Chapter 300: Inside, There Is a Spirit (This Book Is One Million Words Long)

You can use Dragon God Transformation, but not Locke Transformation, yet both are fundamentally Ultimate Transformation Arts—what causes this difference?

Nagelis could not fathom it; it sensed no fluctuation on the stone egg and utterly failed to comprehend what Ang described.

Leaving the Palace of Rest and reprojecting into its own body, Nagelis noticed Brucek peering around, mentally hyper-focused and extremely alert.

"What's wrong?" Nagelis asked.

Brucek hesitated and said: "I sensed something, but I don't know what it is."

This was a grave issue—the Dragon Clan leader, the God of Truth, could sense something yet not identify it; something had evaded its perception—this was terrifying. Who possessed such ability?

"When?" Nagelis grew wary.

"Just now. It's gone now," Brucek said.

Just now? Calculating the time, Nagelis hesitated: Could it be because of the stone egg? Ang mentioned a fluctuation—could that be the cause?

Could a fluctuation generated within the Palace of Rest be sensed externally? If this fluctuation was at the bloodline level, sensing it would be normal.

Thinking of this, Nagelis said: "Did only you sense it? Why not ask others if they felt anything?"

That's right.

Brucek snapped to attention, but before it could summon its bloodline, the bloodline calls of other dragons came flooding in. Brucek listened for a moment and said: "It seems all dragons and dragonkin sensed it—what's going on?"

After a moment of confusion, Brucek suddenly realized something and sharply turned its head toward Nagelis on its back.

Seeing Nagelis calmly smiling, Brucek asked in shock: "That really was an egg? Did it hatch?"

Nagelis smiled and said: "What egg? I didn't see any. I just took a stone."

Nagelis flatly denied it. Brucek suddenly understood—this topic ended here. From now on, whoever asked, they would all unanimously claim they had merely taken a stone.

After landing on Black Crow Island, Brucek pulled Nagelis aside and whispered for a while; the two seemed to reach some agreement.

…

Black Crow Island was an island thick at both ends and narrow in the middle, covering several hundred square kilometers, densely forested and rugged in terrain.

In the narrow bay in the center, surrounded by two sides of the island, it was safe, wind-protected, highly concealed, and had flat terrain—it had been cleared and became the stronghold of the Black Crows, with over a thousand people settled there.

But now the settlement and farmland had been burned to ashes; ragged, malnourished people scavenged among the ruins for anything of value.

In the bay's waterways, several snakefolk with human torsos and serpent tails swam onto the beach, brandishing spears, tossing their catch onto the sand, and shouting loudly: "Dinner's ready! Big haul today—we speared a tuna! Come eat it fresh!"

The humans in the ruins smiled, rushing over—some bled the fish, others sliced it, others built fires; some young or weak individuals couldn't eat raw meat—grilling it would be better.

The lead snakefolk squeezed its body into the sand, carving out a depression that quickly filled with water. The snakefolk coiled into the pool to avoid drying out, then asked: "How's it going? Has the captain returned yet?"

"Not yet," said an older human, deeply worried: "I don't know if it went smoothly—did they buy food? If we don't get food back soon, people on the island will starve."

The snakefolk looked ashamed: "It's a pity we snakefolk are too few—we can't catch enough fish, or no one would starve."

The older human quickly shook his head: "It's not your fault—don't think that way. You've worked hard lately. Humans can't survive on fish alone—you've already helped us immensely. Without your fish, we'd have starved long ago."

"It's our duty," said the snakefolk, utterly matter-of-fact: "If not for Captain Black Crow saving us and allowing us to settle here, we'd have been captured and put on display on land. The children treat us well—we're one family."

"Yes, one family. No need for formalities. If things turn irreparable, you must first protect yourselves—you can survive well in these seas. If we starve in the end, it's the will of the Dragon God," the older human said calmly, smiling.

As he finished speaking, a roar echoed from the sky: "Bullshit! What does the Dragon God have to do with this? The Dragon God couldn't care less about your lives!"

The older human looked up and his legs gave out—he collapsed onto the ground. High above, a golden colossal form plummeted rapidly, eyes blazing—the roar had come from it.

We're done for, we're done for—speaking ill of the Dragon God and got caught by a dragon—we're dead.

Just before hitting the ground, the golden dragon flared its wings violently—a gale surged across the ground, sending every human and snakefolk nearby tumbling head over heels.

