Under the Red Dragon.

Good morning, listeners!

A magnetic and gentle voice echoed throughout the Dragon Academy, the sound coming from the magical loudspeaker always seeming to carry a special feeling.

This voice was simultaneously transmitted from the Golden Empire's territory, through a communication network that covered every corner, to every household in the empire.

The old golden dragon, Bayuhart, strolled slowly past the tall teaching building. His erect ears, like those of an elf, and the golden whiskers on either side of his chin occasionally twitched, as if he too were listening to that calm voice.

"Today is March 10th in the Imperial Calendar. Welcome to the Imperial News Broadcast Channel."

"First, let me introduce today's program!" A gentle female voice rang out.

"The National Higher Education Entrance Examination for the 63rd year of the Imperial Calendar begins today. This year, a total of 8.64 million students have registered for the examination."

"Throughout the entire empire, there are a total of 4,899 test centers, 260,000 examination rooms, and 15,000 backup examination rooms..."

Upon hearing this, Bayuhart suddenly tilted his head, his dark golden eyes glancing sideways at the young dragons who were standing upright, their forelimbs propped up on the wide corridor, gazing at the distant sky.

Among the noisy young dragons chattering like birds were metal dragons, five-colored dragons, gem dragons, and many other dragons that were once called sub-dragon species.

But these young dragons didn't seem to care about the broadcast echoing throughout the Dragon Academy; instead, their attention was focused on the Nine Sky.

Many young dragons were debating the strength of the Imperial Legion, discussing its future, and envisioning their own paths.

Baryohart didn't find it noisy; on the contrary, he found it lively.

It was hundreds of times more lively than when he was in the divine kingdom, surrounded by hundreds of ancient golden dragons.

“It seems you really enjoy this atmosphere,”

A firm and steady voice rang in Bayuhart's ears, and in that instant, all other sounds faded away, as if he had been cut off from this world.

Although Bayhart's current strength is only equivalent to that of a pureblooded old golden dragon, there are few in the entire material world who can easily isolate him from his surroundings without him noticing.

But within the Golden Empire, there exist two of them.

These two individuals, in terms of both rank and status, are on the surface equal to him.

"I wouldn't say I like it,"

"I've been through so much, I just want to see something different,"

Bayuhart turned around and, sure enough, saw the guy that Dragon hated.

Although that guy isn't currently appearing in the form of a dragon, but rather as;
The old golden dragon suddenly frowned, his brow furrowed, for the creature standing in the pavilion kept changing its appearance, making it impossible for him to see its true face.

He couldn't accurately describe the other's form either, because the guy's body wasn't fixed, but switched randomly.

One second this guy is a human, the next second he transforms into the appearance of another race.

This 'power' that he couldn't see through was not any kind of magic or divine power, but rather came from that guy's innate affinity.

"Slime monster?"

"What use is this filthy and weak creature to you, Gogmora?"

"The avatars that gods possess are often more powerful than their true selves, even in terms of potential,"

"The weak will not be noticed by the eyes of the gods,"

"But even if the slime race ascends the ladder of gods, they cannot set foot in the halls of the gods,"

Bayuhart slowly approached and sat down in front of Karon.

The ordinary pavilion expanded several times the size the moment the golden dragon stepped in, easily accommodating the old dragon's body.

"I can't get away now. All my strength has been used up on those troubles, so I can only walk in this mortal world in this weak state."

"We have no more strength left."

"Once I leave the empire, even a single ferocious beast could chase after me. I'm already lucky to be out here roaming around."

Caron looked up indifferently, then suddenly changed the subject with a smile: "So, he thinks your potential is greater than his true form, Marduk?"

Bayuhart was slightly taken aback. His eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at the figure in front of him. His dark golden vertical pupils seemed to be brewing an extremely dangerous power.

This force is transforming Bayuhart's golden eyes into a deep, unfathomable vortex, the back of which points to an infinitely distant place.

In that infinitely distant place lies Marduk, the former king of another pantheon.

