Void Evolution System

Even Damien didn't know that Rose had come to Arulion. Since she'd been in the Aureat Clan's hidden territory for the entirety of his stay in the kingdom, he hadn't sensed her either.

It would be quite a surprising moment when they met each other or realized each other's presence, but that wasn't any time soon.

Currently, Damien was headed towards a completely different hidden territory.

'August won't be able to grow in time.'

It was a simple yet true statement. Even if August won the heir wars, he'd face far too much opposition for him to actually be able to take the position of Dragon Emperor.

Of course, he still wouldn't be strong enough even if Damien removed all of the obstacles from his path, but that was something Damien had already planned for.

'For now, the most important thing is supporting his journey.'

Damien wasn't going to directly start a war with the Holy Clans. Not yet, at least. He wanted to convert as many of them as possible before resorting to killing.

Not because he was a pacifist now, but because they were necessary meat shields for when the war against the Sacred Abyss began.

'I mean, they are a great fighting force that will be respected and honored…yeah, that's a better way to say it.'

Damien had a lot of respect for dragons as a whole. It was the second bloodline he'd ever possessed and the basis of his strength for a long time. Most of the dragons he met in the lower universe were people worthy of respect.

However, these Holy Clans were not the same as them. They needed to be destroyed and restructured before they could be of use to anyone.

The respect they thought they deserved was only meant for their Holy Dragon ancestors. They were nothing more than leeches.

'But that's usually how it goes with things like this.'

No matter how great the first generation was, power would eventually corrupt the family line and lead it to ruin.

It was a story as old as time, a fate that had befallen many a kingdom and empire,

'The real question is…what is that guy doing?'

The Dragon Emperor…

Qinglong's memories were unraveling almost to a point where Damien and August were seeing the same thing despite starting at opposite ends.

From what Damien had seen, the Dragon Emperor wasn't one of the people involved in overthrowing Qinglong.

'Rather, it's more apt to say that he doesn't appear in Qinglong's memories at all.'

It was suspicious. The position couldn't just be taken by anyone, and if he wasn't a member of any of the Holy Clans, then just who was he?

'And why is he even sitting on that throne?'

That was what Damien wanted to know, and now that August was on his way to gain qualifications for the heir wars, he was planning to find out as soon as possible.

For the safety of his son and the prosperity of the Heavenly World as a whole, it was imperative for him to distinguish allies from enemies, and those who could be saved from those who could not.

'For your sake and mine…' Damien thought as he rushed to that place.

'...I really hope you're one of the good ones.'

***

August didn't actually have that hard of a time in the outside world.

It was all new to him. He wanted to stop by every shop and eat every new food he saw at every street stall, however, he was currently on his way to a completely different city, so he obviously didn't have the time to do all of that.

His biggest problem really was reigning in his curiosity. When it came to matters of people and whatnot, he didn't have any trouble at all.

August had an appearance that made him stand out.

Damien had given him an artifact before he left home that disguised his Azure Dragon aura, lineage, and bloodline so that others wouldn't get suspicious too soon, so that wasn't his problem.

His ocean-blue hair wasn't a problem either, since it was a common trait among dragons. Their natural hair colors were more varied than any other race, since they changed to mimic the element the dragon was closest to.

Water was an extremely common element. Qinglong wasn't like the Golden Dragon, but for the sake of the dragon race, all of the original Holy Dragons had been around the town quite a few times.

If not, dragons wouldn't have become the prolific species they were today.

There were several types of water dragons, and though almost all of them descended from Qinglong in some way, not all of them had his bloodline.

Those who did were rare by today's circumstances, even in the Azure Dragon itself.

The new Azure Dragon bloodline was contained within the Liqua Clan, so it was impossible for more to be born as well.

Minor water dragons were insignificant, just like the minor versions of every elemental dragon. August had no problems blending in.

Though, he did have quite a striking appearance. He drew gazes from all over, but it wasn't like he noticed.

versions of every elemental dragon. August had no problems blending in.

August was just happily going on his way, in his own world as he made it to the teleportation array and paid the fare.

This wasn't his first time teleporting. Unlike most who took the arrays to get around, he didn't feel any discomfort as he arrived at his destination.

Arragon was just as prosperous, if not more, as the place he'd just come from, but August did his best to stay focused on the goal.

'The heir wars…'

He'd been studying about it for the past month.

It was a long event, spanning over the course of several months or even years depending on how well the participants were doing.

Young geniuses would compete in several categories, and those who came out on top would fight each other directly for a chance to become the Dragon Emperor's successor.

Even then, the winner had to pass one more trial, presented by the Dragon Emperor himself.

If that trial couldn't be passed, then the Dragon Emperor would choose his favorite prospect from the final tournament and give them a trial.

If even that person failed, then the tournament would have to start over and the same process would be repeated until a satisfactory candidate appeared.

Now, it rarely took that much effort to find the successor, however, the process was completely fleshed out to accommodate for the possibility. They couldn't skimp on the details for a ritual so important.

'I wonder who I'll meet.'

Damien told him he would find geniuses on his level and even those above him. He was excited to meet the people who represented his generation.

After all, they were not only his competition, but also the allies he'd take over the world with.

August almost forgot how to be optimistic when he was experiencing his ancestral memories. However, the world made him want to think otherwise.

There was a lot of bad, but there was an equal amount of good.

Optimism wasn't something he could have just because he wanted it.

But if he could fix the bad parts of the world and protect the good…

As long as he could achieve his goals, then his optimism would be warranted.

That was all the assurance he needed to maintain it.