"You understand what I intend to do?" Muria was slightly taken aback when he heard the dragon's words, then asked with interest.
"You want to unite all the dragon branches, bring them together, and elevate the dragon race to become the world's third strongest race," the ancient gold dragon Leonine said excitedly. No creature would reject the idea of their race becoming stronger.
"Uh!" Muria was momentarily stunned by the dragon's words, then burst into laughter. "Lord Leonine, you overestimate me. I'm just a minor descendant of a Dragon King. My only ambition is to find a few chromatic dragons, guide them away from evil, and make them useful to me. That's all. I don't have the grand aspirations you mentioned. That's the concern of the Dragon Kings, not something a mere young dragon like me should worry about."
The ancient dragons exchanged glances when Muria immediately denied the grand ambition. They knew that Muria's goal was to become a legendary figure, possibly even a Dragon King. Wasn't this Synapse being prepared for that? Were they blind? But since Muria denied it, they didn't press the issue.
The ancient dragons then tactfully shifted the conversation and offered new suggestions to Muria. "Your Highness, since you've established the Dragon Academy and named it after our race, the students shouldn't primarily be chromatic dragons. You should also invite young metallic dragons to enroll."
"But I don't know many metallic dragons. Even if your descendants enroll, their numbers wouldn't match those of the chromatic dragons. I don't have a better solution for that," Muria said, looking expectantly at the ancient dragons. He knew they had deep connections with the local metallic dragon clans, so recruiting metallic dragons to enroll would be easy for them. Now that they had offered, he didn't have to ask them directly.
"I can help with recruiting metallic dragon students. I know quite a few dragons. When the academy is ready to start, I can persuade my friends to send their descendants to enroll," offered an ancient silver dragon, who was the first dragon Muria had personally invited to join. Having grasped Muria's supposed grand ambition, this dragon was eager to assist, hoping to see if Muria could succeed. After all, while the possibility of uniting the dragon race was slim, it wasn't entirely impossible, which was enough to motivate him.
As the ancient silver dragon spoke, the other ancient dragons also voiced their willingness to contact their metallic dragon friends and recommend their descendants to the academy, hoping Muria would open the doors for them.
"The Dragon Academy accepts all dragons, regardless of type or morality, as long as they meet the age requirement," Muria declared firmly. Given the inherent strength of dragons, there was no need for entrance exams to filter students. It would be unnecessary and redundant.
"Then, can gem dragons enroll too?" one of the ancient dragons inquired.
"Are gem dragons considered dragons?" Muria asked in return.
"Of course, they are."
"Then naturally, they can enroll." Muria spread his hands. The more dragons that enroll, the better. The more, the merrier.
"I understand. I know a few ancient gem dragon friends. Your Highness, may I invite them to join as teachers?" asked the ancient silver dragon who had first spoken.
"Please do," Muria replied earnestly, then added, "If they refuse, you can invite them the way I invited you. If that doesn't work, come to me, and I'll help you."
"Heh." The ancient silver dragon, who had experienced Muria's persistent invitations, chuckled dryly and nodded in agreement.
It's better to share the experience with friends than enjoy it alone. Since he had been 'unlucky,' he might as well bring his friends along. After all, participating in this academy project was highly beneficial for the dragon race, and the more dragons involved, the better.
"Your Highness, I'll go talk to my gem dragon friends," the ancient silver dragon said, taking his leave. Muria readily agreed. The other ancient dragons also departed, preparing to recruit more dragons for the academy.
"Your Highness, after the Dragon Academy opens, the presence of dragons on this continent will significantly decrease. Dragons may become legends," said Fiona, the ancient green dragon, as she approached. She had been overseeing the construction of the academy and couldn't help but feel sentimental as she watched the other ancient dragons leave to recruit students.
"Dragons becoming extinct, becoming legends..." Muria murmured, then fell into deep thought. He suddenly recalled a fascinating concept from a novel he had read in his previous life: dragons, as top predators, were extremely rare and hard to find, but there was an island where many dragons lived. On this Dragon Island, dragons could be seen everywhere because it was a place where they lived in communities.
To Muria, this concept seemed unreasonable without certain conditions. Dragons were carnivores and would only eat plants to stave off starvation if necessary. For a dragon to grow, it needed to dominate a territory, like a mountain range or a lake, ensuring enough resources for its development. Dragons were solitary creatures and would not live in communities without special circumstances.
"It's impossible for a natural environment to support a community of dragons, but it's possible to create such an environment through artificial means, turning a place into a Dragon Island where dragons can live together," Muria thought as he returned to the central cloud island. He surveyed the surrounding islands. The resources of these hundred cloud islands were already strained to support just three or four dragons. But Muria had never relied on the resources produced by the islands.
The resources supporting the giants and dragons on the cloud islands came from the void worlds he had conquered, the human kingdoms he had saved, and the ocean kingdoms he had subdued. These resources were transported daily through teleportation arrays to Synapse, the flying domain that could travel the world. Without these external resources, Synapse wouldn't be able to function.
With hundreds of dragons, tens of thousands of giants, and hundreds of thousands of other creatures, maintaining such a large population without conquest or expansion would be impossible. Even Muria, who theoretically didn't need to eat, occasionally had to consume elemental crystals.
"Synapse can be developed into a Dragon Island, a place where thousands of dragons can settle," Muria thought, looking at his over a hundred cloud islands with ambitious eyes. "I need more resources and land to support my army."
Muria began to reflect on his previous actions. Synapse had developed to its current state by relying on external resources, as its internal production could no longer meet the needs of its inhabitants. Expansion and conquest were necessary.
"God's Playground!" Muria recalled the continent that once put his life in danger, and his eyes gleamed with a golden light. "If I can conquer that subcontinent and make it part of Synapse's domain, it would fully meet Synapse's needs. But I currently lack the power to conquer that continent. I need to continue building my strength. It won't take long. I'm already at the third rank of the Legendary level. Once I break through to the seventh rank, I can start the war. By then, several classes of the Dragon Academy will have graduated, and the dragon army should be formed."
Muria closed his eyes and pondered. "The future development path should focus on turning Synapse into a true Dragon Island, gathering strength to eventually conquer God's Playground, leaving the dark gods without a stable source of worship. They'll be forced into hiding, becoming rats in the shadows, stealing faith from the true gods."
"Fiona!" Muria called to the ancient green dragon behind him. "Summon my subordinates. I need to meet with them."
"I will make the dragons on this continent disappear, turning them into legends." Muria had just taken his seat on the crystal throne in the Wind King's Castle when he made a shocking statement, leaving his subordinates in stunned silence.
"Your Highness, what are you planning?" Tyrenes, the Storm Giant leader who had almost reached the Legendary level, stepped forward. After considering Synapse's resource distribution, he quickly realized that Muria didn't intend to wage war against the dragons.
"I plan to bring all the dragons on this continent—metallic, chromatic, and gem dragons—into Synapse," Muria revealed his goal.
This goal wasn't particularly difficult to achieve. The majority of chromatic dragons were already concentrated on the Evil Dragon Peninsula. The metallic dragons had deep connections with the ancient dragons Muria had allied with, so it was only a matter of time before they joined Synapse. The only potential issue was with the gem dragons, though Muria was already working on this and wasn't too concerned. After all, he had a sapphire dragon in his possession.
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