Void Evolution System

Damien made it back to Arulion as soon as he left the palace and found himself a place to stay. The money he used was…well, a very well-made counterfeit, but that was beside the point.

He wasn't in the same city he found after being transported here by the Dark God. The citizens there didn't know much, but they knew the rough map of their own lands.

That city was on the periphery of the kingdom. It was one of the places with the least contact with the true draconic lineages, and thus, it was useless for Damien's current quest.

Katya had told him in the past. The Dragon Clans that led the rest were not friendly to those with thin dragon lineage.

There was a requirement for people to even enter this land, and once they were here, if they weren't up to par, they'd be forced to the edges of the kingdom to live with other dragonkin.

Damien had met all types of dragons before. Some, like Bai Yuxuan, welcomed halfbreeds and dragonkin, teaching them the methods to rise and become True Dragons.

But that wasn't a common practice.

The dragonkin knew they could become True Dragons, and they'd come to Arulion for exactly that purpose. However, they would never receive direct aid.

If they wanted to reach that point, they needed to work and use merit to earn pieces of information that could help them progress. Slowly and steadily, they were turned into more of a workforce for the True Dragons than disciples trying to reach their level.

It was an unfortunate situation. For dragonkin, the outside world was honestly safer than the land of their own people, which was a real tragedy.

Damien had come for the royalty. Seeing how they treated their own people, he was pretty clear on what their policies would be towards foreigners.

'If I just walk up and throw around some power, they'd probably try to go to war.'

And that would be annoying.

Dragons were, without fail, prideful creatures. If he touched their bottom line, they wouldn't sit down and take it, nor would they throw away their pride for security.

They were a species who would do anything for the sake of their pride.

'So I need to find a way to justify my presence, and I need to find a way to meet with the highest authorities of this place the hard way.'

He had to first earn their respect. He was trying to recruit allies, not slaves or enemies.

'First, information.'

Damien was currently in a city far closer to the central areas of Arulion than the one he was in previously.

This place was named Arvelheim, and it was something of a segregation line.

On the line created by this city and nine others, both True Dragons and dragonkins lived together. Past this line, only True Dragons were allowed, and in front of it was the area where the dragonkin were forced to live.

'Though, saying they live together is an overstatement.'

It was more like the dragonkin were being blatantly enslaved across this line, while it was a bit more vague on the other side of it.

This was the best place for Damien to be before he had an idea of what was going on inside the land of True Dragons.

It was a place where he could meet True Dragons and read their memories to understand and mimic their culture before making rash decisions.

'I made one of those recently and I think that's enough for me for the next little while.'

Nevertheless, Damien had learned many things about the culture those True Dragons practiced, and he learned about the hierarchy they followed.

'There are a lot of dragon lineages.'

There weren't many that were highly respected, but there were a lot of dragons who could claim themselves royalty.

'Among them, there are six Holy Dragon Clans. They're the ones that really matter.'

The Ignis Clan of Fire Dragons, the Liqua Clan of Azure Dragons, the Noct Clan of Darkness Dragons, the Aurora Clan of Light Dragons, the Ether Clan of Void Dragons, and the Aureat Clan of Golden Dragons.

Each of those clans was created by a Holy Dragon, the pinnacle of Dragonkind, and…

'...I happen to be acquainted with one of those Holy Dragons.'

Damien almost couldn't believe that the Azure Dragon he met was "that" Azure Dragon, but as he spent more time in Arulion, the memories locked away in his head became clearer.

He knew without a shadow of a doubt that the person who'd entrusted him with his legacy was the very person who once stood at the head of that clan. Perhaps he'd been replaced by now, but that didn't change anything.

The original Azure Dragon, the being who created the Azure Dragon Godbeast Lineage…

That was the Azure Dragon Damien met on Beast Emperor Star.

'And there was something he wanted me to do here.'

He didn't make his request clear, but Damien could almost ascertain it with what he currently knew.

'Putting that aside, the easiest way to establish myself here is to create a new Dragon Lineage that qualifies as royalty. Nobody would question it if I can prove it with my bloodline, and as long as I don't make it too powerful, I'll be able to exist without much prodding from others.'

His first priority was to find a place in the True Dragon half of Arulion. After that, he could take the step-by-step approach to get himself in the same conversations as the Holy Dragon Clans.

'But no matter how slow and steady it is, I still have to remember my time limit.'

It would take a few months for the barrier spells to be prepared for the Heavenly World's time to be completely dilated. If he could help it, Damien planned to get everything in Arulion wrapped up before then.

'I've pretty much gained everything I could from here. I need to get over on the other side before I can do anything else.'

Damien nodded to himself. Tomorrow, he would change his existence and become a Royal Dragon.

For tonight though…

Crack!

A subtle crack immediately destroyed every plan Damien had for the night.

He raised his brow curiously.

'That didn't come from reality.'

Damien turned his eyes elsewhere, to a spatial storage he hadn't checked in a while.

Actually, this space was created when he was in Grand Heavens Boundary and existed separately from the Sanctuary. It hadn't been used since he ascended to the Heavenly World, but now, he was sensing something interesting from it.

An egg that he'd almost forgotten about, yet one that had more connection to Arulion than he could ever dream of having.

Crack!

Another crack.

At this point, it was hard for Damien to think anything else.

He pulled it out of storage and immediately put an Existence barrier around his room to shield it from any peering eyes.

There was a certain egg, gifted to Damien by a certain being.

He was told nothing about it, but was given the task to take care of it and make sure it inherited that being's legacy.

That egg had remained dormant for what felt like centuries. It didn't show reactions to anyone or anything.

But now, that egg was hatching.

And the being that was born from it…