The Last Sentinel

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

The pillar of creation, Longyuan; the true self, Ye Feng.

The vast and secluded Dragon Abyss Palace, with its thousands of cascading crystal pillars overflowing with a vibrant, pale purple light, and scattered stardust fragments floating everywhere, is the heart of the Pillars of Creation. Ye Feng did not reveal his true identity as a member of the Carbon-Based Universe here, always posing as the junior brother of Frost Ancestor.

Thanks to this identity, he held a prestigious position in Longyuan. Although he could not be considered to have usurped the throne, he was a true ancestor, and the dragon clan all referred to Ye Feng as Ancestor Ye.

The Ao clan of Longyuan treated Ye Feng with complete respect and humility, answering all his questions and granting all his requests.

All the armories in the East Sea were open to him, and even the research center of the Pillar of Creation and the dragon clan shrine passed down through generations were opened to him, breaking ancestral rules and allowing him to freely enter and browse.

Ye Feng did not receive the dragon clan's kindness for nothing. He was originally a cultivator specializing in physics, and his expertise in technological creation was unparalleled.

When Ye Feng learned that the core business of the Dragon Clan was the arms trade, and that the Ao family was essentially an arms dealer spanning the heavens, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, and he felt as if he had met a kindred spirit.

No one understands the art of destruction better than carbon-based life forms!

As a leading figure among carbon-based life forms, Ye Feng's understanding of destruction and weaponry far surpasses that of the Ao Clan Dragon Palace by several dimensions.

Seeing that Longyuan had wasted incredibly precious gravity lines to create only simple and primitive weapons like gravity slingshots and gravity crossbows, Ye Feng frowned, his heart filled with regret at the waste of such precious resources.

How is there any difference between the primitive weapons you make using gravity technology—longbows and crossbows—and the primitive people in my hometown who make spears from vibranium?

These precious resources, crystals, elements, and energy, you're giving them to me to use as slingshots?

Ye Feng immediately took over the Dragon Clan's weapons production line for a complete overhaul. He used the principle of star-destroying cannons to create gravity collapse cannons, drew inspiration from kinetic energy explosive guns to develop vector impact firearms, and replicated the ideas of ship-slaying swords and chainsaw swords to forge gravity disorder cutting weapons.

He went a step further, delivering the simplified mecha blueprints, warship upgrade plans, the underlying architecture of mythical spiritual AI, and the super computing cloud server array to the Dragon Clan.

At the same time, Ye Feng set a clear three-step strategy for Longyuan: a short-term plan of fifty years, a medium-term layout of a hundred years, and a long-term plan of five hundred years, with the goal of catching up with the technological level of the Milky Way during the 1999 planet defense war within a thousand years.

The dragon clan, a group of conservative old-fashioned creatures, had never seen such an astonishing technological blueprint.

Inside the hall, a group of dragon elders surrounded the light screen displaying the blueprints, their pupils trembling, their breathing unconsciously becoming shallow, their dragon faces filled with shock. In an instant, the entire Dragon Abyss looked at Ye Feng as if he were a savior.

As expected of Frost Ancestor's junior brother, and as expected of the future branch leader of Pangu Academy. With just a few scrolls of blueprints and a few words of guidance, he seemed to have dragged the dragon race from the primitive hunting and gathering era into the booming industrial age.

At this moment, Ye Feng has become the spiritual pillar of Longyuan and a newly emerging giant in the myriad realms.

In the spacious armory, suspended metal components slowly rotated. Ao Bailong's eyes burned brightly, and his body leaned slightly forward, unable to conceal his inner excitement.

"Mr. Ye, should we build a few more of these Primal Mech God production lines? I've seen the prototypes of the Mech God; they're terrifying! They're practically weapons of war! Most importantly, they can be mass-produced, unlike magical artifacts which require a long cultivation period! Even if they're scrapped or destroyed, it won't affect their owner! They're perfect!"

Ye Feng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the blueprints of the machine god swirling in mid-air. His expression was calm and composed: "Don't rush. Let's figure out one production line first, then we can work on the second and the third!"

"Yes! Then, Mr. Ye, what do you think of the profit-sharing plan I mentioned last time? We'll give you 50% of Longyuan's annual revenue. This 50% is calculated based on turnover, not net profit. You can actually take 70%, or even 80%!"

Ye Feng gently stroked his chin with his fingertips, his face displaying an indifferent and detached expression: "Well, you know, I'm not really into money, and I don't like Taipoli, but considering I need to build a new branch campus, and money will be needed everywhere, consider this money as an investment from your Dragon Abyss Dragon Clan in my academy!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Bai's dragon body trembled, and his eyes flashed with a fervent light. He quickly stepped forward: "Can we...can we participate in the academy's investment?"

