Chapter 1069 - Dragon Hierarchy

The three days of qualifiers were designed to select the Great Dragon Championship’s candidates. The remaining four days were dedicated to training them.

The Ancient Dragon Clan had prepared special treasures capable of enhancing the attribute of a Great Dragon or a related life form. Those treasures were distributed among the five selected contestants for use on their units.

Through the clan members’ explanations, Han Wu learned that dragons had their own unique hierarchy. At the very bottom were mixed-blood dragon species, including dinosaurs, Drakes, and half-dragons. Those hybrid creatures enjoyed minor benefits from their dragon attributes, with varying degrees of enhancement.

Above them in bloodline purity were the Great Dragons. They were the representatives of dragonkind, renowned for their devastating attack power, impressive defenses, and innate mastery over one or more elemental forces.

Above Great Dragons were Dragon Kings. A Great Dragon became a Dragon King when its dragon attribute reached a higher state. Compared to ordinary Great Dragons, Dragon Kings boasted superior physiques and greater authority. A skilled Dragon King could inflict damage to another entity’s soul through its aura alone, though the exact effects varied by individual.

Beyond Dragon Kings were Dragon Emperors, the rulers of dragonkind. Their physiques and auras far exceeded ordinary Dragon Kings. According to the Ancient Dragon Clan, a Dragon Emperor was powerful enough to make most God Kings from the Divine Civilization flee on sight. Very few would dare to fight one.

Long Xiang quietly told Han Wu that his great-grandfather, Long Qi, held his current position precisely because he had cultivated a Dragon Emperor among his core race.

Above Dragon Emperors were Dragon Gods. The very Dragon God that maintained a relationship with the Ancient Dragon Clan was the legendary Nine-Faced Dragon God. It was said to possess enough power to shake the entire Divine Civilization on its own.

Whether the Ancient Dragon Clan had exaggerated those claims, Han Wu couldn’t say. At present, all he cared about was how the Yinglong would change after consuming the treasure.

Under Han Wu’s eager watch, the Yinglong underwent its metamorphosis. Its scales peeled away one by one, while its claws and fangs fell out as the transformation progressed. A fresh layer of harder scales covered its frame, and new claws and teeth emerged.

Han Wu noticed a small, fleshy growth on the Yinglong’s head. It was soft to the touch and shaped like a crown.

Upon completing its metamorphosis, the Yinglong broke through directly into the Microcosm rank. Han Wu also discovered that its True Dragon Might had received a massive upgrade. When it unleashed the skill, its terrifying aura could manifest as lightning-like energy that orbited its body. It could launch that energy as a ranged attack or channel it through itself to amplify its melee damage. Either way, the attack inflicted physical and soul damage simultaneously. Based on that alone, Han Wu was certain that the Yinglong had attained Dragon King status within the dragon hierarchy.

This was only the beginning. What truly surprised Han Wu was the Yinglong’s evolution path. The route from Yinglong to Yinglong King had been preserved. That meant that future Yinglong units could follow this exact path to break through from the Heavenrender rank to the Microcosm rank!

That represented a genuine extension of the dragon-attribute enhancement route. Han Wu could already picture a future where his divine realm housed an army of Yinglong Kings.

The other contestants’ units also improved to varying degrees, though none matched the Yinglong’s transformation. The biggest change occurred in Long Lin’s core race. After consuming the treasure, his Great Dragon attained Dragon King status. Unfortunately, its Subcosm rank didn’t advance alongside its enhanced bloodline. It was a shame.

The other major surprise came from Long Xiang’s Tyrannosaurus Rex. As a mixed-blood dragon, it sat at the lowest tier of the hierarchy. Once it consumed the treasure, however, the impurities in its bloodline were cleansed, and it evolved into a true Great Dragon.

It didn’t sprout wings like a typical Great Dragon. Instead, it grew even more massive, its body expanding to several times its previous size. Its rows of sharp teeth were replaced by dark, metallic fangs that looked as though they had been forged from steel. They were steel fangs in every sense of the word.

Han Wu looked at those fangs and silently mourned every future opponent the Tyrannosaurus Rex would face. One bite from those things wouldn’t just crack bone. It could shatter diamonds too.

The other two contestants’ core races also improved, though not as dramatically as those of Han Wu, Long Lin, and Long Xiang.

Over the next few days, Han Wu and the others trained under the Ancient Dragon Clan members’ guidance. Their core races’ units familiarized themselves with their newfound power and learned dragon-exclusive combat techniques and Dragon Tongue Magic.

Four days passed quickly, and the Great Dragon Championship officially began.

Han Wu and the four other contestants took their seats in the competitors’ section as the Ancient Dragon Clan’s representatives.

For such an important occasion, Long Qi emerged from seclusion to preside over the event.

The Great Dragons arrived right on schedule. Han Wu watched as a Great Dragon over 1 million meters long descended onto the Ancient Dragon Clan’s grounds with five smaller Great Dragons in tow. Upon landing, all six rapidly shrank and assumed humanoid forms.

“It’s been a while, Jade Dragon Emperor,” Long Qi greeted him personally.

The humanoid Jade Dragon Emperor let out a hearty laugh.

“Long Qi, you haven’t changed a bit. Your strength seems to have improved a little, though.” The Jade Dragon Emperor spoke as though catching up with an old friend. Its dragon claw landed on Long Qi’s shoulder in a casual pat, yet the impact produced a series of sharp cracks. ℴ

The surrounding Ancient Dragon Clan members instantly tensed. A casual greeting didn’t require that much force. Evidently, the Jade Dragon Emperor was testing Long Qi’s true strength.

Long Qi shook himself off as though nothing had happened.

“I’m getting old. My body isn’t what it used to be.” Without warning, he whipped his foot toward the Jade Dragon Emperor’s midsection.

The Jade Dragon Emperor shifted half a step to the side. Where Long Qi’s kick landed, an emerald dragon scale cracked and crumbled to dust.

“Hahahaha!” Both of them burst out laughing simultaneously. That brief exchange had given each of them a rough measure of the other’s current strength.

Long Qi gestured toward the seat. “Please, Jade Dragon Emperor, take the seat of honor.”

The Jade Dragon Emperor returned the gesture. “Together, then.”

Once both were seated, the Ancient Dragon Clan’s elders collectively exhaled in relief. At least, the two powerhouses had managed not to start a real fight. Otherwise, things could have gotten very messy.