Kairos looked carefully at the small flying dragons and were pleased that they have all formed a bond instantly with each of his disciples. It seems that feeding on their Origin Energy helps establish a connection with the tiny dragons. Unlike those that burst out of broken Star Rune Weapons that were sold from their shop, these fifteen dragonlings are each uniquely bonded to their owners.

They hovered around, swimming through the air excitedly. It is their first time taking physical form, and the little ones are curious about everything.

The new disciples still couldn’t believe their eyes. They looked wide-eyed at the scene before them. The tiny flying creatures, no larger than strings, are royalty among divine beasts and have reign supreme since the beginning of time. The re-emergence of the dragon race is titanic news.

“Teacher, are these True Dragons? Those legendary creatures that once shook Saint Empire and not their offsprings?”

For thousands of years, the dragon race had not been seen on Gaia, leaving only descendants like wyverns, wyrms, serpents, and brute dragons. Fortunately, this place they are at is shielded from sight, or the tumultuous upheaval they will bring can cause the whole world to enter an age of endless wars.

Kairos nodded, then shook his head, “They look like True Dragons, but they are actually Ancestor Dragons because of the way they’re born.”

“Such beautiful creatures,” Selena said, her finger lightly dancing across the snout of her purple dragonling.

The dragon race is crowned the King of divine beasts, and it’s not just because of their great power, but also because of how united they are. In existence, there are only a few creatures that may match a dragon in a fight, but while the power of a single one is considerable, the truly frightening ability they have is that each of them can command lesser dragons than themselves.

Of course, the little ones are still too young to fight, but when they grow up, they will become a force to be reckoned with.

The fifteen disciples felt their heads spun.

“Young teacher, is there any way we can summon more of these dragons?”

Kairos smiled and then shook his head. Vouno had proposed a similar question when he heard of Kairos’ abilities.

“It’s possible, but not in the way you imagined. There are too many limitations to summon more, though I have also been thinking along these lines. There is a large difference in their growth between those that get extensive care and those without. Furthermore, they have little to no combat abilities right now, and as divine beasts, this land lacks the Heavenly Energies needed to feed them. For them to grow to a stage where they could fight will need resources that I don’t know where to get.”

The hopes of getting an army of dragons were dashed after hearing what their teacher said, but even so, the dragonlings are still beyond anything they could’ve hoped. Their worries of becoming unloved now seemed needless, the delight on their faces, in turn, become a smile on Kairos’ face.

Each of them gingerly raised a hand towards their new partners, and ever so gently, they stroke the little ones on their snouts.

For now, they are tiny, but one day these adorable creatures swimming clumsily in the air will become the unparalleled contract beasts they are meant to be.

Naturally, Kairos did not reveal that the dragons require his cultivation to birth, for it will take away the joy he wished to give them. Sometimes, happiness comes from the delight of another, just like how the moon shines brightly because of the sun. And Kairos, although young, learned early that there is bliss found in sharing.

Now that they have already tarried long enough, he quickly led them towards the Hope mansion concerned about his friend’s letter.

Even with the exceptional pace they kept, it still took the Land Wyrm a while to bring them there, and by the time they reached the Hope mansion’s gates, it is already late in the afternoon the following day.

*Ding Ding*

He rung the gate bell, and once again, the boy was made to wait in front of the mansion.

After a short moment of being ignored, his disciples couldn’t hold in their anger anymore. Their beloved teacher, who is also a Viscount, is stopped at the gates by a commoner! Such outright impoliteness was never seen at the Devilheart family.

“How dare them. A mere merchant dare shut the gates from our teacher.”

“Do they still have the law in their eyes? A noble represents the authority of the crown. Do they not know it warrants immediate attention?”

Kairos squinted a little when he heard one of his disciples said that. Actually, the boy did not know his title represents the crown. After all, for a Viscount, he is as new as they come.

“Our teacher gracing a commoner’s abode is ignored? I can’t stand this anymore. Boys, let's force them out!”

At once, all fifteen of them unleashed their suppressed rage, their aura thick with killing intentions honed by countless life and death missions rolled out like a venomous mist.

