Dragon scales filled the sky, dancing gracefully—a truly magnificent sight.
However, the Dragon Clan warriors who had their scales forcibly stripped away were without exception lying on the ground in a state of complete exhaustion, as if their bodies had been hollowed out.
Could it be that what they lost was their essence?
In fact, losing a single scale didn’t matter.
The reason they were weakened was that the instant their dragon scales were taken, the dragon essence within their bodies was also extracted.
What differentiated the Dragon Clan from demonic beasts was that instead of crystal cores, they had dragon essence in their bodies. Whether they were strong or not, this was what determined it.
Dragon essence was similar to energy—it could be cultivated again if depleted, but suddenly having it drained would inevitably leave them weak!
“Whoosh!”
“Whoosh!”
The scales carrying countless dragon essences gathered together, like the Milky Way cascading from the ninth heaven as they flew toward the Dragon Clan burial ground. Soon they formed a vortex, suspended above Xiao Longlong who had broken out of his cocoon, then began piecing themselves onto his body one by one in sequence.
Jun Changxiao was overjoyed.
Not only was his contracted beast currently reassembling its dragon scales, but its life force was also becoming increasingly strong, which fully represented that it had escaped danger!
More than that!
As each dragon scale was embedded, the dragon essence it carried also fused with the body, filling the flesh and meridians. Dragon horns gradually emerged on Xiao Longlong’s head, and dragon whiskers began gathering at its nostrils.
Although it had life force after breaking out of the cocoon, due to previous deficiencies in various aspects, it had looked like a smooth loach. Now it completely possessed the form of a dragon, though it was rather… excessively colorful!
The Dragon Clan’s body colors weren’t uniform. Now, with one scale extracted from each dragon and irregularly arranged on Xiao Longlong’s body, the result could be called gaudy and flashy.
“This… this…”
The three Dragon Kings’ eyes gradually widened.
Suddenly, they recalled a phrase recorded in ancient texts—”The ancestor of our clan was the Nine-Colored Divine Dragon that soared through the depths of the universe. Later, upon reaching the Upper Realm, it used immeasurable divine powers to establish the Dragon Domain for descendants to rest and recuperate for generations.”
Because of how ancient the history was, it had been treated as legend.
Now, as Xiao Longlong, draped in colorful dragon scales, gradually stood up from its prostrate position, the shock and awe in the three Dragon Kings’ hearts intensified even more.
Because they saw five claws, six claws… nine claws!
Throughout all these years, although mutants had occasionally appeared among Dragon Clan descendants possessing multiple colored scales, they always had four claws, because having even one more would grant the status of Dragon Emperor!
“Nine claws?”
Jun Changxiao was also dumbfounded.
The brilliant, multicolored dragon scales were already quite flashy, and now Xiao Longlong displayed nine claws—this transformation was really quite extreme!
“Incredible!”
The System said, “Absolutely incredible!”
“Whoosh—”
Just then, Xiao Longlong leaped into flight, circling in the firmament above. It raised its head and released a dragon’s roar that shook mountains and rivers, with sound waves visible to the naked eye rippling outward!
“Buzz!”
“Buzz!”
Space folded layer upon layer, instantly permeating the entire Dragon Domain.
Those Dragon Clan members who had their dragon essence seized and fallen into weakness all struggled to turn over and assume a prostrate kneeling position, their hearts filled with intense reverence.
“…”
The three Dragon Kings’ faces were extremely contorted.
They were closest to Xiao Longlong, hearing and feeling the most intense effects. Only one thought existed in their consciousness: to hurry and kneel, but because they were nailed to the stone pillars, they simply couldn’t move.
“Wow!”
Little Demon Fairy exclaimed in surprise, “So beautiful!”
With brilliant, multicolored scales and sacred dragon majesty swirling around it, Xiao Longlong no longer bore its previous wounds all over its body. It could truly be called radiant and reborn through fire!
What Jun Changxiao cared about at this moment wasn’t its dazzling appearance, but rather its strength—especially judging from the aura it emanated, it seemed quite a bit stronger than himself.
“That’s right.”
The System said, “Stronger than the host.”
“What level?”
“Upper-tier Truth-Seeking Realm.”
“…”
Jun Changxiao’s mouth twitched.
First there was Yao Mengying inheriting the Innate Saint Demon Body, her realm shooting up rapidly, and now his contracted beast was reborn through fire, directly skyrocketing to Upper-tier Truth-Seeking Realm. Looking at himself… what a failure!
“Ptui!”
