Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 848 - 847 - True Lord Candidate

The Celestial Fields were dying. All the Immortals knew it and had given up hope. They did not have the power to turn things around. The majority of the realm had died over a million years ago but the outer edges and above remained.

A few pockets protected by Divine Realm power also remained at first but many of those were gone. Only a handful remained.

Far above it all and looking at the ever encroaching void, were the Immortal Elementals. Only 3 still lived but unlike the other cultivators, they could fly forever on elemental Qi. It was what they were aside from flesh and blood.

Food was never something they needed so they survived but their time was coming to an end like all else.

They had not spoken in over 500 thousand years as there was nothing left to say. It was all over and just waiting for the realm to die.

It was then that the Heavens shifted. They were already far above the clouds and near the Layer Barrier, but all 3 Immortals felt the tingle on their skin as power suddenly began to gather for the first time in over a million years.

Was someone going through a tribulation? A few had been felt at the far edges of the realm but they were barely passable.

The cultivator likely became an Immortal but only of the lowest quality. They would likely never advance again in the heyday of the Celestial Fields let alone the devastated land it was now.

Yet, no lightning was sparking nor was the pressure of a trial felt, but almost like a solemnity none of them could immediately place.

"It can't be…" A lithe woman that was more crimson than other colors in her elements suddenly felt her core shift in wonder as an ancient memory came up.

"What is it, Esmerelda?" A broad shouldered old man floated over but the third kept examining the strange reaction of the skies to something they could not pinpoint.

All that changed when Esmerelda began to cry.

Both men were stunned as she had been distant and controlled for as long as they had known her. Only when the realm fell did they all 3 weep at the loss of the life on a scale none could fully grasp.

She was about to speak when a roar was heard. It was a familiar roar to anyone that had lived for more than a thousand years in the Celestial Fields long ago. It was the roar of a dragon but for the 3 Immortals, they felt all the hair stand up on the back of their necks.

The elemental Qi began to move and coalesce into 6 different dragons but it did not stop there! The 6 demonic elements repeated the process. Ryuu, winged, wingless, heavily armored, and more dragons were formed and all roared in pride across the sky.

They assumed it was over when another 6 elements suddenly appeared!

At first they thought it was Fiend Qi but it felt very different. It barely existed and none of them knew what it was. It also formed 6 more dragons. Eighteen! There were 18 dragons now formed of elemental Qi and clouds.

Heavenly pressure grew and the once crumbling edges slowed and then stopped! Shock flooded the 2 men but Esmerelda began to laugh and cry more.

Hope bloomed in her for the first time in over a million years!

Nothing else seemed to happen until a column of emerald light pierced the sky from somewhere in the devastated lands.

All 3 Immortals got as close as they could and saw a dragon temple still standing! At the heart of the temple that gave off a Divine Aura, the emerald light was actually a kind of Qi!

It slowly joined the other dragons dancing in the clouds. It had no wings, but massive limbs compared to most Ryuu. The large mane and 3 horns facing forward on its broad head left a sharp impression on them all.

It roared and the Heavens shook! Esmerelda began to dance in midair! She was laughing and smiling!

The display calmed and finally dispersed but the crumbling had stopped!

"W-what just happened?!" The large old man was stunned, and found a spark of hope as he felt a shift in the realm that made it stable. The Laws around them got slightly denser but only just.

Would it continue, or would it eventually begin to die again?

"A True Lord of the Dragons has come! Heaven and Earth have acknowledged them as a candidate and they accepted! Thank the spirits!" Both men were in shock at her words but it meant little to them.

"Why would a Dragonlord be so important?" The slimmer man was bald but his skin was an even balance of shifting elemental colors. HIs question made her shake her head at him.

"Not a Dragonlord. Those are just self proclaimed rulers of an area or clan. A True Lord of Dragons is a title bestowed by Heaven and Earth. It means they are acknowledged as the leader of their race by the world!" Esmerelda then paused as she frowned.

She shot across the sky across the world and then smiled.

"So, the final Inheritance still stands! The Inheritance of Judgement and Soul already passed so all that is left is the Inheritance of Blood." Both men wished she would explain more but she was too giddy.

It became infectious as not only the Immortals, but all the Elementals began to dance in the sky. Hope had bloomed in the Celestial Fields but none knew if it would be taken away. They simply enjoyed the moment while they had it.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

Lind felt changed on a fundamental level. He realized he had been chosen as a True Lord Candidate. Before facing the Lord of Souls Inheritance, he knew it would have been very dangerous.

The reason being that he felt connected to every dragon everywhere not just in the Celestial Fields but in all realms!

He could feel even the variant races to an extent. How could a cultivator that focused only on his mortal wants and needs possibly deal with such a responsibility!

He found he could moderate the flow of information but he also felt like his control of Laws had exploded compared to before.

He had been fumbling and grasping what he could to comprehend his Laws before but now he was able to step back and see other aspects to the Laws. His Laws for production became more profound as he suddenly leapt forward to the peak of mid-Sliver Tier!

His body also was changed as a much stronger soul returned safely to it and he knew he could put out 4 to 5 times the power he could before! His efficiency also became terrifying as he understood far better how Laws could be applied to his Arts and skills.

He could now make mid grade 7 elixirs if he was right with ease! Forging was not far behind and weaving was just leaving them both in the dust. He could see a 7th circle slowly forming but he no longer feared it at all.

He opened his eyes and found himself bathed in harmonic Qi. His body was rippling with power and he took a moment to make sure he had it under control as he brought the Qi under control.

He looked far up and felt 18 resonating dragons forms far above! He closed his eyes and realized something nearly soul crushing.

He was a progenitor but that was not why he was a True Lord Candidate. He was a True Lord Candidate because he had reforged his soul, perspective, and had been judged by an approved Divine Realm to even try.

He grasped that long ago, True Lords were the original beasts created by Heaven and Earth as the most basic forms. They lived and ruled without question but the slot could only be claimed by 3 Divine Realm arbiters chosen by the last True Lord.

There was a conflict in that knowledge but he could not see what it was. It was beyond his current understanding.

"They are reaching the end of their lives. I will need to choose 3 more one day." The understanding came to him and he smiled at himself. He was assuming he would pass the last Inheritance but he would shoulder it all.

He would because he felt one more thing.

The entirety of the Celestial Realm now rested on his shoulders. The True Lords had one other function that made a hell of a lot of sense in context of the great hunts he had heard about.

The True Lords acted as guardians for the Celestial Realm! Now that a candidate had been chosen and 2 Inheritance Trials passed, he was getting a taste of it.

All he could do was stop the crumbling as it was the limit of his power. To be honest, he was not even sure how he did it. He just knew he desperately wished for it and it happened. He could feel it.

Lind came back to the present and the harmonic Qi was brought under control as he saw he was still in the top room of the temple.

Unlike before, however, the old woman was kneeling and he felt like the temple had come to life around him.

His once simple robes were transformed with black and emerald swirling actively around him. It matched his ring.

"Rise, senior. I am only a candidate, I am not a True Lord yet." His words broke the silence but they felt right. She smiled as she slowly stood up and looked him over.

"Even so, you have no idea how happy I am right now. Please, sit. We have much to discuss." Lind smiled and took a seat as fresh tea was set out. They did indeed have a lot to discuss.