Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Naturally, Mr. Faceless threw the now-garbled teleportation scroll on the ground and coldly announced it to his colleague.

"I want to resign!"

Chapter 578 The Dean's Principles

The thick stone walls of the spiral tower shut out the hustle and bustle of the city from the windows. A tall old man, holding a long cane, descended the stairs at a steady pace, step by step. The trophies displayed in the wall recesses gleamed like new. Whenever he passed by those things, the old man felt a new vitality enter his body, as if the time when he acquired them had been returned to him, and he was still the young and robust soul he once was.

Rapid footsteps came from below, the loud clatter of metal boots hitting the ground drowning out the old man's footsteps and disrupting his rhythm. He simply stopped, waiting for the impatient guest to make his own unique sounds.

The sound stopped as it approached the old man. It didn't stop until he took another step, his iron boots following his every step.

“Actually, you could have spoken first, our executive officer, Mr. Lawyer. You seem to be in a hurry.” The dean looked at the humble and polite young man who was half a step behind him with an appreciative gaze.

“I will abide by Andrei’s rules and prioritize the Dean’s position.”

The dean sighed. "I was just saying that in anger. Those dogmas are only for restraining those unruly brats. Alas, the disobedient ones remain disobedient, and the dim-witted ones remain dim-witted. So, my young friend, what do you want to tell me?"

"The meteorite that destroyed all of Andrei's defensive barriers and damaged the southwest tower thirty minutes ago was Professor Dragon, the professor of consecration. He created a dragon skeleton for himself, causing Andrei to suffer heavy losses."

"Building repair costs, compensation for the afflicted liches, repairs to Andrei's defenses, and those outsiders caught up in all of this... I request your permission to allow the Executive Committee to punish the culprits responsible for all this loss according to the law."

“Oh, my dear, you want to be a dragon slayer too~” Just like the eccentric old man’s casual joke, the Dean showed his sense of humor and walked to the next step. “I don’t remember the Executive Committee needing my permission to arrest people. Is there some trouble, child?”

The Lawyer's iron mask reflected a chilling light, and his eyes were fixed on the feigningly confused leader, Andrei.

"We sensed the aura of the Lich King on Mr. Dragon's body. I believe that was an academic experiment authorized by the Dean. Undoubtedly, it was yet another highly destructive experiment. Your specially approved academic research, which prioritizes everything else, has once again put Andrei in danger. I hope you can rescind that rule and remove the priority of academic experiments!"

“Quite a good idea, my dear,” the Dean paused, his pale fingers tracing the spiky whiskers of the sea urchin, as if pondering for a few seconds. He then posed a new question, “My dear Lawyer, could you repeat the losses we suffered?”

"The castle is damaged, innocent victims, the defensive barrier has been destroyed..."

"Hmm, Mr. Dragon has turned into a skeletal dragon, hasn't he? How does he look? Spectacular? Or powerful?"

“It’s extremely dangerous,” Law changed his words, “but as you know, liches love this kind of thing.”

"The experiment was a success, what exciting news... Alright, alright, let's take stock of what Mr. Dragon's reckless behavior has brought about."

The dean counted on his fingers, "First, he destroyed a tower..."

"That was a botanical garden jointly planned by five magical plant societies, including the Plant Research Society. I strongly suspect that this seemingly accidental incident was also intentional. Professor Dragon has always had a grudge against botanists..."

"Because they discovered ossified plants, and found their beloved animal's remains turned into plant fertilizer, I couldn't stand it either. Compensation is acceptable, but remember to send the bill to Mr. Dragon, if his fingers can still fit into the keyhole of the treasure chest... Anyway, those botanists illegally scattered their seeds all over Andrei, so let's confiscate that area. Use the dragon's compensation to build a swimming pool to moisten my slightly dry beard. Which material do you think would be more suitable, seaweed or sea anemone?"

"...I'm sure the liches will make good use of your swimming pool."

The dean waved his hand, indicating he didn't care. "What's next? Compensation for the victims?"

"Yes. This group includes liches and outsiders..."

"They kicked the lich out of the victim list, and still have the energy to demand compensation. Isn't that quite impressive!"

The lawyer, as if he had known this all along, revised the list in his hand.

