In this world, Humans and the Dragon Clan represented two extremes.
Humans were exceedingly weak. In the natural world, almost most ferocious beasts could inflict fatal injuries upon humans.
The Dragon Clan, on the other hand, was the polar opposite. They were almost at the pinnacle of the food chain—besides the Dragons themselves, there were hardly any opponents for them.
But when Humans combined with the Dragon Clan, things changed.
The Dragon Clan possessed a mysterious force known as Dragon Power, which the clan typically only used to produce breath. However, humans had turned this power into two completely different combat methods.
Fighting Aura and Mana.
From these emerged two fundamentally different types of Dragon Knights.
Dragon Riders and Dragon Mages.
These two powers far surpassed the strength of the Dragon Clan itself.
And naturally, these powers weren't something that just any passerby could learn.
Hence the creation of the Dragon Knight Academy.
Long Yi had been to the Dragon Knight Academy before, but with each visit, he couldn't help but marvel at its magnitude.
The entire Dragon Knight Academy was a massive city that also included several mountains, a few basins, and vast plains facing the sea.
Only a space this vast could cultivate the most powerful Dragon Knights.
Long Yi and Bajie stood at the main entrance of the Dragon Knight Academy, staring dumbfounded at the gigantic statues to the left and right of the gate. Each statue stood a hundred meters tall, seemingly carved from one solid piece of rock. To the left was a heavily armored Dragon Knight with both hands resting on a colossal Dragon-slaying Sword, gazing into the distance. To the right stood the White Dragon, so finely detailed that each scale seemed to come to life. The eyes of both the White Dragon and the Dragon Knight gazed into the sky, filled with a look of disdain for the world below.
"So majestic, so spectacular," Long Yi sincerely admired.
"Ao——" The chubby Bajie beside him also cried out, agreeing with Long Yi.
The period was the start of the school year. Those who qualified to come to the Dragon Knight Academy were either rich or noble or were exceptionally talented. Such people couldn't possibly be shortsighted. Therefore, when they saw this human-dragon pair standing at the door and expressing their amazement, some sarcastic remarks inevitably followed.
"A dimwit and a stupid, fat dragon. Are these two here to visit the Dragon Knight Academy from the countryside?" a voice came, obviously not bothering to lower its volume. The owner of the voice didn't care if Long Yi heard his words.
"Ha ha, look at that fat dragon; it's so fat it can hardly stand, and it even has such a big package on its back. Could it be full of food?"
Another voice responded.
At that moment, Long Yi wore a suit of very plain grey hemp clothes, and the fat dragon carried a huge package on his back. Wealthy people usually had some kind of spatial equipment, fashioned into rings, bracelets, or pendants. Carrying a large package was, naturally, a sure sign of a pauper.
Long Yi turned around to look at the two speakers not far behind him—one fat and the other skinny. The pairing was rather amusing.
The two glared viciously when they saw Long Yi looking at them. A bodyguard by their side immediately stepped forward, warning Long Yi with a glare to stay away.
Long Yi, seeing this, gave a very sincere smile and turned his head back. The fat dragon also foolishly laughed and turned around.
"Useless bumpkin!"
The fat man couldn't help but snort contemptuously at Long Yi. Long Yi was a full head taller than the fat man and built like he was made of iron, yet he appeared so cowardly.
However, Long Yi didn't care. In his eyes, this fat man didn't even possess a hint of combat ability. The bodyguard beside him seemed less like a bodyguard and more like a menial worker. That bunch, with their combat abilities barely reaching level five, it was questionable if they could withstand a single punch from Long Yi.
The skinny guy was quite interesting, though, with a reasonable level of Dragon Fighting Aura. In this world, one typically couldn't tap into Dragon Fighting Aura until the age of eighteen. If you were younger than eighteen, you either had a unique talent or your family had nurtured you.
Long Yi was innately talented, whereas these two were certainly nurtured by their family.
Deep down, Long Yi was as proud as the Dragon Clan.
Perched on the skinny one's shoulder was a dragon that was as skinny as a palm and looked a little listless, yet its small eyes gleamed with malice, focusing intently on Bajie by Long Yi's side.
That was a Nine Mosquito Dragon, true to its name, this type of dragon was no bigger than nine mosquitoes when born, and even fully grown, it was only two feet long. Although not large, it was extremely fierce, especially when bound by a contract with a human, it could greatly enhance the person's speed to an astonishing degree.
Long Yi paid no attention to the fat and skinny duo; he and his dragon leisurely walked into the Dragon Knight Academy. As they approached the gate's statues, the eyes of the two giant statues suddenly burst into a dazzling light. Moments later, a ring of jade appeared around Long Yi's wrist and on Bajie's neck.
This was proof of entrance into the Dragon Knight Academy.
Long Yi was startled at first, then looked at his wrist and then Bajie's neck. He patted Bajie, who was beside him, "Bro, look at this luster, it's much nicer than yours."
Bajie grimaced and howled, his eyes full of scorn.
The fat man behind them was completely stunned; he had not anticipated that this pair of simple country bumpkins would be new students at the Dragon Knight Academy this year!
