"Your first time seeing a dragon?" Alex asked.


    "Uhm." Mithra nodded, trying to contain her excitement. She couldn''t embarrass Alex while they visited this ce.


    One of the three dragons that escorted them sped up. He seemed to inform their king about the situation on the battlefield and Alex''s strength.


    A shocked expression appeared on the dragon''s king face as he took a nce at Ian, specifically the one on his back.


    There seemed to be a string of energying toward his head, and Alex checked it was a kind of Spiritual Energy that he needed to do a thought transmission, so he epted the energy.


    ''Wee, Human.''


    ''Ho? You can speak in ournguage?'' Alex furrowed his eyebrows. This matter piqued his interest because it was not easy to see a dragon have this ability before even reaching Martial Master. Even Sherry could only talk after reaching Martial Lord.


    ''I have apanied the first hero in this world back in the day and learned human''snguage. It''s just I can''t really speak with my mouth because you will only hear my roar from it. Luckily, I have the ability to send telepathy to another person. We can talk.''


    ''Since that is the case, it will be easier.'' Alex nodded. ''You know my purpose here?''


    ''I have heard from my assistant earlier. You want to go to the Immortal Cave?" The dragon asked, watching how Ian descended on the ground. Alex leaped to the front of him.


    ''Yes.'' Alex looked at the dragon with a serious expression.


    ''As much as I want to guide you to the location, my hand is tied with the devil invasion. The scale is already too big to the point it has threatened the whole world. I need to protect my entire race and save the world while I am at it.''


    ''But why me? The human just summoned the hero, you know.'' Alex shrugged.


    ''I have heard about that. And that''s why we are cooperating with the humans to stop the invasion. However, the heroing here is still too weak. A weak hero is useless because he might die in the process. Besides, it will take time to cultivate a powerful hero to fight against those devils.''


    ''So, you are choosing me?''


    ''Yes. Your power is far stronger than mine… ording to what I have heard from my subordinate. And looking at you right now reminds me of the time I faced death. I have apanied the hero in the past to save the world, so my instinct has been honed to that degree. Rather than depending on the hero that might have died in the process of growing up, I choose to abandon all thoughts and ask you. You have ughtered all those devils in an instant, so I know your power is extraordinary.''


    ''You want me to ughter those devils for you, including the ones on the other side?''


    ''No. I would like to ask you to stop the invasion and close the portal. If it''s not possible, it''s fine just to push them back and ensure they are noting back to this world.'' The dragon shook his head.


    The others were staring intensely, wondering what kind of conversation they have right now.


    ''This ce is my ancestralnd. It can be considered a sacred ce. Unfortunately, because of the invasion, we can only escape to this ce, breaking the taboo. If you canplete this task, I shall guide you to that ce.''


    ''As much as I want to reject you and torture you to get the information, I will y along with your n. Besides, I think you need to know about this first. I will be living in this world only for three months. My purpose is to search for a Divine Item that the devils might want to possess. As long as I get it, I will be able to stop them.''


    ''So, you want to go to the Immortal Cave because there might be a connection with that?''


    ''Yes. After that, I will then close the gate.''


    ''Still, I can''t trust you just yet. The fact that you know about this and your strength, I can''t still fully trust you.''


    ''It''s simple. If you go to the human kingdom, they will know that I havee together with those heroes. In that case, I think I have cleared my name, right? We have two different worlds, and you should have the information about my world…''


    ''Yes. The previous hero said that your world doesn''t have magic or anything simr. That''s why it''s impossible to have a power like people here. But if you areing here, you should have no power.'' The dragon king started to doubt him.


    ''I know your concern, but I am sure that the previous hero was a normal citizen. Do you think amoner would understand the kingdom''s secret?'' Alex smirked.


    The dragon fell silent. ''It is as you said, the hero said so. In that case, I shall gamble upon this chance. How do you want to settle this?''


    ''It''s simple. You help me find the Immortal Cave first, and I shall close the portal three monthster. I won''t be going to many ces because I need to train the two behind me for a while.''


    The dragon thought for a moment. ''It''s a bit risky on my side, but very well. I shall gamble this. I agree!''


    ''Good.'' Alex nodded, satisfied.


