Tian Jie had never felt this free. Even though it was his first flight and he had been fighting a little while ago, he felt strong and invigorated like never before. He could feel for the very first time the wind while flapping his new wings. The view from high in the sky was breathtaking. The exhilarating feeling was totally different from being stranded on the ground.

The miraculous golden braid was tightly coiled around his long neck. Of course, the magic elements it contained had all been absorbed by Tian Jie, allowing him to m.a.t.u.r.e from a mere snake to a dragonling. Even though he was old enough to be a full-fledged dragon of the royal family of Lysania, he had to find his own sustenance and absorb the magic elements in the air without any help from the pool of mage-servants available in the royal school.

He really resented his whole family for judging him unworthy and leaving him on his own. Even his own mother had shunned him, when dragon mothers were supposed to be overprotective and carefully tend to the young generation. On the contrary, from the moment Tian Jie hatched, he had been loathed by everyone and his parents had mistreated him for being albino. A white dragon was supposed to be a bad omen, a curse and a scourge for the entire family and the dragon species as a whole. Well, if he ever became powerful, he intended to make this prophesy come true...

After his encounter with the legendary dragon, albeit from far away, he had realized that the dragons from the Infinite forest were still alive and some were out of their slumber, meaning they had their own supply for magic elements.

If they could spare a small amount for him, it would be better than what he had in Lysania. Therefore, he was willing to betray his homeland and his kingdom – which he was far from being entitled to rule in any case – if he could live and grow in the dragons' lair in the Infinite forest.

Obviously, it was a risky bet and his life was at stake. He absolutely was no match for any of the legendary dragons, should they decide to kill him. However, he had also experienced life all by himself and it was dangerous too, with little prospect to grow into a real dragon. Lucky encounters were far too seldom. In the end, his life could hardly be worse than the one he had in Lysania, despised and scorned by everybody, even being bullied by the servants.

Before leaving Lysania, he had sworn to have his revenge once he became a powerful dragon. His enemies were his own family members, all of Lysanian royalties. They were the strongest in the kingdom and they were ruthless. Therefore, he didn't have the slightest qualm about consorting with another, more powerful, dragon bloodline.

Tian Jie was now headed to the Infinite Forest, enjoying his very first flight. Flying was easy for him. Before leaving Lysania, he had carefully learned everything he could, enduring the ill-treatment for the sake of being fully prepared. He had watched with envy when his siblings had their first, albeit awkward, flights.

He had waited for years to have his own first flight. It was a miracle that he could m.a.t.u.r.e to a dragonling in the first place, and it was all thanks to the magic braid, thanks to the woman he had just met and who selflessly gave such treasure to him.

In his heart, this stranger had become very dear. He didn't know her name so he called her Xiao Bianzi, because she gave him a braid. Xiao Bianzi was far more precious to him than his despicable mother, to whom he was still indebted as she gave him his life and allowed him to survive and learn, up until now. There was no love between his mother and him. But both women had made him who he was right now, he needed to keep growing and become stronger in order to repay his debts. And the best place for his growth was definitely the dragons' city in the Infinite forest.

He knew the only locations deemed worthy of a dragons' nest were Lysania and the Infinite Forest. There had to be a high concentration of magic elements as well as volcanoes. However, the ratio between fire elements and the others could not exceed a certain level. Contrary to what one would think, the fire elements were not very useful to nurture young dragons or even the grown ones, a balance was highly recommended. The heat and overall environmental conditions were mandatory, but these locations were very poor in water elements and had close to no life elements.

Life elements were the most powerful and most mysterious of the magic elements. Most humans didn't know about it, but dragons' knowledge was vast and ancient. The royal library in Lysania had tomes dated prior the revered mages of Ancient Aliker. And the golden braid had been full of these miraculous and rare life magic elements, moreover, the quality and purity were excellent.

Fire elements were just sparks, water elements were droplets or even steam, earth elements were specks of dust, all filled with magic. Wind elements were particles in the air, rather unsubstantial and difficult to absorb, even though they were present almost everywhere.

Life elements, however, were seldom found in the environment and if ever, it was a very small amount. Every living being, even animals and plants, were keen on preserving its life and keeping it as long as possible. As they aged, a tiny amount was still released in the air every now and then. But it was so insignificant that it went unnoticed to the average magic users.

Indeed, it would be suicidal to throw away life elements as this would shorten one's life. Moreover, the magic disappeared as soon as the life itself ended. Therefore, whether it was a living being or a dead one, life elements wouldn't be easily available, except by f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y s.u.c.k.i.n.g out the life force of someone. And even this criminal method was uncertain and would fail more often than not or bring unpredictable results.

