Chapter 521

Chapter 521: Manifestation of Dragon Energy

The Dragon Energy token served as the sole proof of qualification for Black Dragon warriors.

From the moment of obtaining this token, each warrior theoretically gained a key to enter the Dark Dragon City. Yet whether this key could actually be used depended entirely on whether its holder proved worthy of being teleported to the City’s entrance.

Initially, all warriors’ condensed Dragon Energy tokens appeared black iron in color.

Midi soon noticed his internal Dragon Energy resonating with the token, which rapidly absorbed the energy. This Dragon Energy had been implanted through a secret ritual when leaving Mososbury City.

Midi had received 40% of Mososbury’s five-year Dragon Energy reserve, combined with strands from the Wolfspider tribe and Crystal Dragon Fortress fragment – forming a chaotic black mass. Now this chaotic energy activated spontaneously, flowing like water into his token.

As absorption continued, Midi’s token shifted from black to bronze, then toward pale silver. When nearly silver, his Dragon Energy reserves finally depleted.

"A near-silver token! You’ve had prior Dragon Energy exposure, Midi?" The Death Scorpion Family Head reappeared at camp with Veyna, the Black Dragon High Priest. Though both showed lingering fatigue, the Family Head’s eyes sharpened at the sight.

Ignoring the question, Midi asked instead: "Do these tokens have levels?"

"Indeed. Their contained Dragon Energy determines rankings," the Family Head explained. Per competition rules established by King Bacal of the Tyrant Dragon, five token types existed:

Black Iron (lowest)

Bronze

Silver

Gold

Dragon’s Tooth (highest)

All Black Dragon warriors generated black iron tokens during the blood oath. These immediately absorbed pre-stored Dragon Energy to advance.

As Mososbury ranked among top factions and Midi held 40% of its reserves, his token ascended directly to near-silver. Comparatively, Thor and Alexis held bronze tokens – Thor with 30% allocation, Alexis through deliberate collection.

Loki of Death Scorpion carried a "near-bronze" token. Mason, Zaknavan and Risen’s unchanged tokens showed no Dragon Energy infusion.

By token standards alone, Midi led. Yet outside camp, he immediately spotted superior examples – Ingman and Lilian from Blue Lake City already wielded true silver tokens emitting faint radiance.

And the token of the "Ice Queen" Catherine shone with golden light, clearly a gold token!

Just as the Head of the Death Scorpion Family had told Midi, these Dragon Energy tokens represented rankings – the amount of Dragon Energy determined who could enter the Dark Dragon City.

Remember, five hundred Black Dragon warriors joined the Black Dragon Conference.

Only one hundred would enter the Dark Dragon City.

Eighty percent faced elimination, showing how fierce this competition was.

Starting with higher rankings gave warriors an early advantage. Midi’s near-silver token stood out among all participants, practically guaranteeing his current qualification.

But final rankings wouldn’t depend on starting positions. Everything hinged on battles and stealing Dragon Energy.

The rules were straightforward:

Winners took one-third of their opponent’s Dragon Energy in duels.

Winning streaks earned bonus Dragon Energy from the dragon’s shadow.

But here’s the catch – the more Dragon Energy you had, the riskier later battles became. Still, the system stopped people from ganging up on strong fighters. The dragon’s shadow itself chose matchups, with even temple heads forbidden from interfering.

To keep things fair:

Every warrior got one chance to directly challenge any opponent.

Warriors challenged three times daily could refuse further fights.

This balance let underdogs score big while protecting top fighters from endless harassment.

The competition wouldn’t last forever. When five Dragon’s Tooth tokens appeared, rankings would finalize. The top hundred warriors would become True Dragon warriors when the fifth token emerged, eliminating everyone else.

These rules burned themselves into Midi’s mind through his token. The Death Scorpion family head shared battle tips nearby – how to pick opponents when challenged multiple times, when to use that precious challenge opportunity.

One hour later, the dragon’s shadow boomed:

"Go to your numbered arenas."

Crushing pressure accompanied the command. Midi checked his token. "Arena 3?" He stood, noticing warriors from all regions now mixed and redistributed across five arenas.

Each arena had one Child of Dragon as reigning champion. Arena 3’s ruler? The "Ice Queen" Catherine herself.

"The first match, number 317 versus number 300." The dragon’s shadow announced.

Number 300 naturally referred to Catherine herself.

Number 317 was an unfamiliar Black Dragon warrior from another region – someone Midi had never seen before.

This warrior had reached level 67 with small success, ranking as a top elite in any region. Yet his terrible luck pitted him against a Child of the Dragon from the very start.

"Not just bad luck!" someone observed. "Winning would let him seize one-third Dragon Energy from that gold token without wasting his Named Challenge chance! Huge risk, but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Every Black Dragon warrior was an elite who’d crawled through the Sea of Blood. None would retreat simply because their opponent outleveled them.

Many actually itched for a chance, covetous eyes locked on the gold token in the Ice Queen’s hand.

If spectators understood this, the warrior on Arena 3 certainly did. Unless surrendering outright, he had no choices.

"Let me test the Child of the Dragon’s power!" The warrior roared, charging forward.

"Foolish." Catherine’s ice-blue eyes flashed with anger and contempt.

These warriors dared treat her as Dragon Energy prey, their hungry gazes violating her personal space – pushing the cleanliness-obsessed Ice Queen to her limit.

Her retaliation came swift and brutal.

Ice Mage skill: Realm of Ice.

While ordinary Ice Mages could freeze several hundred meters, Catherine’s attack iced half of the 1-square-kilometer Arena 3 instantly.

Blinding white dominated everyone’s vision – warriors below and audience in stands alike.

Within this frozen expanse stood a single bump.

The level 67 challenger.

Lucky to survive the wide-range attack, he now existed as a human-shaped ice block – alive but crippled.

One casual strike had annihilated a level 67 expert. Such was the Children of the Dragon’s power.

Dead silence fell. Those who’d clamored about stealing Dragon Energy now shut their mouths, heads bowed to avoid Catherine’s notice.

"With such pitiful strength and nerve, you dare face me?" Catherine sneered at the cowering warriors, pleased with her intimidation.

Then she froze.

Amidst the crowd, one warrior remained unfazed.

Not even watching the battle, he sat meditating in a corner – absorbing fifth-level magic and Dragon Breath like he’d come solely for cultivation rather than the Black Dragon Conference.

That man was Midi Asreks.