Ch. 173 - Arrival

The issue with the Dragon Slayer Guild was something Adam had to put aside for now. His current strength and influence were insufficient to engage with such a massive group. Nevertheless, the existence of this organization wasn't necessarily bad. Even if they truly intended to annihilate all dragonkin within the Plane, it wouldn't affect Adam at all. He might even add fuel to the fire, as more chaos in this Plane would work in his favor.

On the eighth day of travel, Adam saw the ocean through the clouds.

Kambi spoke up, "Sir, we're almost there. I've heard the Ice Plains are a massive island near the mainland. Once you see the ocean, the ice plains are not far."

The journey over the last few days had been an unpleasant experience for Kambi. He hadn't expected Adam to make him fly above the clouds the entire time. He had even mentally reviewed the sights and experiences from his past travels with the elder chieftain, preparing to share them with Adam. He had hoped they'd encounter some wild monsters, providing him an opportunity to demonstrate his skills.

What he didn't expect was how fast a young dragon could fly. The immense airflow shattered the energy shield around him multiple times. Now, he felt stiff all over---perhaps he'd turned into an ice sprite for all he knew.

And he hadn't eaten in six days.

"Sir, can we rest for a bit? I... I can't hold on much longer," Kambi finally mustered the courage to ask, fearing he wouldn't last until he acquired the power he sought.

Adam glanced at him and casually descended. It seemed the energy of bloodline beings did have its limits. Their elemental applications were too rigid, mechanical even, incapable of even basic transformations.

After landing, Kambi threw a seed onto the ground. With the influence of plant energy, the seed rapidly rooted, sprouted, flowered, and bore fruit. Kambi eagerly plucked the fruit and stuffed it into his mouth. He collapsed on the ground, relieved, "Finally, I survived."

Adam was intrigued. Such an ability seemed incredibly wasteful when used this way. If he could cultivate special seeds that, when activated, had different abilities, that could be very interesting.

Kambi noticed Adam's gaze and suddenly remembered his status. He quickly got up from the ground, apologetically saying, "I apologize, sir. I lost myself for a moment there. I..." His complexion turned grim, "I feel awful."

Adam activated the ice elements within him, maintaining them externally. In just a short period, the surrounding energy had fluctuated over a dozen times. Adam could sense the weirdness of this environment; elemental auras were no longer smooth and lazy but became extremely unstable. This fluctuation wasn't like the natural tidal flow of energy; it was more like the energy disappeared and then suddenly replenished.

Being in this environment felt like constantly switching between a vacuum and a semi-vacuum.

"What's going on?"

Adam attempted to manipulate the free elements to use shaping magic, but even with his control over energy, the ice sword he formed was distorted.

"This level of fluctuation is abnormal. Even near the edge of the world, it shouldn't be like this."

The Plane floated in the void, and its stability, dictated by the crystal system, determined whether it could withstand the ether storms of the void. Logically, despite different expressions of energy at unique locations within the Plane, the overall indices should remain consistent. What was happening now had already exceeded the scope of self-correction.

It was a clear sign that the crystal system was disturbed.

Could it be... A thought flashed through Adam's mind, but he dismissed it almost immediately.

After a considerable amount of time, the energy fluctuations finally stabilized. Kambi, who had been struggling to control his own body, managed to climb up from the ground. After checking himself over and finding nothing unusual, he finally relaxed.

Seeing him stand, Adam said, "If you're fine, let's go."

Kambi quickly nodded, voluntarily curling up on the ground, waiting for Adam's dragon claw to pick him up.

"Let's fly low. The sky ahead seems dangerous."

Grateful, Kambi automatically responded, "Sir, I'll scout ahead."

Their pace slowed considerably. Faced with this eerie situation, Adam didn't dare to act rashly. Even if he had one more opportunity to connect with the Mage Network, there was no guarantee he could save himself.

No wonder no dragons choose to nest near the ice plain. The terrain is one factor, but this unstable energy environment must be the main reason. No dragon could sleep soundly here, Adam thought as he flew.

After two more days, Adam and Kambi finally arrived at their destination: the Boundary Ice Plains.

"Sir, shall we go in? Or should we wait for that thing to stop?" Kambi asked cautiously, pointing ahead.

Adam stepped directly into the ice plain, unfazed by the raging blizzard that veiled the sky. Each snowflake carried the aura of ice elements, exploding like magic upon hitting the ground. This was essentially a physical ice elemental storm. Yet, outside the ice plain, all was calm except for the cold.

As a Frost Dragon, Adam was not harmed by the wild, uncontrolled ice elements. Seeing Adam proceed, Kambi had no choice but to follow, his plant energy flickering weakly, as if it could be blown away by the ice storm at any moment.

Snowflakes and chunks of ice that fell on Adam's streamlined body slid right off. The chaotic energy they carried rushed into his system, wreaking havoc within his limited magic circuits.

Feeling that he might lose his innate magic if this continued, Adam quickly extended his power to cover a radius of several meters around him. This makeshift domain was incredibly effective; the ice elements began to circulate around his power and no longer tried to invade his body.

The storm came and went quickly, disappearing cleanly in just thirty minutes, as if nothing had happened.

"Sir, where should we go next?" Once they had reached the ice plain, Kambi was completely lost and could only turn to Adam for guidance.

Adam didn't have a specific destination in mind either, but they were currently too close to the outer world, making it unsuitable for hiding. They would need to venture deeper to build a nest. Just as he was contemplating moving on, he felt the ice layers near him loosening.

"It seems we've entered someone else's territory," said Adam.

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