Chapter 64: The Power Dragon and the Phoenix

"This isn't right, is it?" Muria pointed to where the Celestial Descendant had vanished from the tree, looking towards Gerald for an explanation. "Isn't this the land of the Titans? Why would such beings be here?"

"The Celestial Clan from the Boundless Heavens is a staunch ally of our Titan race," Heylois explained as she emerged from an ancient and majestic palace within the courtyard.

"Recently, the Celestial Clan sent some of their young Celestials here to our Titan land for cultural exchange and training. The angels you mentioned, those guys brought a bunch with them to serve them."

"Is the Celestial Clan very powerful?" Muria asked somewhat sheepishly, aware that his inherited memories contained no information about the Celestial Clan.

In fact, Muria's knowledge of his dragon heritage was incomplete, gradually unlocking as he grew older, so much of his current knowledge was incomplete. And as for Titan heritage, aside from martial techniques, there was little else.

"The Celestial Clan is very strong, not inferior to our Titan race. Those Celestials make very good opponents," Heylois said with a smile.

"How strong are we, the Titan race?" Muria looked at Heylois somewhat blankly, still having no concept of the overall strength of the Titan race, only aware that there was at least one epic Titan in their ranks comparable to a deity.

"..." Faced with Muria's question, Heylois and Gerald looked at him speechlessly.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I really don't know," Muria said, looking innocently back at the two Titans.

"I'll take you to see Lord Ansor," Heylois suggested, rubbing her forehead in resignation. "Then, you can ask Lord Ansor to introduce you to the elders of our tribe. By then, you should have a good idea of how strong the Titan race really is."

"My father?" Muria felt uneasy upon hearing this; he knew that Heylois and Gerald had brought him to the Titan lands on his father's instructions. However, he felt very distant from his father, having met him only twice since his birth.

"Is there a problem? If not, I'll teleport you there now," Heylois offered.

"No problem," Muria grinned sheepishly, recalling the first impression of his father, a towering figure who had once dragged a power dragon through a torn rift in space.

"Number Seven, construct a teleportation array to Lord Ansor's residence," Heylois commanded into the void.

"Please wait a moment," a gentle, warm female voice responded in the air, followed by a flurry of multicolored lights on the ground as a large teleportation array began to self-assemble.

Muria watched in amazement as a female Titan hologram in a long dress, resembling Heylois, appeared beside her: "What is this?"

"I am the spirit controlling this courtyard, Number Seven, similar to a tower spirit in a mage's tower," the figure, looking very much like Heylois but with a temperament quite unlike the stern Heylois, introduced herself with a smile.

"..." Muria observed his surroundings. Aside from its size and scale, the courtyard seemed unremarkable compared to his lavish Jade Palace—it was almost like a slum dwelling. Yet, this seemingly simple building had a high-tech, extraordinary creation like Number Seven.

This structure with its "AI" dramatically elevated its status in Muria's eyes, making his own Jade Palace seem substandard.

"Alright, Muria, my task here is done. I won't accompany you to see Lord Ansor," Gerald clapped Muria on the shoulder, "Train well and don't neglect your Titan martial arts. Next time we meet, I hope to have a worthy fistfight with you."

"I will," Muria responded with a smile, aware that if not for the drop of origin blood gifted by his maternal grandfather, he would have surely been defeated in that battle.

"Number Seven, please set up a teleportation array back to my residence."

"Right away, Lord Gerald," the ethereal, gentle-tempered Number Seven responded, and once more, beams of multicolored magical light appeared, constructing a slightly smaller teleportation array.

Its mechanics were beyond Muria's understanding. Heylois's residence looked simple, devoid of any ornate decorations, but the technology embedded in its architecture was far superior to that of his Jade Palace.

"Construction complete, master, Lord Gerald, and Lord Muria, you may depart at any time," Number Seven bowed slightly to her masters.

It didn't take long for the two teleportation arrays to be ready, astonishing Muria with their rapid assembly.

"Let's go," Gerald stepped onto the smaller array, waving to Muria and Heylois before disappearing in a burst of brilliant teleportation light.

"Let's go too," Heylois said after watching Gerald disappear, turning to Muria.

...

When Muria and Heylois teleported to the peak of a majestic mountain and approached a similarly ancient and impressive building, a dragon lying at the entrance, its scales shimmering like diamonds, lazily spoke up.

"You're looking for Ansor, eh? He's not here."

"May I ask where Lord Ansor has gone? When will he return?" Heylois asked with neither subservience nor arrogance.

