The Ratmen carcasses in the subterranean hollow were left for the mushroom people clans to clean up.

Although the mushroom people were professionals at handling biological remains, the sheer number of targets meant that it would take some time. While the Iya mushroom clan was contacting other clans, Saga had already left the underworld and returned to Emerald Gorge.

When the light and shadow on the surface stirred, and the Golden Dragon soared into the sky,

Tixil the Amethyst Dragon and Charlotte immediately gathered around.

“You’re back so soon? Didn’t you find the Ratmen’s nest?”

They asked with confusion.

From the time Saga delved underground to his return, it was a brief period. While patrolling the surface, they hadn’t seen any Ratmen fleeing from below, so Tixil and Charlotte assumed Saga’s extermination mission had failed.

“It seems I’ve been underestimated.”

The Golden Dragon blinked and said with a chuckle:

“Don’t worry, there won’t be any more Ratmen showing up in Emerald Gorge.”

Although they weren’t sure how Saga had managed it, Tixil and Charlotte had always been full of confidence in their companion and didn’t press further after hearing the outcome from him.

Nowadays,

The source of the ancient dragon roars in Emerald Gorge had come under Saga’s possession.

The occasional Ratmen invasions were also dealt with.

As a result, the Gemstone Dragons of Emerald Gorge entered a very stable phase of development.

During this time,

Saga began attempting to reignite the spark gifted by the Red Dragoness.

After entering the realm of legend, this oddity from another universe became somewhat restless, revealing a deep longing for the Power Essence that Saga possessed.

Saga tried several times to continuously infuse Power Essence into the spark.

Then, he confirmed that with his current total Power Essence, he had enough to reignite the spark.

However, during the ignition process, Saga realized through the connection he had established that reigniting it after countless years of dormancy could uncontrollably open a space channel across the multiverse, with the destination being random.

And with Saga’s current state,

Igniting the spark would nearly deplete his Power Essence, and the spark wasn’t entirely obedient to Saga’s will, so it could potentially transport him into extremely dangerous territories.

Within the Great Ring Multiverse, Saga had the dragon’s heritage and was very knowledgeable about all aspects.

But if he went to another multiverse, he would be completely ignorant.

Losing control of the situation was something Saga couldn’t tolerate.

Therefore, he decided to wait until he was stronger, had better control over the spark, and at the very least, had the ability to autonomously choose whether to traverse the multiverse after igniting the spark, before trying to officially reignite it.

Setting aside the matter of the spark,

Saga and Charlotte’s life in Emerald Gorge gradually became simple and fulfilling.

Occasionally getting intimate with the two Little Dragonesses.

Then meditating with Tixil, learning psychic abilities, and enhancing psychic energy.

Discussing with Charlotte the development of their unique Outsider abilities.

And immersing in the perception of destiny, combined with his understanding of the surrounding world, exploring and developing new basic force skills, or delving deeper into strengthening the basic force skills he already possessed.

Thus, time passed by, second by second.

Unknowingly, two years had gone by.

Saga was now exactly twenty-four years old, about to leave his youth behind and enter a new age bracket, becoming a young adult dragon.

Due to the peaceful past two years lacking in combat stimulation, Saga’s growth wasn’t as rapid as before, but it was still far beyond that of ordinary dragons. In just two short years, his strength had grown significantly, reaching the second tier of legend, and his body length from head to tail had reached thirty-five meters. His dragon wings, when spread, covered the sunlight with a wingspan of seventy meters, casting large shadows on the ground.

At that time,

In the hollow of the underworld,

The Golden Dragon flapped its wings, hovering below the dome of the hollow, looking down at the greatly changed subterranean world.

Previously occupied by the Ratmen, the dirty and dark hollow had now transformed. Various vibrant luminescent fungi took root everywhere, casting dreamlike colors, making the place seem not like a damp and dark underworld, but a bustling kingdom above ground.

The Ratmen had become a thing of the past, and the gentle and industrious mushroom people, under Saga’s promise, became the main inhabitants here, seeing Saga as the lord of the hollow. Every so often, they would offer up carefully cultivated magical fungi that had certain benefits to physical attributes, as well as many rare minerals hard to find on the surface, greatly enriching Saga’s wealth.

Among them, the most precious was a type of multicolored fungus with very limited production, which had a great enhancing effect on creatures at the ninth tier breaking through to legend. Only mushroom colonies of a very large scale could produce it, and Saga had gathered a large number of mushroom people clans just for this purpose.

This was also the key reason why Saga was willing to nurture the mushroom people.

On one hand, consuming the multicolored fungus would somewhat increase his physical attributes, and on the other hand, he could use it to reward and cultivate his trusted followers.

Soon after, Saga folded his wings and descended to the ground colonies, where the first mushroom king he had met was waiting for him.

