End of the Magic Era

Among the Chromatic Dragons, the Destruction Black Dragon Clan was Noscent’s most famous. Whether it was the evil Dragon capturing a princess, the carriage snatched by a Dragon, or the Dragons always living in volcanoes in the stories whose Dragon Breath had a strong sulfurous scent. They would mostly be Black Dragons.

Yes, the Destruction Black Dragon Clan was infamous in Noscent.

Even the pure-blooded Destruction Black Dragons were forced to flee to an unknown plane when Charles the Emperor shattered the Throne of Life. Only some mixed-blood descendants remained in the current Noscent, but the infamous name of the Destruction Black Dragons had already spread throughout, remaining ingrained in the hearts of every inhabitant of Noscent.

That was why Lin Yun felt shocked when he felt the aura of those Dragons.

They were the Destruction Black Dragons! One of the Chromatic Dragon Clans! They would have Heaven Rank power upon reaching adulthood and would rarely have opponents in Noscent.

‘A Destruction Black Dragon actually fell here…’ Lin Yun couldn’t help remaining speechless in front of that empty temple.

In fact, when he confirmed that the temple had come from the Nesser Dynasty, Lin Yun had made some conjectures, but he hadn’t dared to believe them since they were too shocking.

Very few temples would be built during the Nesser Dynasty, which was completely different from the 3rd Dynasty.

The 3rd Dynasty’s royal family worshipped the Haiba Dragon God as the first Dragon born at the beginning of the world. The Haiba Dragon God loved wealth and offerings. The greater the offerings, the happier the Haiba Dragon God would be. Thus, the Haiba Dragon God had temples everywhere in the 3rd Dynasty. Most of these temples hid shocking wealth. Countless legends of people becoming rich overnight appeared after the destruction of the 3rd Dynasty.

But it was different for the Nesser Dynasty.

The Nesser Dynasty was the Dynasty of the Elven and Draconic Empire.

Although the Elves and Dragons believed in their own gods, they never blindly worshipped them. There were very few temples during that period, and they would be erected to commemorate their fallen companions.

And it had to be a companion who made such great contributions that it affected the whole era.

It could be said that every temple of the Nesser Dynasty had an epic story behind it.

During his days in the decaying library, Lin Yun had read the famous – Elven and Draconic Requiem–, and in it were recorded the achievements of the fallen Elves and Dragons that could warrant a temple. It was a true poetic saga depicting formidable powerhouses. Their names were still passed down in songs after countless years, and the places they fell at were holy grounds.

Now, a Nesser Dynasty temple stood in front of them filled with the aura of a Destruction Black Dragon meaning that a Destruction Black Dragon had once fallen there.

‘It looks like I still underestimated the Merlin Family…’ Lin Yun stood in the spacious temple and took a deep breath as he thought of walking over to the altar in the center.

The altar was a dozen meters tall and was constructed out of some unknown stones. The ground seemed to be made of scalding flames as Lin Yun walked on it. At the top of the altar was a terrace a few meters wide. A fireball was raging in the center of the terrace.

“This is…” Lin Yun froze when he saw that flame.

That was a Dragon Heart.

To be more specific, it was the Dragon Heart of a Destruction Black Dragon.

The aura Lin Yun had felt had come from this ignited heart.

‘Hold on…’

As Lin Yun was inwardly amazed, a strange sound reached his ears.

“Badump, badump, badump…”

Hearing this powerful pulsating sound, Lin Yun’s expression suddenly paled. ‘This Destruction Black Dragon’s heart is still alive!’

Indeed, it was still beating. It looked really strange in this quiet temple.

‘No way…’ Lin Yun rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing properly.

Sure enough, the heart was beating. Through the flames, Lin Yun could clearly see the black diamond-like sparkling heart throbbing vigorously.

‘Is the key to fusing the nine Magic Arrays on that heart?” Lin Yun carefully thought about it and felt that this might be possible.

