Legacy of the Dark Sage

Shaiha nearly fainted from anger at Kyran's action. Though she was not familiar with Ladon and Thorn because they were fairly young dragons, she gleaned from their attitude that the chivalrous spirit of the old generation of dragons was no longer with them.

This was likely caused by the overwhelming prestige the old generation had established and the steady rise in influence and power of their leader, the Dragon Emperor, which made even The Emperor wary of him, even if he was a level lower.

It was glaringly evident how the younger generation had succumbed to arrogance, a trait that was becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

In a sense, Shaiha could not blame Kyran for becoming disillusioned and acting the way he did. But to be fair, his actions right now could also be considered a display of arrogance and stupidity. After all, the Dragon Clan was not the Regis Clan and Kyran's disappointment with them was needless.

No... Maybe...

Shaiha shook her head inwardly as she looked at Cyneah, who remained with the third representative of the Dragon Clan. Kyran may have acted the way he did because of Cyneah's presence with the Dragon Clan.

It was still speculations on Kyran and Shaiha's end, but they believed Ames was the one who took Cyneah to the Higher Realm. How or why Ames agreed when she clearly disliked Cyneah for her identity as the Soul Emperor's successor, Kyran and Shaiha had yet to understand. But those were beside the point at the moment.

Kyran worried about the effect the Dragon Clan's younger generation's arrogance would have on the rest of the clan representatives while they were in the Tower of the Ancients. If the Dragon Clan representatives continued to act like they owned the whole place, Cyneah would be implicated and targeted by the others as well.

Shaiha sensed Kyran's intention was to draw attention to himself and show the other clans who had designs against the Dragon Clan representatives that there was a greater threat than the latter.

But the question was: could Kyran follow through with his intention?

It was ironic that the very question Kyran arrogantly asked Ladon could also be applied to him.

Did Kyran have what it takes to put the Dragon Clan representatives in their place?

Shaiha wanted to stop Kyran but ultimately decided not to interfere. If they were in the Higher Realm, she would have done everything to make him stop, but since they were in an unknown space with no access to the outside until the Tower of the Ancients opened the portals and sent everyone out, then she would not bother.

Besides, the mage level of the different clan representatives there was at most peak Sovereign. There were a few High Sovereigns like Leif and the Dragon Clan representatives, but Kyran had the advantage in this space— at least, Shaiha believed he did.

"Such big words," Thorn hissed, pulling Ladon aside before the latter could respond to Kyran. He sounded pissed, but the mischievous smile and excited glint in his golden eyes betrayed his real emotions.

Rather than feeling pissed at Kyran's arrogance, Thorn seemed excited about the prospect of fighting to pass the time while they waited for the tower to open.

On the other hand, the reason Ladon did not react to Kyran's provocative words immediately was because he was taken aback at the latter's confident gaze. As a water-type dragon, he had a way of discerning other beings' emotions.

Ladon sensed Cove's fear earlier; thus, he stopped Thorn from scaring him further because it was rare for Water-type beasts to evolve and form a proper clan like the Lacus Clan, and Ladon felt a sense of camaraderie with being of the same type, albeit a different being.

With Ladon's passive ability to discern emotions, he felt no fear nor hesitation in Kyran when he responded to them. His danger sense was telling him not to underestimate the young man before them.

"I'll show you what happens to people who act the way you do," Thorn said. He was about to close the remaining distance he had with Kyran when the platform started to quake.

Everyone on the platform, who had been silently watching the exchange between the Dragon Clan and the Lacus Clan, was brought back to the present situation and looked toward the north, where the entrance to the Tower of the Ancients was.

"Entrance to the Tower of the Ancients will open in five minutes. For this year's challenge, participants are required to group themselves into three. Only then can they proceed to the designated assessment area to receive an entry pass."

A mechanical female voice filled the air.

The expressions on Leif and her fellow representatives distorted slightly after hearing what the mechanical voice had said. They knew that every year, the tower would provide a condition before one could enter the tower. The conditions could be anything, from a mage's specialty, mage level, and the weapon they could wield to the number of participants like this time around.

Because of this, all Clans chose well-rounded mages as their representatives.

Well-rounded mages could be gathered easily among the High Sovereigns, but because of a time when 70% of the clans failed to enter the tower because the condition set that year was only Sovereign level mages were allowed inside, the clans tried their best to nurture new talents. This was why most clan representatives there were Sovereigns.

