As dusk fell and the stars began to twirl across the sky, Garon had already been in the floating city for some time.
During this period, in his communications with the master of the city, he learned the name of the floating city and its female arcane mage.
The female grand arcane mage, whose biological level had reached twenty-nine, was named Xialie.
As for the floating city she created, it was directly named after her—Xialie Floating City. In the Naseriel Empire, floating cities were often named after grand arcane mages.
"Your Excellency, I still do not know your name," the female arcane mage turned and looked at the imposing silver dragon with a robust physique.
Garon's expression remained calm as he replied, "You might have heard of me, Garon Aurelian."
He believed that many arcane mages would remember his trace and that it would be passed down within the Naseriel Empire.
The female arcane mage looked puzzled, shook her head, and said, "I apologize, this is the first time I have heard this name."
After finishing her words, she looked at Garon's physique and, after a moment of thought, her eyes showed a hint of recognition and she said, "I have never heard your real name, but I think I have heard of the legends about you, and the honorific titles the people have for you."
Initially, the female arcane mage did not know Garon's identity.
However, as time passed, she felt that Garon looked familiar.
After careful thought, Xialie remembered why she found Garon familiar. She had heard from the creators of Naseriel, those elder grand arcane mages, about a colossal dragon covered in black scales with silver armor, who was the companion of the king of arcane mages and the primary cause of the ancient Guimascar Empire's destruction.
Though this dragon had disappeared for a thousand years, the grand arcane mages of Ferun had not forgotten him.
"The Silver Calamity, the Dragon of Empire's Demise,"
When Xialie mentioned the nickname by which Garon was known in this world with a smile, Garon raised his dragon claw, interrupting her.
"You have disappeared for over a thousand years, returning to Ferun now, is there something you need to handle?"
Xialie expressed goodwill, saying, "After all, I am a grand arcane mage, perhaps I can be of help."
A dragon, whose power even this grand arcane mage found unfathomable and who might have stepped into the realm of demigods, would not be foolishly provoked by any creature. Thinking of how to establish a friendly connection was the correct approach.
Xialie seemed calm on the surface, but it was a composure developed from living through numerous tribulations over hundreds of years.
In reality, when near Garon, she felt immense pressure.
Although Garon did not emit any threatening dragon's might, Xialie still felt like her life was not in her own hands, that if he wished, she would be powerless to resist.
This feeling last occurred when she had consulted the king of arcane mages and met the founder of the Naseriel magic empire.
After hearing Xialie's words, Garon straightforwardly asked, "In the current Naseriel Empire, is there a grand arcane mage named Kelsas?"
Xialie shook her head decisively, stating, "No."
"As a member of the Naseriel Empire, I know the names of every grand arcane mage, but there is no one named Kelsas."
The Naseriel Empire was a confederation of grand arcane mages.
The standard for a grand arcane mage was not just legendary-level power.
A grand arcane mage must be able to independently create a floating city and personally manufacture the core of a magic net, master spells like the eternity spell, mountain cleaving spell, gravity reversal spell, and be able to maintain the operation of a floating city independently.
Whenever a new floating city was crafted, signaling the rise of a new grand arcane mage, other grand arcane mages would go and offer their congratulations, celebrating another addition to the Naseriel Empire.
"Kelsas? Who is this that has caught your attention?" Xialie asked curiously.
Garon shook his head slightly, giving no reply.
This grand arcane mage, who had developed the ascension technique, might not have yet matured or even been born.
However, Garon was not in a hurry.
The timeline here in Ferun differed significantly from the main timeline in terms of flow speed; he could afford to wait patiently for some time.
Moreover, his visit to Ferun was not solely for the ascension technique.
The Naseriel magic empire, which had developed to a dazzlingly brilliant stage, with thousands of grand arcane mages having developed many powerful and useful spells, was a rich resource. Garon's own ability to create spells was not great, but he was quick to learn existing spells developed by others.
Apart from the ascension technique, Garon also intended to collect a vast array of Naseriel's legendary spells.
"Xialie, I am collecting legendary spells."
"If you could make a copy of the spells you possess for me, in exchange, I will give you treasures of sufficient value."
Xialie smiled slightly, saying, "Of course, but there's no need for any payment."