The older human trembled and cried: "S-Sorry, Great Dragon God! I-I was wrong—I shouldn't have spoken ill of you. Punish me! It has nothing to do with the others!"

The golden dragon grumbled: "Our dragon clan's reputation is ruined by people like you—Dragon God's will, Dragon God's decree? What do we care? The Dragon God has no time for this nonsense."

"Isn't it because you never do good deeds? The ocean is vast, within our domain, yet no one cares whether these people live or die—who else should we curse but you? If you truly want the Dragon God's reputation to improve, do good deeds—deliver medicine, heal the sick. Only then will people speak well of dragons, maybe even unify faith and ignite a new Dragon God's Faithfire."

Another voice spoke—out flew a young copper dragon from atop the golden dragon's back.

Then, several humans and a horse wearing a hat slid down from the dragon's back. Seeing one of the humans, the older man's eyes nearly popped out: "Captain? Captain Black Crow? How did you—"

Black Crow waved him off, signaling silence, then ordered: "Pearl, bring out our last reserves of pearls—I bought food, and they even delivered it."

"Oh, oh." The older man had a thousand questions but held them back, quickly finding a sack containing seven or eight black pearls, each the size of an egg.

Nagelis took them, glanced dismissively, and said: "They're worth a lot of money, but useless to us. Whatever. Fine."

These black pearls of this size were rare, priceless—but useless to them. Still, fair exchange—couldn't just give it away. Black Crow had to offer something; this was the only thing she could offer, so they reluctantly accepted.

Two hundred tons of food transferred, sparking wild celebration.

After completing the mission, Ang and the others gathered. Nagelis said: "Alright, we're leaving. Remember to thank the God of Undeath."

Ang took the Heavenly Scepter, opened a portal, and teleported each person one by one into the Holy Heavenly Realm—vanishing like a divine miracle, sparking further worship. Only dazed Brucek remained on the bay.

Black Crow cautiously accompanied him, puzzled why Brucek was staring blankly—the main party had left, why wasn't the driver leaving too?

Brucek stared blankly because Nagelis was right. Originally, Brucek had scoffed—delivering medicine, food—what good did it do?

The total population scattered across the ocean might not even reach five hundred thousand. Even if every single one revered dragons, what difference would it make?

The Church of Light had hundreds of millions of followers, yet even they bowed to dragon clan rules on the ocean.

Of course, on land, Brucek behaved like a timid little lizard.

Because their numbers were too small, dragons didn't care much for the intelligent beings of the sea, and since they were scattered across countless islands, aiding them was troublesome.

But as Nagelis said, the ocean was the dragon clan's domain—no one else dared venture deep into it, yet dragons didn't care, so no one did. People starved or died of disease—whose fault was it if not the Dragon God's?

Without dragons, wouldn't someone like Anthony find a way to extend his reach into the ocean?

And another point: Are fifty thousand followers truly insignificant? Master Ang himself only had about fifty thousand followers, yet he made miracles happen. Shouldn't we recruit them, establish a Dragon God faith?

If managed well, we might ignite a Dragon God Faithfire…

Thinking of this, Brucek stood up, casting its massive shadow over Black Crow, smiling: "Black Crow, would you like us dragons to protect you, let you rule this sea with impunity?"

Such good fortune? Black Crow nodded like a chicken pecking grain.

"But our dragon clan only protects those who worship the Dragon God," Brucek said.

Black Crow nodded frantically, then pointed at Brucek and shouted loudly: "Everyone, come! The Dragon God protects us! Thank the Dragon God!"

On the ocean, dragons were supreme. Legends of dragons were as countless as stars; many veteran sailors had witnessed dragons speeding across the sea.

Now, such a colossal being was offering protection—and all it required was their worship?

Even when dragons didn't protect them, people on the sea still worshipped the Dragon God—even Black Crow, who didn't believe, habitually swore by the Dragon God's name. So they had to give nothing.

My god, such good fortune? It must be the protection of the God of Undeath! Thank the God of Undeath!

Black Crow wasn't foolish—she understood why Brucek suddenly offered protection. Dragons had always ignored humans—why now protect her?

Only because of Ang and the others. Without Ang taking her to the Dragon Island, without the copper dragon's words, this golden dragon would never have cared for her.

Others didn't understand, but they already worshipped the Dragon God. Hearing Black Crow's cry, they went wild, rushing over to kneel and worship—even the snakefolk joined.

