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In ancient times, angels, demons, giants, and dragons fought each other on the Mainland, eventually establishing a covenant that the four races would never actively join any wars on the Mainland again. However, every treaty has loopholes, and this so-called "world's first covenant" was no exception. Although its power was formidable, it had its share of flaws. As the primary plane in the entire plane system, the Material Plane has a significant impact on all planes. To expand their influence in the Material Plane, angels and demons were the first to find methods of possession and descent. Elemental giants frequently entered this world through summoning by elves. Dragons, although slow to react, found a way to join wars by signing contracts as mounts. Though this title might sound unappealing, and the contract stipulated that dragons must unconditionally obey the orders of dragon knights, in practice, the dragon race carefully controlled the selection of dragon knights, limiting them to specific families. Thus, these families' dragon knights dared not command dragons recklessly but instead sought to please the dragons. Consequently, the will of the dragons has become a crucial voice on the Mainland.

Dragon knights, a powerful military unit born a thousand years ago, are warriors who ride dragons across the skies. Despite sounding impressive, they are merely puppets chosen by the dragons, playing a limited role in battles and possessing modest martial prowess. Originally, hundreds of years ago, dragon knights would command armies of wyverns and dragon beasts during battles. However, after the internal strife in the Dragon Kingdom, several dragons fell to the "Dominion Sword Dragon Slayer," leading the dragons to revise the pact. Since then, they no longer summoned wyverns or dragon beasts for dragon knights, effectively reducing dragon knights to mere companions of dragons. Therefore, when calculating combat strength on the Mainland, dragon knights are now assessed based solely on the dragons' capabilities.

To establish an effective pact with a dragon, one must be at the Dragon Sealing Platform atop Sacred Dragon Mountain, where the Emperor of Dragon Sealing and the ancient Holy Dragon made their covenant, using the "Dominion Sword Dragon Slayer" as a guide. Otherwise, riding a dragon into battle would invoke the powerful curse from the ancient treaty, resulting in certain death for both knight and dragon. Dragons can still kill and set fires if they wish, provided the impact is not too significant. However, determining what constitutes "too significant" is challenging, so dragons generally remain well-behaved. This also explains why many dragons are willing to sign pacts, as dragon knights naturally provide ample gold, jewels, and delicacies, far better than hunting alone or raiding towns.

Sacred Dragon Mountain stands alongside Saint Spirit Mountain as a transcendent spiritual leader of the human world, not only due to its right to seal dragons but also because it houses the strongest combat knight order, the Dragon Emperor Knights, and the lineage of the strongest sword saints, the Supreme Dragon Saints.

The world universally recognizes "Emperor Martial's Dominating Imperial Art" as the strongest martial art, followed by Sacred Dragon Mountain's "Dragon Aura."

Unlike "Emperor Martial's Dominating Imperial Art," which is openly shared, "Dragon Aura" is Sacred Dragon Mountain's highest secret, accessible only to core disciples. This aura ranks second only to "Emperor Martial's Dominating Imperial Art" for good reason. While "Emperor Martial's Dominating Imperial Art" grants unparalleled "tenfold combat power," "Dragon Aura" bestows powerful "dragon soul possession." Practitioners not only improve their aura significantly but also gain a robust physique akin to that of a beastman. Upon mastering Moon Flame Aura and unlocking the Moon Attribute, a dragon's phantom appears behind them, greatly enhancing their strength. Although its effects are not as perfect as "Emperor Martial's Dominating Imperial Art," it allows practitioners to wield elemental magic like dragons without incantations, perfectly blending magic and aura. This makes it a truly integrated magical-martial art, surpassing even the Holy Grail Knights.

Another advantage of "Dragon Aura" is its remarkably stable production of Sword Emperors. On Sacred Dragon Mountain, there are always four or five Sword Emperors practicing "Dragon Aura" in any given era. Their combination forms the core of the Dragon Emperor Knights. This ratio is unmatched by any other aura, adding to the mystery surrounding "Dragon Aura" on the Mainland.

My primary purpose in the human world has been accomplished; now, I aim to gain as much benefit as possible.

Having witnessed the prowess of sword saints several times in the human world, my desire to enter the Holy Domain is intense. I possess the constitution required to become a sword saint, with infinite innate essence. All I need is to reach the Sword Emperor realm with "Ice Hell Magic Crystal Art" and then learn another aura. The choice of aura will affect my future martial prowess, so I cannot be careless. "Emperor Martial's Dominating Imperial Art" is out of my reach, making "Dragon Aura," recognized as its equal, my best choice. After completing the "Doomsday Horn" mission, I naturally began planning to learn this aura.

However, I found no information about "Dragon Aura" in the Temple's library. To prepare, I turned to Ruins, the most knowledgeable High Priest, for help. This elderly scholar, specializing in religious texts and literature, possesses not only the Temple's resources but also extensive knowledge of many unknown secrets of the human world. He is the most learned person in the Temple, providing clues to many things not publicly available in the library.

"'Dragon Aura,' huh? Indeed, it is a secret that cannot be disclosed," the silver-haired elder mused for a moment before saying, "Not because we fear others learning it, but because others cannot learn it, thus it must be kept secret."

"Huh? Huh? Old man, what's going on? Tell us!" The Holy Grail Knight Lansino, dressed in a comical entertainer's outfit, popped up and asked.