After the training finished, Alex was born anew. He had mastered a few rank 6 pills and arrays. His strength also increased by 170 dragon strength. 20 dragon strength from two stars breakthrough, 100 dragon strength from Strength Spirit Pill, and another 50 dragon strength from Dragon Strengthening Technique. Although the technique could give him more, Alex felt it would take too long, so he halted the progress for the time being. Besides, it was more than enough to defeat that prince.
Coming out of his room, Alex's eyes swept the room but found no one, making him wonder where everyone was.
His answer came in the form of a little boy. He had fiery red hair, running through his shoulder. He wore formal clothes from the Phoenix Race, creating elegance and majestic aura despite his appearance. His phoenix wings had a nostalgic feeling.
"Master!"
Upon hearing the voice, Alex dropped his jaw, not believing what he just heard. He clearly recognized this voice. "Kyle?"
"Yes!" He nodded furiously. "I am glad Master recognized me in an instant."
He blinked a few times, trying to confirm whether the little boy in front of him was real or not. Eventually, seeing the box who just broke through to 1-Star Martial Emperor, Alex sighed, convinced. "I see. You are really Kyle…"
"Are you doubting me, Master? I am really Kyle. I just broke through yesterday and acquired my Human Form. You can look at my wing." He flapped the little wing on his back, creating a weird noise. "I can even change back to my usual form if you want."
"Well, I certainly took around four and a half months just to get into this step… So, I know that you will soon reach the Martial Emperor since, unlike me, you don't need to consolidate your cultivation." Alex sighed.
"Well, Stina taught me many things."
"Taught you many things…" Narrowing his eyes, Alex did not know which expression he should make. Imagining Stina and Kyle' practicing…'
Facepalmed, Alex wished that the majestic Phoenix Queen would not fall to the path of sho- Ahem, fall to the forbidden path.
"Why did I feel you just thought something rude, Master?" Kyle tilted his head, confused.
"Nothing." He merely smiled, covering his weird thoughts. "Anyway, where are the others?"
"Because of my transformation, Elder Sister Sherry wants to have cute clothes first, so they are buying any clothes she wants. We don't know her size when she transforms, so they plan to buy all sizes of clothes… so it will take a while." Kyle reported.
"I see. We will wait for them here and go tonight or tomorrow. I hope I can leave this world in less than two years… which is seven months from now…"
"I think you can Master. With your speed, you only need less than four months to become a Martial Emperor." Kyle nodded.
"Yeah. I need to use the Rank 6 Energy Pill though if I want to become Martial Emperor within that time." Alex nodded, thinking about the time. "Anyway, we can talk about anything while waiting for them, such as your progress…"
"Well, because I was taught many things concerning the Phoenix, I could advance by leaps and bounds, even surpassing Elder Sister Sherry. However, I am afraid my cultivation could not advance as fast as this again, considering there is nothing left to help me increase my strength.
"In the near future, Elder Sister Sherry will overtake me again and might even leave me in the dust." He looked down, a bit sad, thinking about the time where he was not any use to Alex again and was forced to leave him.
Alex simply smiled and patted his head, feeling his sadness. "Don't worry. You are my contracted beast. If you don't have enough speed, I will just pour more resources to you. Anyway, I just want you to be safe like the others."
"Master!" Star replaced his eyes, looking at him with a teary face. "No matter what, I will always follow you."
They continued to chat until Sherry and the others came back. After considering a few things, Alex decided to go tomorrow morning with Stina and Kyle.
Sherry also had reached the 10-Star Martial King stage and only needed around two months before evolving to 1-Star Martial Emperor. However, because she needed to experience deep sleep, she might need longer. Even so, Alex only told her to take all the time she needed because he prioritized her safety.
As for Anya, she supported Sherry with all her might since her wish had been achieved. There was this weird relationship between Alex's girls. They were rivals for Alex's affection but also the greatest friends that would support each other if one of them did not get the attention they deserved.
Of course, unlike them, Sherry was like a child, judging purely by age. The same applied to Alicia and Firia.
Alex never cared about it since he was only one year older than Alicia and Firia. As for Sherry, her age was still unknown.
After dealing with a few things, Alex decided to call it a day and prepared for tomorrow's journey.
The next day, the queen waited for him like previously. Alex was a bit surprised to see Kyle with her, wondering if the queen wanted to bring Kyle or not. After hearing she wanted to bring Kyle, Alex just accepted it right away, because he could hide inside his Pure Fire. They then started flying to the sky.
...
It took them only a week to arrive at Dragon Continent by riding a Phoenix. Because of the distance, the queen deemed it unnecessary to use a ship like when he traveled to Phoenix Continent.
Just like the Phoenix Continent, the Dragon Continent was filled with Dragons soaring in the sky.
Realizing that the Phoenix Royal Family paid a visit to their continent, they bowed their heads, showing their courtesy.
