Above The Sky
Chapter 446 - 446 416 Dragonblood Bearer 13

446: Chapter 416 Dragonblood Bearer (1/3) 446: Chapter 416 Dragonblood Bearer (1/3) When Ian removed the gauntlet covering his entire left arm and elbow, a pale cyan glow suddenly lit up, like a bright moon rising in the dim quiet room, illuminating the faces of both individuals.

The youth’s left arm had turned crystalline but didn’t look ferocious; instead, it possessed a unique beauty, as though an artist had meticulously sculpted an arm out of crystal.

The sparkling cyan crystal lattices patterned within it shimmered with light, revealing every muscle and blood vessel in the arm with striking clarity.

Even Elder Mantle, who had long steeled himself for this, couldn’t help but tremble slightly upon witnessing the arm, nearly gasping in awe.

But he quickly regained his composure, shook his head, and then asked Ian in a voice he forced to be calm, “May I…

take a closer look?”

“Please do.”

With a cheerful assent, Ian presented his aether-crystallized arm to the elder.

Elder Mantle took a few deep breaths and then opened his eyes after closing them for a moment.

His slit-like silver pupils brightened within his green irises as he examined the crystalline arm before him, as exquisite as a piece of art.

“The dragon blood I awakened is manifested in my dragon horns and eyes.

They have extended my lifespan and increased my ability to control Origin Quality, also allowing me to see many things that humans cannot.”

As he observed, the elder explained to Ian, “But I awoke too late; I’m too old.

If it were young people like you, the power within your bloodlines could propel you even further.”

“And your arm…”

Gazing intently, Elder Mantle sighed, “It’s too perfect.

An extraordinary construct that I cannot fully decipher, but I sense something similar to that of a Crystal Dragon, yet more powerful than the typical Crystal Dragon…

It is said that the king of the Crystal Dragons is also descended from Ancient Dragons.

It seems that this rumor is indeed true.”

“This arm…

it must have brought you a lot of trouble in the past, hasn’t it?

But worry not, it harbors an immensely powerful force within.

The limit of this power is beyond my vision; it is as profound as the sea and as magnificent as the firmament itself—a definite power of the Ancient Dragons!”

Having confirmed this, Ian could clearly notice that Elder Mantle’s attitude towards him had improved significantly.

And he was right—the Aether Crystal inheritance from the Aether Crystal Dragon indeed equated to a power comparable to that of the True and Ancient Dragons, which ordinary people could hardly comprehend the limits of the Spark Engine.

That the elder could discern this was already a testament to his extraordinary dragonic observational abilities.

Ian possessed the blood of Ancient Dragons, which meant that he was a true ‘kin’ to individuals such as Anfa, Sio, and Elder Mantle.

All of them, for various reasons and through serendipitous awakenings, had come into possession of the dragon blood or had inherited it from their parents from birth.

And at the core of the Dragon Worship Cult was this group of Dragonblood Awakeners.

The entire Dragon Worship Cult was an organization of mutual assistance among them, while the ordinary people seeking the power of Ancient Dragons were merely peripheral members chasing power.

They mostly served some powerful Dragonblood Awakener, and thus, small groups became the nucleus for dispersed ‘sects’ across the Tella Continent.

“Ian, most importantly, you must conceal this power,” Elder Mantle warned as he personally helped Ian don the gauntlet, covering the visibly crystallized arm.

His tone was grave, “Too many people, too many lessons learned.

Those Dragonbloods who failed to hide their extraordinary nature all faced a tragic end.

Fortunate to have received one of the strongest inheritances in the world, yet they couldn’t use this power to protect their own lives.”

“Not to speak of others, the Spirit Wisdom Institute and the Truth Institute within The Empire have always been trying to unravel the power of Ancient Dragon Blood.

Their research has indeed been somewhat successful, but it is all built upon the persecution of Dragonbloods…

This might sound a bit alarmist, but believe me, The Empire may look splendid on the surface, but it’s riddled with filth inside…”

The elder always habitually cautioned, and Ian was willing to listen patiently… even though he didn’t need Elder Mantle’s reminder to know what the Spirit Wisdom Institute really was.

Alarmist?

Ian thought Elder Mantle might even be somewhat beautifying the image of the Spirit Wisdom Institute.

Having emphasized the importance of hiding his dragon blood, Elder Mantle then imparted a Concealment Technique to Ian, meant for hiding his ‘Dragon Blood’.