"The Dean of the Dragon Knight Academy is really letting standards slip, aren't they? How come they're letting in every idiot?"
The pudgy one expressed his dissatisfaction.
"Ha-ha, big brother, you just don't get it, do you? If it weren't for these idiots, how could they set off our own heroic grandeur?"
The skinny one laughed heartily.
Hearing this, the pudgy one's face broke into a smile, and the two complimented each other as they entered the Dragon Knight Academy. When passing by a statue, white jade rings appeared on their wrists as well.
The academy's plaza was teeming with people at the time. Although the Dragon Knight Academy only admitted a mere few hundred students each year, the number of people escorting these new students was ten or even dozens of times that. The Dragon Knight Academy was the top institution of the White Dragon Empire after all; those who managed to get in either had great talent or great wealth. With so much attention, how could there be a lack of people?
Long Yi pushed through the crowd, relying on his sizable frame and brute strength to navigate with ease. However, Bajie was having a much harder time. He was already quite portly and the big package releasing the scent of meat he carried made maneuvering even more difficult.
Long Yi's face was plastered with a sheepish grin as he apologized his way through the crowd saying sorry and excuse me. Bajie, meanwhile, stretched his big mouth into a fawning smile, though his mouthful of sharp teeth somewhat ruined the effect.
Most people capable of entering the Dragon Knight Academy also possessed a certain degree of restraint. So even though some were annoyed, no one made any remarks. Long Yi quickly squeezed to the front where five large tents had been temporarily set up for all the new students to take their re-examination.
The Dragon Knight Academy was of paramount importance to the Empire, and becoming a Dragon Knight would naturally elevate one's status. Therefore, it was difficult to rule out those who might try to sneak in under false pretenses.
At that moment, the person who looked most like he was trying to sneak by was standing quietly at the end of the line. Each of the qualified Dragon Knight candidates standing there owned a dragon. Whether large or small, beautiful or ugly, these dragons and their riders would soon become the cutting edge of the Empire.
"Bajie, look, that one there is a Butterfly Dragon! Look at its wings, they're so beautiful."
"Ao—"
"Goodness, look over there, that's a Cloud Dragon! It's surrounded by mist and has the air of an immortal."
"Ao-ao—"
"Eh? Is that a Mud Dragon over there? What a lifelike camouflage!"
"Ao..."
Long Yi appeared as a country bumpkin who'd never seen the world, gaping in wonder at the dragons around him. Bajie, although a dragon himself, imitated Long Yi's expressions and put on a similarly astonished act.
In fact,
Long Yi truly was a country bumpkin from a small town, with an understanding of dragons limited to what he read in books. His only friend was Bajie, and he had never seen so many dragons before. As for Bajie, the first thing it saw upon opening its eyes at birth was Long Yi, so naturally, it had never seen so many of its kind either. Although dragon memory was inherited, Bajie, still a young dragon, had yet to unlock much of its memory.
So, two unsophisticated country bumpkins like this were making a grand display of their ignorance to everyone around them.
"Hey, dummy, can you keep it down for a bit? If you must make a fool of yourself, don't do it in front of me, okay? If people didn't know better, they'd think we were together."
A familiar voice came from behind, and as Long Yi turned and looked down, he saw it was the pudgy one from before with the skinny one smirking coldly behind him.
"Oh, don't worry, big brother, I definitely won't drag you down!"
Long Yi grinned, a picture of simplicity. The pudgy one nodded, thinking that, although not particularly bright, this big lug seemed to know how to behave properly.
But just then, Long Yi opened his mouth and bellowed in a voice grating as a broken gong: "Attention everyone! I do not know this pudgy guy! Really, I don't! We have absolutely no connection! I really don't know anything about him!"
The pudgy one was utterly stunned; he could never have imagined Long Yi would do such a thing, and after the shout, Long Yi still had that simple, honest face as he leaned close to the pudgy one.
"I did the right thing, didn't I, big brother?"
This jerk! He's playing me!
The pudgy one's teeth itched in anger, and people were now looking at him with a peculiar feeling, as if he had just committed some awful crime. The skinny one's gaze grew even colder as he stepped forward and grabbed Long Yi's wrist, saying, "Brother, no need to shout that loud; it's rude to disturb others."
As he spoke, a cold Fighting Aura emerged from the palm of his hand, aiming straight for Long Yi's wrist. However, Long Yi seemed unaware, still with the innocent look of a straightforward person on his face, "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, big brother. I promise I won't shout anymore."
The skinny one smiled coldly, nodding. But soon, he began to feel puzzled. His Nine Mosquito Dragon Fighting Aura had a characteristic effect; anyone wounded by it would feel unbearably itchy all over, and a high rank's Nine Mosquito Dragon Fighting Aura could even make one tear their own skin!
But this simple-looking country kid before him displayed no reaction at all.
Dull?
As he wondered, the skinny one surreptitiously increased the flow of Fighting Aura, but Long Yi just let out a big lazy yawn!
"Who exactly are you?"
The skinny one withdrew his hand, asking in a cold, lowered voice.
"Me?" Long Yi chuckled, his expression more guileless than ever. "I'm an aspiring Dragon Knight who's a blacksmith."