Chapter 1419: Chapter 1419: The Problem of the Dragon Clan

“Huh? I’m just an ordinary God Rank! Lord Luo Lan.” Lan Xuanyu quickly said.

Luo Lan shook his head, “No, how could you be ordinary God Rank? From the very first time your bloodline evolved on the Ascending Dragon Platform, you were already beyond that. It was also from that moment that you entered Big Brother’s sights. Oh, Big Brother is what I call the Second Seat.”

“Your tribulation crossing today caused a massive commotion—not just on Sky Dragon Planet, but across all other major races within the federation as well. Some things I need to tell you now, and you must be prepared mentally.”

“Mm, mm, please go ahead,” Lan Xuanyu responded.

Luo Lan, coming back with him, was actually a way to reassure him. At the very least, it proved Luo Lan and Zhong Zhichang were still on his side.

A trace of melancholy flashed through Luo Lan’s eyes. He sighed lightly and said, “This starts with the two opposing views within our Dragon Clan. Since the Dragon-Transformation Period, our Dragon Clan has undergone transformations and growth, finally becoming the most powerful race in the galaxy. This process wasn’t without countless hardships, but through the efforts of numerous predecessors, we achieved our current strength. However, there’s always been a problem among us; the greatest issue we face is our lifespans.”

“Lifespans?” Lan Xuanyu looked at Luo Lan in astonishment. He truly hadn’t expected that lifespans would be an issue plaguing the Dragon Clan.

Moke Dragon Knight Luo Lan nodded and said, “Our strength comes from our bloodline, but the problem also stems from our bloodline. Before the Dragon-Transformation Period, the Dragon Clan didn’t even exist. This means that, ironically, we are the youngest race in the history of the Dragon Horse Star System. When the Dragon-Transformation Period began, the power brought by the Dragon Realm caused many beings to be affected, creating a survival-of-the-fittest scenario. Powerful individuals successfully underwent the dragon transformation, becoming the Dragon Clan, while weaker individuals couldn’t withstand the bloodline evolution and perished in the process. This natural selection ushered in the emergence of our Dragon Clan.”

“Our Dragon Clan possesses incredible individual strength and an extremely fast progression rate. Before our emergence, the Sky Horse Clan originally ruled the entire planet. But when the Dragon-Transformation Period struck, those among the Sky Horse Clan who were polluted by Dragon Power struggled to survive the evolution. Most of the Sky Horse Clan treated the Dragon-Transformation process as a plague and fled to Sky Horse Star, staying away for a long period. When they returned, our Dragon Clan had been born and had already started growing stronger.”

“In this way, our Dragon Clan rose swiftly. In a very short period, we established ourselves as the dominant force on the planet, even surpassing the Sky Horse Clan. The Sky Horse Clan of the past wasn’t as strong as they are now. Many of their cultivation methods and evolutionary paths were derived from our Dragon Clan’s breakthroughs.”

“During that time, we considered ourselves the strongest race in the world. Each member of our clan possessed overwhelming power. Compared to us, the other races—whether the Mantis Clan, the Eight-Armed Demon God Clan, or the Sky Horse Clan—appeared weak and vulnerable. The only problem we noticed back then was the slow reproduction rate of our Dragon Clan. This made it hard for our race to grow in numbers quickly. Yet, our ancestors believed that as long as we were individually powerful enough, a smaller population wouldn’t matter; over time, we’d eventually accumulate strength.”

“We began to produce Super God-level powerhouses and started dominating the entire galaxy, making all other races tremble before us. We defeated the originally powerful races and brought order to what had been a chaotic galaxy. If not for our limited numbers, we would have unified the Dragon Horse Star System long ago. It wouldn’t be the newly established Dragon Horse Federation; instead, it would have been the Sky Dragon Empire. However, as time went on, we discovered a significant issue—or rather, a major flaw in our Dragon Clan. That flaw was our lifespan.”