After an hour flying, a dragon suddenly flew toward them, appearing to be their guide. The dragon was like a western dragon, four limbs and a pair of wings. It had a beautiful green scale, looking very hard. On the other hand, his wingspan alone reached 50 meters, making Alex look very small.
Because of this, he remembered that the Phoenix Queen also had a similar size in her Phoenix Form. Meanwhile, the prince from a few months ago seemed to only have a 30 meters wingspan. Alex was amazed, thinking that their size was related to their age.
"O' Phoenix Queen as well as Human Challenger. We have been waiting for your presence." The dragon bowed his big head, not turning into his human form. "I will be your guide to lead you to our Dragon Castle."
"Please." She smiled and asked the Phoenix to follow him. At the same time, Kyle hid inside his body, according to Stina's request.
The journey only took three hours before they arrived in a mountain range. There was a huge castle right above the hill, creating a mesmerizing picture when they were coming from behind because the sunlight was illuminating the castle from behind.
However, the castle's size was almost the same as a mountain, making Alex surprised as the phoenix's castle was not this big.
"They are known because of their castle. Unlike the Phoenix Race, they are not really bothering to change their body to the Human Form." She explained after noticing his confused look.
"Ah. So, that's why they built a castle this big…" Alex nodded.
"Anyway, you will see many dragons inside, so don't be surprised," Stina warned him.
Alex shrugged his shoulder, thinking he was glad to be a Human since if he needed to build a castle, he did not need to make one this big.
The dragon led them inside to meet their king. Alex met a few dragons inside, from red scale to blue scale.
Not long after, they arrived in front of an insanely huge door. Even a hundred of him can enter the room simultaneously. Alex was speechless about how they could waste their resources like this.
The dragon that led them opened the door, waving his hand gently. "Her Majesty Stina Blaze and the Challenger, Alexander Sirius, have arrived."
There were around nine dragons inside this big room. Three golden dragons were sitting on a spot where the throne should be, enlightening Alex of their status.
The middle one should be the Dragon King, while the one on his right and left were the Dragon Prince and Princess respectively.
"Welcome to the Dragon Continent. It brings me joy to witness the appearance of the current Supreme with my own eyes. I think I should introduce myself. I am Zephyr." The Dragon King greeted them with the aura of a sovereign.
"Former Phoenix Queen, Stina Blaze, greets the Dragon King." Stina also greeted him. Although her aura was not majestic as him, she had a unique aura that could draw people in.
"Human Alexander Sirius, Alexander Sirius, greets the Dragon King." On the other hand, Alex had no aura or whatsoever. However, this only made them feel anxious. They were certainly sure that Alex was an experienced person. Still, seeing no aura from his body made him more mysterious, which piqued the interest of the Dragon King.
"I apologize for my rudeness, but I feel we can talk more comfortably with this figure." He said as he turned into a human with a pair of dragon wings on his back. His appearance was like a human in their forties with long golden hair like Alex's. His body was muscular and very healthy, releasing certain energy.
'Rudeness?' Alex was confused, but he suddenly heard Stina say, "This is their custom. They thought they were very rude by turning into their human appearance because it is not their real form." With a thought transmission.
'When they attacked us, they were in the Human Form…" Alex asked, wondering if that was rude too.
'No. It is only applied in their home. Like if you are in someone's place, then act accordingly.' She explained, clearing his misunderstanding.
'I see.' Alex understood what she meant. At least, he did not need to look up because of his height.
"I believe I need to explain the rule about the trial first." He looked at Alex. "Firstly, no killing or doing irreplaceable damage is allowed. If either party does that, the trial will stop and the other party will win.
"The battle will be held in the hill a hundred kilometers away from this place, to make sure no civilians get hurt. Third, you will fight my son in his dragon form, so you can also use all of your abilities.
"You don't need to hold back because we will ensure your battle won't destroy the nearby environment.
"The condition of winning is when the other party surrenders or when I, as the judge, deem the situation dangerous."
"Do you have any objection with the rule?" The Dragon King asked. "Our Dragon Race wants to have a fair duel, so if there is a rule you think is making you at a disadvantage, then please feel free to raise an objection. However, do note that we would fight with our full ability, so you can't change the third rule."
"I, Alexander Sirius, Challenge the Dragon Trial." After listening to the rule, Alex had no complaint. No killing or doing irreplaceable damage was allowed, but beating the prince black and blue was still alright, he thought. As for the place, Alex did not care where he fought.
Upon hearing his words, the Dragon Crystal appeared. Alex thought since the dragon had golden scales, it would have a golden crystal, but it turned out to be a red crystal.
Alex's Purple Crystal then flew toward the air, attracting the red crystal like a magnet. The moment the two crystals met, it shone brightly, illuminating the room with the two colors. Alex closed his eyes as he would be teleported again to that white world to meet a certain person.