Chapter 137: Preparations
In the courtyard, tinted golden by the dawn's early light, inside the stone hall where Muria resided, three ferociously shaped red dragons with bright red scales and a stark white dragon radiating a fierce chill surrounded a white tiger with wings sprouting from its back.
Beside them, a youthful-looking "woman" with a slender figure and a gentle demeanor quietly observed the white tiger, or more precisely, she was watching the black-haired, golden-eyed child lying on the tiger's soft, snowy belly, breathing steadily in sleep.
"Muria," one of the red dragons called softly, her tone laced with worry. By this time, Muria would usually have been up and practicing martial arts; there was no need to call him.
"Let him sleep," the white dragon Claudia intervened just as Muria showed no sign of waking and the little red dragon Renata was about to call out again.
"But..." Renata began to protest, but Claudia cut her off once more.
"Cassio, if I'm not mistaken, Muria has entered a period of deep sleep, right? His adolescent dragon phase is almost at its end."
"Yes!" Cassio nodded, her brows slightly furrowed. "Although Muria possesses dragon blood and many of the dragon's traits, he also carries half of a titan's bloodline. Ideally, he could resist the influence of his dragon blood through sheer willpower, bypassing the need for sleep to advance directly to the soul intent stage and into his teenage dragon years."
"But he's already asleep. Should we wake him?" Jessica, the red dragon, intrigued by Cassio's words, knew all too well how annoying it was to be woken from a deep sleep.
"Let nature take its course," Cassio responded coolly.
"Oh," said Cynthia, the little red dragon, somewhat disappointed, as she lay down sulkily.
Just then, Muria, who had been sleeping soundly, silently opened his eyes. His body rose into the air, leaving the body of the white tiger Troy, and landed on the ground under the watchful eyes of the four little female dragons.
"Muria, you're awake!" Renata exclaimed with a hint of surprise upon seeing Muria regain consciousness.
However, Muria did not respond to her immediately. The black-haired, golden-eyed child scanned the great hall—his nighttime meditation and daytime spell and formation study area, adorned quite uniquely.
The walls were hung with various weapons—swords, spears, axes, halberds, and more, all gleaming coldly. The floor was cluttered with stacks of books arranged neatly into mountains, making the stone hall seem crowded.
"Muria," Renata called again nervously, not having received a response.
"Hmm," Muria finally replied, "I need to enter a period of deep sleep. It won't be very long, but it won't be brief either."
"Cassio said you could resist the influence of your dragon blood through willpower and avoid the deep sleep," Claudia spoke up.
"I can't do that," Muria shook his head. His bloodline, infused with a drop of Dragon King's primal blood, was even purer than that of ancestral dragons, making it difficult to resist its influence.
"However," Muria paused, "although I can't prevent myself from entering deep sleep, I can shorten its duration. This time, it could be up to two years or as little as one before I awaken."
"That short?" Jessica, with disappointment in her fiery golden eyes, had hoped for a longer break from Muria's demanding presence, as life under his strict regime was tough for the dragons.
"It's not short. That length of time is enough for you to learn more than ten five-circle spells," Muria said, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. He could have slipped directly into sleep, but for the sake of the dragons, he forced himself awake.
"Learn spells?" Muria's words caused the three little female dragons to stiffen, a sense of foreboding rising, while Claudia, sitting beside them, flicked her tail indifferently.
"Yes, did you think you wouldn't have to do anything during such a long period of sleep?" Muria retorted. "I woke up specifically to arrange a study schedule for you lot."
"No, Muria!" Cynthia cried out, then glared at Renata together with Jessica.
... Eventually, Muria, ignoring the dragons' pleas, assigned them a "reasonable" amount of magical tasks. Then, he went down to the palaces where the five-color dragons resided, giving each dragon a tailored workload according to their capabilities.
Finally, amidst many "grievous" stares from the multi-colored dragons, Muria returned to the mountaintop courtyard.
Upon entering, he collapsed on the ground under the watchful eyes of several dragons. Then, brilliant spiritual light emerged around him, rapidly expanding and transforming
him into a forty-meter-tall titan with a robust physique.
But his transformation didn't stop there; atop the forehead of this perfectly proportioned giant figure, six sinuous dragon horns emerged. A pair of golden feather-like scaled wings stretched from his back, and a thorn-covered dragon tail with a diamond-shaped tip curled around Muria's legs.
"Muria!" Troy, the white tiger in the stone hall, cried out, his body low as he swooped toward Muria, but as he attempted to draw close, a pale golden light spilled from Muria's body, preventing any approach.
"He is truly entering his deep sleep phase now," Cassio's ethereal form coalesced near Muria, through whom the scenery on the other side could be seen.
"What's going on with him?" the big cat asked, puzzled. It had seen Muria's dragon-titan form, which was very similar to his current appearance, but not exactly like this.
"This is how Muria looked when he was first born, his original form," Cassio explained.
After explaining, Cassio, ignoring Troy's slight daze, used her authority to transfer Muria to the grand hall where the Pool of Life was located. She submerged his gigantic body into the tranquil waters, which resembled a vast emerald.
Then, above the Life Pool, Cassio activated a massive teleportation circle. Red fire elemental crystals, purple lightning elemental crystals, and sky-blue wind elemental crystals rained down into the pool like a torrential downpour, causing water to splash and ripples to spread.