Brucek noticed the snakefolk, sniffed, and asked: "You're dragon thralls—whose thralls are you?"

The snakefolk named a name.

"Oh, so it was him. He's returned to the Dragon Tomb, sleeping forever. Otherwise, I'd punish him for neglecting his thralls," Brucek declared authoritatively.

The snakefolk turned weak with fear—the name they mentioned was their god in their tradition, yet now the golden dragon implied that if he hadn't died, he'd be punished?

This golden dragon had such audacity—who was it?

Brucek breathed on the snakefolk.

A dragon's breath could burn down a city, but most had never seen the other kind of dragon breath—the one that transforms dragonkin.

The snakefolk felt a gentle breeze, their whole bodies tingling with comfort. Soon, they felt itchy, scrambling among rocks to rub themselves. That night, they molted.

The molting snakefolk felt reborn. Their once-smooth human torsos now bore hard, fine scales along their arms, waist, and back, leaving only chest and belly smooth—defense greatly increased.

Two small horns grew on their foreheads. The snakefolk were stunned—they could now sense water elements. With a little practice, their agility in water would surge.

Their bodies also grew larger. Snakefolk molted only twice in their lives, yet Brucek's breath triggered a third molt—was this not divinity? What else could it be?

After completing all intimidating acts in dragon form, Brucek transformed into human shape and, following Nagelis's advice, delivered medicine and healing.

This was the easiest way to win hearts. Watching their suffering companions miraculously healed by Brucek's magic, everyone's faith became unshakable and devout.

"Hey? So much food? Didn't we loot all your grain? Where'd you get it?" A voice cut in abruptly.

Looking out, a large group of pirates in waterproof suits emerged from the bay, stealthily surrounding the camp.

Black Crow slapped her thigh, excited: "It's the Cetacean Pirate Crew! Oh my, how lucky am I!"

"Black Crow! Come out! Who killed my vice-captain!? Come out! What sorcery did you use to summon that golden dragon? Hand over the summoning artifact—or I'll kill every last one of you!" The leading pirate was surely the Cetacean Pirate Crew's captain.

Black Crow realized: "So he thinks I summoned Lord Brucek?"

Brucek, in human form, glanced around mischievously: "Then let him believe it. Find something, rush to the front, show it to him, then call my name."

Black Crow nodded eagerly, picked up a random stone from the ground, and rushed out shouting: "Cetacean Captain! If you know I can summon a golden dragon, why dare come here? Aren't you afraid of death? Look at this! This is the Dragon God Stone!"

The Cetacean Captain stared blankly at the dull, unremarkable, inert stone in Black Crow's hand. After a moment, he burst into laughter: "You think a broken rock can fool me? Hand over the artifact that summons the golden dragon—or I'll kill you all."

"This is it," Black Crow waved the stone: "Lord Brucek! I call upon your name in the name of the Dragon God! Appear—Golden Dragon Brucek!"

The Cetacean Captain was about to laugh—when suddenly, a dragon's roar pierced the darkness. A massive golden figure, unmistakable even in night, lunged at him.

Before being engulfed by dragon breath, the Cetacean Captain's only thought: That broken rock really can summon a golden dragon—

Early next morning, the defected Cetacean Pirate Crew, now flying Black Crow's flag, slowly sailed toward Drake Island.

Black Crow stood on the flagship's bridge, beaming: "How lucky am I? The God of Undeath protects me—I'll worship you from now on."

Behind her, the former Cetacean pirates stared at the broken stone in her hand, filled with awe.

As the pirate crew moved, a legend spread across the ocean: a stone that could summon a golden dragon.

Nagelis never imagined that their brief voyage across the sea would alter the entire ocean's power structure. But even if it had, it had no time to care—upon returning to Meishen City, Katie arrived with a small child in her arms.

"Isn't this the dragon thrall child adopted by Spring Wind the Druid? What's wrong with him? Did he get into trouble? What's he holding? Straw? A straw owl?"

Katie sighed: "I don't know what he did. He molded it from mud. Little Bu, tell everyone—how did you do this?"

"Molded from mud? Little Bu? A straw owl made of mud? What does that mean?" Nagelis exclaimed.

Ang had been tilting his head, watching. Now he suddenly pointed at the straw owl and said: "Inside, there's a spirit."

PS: It's the last day—I used the monthly votes you gave me to enter the lottery, and I think I won something, but I'm not sure if it's real; I'll let you know once it arrives.