Chapter 56: The Spring of the Dragon Clan

"Your Highness, six dragons have awakened in the Dragon Fortress, and two of them are insisting on seeing you," reported a storm giant from the Dragon Fortress, while Muria was enjoying a grand musical performance by the cloud giants and storm giants at the White Jade Palace.

"What kind of dragons? Red dragons?"

"Two female red dragons."

"I see," Muria nodded, instructing the storm giant, "Let those two come to the White Jade Palace to find me. If the other four red dragons wish, let them come along as well."

The White Jade Palace was regarded as a sacred place by dragons, with the exception of Claudia, the white dragon variant. No dragon on Taiji Island would refuse an invitation to the palace.

Thus, Muria soon saw six dragons with bright red scales, ranging in length from twenty-four to twenty-seven meters, at the entrance of the grand hall.

"If any of you dare touch anything here, I'll flay your scales and skin," Muria's voice rang out calmly as the adolescent dragons were still settling down, instilling immediate caution in them.

"Heh," several dragons chuckled nervously, retracting their claws that had reached out curiously. They took Muria's warning seriously, knowing he meant what he said.

"Notify all the giants in the White Jade Palace that if they see any dragon attempting to steal, they should report it to me immediately," Muria commanded with a smile, fixing his gaze on the six red dragons. "I will make sure they understand the price of stealing from me."

"As you command, Your Highness." As soon as the order was given, giants moved out to enforce it.

"Hey, Muria, don't be like that," one of the dragons said anxiously upon hearing the command. The palace was filled with giants, and this decree would make it impossible for them to "borrow" a little wealth.

"What's wrong, Jessica? Planning to steal from me?" Muria stared at the teenage dragon who had spoken.

"Heh, Muria, you have so much gold and gems that you can't possibly miss a little," Jessica brazenly said.

"Try touching my things, and see if I don't live up to my word."

"I won't touch anything, okay!" Jessica eyed the fifteen towering storm giants standing guard in the hall, her tone a mix of dissatisfaction and fear.

"Hmm!" Muria, sitting above, looked down at the six fierce-looking red dragons and frowned, "Transform into human form, please. Unless it's for battle, try to stay in human form as much as possible."

Hearing Muria's command, the six red dragons used their transformation magic. After over a decade, even Austin, with his modest magical talent, had mastered this skill—now, even the weakest of them was a top predator.

Thus, three handsome young men and three beautiful young women, all appearing around thirteen or fourteen years old, materialized in the hall. The young men were brimming with youthful vigor, and the young women were dazzlingly beautiful. Such was the allure of the dragonkin; even in human form, their appearance was exceptionally striking.

Muria looked down at the tall young dragons and the curvy young dragon girls, silently relieved he preferred his Titan form—his human form was far too juvenile compared to these dragons.

"Find yourselves seats," Muria gestured to the six red dragons, "and shortly, a group of mermaids will perform a dance they've just learned. It should be entertaining for you."

"Mermaids dancing?" Renata looked puzzled, unable to comprehend how these semi-aquatic creatures could perform dances.

"Yes, mermaid dances are quite exquisite. I could watch them all day; they're perfect for passing the time."

As the six human-formed red dragons settled down, Muria signaled to a storm giant. The giant approached, ready to carry out any further orders.

"Tell the sirens they don't need to sing for me today. Their voices are beyond what these dragons can appreciate. Have the mermaids prepare; they will perform the dance they learned three days ago."

The storm giant glanced at the six red dragons, who were now eagerly inspecting the palace's decorations, and quietly affirmed the order before stepping out to arrange the mermaids' performance.

"How do you like it?" Muria asked, sipping some fruit wine prepared by a cloud giant chef, gesturing towards the nine mermaids who were dancing gracefully without their tails.

"Very nice!" Andre wiped the drool from his mouth, his eyes fixed on the mermaids' exposed skin, thoroughly impressed.

"Very good!"

"Such beautiful mermaids!" Austin and Albert, the other young male dragons, also stared fixedly, barely more composed than Andre.

"What's so good about that?" Cynthia, with her fiery hair and red eyes, muttered in disapproval as she watched her brothers embarrass themselves.

"Exactly! Muria is much more handsome," Renata agreed, her focus not shifting from Muria.

"Hey, are you thinking of having eggs with Muria?" Cynthia turned to Renata with a suspicious look.

"No, I've never thought about that," Renata, blushing, quickly denied.

"Really?" Cynthia's suspicion only grew upon seeing Renata's reaction, "You've been hanging around him since he was asleep. I guess you fell for him back then, which is incredible considering you were just a young dragon."

"I didn't." Renata felt wronged by the accusation.

"Cynthia, stop teasing Renata. I think you're the one who wants to have eggs with Muria," Jessica interjected, unable to watch Cynthia tease Renata any longer.

"Right, I do want to have eggs with Muria," Cynthia admitted without hesitation, embodying the bold spirit of a true red dragon.

"When did you start thinking that?" Jessica was shocked by the confession.

"Just after I woke up."

"You're in heat!" Jessica looked helplessly at her sister, "Why Muria?"

"Nonsense, you've seen Muria's dragon form. He's so large, so majestic," Cynthia gestured around, "And he's wealthy, which makes him an ideal mate."

Jessica considered Cynthia's words, looking around and then realizing, "I've decided, I want to have eggs with Muria too, and be his mate."

"But we are chromatic dragons, inherently evil, and Muria, though not a gold dragon, carries half gold dragon blood. We aren't suitable," Renata weakly interjected.

"Renata, don't compare us to those fools outside," Cynthia frowned, "We're not like those dragons who only know destruction."

"Exactly," Jessica agreed, "We might be chromatic dragons, but we haven't done anything evil. We can be mates with Muria."

"We are true dragons of fire, as are gold dragons. Titans control wind and thunder, so there's no elemental conflict. We can certainly have eggs with Muria," Cynthia added.

"But Muria is still a young dragon, even if you want to and he agrees, you can't have eggs now," Renata spoke up again.

"We are true dragons; we have time. We can wait for Muria to grow up," Jessica responded.

"But by the time Muria grows up, you'll have..." Before Renata could finish, Cynthia stuffed a bright red fruit into her mouth.

"Renata, just eat and watch, no

 more talking," Cynthia said impatiently to her youngest sister.

"Am I being treated as if I'm deaf?" Muria, sitting on high, heard every word the three young female dragons said with his enhanced senses.

"Adolescent dragons," Muria recalled the dragon heritage knowledge and stroked his chin, "Spring has come for these dragons, but my spring..."

Muria glanced at his own body and sighed; his Titan form was large, but he was still very young, and whatever he might wish to do, it would have to wait.

"I wonder if they're attracted to me or just my wealth," Muria mused with a frown, "Or maybe both? Never mind, I can't do anything about it now."

"Clap! Clap! Clap!" No longer pondering, Muria noticed the increasingly inappropriate behavior of the three male dragons below and clapped three times to get the attention of the dancing mermaids, signaling them to withdraw.

He realized that if the stunningly beautiful mermaids didn't leave soon, these dragons might actually rush forward.

Knowing that dragons have rather flexible standards for choosing mates, especially the males, who could find nearly any female of any species attractive enough to arouse their instincts, Muria sighed.

"Calm down, you three!" Muria looked down at the three red dragons, now forcibly held back in their seats by the cloud giants behind them, their intelligence seemingly halved in their current state.

"Muria, I want to..." Austin, looking pitifully at Muria as the mermaids vanished, his eyes pleading.

"No matter what you want, it's not happening," Muria said flatly to the three hopeful young dragons, "No female on Taiji Island is to be touched without her consent."