After navigating a long, winding corridor—thankfully marked with signs—Brandon didn't get lost. His massive body made the wide corridor feel cramped, but he managed to squeeze through and hurried towards the ship's control center.
He didn't know how long or how many paths he had traversed, but eventually, Brandon arrived at a massive door. It was tightly shut and bore a warning sign: "Authorized Personnel Only."
Ignoring the sign, Brandon used his powerful claws and wrenched the half-meter-thick metal door open. He stepped inside a vast space seemingly made of transparent crystal. From here, he could see the black rock patterns outside the spaceship, including a fish fossil embedded in the rock, lifelike in appearance. The ship's bow was entirely buried deep in the seabed.
The control center was brightly lit, with dozens of holographic screens displaying rapidly flashing data, each dominated by a large warning symbol, one of which indicated the dragon invasion. This warning continuously flashed.
Brandon was at a loss; he had no idea how to operate any of this. In his previous life, he knew how to drive a car, operate a tank, and fly a plane, but piloting a spaceship was beyond him. Moreover, this technology wasn't part of any known system and had no similarities in operation.
Frustrated but helpless, Brandon felt like he had found a treasure trove but couldn't take any gold. He exited the control hall and the spaceship, casting a longing glance back. Every man needs a car, and for a dragon, a spaceship was the equivalent.
Brandon left reluctantly, pondering how to activate the spaceship. Maybe humans could help, he thought, considering his followers. One dragon's intelligence might be limited, but what about many humans?
Since the spaceship had crashed here, it couldn't be started again. It needed to be moved elsewhere, but with his current power, Brandon couldn't move such a colossal object, weighing unknown tens of thousands of tons. Even at the great heaven level, he doubted he could budge it.
Upon reaching the surface, Brandon spread his massive wings and flew towards the island. Flying was much faster than diving. With a powerful flap of his wings, a sonic boom echoed through the air. He broke the sound barrier and continued to accelerate, reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second. In five years, Brandon's flying speed had more than doubled, rivaling the fastest human missiles.
At this extreme speed, Brandon streaked through the sky like a flash of light, the strong air resistance heating his body. Intense airwaves rippled around him, and the scenery blurred rapidly. This was far more exhilarating than any car race he had experienced in his previous life.
In just over ten minutes, Brandon saw the island in the distance. He slowed down, partially folding his wings to glide. Minutes later, he was back at his lair.
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Skyler had already returned, perched on a giant tree and idly grooming her silky fur. Brandon noticed he was beginning to find it difficult to see through Skyler, indicating that she had likely reached the lesser heaven level.
When Skyler sensed she was about to break through, she bid Brandon farewell and went into seclusion. Brandon hadn’t seen her for at least two months, and during this time, he found himself missing her.
Skyler's body had grown even larger. Even without spreading her wings, she was over six meters long, comparable in size to a typical great beast. Her body had a perfect streamlined shape, indicating she was built for speed. Her cyan feathers clung naturally to her body like the purest gemstones. The red feathers on her head had grown significantly, resembling a crimson crown, cascading naturally from her head and draping elegantly over the cyan feathers, giving her a noble and graceful appearance.
As Brandon landed, Skyler let out a delighted chirp. Before Brandon could even register her movement, Skyler was suddenly perched on him, nuzzling him affectionately and making melodious calls.
Brandon remained motionless, his body rigid and eyes wide with shock. He couldn't comprehend how Skyler had moved; she seemed to have appeared on his back instantaneously, without any trace of movement or air disturbance. Skyler moved as silently as a ghost.
What kind of speed was this? No, it couldn't be explained by speed alone. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was teleportation. Brandon was astonished that Skyler had the innate ability to teleport, a super skill typically only attainable by legendary-level beings.
Teleportation, as the name implies, involves moving instantaneously, with the time taken for movement nearly negligible. The intricacies of this ability weren’t described even in the divine soul's memories and had to be understood through personal enlightenment.
Although teleportation is usually a skill for legendary-level beings, it doesn't mean lower-level beings can't use it. This world has extraordinary abilities called innate divine powers, possessed only by creatures with powerful bloodlines. The reasons for these powers are inexplicable, often linked to inherent talent and lineage. Sometimes, natural gifts and bloodline factors allow beings to achieve goals effortlessly, whereas those with lesser aptitude must exert tenfold or hundredfold effort to catch up.
These innate divine powers differ significantly from innate abilities, being far rarer and more potent. For example, the blood-red flame within Brandon was an innate divine power. Although Brandon still didn’t fully understand this ability, he knew it could burn souls and generate a large amount of ownerless, pure mental energy during the process. This ability was incredibly powerful, though Brandon couldn't yet control it at will.
Skyler, noticing Brandon wasn’t responding, pecked him hard, snapping him back to reality. He felt a sharp pain, and his thoughts cleared. Skyler had grown much stronger, filling Brandon with joy.
Skyler chirped excitedly about her experiences over the past two months, and Brandon listened patiently. From her stories, he learned she could perform short-distance teleportation, though each jump couldn't exceed ten thousand meters. Even so, this ability was incredibly powerful, making Skyler virtually invincible on Earth in Brandon’s eyes.
Alice opened her eyes. A loud noise had awakened her, and her head throbbed as if it were about to split open. She turned slightly towards the sound—a massive steel door, gleaming silver, likely made of some alloy. Several strong men were pounding on the door with all their might, producing a resounding clang. They cursed intermittently, visibly frustrated, but the fear and helplessness in their eyes were unmistakable.