Beneath the Red Dragon-Chapter 178 - 72: Slicing the Divine Spirit, Part 5

"Sit down, don’t be polite," Karon motioned for the two to sit, as if he wasn’t the one who had just spoken sarcastically. "Hughes, I heard from Gomot that the terms you proposed this time are exceptionally generous."

Karon glanced at the Squinting Mage, whose eyes had returned to calmness, and asked while gently tapping the cold stone table with his red claws: "You said you could establish a Magic Academy in my territory, integrate it into the Giant Dragon Academy, and impart magic knowledge for a fee."

"You will also donate your mages’ small inventions from experiments, like the improved papermaking and printing technique, to the Dragon Group for free. I don’t believe you would pay such a price just for trading with me and earning some gold coins. Tell me, what’s your real purpose? Or are you here to demand returns on past investments!"

Karon’s gaze suddenly turned stern, fixing his eyes on Hughes, and he solemnly said: "Don’t give me any excuses unless you think giant dragons are fools!"

"Of course not, Karon," Hughes’s expression also became solemn. "Our investment in you is just because we have faith in your future. The profits from those gold coins are nothing to us mages. This investment is merely to enhance our relationship!"

Mage Hughes stood up, took a deep breath, and then said, "Karon, I can tell you something, which is also the root of us Scholar Mages. This represents our attitude and sincerity."

Karon’s expression softened a bit, and he nodded.

"In a distant era, after the world was dominated by dragons, much like the times when elves and dwarves ruled the world, there was an era created by many great mages."

"In that great era, which all mages yearned for, the Magic Civilization was extremely prosperous. Those legendary mages established a great empire, the Magic Empire, and the ruler of the empire was called the Magic Emperor. There was also a Supreme Magic Council that only Legendary Mages could ascend to!"

The Squinting Mage Hughes’s tone carried a touch of fanaticism as he swung his arms as if giving a speech on stage,

"In that great Magic Empire, there were hundreds of Legendary Mages, and even many who stepped into the Demigod Domain,"

"With the exploration and development of civilization, the Magic Empire conquered world after world of the Plane, and these mages were no longer satisfied with establishing Mage Towers in ground domains,"

"Thus, they used their mighty knowledge to construct countless Sky Tower Complexes. Endless Floating Cities hovered over the Endless World, ruling over all creatures. Their mighty power even rivaled the divine glory,"

The Squinting Mage’s eyes widened, and endless yearning and envy appeared on his face. "At the peak of their power, these mages even drove the Sky Tower Complex and endless Floating Cities into the void chaos to explore endless knowledge and mysteries,"

"They even dared to reach out toward divine spirits, blocking human gods’ faith and divine power, attempting to cut off the Divine Kingdoms for study, and there were even crazed mages planning to capture divine spirits alive for dissection and research!" As the mage spoke, a look of fear suddenly appeared on his face,

"But at a certain moment, this immensely powerful Magic Empire suddenly collapsed in a single night. The Magic Emperor was personally killed by the gods, the Supreme Magic Council fell apart, the endless Sky Tower Complex crashed to the ground and into the seas like falling rain, and the infinite Floating Cities also descended into the Endless Abyss,"

"The entire Magic Civilization was erased in an instant, its historical existence buried by time. This memory only exists in the recollections of some ancient divine spirits and life forms, and no records could survive in the world."

Mage Hughes swallowed, pausing in his storytelling, and looked dryly at Karon, who wore a listening-to-stories expression.

"What a pity, a great civilization," Karon returned to his senses. However, from his perspective, though this Magic Civilization had commendable courage, it was clear they had overreached with their study of magic.

Even a powerful species like dragons, spread across every world, wouldn’t lightly act against the gods. Though now the dragon species is in decline, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Even if there’s only one Ancient Dragon per Plane, all the endless Planes added together would definitely surpass the power of this Magic Empire.

Although the power of Legendary Mages seems unattainable from Karon’s perspective, it’s likely insignificant in divine spirits’ eyes. After all, Legendary Mages merely touch and master rules, whereas divine spirits almost equate to the source of laws.

"So, you Scholar Mages are descendants of the Magic Empire, the remnants of that civilization?" Karon asked.

"More or less," the mage nodded, "We’ve summarized history and know that a purely Magic Mage civilization is madness. Magic civilization can be the pillar of civilization, but it cannot be too pure."

"So, what’s your purpose in seeking me?" Karon seemed to have some understanding.

"That’s part of it, another reason is through the residual memories of history, we’ve discovered much magic knowledge and civilization from the Magic Empire lost in other Planes,"

Mage Hughes said eloquently, "But the situation of each Plane is different. Only dragons, as creatures existing since the creation of heaven and earth, are not severely suppressed or affected by various Planes like other creatures. In this regard, even Legendary Mages are inferior to you dragons!"

Karon nodded. The reason dragons are called perfect beings is thus, not only can they survive in all environments, but in almost every Plane, their presence also exists. Even some creatures stronger than dragons are unable to achieve this.

For example, the Legendary Creatures that considered dragons as prey, the Thorn-tailed Mountain Cat.