High Above

A beam of sunlight passed through the cracks in the rocks and fell on the newly excavated nest in the heart of the mountain.

The newly built dragon's nest was slightly rough, and a huge amount of dust swirled in it with the wind, actually forming a small haze tornado at the entrance.

The sun shines through this storm of dust and shines on the belly of a real dragon lying on its back in its lair - the wind in the cave is his breath, and in and out, the tornado is born.

It can be vaguely seen that the skin and almost translucent scales of this real dragon are not as tough as others of its kind, but have a new tenderness.

But if anyone feels fragile, they are completely wrong, because on the surface of the delicate scales, there is a shallow layer of psychic shield flowing, which seems as soft as water, but is actually dozens of times harder than steel.

The real dragon Xio is taking a nap in the afternoon, sleeping very soundly - digging mountains to build a nest is not a big problem for the third level. What is difficult is how to build it good-looking and strong, not to mention that he does not use physical strength to begin with. Know your best.

Observing the structure of the mountain, using psychic energy to dig the cave for three days and three nights, and connecting with the surrounding natural psychic energy to build a psychic field with the dragon's nest as the core... This kind of workload is really no less than that of He Ping. In a battle between strong men, it is understandable that he wants to take a rest.

At the entrance of the cave, the King of the Mountain stood quietly in front of the door.

He suppressed almost all the mechanical waves around him and made no sound. He only poked his head out from time to time to see how Xio was resting.

When Ian arrived at Lone Flame Peak, he saw this scene.

——After the child lived alone outside, the worried mother quietly came to the door of her child and watched the child taking a nap through the window, being careful not to make a sound...

So familiar. While smiling, Ian couldn't help but think of how he and his postgraduate roommate rented a house on the moon when he was still on Earth...their expressions and postures were almost exactly the same.

I can only say that I pity the hearts of parents in the world.

When the Mountain King saw Ian coming, he shook his head slightly and said nothing. He just took out a small box from the scales on his heart and handed it to Ian with the wind.

[This is the exquisite product I exchanged from Dragon Island...the best 'earth source crystal' I can find]

He communicated with spiritual energy, and the soft female voice expressed gratitude: [This is a gift from me to you, Ian. You restarted the Dragon God Sacrifice Fire, made the ancient treasure run again, and cured Xio... You are my forever friend]

"There's no need to say it so harshly, Your Majesty, the King of the Mountain."

Ian just smiled. He had no intention of repaying a favor, and all of this was a matter of course for him. Being able to earn a third-level potion material for free was already an incredible gain.

Not to mention, Xiou is indeed his friend. There is no need to think too much about helping a friend.

"Compared to this."

Ian glanced sideways at Xiou, who was sleeping soundly: "Although it was my suggestion, are you really confident about placing Him in my territory?"

[There is no other better place to go]

The King of the Mountain sighed softly: [Although the Steel Winged Dragon has been forced back by me, my dragon's nest has been exposed. Recently, I have to move the nest and return to Dragon Island to report - your territory. No matter what, it is the territory of the empire. Attacking you is the same as starting a war]

[In addition, if nothing else, your territory’s defense measures are impregnable, and its overall development is booming, it will allow Xiou to bind such a high-quality territory and become the guardian dragon of the territory... Even if it is a mascot, I think it is a piece of cake. Good thing]

——Good guy, mascot, that’s what my mother would say.

Ian complained in his heart that he did not dare to regard Xiou as a mascot.

Moreover, does the Mountain King want to report back to Dragon Island? No wonder he told himself last time that he would take him to Dragon Island when he has time in the future. It is probably because of the request of the Dragon Kings.

I don’t know what the relationship is between Dragon Island and the real dragon. Historical legends are not trustworthy. I will have to find out more in the future.

Shaking his head, Ian recovered his thoughts.

In recent days, after being purified by the shimmering cradle system, Xiou's body has begun to reactivate and undergo 'redevelopment' - it can be seen from the new skin that Xiou's body is returning to normal as a true dragon should. Some physical fitness.

The reason why he sleeps is not only because he is really tired, but also because of this kind of growth. Xio's sleep means that he is consuming the energy accumulated in his body to recover and strengthen himself, which is a good thing.

So neither the King of the Mountain nor Ian planned to disturb.

After waiting and waiting, Xio woke up naturally.

