Chapter 913: Sky Pillar

"Is there... someone?"

Long Ningyan was also stunned. How could there be a person sitting on the leader of a wild desert Flygon flock?

Immediately after, Long Ningyan reacted quickly. Su Hao should have been the only person to arrive at the Dragon Den for the trial today. Although the possibility of it being someone else wasn't zero, it was pitifully small.

Just as the other guardians of the Dragon Clan intended to follow regulations and launch an attack on the intruder riding a non-Dragon Den mount Pokémon, commanding their Pokémon to use moves to intercept the opponent first before interrogating them—

"Tsk, all of you, stop!" Long Tianxing, looking thoroughly displeased, suddenly reached out to stop their actions, then looked toward that direction with deep, piercing eyes. "It's the trial-taker who completed the first trial. Write it down: Trial-taker Su Hao, time taken... two hours and fifty minutes."

"... Yes!"

The person in charge of registering trial-takers nearby didn't understand why the trial was already completed when the person hadn't even arrived to register yet.

Still, they chose to obey Long Tianxing's words and recorded it in the logbook with a look of shock.

【October 23, 2023, Trial-taker No. 145 of this year, Su Hao, completed the first stage qualification trial. Time taken... two hours and fifty minutes.】

However, looking from the bottom of the logbook upward, not a single person's trial time was less than a day, and most barely managed to finish within the half-month limit.

"Oi, Senior Long!" Su Hao flipped down from the back of the now incredibly docile Flygon leader. He first greeted Long Ningyan, then glanced at the group of people near the oasis base who were looking at him with vigilance, asking in confusion, "Why is everyone so murderous?"

Long Ningyan revealed a helpless smile. She had already lost count of how many times she had tasted shock because of this junior. She said, "Everyone thought it was a wild Pokémon flock stampede, so they were a bit on edge."

"Oh~?" Su Hao nodded in sudden realization, then laughed, "They seem to have mistaken me for their leader; they don't have any hostility right now."

As if to increase credibility, Su Hao even called the Flygon leader over and petted it from head to tail several times.

And the Flygon leader could only, forced by the pressure of Diancie inside Su Hao's Luxury Ball, accept Su Hao's torment with tears in its heart.

For a moment, the people of the Dragon Clan were silent. How exactly did Su Hao manage to make the Dragon Overlord of the B2 area so submissive to him?

It was simply too outrageous.

Long Ningyan looked unexpectedly at the two people standing silently beside her. She had thought that after Su Hao returned, he would at least roll up his sleeves and beat Long Tianxing up.

Although Su Hao's strength as a trainer was temporarily inferior to Long Tianxing's, his physical strength alone was at a level that even she, having grown up in the environment of the Dragon Clan, found heart-palpitating.

Plus, Su Hao was also a special ability user; surely Long Tianxing would be taken down within a few exchanges, right?

However, the two had no conflict, nor were there even any signs of an argument.

It made her not know what to do.

After a long while, Long Tianxing, who had led the two to the entrance of the Dragon Den, crossed his arms and said indifferently, "I have to admit, your performance and strength far exceed my expectations. If it were me who invited you instead of Bai Du, I might have opened the door wide for you."

"But I will not apologize for any of my actions. If you have any dissatisfaction, feel free to retaliate; I will take it."

"The premise is... that you can get past your father and then snipe me on the Champion's Road."

Su Hao's expression was strange. If he wanted to and didn't care about martial ethics, he could have kicked the Champion out and taken the spot himself long ago.

However, his restraint as a trainer made him decide on one thing.

Su Hao pointed his finger at Long Tianxing, his eyes full of confidence. "That day won't be far off. When it comes, I will defeat you head-on with strength that you can only look up to, and make you regret your actions today."

Long Tianxing's departing footsteps paused. A smirk appeared on his face as he turned his head and said, "Then I shall wait and see. If you can truly do it, it wouldn't be impossible for me to bow my head and apologize to you."

After Long Tianxing left, Su Hao and Long Ningyan looked at each other.

Seeing her staring at him without blinking, he asked strangely, "Senior Long, why are you staring at me?"

"..." Long Ningyan was silent for a moment due to Su Hao's bizarre emotional intelligence, then sighed and said, "I'm just envious of your confidence. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't have the guts to say those things."

Su Hao was a bit confused, even feeling that Long Ningyan was overthinking things.

His confidence was incredibly well-founded!

The two chatted for a while longer until Long Ningyan stopped in front of a passage that looked like a cave tunnel and said to Su Hao, "We're here. This is the secret realm passage known as the 'Dragon Den'."

Su Hao looked around. In the vicinity of the seemingly ordinary passage, his Aura scanned at least five or more strange, powerful auras.

It looked relaxed, but in reality, it was heavily guarded.

"What's wrong?" Long Ningyan, who was about to enter the passage, paused and turned her head to look at Su Hao, who had suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Nothing." Su Hao shook his head and followed Long Ningyan, who continued forward.

The next instant, the familiar sensation of spatial displacement and transfer hit him. For an ordinary person, it might be more uncomfortable than riding a roller coaster, but Su Hao had long since adapted.

After all, he had already experienced countless teleports.

Noisy sounds entered his ears. Su Hao slowly opened his eyes and was immediately shocked by the bizarre and magnificent scene before him.

After passing through the tunnel, they appeared on a viewing platform with an excellent view. Behind them was an ancient town that seemed to have traveled through time, where humans wearing various clothes lived peacefully.

Looking into the distance from the viewing platform, mountain ranges, plains, and lakes came into view, as if it were a self-sufficient little world.

Even the sun and clouds in the sky were no different from the outside world.

"Surprised? Many people who come to the Dragon Den for the first time have the exact same reaction as you~" Long Ningyan took a deep breath of the air that tasted nostalgic to her. This was the place where she grew up, and she was always exceptionally relaxed when staying here.

Su Hao exclaimed, "Yeah, it's truly surprising."

He had thought the Dragon Den would be a huge cave, but he hadn't expected such a magnificent sight.

However, what surprised him the most was—

The magnificent, towering high tower in the distance that seemed to connect heaven and earth.

The upper levels of the tower were covered by spiraling clouds like a tornado; this shock was enough to make one sigh in awe.

It was about that kind of feeling.

Su Hao asked, "What is the name of this high tower?"

"Sky Pillar. It can be considered a wonder of the Dragon Den," Long Ningyan introduced to Su Hao.

Then, as if remembering something, she reminded him, "Right, I'll tell you about this in advance."

"As a wonder of the Dragon Den, the tower's height seems to reach straight into the sky, and even if we ride flying mount Pokémon, we cannot break through a fixed altitude."

"However, what is certain is that it has already touched the edge of the secret realm, and there is nothing there."

"You must remember, the area around the tower is a restricted zone."

"Passing by in the sky is fine, but you must never touch the ground. Once you overstep, you will be mercilessly kicked out of the Dragon Den."

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Attached image: Koraidon.