The First Meditation and the Lost Dragon Isle’s Revival

Given the inherent dangers of learning magic, Ai Ou meticulously reviewed the meditation technique two or three times.

He then mentally rehearsed the steps, ensuring no obvious errors remained.

Satisfied, he climbed into his bed and embarked on his very first meditation.

The meditation technique was remarkably simple, comprising only three steps.

First, one had to calm their mind, emptying it of all thoughts.

Next came the perception of the various elements swirling in the air.

The third step involved drawing these free-floating elements into one’s body, allowing them to be absorbed and contained.

The initial step was straightforward, achievable by anyone. The true challenge, however, lay in perceiving the airborne elements.

For those without innate magical talent, it was akin to ‘playing a lute to a cow’—utterly futile. They simply couldn’t sense the elements in the air.

This single hurdle effectively sealed off the path to becoming a Magician for ordinary individuals.

Ai Ou closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and began to sense the various elements adrift in the air.

Soon, a kaleidoscope of colorful light points appeared in Ai Ou’s mind. These were the conceptual manifestations of the elements in the air. This was how Ai Ou perceived them; had he imagined them as something else, they would have appeared as such.

Following the instructions in the notes, Ai Ou diligently attempted to draw the elements into his body.

After a considerable effort, he finally succeeded in absorbing a single blue light point.

The moment Ai Ou successfully absorbed the first wisp of magical energy, a sudden suction force emanated from his body.

The various magical elements within his room, like a swirling vortex, poured into him. Soon, this wasn’t limited to just his room.

All the elements within the entire castle, and even on the open ground hundreds of meters around it, began to converge, as if they had found their master, and funneled into Ai Ou’s body.

Fortunately, apart from Ai Ou, no one else nearby possessed magical talent. Otherwise, any Magician witnessing this terrifying torrent of elements would have been shocked half to death.

Such a formidable elemental flood could easily obliterate an entire town.

[Detecting special energy.]

[Space activating, Dragon Isle reviving.]

[Dragon Isle, successfully revived!]

Ai Ou suddenly heard a series of prompts in his mind. His vision brightened, and in an instant, he found himself in another world.

He was continually descending from the sky, piercing through layers of clouds, until a small island appeared before his eyes.

The island was surrounded by sea on all sides, with a newly sprouted sapling at its center.

As he drew closer, Ai Ou landed on the small island.

[Greetings, Isle Lord. Please tell me your true name.]

The prompt sounded.

“Ai Ou White.”

As Ai Ou spoke, he suddenly felt his soul connect with something profound.

[Esteemed Isle Lord Ai Ou, welcome to the Lost Dragon Isle.]

‘What? Dragon Isle?’

Ai Ou looked around, realizing he saw no dragons! The place was desolate; forget dragons, he didn’t even spot a lizard.

“Didn’t you say this was the Dragon Isle? Why can’t I see a single dragon?”

[Isle Lord, it is precisely because no dragons can be seen that it is called the Lost Dragon Isle. This is the ancient Dragon Isle, where all dragonkind has perished. The Dragon Isle exiled itself into the fabric of space-time, only now achieving its resurgence.]

Upon hearing the prompt, Ai Ou’s heart instantly turned cold. He had initially thought his ‘golden finger’ had activated, allowing him to command myriad dragons, conquer the continent, and become a Dragon Emperor.

Instead, he had received an empty shell. If all the dragons were dead, what was the point of calling it Dragon Isle?

“There’s nothing here. What’s the point of choosing me? All the dragons are dead, so what use is this revival now?”

[Isle Lord, please do not rush. First, please proceed to the Life Tree at the center.]

Following the instruction, Ai Ou walked towards the small tree in the middle of the island.

Though it was called a ‘great tree,’ it was merely a small sapling, barely half a person’s height, adorned with a few green leaves. However, the entire tree appeared half-dead, with some leaves green and others withered.

It seemed as though it could flourish at any moment, or perish just as swiftly.

[Please, Isle Lord, drip your blood onto the great tree to revive the slumbering Life Tree.]

Looking at his unblemished thumb and then at the tree before him, Ai Ou, adhering to the principle of ‘no pain, no gain,’ bit his thumb.

He then smeared his blood onto the great tree.

A few drops of fresh crimson blood fell onto the half-dead tree and were instantly absorbed by it.

Immediately, something miraculous occurred. The great tree began to grow anew.

All the withered leaves fell away, replaced by vibrant new foliage. The half-meter tall tree instantly shot up to two or three meters in height.

Following this, the sound of flowing water emerged as a clear spring gushed forth from the base of the Life Tree. The ground nearby gave way, quickly forming a small lake.

Suddenly, Ai Ou caught a fragrant scent. He instantly felt his body grow stronger and healthier, and his spirit seemed to lift considerably.

He felt as though he could now run fifty laps around his family’s castle without stopping.

‘Is this the revived Life Tree?’ Ai Ou regarded it with reverence.

[Congratulations, Isle Lord, you have successfully revived the Life Tree. Please begin the revival of the first dragon.]

Ai Ou looked left and right. Aside from the newly formed lake, there was nothing else. ‘Revive a chicken leg, you mean!’

Before Ai Ou could finish his internal grumbling, something seemed to materialize from the Life Tree. Then, with a ‘thump,’ it sounded as if something had fallen into the lake.

Ai Ou then saw a fiery red egg, like molten lava, floating on the water’s surface and drifting towards him.

“Don’t tell me this… is a legendary dragon egg?”

[Congratulations, you’ve guessed correctly! Quick on the uptake, aren’t you?]

Ai Ou squatted down and carefully lifted the dragon egg from the lake.

The fiery red dragon egg was surprisingly hot, feeling like he was holding a ball of fire, yet it caused no harm to his hands.

Ai Ou could clearly sense a life force slumbering within.

‘And now what? What should I do?’

Ai Ou scratched his head, pondering how to hatch the dragon egg.

‘Should I sing it three hundred nursery rhymes? Or roast it over a fire? Speaking of which, dragon eggs must taste delicious!’

As if sensing Ai Ou’s thoughts, the prompt sounded again.

[The Isle Lord’s blood has bonded with the Dragon Isle. The Isle Lord only needs to use his blood to awaken the slumbering dragonkin.]

‘More bloodletting?’

Looking at his recently healed thumb, Ai Ou hesitated for a moment. Then, he bit it open again and dripped his blood onto the dragon egg.

Instantly, the dragon egg absorbed Ai Ou’s blood completely. Then, like a beating heart, the egg began to tremble, and the red on its shell grew even more vibrant.

Ai Ou quickly placed the dragon egg on the ground.

“Crack!”

Suddenly, the dragon egg shattered, and a fiery red little head poked out from the shell.

“Ya-yi… ya-yi!”

The little creature was incredibly excited upon seeing Ai Ou. After emerging from its shell, it scurried towards him, grabbed his pant leg, and attempted to climb up.

Ai Ou quickly scooped up the little creature. Once held, the little one happily squinted its eyes, then its tiny tongue incessantly licked Ai Ou’s face.

Soon, the little creature seemed to remember something. It jumped down from Ai Ou’s arms and ran towards the fragments of the dragon egg. In just a few gulps, it swallowed the shell fragments from which it was born.

Instantly, the little creature’s body grew several sizes larger, and it became much more energetic.