【Ian? 】

Opening his eyes, Xio saw the white-haired boy at his door. He stood up and was just about to curiously poke his head to see why Ian came to the door of his nest. Then he saw the head of the Mountain King appear quietly at the door of his nest. Above Ian: [Mom... mother? 】

He was so startled that honorifics came out of his mouth.

[You don’t clean up the ashes in your lair before going to bed] The King of the Mountain opened his mouth to scold you, and he snorted coldly: [How can I trust you to live alone? And there was no warning at all. This time it was Ian and me. What if it was the Steel Winged Dragon next time or the assault force of the Flying Fire Land? 】

【Yes Yes……】

Xio admitted with shame. In fact, he was quite surprised when he saw Ian. He didn't expect that his psychic induction circles all over the dragon's nest had no reaction at all. Isn't this supposed to happen?

But for Ian, Xio's psychic induction line is similar to a banana peel placed in front of his eyes, and it is basically impossible to step on it and get hit.

When Xio knew that Ian was going to try to make his own 'ether weapon' and achieve his own master level alchemy (Ian's apparent excuse for needing third-level materials), so he needed leyline source crystals, he immediately Get interested.

Since his mother gave a gift of gratitude, he must not lose!

【Ian! 】

He happily climbed up and came to the door of his lair: [I shot down a few steel pterosaurs a few days ago, and some of them are still at the third level - I don't have any use for its materials, so I'll give them to you. ! 】

Ian also knew that those three steel pterosaurs were the three steel pterosaurs of the Dragon Hunting Team. After being shot down by Xio, they became his trophies.

However, Xio actually had no sense of personal property, and it was not just his own dragon that injured them, and he had no use for this kind of sub-dragon Warcraft material, so he was very happy when he sent them out.

Ian didn't pay much attention, but was a little regretful that he didn't make it in time. You know, the third-level soul can condense an 'intermediate computing unit', which has enough computing power to serve as the management center of a big city. The soul must also take into account research and help Ian optimize various technologies. The material may be a bit tight, but two are definitely enough.

And now, Xio said that he would give the entire third-level steel pterosaur to himself...

Ian glanced at the King of the Mountain beside him.

The silver dragon let out a long sigh: [Xio, you can't do this... That Steel Winged Dragon is a trophy shared by you and Xiahui Leader, and is not your private property. This can't be said to be a gift - and Ian can cure it. Do you plan to use a third-level steel pterosaur to write off your debt to Void Poison? 】

[Oh] Xio's tail swayed behind him, feeling a little embarrassed: [Then...I...]

"fine."

Ian laughed and interrupted the awkward atmosphere: "From today on, this area of ​​Guyan Peak will be your territory, Xiou - in exchange for the third-level steel pterosaur material, I I accepted it unceremoniously.”

He gave Xio a look, and then said: "Next, here at the mouth of the mountain gorge, there is my new alchemy industrial zone... If Roland and the others are busy, for the sake of being the co-owners of this territory, Please help them more.”

【no problem! 】

Hearing this, Xio got rid of the embarrassment and said energetically: [These are all easy things, I will definitely help! 】

[And...my territory! I also have a territory! 】

Perhaps this is the nature of fire creatures - as soon as he heard the words 'own territory', Xio seemed overjoyed, looking extremely happy.

Ian seriously doubted that the dragon masters of the Dragon Kingdom had the same mentality as Xio.

As long as it has its own territory, it can be solved... From this point of view, true dragons are quite easy to be satisfied.

Looking at this scene, the King of the Mountain could not say anything. He just shook his head and looked at Ian: [Please, take care of him more... Xiou is a very capable child, at least he has great potential. 】

"No, he is very capable."

Ian was not stingy with his praise. He said seriously: "You can't underestimate your child - at the very least, the fact that he can still maintain such a healthy and positive attitude is a perfect proof of his ability."

Although in the eyes of the King of the Mountain, Xiou may be full of various problems, which is the so-called "you in the eyes of parents" - but as a friend, Xiou is responsible for his friends and will take action, and his own strength is not Inferior, the spirit is also very tough due to years of suffering from illness, and the character is also very sincere and polite. He only needs one chance to soar into the sky, and he is the best friend in his eyes.

After all, where can you find a second true dragon that is so innocent?

The materials of the Steel Winged Dragon are stored in a cave at the foot of the Solitary Flame Peak, and are sealed and preserved by Xio with psychic energy. After a while, Ian will ask Scott to prepare the team and transport them back to the city to be broken down into real materials. .