Dragonization Organs emit a very distinctive Source Quality fluctuation, equivalent to a kind of Primordial Heritage Key, allowing related personnel to easily detect it.

This was why the Dragon Worship Cult recognized him as a Dragonblood bearer.

The Concealment Technique was a peculiar method for manipulating Origin Quality.

Simply put, it involves picking a bone or piece of flesh within one’s Dragonization area or even condensing a Source Quality Crystal out of thin air, and then using it as a centerpiece to create a large vortex-boosting structure, channeling all the overflow of power from the Dragonization area into it.

This is an inward-looking structure, completely undetectable from the outside world in terms of the anomalies of the Source Quality itself.

At most, people familiar with the user might feel that their Source Quality Fluctuation is slightly weaker, making it an excellent method of concealment.

After learning of this technique, Ian also understood how Anfa initially concealed his identity as a First-Level Sublimator—he simply hid all his power, and for a short time, he indeed looked like an ordinary person.

“But wouldn’t this waste a lot of power?”

As he spoke, Ian controlled the Origin Quality within him, circulating it around the ‘Ancient Dragon Heart Core’ and ‘Aether Crystal.’

He said somewhat puzzled, “Although I don’t know much about Dragonization…

isn’t it the gradual transformation of our bodies by these Dragonization areas that gives us greater strength than ordinary Sublimators?”

“But by being so reserved, while it conceals our Dragon Blood, it also slows down the rate at which the Dragon Blood strengthens us.”

The young man quietly shifted to using ‘we,’ and Elder Mantle, who did not notice this detail, pondered for a moment before answering seriously, “Indeed, that is the case.”

“But Ian, you must understand, although we are all members of the Dragon Worship Cult…

the vast majority of people will never reach the Fourth Energy Level, the foundation of a True Dragon.”

“Without reaching the Fourth Level, the Dragonization organs and body parts are essentially a ‘benign’ mutation for us.

Yes, Dragon Blood enhances our physical condition and the purity of our Origin Quality in all aspects, but if left unchecked, this benign mutation will continue to erode our bodies, transforming us towards ‘dragons.’

Not to mention whether this mutation would negatively affect our ‘Bloodline True Form.’

At this point, the elder raised his hand and touched the dragon horns on his head, letting out a faint smile, “When the transformation rate reaches 100 percent, but one has not reached the Fourth Level, holders of the Dragon Blood will utterly fail.”

“They will devolve into pitiable, malformed Alien Dragon Beasts, lose their own will, and be consumed by the instincts of the Ancient Dragons in their blood, completely turning into monsters—some accept this fate and, before complete malformation, pass on their Dragonization core to their children or disciples, making them subsequent holders of the Dragon Blood.”

“Others take a desperate gamble, forcefully releasing the power of the Ancient Dragons during the process of mutation, hoping to transform themselves into True Dragons.”

“And this result leads to great catastrophe.”

Elder Mantle slowly rose to his feet, leading Ian out of the Sacrificial Chamber, “For example, the first earthquake that occurred over Ushtalav decades ago was caused by an Earth Series Dragon Blood holder of the Third Energy Level.

At the transformation rate of 100 percent, he specifically sought out an Ancient Dragon burial site, trying to resonate his Dragon Blood with the remains of the Ancient Dragons.”

“He failed, and his blood did resonate with the leftover power of the Ancient Dragons, indeed reaching the Fourth Level, but he died unable to withstand this power.

His dying Spirit Energy Field quake caused a major natural disaster in the mountain range…”

Ian followed the elder out of the Sacrificial Chamber, and as he looked in the direction the old man pointed, he saw a lake at the base of Mount Avod.

A lake with a diameter exceeding five kilometers, in a perfect circular shape—a standard hemispherical depression.

Ian’s pupils dilated slightly as he suddenly realized why the lake had formed.

“Or say, the ‘natural disaster’ that happened 120 years ago in the Bison Mountain Range—a ‘heavenly fire’ that nearly wiped out three large tribes of the Mountain People.”

The old man gazed at the huge, deep green lake filled by the rainwater and streams between the mountains.

He spoke calmly but with a touch of sorrow, “That’s why we are called the ‘Dragon Worship Cult.’

“Because we truly are.”

“Rise by the blood, perish by the blood; if uninspired, drag everyone around into destruction along with oneself…

an evil life indeed.”