“The current First Seat is the third generation since the founding of our Dragon Clan. The lifespans of the leaders of the first two generations ranged from three to four thousand years. This isn’t just limited to them—all of us in the Dragon Clan face the same limitation. Regardless of how strong we are, once we surpass the age of three thousand, we face the risk of death at any time. It’s extremely rare for anyone to live beyond four thousand years. Therefore, none of the original members of the Dragon-Transformation Period remain. All current members belong to the second, third, or even fourth generations.”

After listening to his explanation, Lan Xuanyu was indeed shocked. He had only known that the Dragon Clan had a lifespan limit. But according to legend, the lifespans of dragons weren’t supposed to be this short! Take Beast God Di Tian, for instance—how long had he lived? He boasted a cultivation nearing a million years, though it wasn’t actual cultivation time. Even so, he had definitely lived beyond a hundred thousand years, and he hadn’t even reached godhood, remaining below the God Rank. By comparison, how could the dragons of Sky Dragon Planet, far stronger than Di Tian, have lifespans capped at only three to four thousand years?

Luo Lan continued, “After discovering this issue, we naturally took it extremely seriously. It made no sense to us that, with our immense power, our lifespans would be so short. At the time, we developed several theories. Among them, the most widely accepted hypothesis was that during the Dragon-Transformation Period, each dragon formed had inherent flaws in its body. We weren’t true dragons, and these flaws prevented us from extending our lifespans. When we reach the age of three or four thousand, our bodies collapse, leading to death. Another theory posits a curse. The Dragon Realm granted us immense power but also placed a heavy curse upon our clan, limiting how long we could live. This theory is supported by the fact that when our kind dies, most of their strength dissipates, and the Dragon Power naturally flows back into the Dragon Realm. That may be why the Dragon Realm’s Dragon Power seems inexhaustible. Only Dragon Marrow and Dragon Crystals retain some Dragon Power, and only members of our Dragon Clan can absorb these. Other races attempting to do so perish immediately.”

“Our Sky Dragon Planet is resource-rich, and our Dragon Clan has the advantage of mobilizing resources across the entire galaxy. Over the years, we’ve tried everything imaginable but have found no way to slow aging or extend lifespans. So, while we Dragon Knights may appear glorious on the surface, we constantly worry about our lifespan limitations. Thousands of years may seem long, but sometimes we spend decades in a single hibernation. And regardless of how long one’s lifespan is, no one wants to die.”

“Ultimately, we discovered that the only possible way for the Dragon Clan to achieve eternal survival might be to rebuild the Divine Realm. Only the immortal aura that exists within the Divine Realm could nourish our bodies, and only by reaching godhood could we become true gods. At that point, any curse or bloodline defects might be resolved. Though this is just speculation, it seems like the most realistic goal for us.”

“Thus, successive First Seats and Dragon Knights have been working tirelessly to rebuild the Divine Realm. But reconstructing a Divine Realm is unimaginably difficult—it requires energy on a scale we can barely comprehend. Most importantly, we don’t even know how to go about creating it. Though the current First Seat is the most powerful in our history, even he hasn’t found any breakthroughs. Our bloodline development also has its limits. Once reaching the Super God Level, advancing even half a step further becomes immensely challenging. It feels like we’ve tried everything to no avail.”

“That’s why when your bloodline evolved, it gave us immense hope. We thought you might bring us an opportunity. After all, when a bloodline within our Dragon Clan evolves, it might allow for a breakthrough in strength. If any one of us could go beyond the Super God-level realm, we might be able to touch the layer of existence where a Divine Realm resides. That’s why you witnessed the absurd scene of us Dragon Knights draining our own blood on the Spirit Ascension Platform like fools. The Ascending Dragon Platform did provide some feedback, but compared to the energy you received, the feedback we gained was utterly inadequate. We shed so much blood for nothing, ultimately walking away with no gains, and our hopes were dashed once again.”