"We grand arcane mages of Naseriel often exchange spells, which is one of the reasons for Naseriel's prosperity."
"You are a friend of the king of arcane mages, which makes you a friend of all grand arcane mages."
After hearing Xialie's reasoning, Garon nodded without hesitation, saying, "In that case, I will not be polite."
As a dragon, when others indicate they do not need his treasures, Garon certainly would not insist.
Moreover, he harbored thoughts of altering the doomed fate of the Naseriel Empire.
Thus, it seemed only natural to accept some benefits from Naseriel's grand arcane mages.
However, the downfall of Naseriel was the trend of the era.
Garon knew that changing its fate would not be an easy task, but he still wanted to try and create a new timeline where the Naseriel Empire was not destroyed and the arcane realm continued to develop.
In this way, he could also continuously acquire new spells through his relationships with the Naseriel arcane mages.
Xialie readily provided Garon with some of the legendary spells commonly used by grand arcane mages.
In the prosperous arcane realm of Naseriel, spells were not considered particularly rare; Xialie had many spells in her possession that she had not been able to learn, obtained from other grand arcane mages.
Garon looked down at the crystals in his dragon claw and nodded slightly.
In Naseriel at this time, spells were no longer recorded in thick books but were encoded in crystals with runes, spell models, and magic circuits, allowing for better absorption of knowledge and learning of spells using mental power.
At the same time, Garon closed his eyes, and his mental power swept across these spell crystals.
Eternal Sun.
God's Fortress.
Extinction Array.
World Weaving.
Steel Canopy.
Dimensional Slaughter.
Garon opened his eyes, having gained a certain understanding of these spells.
Most of them were tenth-ring spells, with several eleventh-ring spells, and only one twelfth
-ring spell, World Weaving.
This twelfth-ring spell had no direct destructive effects.
Its effect, as its name suggests, was to weave the world, a powerful spell capable of significantly and extensively modifying the world's environment to match the caster's desires.
"To learn all these spells will probably take a long time."
"But what I have most is time."
Garon then stored all the spell crystals away.
This was just the beginning; he would also take the time to visit other floating cities later, aiming to acquire more powerful spells of various effects.
Meanwhile.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in Xialie Floating City.
Garon lowered his gaze toward a street.
He saw hundreds of arcane mages of varying power levels gathered on a street at the edge of the floating city.
They appeared excited and then, one by one, mounted something similar to magical flying wheels, leaving the floating city and diving towards the ground.
Xialie followed Garon's gaze and looked over.
She smiled slightly and said, "This is a recreational activity for the arcane mages in their free time."
"If you're interested, I can take you to see it. How about it?"
The continuous wars with the elves had tired Garon, and since he was not in a hurry to find Kelsas, he nodded in agreement, wanting to see how the Naseriel arcane mages entertained themselves.
At this point, Garon had lost much interest in many things.
Soon after, Xialie cast a spell to conceal both their forms and auras to avoid startling the ordinary arcane mages and spoiling their fun.
Time quietly passed by.
Under the star-filled night sky, the group of arcane mages quickly descended from the sky and appeared in a mountain range, their eyes shining brightly as they looked at the mountains shrouded in darkness.
It seemed they were searching for something.
Soon, an arcane mage licked his lips, wrapped in elemental brilliance, and rapidly swooped down into the forest at a specific location.
What happened next made Garon frown.
Under his watchful eyes, these arcane mages who had left the floating city were actually searching the mountain range for some hidden tribal creatures and then using their favorite spells to begin hunting, with some mages clearly using these creatures as targets to practice their spells, which became quickly proficient after repeated use.
If it were just that, Garon would not be surprised.
However, he noticed that when some arcane mages found small human villages, they showed no mercy and used spells to burn both people and villages to ashes.
In their eyes, the humans living on the ground seemed no different from other ferocious species, magical beasts, and the like.
"Are these not Naseriel's subjects?"
Garon looked at Xialie.
Xialie still had a smile on her face as she said, "They are just some non-magic-wielding commoners, worthless. The true citizens of the Naseriel Empire are only the arcane mages."
The grand arcane mage's casual words revealed a cruel and haughty disdain.
Garon shook his head slightly.