Now there were many mushroom kings in the hollow, and this mushroom king, due to Saga’s presence, had a prominent status and managed the many mushroom people clans for Saga.

“How have things been in the hollow lately?”

While eating some mushrooms offered by the little mushroom people, Saga casually inquired.

“Your Majesty, during your absence, subterranean creatures often invaded the hollow.”

“Although we repelled them, we mushroom people are weak and cannot curb their greedy coveting.”

After hearing the mushroom king’s report, Saga nodded calmly.

“I understand, I’ll think of a solution.”

Previously, because the hollow was occupied by the domineering Ratmen clan from the underworld, other subterranean creature races feared the Ratmen Empire and avoided the Ratmen hollow if they could, let alone actively invade it.

But after the Ratmen were exterminated and the hollow was taken over by the mushroom people,

Some foolish subterranean creatures thought the mushroom people were weak and attempted to invade the hollow they occupied. They didn’t stop to think why the powerful Ratmen clan had been wiped out or why the weak mushroom people could occupy this place.

For subterranean creatures that invaded the hollow and the mushroom people clans couldn’t handle, they would seek help from Saga, and several groups had already been exterminated by Saga and the Gemstone Dragons of Emerald Gorge.

However, due to the high mobility of subterranean creature races, there were often creatures from other regions that, unaware of the dragons’ existence, continued to attack the hollow like moths to a flame, causing minor troubles here.

“I won’t always stay in the subterranean hollow, and neither will the other dragons.”

“But the mushroom people here are weak and can’t hold the hollow. It seems I need to bring some of my kin from the Near Seas over.”

Saga thought silently.

During his absence, he had learned about the developments in the Near Seas through the Psychic Guard. The only way to describe it was thriving.

Saga’s fame was known to all in the Near Seas, and with his dragon identity, he had full attraction to various monsters. Even many creatures not from the Near Seas had made the arduous journey to come and pledge loyalty to the powerful King of the Near Seas.

The Near Seas nations, because they were on the same side, also developed quite rapidly together.

The only issue was that the war between the Shark Empire and the Mermaid Empire was intensifying. As time passed, it spread from the central battlefield to a wider sea area. The Near Seas were now starting to be affected, but the impact was still small and not troublesome.

As for how to bring his kin from the Near Seas to the Yarl mainland, it wasn’t very difficult.

Saga had now mastered the psychic ability to inscribe long-distance teleportation arrays with psychic energy, allowing him to transport his kin in waves to be stationed here.

“I need to return to the Near Seas and construct a long-distance teleportation array.”

There was already a teleportation array constructed between the subterranean hollow and Emerald Gorge. Once another was built in the Near Seas, unless Saga wanted to soar and fly in the high skies, he could freely travel between these places.

Additionally,

The Red Dragoness had once said that once Saga became a legend, and if she hadn’t returned from another time-space, then Saga could take over the Thorn Isle territory, including all her kin.

Saga was now qualified.

Thinking of the now traceless Red Dragoness, Saga fell silent.

“The war in another time-space. I wonder what scale it is.”

“I hope the Red Dragoness is still alive.”

Although the Red Dragoness believed that dying gloriously in battle as a fiery blaze was an honor, Saga didn’t want her to ‘gloriously’ die in another time-space.

Not dwelling on the thoughts that weighed on his mood,

After spending some time in the hollow with the mushroom people, Saga left through the teleportation array set up there.

In Emerald Gorge, on a cleared plot of land.

Hum!

The flat ground lit up with numerous runes and psychic glows, and the figure of the Golden Dragon emerged in the blink of an eye.

Flapping his wings, he soared into the air, and on a peak near the gorge, Saga joined Tixil and Charlotte, who were training there.

“I’m planning to leave the Yarl continent and return to the Near Seas.”

Saga got straight to the point and said to the two Little Dragonesses.

“Return to the Near Seas for what?”

Charlotte blinked gently and asked.

“To construct a long-distance teleportation array, so we can easily travel between the two places.”

“Do you want to come with me to the Near Seas to take a look, or continue to stay here in Emerald Gorge?”

After thinking for a moment, Tixil and Charlotte said, “We’ll stay in Emerald Gorge. If we all leave, who knows what kind of trouble might arise here.”

A dragon horde cannot be without a leader.

Over these two years, some Gemstone Dragons, hearing about Emerald Gorge and the Gemstone Dragon nation, came out of curiosity to check it out and were conquered by the charm of Saga and Tixil, choosing to stay and become part of this place.

With the increase in the number of dragons, related affairs also became much more numerous.

Even neutral Gemstone Dragons, when numerous, couldn’t always live in harmony without issues.

Among the Gemstone Dragons, there were war-loving Sapphire Dragons and death-obsessed Topaz Dragons.