"What about those outsiders? They're concentrated near the teleportation array. I believe the liches lured there by Mr. Dragon are constantly adding to their psychological burden. If we don't handle this properly..."

"Let the Sword of Andrei deal with them, charge them with trespassing on private property."

"..."

"What's the other one?"

"Regarding the defensive barriers, they are composite defensive barriers created by large spellcaster societies such as the Magic Research Society, the Advanced Magic Research Society, and the Barrier Society. They are barriers that took a lot of time and effort to create. Although the last repair was thirty years ago, destroying those barriers is tantamount to slapping those powerful societies in the face. I think those face-conscious club presidents need an explanation."

"Is that what Jing meant too?" The Dean changed the subject and asked the president of the Magic Research Club for his thoughts.

"Mr. Jing was somewhat disappointed. That layer of magic compression was left behind by the scholar as the president of the Magic Research Society."

Public opinion is another issue that a leader must consider.

"By the way, Mr. Law, what level of strength has the newly born dragon reached?"

"Five locks".

"The turning point between man and god..." The Dean pulled at his wide-brimmed wizard hat, letting the shadow appear on his face, making the pale blue soul flames look even more eerie.

“The law states that the dragon did not destroy Andrei’s defensive barrier; it merely helped us find the vulnerabilities in those outdated barriers.”

"But……"

"No buts. Just tell those arrogant presidents that their barrier has been broken by a five-lock spellcaster. Make them upgrade Andrei's defensive barrier for me, or I'll hand this sacred task over to the dragon who defeated them."

"A provocation tactic?"

"Those guys are all seasoned veterans of Andrei. Provocation won't work on them. Their arrogance as powerful individuals won't override their skepticism and pursuit of excellence as seekers of knowledge. They might even thank the dragon for giving them a new goal, though of course, they're unlikely to express their gratitude openly," the Dean chuckled.

“Mr. Law, praise is more effective than punishment, and unrestricted support is my principle, my most important principle. A caged fledgling cannot fly. Just as I gave you, I gave the executive committee complete autonomy, so, good boy Law, go ahead and do it.”

"Then you immediately made a new rule that academic gatherings are above all else, and you're just making things difficult for me..."

"Hahaha... Hahaha... I'm getting old, a bit forgetful. I need to hurry over and congratulate Mr. Dragon on his new achievement, I'll go first." The Dean leaped over the hurdle, a series of fluid movements as fast as lightning. The Dean jumped off the steps and fell to the bottom of the tower in an instant.

Pulling his leg out of the spiderweb-like pit, the dean dusted himself off.

"Dragons... I don't know when it started, but now they're just memories..."

"If only we could recapture that glory of yesteryear..."

"Damn it! Oh no, I forgot that bastard is allergic to dragons, I have to get there right now!"

Chapter 579 The Dragon Exhibition

The residual heat of the burning flames seeped in through the cracks, like someone lifting the lid of a sumptuous feast, the rich aroma permeating the massive skeleton. Lyle shakily emerged from beneath Mr. Dragon's bony wings, stepping out of the protective layer of flesh and blood. Unharmed, and thanks to Mr. Dragon's meticulous protection, Lyle didn't even feel the tremors; if it weren't for his cerebellum reminding him that kinetic energy had vanished, he would have thought he was still falling.

Lyle climbed out of the crater created by Mr. Dragon. The scorched earth had spread for about two meters before the flames went out. Under the cold gaze, his still somewhat confused mind instantly cleared. Andrei had arrived. His somewhat surprised lich companions stared in disbelief at the scene, some of them still half-stuffed with cheese in their mouths.

The second person who emerged from the keel brought the still image to life.

"Medical worker, lend a hand. I feel like my bones are good enough to make soup, all I need to do is pour water on them."

The tentacles pulled Mr. Zhiyan, who was struggling to climb the slope, up. Mr. Zhiyan was completely naked, and heat was evaporating from his thin bones. His body was loose, like a lump of cheese.

"Mr. Zhiyan? I didn't even know you were on a flight."

Zhiyan weakly pushed away the tentacles and sat down on the ground.

"The dragon thought I couldn't withstand the ravages of the high-altitude winds, so... he fixed me to his breastbone. It felt no different from being burned at the stake, and in the end, it really did burn."

Lyle, who suffers from acrophobia, felt a little better and patted Zhiyan's shoulder blade to comfort him.

