“Princess, we’ll begin our first lesson here: Magic.”
‘Huh? Magic?’
Zhu Qiu was stunned for a moment when she heard those words.
Suspecting she had misheard, she hurriedly asked, “Teacher, didn’t Zhu Xiaxia request that you teach me etiquette and things like that?”
Elanka looked equally confused.
“No. Her Majesty the Queen simply told me to be your teacher. She didn’t specify what to teach, so I assumed I should use my own discretion.”
In Elanka’s mind, if a dragon as young and powerful as herself was invited to be a teacher, it was obviously to teach magic.
Just as one would hire someone good at math to teach math, one wouldn’t expect them to teach literature.
“It’s fine. I can learn anything,” Zhu Qiu said.
Zhu Qiu’s current goal was to cooperate with the lessons so she could receive the reward from Zhu Xiaxia.
“Good. Then, Princess, please give me your hand. Let me test your magic talent so we can conduct a more targeted study.”
‘Magic talent? You must be joking. I’m a Human Sword Saint, specialized in swordsmanship. I’m definitely nothing when it comes to magic. There’s no way I’ll be good at it.’
‘In that case, there’s no need to take the lesson seriously. I can just slack off and coast through class.’
“Go ahead.”
Zhu Qiu stretched out her right hand.
After Elanka grasped it, she closed her eyes and slowly released her Dark Magic Power.
She let the power flow into Zhu Qiu’s body to search for her elemental affinity.
However, this method only worked for someone with stronger talent testing someone with weaker talent.
It required absolute mastery over the intensity of one’s own gift.
If one accidentally encountered someone with talent greater than their own, they would suffer a magic backlash — a very dangerous act.
Elanka had only released a small amount of magic when she realized something was wrong.
However, the special magic power reflecting back from Zhu Qiu’s body gave Elanka a strange, wonderful sensation that she couldn’t pull away from.
“Teacher? Are you done yet? You’ve been touching me for ten minutes. Haven’t you found my magic talent yet?”
Zhu Qiu’s voice snapped her out of her daze.
Elanka immediately opened her eyes and released her hand.
She felt that during those ten minutes, her magic power had been drained away bit by bit by Zhu Qiu.
Moreover, that strange magic power reflected back had actually made her brain feel a sense of euphoria, causing her to make poor judgments.
In just those ten minutes, half of the magic power in Elanka’s body had been drained.
Elanka quickly retreated two steps, her forehead drenched in cold sweat as she looked at Zhu Qiu in terror.
Zhu Qiu tilted her head, looking at Elanka with an innocent and cute expression.
“Teacher? Are you… afraid of me?”
“O-Of course not. I’m the teacher, why would I be afraid?”
Elanka pretended to be calm, but the magic test just now told her that the Princess’s talent was terrifyingly strong — far beyond her own.
She had to think about this.
If she followed a normal teaching process, the Princess’s magical strength would surely advance by leaps and bounds, eventually surpassing her and naturally ascending the throne of the Dragon Race.
In the Dragon Race, there were two ways to become the Dragon King.
The first was to wait for the old Dragon King to abdicate and then be chosen as the next ruler through a public election.
However, there were requirements for the Dragon King: they had to be at least 2,000 years old and have a magic rank of Level 7 or higher.
Although Elanka had already met these requirements, the current Dragon King, Zhu Xiaxia, was not old.
She was only around 4,000 years old.
By the time the Queen abdicated, Elanka would have long since become an old woman.
However, there was a second method: the challenge.
For a challenger, there were two conditions: they must be 2,000 years old and at Level 7.
There was also a requirement for the challenged Dragon King: they must have reigned for at least 2,000 years.
Once these three conditions were met, a challenge could be issued.
Furthermore, there was only one chance.
If you failed, you could never challenge again.
Additionally, the loser had to leave the Dragon Race forever.
Elanka hadn’t attended the previous meeting for the Dragon Princess because she didn’t have the time.
Her father, Nidhogg, had attended instead.
Upon learning of the Princess’s powerful talent, he had returned home to discuss it with Elanka.
Nidhogg Holtz and Elanka Holtz possessed the bloodline of the Dragon of Darkness.
Their family had always managed the Second Major District.
Regretfully, despite governing the second-largest city, not a single Dragon of Darkness from their lineage had ever become a Dragon King.
Therefore, their family had always wanted to produce a Dragon King.
It was a supreme honor.
Since Nidhogg’s birth, he had gained an extra element through a mutation, which greatly increased his strength.
Combined with his extraordinary natural talent, he was quickly groomed to be a top contender for the throne.
Unfortunately, the Dragon King at the time was quite old and not only possessed more elemental types but also had a higher affinity than him.
For the sake of safety, Nidhogg chose to wait for the old King to abdicate and then seize the subsequent election.
The result was that the old King had such a strong constitution that he held onto the throne for a very long time before finally stepping down.
By then, Nidhogg was already over 13,000 years old.
Although this age would have been considered relatively young in ancient times, in the present day, due to various environmental impacts, the lifespan of the Dragon Race had generally been shortened significantly.
Being 13,000 years old made him an old dragon compared to others.
But this did not stop Nidhogg’s dream of becoming the Dragon King.
According to the old rules, the election was supposed to select the strongest candidate.
He thought that after enduring for so long, he was about to become the Dragon King, but when it came to Nidhogg, a problem arose.
On the day of the election, the various dragon tribes, without exception, cast their precious votes for Zhu Xiaxia of the Gracia family.
Nidhogg was so furious he spat out blood on the spot, wishing he could kill every dragon present.
He highly suspected that the old King had shown favoritism, because Zhu Xiaxia Gracia was his biological daughter.
Furthermore, Zhu Xiaxia was only 2,000 years old at the time and was already Level 7.
Compared to his Level 8 strength at the time, what was Zhu Xiaxia?
Just because he was 13,000 years old?
Wouldn’t he have been considered just as young in ancient times?
Because of this, Nidhogg suffered for 2,000 years.
When he turned 15,000, he took the initiative to challenge Zhu Xiaxia.
The outcome was… not only was Zhu Xiaxia an All-Elemental Dragon, but she had reached Level 9 by the age of 4,000.
She pinned Nidhogg to the ground and beat him.
As for why Nidhogg wasn’t expelled from the Dragon Race afterward and continued to manage the Second Major District, no one knew.
However, the Holtz family still wanted a Dragon King, and Elanka herself was no less talented than Zhu Xiaxia had been at her age.
Thus, she became the hope of the Holtz family.
There were two reasons she had come to the Dragon Race Imperial Palace to be Zhu Qiu’s teacher.
First, it just so happened that Zhu Xiaxia was looking for a teacher.
Second, Zhu Xiaxia now had a daughter with extremely high talent.
At least, that was what Elanka had heard from her father.
He wanted her to scout for information and, while she was at it, hinder the development of Zhu Xiaxia’s daughter.
Looking at it now, her talent truly was extremely high.
‘This won’t do. If you develop properly, what will happen to my throne? How will I ever explain it to my family?’
Elanka had a sudden flash of inspiration and thought of a plan.
“Princess, how about we take a break? I’ll teach you how to play cards.”