A sickly wave of chilling unpleasantness flooded outwards from where they stood and assailed the Hope mansion.

A prickly feeling of death washed across everywhere who felt it, and the temperature dropped at once.

Having done many covert missions under the orders of the Devilheart family, they had done their fair share of assassinations.

Their presence at this moment has an overwhelming sour stench of death, and for the stewards and maids of a merchant family, it is completely unbearable.

The air was heavy and lingered persistently. A few breaths later, the master of the mansion, Canot Hope, came furiously towards the gates.

It took a while for him to travel from his front porch to the gates, but during that period, Kairos’ disciples did not weaken their presence, and it forced him to hurry his steps.

By the time Canot Hope stood face to face with Kairos, his expression has already turned dark with anger.

“What are you doing here, boy,” he said, grinding every word between his teeth.

When the Hope family head made him wait, Kairos have already guessed that the merchant’s attitude has changed for the worse towards him. The question is, why?

“I’m here by invitation from your son,” The young Viscount said with an unreadable look on his face.

“There is no such invitation from him. Please return,” Without speaking another word, the merchant denied him entry, and everyone could see that his intention is set.

With a heaving sigh, Kairos knows that there is little chance to meet Jim today, but he decides to make one last attempt before giving up.

“I have a written invitation from Jim. Please let us in.”

“Here, let me see that.”

Almost with a snatch, Canot take the letter from Kairos. He raised his eyebrows as he read the polite words on the message, then without a second of hesitation, tore it into pieces.

“That boy is not in, and even if he is in, this is my house. Not his.

I decide on the person to invite. And you, young Viscount, you are not welcomed. Goodbye, boy.”

Emphasising on the last word, he turned on his heels and waved his hands at them without looking.

The expression on Kairos’ face turned grim instantly.

Canot Hope’s attitude had taken a complete turn from he was when they previously met. Since the first time, Kairos already guessed that this man is not truly as friendly as he seemed but at least back then, the merchant had been keeping his manners about.

The first impression Kairos and Jim’s father had of each other was worse than terrible.

Kairos felt the smile hanging on the merchant’s lips devoid even of a speck of sincerity and the hospitality displayed but candied poison. He dismissed any attempts of a cordial exchange of pleasantries, but his youth had made him hasty.

In the world of adults, meaningless small talk is sometimes an offer to further opportunities. Kairos who tire of doing roundabout things had snipped off the bud of partnership and convinced the merchant to take his business elsewhere. In a way, today’s rebuff wasn’t surprising.

The merchant had long turned his focus towards researching the Viscount’s invention. Coincidentally, the Steel Rose family, one of the Three Great Noble families, approached him, and together with the Devilheart family, they managed to produce a prototype for the market.

With his network in the market, this new weapon will be able to reach the ends of the Saint Empire and even dip into the pockets of foreign countries.

Even if the boy begs him, it is now too late to still hope for a partnership.

Facing such an ungracious gesture, the disciples almost exploded from rage and attacked the man, but Kairos quickly held them back.

Seeing the look on their teacher’s face that he is planning something, they followed him away from the Hope mansion.

…..

Later that night, when most have fallen asleep, a lone figure snuck into the Hope mansion.

The guards that were on patrols did not even felt a tinge of something being amiss.

In a dark corner of the mansion, under cover of the night, Kairos raised his arm and pointed forward.

As if directed by his will, fifteen tiny shadows slithered unseen through the air and flew into the darkness undetected. It took them only a short while to return with information on where their target was, and with it, Kairos made his way in silently. His Soul Perception scanning the area cautiously the whole time.

It was just a little more than a month ago when he and his friends were here, but the atmosphere had changed completely. In a poorly lit room, Jim stood up from a chair by the bed after feeling a presence that watched him eerily. He slowly turned his head around and looked around carefully.

His room is tiny, no bigger than a storage shed, yet he could not see the presence that felt so close to him. His face turned green with fright. Maybe fighting against a gigantic beast would be less scary at this moment.

“Please… be anything but ghosts!” he whispered.