Chapter 125: The Dragon’s Ambition

The Dragon’s Ambition

[Ding!! Family Quest Issued: Clash of Prodigies.]

[The Salvatore Family’s prodigies shall suppress every challenger within the Heavenly Secret Realm. Rewards will be distributed according to each clan member’s performance inside the Heavenly Secret Realm. The greater their achievements, the richer the rewards.]

[Ding!! Family Quest Issued: An Empire? Nothing More Than a Stepping Stone.]

[The Azure Sovereign Empire has shown hostility toward the Salvatore Family. The dignity of the Salvatore Family cannot be challenged. The Three-Eyed Auspicious Destiny Dragon has grown impatient to devour the Empire Destiny of the Azure Sovereign Empire. Strip them of their Empire Title. Bring about the fall of the Azure Sovereign Empire.]

[Quest Rewards: Clan Member Template: Heavenly Sage of Eternal Wisdom, Primordial Great Medicine: World Genesis Rebirth Lotus, Primordial Divine Art: Eternal Void Roc Sovereign Scripture, Family Destiny +50,000.]

The familiar voice of the Eternal Legacy System echoed twice within Victor’s mind.

Two Family Quests.

Issued at the same time.

Victor calmly read through the first quest.

His expression remained unchanged.

There was nothing particularly surprising about it.

The Heavenly Secret Realm had already proven its value.

A place capable of producing not one...

But two future Eternal Emperor Realm experts...

Was something the Salvatore Family could never afford to ignore.

Even without the system’s quest, Victor had already decided that his family would enter the realm.

The system had merely confirmed what he had already chosen.

His gaze slowly shifted toward the second quest.

A faint gleam appeared in his golden eyes.

This one was different.

Far more interesting.

The Salvatore Family had certainly grown powerful.

Its rise had already shaken the Dawn Empire.

Its Family Destiny had reached an astonishing level.

Its influence had grown to the point where even the surrounding powers could no longer afford to overlook it.

But despite all of that...

The Salvatore Family was still officially a noble family under the Dawn Empire.

And now...

They had attracted the direct hostility of the Azure Sovereign Empire.

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Judging by the wording of the quest, this wasn’t simply a conflict between two empires.

The Azure Sovereign Empire wasn’t merely preparing to fight the Dawn Empire.

They were specifically targeting the Salvatore Family.

Victor slowly placed his hands behind his back.

The mountain breeze brushed against him, sending his long black hair drifting behind his shoulders.

The golden dragons embroidered across his black robe shifted gently with the movement of the fabric.

His face remained calm.

But his mind was already working.

The Azure Sovereign Empire wanted to annex the Dawn Empire.

That much was obvious.

Their ambition had never been particularly difficult to understand.

But history had proven something again and again.

When an empire fell...

The truly powerful clans rarely fell with it.

A clan possessing Stellar Sovereign Realm experts could survive even after its empire was destroyed.

Sometimes...

It could become even stronger under a new ruler.

Most conquerors understood that.

Destroying powerful clans was costly.

Winning them over was far more efficient.

That was why, under normal circumstances, the Azure Sovereign Empire should have attempted to recruit the Salvatore Family.

They could have offered greater resources.

Higher positions.

More territory.

Perhaps even promised the family a place within the future imperial court.

They could have tried to convince the Salvatore Family to remain neutral.

Or simply asked them to withdraw from the Heavenly Secret Realm.

Any of those choices would have been reasonable.

Efficient.

Strategic.

Instead...

They had sent an arrogant prince.

And the first thing that prince had done was issue threats.

Victor’s lips slowly curved upward.

There was something almost amusing about it.

He didn’t believe an empire powerful enough to become one of the strongest forces in the surrounding region had survived purely through stupidity.

There had to be a reason.

Something deeper.

Something they weren’t showing on the surface.

Victor’s golden eyes gradually turned colder.

"They’re targeting the Salvatore Family itself..."

Victor murmured the words beneath his breath.

The mountain breeze carried his quiet voice away into the darkness.

He remained standing there for several seconds.

He didn’t move.

His golden eyes stayed fixed on the distant horizon.

His expression was calm.

Thoughtful.

As if he were quietly rearranging pieces on an invisible chessboard.

Then...

The corners of his lips slowly lifted.

"Interesting..."

The faint smile remained.

But there was nothing warm about it.

Nothing amused.

It was the smile of someone who had finally noticed the hidden hand behind the game.

Someone had made a move.

And now...

Victor knew where to look.

A cold light quietly flickered deep within his golden eyes.

The mountain seemed to feel it.

The atmosphere changed.

The breeze gradually weakened.

Leaves that had been rustling moments ago became still.

The birds fell silent.

Even the countless insects hidden beneath the trees seemed to sense something and instinctively quieted themselves.

For a brief moment...

The entire mountain became eerily peaceful.

Then—

ROOOOAAARRR!!

A majestic dragon’s roar suddenly exploded across the heavens.

The sound shook the clouds.

It rolled through the mountains like thunder.

High above Sovereign Blessed Land...

The colossal Three-Eyed Auspicious Destiny Dragon slowly raised its enormous head.

Its immense body remained coiled around the entire Salvatore Family.

Like an ancient guardian protecting its territory.

Three enormous golden eyes opened.

They stared toward the distant horizon.

Toward the Azure Sovereign Empire.

There was no confusion in that gaze.

No hesitation.

Only hunger.

A deep, ancient hunger.

The Three-Eyed Auspicious Destiny Dragon could sense it.

The vast Destiny gathered within that empire.

The countless lives.

The accumulated fortune.

The invisible river of Destiny flowing through its territory.

All of it...

Was food.

Its enormous pupils narrowed.

The dragon wanted to devour it.

It wanted to tear the Destiny from the Azure Sovereign Empire and swallow it whole.

Victor remained beneath it.

He didn’t need to say anything.

The dragon had already understood.

Someone had extended their hand toward the Salvatore Family.

And now...

Something far more terrifying had noticed them in return.