Chapter 4

Pretending to be foolish?

The thin man stared into Long Yi's eyes, seeing not a trace of lies in those black eyes.

The thin man said no more, his gaze retreating from Long Yi. Seeing the thin man make no further move, Long Yi turned back and obediently joined the queue. Beside him, Bajie let out a call, his eyes sweeping over the thin man, filled with disdain.

"Brother, that guy is suspicious," the thin man whispered, only loud enough for the two of them to hear, to the fat man in front of him.

"Him? With that stupid, fat earth dragon?" The fat man sneered, shaking his head. His younger brother was just too cautious. However, this caution indeed complemented the fat man, who needed this prudence.

Earth dragon? Long Yi, hearing the fat man's voice, turned to look at Bajie, who also looked down at his plump belly in confusion.

Yes, no matter from which angle, Bajie was indeed a fat earth dragon. Among the flightless dragons, earth dragons were the most common and the most widely used military dragons. An adult earth dragon was about five meters long, with a robust body, and both explosive power and endurance were well balanced. In the dragon knight corps of various countries, earth dragons were always present in large numbers.

Of course, compared to a pure earth dragon, Bajie's back scales were darker, his teeth sharper and more densely packed, and his forelimbs more muscular. His eyes were also more piercing. However, compared to his plump body and the ridiculous large bag full of beef legs on his back, these features were insignificant.

"Alright, earth dragon Bajie, you must make me proud later!"

Long Yi patted Bajie's head, muttering.

Bajie helplessly shook his head, his mouth curling, as if mocking.

Finally, it was Long Yi's turn.

Bajie reluctantly placed the meat-filled bag outside the tent, and the man and dragon entered the tent.

Inside the tent, three people were seated. On the left was an old man, with white hair and beard, his face deeply lined, his eyes sharp, clearly a man of few words, but with no energy fluctuations. In the middle was a young woman in a magic robe, a light blue magic ring on her head emitting a faint magical pressure.

On the right was a man as big as an iron tower, his muscles straining his vest, his eyes lighting up as Long Yi entered the tent.

"Strong lad, that's what a true dragon knight should look like," the big man said to the woman beside him.

"Dragon knights rely on their dragons. No matter how strong they are, can they be stronger than their dragons?" the woman said disdainfully.

Long Yi still had a simple look on his face, handing over his admission notice.

"Physical condition 98? Hmm, not bad, not bad." The big man nodded, but then his brows furrowed slightly.

"Kid, it's fine if you don't learn dragon language well; it's only useful when casting magic. Your low dragon bloodline is understandable. But your low contract compatibility, did you buy this dragon from the black market? It doesn't want to be with you at all?"

For a dragon knight, the dragon comes first, showing its importance. All countries have strict laws prohibiting the private sale of dragons. Even low-level earth dragons are absolutely not allowed. However, humans can even sell their own kind, so what restraint would they have with dragons?

The best way to train a dragon knight is to have the knight hatch the dragon personally when they are young, usually around six years old, and grow up together. By the age of eighteen, the age difference would be enough to make the contract compatibility reach over eighty.

But now, Long Yi's was only sixty-one.

"Teacher, Bajie was hatched when I was three, absolutely not bought! Don't believe me? Ask him!"

Long Yi pushed the plump Bajie forward, who immediately nodded, his eyes as honest as a little white rabbit.

The three mentors looked at each other. Although earth dragons are less intelligent, they can still judge simple good and bad. Bajie should not have been bought.

"Alright, so you're choosing to join the Imperial Army? Come over here for the test." The old man beckoned to Long Yi. Long Yi chuckled, "No, no, I want to join the Air Force."

Pfft—

The beautiful female mage in front of Long Yi couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. But when she saw Long Yi's simple face, she blushed and awkwardly coughed, saying, "Sir, uh, young man. You need to know, you have an earth dragon, and to join the Air Force, even if you don't have a flying dragon, you at least need a golden eagle. This is a dragon knight academy, after all."

Long Yi scratched his head, looking very seriously at the beautiful female mage, and said word by word, "Bajie is a flying dragon."

What?

