Almer stood there in silence, his face devoid of expression as he looked at them.
Director Hao followed closely behind him, visibly annoyed by the scene before him. But his irritation wasn’t because of the ostentatious way the dragons had positioned themselves.
“Your Majesty, just look at these elders from your family. They don’t act remotely like elders should. We’ve taken such care of that orchid for so long. Even if we don’t deserve credit, we’ve at least put in the effort, right? But here they are, monopolizing it completely! They won’t let my students in at all, and even I have to go through their layers of hesitations and approvals just to step in!”
The dragons inside barely lifted an eyelid at his complaints.
“It’s our orchid to begin with. Any issue with that?”
They spoke with a self-assured boldness.
In fact, if not for the concern that he might lose a fight against the other two, the dragon would have taken the orchid solely for himself already—claiming it as the rightful treasure of one lone dragon.
But the other two dragons clearly had the same idea, and knowing they couldn’t take him two-to-one, they reluctantly agreed to share.
“The dragonling has returned.”
The golden dragon looked at Almer with a deep, rumbling voice that resembled an elder’s tone.
If Ruan Shu were here, she would have noticed that among these three dragons, one golden dragon looked exactly like an Eastern dragon!
Almer maintained his expressionless look. “Don’t call me a dragonling. I’m grown now.”
The golden dragon stroked his whiskers with his claws. “Watch that attitude, kiddo. Is that how you talk to your grandfather?”
Indeed, the golden dragon was Almer’s maternal grandfather. Almer’s bloodline was a blend of Eastern and Western dragons, making his dragon form noticeably more elongated than typical Western dragons.
At barely a hundred years old, his dragonling form was sizable but still had the chubby look of a young dragon compared to the fully grown adults.
After his second transformation, Almer’s beast form might change again, but what he would become was anyone’s guess.
On Dragon Island, only those with the pure dragon bloodline recognized by the clan—who could transform into fully formed Eastern dragons or Western dragons wielding eleJingshens—were considered true dragons. Creatures like dinosaurs or lizard-like drakes, while having “dragon” in their names, were rejected by both Eastern and Western dragons alike for being “too ugly.”
Some were dragon hybrids with other star beasts, retaining dragon blood yet taking different forms. They were acknowledged but were restricted from entering the central areas of Dragon Island.
Dragons, whether Eastern or Western, were notoriously proud and fiercely territorial.
The golden dragon spoke to him earnestly, “Dear dragonling, next time you run into something like this, just come directly to your grandfather.”
“Hey, hey, what’s the meaning of that, old man?”
The other two dragons were immediately displeased upon hearing his words.
“Don’t forget we’re also his uncles and family members. Why bring favoritism into this? We were there from the day he was born, watching over him, spoon-feeding him…”
“Ahem!”
Almer’s eyelid twitched as he interrupted, unwilling to hear any further. Spoon-feeding? As Emperor of the Star Beast Empire, he did not accept such descriptions!
It wasn’t even true!
“Fine, fine, little dragon who loves saving face.”
The red dragon rolled its eyes.
“Can we take this orchid now?”
While speaking, the green dragon transformed into its human form. Although an aged dragon, his human appearance was that of a young and robust man—taller and more muscular than Almer, with long green hair that gave him an elven look.
Upon hearing that they wanted to take the orchid, Director Hao became anxious, completely disregarding the dragons’ intimidating aura as he quickly stepped forward to try and stop them.
“No, no, I haven’t finished studying this mutated orchid!”
He was genuinely pained at the thought of the dragons taking it away. This was a once-in-a-lifetime find…
“Enough with the noise.”
Almer took out a pot of Green Pothos from his space ring and handed it to Director Hao.
“Study this instead.”
Director Hao: “??!!!”
It couldn’t be what he thought, could it?
The three dragons turned their gaze, all eyes fixed on the ivy in Almer’s hands.
“A mutated Green Pothos. Its known ability is to purify airborne pollutants, though the range is limited—a 300-meter radius.”
Director Hao’s hands trembled as he held the ivy pot, almost dropping it in shock. He quickly tightened his grip, eyes wide with excitement.
The other three dragons stared intensely at the ivy he was clutching, their eyes practically glowing, clearly conveying one thing:
They wanted it!
Director Hao hugged the pot even tighter, even pulling his coat over it to shield it from the dragons’ sight.
The golden dragon, looking at his grandson who was clearly siding with an outsider, couldn’t hide his disappointment.
So foolish! A treasure like this, and you’re giving it to someone outside the family instead of your dear grandfather?
Almer pretended not to notice the piercing gaze from his grandfather.
This ivy was something Shushu had recently cultivated. Green Pothos was exceptionally easy to grow; she already had five pots of it, though they were smaller and just sprouting fresh leaves.
But to Director Hao, none of that mattered.
“This… this is also…”
Almer nodded. “Yes, it’s a gift from the Ruan family to thank you for providing inhibitors to the Third Legion and other divisions.”
Director Hao’s mouth dropped open. “Does Marshal Ruan’s family have more?”
Almer invited Director Hao inside and closed the door behind him.
Director Hao was someone Almer trusted implicitly. He was also Ruan Xinglan’s mentor.
Ruan Xinglan was a genius in both mechanics and potion-making.
But that guy, Ruan Xinglan, wasn’t the type to settle down. Instead of working full-time at the research institute, he preferred wandering about freely.
After some discussion, they decided to share some information with Director Hao. With more mutated plants likely to emerge, the research might require the institute’s equipment, and Ruan Xinglan had even agreed to officially join the institute. He would work closely with Director Hao, his former mentor, to study these mutated plants.
So Almer was here to give him an initial heads-up.
“All you need to know is that these mutated plants are connected to the Ruan family. Don’t ask about the rest. Ruan Xinglan will be joining the institute, and you’ll collaborate on the research concerning these plants. This should remain confidential from others.”
Director Hao’s heart skipped a beat. He looked incredulous, his eyes widening slightly.
“Your Majesty, are you saying there will be more of them?”
Almer nodded.
The three dragons leaned in closer, their eyes fixed intently on him.
“Listen here, young dragonling, you’re showing quite a lack of family loyalty here. Such rare treasures, and you’re not sharing them with your uncles, aunts, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, great-great-great…”
The red dragon started listing Almer’s ancestors, going back countless generations.
Before he could finish, however, Almer, fed up with their incessant nagging, reluctantly pulled out another potted green plant—this one with elegant, clear lines and a particularly beautiful appearance.
The three dragons and Director Hao all focused their gazes on it, utterly captivated.
With a face full of reluctance, Almer finally handed it over, though he had really, really wanted to keep it for himself.
“This is a gift from Shushu to express her thanks.”