Saga was a hands-off manager, basically too lazy to deal with these things. Usually, Charlotte assisted (showing off her beauty in front of the new dragons, more often than not causing trouble), and Tixil was in charge. The Amethyst Dragon, who was keen on building a vast Gemstone Dragon nation, also enjoyed it.

“Alright, be more cautious and careful while I’m away, and notify me as soon as you encounter any trouble that’s hard to resolve.”

“Don’t worry, although we’re not as strong as you, we’re not weak either.”

Perhaps because of Saga, when they were with him, the force field energy would also nourish the Amethyst Dragon and Gemstone Dragon to some extent, allowing the two naturally talented Little Dragonesses to grow more rapidly. Although they couldn’t compare to Saga, in these two years, both had reached the ninth tier and were stepping towards the realm of legend.

After a tender farewell with his companions for a while, Saga soared into the sky, gradually receding from the sight of the Gemstone Dragons.

Soaring among the drifting winds and clouds, the Golden Dragon spread its wings and sped like a warship’s sails, its hefty dragon wings tearing through the clouds and gales. Countless clouds and winds parted before him and closed behind him, carving a long trail through the sea of clouds.

This time, although he didn’t have the escort of the Pontiff of Beauty, Saga wasn’t overly cautious.

Having stepped into legend, he now had the qualifications and confidence to be a hegemon on the creature-rich Yarl continent, no longer needing to be timid.

On the contrary,

Having lived a stable life in Emerald Gorge for a while, Saga was quite looking forward to encountering some blind fool who would attack him. Constantly sparring with the dragons in the Dragon Soul Sanctuary could become tedious, and a battle with strong creatures of other races would be refreshing for Saga.

Unfortunately,

Other flying creatures encountered in the sea of clouds would avoid Saga from afar, fearing they couldn’t get away fast enough. The powerful beings living on the surface, upon sensing Saga flying overhead, would only look up warily, without any follow-up action.

These creatures that lived on the Yarl continent year-round understood.

A dragon that dared to fly so freely in the skies of Yarl, and with such a majestic presence, was not to be trifled with, unless there was something wrong with their brains. Otherwise, they couldn’t get away fast enough.

Soaring in the high skies,

Saga sometimes looked down at the diverse landscapes of the mainland, and at other times, his gaze pierced through the sea of clouds, observing the variously styled Sky Cities scattered across the airspace of the Yarl continent.

Gradually, he left the Yarl mainland behind and entered the border regions.

Here, there were fewer Sky Cities, and the powerful forces and creatures were not as prevalent as in the mainland, but they were still not to be underestimated, with some rather powerful kingdoms existing.

For example, the Lionheart Kingdom located not far ahead of Saga.

Saga once again came to the territory of the Lionheart Kingdom and approached Laine City.

His body paused, suspended in the high sky.

Saga pondered:

“What would happen if I flew over the airspace of Laine City, filled with various warning spells?”

Shaking his head slightly, Saga thought better of it, giving face to the Skyrealm Empire and abandoning the idea, not going out of his way to provoke.

Both times he passed by Laine City, Saga didn’t offend their airspace.

However, a few years ago, he avoided Laine City’s airspace out of fear, but this time it was out of consideration for the warm hospitality the Skyrealm Empire had shown him.

With the power Saga now possessed, kingdom-level forces would find it difficult to make him feel wary.

“My little thief has come to Laine City again; she seems to have a bone to pick with this place.”

At the same time, through the psychic servitude, Saga sensed the presence of his kin in Laine City ahead.

The Black Rose, nurtured by Saga, was like a diligent little bee, continuously stealing treasures for Saga from various places over the years, including cosmic minerals that fell on the surface from space, magical artifacts with strange effects, and high-quality gems, to Saga’s great satisfaction. He thought that after the little bee brought a few more treasures, he would give her a multicolored fungus to help her break through to legend and then serve him even better.

Saga flapped his wings and resumed his journey, gradually leaving the brightly lit Laine City in the night behind, and slowly flew out of the territory of the Lionheart Kingdom, then entering the coastal region.

In the coastal region, Saga passed by Blue Dragon Bay.

Sensing the unfamiliar dragon aura, the Blue Dragons, adept at piracy, immediately flew out from their hiding places and, just like last time, attempted to rob Saga. Then, upon seeing the massive body of the Golden Dragon, they immediately shrank back, their dragon wings folding in, turning into trembling quails, indicating it was all a misunderstanding.

At the same time, the Storm Queen, who dominated the area, also noticed Saga’s arrival and was shocked at how the young dragon had stepped into legend in just a short two to three years.

This ancient Blue Dragon chatted with Saga about his encounters on the Yarl continent and then held a feast to celebrate Saga’s entry into the realm of legend.

After a few days, Saga bid farewell to the Storm Queen and left Blue Dragon Bay, re-entering the Near Seas territory.

The Emperor of the Near Seas had returned.