Chapter 502: Mythical Beast Contract Stone
Soon, the Thousand-Year Dragon King lowered its head slightly, revealing a pair of dragon horns unique to it, unlike those of the subspecies of the Mythical beast Thousand-Year Dragon.
This was one of the clearest distinctions marking it as a purebred Mythical beast of the Thousand-Year Dragon.
Whoosh!
In the void, green ethereal energy vines extended.
They slowly stretched from the dragon horn of the Thousand-Year Dragon King and reached toward Aizen, who stood nearby.
Aizen felt the thousand-year blessing cast by the Thousand-Year Dragon King.
A powerful life force energy flooded his body.
Faced with this energy, Aizen used his Hōgyoku ability to absorb part of it forcibly, storing it for research.
He allowed the remaining energy to permeate his body.
After a while, the Thousand-Year Dragon King stopped and took a few heavy breaths, clearly exhausted by casting the thousand-year blessing.
Truthfully, this thousand-year blessing was not meant for external use.
It was intended to extend the Dragon King's own life.
With a current lifespan of one thousand years, it planned to cast the blessing on itself after a Thousand-Year.
This would allow it to live anew, theoretically granting eternal life.
However, whether it could truly live forever, the Dragon King itself did not know.
After all, it had not yet tested this in practice.
If it failed to save a thousand years' worth of blessing before its life ended, it was certain it would die.
The current Thousand-Year Dragon King had little real sense of eternal life.
In fact, it was still young, only a few years old.
Originally a member of the Thousand-Year Dragon tribe, it was chosen as an experimental subject to become a purebred Mythical beast due to its compatibility with Mythical beast power.
Being young, it had no expectations about lifespan.
As long as it used the thousand-year blessing on itself before its life neared its end, it would be fine.
Even if it saved the blessing and did not use it at other times, it could only use it once in the end.
Its horns could store only one thousand-year blessing.
If unused, it would be wasted.
Initially, the Thousand-Year Dragon King intended to grant this blessing to Mythical beasts with good relations or promising tribe members.
However, this time, the Mythical Beast Conference was disrupted by Morgans.
It had no choice but to offer it.
"Human, the thousand-year blessing can only work for you once, so do not bother me again." the Thousand-Year Dragon King said.
Looking at Aizen, who stood motionless—perhaps reminiscing or for some other reason—the Dragon King issued a warning.
For other beings, its Mythical beast protection could only take effect once.
The use of this protection came with conditions.
Even for itself, though it could use it repeatedly, it had to wait until it was old and near death.
At that moment, it would transition from life to death, then back to life, gaining a new thousand-year lifespan.
If it mistimed the process, it would die outright.
Of course, this is all far in the future, and the Thousand-Year Dragon King did not care much about it now.
"The thousand-year blessing has been cast. Outsider, you can leave." it said.
After hearing the expulsion order, Aizen did not leave.
Feeling the slight change in his body, he adjusted his glasses, looked into the eyes of the Thousand-Year Dragon King, and said, "If there are no accidents, you should have a treasure here."
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he gazed at it.
The Thousand-Year Dragon King shuddered.
"Well… it does exist." it admitted.
Ultimately, it could not deny it.
Mainly, the gentle eyes behind the man's glasses gave it an uneasy feeling.
Considering his strength, it decided to negotiate.
"I can give you the item, but you must leave after taking it and not pay attention to this place." it said.
"Ok." Aizen replied with a gentle expression.
After all, he was not a devil.
He had collected the core power of the Thousand-Year Dragon King, and its remaining value was of no use to him.
As a thousand-year blessing that could extend lifespan, it was indeed the core strength of the Thousand-Year Dragon King.
Hearing Aizen's promise, the Thousand-Year Dragon King's tense body relaxed.
A ray of green light drew a small, jade-like box from the fluffy green feathers atop its head.
Then, it took a deep look at Aizen and handed the box to him.
Aizen took the floating box.
Upon touching the strange box, he immediately concluded it was a product unique to this island.
He examined it carefully and then opened it.
A pitch-black stone with a faint black halo came into view.
"Kuwahahaha… it seems it is time to share knowledge again." Morgans said.
"At this moment, Aizen-sama has obtained a treasure from the Thousand-Year Dragon King."
"This treasure will be explained by me, Morgans, the big news."
During the broadcast, Morgans spoke tirelessly.
Since earlier, he had been discussing conflicts across various locations involving Mythical beasts.
Now, seeing the focus shift to the treasure Aizen obtained from the Thousand-Year Dragon King, he immediately began providing explanations.
This treasure, distinct from the previous Skybound Crystal, drew significant attention.
Everyone listened intently to Morgans' explanation.
This time, Morgans did not delay.
Aizen was clearly listening, and he did not dare to waste time.
Morgans was wary of this man who smiled outwardly but was ruthless.
"This black stone, which does not look impressive, is called the Mythical Beast Contract Stone."
"As the name suggests, with this stone, you can form a contract with a Mythical beast, making it recognize you as its master."
"All it requires is a drop of blood from both parties. It is very convenient."
Hearing Morgans' words, many people's eyes lit up.
A single drop of blood to make a Mythical beast recognize its master!
At that moment, some began scheming.
For instance, if they obtained a Mythical beast's blood and added a drop of their own, would that not grant them a powerful Mythical beast for free?
Though these people planned ambitiously, Morgans did not mention the restrictions.
If the strength gap between the contractor and the Mythical beast was too large, there would be side effects.
For example, direct backlash. Additionally, both parties needed to be within a kilometer of the contract stone during the contract.
The greater the resistance, the lower the success rate of the contract.
Morgans omitted these limitations.
As long as there were exciting possibilities, people would pursue them, like monkeys chasing the moon.
This was exactly what Morgans wanted.
In an underground area of Mythical Beast Island, in a lava zone filled with magma, a commotion erupted.
Bang, bang, bang!
Bang, bang, bang!
A massive magma fist relentlessly bombarded a section of magma.
The roaring sound echoed continuously, and vibrations spread outward, resembling an earthquake in the surrounding area.
"Pathetic weakling! What are you here for?" a three-headed monster glowing red asked.
In front of it, Marine Admiral Akainu attacked silently. His massive magma iron fist pounded the monster, but it had little effect.
He continued his silent assault.
Memories of the past flooded his mind.
Fighting that man, being easily defeated, becoming a Marine Admiral, being defeated again and again.
So, what was the point of being a Marine Admiral?
The so-called highest combat power, constantly defeated?
This world should not be like this.
After a moment, Akainu answered, "Power!"
"I am here for great power!"
"To gain the power to enforce my justice!"
His voice was hoarse, unsettling to hear.
After speaking, he fell silent again.
"Power? How pathetic! In that case, are you willing to submit to me? If you submit, I will grant you strength." the monster said.
Hearing the monster's words, Akainu seemed to explode with rage.
Rumble!
An earth-shattering magma iron fist struck directly.
"I will not submit!" he roared.
"In this world… I will never submit like this!"
With Akainu's roar, an overwhelming torrent of magma ravaged everything in sight.
Why had he come?
Perhaps to vent, perhaps driven by deep-seated anger.
Akainu possessed immense power, and his personality allowed even pirates to exploit it.
Any power could be wielded by him.
But there was one power, only that power, he refused to use.
Because it belonged to that man, he thought obsessively.
Using it would mean true defeat. Perhaps that man had never even noticed him!
Like a mere insect.
Feeling this deeply, he was furious but helpless.
The more this happened, the angrier he became.
He was far too weak!
(End of this chapter)