Chapter 71: Dragon Shadow

If the Datam Canyon, 500 meters below the surface, is considered the outer edge, then the 300-meter deep pit at the center is its heart. According to the content of the academy's survival exam, this heart is not included, as the dangers within are beyond what the current students can handle.

However, even the outer area is home to fierce creatures like the Ironback Dragon. Although Luo and his group defeated one Ironback Dragon, it was only through the combined strength of all 14 of them and the divine weapon 'Crimson Lotus' that they managed to do so. Therefore, the more dangerous heart of the canyon must not be entered lightly. But before entering the canyon, the teacher's warning to Bimoye seemed to have little effect. Now, he stands on a high rock in the heart of the canyon, surveying his surroundings.

"Dragon, I've heard that true dragons occasionally come to this place. I wonder if there's one in this canyon now!" Bimoye jumped off the rock and ran quickly in one direction.

Since entering the Datam Grand Canyon, after a night's rest, he headed straight for the central area. It took him two days and two nights of non-stop travel to reach this heart. As soon as he entered, he began searching for the dragon race, but after several days of searching, he found no true dragons, only small fish and shrimp, or magical beasts with a slight dragon lineage.

Here, even the massive creatures as fierce as the Spineback and as tough as the Ironback are merely prey and predators. But Bimoye, as he moved forward, paid no attention to these dangers. The only thing that mattered to him was the true dragon race! Perhaps that guy as well.

Bimoye recalled the scene when Bingzhiye left. Although he politely smiled and told Jesse and the other two group members that he had something to do, he didn't even look back once when he left: "Does he not care about the exam scores at all? No matter how noble a student is, even royal offspring take pride in being admitted to the Great Blue Crystal Tower. Is this not important to him at all? What kind of person is he? He doesn't seem like someone who wants to learn."

Bimoye pondered this in his heart. Suddenly, several cold flashes appeared before him, slicing toward his face. But before they reached him, a thin layer of ice blocked them. Powerful claws struck his ice wall, creating fine cracks, but it never shattered.

Upon closer inspection, it was a dragon beast. This magical beast was not very powerful but was quite troublesome. Although it had a trace of dragon blood, Bimoye had no interest in it as a summoning guardian.

Before it could make its next move, Bimoye used the 'Ice Bind' technique to freeze it, then quickly left the area. When the dragon beast broke free from the ice, this winged but gliding magical beast could no longer catch up to its intended prey.

The scenery in the heart of the canyon was not much different from the outer area, dominated by yellow-brown earth and rock, with occasional patches of forest and water. All the magical beasts were primarily lizard, snake, or sub-dragon types, with a few other types occasionally appearing. The constant battles among these magical beasts were a common sight, as they fought for survival and to strengthen themselves, constantly invading and slaughtering other magical beasts. Only the strong had the right to survive, while the weak were always eliminated.

For most of the lizards and snakes, the most lethal threat still came from the sky, from giant-toed eagles, lightning-guiding thunderbirds, and wind-soaring falcons, among others. These aerial attacks had an absolute advantage over them. In addition, there were small venomous scorpions, charming spiders, and feline magical beasts, forming a complex ecosystem.

Bimoye came for the dragons. During this time, he would do his utmost to search every place and find the dragon race he sought.

At a restaurant in the Kulantin Academy, thousands of miles away, Hab and Sophina were having lunch together. Seeing the dishes on the table, Hab laughed and said, "I see you've learned to eat. I've never seen you order dishes one by one before, and... and they're all the most expensive and best."

Sophina covered her mouth and laughed softly. She remembered the day she treated those kids to a meal, and the dishes Bingzhiye ordered had surprised her. Although she pretended it didn't matter, she was a bit heartbroken inside.

Seeing her happy, Hab asked, "Did you think of something interesting?"

"These dishes are the ones Bingzhiye ordered when I treated them. So I have to make up for it on you." Sophina picked up the menu again, "No, I need to order a few more dishes. I have to eat back everything I spent that day in one go!"

Hab almost burst out laughing, "Be careful not to get fat... Never mind, you burn fat so fast you'll never get fat. But I didn't expect that little mage to be so picky about food. I've never ordered all these dishes at once."

Sophina was a bit surprised, "You, with all your money, haven't eaten them? Then I'll order some for you too."

"Sure, thanks." Hab said, "I often go to high-end restaurants and don't pay much attention to the dishes. But the way he orders, only a very prominent noble would be so meticulous."

"Noble?"

Hab nodded, "And a very prominent one. Or he's very rich and often eats this kind of food."

Sophina put down the menu, "But I don't think he's a noble. I've seen him eat at street stalls, even fatty pork with skin, which he enjoyed. If he's rich, he once had 1000 gold coins, which he won. I also gave him a fourth-level fire element crystal, which should be worth about 100,000."

Hab was quite surprised, "Oh, really generous. You only earn a little over a thousand gold coins a month, and a fourth-level element crystal is almost your ten years' normal income. Are you really in love with that guy?"

"Stop talking nonsense. I just wanted to thank him for that time... Never mind, let's not talk about it." Sophina frowned and started eating.

Hab took a sip of beer, "Anyway, you care a lot about that guy, so there's something I have to tell you."

"What?"

Hab said, "I've seen him playing with Blanch a few times recently."

Sophina's knife, which was about to cut, stopped, and she was somewhat surprised, "With Blanch?"

"Yes. That woman is someone you deliberately kept around, right?" Hab said, "If I'm not mistaken, Blanch is an enemy sent by Saint Bicaya to infiltrate the capital. You want to use her to uncover her information."

Sophina was somewhat displeased, "We have rules. You shouldn't pry into my mission."

"Sorry, my apologies."

"Why would she approach Bingzhiye, a kid?" Sophina's frown deepened, and she thought, "She must have seen the 'Sdebarte Gaitbalon Dark Magic Insights' I gave Bingzhiye! To make her think I trust her, I gave her the key to my house. She must have gone in when I wasn't there and seen that magic book. Seeing that I gave Bingzhiye such an important book, she must think I like him a lot, so she wants to control him to use against me in the future."

Although Hab didn't know what Sophina was thinking, he could see the anger in her eyes. He quickly grabbed her hand and said, "Don't think about getting rid of her now! Don't forget your mission."

"If she does anything to Bingzhiye, I'll tear her to pieces!" Sophina angrily slapped the table, startling the nearby diners.

An ice blade flashed, and Bimoye landed on the ground, slicing a sub-dragon into several pieces. The ice blade slowly melted into water droplets on the ground. He took a deep breath, not knowing how many of these annoying creatures he had killed.

Bimoye simply treated the dozens of wounds on his body and slowly used his magic to accelerate healing. It was already deep into the night, and he still hadn't found any trace of a dragon. "Is it really not meant to be for me? I won't give up. If I can't find one here, I'll look elsewhere. I will find a dragon and make it follow me!"

Just as he was thinking this, a huge shadow suddenly passed over his head. Bimoye looked up and saw a black shadow resembling a dragon, flapping its massive wings and disappearing into the sky. It all happened in just a couple of seconds. He didn't even have time to see if it was a dragon before it disappeared, but it seemed to have something following it.

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End of Chapter 71