"Don't know. That madman ran off to the Abyss again. As for when he'll be back, how should I know? He'll return once he's had his fill of fighting," the resplendent dragon replied without any respect.

"This dragon... Isn't this the power dragon that my father dragged back?" Muria recognized the familiar giant dragon immediately, recalling the unforgettable scene. "Is it guarding the door?"

"Yes!" At that moment, the power dragon twitched its nostrils and abruptly raised its massive head, its translucent eyes focusing on Muria.

"You, what's your relationship with that Ansor fellow?" the power dragon asked with a chilling gaze, its legendary dragon presence slowly filling the air, making it almost solidify.

"Thud! Thud!" Under the immense pressure, Muria's blood began to boil, his heart pounding loudly. Behind him, a golden dragon head with eight horns slowly materialized, resisting the power dragon's legendary presence.

"He's my father." Muria raised his head to look up at the power dragon, standing taller than him on all fours, showing no fear on his face.

"Do you intend to attack us?" Heylois, also undisturbed under the dragon's presence, spoke up.

"Hey, a scion of the Dragon King, interesting. Ansor's son isn't a pure-blood Titan," the power dragon murmured with interest, observing the dragon head illusion behind Muria.

Then it gradually withdrew its overflowing presence. The power dragon had only intended to intimidate them, not to start a fight. This was Titan territory; attacking their descendants here was out of the question.

"Scion of Ansor, would you like me to be your sparring partner? I could help you train your martial skills," the power dragon asked Muria with ill intent. "Ansor often seeks me out to practice his combat skills."

"Heh," Muria stepped back discreetly, sensing the unmasked malice, especially from that last remark, which was filled with resentment.

"Let's

 go, Muria. I'll come back later with you to find Lord Ansor," Heylois said, ignoring the legendary power dragon's comment and pulling Muria away to leave.

"You dare ignore me?" the power dragon exclaimed, its scales almost bristling with irritation.

"Screech!" In the sky not far away, a bird ablaze with crimson flames soared into the sky, its cry echoing through the heavens, its flames tinting the half of the sky visible to Muria.

"That's... a phoenix!" Muria turned back in shock at the sight of the divine bird circling in the sky.

"That's a companion of one of the lords here," Heylois explained as she watched the phoenix in the sky.

"Hmph!" The power dragon looked up at the circling phoenix, feeling the heat on its body, and snorted coldly. It knew the phoenix was watching it. Then, it glanced at Muria and Heylois walking away and settled back down, closing its eyes for a nap.

As the power dragon lay down, the phoenix circled once more before descending quickly, soon vanishing from Muria's sight.

"Muria, since it's your first time here, let me show you around the homeland," Heylois suggested after the phoenix disappeared.

"Sure." Muria curiously surveyed his surroundings. The landscape here was entirely different from Tai Chi Island. Wherever he looked, there were ancient trees hundreds of meters tall, each emitting a faint glow, each vibrant with life.

Among these extraordinary trees were lush, rare herbs. Muria, drawing on his dragon heritage, recognized some of them...

"This is the immortal grass." Muria paused, looking at a large patch of what looked like ordinary weeds underfoot, recognizing them as a very valuable plant used in making immortality potions.

This plant, when made into a potion, could keep a humanoid's body and appearance at their youngest until the end of their life. Thus, in the human realms, it was fervently sought after by noble ladies and warriors; even a single leaf was worth a fortune.

Yet here, a plant that could drive humans and powerful fighters crazy was just a weed. Heylois had just carelessly stepped on it, much to Muria's dismay.

"How much money did that step just destroy?" Muria chuckled and quickly caught up with Heylois, stepping carelessly over it as well.

Rare plants that were highly prized in the outside world were mere weeds here, and plants even more precious than the immortal grass were common.

After a long stroll, Muria noticed that very few beings lived in the Titan homeland. Aside from Heylois and Gerald, he hadn't seen a third Titan, only occasionally spotting grand, imposing buildings on some high mountains, which Heylois explained were the residences of other Titans.

"The Titan homeland is really vast, but there are too few Titans living here," Muria muttered. But he understood that for beings of the Titans' caliber, it would be strange if there were many.

"Boom! Clang! Clash!" Just when Muria, somewhat bored from the long walk without encountering any living beings, heard the sound of metal weapons clashing and several loud explosions in the distance.

"There's a fight; let's go!" Heylois's golden eyes sparkled as she looked towards the source of the noise. Without hesitation, she grabbed Muria's arm and pulled him towards the sounds, "Let's check it out."