Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 859 - 858 - Limit of True Lords

The Temple of Souls was never intended to be a place of several powers to gather. Meeting rooms were relatively small, even by human standards. The few exceptions were the High Priestess' quarters and an area set aside for production masters to set up shop.

The clan branches were only meant for easy relay of messages or letting potential acolytes prepare to be submitted to the temple.

When the Cataclysm fell, changes had to be made but the limited space was already tight. Thus, an area once reserved for acolyte training was converted into a larger meeting room.

It was a wide open square space open to the elements but dragons rarely cared about such a thing. Rain or shine, they lived in the wider world as it was.

Now, a large stone slab made up a table with massive space set aside around it. Some dragons in human form were there but most were in their natural state.

Victus had come with his son who was a similarly large man but had a wild mane of crimson gold hair trailing down his open vested robes. The Sunfire Clan sat near a few others but they said little.

A dragon with obsidian and silver scales was on their right but looked asleep curled up in a ball! It was a dragon normally found in the depths of seas or oceans but were now all that remained of their race let alone their Clan.

On their left was a dragon that seemed rotund compared to most of the others but few would dare take him head on as his pale gold body rumbled with power even standing still. His wide snout was much more shallow compared to rest as well.

"The stubborn old fool has still not retired." Victus whispered but his words drew the stout dragon's attention. He seemed to sneer at them but they remained unperturbed.

"Try not to start a fight yet. I suspect the new True Lord–" His son was reprimanding him when a wave went through the gathering at those 2 words.

"True Lord? A child not of our race was chosen and now is throwing a tantrum! Ha!" Shimmering scales reflected the sunlight as a dragon with his wings swept up stood at his full height over the table.

More than a few frowned but others nodded. The 2 horns on his head shimmered with light and earth Qi but his color was almost a burnt orange.

"Lord Helios, you felt the call as we all did. The anger was there too but it was not out of control. Surely you are not suggesting something foolish?" A woman spoke up from her chair and brought silence to the room. Her dark blue hair was nearly black but her eyes were steel colored.

The lithe figure was covered in armor like chainmail rather than robes. A dark blue welp was in her arms but its tiny head now stared at Helios in ridicule.

"A slut has no place here." Helios was sneering before he was suddenly slammed into the wall. No one moved much aside from looking at him splayed into the wall.

The woman had not moved but gave a tired sigh.

"I can fight my own battles, Victus." A bald head appeared as the dust cleared as Victus stood with his arms behind his back.

"True, but my honor makes me want to teach an idiot proper manners for the meeting. Afterall, there are limits to impropriety." More than half the dragons stared at Victus, waiting for the lightning bolt to strike him from above.

Lord Sunfire held his head in his hands as he wanted to slap his own father for such hypocritical words.

"Enough fooling around! Where is this True Lord that summoned us?" Another man spoke up with a fur covered set of robes. His large frame left no doubt of his rippling muscles as his dark grey eyes were impatient.

[I have been here awhile but was admittedly intrigued to see how this would play out.] A new voice suddenly entered all their minds and they could not stop it at all! Their mental defenses were not weak, yet that voice brushed past them like they weren't even there!

Victus flinched and was suddenly by his son once more. More than a few were surprised at such a meek response from a legendary warrior well known for his short temper.

The air shimmered at the center of the table before a human appeared. Shock flooded the group as no one had sensed a thing until he appeared!

His emerald hair was long but his eyes were cold and made more than a few shiver unexpectedly.

His eyes were locked not on the recovering Helios, but on a dragon sitting almost away from the table and her neighbors. Her scales were slate gray and harder than most armor. Dragons had excellent defenses but that clan was head and shoulders above the entire race.

Her amber eyes were half closed as if she was bored of the meeting already. More than a few already sighed at her reluctance to acknowledge anyone of them.

Scale Shelled dragons were on a level of arrogance that even shamed the other dragons.

"Lady Takara, I am taking all your hybrids." Many had theorized the reason for the meeting but not one could have guessed that. Finally, the dragon opened her eyes and looked at the True Lord before her body began to shake.

It was not easy to grasp for other races, but dragons could tell she was laughing.

"I am not sure what antics you wish to get up to with those tools of ours, but you cannot take them all. Not even a True Lord can dictate to the clans." Her words were not technically wrong.