“I am him!” Bayuhart answered resolutely, his voice seeming to come from a distant place.

Kalon's face froze in his dragon-human form, grinning with his teeth, "You are him, but he is not you." "But none of that matters, how about a big one?"

Click, click,

Bayuhart saw the surrounding space suddenly collapse, the existence of matter being activated by the Dragon Emperor's will, and the collapsed space transformed into a small snake with its mouth holding its tail.

This little snake actually exuded a vibrant life force, shaking its head and loosening its tail, spitting out a chessboard from its belly and smashing it down in front of the two giant dragons.

The old golden dragon's vertical pupils slowly widened, seemingly reflecting the small snake that had spat out the chessboard before it. The trace of the small snake, which had resumed its mouth-and-tail posture, crashing into space and disappearing without a trace was etched into the old dragon's pupils.

The power of the gods is beyond the imagination of mortal beings; as long as the gods exist, their power will never perish.

Unless there is a powerful external interference, theoretically, once the spells and divine arts of the gods take effect, they will leave a permanent mark on the world.

This is also one of the immortal characteristics of immortals.

Karon Gogmora's magic not only possessed this immortality, but also its own life.

This means that the ouroboros, transformed by the magic of activation, will only need to continuously consume elements of a certain nature to grow spontaneously in the years to come.

So Bayhart slowly nodded.

"It seems you're starting to get used to the role of 'god',"

"Gambling with the fate of all people in the Golden Empire is not your usual style!"

哒，
Caron Gogmora used his claws and toes to pin a chess piece down, placing it directly at the center.

"It is said that the will of the gods is the fate of all living beings, and that those who follow the rules are under the control of the gods, but even the gods cannot completely foresee unexpected destinies."

"If we want to break through the limitations of the gods, how could we possibly have an opportunity without some surprise?"

Bayuhart's vertical pupils narrowed slightly as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

The ultimate goal of the vast majority of mortal beings is nothing more than to stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods and step onto the long path to godhood.

Even the most powerful legendary beings do not necessarily need to break through the limitations of the gods; they only need to bypass the realm of the gods.

This was the first time that Caron Gogmora had expressed his thoughts so frankly in front of him.

However, Baryohart did not stop and moved the white piece in front of him onto the board.

“This is not a wise choice, Gogmora,”

Although Bayuhart was not proficient in games like Go, for a god, learning a game on short notice was not a challenge, but rather as difficult as the White Dragon counting how many claws and toes he had.

Besides, this wasn't the first time Baryohart had played this game; he already knew its essence.

"Going first is an advantage, but if you place your piece in the center, you need to defend against all sides, and occupying the same territory requires more pieces."

"That's equivalent to throwing away your own advantage and giving up a piece first,"

"If I were the gods you envision, all I would need to do is seize the four corners and compress the radiating power of your piece in the center. Once the corners are connected, your piece will become a useless 'enclave'."

Kalon looked down at the situation on the chessboard, dealing with Baryohart's strangulation and encirclement while chuckling softly.

"Compared to actively taking a disadvantage versus passively taking a disadvantage, I prefer being proactive..."

Bayuhart frowned, the dull golden scales between his brows showing no sign of joy despite his current advantage.

Because his current stance is not with the gods, but with the red dragon on the other side.

"But while draws and moves can exist on a chessboard, they don't exist in reality,"

"The victors stand tall in the heavens, the vanquished turn to dust."

The golden dragon looked into Kalon's eyes and said, "A gamble that's too risky is one that even the gods would wisely renounce!"

"Imperial Chess Saint" Caron Gogmora held a piece in his right hand, his left hand gripping the edge of the board, and looked up with a smile: "We may not win forever, but we will never lose!"

Bayuhart raised his head, following the other's gaze, and looked directly into the vast sky above the star realm.

There lies the eternal kingdom of the gods, and many stories of beings in the mortal realms originate from them.

The age of dragons began with the gods and ended with the gods.

This era is now a new cycle, just like the endless cycle of life in the mortal world!
This book is finished! (End of this chapter)