After delivering the ‘Earth Source Crystal’ to Ian, the King of the Mountain was also ready to leave.

Before leaving, He personally cleaned Xiou's lair.

While strengthening the mountain with source matter, He told Xiou the importance of hygiene and tidiness...

It can only be said that in terms of parent-child relationship, there is really no difference between dragons and humans.

Naturally, Ian returned to Xiahui City early with the Earth Vein Source Crystal and opened the small box given to him by the Mountain King.

In the box, bright light patterns lit up from the center, spreading in all directions from the center. The light blue mixed with pure white light shone gently, creating a small psychic field in an instant.

In the center of the field, a pure white crystal is surrounded by a spectrum of blue and pure white, which are intertwined indefinitely. The colors continue to gradually change outward, like a swaying light.

[Earth Source Crystal]

[Third Energy Level·Perfect Seed·Authority·Edible]

[Born from the depths of the planet, a rare crystal at the core node of the natural circulation of source matter. It itself is a kind of 'entity ether' that perfectly integrates natural spiritual energy and source matter. The energy continuously absorbs the spiritual energy and sources of the surrounding natural space and time. Self-charging with mass can be used to create core energy for some sustainable alchemy facilities]

[Compared with ordinary similar types, the perfect quality leyline source crystal has a better affinity for the source of matter, and can warm and nourish the soul. The radiance it emits can even make the souls of the deceased live forever, so it is also called the 'underworld lamp' '】

[If used as a potion material, even if the soul is damaged, it can be quickly healed and regenerated, but it does not reduce the pain]

[Warning: If the user's basic quality is insufficient and he rashly takes perfect quality leyline crystals, his self-awareness will be diluted by the mighty natural will filled in the crystal body, and he will become a vegetative state]

[Contains source quality: 35615.8554 core units]

【……】

"Sure enough, it's perfect!"

Seeing the data on the silver chip, Ian couldn't help but his eyes lit up: "Being able to heal the soul and warm the soul...is the ability I need most!"

During the recent period, Ian has been transforming his soul structure. Even if the prophet can make no mistakes, there will definitely be pain and loss as long as the transformation is done.

Although the computing power has been greatly improved, in terms of absolute strength, Ian's soul has actually dropped slightly.

After all, even if they are both made of iron, a solid iron lump and a sophisticated computer, it is obvious which one is more susceptible to damage.

Even if the soul structure that imitates the computing unit is also very tough, if you can cultivate while maintaining it, you will definitely get twice the result with half the effort!

By now, the potion materials have been almost accumulated. If it were a simple Lord of Stone, Ian could even say that he was fully prepared.

But he has accumulated enough and does not intend to simply follow the old path.

Returning to his warehouse, Ian counted the materials he now had.

The Heart Protector Shell of the Pure Dust Dragon, Morian Steel, Earth Vein Source Crystal, a whole head of third-level steel pterosaur materials... and various sublimation materials obtained from Jiamube.

Basically, he has all the main materials.

Moreover, the protective shell of the Clean Dust Dragon, as the core center of the 'Super Giant Magnetic Storm Coil', was severely purified by the Dragon God's sacrificial fire.

Although part of the quality was lost as a result, the remaining inscription structure became extremely pure, and even the description in the silver chip added an extra sentence.

[The extremely pure heart-protecting shell, although its physical strength is slightly reduced, its control over magnetism is greatly enhanced. It is a special product that exceeds the limit of the original owner's ability]

To be honest, Ian doesn't need any 'physical strength' at all - his shield can already be covered with nine layers, the next door has been buried in the ground, and the grass on the grave is probably two inches tall. Cord Jiamu tried his best to confront him. Not all of them were able to break through the attack. The only one that truly broke through Ian's defense was a nightmare.

But the Nightmare Breeder is essentially a cosmic-level super life. Even if it is an incomplete illusion, it will not be a shame to be defeated by it!

It is precisely because of the fact that Fudo City has achieved the ultimate in defense that Ian has been thinking about whether he really wants to leave when he was building the 'Essence Furnace Core' with the core of the ancient dragon as the center some time ago. Teacher Hilliard's old ways.

In the future, Ian is destined to open up a new path of practice. Most of the bloodline true forms cannot adapt to Ian's next fighting method, and the Stone Lord is no exception.

This is why he wants to upgrade on the basis of the Lord of Stone and create a brand new 'new magic potion', which is also the true form temporarily named 'Lord of Steel'!