The three people present were stunned. They didn't believe it at first, but when they really looked at Bajie carefully, their expressions changed dramatically. Especially the big man, who stood up and came to Bajie, staring intently at his eyes. Almost simultaneously, a visible spark burst between their eyes.

"This dragon..." The female mage's face became cautious, looking at the old man on the right, who was even more serious.

"Yes, Bajie is a Abyssal Dragon," Long Yi's expression became even more simple.

The three people were completely speechless.

Abyssal Dragons are not native to this plane but come from a very harsh plane called the Molten Abyss. There, the oceans are molten iron, and the rain is burning fuel. The creatures living there are so violent that the word "fierce" is insufficient to describe them; they are synonymous with destruction.

Among these creatures, the Abyssal Dragon is the most famous.

The fame of the Abyssal Dragon comes from 130 years ago, when a sorcerer used a forbidden dragon blood summoning ritual to open a plane portal and summoned an Abyssal Dragon. He intended to control the Abyssal Dragon as his mount, but the first thing the Abyssal Dragon did upon appearing was to eat the sorcerer who summoned it.

Because the sorcerer had summoned the Abyssal Dragon King.

Afterward, the Abyssal Dragon King maintained the plane connection and summoned dozens more Abyssal Dragons from the Molten Abyss. In just one day, the Abyssal Dragon King and its subordinates razed three cities, killing hundreds of dragons and their dragon knights. In the end, it took the elite dragon knights of several major empires to drive the Abyssal Dragon King back to the Molten Abyss.

The remaining Abyssal Dragons, some of which were eliminated, while others escaped the pursuit of the elite dragon knights and went into hiding. These Abyssal Dragons hid on the sulfur islands overseas, where lava spewed year-round, and the smell of sulfur could be detected hundreds of miles away, hence the name. The environment there was extremely harsh but very suitable for Abyssal Dragons.

An adult ordinary Abyssal Dragon is over fifty meters long, a giant dragon.

People have always referred to dragons as giant dragons, but most dragons are no more than thirty meters long. Dragons under ten meters are called small dragons, around twenty meters are medium dragons, and over thirty meters are large dragons. Only those over fifty meters can be called giant dragons.

The Abyssal Dragon King of that time was over a hundred meters long, a true super-giant dragon.

However, Abyssal Dragons have a small flaw: young Abyssal Dragons have no wings. Because young Abyssal Dragons mostly live in lava, they don't need wings, only developing them in adolescence.

Dragons have a juvenile stage, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. The growth of dragons bound to dragon knights is not directly related to age but mostly comes from evolution. Since dragons inherit knowledge, there is no issue of physiological and psychological disconnection.

The three people circled Bajie, looking left and right. Behind Bajie, two bulges could be faintly seen. These were the hidden wings of the Abyssal Dragon, which only unfold after evolution.

Over the years, humans have not stopped trying to communicate with Abyssal Dragons. But problems arose.

Dragons will never recognize a dragon knight who has another dragon. And for young dragon knight candidates, these rookie-level Abyssal Dragons look down on them even more.

The simplest way is to get an Abyssal Dragon egg, and no one has thought of it. After all, hatching from an egg is the best. But how many people can go to the sulfur islands?

"Kid, you're not telling me you've been to the sulfur islands?"

The big man asked, clearly disbelieving. An ordinary person would be poisoned to death by the toxic gases before even getting close, and even if they made it to the island, the temperature in any corner was hundreds of degrees, with boiling water everywhere.

Not to mention the Abyssal Dragons on the island.

However, strangely, these Abyssal Dragons seemed to have no intention of leaving the island.

"Actually..." Long Yi looked up and smiled.

"Actually?" The three people held their breath, waiting for Long Yi to speak.

"Actually, I haven't been there."

"Uh—"

The three people were stunned, and the old man burst out laughing. Seeing the old man laugh, the big man glanced at the female mage, and the two of them also laughed.

In their view, with Long Yi's mere eighteen years of age, it was naturally impossible for him to have gone to the island. To have obtained an Abyssal Dragon, Long Yi must have had a powerful force behind him.

Perhaps a reclusive senior expert? If asked, Long Yi would definitely not say. However, since the Abyssal Dragon appeared in the White Dragon Empire, it was much better than appearing in other countries.