"The Plague Doctor?" The gathered liches recognized the young man. They expressed their concern but kept a certain distance.

Mr. Zhiyan changed into a new long robe.

"I didn't expect you to be so famous in the academy. Is it too late to call you 'Master' now, Plague Doctor?"

Lyle pointed to his head, the shimmering light of the Lich Crown as conspicuous as the soul flames the liches were staring at. "They recognized it. If they were liches who knew me, they would have pounced on it by now..."

"Boss!!!"

The roaring spinal wheel smashed through the crowd, the spinning bone spikes hurtling straight toward Lyle's face.

Lyle remained expressionless, crouched down, and snapped his fingers. The speeding vehicle disintegrated in mid-air, and fragments of the explosion, mixed with the driver's body, flew over Lyle's head and crashed into the dragon's shell.

Slowly getting up, Lyle greeted his companion, who had fallen into the pit like a pile of broken silver, with a helpless look. Those silvery scales were indeed very beautiful.

"Shining, sometimes I have a hard time figuring out your intentions, whether it's a welcome or a shock..."

“Both. You know Shiny's a jerk, boss.” Mr. Flexibility smiled as he stepped off another Spine Wheel, his unchanging smile on his face.

"You're a fool for trying to provoke the Lich King's blessing." The controller maintained his icy expression.

Lyle smiled. "I'll take it as you're here to welcome me, not out of curiosity..."

"Boss, what is this thing?" Shiny had already climbed onto the dragon's shell. The devastating bombardment caused by the destruction of the defensive barrier had burned the outermost layer of dragon bones into a blurry layer of carbon, making it look like a huge, pitted mud ball.

The top layer of carbon shell was loosening, and due to the angle, the bottom glitter shouldn't be visible. Lyle squinted, answering glitter's question.

"This is what you fear most."

Shining was stunned. He searched his memory but couldn't find what he was afraid of. In the end, the lich's nature and the competitiveness of youth overwhelmed Shining's admiration for Lyle.

"That's it? That's all?"

“Mr. Shining, I understand that you were tricked by your friend into saying something offensive.” The talent of immortality came into play, and large areas of charred charcoal fell off, revealing the smooth and new dragon bones inside. Mr. Dragon stretched out his body, displaying his noble posture to the eyes of Andre and the others.

Mr. Dragon roared, "But no matter what, being tricked into saying stupid things is foolish, the ugliest flaw of a spellcaster. You are truly the epitome of stupidity, so..."

"Fly, shine."

"Eh?"

Mr. Dragon gently patted the light, and he transformed into a streak of light, crashing into the outer wall of the castle.

"Remember to apply two bottles of Rejuvenating Marrow Fluid. It will help you recover quickly. If your bones are misaligned, you can come back to me." Shining probably couldn't hear Mr. Dragon's last words.

Dragonbone withdrew his gaze and shifted it to the few people frozen in place. Within his sight, all the liches fell silent.

"I am the dragon, the former chief professor of Bone Consecration. My friends, gaze upon me, behold me! Behold the dragon body forged for me by my proudest student, the Plague Doctor! Now, my wish has been fulfilled! I have become a dragon!!!"

After a brief silence, Andrei erupted in loud applause. It started with a few necromancer liches, and the applause spread like wildfire among all the liches.

"Do you recognize this skeletal creation?"

"do not know."

"Then why did you clap?"

“I just saw a lich fly to the outer wall of the fifth floor of the castle, I don’t want to try it.”

"..." The applause grew even louder.

The liches who had been fortunate enough to participate in the bone consecration techniques taught by the dragon were the most excited, almost shattering their own hand bones. They weren't actually sure if this was their former mentor, but they dared not gamble. Some of the apprentices, disguised in flesh and blood, even shed tears of emotion.

"When Mr. Dragon was still in human form, he defeated all of us by himself. With bones above, he actually turned into a dragon. How am I going to get through next semester?"

"Just lie there like a corpse."

The gathering, which completely distorted the original meaning of applause, continued, but fortunately, the person in charge finally stepped forward and stabilized the situation.

The Dean's clapping wasn't loud, but it had an infectious quality that made the liches he passed control their swaying to his rhythm—an elegant and comfortable clapping style.