In his wanderings, Tian Jie had come across several volcanoes but they were far from the ideal location for him to settle down. In the end, he had to try his luck in the Infinite forest. But just when he found the entrance portal to the dragons' city, the huge legendary dragon had appeared and left in a hurry.

At that time, they had been called Absolute Sources, as they also had an unusually high absorption rate of the other elements and could also provide them at will. Moreover, they were suspected to be immortal. Most people didn't know about the life elements and nobody knew the actual life span of the Absolute Sources. However, the mere rumor about them had already created turmoils all over the world.

In other countries, Lysania included, magic users absorbed magic elements from the environment. But for dragons in Lysania or for mages who needed a huge amount in a short time and didn't object to stealing from others, they f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y drained magic elements from the magic core of slaves or prisoners. The mage-servants of the royal school in Lysania fared slightly better than the rest but in the end, their lives would be forfeited, since dragons also needed life elements.

The discovery of the kingdom of Ancient Aliker had been so mind-blowing that it had aroused the greed of the whole world and with the Lysania dragons as their spearhead, the envious nations had stormed and pillaged the kingdom of Ancient Aliker. The special bloodline had been highly sought-after and often forcefully seized. During this troubled era, the Absolute Sources disappeared, hidden by their masters to avoid conflicts, and finally used and abused to no end until nobody could trace their whereabouts.

Of course, these dark pages of History had been rewritten in all countries, only remaining in the dusty reports hidden away in the royal library of Lysania.

Generations later, as a descendant of this bloodline had suddenly and miraculously shown up almost right in front of Tian Jie, and had been snatched away by a legendary dragon, the white dragonling didn't want to let this opportunity slip away.

Even just a little, there could be some benefits to harvest by staying close to an Absolute Source. Tian Jie didn't have any mean to teleport, he could only guess that the legendary dragon would bring the Absolute Source back to its nest, and thus in the Infinite Forest. It had been quite a long distance for Tian Jie's first flight.

The only remaining problem was definitely to find a way to get into the dragons' city and stay permanently and peacefully. Tian Jie landed near the portal and observed the magic runes engraved in the surrounding rocks. He had an extensive knowledge from the numerous books in the royal library in the Lysanian capital, however his expertise was still lacking as the magic runes were really ancient and somewhat worn out.

Nevertheless, he was able to infer the way to activate the runes and have the magic circle appear. He then had to pour magic elements on a specific symbol which was supposed to be the key. However, once activated, he wouldn't be able to do anything except appear right in the middle of the dragons' territory. Possibly facing a huge threat as, he was sure, the activation of the magic circle would alert some guards.

Arriving unannounced would greatly lower his prospects as a would-be inhabitant of the dragons' city. Obviously, it was not possible to just come and visit the place for sight-seeing and enjoy a pleasant stay. He decided to bring some kind of present and humbly present himself. Surely if he was already on his knees, they might listen to his plea ?

Without a doubt, Tian Jie had seen the great legendary dragon fight a legion of Lysanian dragons before disappearing, thanks to some magic tool or another that could use the lost space magic to teleport to another place. However, it was certain that both dragon groups didn't get along with each other. Moreover, the dragons from Lysania were now aware of the Absolute Source carried by the legendary dragon, therefore they would surely crave for it and want to take it away. It seemed totally careless to let an unknown dragonling enter the city without any question or control.

Tian Jie turned into his human form. Of course, his appearance was still unusual with his silver hair and white outfit. He raised his head and looked around. The square was made of rocks and he could see a lot of runes all over the walls. They were too numerous, he couldn't possibly study them now.

He took a deep breath. Somehow, the air itself felt extremely good, it was filled with all kinds of magic elements. The proportions were perfect and he could even sense life elements, which were lacking in the royal school in Lysania. This place was even better than the best location in the entire Lysanian kingdom. It felt incredible to just stand here at the entrance. Tian Jie believed he had just found El Dorado for the dragon species. He had to stay in this city. Now that he had set a foot here, it was impossible to live elsewhere. He couldn't settle for any other place in the whole world.

He still had in his hand his most precious jewel. He had been reluctant to part with it but now it seemed a very small tribute. If it could allow him to stay, he would gladly give up his most treasured possession.

As nobody came to welcome him or to ask what his business was, he decidedly walked towards the half-slumbering dragon-guard. Whether it was his human form or his dragonling one, Tian Jie felt really small and scrawny, compared to the other dragon. Now, it was his time to shine. If he could persuade this guard and enter the city, he felt that everything would be fine and his future seemed really bright. He was just a few steps away from paradise.

However, heedless of Tian Jie's good intentions, the guard lazily sent the intruder flying with a flick of his powerful and massive tail. Breathless and hurting all over, Tian Jie lost consciousness in the middle of the rubble where hehad landed heavily.