The System spat.
Undeniably, Dog Sheng was a bit of a failure in realm, but he always remained far ahead in cheating.
Just like earlier when possessed by the System, he had the strength to thrash Peak Truth-Seeking Realm experts—this was something Yao Mengying and Xiao Longlong absolutely couldn’t do.
The three Dragon Kings were now completely dumbfounded.
With such gorgeous appearance and nine dragon claws, this was absolutely the legendary Dragon Ancestor form!
Five-clawed dragon?
Dragon Emperor?
Looking at it now, those seemed far too inferior.
“Whoosh!”
Xiao Longlong retracted its vast dragon majesty and slowly descended to the ground. Amid flashing five-colored radiance, it transformed into a young human form, its layered scales forming noble attire. It smiled brilliantly and said, “Master.”
Those two simple words rendered the atmosphere very warm.
Jun Changxiao touched his shiny forehead, then silently took out tear gas.
“Bang!”
Rolling thick fog spread.
The camera turned to show master and servant embracing, bean-sized tears streaming down, crying so movingly they touched heaven and earth.
With such a strong realm, couldn’t it resist tear gas?
Very simple—having nearly been separated by life and death, now being safe and sound, they just wanted to cry unreasonably, so they used it as assistance at the critical moment.
“Wuu wuu wuu!”
Standing nearby, Little Demon Fairy also began crying.
Although there was a tear gas component, it was more tears of joy.
These three belonged to the type who wanted to cry anyway, so crying was natural and reasonable. The three Dragon Kings nailed to the stone pillars, due to their injuries and weakness, couldn’t withstand the tear gas stimulation and also began wailing loudly, crying until snot flew three thousand feet.
…
Having lost the Dragon Emperor Body, Xiao Longlong became a Nine-Colored Nine-Clawed Divine Dragon. Its strength greatly increased, which could be considered a blessing in disguise.
All of this was thanks to the Earth Horn Dragon Heart reward from upgrading to Xuan Sect. Even the tear gas was used for the master-servant reunion—you can see the author’s layout was exquisite, truly astonishing!
Of course.
The matter wasn’t finished yet.
Qingming Dragon King, who had usurped power and seized the Dragon Emperor Body, was still alive, just in a state of severe coma.
Moreover, the three Dragon Kings hadn’t received any punishment yet.
“Xiao Longlong.”
Jun Changxiao said, “This is Dragon Clan internal affairs. I’ll leave them to you to handle.”
“Mm.”
Xiao Longlong walked before the stone pillar, looking at the half-dead Qingming Dragon King, his eyes flashing with intense killing intent.
Because of him, he had gained tremendous fortune, but rebelling against superiors and usurping power were two different matters, so death was the inevitable outcome.
“Master.”
Xiao Longlong said, “This fellow inherited the Dragon Emperor Body and has powerful dragon essence within. I want to refine him.”
“…”
The three Dragon Kings’ spines ran cold with sweat.
“As for them…” Xiao Longlong looked over and waved his hand, removing the dragon nails from their bodies. His voice was cold as he said, “Considering they didn’t act as accomplices, I’ll spare their lives for now.”
The three Dragon Kings fell to the ground in disarray. Disregarding the pain throughout their bodies, they hurriedly prostrated themselves, saying in panic, “Thank you, our Emperor… our Ancestor for the grace of not killing us!”
Qingming Dragon King’s usurpation had failed, and Xiao Longlong becoming the Dragon Clan’s ruler was now unstoppable. They naturally could recognize the situation. But since the other possessed a nine-colored, nine-clawed body, truly the legendary Dragon Ancestor form, they couldn’t call him Emperor—they had to call him Ancestor!
Jun Changxiao didn’t express an opinion.
After all, it was Dragon Clan family business.
“Swish!”
Xiao Longlong raised his hand, and vast dragon majesty roared forth, enveloping Qingming Dragon King nailed to the pillar of shame. Then, amid extremely miserable howls, it condensed him into a brilliant crystal core.
“Hiss!”
The three Dragon Kings gasped.
Casually condensing a Peak Truth-Seeking Realm expert into dragon essence—this was absolutely Dragon Ancestor power!
“Let’s go.”
Jun Changxiao said, “Return to the Clan Hall to inherit the throne.”
“Mm.”
Xiao Longlong nodded.
“Hey!”
Little Demon Fairy came over, pouting, “Are you feeling so high and mighty now that you haven’t even looked at me properly!”
“Scram.”
“Stay away from me!”
—