The True Lord of the races had considerable power, but they were not gods. They could not simply command loyalty because they existed for instance. Free will could not be robbed from living beings.

"You misunderstand. I am not giving an order. I am telling you what I will be doing. I am not a fool nor, as Lord Helios suggested, throwing a tantrum. I am going to build something that needs help." Curiosity appeared in some eyes, but not in Takara.

Her aura became heavy before she leaned forward to stare down at the True Lord.

"And if I refuse to give them to you?" She was one of the few Shard Tiers still alive at the temple. It would not be wrong to say she could squash him like a bug normally.

The True Lord then smiled and every dragon there backed up instinctively. There was no anger in him, they could feel it. What they did feel was amusement.

He was allowing them to see his emotions, all of them.

"Do you want to know how much time you all have left to live?" His question again caught them off guard. What did he mean?

"You threaten us? You simply expect us to obey because of a chance opportunity fell into your hands, human?" Takara's words actually made Helios squirm. The man was arrogant and easily angered, but even he would not insult a human that got a dragon soul.

The True Lord now began to laugh.

"Even if I was not a True Lord, I could tell you that the moment the crumbling touches any part of the Qi wall, we all die. Not just here, but everywhere. All the realms will die at that moment." It was not a fact hidden from them. Many had guessed already that was the truth.

"So then what? You think you can force us to obey with false hope? I know you have been building something. You then went to the sky for 20 years and came back with nothing! How dare you claim to be able to help us?! I will keep my playthings–" All knew where she was going but then she seemed unable to speak.

Victus was sweating heavily as he fell to the ground. Thundering sounds were heard as all the dragons slammed into the ground in terror.

The human shaped dragons also fell to the ground without exception.

"None of you know me. I cannot force you to obey. Even this little trick is a true tantrum. I know the limits of True Lords better than you can imagine. However, not one of you can stop me from teaching you. Unlike anyone else I have encountered, you should be able to grasp the gravity of what we face!" It was the last warning they all received when a tide of knowledge filled their heads.

Roars and screams filled the meeting room. At the center of it was a man calmly staring at the writhing dragons. They could not stop him!

The conditions for a True Lord to be able to force a mental attack was very strict but to force knowledge had no such barrier! The True Lord was using that narrow window to show them all what he had experienced and grasped on his cultivation journey.

They saw the struggle of his early days at the Soul Realm briefly but skipped to the first encounter with the Fiends and the aether children slaves.

They saw the Void of Heaven and his near death in the void.

They saw the war he waged on so many fronts as he peeled back the cloud of his way forward as a cultivator.

Finally, they all saw the dark figure that snuffed out Lanbao like she was nothing. They felt its power but then things changed.

[Ants should not play with fire. You give me another chance to kill you, fool.] All of them trembled as they understood the creature was reaching through time and memory! How could it do that?

[It is my memory, not yours. Stay in the past where you belong!] All were in awe as a massive emerald ryuu type dragon appeared. It had 3 horns and a massive set of limbs and mane.

It did something that pushed them ahead safely. How did an Immortal do that?!

Finally, they saw the designs and experiments to make what their True Lord dreamed and the command of the spirits of Heaven and Earth.

[As I have stated, I am taking the hybrids. Some do not wish to leave but those that do, are mine. We have no time for games or pride. Time is not on our side.]

His words flew into their minds and they finally understood. It was not another million years on their side at all! The only thing keeping them alive was him!

On one edge of the Celestial fields, some damned fool had a massive battle that ate away at the remaining land. Even they could tell they had been a few centuries from death!

The onslaught ended and left them heaving around the meeting table.

"I will take them in 3 days. Any dragons that wish to come must pass my tests. There are exceptions to that rule. The Sunfire Clan, the Starshell Clan, and Nether Clan. Any volunteers from those 3, please report to me in 3 days as well. Thank you," With that, he flew off and left them to recover.

No one said a word save the tiny welp crying out in worry over his mistress. It seemed it was spared.

"Anyone insults the True Lord in the future, I will kill them myself." Helios shocked all with his declaration. No one at that table disagreed. He had faced such a terrifying being and they could tell it had become his goal. Such a strength of soul could only command respect.

They all recovered and left to begin their plans.