Ladon and Thorn also frowned at the condition of entering the tower this year. They had guessed that this year would likely restrict the number of participants per clan, which is why they only sent four representatives with High Sovereign mage level. They did not expect to hit the mark, but they were still off by a small margin.

"Group of three..." Thorn looked at Ladon and said, "There is no way we can leave one of us behind."

"I know," Ladon replied while looking over to their two remaining representatives. His expression softened slightly as he looked at their only female member.

To be honest, she was not supposed to come with them. But when the portal opened ahead of time, the Dragon Emperor's daughter, Ames, said that this unprecedented occurrence was definitely connected to the person they were looking for and that their female guest had to come with them at all costs.

For the record, Ladon knew that their female guest was part of Lady Ames's clan that she left in the Lower Realm. In fact, there were quite a few of them that arrived with the latter a month ago.

It was still unclear to them why Lady Ames brought those lots, and a few Elders even felt discomfited by their presence. After all, they were considered an anomaly rather than a hybrid because their other lineage might have been a remnant of what was once the most advanced and powerful mages of all, the Ancients.

In any case, the fact that Lady Ames's guests had low mage levels did not sit well with the rest. Some arrogant younglings even challenged them to a fight.

The results were as expected—the younglings won. But Lady Ames's guests did not surrender or get defeated easily, even with such a huge gap in level. This made the rest of the Elders and the members of the Dragon Clan accept them— at least for the time being. Until they understood how their presence could affect the situation in the Higher Realm, they would continue to observe them.

Now, the identity of their female guest was far more complicated.

Everyone in the Dragon Clan obviously knew she did not possess their blood. However, she was also a remnant of an Ancient clan. This alone could pose a risk to the Dragon Clan if The Emperor's side discovered it.

In any case, Lady Ames brought her because she believed she was the only one who could locate the person they were looking for in the Higher Realm.

When asked what she meant and how she managed to bring the female guest along, she said that the latter had been marked by the person they were looking for and was able to pass through the Dragon Clan's route.

Just by this, Ladon and the others realized that the person they were looking for was a member of Lady Ames's clan in the Lower Realm. However, that person's identity was far more complicated because he managed to enter the Higher Realm without any help.

Ladon and the others were intrigued by the identity of this person. But whenever they tried to probe for answers, they were always rendered tongue-tied before the female guest.

It was not because of her beauty but more of the pressure that came from her whenever they met her mirror-like eyes.

But regardless of how much they felt wary of the female guest, it was true that her identity also intrigued them.

"Lord Ladon, why don't our clan work together?"

Leif's voice brought Ladon out of his reverie. He looked at her in confusion before realizing what she meant.

"N-Nar here is not part of our clan, but he helped us before. I can vouch for him," Leif continued. "With him, our member count is five. If we join hands, we'll have nine members in total, and we can form three groups of three. What do you say?"

Ladon frowned slightly. Leif had a point, but he could not leave even one of their members to team up with her.

Ladon and Thorn had to stay together because the former knew the latter's temperament. Thorn would never work with people he disliked, and he obviously disliked the Lacus Clan.

Now, there was their third representative.

That one... well, he was also special, and Ladon could not leave him with others.

Finally, there was their female guest, whom they called Sisi. They obviously could not allow her to venture into the tower with others.

"Ladon, let's accept her proposal," Cyneah suddenly spoke from behind.

Ladon did not realize that he was too occupied with his thoughts to notice that she and their third member had already approached them.

Thorn frowned at Cyneah, but unlike his usual fierce glare, his expression was softer, similar to Ladon's.

"Sisi, there is no way we can allow any of us to join the others."

"It's fine. He can join them while I stay with you," Cyneah told them, gesturing toward their third member.

"That's..."

"Don't worry, we will not take advantage of you," Leif hastily said, thinking that the reason they were hesitant was because they might take advantage of their strength.

"We are not..."

"If we continue to stay here, the rest of the clans will get a head start," Kyran pointed.

Ladon and Thorn looked at him with a frown but did not refute him because he was right.

In the end, the two agreed, and they divided their members accordingly.

The groups are as follows:

First group: Ladon, Thorn, and Cyneah.

Second group: Maren, Cove, and Irving.

Third group: Kyran, Leif, and the third Dragon Clan representative.

Once they had divided their members, they proceeded to a spot in front of the tower that looked like an array formation.

The moment they stepped inside, they were teleported to an area where they would be assessed.

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