    The dragon seemed to not ept because of Alex''s persuasion alone because Alex could see him ncing at Ian a few times. They were considered as the one and only and had been protected this whole time, for them to entrust Ian to him, Alex must be extraordinary and trustworthy.


    ''Haiz… Even with me helping him, the hero won''t be able to defeat them. Luckily there is someone who is so powerful like this helping us. He is a double-edged sword, but it''s better than nothing.'' The dragon thought and sighed inwardly.


    ''When are you leaving?'' Alex asked, not hearing thest thought of his.


    ''We can go anytime. In fact, the sooner the better.''


    ''Still, don''t you think you are a bit too mean to the hero? You are supposed to help him in protecting this world, but you actually give the responsibility to someone else this early.''


    ''Haha… If he is a hero that will protect this world, he won''t mind all of this because he will surely protect the weak. However, the world has summoned heroes a few times, and I have seen darknessing from them. Jealousy, Envy, Greed, Lust, you name it. They are the victim of that, and it''s the power of the dragon king that can stop those heroes from ruining the world.''


    Alex nodded. At the same time, a ridiculous thought came into his mind. ''Sometimes, you can be regarded as a hero because you are strong to save the world. For example, killing the demon king that is said to be the strongest existence in the world.


    ''The masses might love the hero because a hero is a role model. However, the kingdom surely couldn''t appreciate this. The moment the hero thinks it''s time to destroy their kingdom, they will try thinking of a way to control that power if not eliminating him. Whether it''s cowardice or just greed, it''s indeed such a tragic story.


    ''I think those heroes that he is talking about are those who almost reach the pinnacle but drown in their power. They will do everything in their power to keep everything going ording to their way, and it will be at that time the dragon king decides to stop them even if it means killing them. Only those who don''t possess such a thing are able to live to see the peaceful world.''


    Alex then turned to Ian and Mithra, asking, "We can go to that ce anytime, when do you think the best time to go there?"


    "Ga!"


    "Tomorrow."


    The two seemed to have the same answer. They must have realized that the sun is going to set soon, so it will be better to start the journey at dawn.


    "You heard that." Alex nced back at the dragon with a smile.


    The dragon simply nodded before asking his subordinate to lead Alex to a guest room.


    He guided them to a treehouse. The size was enormous. It seemed the ce itself was for the living dragon, so everything was too big for them. However, Alex didn''t really mind because this was a fresh experience.


    After that, the dragon left them alone, wanting to ask his king about the details.


    Alex, on the other hand, looked at Mithra and Ian. "Mithra can start cultivating now. Because you have officially reached the Qi Gathering Stage, you should be cultivating right now. It won''t take too long because I am helping you, but you need to focus. I will make sure to smack your head if you have a thought in your mind."


    Mithra''s face turned pale as she nodded repeatedly. Back when she was on Ian''s back, Alex didn''t stop in making her swing her swords. His request was to swing until she copsed. Even with her hands bleeding all over, Alex still paid no attention and kept looking at thepass.


    It was hell because of what happened to her, but she thought it was reasonable because no one had ever reached Rank 4 Foundation Stage within two weeks.


    At the same time, Ian''s body slowly recovered as the two elements began harmonizing with each other. It was a blessing to him because the pain decreased so quickly. It was still a bit painful if Alex didn''t help him suppress the two elements, but he believed he could fly in the sky with this pain.


    Alex continued the training until the sun was finally up. He came out of the house as soon as the dragon king came to the house.


    ''Good morning. I hope you enjoyed your stay here.''


    ''Yes. I pretty much like it.'' Alex nodded. ''In any case, let''s go right now. We don''t want to dy any longer, right?''


    ''If I may ask, will you stay in this ce after going to the Immortal Cave?''


    ''You want me to stop them if necessary?'' Alex narrowed his eyes. He killed a Martial Master yesterday while the dragon king itself was only a rank 9 Foundation Stage. If the devil didn''te back, I believe they will send more Martial Masters to this world. That won''t be a problem, but this world has no means of dealing with those people.


    ''That''s why they want to kill those invaders to show them who''s the boss. At the same time, He wished to get the informationing from them because the Divine Item is certainly not one in this world.'' Alex smiled. ''That is the reason I chose today.''


    "Mithra, Ian,e out right now. We are going to set off in a few minutes." Alex shouted to the two. "Let''s go, shall we?"


    The dragon nodded and spread its wing. *Roar!*