Crossing the true dragon realm, and you call me Little Locke?

Shuoyang fell silent upon hearing his mother's question.

He was a human in his past life, and a dragon in this life.

By comparing the two, the answer can be easily obtained.

Dragons are very powerful magical creatures, and correspondingly, their brains are extremely developed.

Unlike the brains of mortal races, dragons can inscribe the knowledge and skills they have learned—from their own cerebral cortex and mammalian brain—into their instinct-controlled reptilian brain.

They can even pass on some of their abilities to their offspring through heredity, making the entire population stronger.

This is also the origin of the ability of young dragons (except for white dragons) to master complex skills such as language, and the origin of most types of magic used by dragons.

But everything has its advantages and disadvantages; this genetic ability is almost like cheating.

The downside is that dragon offspring find it difficult to break free from the temperamental constraints of their parents and grandparents.

The red dragon's greed and cruelty, the golden dragon's aloofness and alienation...

The vast majority of dragons look as if they were all made from the same mold.

They are the same people as their ancestors.

The most obvious of these is the dragon's arrogant self-importance.

All dragons are arrogant.

The Red Dragon's arrogance led him to see everyone as weaklings who deserved to be plundered and possessed.

Jinlong still thinks everyone is an idiot, and he's too arrogant to talk to me, saying I'm not worthy to listen.

Even the bronze dragons, who are generally recognized as extremely warm and kind, believe that their own reasoning is the only truth, and that the rest of you are just a bunch of bullshit, stubborn, and arrogant fools.

Therefore, in situations where collective instinct outweighs reason.

To rashly implement a social ecosystem that combines dragons and elves would sever most of the ties between dragons and mortal races.

Shuoyang really can't guarantee that they won't revert to the tyrannical attitude of ancient times, where they regarded mortal races as worthless weeds.

After all, the dragon's extreme arrogance, driven by practicality, extends even to its faith in the true god.

If mortal races completely lose their value and become dispensable to dragons...

Naturally, they would transform from the conquered and ruled into obstacles and pests on the road to conquest, becoming objects that dragon lords must eliminate.

By then, even if Shuoyang himself behaves himself and just stays in his small territory in the Muyun Mountains,

As the source of the elven ecosystem, he would also be regarded by enlightened people among mortal races and gods of various races as a great enemy who intends to revive the evil rule of the dragon race.

To become like Samass, the founder of the Dragon Cult—a figure hated by both gods and men, forced to be an enemy of the entire world.

This is the last thing that lazybones Shuoyang wants to see.

But he was very unwilling to give up the growth benefits brought by the system.

After all, they are the only race in the prime material plane capable of mass-producing god-like power.

Once a true dragon grows to the level of an ancient dragon, it merges with its multiple incarnations in various worlds of the material plane, becoming a unique and multifaceted primordial dragon.

Then one can achieve immortality and become a great being like a wild god or an outer plane lord.

Shuoyang has an absolute advantage in this regard.

Because he is a time traveler, he does not have multiple bodies; he is a unique, multi-faceted true dragon.

Therefore, he only needs to leverage his symbiotic growth relationship with the white tree to quickly grow to the level of an ancient dragon.

It can then naturally transform into an ancient dragon with god-like power.

At that time, even if the incarnation of a god descends upon the material plane, they will mostly be unable to do anything about him.

This is probably the ultimate ideal life for someone like him who's just lying down and doing nothing.

After some hesitation, Shuoyang finally asked, "Mom, what if I could control the number of crystals?"

He explained his thoughts: "This crystal is ultimately my magical creation. I have absolute control over it and can undo the magic and retrieve the crystal at any time."

"If we keep the number of crystals within a certain range, wouldn't we be able to avoid a large-scale, all-out conflict?"

"Hmph," Ramalantes scoffed, "Naive."

She patiently explained, "Agripa, not every dragon is as unambitious as you."

"Those old guys, including our two dragon gods."

"With the Dragon Crazies Lock destroyed, they dream of the revival of the Dragon Clan."

"It's only because the bloodline animosity brought about by the Dragon Madness is ingrained in their instincts that the dragons are unable to unite as a group and break free from mortals, which is why they choose to continue to lie dormant."

"Now you bring a new social structure, bringing hope for a complete liberation from the mortal race."

"The more control you have over that crystal, the happier they will be."

"Because this means that you can indirectly control all the dragons that rely on this crystal to nurture their followers and power."

"To achieve the unification and union of the dragon race and become the true Dragon King."

"And," Ramalantz glanced at Shuoyang with a half-smile.

He asked, "If I'm not mistaken, your dramatic increase in size is probably related to this elven crystal, right?"

"Providing crystals to other dragons and nurturing spirits will also rapidly increase your strength, right?"

Shuoyang looked on in shock, his expression changing drastically.

Ramalantes couldn't help but laugh and admonish his son, "Agripa, you're too direct."

"Because you dislike complicated things, you always go straight to the point and pursue simplicity."

"So for us old fogies, you're really too easy to guess."

"Once your crystal catches their eye, it's only a matter of time before they track you down and investigate thoroughly."

"You are not a metal dragon, nor a chromatic dragon, nor a gem dragon."

"So you won't be wary and alienated by the metal dragons, nor will you be regarded as a mortal enemy by the chromatic dragons, and you won't just run away like the gem dragons."

"In the eyes of those old guys who have long abandoned the concept of factions and are single-mindedly dreaming of the revival of the dragon race."

"You are the best choice to bridge the gap between the three races and unite all dragons."

"At that time, whether you make me a puppet or cultivate your ambition, you will be given heavy responsibilities."

"You will all be forced to become the destined Dragon King they expect."

"..." After hearing this, Shuoyang fell silent again.

His mother's earnest teachings shattered all his illusions.

This prompted him to make a quick decision and immediately put his choice aside.

After all, he wasn't as easily controlled by instinct as other dragons.

He knew exactly what he wanted; to him, the system was nothing more than a tool.

In order to find a shortcut, he abandoned his original intention of just getting by.

Shuoyang wasn't that stupid. He immediately said to Lamarantz, "I understand, Mom."

"I don't know how to make that kind of crystal, so...!?"

"It's too late, you silly son."

Ramalante interrupted Shuoyang as she looked at the child who was growing up so fast.

His eyes held both self-reproach and relief.

Seeing that Shuoyang was still confused, she didn't say anything more, but just looked back.

Shuoyang followed her gaze and saw in the center of the temple a statue of a kind old man surrounded by seven canaries.

Although it remained motionless, its eyes, carved from sapphires, were striking.

She gave him an awkward yet polite look.

"Create that crystal using magic!"

Ramalantes spoke calmly, but his eyes looked at Shuoyang with a mixture of helplessness and heartache.

She sighed, "From the moment I stepped in here and told everyone everything."

"You have no choice, child."