The Lord of Steel is an improved version of the Lord of Stone that adds 'magnetic control ability', and is very different in terms of positioning.

The Lord of Stone is essentially a fortress builder and rock golem creator with specialized material manipulation abilities and extremely strong war capabilities. He is also equally tough. He is a guardian knight and summoner who protects the formation, enough to dissuade everyone. The plan is to kill the summoned object by beheading the summoner.

But Lord of Steel is different.

Its abilities are biased towards 'scientific research infrastructure' and 'self-reinforcement'.

What Ian needs is to strengthen his soul, strengthen micro-manipulation, use magnetism and metal control capabilities to rub machine tools, and then use machine tools to manufacture mass production equipment. This cycle continues to quickly strengthen the productivity of his territory.

Immediately afterwards, although it was impossible to create a large number of golems and rock fortresses, as an existence with stronger personal defense than the Stone Lord, the Steel Lord's wonderful use of magnetism, with Ian's strong basic knowledge reserve... is definitely better than Terra A large number of sublimators who play electromagnetism are going to be very strong.

Among other things, Ian can make a magnetic propulsion engine on the spot to go to outer space, and on the planet, he can also easily use magnetism to accelerate himself to incredible levels.

Not to mention magnetic deflections and magnetic confinement fields.

Simply put, the Steel Lord can fly! But the Lord of Stone can't!

A pure explosive kill is a yes.

"My soul has been transformed and is infinitely close to the third energy level, but my body can't bear it yet - it has reached its limit, and there is no point in trying any harder."

Looking around at the materials in front of him, Ian nodded slightly: "The next research direction is to perfect the Lord of Steel's potion... As long as I can reach the third energy level, even if the war between the Empire and the Flying Flame Land spreads to Nanling, I am also confident in ensuring the rapid development of the territory.”

However, before going to develop the Steel Lord, Ian still has some things to do.

Ian comes to the alchemy laboratory.

Some time ago, when Ian defeated the Construct Knight, he successfully copied the entire structure of the Construct Knight, including the most important 'spiritual machine core'.

Of course, he brought this technology back to the territory as soon as possible and gave it to Adebert for analysis to see if this all-round researcher had any unique ideas that were different from his own.

As a result, Adalbert was shocked when he saw the design of the spiritual weapon. He exclaimed that it was incredible. He grabbed Ian and asked where it came from. After Ian answered "a gift from the Flying Flame Land", he was extremely upset. The researcher who hated Feiyandi was even more happy.

"This 'Spiritual Machine Core' is essentially a soul storage structure that is far superior to our 'Dead King's Center'! In the simplest terms, it can convert source matter into spiritual energy and strengthen the Dead Lord's soul. It can also make the soul in our body live more comfortably, and the frequency of activities can also be greatly increased."

Adlbert explained to Ian: "After leaving the subspace and the virtual realm, all the souls in our bodies have become silent. This is inevitable. After all, the design of the Dead Lord from the beginning has used the soul as the cornerstone. There is no thought of allowing these souls to develop abilities other than 'masonry'."

"However, this spiritual machine core can improve this... Even without our dead king's effort to maintain it, this spiritual machine core can carry thousands of souls on its own!"

Adlbert has a very high opinion of the spiritual machine core. In addition to storing souls, he is also very optimistic about the other ability of the spiritual machine core, which is the conversion of 'source matter-spiritual energy': "According to the original ether According to the theory, the source matter and spiritual energy are indeed integrated into one, and being able to convert the two freely is exactly the characteristic of the strong people at the third energy level, and their mind-light bodies are basically the embodiment of this ability."

"The core of the spiritual machine can rely on its strong energy supply to create a spiritual shield comparable to a third-level powerhouse, or an increase in source quality of the third level. It can be said to be an 'artificial third-level energy' .”

"It's a pity that at least it needs an energy source of the level of the Ether Furnace Heart to supply it. And the technology of the Ether Furnace Heart...even the City of Knowledge cannot fully master it, and the cost is very high, and it is difficult to train a third-level person." It makes no difference.”

"Not to mention that if you want to control this kind of spiritual machine core, you also need a sublimate who is at least the second level of peak energy as a driver to be effective."

At that time, Adlbert shook his head regretfully: "The technology is good technology, but our territory does not have the conditions to fully utilize it."

But Ian has a different opinion - indeed, except for himself, Adlbert and Xiou, it is basically impossible to find an ascendant at the peak of the second energy level or above in the current Xiahui Territory. Things, and the three of them have the power to surpass the core of spiritual weapons.

