The draconian sage turned again to the coffin brimming with world's energy. He swallowed a gulp of saliva and sidled up to Zhang Lie.

"Zhang Lie, would you be willing to share some of this energy with me? Just a fraction—a tenth, no, a twentieth would be sufficient!"

Zhang Lie smiled. "Of course. We're allies, aren't we? You've taken care of the humans for so long, Sage—it would be my pleasure to share it with you. It would even be fair to give you all this energy, but I do need it for some of my plans, so I can't share too much. Will a quarter of what's here suffice?"

Many of Zhang Lie's plans had been facilitated by the draconian sage—the construction of the disaster-grade farm, the Yeluo research laboratory,...