"You're unwilling?" Ye Feng raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone indifferent.

"No, no, if it's an investment, then I must fully support it. How about this, all our future business profits will go to the academy, and I personally am willing to contribute half of my assets—no, my entire fortune—to the academy. A prodigy like you will surely become a leader of your school of thought and a giant among the heavens! We, Longyuan, are willing to stake our clan's fate on standing with you through thick and thin, through life and death!"

The one who spoke was Ao Bai. He had a dragon's head and a human body, with azure dragon horns coiled on his head, and his head covered with azure scales. His golden eyes were cold and deep, and his white beard hung down to his chin. He wore a black robe with gold woven sea patterns. When he spoke, he was assertive and resolute, and the hem of his robe swayed slightly with the emotion he felt.

Ye Feng gazed quietly at the old dragon before him, understanding perfectly and having no doubt about Ao Bai's sincerity. After these days of interaction and strategic maneuvering, he had thoroughly grasped the old dragon's thoughts and bottom line, his very Achilles' heel completely exposed.

"Fellow Daoist Ao, I understand." Ye Feng sighed softly, his tone softening: "But you also understand that the establishment of the new branch of Pangu Academy is a major event. It's not something you can just decide to do by giving money. Many big shots want to get on this new ship."

Ao Bai's eyes instantly lit up with joy; he understood immediately. Ye Feng's words were tantamount to telling him clearly that the ticket was already in hand, but the order of seating would depend on his subsequent performance.

Ao Bai slammed his fist against his chest, the scales clanging together with a crisp, resounding sound: "Ancestor Ye, rest assured, while Longyuan may excel in other areas, our loyalty and integrity are praised by everyone throughout the myriad realms! Rest assured, however much they offer, our dragon race will match!"

Ye Feng pondered to himself, his thoughts churning: Should he reveal his true intentions now that he's done all he's doing?

Having lived in Longyuan for so long, how could he not have selfish motives?

What he coveted was the last fundamental star pillar among the dragon race's pillars of creation.

That pillar stretched for over a light-year, in the prime of its life, brimming with boundless vitality. Ye Feng had already secretly calculated that if he could seize this fundamental star pillar and use it as the foundation of the Pangu Branch Academy, he could use the Perfect Continent as its core to forge his own true dragon body and cultivate the [Everyone is a Dragon - Dragon Taming Chapter - Dragon Transformation Technique] passed down by his mother.

But that natal star pillar is the root of the dragon race, equivalent to the ancestral tomb of the dragon race.

Asking for it directly is really too presumptuous.

The Red King could do such a thing—undermining someone's foundation—without any qualms, yet Ye Feng himself couldn't bring himself to do something so vulgar. A touch of envy welled up in Ye Feng's heart.

Just as Ye Feng was pondering and weighing his options, debating whether to reveal his hand,

Outside the heavy jade palace gates, hurried footsteps approached from afar, breaking the solemnity of the discussions inside. An armored shrimp soldier stumbled in, his scales trembling from the rush, and fell heavily to his knees.

"Reporting to the Dragon Lord, a distinguished guest requests an audience!"

Ao Bai's brows furrowed suddenly, his imperial face showing displeasure, and his voice deepened: "Do you have any sense? Can't you see that Ye Zu and I are discussing important matters?"

The shrimp soldier kept his head bowed low, his voice trembling with panic: "But...but this distinguished guest has brought the Infinite Tears you've been searching for!"

Ao Bai froze, his golden eyes narrowed, his breath caught in his throat, and all the displeasure on his face vanished.

"What? The Tear of Infinity has been found? Ancestor Ye, this item is very important to me, perhaps you..."

Ye Feng collected his chaotic thoughts, a faint smile appearing on his lips, and waved his hand: "It's alright, let's go see what kind of distinguished guest they are!"

"Good!" Ao Bai's expression instantly brightened, and he flicked his dragon robe: "With Ancestor Ye present, he can give me his opinion and see if this so-called Infinite Tear is real or fake! Lead the way!"

The shrimp soldiers quickly got up and led the way.

The long corridor outside the hall is paved with warm jade that has lasted for thousands of years, and dragon lanterns burn eternally on both sides, with the blue water shimmering around them.

Ye Feng and Ao Bai walked side by side, passing through layers of corridors and palaces, leaving the inner court of the Dragon Palace and heading towards the outer hall of the main hall.