Nie Yan and Xie Yao walked into the pet shop. There were only a few customers browsing around.

10 Beast Tamers were in the middle of feeding the pets. Nie Yan approached the one at the front. It was Collinson, the same NPC who had helped him hatch the Darkwing Dragon.

“Hello, Beast Tamer Collinson,” Nie Yan greeted.

Collinson turned around in surprise. “Oh Great Prophet, how can I help you?”

Nie Yan noticed that Collinson’s attitude was much more respectful than last time they met.

“It’s like this. My Darkwing Dragon died in battle. I’m wondering if you can help me revive it?” Nie Yan asked. With his Great Prophet title, he no longer needed to humble himself in front of NPCs. They would help him either way.

“Did you bring its corpse?”

“Yes.” Nie Yan nodded.

“Apart from its corpse, I also require a Wish Crystal, Resurrection Crystal, or a similar catalyst to help you revive the Darkwing Dragon,” Collinson replied.

“I have a Resurrection Crystal,” Nie Yan replied. He took out the Resurrection Crystal from his bag. The black crystal sparkled with a dazzling splendor.

Collinson’s eyes were immediately glued to the Resurrection Crystal. He muttered in astonishment, “T-that’s a black Resurrection Crystal!”

“They come in different colours?” Xie Yao couldn’t help but interject.

“Of course. Yes. All crystals are divided into separate colours. Every colour has a special characteristic. You don’t see many black ones, though. They usually only appear in the underworld. A powerful darkness energy is contained within them. If it’s used to revive a pet or flying mount of the darkness attribute, it will have some additional effects. It might even raise their growth rate,” Collinson explained.

Nie Yan raised an eyebrow. He’d bought this Resurrection Crystal from an NPC called Cranston, along with an Arcane Gem and Mysterious Black Egg for 900,000 gold in total. It’d been so long ago, he’d nearly forgotten all about it. Same for the egg. Only the Arcane Gem he’d given to Tang Yao.

“Beast Tamer Collinson, please help me revive the Darkwing Dragon.”

“Reviving the Darkwing Dragon will cost 600,000 gold. As a Great Prophet, you receive a 70% discount. So, 180,000 gold for you,” Collinson said. Pet Shops had strict price tables. A creature like the Darkwing Dragon was of the highest rank. So, the fee would be high.

180,000 gold might be a heavy burden for ordinary players, but it was a drop in the bucket for Nie Yan. He happily paid the fee.

“Please follow me,” Collinson said. He turned around and headed to the back of the shop.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao followed behind Collinson. After passing through a narrow corridor and walking down a flight of stairs, they entered a large room about 20 by 20 meters in size. Nie Yan didn’t expect there to be such a place in the back of the shop. The room was empty, save for a large magic formation, which radiated magical energy, in the middle.

“Please place your Darkwing Dragon in the center of the formation,” Collinson instructed.

Nie Yan chanted an incantation to summon the Darkwing Dragon. With a flash of light, its corpse appeared in the center of the magic formation. It lay there motionless, lacking the slightest trace of life.

Collinson walked forward and stopped at the edge of the magic formation. Raising the Resurrection Crystal in the air, he started chanting. A stream of darkness energy flowed out of the crystal and entered the Darkwing Dragon.

The magic formation erupted with a dazzling black radiance. Nie Yan and Xie Yao shielded their eyes from the blinding light. They could only vaguely detect Collinson and the Darkwing Dragon’s position.

After a while, the light gradually faded. Life had returned to the Darkwing Dragon as it slowly crawled back to its feet.

The Darkwing Dragon’s wounds were fully healed as the spark of life returned to its eyes. Nie Yan could also sense something different about it, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

The Darkwing Dragon’s scales looked like they were made out of a special, impregnable metal, glistening with a glossy lustre.

The Darkwing Dragon was still Rank 8, but incomparable to before. It’d completely transformed because of the effects of the darkness attribute Resurrection Crystal.

“I suggest you closely examine the changes in your Darkwing Dragon. You’ll gradually discover the 180,000 gold was well-spent,” Collinson said with a mysterious smile.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao couldn’t help but be attracted to the Darkwing Dragon’s glistening scales. Even though it was still a Rank 8 flying mount, they could tell it was far stronger than the Immortal Phoenix. The auras the two gave off were completely different.

