Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1421 - 1420 - Factions

Lind felt like something strange had happened with the dragons but no one told him anything occurred. He was not sure he believed them but he had to move on.

He was now in something more familiar if made of strange materials. A large desk made of stellar stone sat in a room of crystal and flame. He had to carve out a space for himself that did not rely on his weavings for many reasons but most importantly because he simply had to study the materials he now had the chance to try out.

The Throne of Defiance had become a bottomless well of Law Grade materials!

His Seed ideas had seemed to become part of his Throne. It made sense as Harmonic Dragons needed a metric ton of resources to advance. It was not as simple as hunting beasts or cultivating as they grew more intelligent.

Just like with 6 elementals in humans or demons, the dragons suffered the same issues in the Soul and World Realms.

It required an immediate grasp of what he needed them to understand but they had access to the race memory which was pretty much his alone at the moment. They instinctively tempered their Soul Cores while improving their foundations.

They leapt to the World Realm all at once just as he had learned before as well. Their tribulations were far tamer than his but far harsher than most other beasts.

Normally that was a benefit to being a beast. The early tribulations were more of an affirmation and refinement of the bloodline than a test of will.

It was only at the Heaven Realm that changed or if a bloodline bestowed intelligence that required cultivation techniques.

Following the path of humans and demons brought the commensurate price.

So he had quickly needed a space to safely allow them to face tribulations that could withstand it. He needed to study any and all differences to allow future generations to benefit from it.

Each generation would now add to the race memory so he wanted them to grasp as much as they could.

The apparatus at the heart of the room was literally a tribulation platform but it was far larger than any platform other powers would use.

The dragons had advanced like mad but thankfully the Gold Tier Tribulation was where they started to slow down enough for him to keep up. Still, after they became World Realms was when the resource issue cropped up.

The Throne of Defiance had not fully settled and was still changing. The needs of its occupants brought about massive shifts in elements and speed of growth. The higher the first generation became in cultivation realms. The faster the Throne grew.

It did not take long for him to realize that he had to help the Throne along or there could be drastic consequences. Once he saw how the dragons interacted with the Throne's energies, he added his own but the results were stunning.

The previously fairly weak enclaves of various elements and resources shifted dramatically. It was like his Seed idea was given form by Heaven and Earth! It went far beyond his own mid Sovereign Tier level as well!

The caverns, oasis, and other areas carved out by his contribution allowed the harmonic dragons to achieve explosive growth at last. He also noted that the higher realms required massive amounts of those resources.

Where a normal aether beast, even by dragon standards, could advance simply by consumption or basking their primary elements, the Harmonic Dragons actually needed to experience or consume every facet of their elemental set in relation to their harmony.

Just as some harmonies leaned towards combat, support, or healing, the dragons also had more esoteric harmonies.

He had come across a Celestial dragon that actually focused on Time. Not to control it or have dominion over it, but to actually understand it. Once she could speak, he had found himself lost as she excitedly spoke about paradoxes and other phenomena possible with Time.

There was a demonic dragon that focused on Samsara, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. She was not far off from being a phoenix now that she was an Immortal!

He was simply gathering his thoughts when one of the jade stones he embedded into the stellar stone lit up. A smirk crossed his face as his aura sunk into it.

[I did not expect you to come, Evie.] The demoness had been giving Kal headaches from what he had heard but the 2 Akashic Bloodline Physiques generally got along.

[And miss this?! Hardly! Also, a little blonde woman made it clear if I did not help, she would reduce me to a gibbering pile of slag with words alone.] A flash of Qing went through his mind and his smile widened.

She could definitely do it. Her power over the mind with words was not a light threat at all!

[What do you need?] Evie's question caught him off guard. She had served the Frey Clan for a long time but went back to being a power unto herself long ago. Still, if she was willing, he just needed to confirm one thing.

[How much will it cost me?] A full throated laugh came through but she quickly got herself under control.

[As the True Lords called this, I will at least give you this much for free. Factions.] His eyes narrowed as he sat up. He took the next part far more seriously. [Essentially, it boils down to this–]

Supremacy Faction: An alliance of both supreme and ancient powers that do not want the status quo taken down. They would resist any drastic changes but even they accepted they had to give up something to quell the chaos.

Guild Faction: Money. All they cared about was resources and the regular flow of them to fill their coffers. Alchemists, sects focused on production, and others were the majority of that faction.

Beast Faction - Sovereign Lands: They respect True Lords and actions that do not infringe on their territories. They will seek benefits that increase their power but will yield to true strength.

Beast Faction - Under Lands: Not united entirely but the majority of Sovereign Tiers that rule the forests. They simply want to grow in peace and are allied with Lind already in that regard.

Lower Realm Faction: The lower layers had suffered and given the current chance, many had banded together to bring both grievance and support to those that would give them enough benefits. They are not cohesive but they were on par with the others.

Fiend Eradication Faction: They were self explanatory as forces that simply wished to return the focus to the true enemy of all. They were very much in Lind's camp but only if he continued to pursue the Fiends over all else.

There were more but those were the major ones covered. Lind noticed a lack of mention of the True Lords.

[No comment on the 2 True Lords here with me?] Evie went silent for a long while until a more timid voice came back to him.

[I–may have slightly underestimated them. They do not have factions so much as fanatical followers. While they are with you to end the fighting, the shape of that end may not be in agreement either.] He could only agree.

The 2 senior True Lords had followed his lead to end the fighting but had not said whether they would stand with him or not.

They could sway not only the factions but any loose or stand alone power. Even his staunch allies from the Heavenly Maiden Sect and Divine Sword Sect did not have any say in the upper echelons of the 4th layer.

The 2 sects still sided with the Frey Clan but that was not to say they would side with him.

It was an important distinction that he could not ignore.

Even the Frey Clan, despite being largely under him due to his family, was run by much younger generations that may want to separate more from the 4th layer issues to save themselves.

He could not fully blame them either.

Fey was, of course, given to side with him, but would that hold for generations to come?

He had a new appreciation for ancestors and founders that were treated as figureheads as time passed. The old bonds faded and only the belief the old monsters would protect them remained.

[Thank you, Evie. Tell Kal to be safe too.] A cough followed by what sounded like attempts to yell at him followed before the connection broke.

"If you wanted to keep it a secret, you need to work harder on your poker face, Evie." The pair had certainly not started out as lovers but it seemed demons loved strength in their partners.

It helped that Tess knew her brother so well too to out Kal to Lind. He had laughed hard and waited. It was not often he could catch Evie off guard!

"Your mood has improved." A gentle voice brought him up sharp as Annabelle stood in front of him. He had not heard her come in!

"A–a–-annablle! It has been–um–" Why were words failing him now? He had talked just fine before and even when they were distant he had been fine! So what was wrong with him?!

Her laugh was followed by a more serious look.

"I know you have a lot on your plate at the moment but I wanted to be clear about something. I feel like a fog was on my mind and now it is gone. It does not change the fact you hurt me but I also never really talked to you about how you felt during that time. I want to have that talk and we can decide from there if we are only friends or become more but it would be a new beginning not resuming our old lives." Lind felt calmness fill his heart.

He could accept that. He also understood it. While his wives had stayed or left as was their right at the time, none of them aside from Qing really spoke to him about his mental state.

It was a conversation long overdue but not immediate. He nodded and smiled up at her. The pair then left to prepare the meeting room.

It was going to be chaos but he was not alone. That thought gave Lind a feeling of confidence he had been missing for a long time.