Celestial Bloodline

"A place that's cut off from the outside world after me and my friends battled the first Shadow General..."

"... and got defeated miserably."

Hubert's expression turned somber as he reminisced about the past. However, he regained his composure when he noticed the pair of green eyes fixated on his face.

Kyle winced when the old man patted his arm and glanced back at the man with purple eyes.

"You both know about the shadow generals, or you want me to go into details? 'Cause I really don't wanna talk about that bastard who betrayed his own kind."

Kyle instinctively shifted away slightly to evade any further pats and nodded.

"I'm well aware."

Hubert let out a thoughtful hum.

"Well, unless you have been living under a rock, it's hard not to be familiar with the shadow generals in this day and age."

He reached out his hand and grabbed Kyle's arm once again.

"Stay put, now that I'm wasting my time here, I might as well do some more good deeds and try to heal your broken bones. I happen to be the only person in this land with a healing ability that works without mana and divine energy."

Immediately, a sensation similar to water spread through Kyle's arms, and he could clearly feel his injuries healing. It wasn't happening at a speed visible to the eye, but the pain was definitely diminishing. He looked at the old man's hand and noticed that Hubert wasn't using any energy... or perhaps he was, but Kyle couldn't quite grasp it because it was very different from mana and divine energy.

Hubert felt Kyle's eyes at his hand, but he brushed it off. It's not like the human would comprehend the spiritual energy of a water dragon. He carried on.

"Just as the name implies, this land is devoid of mana. And not only that, it also lacks divine energy."

In the past, the no mana land was actually a part of a beautiful planet brimming with various energies. It was ruled by the water dragon race, a race that is very different from all the other dragon races because they only focused on water type skills. But everything changed when one of their own betrayed them and joined forces with the dark side.

"How ironic that he gained the title of the first shadow general after destroying his own home."

Hubert let out a bitter chuckle, his aged face reflecting the pain as he reminisced about the past.

The planet was wrecked in the battle. Hubert, along with his friends who have since passed away, did their utmost to save the planet. But unfortunately, their efforts were in vain, as just when they thought they were gaining the upper hand, Azazeal's fake body stepped into the battle and broke the planet into countless pieces with just a single attack.

After the battle, when Hubert opened his eyes once again, he found himself alone. All of his people were dead, except for a few who had managed to survive by hiding themselves. The planet was broken into countless pieces. In a final effort to save his race from extinction, Hubert gathered the remaining survivors to leave the place. However, something strange happened.

All of a sudden, the planet's core burst out from the broken pieces, and all the mana and divine energy in those pieces started dissipating into particles. Those particles formed a grey field around one of the biggest pieces of the planet, where the planet's core settled.

"That's how the No Mana Land came to be. Countless people know about this place, but no one dares to come here because there are many natural spatial tunnels around this land that can send them to an unknown place in this vast universe."

Kyle's expression sank when he heard Hubert's next words, and he immediately looked away from the man's hand to focus on his face.

"Also, if someone enters this land, they won't be able to leave unless they possess a transcendent rank physique. Only then can they pass through the grey field surrounding the No Mana Land."

Hubert saw Kyle's expression grow pale with each passing second, but he didn't really care and continued.

"That's the reason I decided to settle here and create a village in this desolate place. It was hard at first because we couldn't adjust without mana, and due to the lack of mana, manaless beasts started forming on this land..."

He let out a sigh.

"But over time, we made our naturally strong physiques even stronger and fought back against the manaless beasts. After all, this place is hundreds of times better than the outside world."

Kyle closed his eyes to process the information. He took a deep breath and looked at Hubert.

"Is there any other way to leave this land? Getting a transcendent rank physique... is not easy. How am I going to leave this land then?"

Hubert rubbed his forehead.

"There is no other way, and I told you to leave my village. Not this land."

He retracted his hand from Kyle's arm and stood up.

"I'm taking off. Just take it easy for now and don't overthink. You need to recover and leave this village as soon as possible. I know you're human, but I don't dislike you. Rather..."

His blue eyes shifted towards the man sitting in the distant chair.

"... I didn't like the person who came with you."

Kyle wanted to ask more questions, but the old man took a few big strides and left the room. He glanced at the old couple, but they also left behind the old man.

He let out a groan.

"Damn it... how the hell am I going to achieve a transcendent rank physique in a land that lacks mana!?"

His ears twitched when a familiar deep voice reached his ears.

"It's not that hard. Moreover, the old dragon didn't give you complete knowledge... maybe he forgot."

Kyle snapped his eyes towards the man sitting in the distance. The man's purple eyes seemed too empty to belong to someone who was trying to give him reassurance. He furrowed his brows.

"Who are you exactly? I don't know you. Why did you say we are friends?"