But if one person can’t do it, what about hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands?

"The energy core, I will find a way. Rather, this is the easiest problem to solve. As for the controller... we don't need to let it fight, but let it become some kind of city defense core, protecting the entire city and Just key areas.”

Ian made this suggestion to Adelbert: "As long as we can popularize artificial souls, so that the entire Xiahui Territory and even all the mountain people have souls... Then at critical moments, they can gather in the square or the defense tower Surroundings, work together to activate the defensive function of the spiritual weapon core."

"At least these ordinary people will have the power to protect themselves, right?"

"It's like the dead king, but instead of gathering the power of everyone to give one person, it's about gathering the power of everyone to give a 'shelter to protect oneself'!"

"If everyone has a third-level psychic shield, then even if there is a fourth-level battle in the territory, the casualties will be much reduced!"

Adlbert was deeply inspired. Although he wanted to protect the weak and ordinary people, he couldn't think of related ideas because the Terran people were too biased towards the thinking mode of individual power.

Ian's words awakened him and made him realize: "Yes... and in critical moments, the 'consensus' of most people is to 'protect yourself, protect your relatives and friends'... The strength of this consensus is even It comes from the heart even more than when the dead king signed a contract with them!"

"As long as you cleverly use the Dead King's technology to strengthen the core of the spiritual weapon, it will become the best shelter!"

Ian came here this time just to talk to Adelbert about his recent work results.

But he never thought that as soon as he arrived at the alchemy laboratory, he would be approached by Adebert.

"Ian! I have something new!"

The Dead Lord researcher was full of enthusiasm - he was the Dead Lord after all, and he was basically not tired, but was in full research state 24 hours a day - he grabbed Ian and went to the deepest underground laboratory, and excitedly looked at the confused look on his face. Ian said: "I have recreated the artificial soul potion!"

"We only need to wait for the cultivation of 'benign brain attachment' to get on track, and we can quickly produce a large number of related medicines. It will only take about half a year to popularize them to the whole people!"

"Oh! It's indeed a great thing!" Ian's eyes lit up. The artificial soul can be said to be the basis of all his subsequent plans.

But soon, the young man became a little confused - is he so excited?

Although the artificial soul is indeed a key technology, the core 'brain attachment' and 'pharmaceutical formula' are readily available... Ian recruited a few days ago, and the Sequoia natives with 'benign unactivated brain attachment' in their bodies can be used He received a generous salary. It would be strange if this could not be replicated.

As expected, Adalbert continued: "Besides, Ian, the 'spiritual machine core' and 'meditation method' you gave me gave me great inspiration."

"After the core of the spiritual machine is modified, it can possess some of the abilities of the 'Dead King'... that is, it can draw the wandering souls around it into its own internal shelter."

"At the same time, as long as the meditation method is slightly adjusted to the soul structure, then those who practice meditation can decouple their souls from their bodies within a certain range!"

"Although they are just very ordinary abilities, they are interesting when combined!" The young researcher waved the calculation paper in his hand. He had obviously done experiments on himself, so he said with excitement and certainty: "In this way , if our territory encounters a crisis in the future, people will not need to gather around the square at all, but stay at home, directly leave their souls, be pulled by the core of the spiritual weapon, and go to the inside of it to activate its shield!"

"This speed is far faster than gathering by human legs, and even if there is an accident, at least the soul can be preserved!"

Adlbert is really worried about the survival of ordinary people. This is his obsession, so he is so excited.

Because this idea is also a further optimization of Ian's 'shelter' idea, that's why Adalbert wanted to find Ian to listen to his views, eager to get recognition and opinions.

However, Ian did not calmly give some opinions that he did not expect after appreciating himself, as Adelbert imagined.

The young man stood there stunned.

"...Ian? What's wrong?" Researcher Dead Lord greeted Ian cautiously.

"...I'm fine."

When Ian came back to his senses, he blinked and looked at Adlbert seriously.

The young man took a deep breath and said solemnly: "Do you know what you are talking about? Adlbert?"

The Dead Lord was stunned for a moment. He didn't know why Ian looked so solemn, so his voice became softer: "I found a new way to protect the people?"

"wrong!"

Ian stretched out his hand, grabbed Adlbert's shoulder, and said solemnly: "What you found is the gate of Hades!"

"Adlbert! What you just picked up is the key to the gate of Hades!"