Logically speaking, the Darkwing Dragon and Immortal Phoenix should be roughly equal in strength since they were both Rank 8 flying mounts. But even within a Rank there were differences. The internal changes inside the Darkwing Dragon had put it on the path to Rank 9, even if it was still far away in terms of strength, whereas the Immortal Phoenix was consolidating its break through to Rank 8.

“Thank you,” Nie Yan said.

“It was my pleasure, Great Prophet.”

Nie Yan unsummoned his Darkwing Dragon. Rummaging through his bag, he took out the Mysterious Black Egg. “Can you help me appraise this egg as well? I want to know what kind of creature is inside it.”

As soon as Collinson’s eyes fell on the egg, he couldn’t look away anymore, an expression of pure shock on his face.

Nie Yan could guess from Collinson’s reaction that the creature inside the black egg was extraordinary. Still, he had no idea what it was. Given its size, the likelihood it was a dragon egg was high. But he couldn’t be sure. Perhaps it was the egg of some other large creature. If it really were a dragon though, he would earn big. As long as he held Zennarde’s Sword, he could have three dragon pets and two dragon flying mounts out at the same time.

Collinson gently caressed the egg with his hand.

Watching Collinson, Nie Yan’s heart raced. Please! Let it be a dragon!

“Great Prophet, it’s a Spectre Dragon, an extremely powerful dragon flying mount that specializes in spirit-based attacks...” Collinson explained, his voice tinged with a hint of fear as an icy coldness transmitted from the egg into his palm.

Collinson’s words were like music to Nie Yan’s years. A dragon flying mount! How could he not be excited?

“Please hatch it for me,” Nie Yan impatiently said.

Collinson placed his hand over the egg. Shortly after, the shell cracked open and a small, pale-white dragon popped out. It plopped to the ground with a thud. After which it shook its head, then looked up at Nie Yan.

As the two met eyes, a connection formed. Nie Yan noticed a second flying mount slot appearing next to the Darkwing Dragon. Like the Darkwing Dragon, it was also Rank 6 at birth.

The Spectre Dragon was also a dark attribute flying mount. Nie Yan couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. The Darkwing Dragon already had a bottomless stomach, now he had another dragon to feed!

Nie Yan gave the Spectre Dragon its first order. It quickly grew larger until it was about the same size as the Darkwing Dragon at Rank 6. Unlike the Darkwing Dragon, though, it wasn’t covered in scales. Rather, its body was pale and semi-translucent like that of a ghost.

The Spectre Dragon didn’t have high defense. Its physical attacks were also weak. However, its magic power more than made up for that. It already had two spirit-based attack skills at Rank 6.

Flying mounts with skills were rare, making up 10% of all flying mounts. For example, the Darkwing Dragon only obtained its first skill after reaching Rank 8. Most Flying mounts relied on their powerful bodies. Not the Spectre Dragon. Like the Vermillion Garuda, it relied on its skills.

Be it the Spectre Dragon or the Vermillion Garuda, both had never appeared in the previous timeline. There was also no information on them online. These types of flying mounts made for good trump cards. The first time they appeared, they would definitely catch the enemy completely off guard.

Recalling Angel Corps’ Vermillion Garudas, Nie Yan’s expression darkened. Sooner or later, he planned to give them a taste of their medicine with his new Spectre Dragon.

Asskickers United’s aerial force lagged behind Angel Corps’. Nie Yan was well aware of this. That was why he’d led the charge into taking down enemy flying mounts. Flying mounts like his Rank 8 Darkwing Dragon and Yao Yao’s Immortal Phoenix could take down enemy flying mounts and alleviate some of the pressure his fellow guildmates were under. He’d known the risks of putting a target on his back, but what else could he do? However, after falling for that ambush, he wouldn’t act as carelessly as before. He had to be a little more vigilant.

Nie Yan took out a Darkness Life Core and tossed it to the Spectre Dragon.

After just hatching, the Spectre Dragon was a bit distant toward Nie Yan. Its loyalty wasn’t very high. However, seeing the Darkness Life Core, its eyes lit up. It immediately opened its mouth and chomped down on the snack.

The Spectre Dragon appeared to be more intelligent than the Darkwing Dragon.

Nie Yan thought of how Mage NPCs were usually smarter than Warrior NPCs. It appeared this same rule applied to flying mounts. A magic-based flying mount like the Spectre Dragon had more intelligence than a bruiser like the Darkwing Dragon.

The higher the intelligence, the harder it was to raise its loyalty. Nie Yan could only take his time building a bond with the Spectre Dragon.