Evolving by devouring from a young dragon

The notice board at the reception desk was more exquisite than any he had ever seen before; the surface was a single, smoothly polished magical crystal, suspended in mid-air.

There are no supports underneath; it is supported by anti-gravity runes.

Below the notice board was a long table, behind which sat a female goblin wearing a dark blue merchant guild uniform, with an Imperial Commerce Department brooch pinned to her collar.

On the table in front of her was a touch crystal panel, and her ten fingers were rapidly swiping across the panel, processing the lines of information that popped up.

Grimm walked to the table and took out a gold-embossed invitation from his pocket.

The female goblin raised her head, her gaze first falling on his shoulder, or more precisely, on the fire spirit.

Her pupils dilated slightly for a moment, and her fingers stopped on the crystal panel.

Then she quickly resumed her professional smile, took the invitation with both hands, and lightly swiped it across a scanning panel.

A green light flashed on the panel, and her expression immediately changed from enthusiasm to respect... at least that's what Grimm thought.

"Your Excellency Grimm," her tone was steady, but the form of address had changed from the default "guest" to the specific "Your Excellency,"

"Your invitation has been verified. You are a second-class VIP. The exclusive passage is now open for you. Please follow me."

At the end of the corridor stood a door, and beside the door stood a goblin guard wearing a standard breastplate.

His attire was completely different from that of the guards at the border station.

The breastplate is forged from goblin alloy and has two layers of runes engraved on its surface: one for magic protection and the other for physical impact resistance.

The helmet was fitted with a magic vision lens, through which a faint light flowed; a standard magic grenade hung at his waist, along with a short-handled magic gun, the barrel of which was made of high-grade luster alloy.

Grim met his gaze for a moment. The guard's eyes fell on the fire spirit on his shoulder, lingering for less than a second, before he clenched his right fist and slammed it heavily on his breastplate with a muffled thud, then stepped aside to make way.

The door slid open slowly, and we arrived at the VIP lounge.

Grimm stepped in, his pace unconsciously slowing.

It wasn't nervousness, but rather that every corner of the lounge reminded him that he had stepped into a completely different world.

The ground was covered with a dark red magical fleece carpet, with short, dense fibers that felt warm and smooth to the touch, like a sun-baked stone slab.

A three-tiered magical crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, its frame made of goblin alloy. Each tier is inlaid with fragments of various colored magical crystals, and the light refracts and intertwines, scattering a soft rainbow glow.

A huge, magical, dynamic map hangs on the wall, with trade routes and mineral veins rendered as flowing light rather than as painted with ink.

The status of each trade route, the output of mineral veins, and the exchange rate of magic crystals in cities all change slowly in real time through different colored light streams.

A dozen or so guests were scattered around the lounge. There were goblins dressed in merchant robes, noble representatives in custom-made mage suits, and guests in human robes and dwarven leather armor.

Humans and dwarves sat at the edge of the lounge, separated from the goblin guests by an invisible barrier. The humans conversed quietly at a small table in the corner, while the dwarves gathered by the window, with two goblin waiters standing respectfully beside them.

A waiter in a dark blue uniform approached silently, carrying a tray. On the tray were a glass of chilled ale, a plate of goblin tea, and a folded white name card.

The waiter bowed slightly and placed the tray on the coffee table in front of Grimm, his voice soft and restrained:

"Lord Grimm, welcome to Golden Pickaxe Dome. This is a welcome letter from the Imperial Ministry of Commerce. In addition, Mr. Greendor of the Anvil Department, Mr. Durrom of the Golden Finger Family, and Mr. Habut of the Deep Pulse Merchant Guild have each sent their calling cards, which have been registered for you. The Ministry of Commerce has also included a cocktail brooch for your consideration."

Grimm picked up the name card and opened it. The inner pages contained handwritten text, with neat and vigorous handwriting, and the signature was stamped with the vermilion wax seal of the Imperial Ministry of Commerce.

The brooch has a simple design, featuring crossed pickaxes and hammers, and is made of high-quality alloy, giving it a substantial weight.

He pinned the brooch to his lapel, but before he could even pick up his glass, the waiter spoke again, his voice even lower, as if conveying a secret: "Also, Your Excellency Grimm, you have several guests waiting for you."

Grimm looked up.

The waiter turned slightly to the side, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the other side of the lounge.

Grimm followed the gaze and saw three figures standing by the window, all dressed in dark clothes. Their clothes had no merchant guild insignia, but they had standardized magical communicators hanging from their waists. They were officials of the Empire.

Anvil Department, Gold Finger Family, Deep Pulse Chamber of Commerce.

They had been waiting there for a long time.

Grimm picked up the chilled ale, took a sip, and felt the coolness in his throat. The fire spirit on his shoulder chirped softly and tilted its head to look at the three of them.

He picked up his cane, got up, and walked towards the window.

Outside the window, the entire panorama of the Golden Pickaxe Dome unfolded under the blazing afternoon sun.

The floating magical stone towers, the magical energy levitation rails that stretch across the sky, the faint light emanating from the three magical barriers of the outer city, and the silent outlines of more than a hundred magical cannons on the twenty-zhang-high alloy city wall in the distance all came into view.

This is the City of Gold Pick.

He was already being watched the moment he set foot on its land.

The banquet began soon afterward.

He stepped onto the suspended connecting platform with his cane, then paused for a moment.

The platform is a single piece of polished magic crystal, completely transparent, allowing one to see the streets and alleys hundreds of feet below, bustling with people and vehicles.

There are no railings around the edge of the platform, only a light blue anti-gravity rune light band that pulsates every few seconds, like a heartbeat.

Having lived most of his life, this was the first time Grimm had stood on a transparent platform, thirty stories high. He gripped his cane tightly.

Fire Spirit perched steadily on his shoulder, completely unafraid of the height, only tilting its head to gaze into the distance as city lights gradually illuminated the sky.

The docking platform smoothly glided into the main suspension track, merging into the dense torrent of floating platforms.

From above, the floating rails of Golden Pickaxe City spread across the entire sky like a giant, luminous net. The rails flow with light, and the floating magical stone buildings are the scattered nodes within this net.

As the sun sets, the evening glow paints the sky with golden-red hues.

All the ground-based magical light sources were lit up, with layers of cool white, dark blue, and pale purple hues converging into boundless magical light.

The wind whistled past his ears. Grimm forced down his surprise and tried his best to keep his expression calm, his right hand still gripping his cane tightly.

Fire Spirit was much more at ease than him.

It stomped a few times on Grimm's shoulder, then took flight with a whoosh, circling halfway around the docking platform, its wings gleaming with a dark red glow in the sunset.

It chirped, its voice tinged with curiosity, but it didn't fly far; it quickly landed back on Grimm's shoulder.

"Are you nervous too?" Grimm asked in a low voice.

Fire Spirit buried its head under its wing and ignored him.

The docking platform glided on the suspended track for about fifteen minutes, and an exceptionally large floating building appeared in front of us.

Unlike other magical stone buildings that are shaped like towers or pillars, it is an inverted stepped pyramid.

The top floor is the widest, narrowing down to each subsequent floor, with different colored magic crystal light strips embedded in the exterior walls of each floor.

The outer walls of the top floor are almost entirely made of transparent magical crystal, allowing you to see the flowing light and shadows and figures inside from the outside.

Eight small colossal constructs float around the building, each three zhang tall, dark silver in color, with a glowing magical core embedded in its chest.

Their heads slowly rotated, scanning every inch of the surrounding airspace.