The desert land was covered with sparse weeds, and a light breeze could sweep up some fine sand dust. The scorching sun in the sky was merciless, shining on the earth devoid of any trace of green. Occasionally, one could only see a few lizards scurrying hastily from one cave to another!

"Boom—!"

Suddenly, a dark shadow plummeted from the sky, kicking up clouds of sand. A massive creature crawled out of a large pit on the ground, revealing itself to be a black dragon!

"Boom boom boom—!"

Before the black dragon could steady itself on the ground, several attacks came swiftly from the sky, causing it to stagger as if inebriated.

"Roar—!"

In anger, the black dragon exhaled scorching dragon breath towards the figures in the sky, but they easily dodged.

Flapping its massive black wings, the black dragon soared into the sky, engaging in a fierce battle with the figures, unleashing a terrifying power that stirred up a massive storm around them...

Bexia had been in the city of Gaier for some time now. Holding a map, he checked his current location. His old problem of getting lost had resurfaced, and he seemed to have lost his way this time!

"I'm starting to regret it. Should have brought Talisha along!" Bexia scanned the surroundings, all looking identical. Even with teleportation ability, it was challenging!

Better find someone to ask for directions!

Controlling his movements, Bexia flew up high and surveyed the area. Suddenly, he noticed a large black mass on the ground in the distance, resembling a black dragon!

It's him!

In the next moment, Bexia appeared beside the black dragon. Startled like a frightened cat, the exhausted black dragon jumped up and vigilantly stared at him, asking in a thunderous voice, "Who are you?"

"Good thing you can talk!" Ignoring the dragon's caution, Bexia looked up and asked, "Tell me, how far is it from here to the Tower of Sages?"

"The Tower of Sages!" At the mention of the name, the black dragon flapped its wings in a panic. However, to its surprise, Bexia's voice sounded from its back again, "Why are you running? I'm just asking for directions!"

The black dragon tried to roll over, attempting to throw Bexia off, but after just one turn, its body slammed heavily onto the ground, and the man appeared in front of it once again.

"Roar—!" The black dragon spewed a breath of fire directly at Bexia, but an invisible force shielded him. Bexia stood firm like a rock in a rushing river, splitting the flow without flinching.

"You seem unfriendly!" Bexia smiled faintly, grabbing the dragon's horn and swinging it around forcefully, as if shaking a rag, creating two dragon-shaped craters on the ground after a moment.

"Boom—!" Tossing the black dragon aside, Bexia stepped on its head and asked, "Can we have a civilized conversation now?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The black dragon hastily agreed, realizing the vast difference in their strengths and promptly submitting.

"Isn't this better? Must I beat you up to have a decent chat?" Bexia sighed helplessly. He didn't actually want to resort to violence, but this black dragon was being stubborn and uncooperative.

"Just answer my questions, alright?" Bexia removed his foot from the dragon's head.

"Got it, got it!" The black dragon nodded quickly.

"Tell me, how far is it to the Tower of Sages from here?" Bexia inquired.

"At full flight, it would take me about a day!" the black dragon replied.

"Okay!" Bexia nodded, already formulating a plan to reach the Tower of Sages. "Take me to the Tower of Sages!"

"Ah—!" The black dragon froze.

"What's wrong? Not willing?" Bexia's gaze turned sharp.

"Please spare me! I, I just stole... grabbed something from the Tower of Sages. They are now hunting me down, and I dare not go back!" The black dragon was about to say it stole something, but changing its mind, it quickly corrected to grabbed!

"No wonder you bolted at the mention of the Tower of Sages. So, you took something from them!" Bexia suddenly realized, then extended his hand, saying, "Hand it over!"

"Um... fine!" Reluctantly, the black dragon spat out a staff made of what seemed like a piece of old tree root, a shoddy piece at best!

"What is this?" Taking the staff, Bexia sensed a remarkable power within it.

"This is the Great Sage's staff!"

"What's it for?"

"I heard this thing holds a huge secret, leading to the legendary Chalice of Authority of the Great Sage. Drinking even a drop from the water in the Chalice grants immense power, making even the mightiest god-king no match!" Spilling out what it knew, the black dragon revealed the secret.

"However, the group at the Tower of Sages has been researching for thousands of years without finding anything... you!!" Eyes widening, the black dragon watched as Bexia crushed a rule, then gradually, stardust formed a peculiar map, pointing towards a specific location.

"Could this be a clue to the Chalice of Authority?!" Astonished, the black dragon never expected the secret to be unveiled so quickly.

But considering it, as a relic of the Great Sage, it wouldn't be easy to uncover, for destruction was avoided to prevent the clues from revealing itself. No wonder that group hadn't found anything in thousands of years!