Fusing the nine Magic Arrays into one would require a lot of patience and willpower as he did it very slowly, but it might also be possible to do it forcefully using incomparable power.

And that Black Dragon Heart held extreme power.

Lin Yun finally found a clue.

Flame Ruler Doug most likely used the power of that Destruction Black Dragon to fuse his nine Magic Arrays and reach the High Mage realm in one go.

But…

How did he get that power?

He definitely didn’t extract it…

An adult Black Dragon was at least a Heaven Rank existence, not to mention a Destruction Black Dragon that earned a temple after falling. It would have been one of the powerhouses whose names could be recorded and sung in poems. They might be comparable to a Three-headed Golden Dragon.

Even if it only left a heart behind, the power contained within wasn’t something Lin Yun could extract.

In fact, Lin Yun could clearly feel that he had been capable of safely standing there only because the power of the altar had been suppressing the Black Dragon’s heart. Otherwise, let alone standing there, he would have faced the oppressive power as soon as he’d approached the temple.

Directly extracting the power would be suicide.

“Oh, right, Cousin…” Lin Yun suddenly stopped as he thought of something. “How much do you know about the Bloodline Ceremony?”

“The Bloodline Ceremony?” William also felt the Destruction Black Dragon’s power, and his strength was inferior to his cousin’s. Thus, he only hid on the side, hoping for his younger cousin to hurry up with his Bloodline Ceremony.

William couldn’t help freezing when he heard Lin Yun’s question, before recalling that his younger cousin’s grandfather had already left the Merlin Family, planning to never return. He probably hadn’t mentioned the Bloodline Ceremony.

“You drip a drop of blood on it!” William promptly yelled from a distance before anxiously looking at Lin Yun and repeating. “On that ball of flames!”

“A drop of blood?” Lin Yun felt doubtful when he heard that…

‘How could it be dripping blood?’

Usually, a ritual to purify blood would involve accepting a mysterious baptism in order to condense a bloodline that would reach the purity of an Ancestor’s. In fact, dripping one’s blood on a Dragon’s heart seemed more like an offering.

But naturally, Lin Yun quickly threw those suspicions to the back of his mind. That was only his own point of view, but there were all kinds of rituals and ceremonies in Noscent. He couldn’t know the principles behind each and every one of them. Perhaps the Merlin Family’s ceremony was a special case?

But even if he did a sacrifice, how could one drop of blood have such a big influence?

Lin Yun no longer hesitated after thinking of this. He let out a precise Wind Blade, and under the accurate control of this High Mage, the Wind Blade only brushed past his left hand’s middle finger and blood spilled as he gently shook. That drop of blood fell onto those flames.

It was immediately followed by a world-shaking Dragon Chant.

“What’s going on?” Lin Yun was suddenly startled. That Dragon Chant clearly carried endless anger and unwillingness.

Unfortunately, before he could understand what had happened, the flaming black diamond displayed the phantom of a Black Dragon.

“This…” Lin Yun became deathly pale. The Destruction Black Dragon had world-shaking power, even if it was just a shadow. Let alone a 1st Rank High Mage like him, even an Archmage wouldn’t be able to resist.

Lin Yun almost subconsciously brandished his Spiritual Magic Staff.

But before he could even think of counterattacking, the phantom had already pounced on him, followed by another resounding Dragon Chant. Lin Yun only felt darkness ahead of him as he was swallowed whole by the shadow.

Under the suppression of the immense Draconic power, Lin Yun even lost his ability to think. He seemed to have been lost in boundless darkness… It was the same feeling as when they floated in the Heaven Enlightening Plane. No, no, it was even more frightening and even more strange.

In the Heaven Enlightening Plane, he had been able to control his body and mind.

But now, he was incapable of moving while in the endless darkness. And it wasn’t just that he couldn’t move. His thoughts were extremely sluggish, and even the most insignificant reaction felt difficult.