Dragon Tamer

Chapter 391: Chapter 393: The Art of Distinguishing Eggs
Young dragons were, after all, a minority.

And the vast majority of dragon eggs didn’t necessarily completely inherit their parents’ bloodlines to become True Dragons.

During a certain era of the Supreme Court, there was a force that specifically mated high-bloodline female and male dragons to obtain high-bloodline young dragons.

This force has now completely disappeared.

The method of dragon mating proved unfeasible.

On the one hand, the higher the bloodline of a dragon, the lower the likelihood of reproduction.

On the other hand, the inheritance of bloodline is not about grabbing two powerful dragons, letting them mate, and expecting the offspring to inherit their abilities.

Take this Thunder Dragon Egg at hand, for example.

The little life about to be born could just be an exceedingly common wild Jiao, not even considered a true dragon.

Of course…

If this little life inherited the powerful bloodline of the Lei Dragon, being a Thunder Young Dragon right after birth,

then this dragon egg would be invaluable!

“Alright, everyone get ready, please come forward in an orderly fashion to identify, and then decide whether to increase your bids,” said the Queen of Xiayu Country.

…

Zhu Minglang naturally followed Luo Shaoyan’s lead.

Each dragon egg was displayed one by one, similar to an auction.

However, unlike an auction, there would be five rounds of identification.

The first round allowed only visual inspection, and the time given was very short, just a one-minute close-up observation with the naked eye.

In the second round, you were given three minutes to probe with your Spiritual Sense, to feel the strength of the life within the dragon egg, or to perceive other subtle patterns, shell hardness, and differences in the membrane.

In the following rounds, Dragon Trainers were allowed to identify, probe, and deliberate more meticulously…

The catch was that each round, including the first, required a substantial amount of money if you wished to proceed.

“We now present the first dragon egg. This is a dragon egg from Xuancao Mountain Castle, selected by a Dragon Recognizing Master who was passing by chance. As you know, some dragons like to eat highly nutritious beast eggs, and this dragon egg was purchased at the price of ordinary beast eggs, ten silver. After the appraisal of several masters, there is a great possibility that it is a Young Dragon Egg and it enjoys a considerable reputation among the halls of White Heavenly Street. Its breed is indeterminable, bloodline level indeterminable…” continued the Queen of Xiayu Country.

“The price for the first round of identification is five thousand gold, everyone please.”

After saying this, the people in the palace were already eager to try.

“This five thousand gold, I’ll cover it for you,” Luo Shaoyan said with a smile, promptly paying the money and joining the queue for identification.

Zhu Minglang was still watching.

He saw people stepping forward one after another; some examined with a gentlemanly demeanor, others seemed to want to glue their eyes to that somewhat legendary civilian dragon egg—there were all kinds of people.

It was Zhu Minglang and Luo Shaoyan’s turn.

They stepped forward, with Luo Shaoyan standing at the prescribed distance, gazing at the civilian dragon egg cradled in the silver silk cradle. He didn’t even wait for the allotted time to expire before he shifted his gaze to the mature and charming Queen of Xiayu Country, striking up a conversation about matters unrelated to the dragon egg.

Since he had to learn Dragon Recognizing Techniques, Zhu Minglang naturally couldn’t behave like Luo Shaoyan, staring at the queen’s impressive figure.

Five thousand gold.

“`

To tell the truth, it just looked like a beast egg.

The shell was thin, the outer membrane was not smooth, and the size was about that of a dipper. Someone with a bigger appetite might have just set up a fire by the creek, boiled up some water, and dunked it right in.

“Time’s up,” a woman dressed as a maid whispered to remind everyone.

Zhu Minglang scratched his head.

Ah, that’s five thousand gold pieces…

In the Imperial City, even visiting the famous courtesans in the brothels wouldn’t cost as much as watching this egg, right?

Hey, why do I know such a strange piece of knowledge?

“Young master, would you like to follow? The bid to follow is twenty thousand gold,” the maid reminded Zhu Minglang, seemingly aware that it was his first time there.

“Follow!” said Luo Shaoyan with certainty.

Zhu Minglang was utterly confused.

…

“So that’s twenty-five thousand gone, and nothing to show for it,” Zhu Minglang said with a bitter smile, suddenly realizing that Luo Shaoyan was truly extravagant, befitting someone from an ancient family.

“Normal, some people play here all night, throw in a million gold and end up taking home only a colorful chicken, but then they feel it’s too precious to stew…” Luo Shaoyan said.

“Talk about that egg, why follow it? I think it looks quite ordinary, especially since we’re not allowed to use Spiritual Sense to examine it, so judging by appearance alone, you really can’t see anything,” Zhu Minglang asked.

“That’s why you need to learn the art of egg observation from the skills of dragon recognition!”

“Egg observation…” Zhu Minglang felt the term was incredibly odd.

“There’s also egg touching, which is for the third or fourth step,” Luo Shaoyan continued.

“Okay, okay, just share your thoughts,” Zhu Minglang said, feeling the conversation couldn’t go on.

Before Luo Shaoyan could elaborate, he began to get smug. He said to Zhu Minglang, “We categorize eggs into three types: common eggs, Spirit eggs, and Dragon Eggs.”

“Spirit eggs are the most frustrating because they are usually laid by creatures with Spirit, and they tend to have special characteristics that easily lure people in. Many have wasted a lot of money on Spirit eggs.”

“Dragon Eggs are laid by True Dragons. Even though the chance of hatching Young Dragons is much higher than with Spirit eggs, there’s still a possibility it’s just a demon beast. Unless it cultivates for ten thousand years to become a holy being, it’s just that…” Luo Shaoyan explained.

“When we see an egg of unknown origin, we first determine which of these three types it is. If it’s a common egg, then it’s worth nothing,” Luo Shaoyan continued.

Zhu Minglang listened intently. The academy taught little of the Dragon Recognition Technique because most students were already Dragon Shepherds or about to become one.

In contrast, many commoners couldn’t even touch the threshold of becoming a Dragon Shepherd. They tried every means to get Juvenile Spirits from various places, searching for creatures with the potential to transform into dragons. The techniques of Dragon recognition were widespread among the folk, but most were scams.

Mr. Jinli had said that even the most remarkable Dragon recognizing techniques involved gambling, only that it increased one’s odds. Thus, it was foolish to spend all one’s savings on a Juvenile Spirit or a Spirit egg.

“This egg, which has a little fame among the people, is actually a very special Spirit egg. Its shell seems thin, yet it has absorbed a certain amount of nature’s Spiritual Energy. The patterns on the egg are chaotic, likely due to the instability of Spiritual Energy in the area where it was located. A common egg wouldn’t absorb Spiritual Energy,” Luo Shaoyan added.

“So you’re concluding it’s an extraordinary egg?” Zhu Minglang asked.

Luo Shaoyan shook his head and replied, “The last thing you want to do in dragon recognition is jump to conclusions. I only feel it has spirit, and there’s a possibility it’s an extraordinary being.”

“So we move to the next round, using Spiritual Sense to see if there’s any concentration of Spiritual Energy inside?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“Yes, if it’s a Spirit egg, we have to follow. Anything is possible,” Luo Shaoyan said.

“`