Suddenly, he felt that such a Naseriel Empire might not be worth the effort to save.
In Garon's view, no matter how strong the arcane mages were, they were still human, but they seemed to no longer consider themselves so; they viewed themselves as a different kind of creature.
As a dragon, Garon felt that these arcane mages' worldview was somewhat twisted.
Even the most evil dragons would not entertain themselves by slaughtering their own kind.
A thousand years ago, although arcane mages were arrogant, they still lived with ordinary people on the surface, but after leaving the crowd to ascend into the sky and looking down from above, and after a thousand years of development and evolution, arcane mages almost no longer considered themselves human, or rather, they did not regard non-arcane mages as humans.
"Is Iolium still alive?"
He said to Xialie.
Xialie nodded, her expression respectful, and said, "Of course, Iolium is the guardian god of our Naseriel Empire, having lived through thousands of years, now with unfathomable power."
Iolium had taught a great number of his developed spells in Naseriel.
Moreover, he had imparted these spells to other arcane mages without charge.
Therefore, many grand arcane mages respectfully call Iolium "teacher" to express their respect.
Grand arcane mages are very proud, but they still have enough respect for the heroic figure who personally led Naseriel to its glorious moments.
"However, he has been secluded in his floating city for a long time now, and has not shown himself for over three hundred years," Xialie added.
"Give me the coordinates of Iolium's floating city; I need to see this friend," Garon said in a low voice.
Xialie paused for a moment, then said, "You can stay here with me for a while longer; it won't be too late to find him after Teacher Iolium ends his seclusion."
To a grand arcane mage with the art of immortality, the passage of time is not particularly sensitive.
Garon shook his head, declining Xialie's invitation to stay.
After locking in the coordinates, Garon did not use spatial teleportation this time.
His gaze narrowing, he invoked the river of time with his dragon claw.
Amid the ripples rising from the river of time, the massive figure of the silver dragon disappeared without causing any spatial disturbances.
Time teleportation.
A capability learned from the time deities.
After more than two years of practical use against the elves, Garon had already mastered it.
At the same time, the river of time surged, swiftly transporting Garon to the designated location.
Under the night sky, the silver dragon's form solidified from the temporal river, bathed in moonlight, appearing near a floating city far larger than Xialie Floating City.
Garon looked toward the floating city in view.
Countless mage towers and arcane mages' buildings filled with personal styles were everywhere, magical runes flowed between every inch of stone in the floating city, emitting a dazzling elemental glow.
This city floating in the sky looked like a magical beast forged from steel and rock under the night sky.
This was Iolium Floating City.
Also known as the City of Beginnings, it marked the rise of the Naseriel Empire and was a sacred place coveted by many arcane mages. Those who could live in this floating city were elite figures among arcane mages.
Garon planned to knock on the door using his dragon might.
Unexpectedly, before he could release his dragon might, the floating city's mystic barrier suddenly flickered and automatically opened a gap.
Elemental energy gathered and formed the likeness of Iolium in front of Garon.
The grand arcane mage, whose appearance and eyes had not changed at all, smiled as he looked at the impressive silver dragon and said, "Garon, my friend, seeing you again after a thousand years is the only thing that has made me happy in recent years."
Garon narrowed his eyes, assessing Iolium, and said, "It seems you knew I would come."
As Garon watched, Iolium raised his hand, causing subtle ripples in the river of time.
With a gentle expression, he said, "The day you left the Ferun world, I saw a special power in you, and thereafter
, I began to study the magic of time, achieving some results to this day."
"I saw that you would arrive today, so I left the spell tower to greet you."
Around Iolium, Garon could sense the flow of time's power.
Although still far inferior to his own, it was indeed the power of time.
As for this grand arcane mage's current biological level, Garon noted that like himself, Iolium had stepped into the realm of demigods, with a biological level of forty-three, slightly lower than Garon's but equally impressive.
"Time magic. We can have a good discussion about it," Garon said to Iolium.
Those with time deities, creatures like time aberrations, and time magic can all similarly influence the river of time to some extent and wield the power of time.
Garon never believed that the power of time belonged solely to him.
He was a favorite of the river of time but not its only one.
However, his goal was one day to harness all the power of time for himself.
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