have?"

Upon hearing the question, Pana involuntarily flashed a ferocious, fearsome image in her mind; her light-blue dragon eyes showed fear, and she trembled as she said, "It's a hybrid juvenile dragon of red and blue dragon blood, named Ke Lei Mo. It's very strong, very strong—no dragon is a match for it in a single clash. It rules the dragon fort; no dragon dares defy it, and the fate of those who do is grim."

"A hybrid juvenile dragon?" Lai Ang let out a slight sigh of relief.

It seems the dragons in the dragon fort are likely only hatchlings and juveniles.

Upon reaching the adolescent dragon stage or higher, perhaps they no longer receive 'education' here.

After all, adolescent dragons already possess some strength.

As for hybrid dragons, that's actually quite common.

The nature and aesthetic of giant dragons naturally incline them to spread their seed; even kobolds can be taken by a giant dragon, let alone another giant dragon.

"Perhaps this hybrid juvenile dragon inherited the talents of both red and blue dragon lineages; otherwise it wouldn't be so strong as to dominate all dragons." Lai Ang speculated inwardly.

It's not that hybrids are necessarily stronger than purebloods; it depends on what talents they inherit from each parent.

For example, if a hybrid hatchling born of a red and blue dragon inherits the blue dragon's talent, it will certainly not be as strong as a pureblood red dragon, and will be little different from a hatchling of an ordinary blue dragon.

Later, Lai Ang learned about some other matters.

For instance, how many hatchlings are in the dragon fort? The white dragon hatchling said there were over fifty, though it hadn't counted the exact number.

They also asked its name and how it ended up in such a miserable state.

The female white dragon hatchling named Pana responded thus:

"The dragon fort has only me as a white dragon; they look down on white dragons, thinking my bloodline is base and my strength weak, so they expelled me from the dragon fort and forbid me from approaching its vicinity."

"And what about your wounds—how did you get them?" Lai Ang asked.

Pana again glanced furtively at Lai Ang and the two hatchlings, then stammered, "The black dragons in the dragon fort like to stay in the river; whenever they see me, they come over and beat me."

Lai Ang understood: black dragons are water-attuned true dragons, naturally affinity for water.

White dragons belong to ice-attuned true dragons, also somewhat affinity for water; as for why they don't hide elsewhere, perhaps other places also have activity patterns of the dragon fort's hatchlings, and besides, the expelled white dragon needs a way to obtain food—since going anywhere invites a beating, it's better to choose the place where they're most adept at fleeing and can still scavenge some food: the water.

"I've decided."

After a moment of contemplation, Lai Ang suddenly spoke, looking at his two younger brothers—Ai Di and Sai Jia.

"I intend to stay here in this water region for the time being; what do you two think?"

Ai Di and Sai Jia glanced at the scar-covered white dragon Pana, imagined the evil yet powerful hybrid hatchling she described, exchanged a look, and without hesitation nodded in agreement with their elder brother's decision.

Seeing this, Lai Ang nodded in satisfaction, though his heart wasn't very happy.

Because he knew that Ai Di and Sai Jia obey him now only because his strength is sufficient.

And if Lai Ang were defeated by the dragon fort's hatchlings, it would be perfectly normal for Ai Di and Sai Jia to abandon him.

It's just the law of the jungle; there's no great principle.

Watching the three black dragon hatchlings naturally walk toward the nearby river, Pana was momentarily stunned, just staring blankly at the scene.

Huh?

Lai Ang, Ai Di, and Sai Jia entered the river.

Though called a small river, it's actually not short—its winding length is over ten kilometers; its width ranges from about five or six meters at the narrowest to dozens of meters at the widest.

The river bottom is ten-some meters deep; Lai Ang opened his pale-yellow glowing dragon eyes to scan the underwater world.

There were plenty of fish, plus some turtles and river shrimp.

With a whoosh, the hatchling turned into a black bolt of lightning, instantly swimming several tens of meters in the water.

When the hatchling stopped, its tail already bore a half-meter-long white fish.

The hatchling extended its tail forward, cradling the big fish in its claws, and Lai Ang opened his blood‑filled maw, tearing into it fiercely.

The flesh and blood entered his belly; under the mighty digestive organs of a giant dragon, it visibly turned into strands of energy that nourished his draconic body.

"First, dig out an underwater dragon nest."

After chewing and digesting the white fish down to the bones, Lai Ang caught a scent and headed toward the nearby water where Ai Di and Sai Jia were frolicking and catching fish, to join them.

After spending a little time, they found a suitable underwater nesting spot at a bend in the river.

Next, with the three working together, they dug out a crude underwater dragon nest in less than a day.

The passage is about two meters wide and high, twenty-some meters deep, and uses the height difference of the corner cavern to keep river water out; then, in the dry depths of that cavern, they carved out a small space of only a few dozen square meters.

The space's height is also just over two meters, feeling rather oppressive.

But for now it's sufficient; any further expansion can be done gradually later.

As for how to prevent the cavern from collapsing,

it's naturally because black dragons can intentionally secrete a special viscous fluid; when mixed into the soil and stirred, the soil becomes as hard as stone.

(End of chapter)