Chapter Ninety-Five: Apotheosis

“Because teleportation magic has all but been banned in the material plane, the way it works has developed serious flaws.”

Academician Ding explained, “At present, aside from a very small number of fixed teleportation arrays, using teleportation anywhere else, or under any other circumstances, is not only extremely difficult, but also highly dangerous. Accidents can happen, and you can end up falling into the turbulence of space-time.”

“According to the research our Xia Academy of Sciences has carried out, the reason teleportation can accomplish spatial leaps is very likely that it makes use of some higher-dimensional realm.”

“And since it is higher-dimensional, that realm is naturally full of unpredictable dangers. Short-distance teleportation may not be much of a problem, but for long-distance teleportation, you must find a way to ensure stability and safety between the two points. Only after regular cleansing and maintenance can it be used.”

“To us, a teleportation array is really a kind of magical highway. It, too, must be built, maintained, and serviced before it can function. Otherwise, it is very easy to shoot off into unknown spaces, lose your way, and never return, not to mention the constant risk to life itself.”

“And the teleportation magic of the material plane is basically banned now. That higher-dimensional realm seems to have undergone some major upheaval and is in a violently turbulent state, making it very hard to establish a safe and stable connection with it.”

“We carried out many experiments with teleportation scrolls before, and in the end every single one of them failed.”

A change and disturbance in higher-dimensional space-time?

For some reason, the black dragon felt a faint stir in its heart. It could not help thinking: could it be that the appearance of our Xia Nation has caused the world line and the timeline to shift so dramatically that they cannot be repaired or stabilized for the time being?

Still, the banning of teleportation magic was not necessarily a bad thing for Xia Nation.

After all, useful as it was, this trick could greatly facilitate Xia Nation’s expansion and development overseas. There would be no need to pour in vast amounts of manpower and material resources to build railways and roads and undertake massive infrastructure projects. By simply paying a few mages to erect several teleportation arrays, the same effect could be achieved, with efficiency and returns clearly far higher.

But at the same time, this would also strip Xia Nation of many advantages. Setting aside everything else, the military alone would find it hard to accept. If teleportation magic were not banned, then after Xia Nation finally managed to drop a nuclear bomb on someone, the other side could simply flee with a teleportation spell. How was anyone supposed to play that game? It would be far too dull.

So with teleportation magic banned and everyone starting from the same line, this was absolutely a good thing for Xia Nation. The infrastructure monster would clearly be able to run rampant once again.

…………

“171.6 tons.”

Not bad. Another ton or so had come off.

Every time the black dragon returned, it weighed itself to check the results of its weight-loss efforts. So far, the overall progress was quite good. It should be able to meet its goal within two months and shed twenty or thirty tons.

The Point Guard Is Here

“Mr. Huang, you really do not have to push yourself this hard. The main point of naturalizing a dragon is the spectacle. You only need to put on a skin-and-bones appearance. Your exact weight is not really important, and we can even help you falsify it.”

“It’s fine. I might as well lose some weight for fun.”

The black dragon answered indifferently. It had discovered that losing weight through sheer willpower was actually rather rewarding. It could effectively improve its familiarity with itself and its ability to control itself. In a sense, it was letting its brain get some grassroots experience.

“By the way, Academician Ding, how is your research on the golden dragon blood coming along?”

“Not much progress so far.”

Academician Ding shook his head helplessly. “The microscopic realm being locked down has had an enormous impact on our research. A great many experiments simply cannot be carried out at all.”

……

Yes, being locked out below the micron scale really was maddening.

The black dragon found itself somewhat sympathetic. Research people tend to have a certain obsessive streak. If they could not even break into the micron level, what was there to call science?

It seemed that in the past, some scientists had been unable to see any direction or hope in their research, suffered a collapse of their entire understanding, and chosen suicide……

The black dragon fell into thought. It vaguely remembered that when its own body had once struggled against radioactive elements, something deep within its soul had also seemed to tremble and collapse.

It was only because the black dragon’s subjective consciousness held a different, more direct, more stable understanding of radioactive decay that it had not led to even worse consequences.

Was it because its worldview was in conflict that it dared not face the microscopic realm, fearing cognitive collapse and self-destruction?

The black dragon suddenly thought of this possibility. Perhaps, for the living beings of this world, the decay of radioactive elements truly concealed some unspeakable terror—something that would pollute anyone who looked upon it, driving them into madness and collapse……

The gods—no, the Creator—had locked down the microscopic realm. Was it not to limit everyone, but to protect them?

The black dragon frowned. Things might not be so simple after all.

“Mr. Huang, how much golden dragon blood can your heart produce at most in a single day?”

Academician Ding asked.

“I honestly do not know. I have to ask first.”

The black dragon agreed at once, then gave a somewhat strange look and said, “It says that, for now, the output is a hundred drops a day. But there is room for improvement. Once it has eaten ten tons of gold, it can upgrade its industry and reach a thousand drops a day.”

The black dragon was genuinely surprised. It had not expected its weird little heart to be so up to date, with an inbuilt upgrade function. Just ten tons of gold, and it could evolve into version 2.0.

“A hundred drops……”

Academician Ding fell into contemplation. For vast Xia Nation, that amount was obviously nowhere near enough. Not to mention one hundred drops, even ten thousand or one hundred thousand drops a day would still be far from sufficient.

Fortunately, it could be upgraded. One upgrade for every ten tons of gold—then perhaps one hundred tons would allow a second upgrade, one thousand tons a third……

At this rate, Black Dragon might truly evolve a divine nature……

As for this ability of the black dragon’s, Academician Ding did not know whether he should be worried or delighted. Xia Academy of Sciences had gained some understanding of the gods of this world by now, and they faintly suspected that the golden transformation of the body might very well be a form of divinization.

And if the black dragon’s heart could absorb ten thousand tons of gold, then without a doubt its life-form would be completely divinized, becoming a powerful deity!

But the question was, could a deity truly maintain Xia Nation’s standing in this world, and its long prosperity and lasting peace?

Or rather, did the people of Xia Nation really need to find a deity for themselves?