Clearing his mind, Xuan used his Qi to hold the golden Dragon scale in the air between his hands while he attempted to absorb its energy. He could feel the heat enter his body, raw and unrestrained, and if it wasn't for his incredible Soul Defense, he feared he might've imploded. Clearly, the Divine Dragon Body was not a physique meant for the average person—but Xuan embraced that fact. He was not the average cultivator, after all.
Bearing through the heat without so much as a bead of sweat forming on his forehead, Xuan slowly increased his Qi's strength and dissolved the scale further and further. Gradually, the body part began to slip and fade, dissipating into traces of golden energy that flowed into Xuan's chest. He could feel his blood mixing with this newfound energy, integrating with it and absorbing the power that lay within.
Very soon, he opened his eyes, and saw a familiar notification before his gaze.
<Divine Dragon Body — Rank Up!>
<Lv. 2 -> Lv. 3.>
'As expected…'
The instinctive feeling Xuan had felt earlier had not been a coincidence. Thanks to the intrinsic trait he'd gained after leveling his Divine Dragon Body up to Level 2 not too long ago, Dragon Sense, he was able to feel it when another Dragon body piece was close. And now… the new ability he'd gained…
<New Ability Unlocked: Dragon Might — Command any Beasts below the Ninth-Order using your authority as a Dragon.>
<Unlocked: Blood, Bone, Scales | Locked: Heart, Eye>
"… Heh."
With this skill, the Flame Beasts inside this small world would no longer be of any threat to him. Of course, the Phoenix that the world owner would be immune to Xuan since it was above the limit of control, but any other beast, the Chimera right outside this door included, would be subject to his orders.
Not only that, his physical capabilities also improved. If he had to say, his Strength and Defense stats should both have raised by a few hundred, just by consuming that one Dragon Scale.
But for now… he'd need to get out of here, to avoid any trouble. He didn't want to offend the Eight Great Families here unless absolutely necessary, since as strong as he was, he still could not afford to take on the wrath of the entire power of the family. Having a force as strong as that hunt him down while he had no backup would be quite a hassle, to say the least.
Just when he was looking to escape, however, he heard the sound of the wall suddenly being torn open, and the Chimera leaped through in a panic, growling in anger. It had probably detected the scale's presence disappearing—that was only natural, given that it was now a part of Xuan's body.
"Grr…!"
From behind it, the young pair of man and woman followed suit to investigate what was going on. The former was hasty and shocked, while the latter seemed to be more 'intrigued' than anything. When they saw Xuan, their eyes widened.
"Who the hell are you…?"
Xuan found it hard to believe that someone of such high caliber would not be able to detect presences, but he had intentionally hidden his presence—as such, the man's surprise made sense. The young woman beside him, Zi Xiruo, on the other hand, did not seem fazed at all—instead, her expression was one of quaint curiosity.
"Ah, I am a special disciple of Glacial Heights Pavilion," Xuan replied half-truthfully, smiling in return. "I happened to stumble across this place by chance, and figured that I would come take a look after hearing the sounds of fighting."
"… Glaical Heights Pavilion?" The man lifted an eyebrow, before turning to his companion. "I've never heard of that sect. Have you?"
The fair lady shook her head, and after observing this short exchange, Xuan continued.
"It is only natural that you don't know of my sect. After all, it is one of the many medium-sized sects of Lower Asphodel, whereas the two of you are from the Great Families."
"Hmph… so you do recognize us," the man snorted somewhat haughtily, for no apparent reason. Perhaps it was to look tough in front of Zi Xiruo, but regardless, she did not seem impressed in the least, instead keeping her gaze focused on Xuan. "If you know, then you should realize that lying to us will only result in a bad ending for you. Tell me—where is the treasure that was stored in here?"
"Treasure? I don't know what you're talking about," Xuan replied, feigning ignorance, but this only served to anger the other party even further.
"Don't try to hide it—I'm not stupid. If there was no treasure here, then what was that Chimera in front of you guarding? And why did it immediately go charging towards you just now, even tearing through the wall to do so? It's because you took the treasure, without even doing any work. Now, you're going to hand whatever you got to me. It was my efforts that allowed you to obtain it in the first place, anyway."
At these words, Xuan couldn't help but be a bit surprised. It would seem that this young man wasn't a complete dolt. He was, in fact, capable of thinking logically, albeit only to the most basic of extents.
Fortunately, Xuan had already prepared a countermeasure in mind.
"There really isn't any treasure here," Xuan said, sighing. "I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding on your part. This Chimera, you see… is my pet. I left him here when I entered the Flaming Sands Field last year, and due to unforeseen circumstances, was unable to bring them out. It must have gotten excited upon smelling my scent, thus causing it to so viciously tear down the wall. I apologize if that startled you."
"What…"
"… Oho."
"Awr?"
At this, everyone present was left dumbfounded. The man went silent for a good few seconds, while the girl blinked in surprise. Even the chimera let out a strange sound like even it was confused, but Xuan only smiled and held out his hand, as he uttered the completely bullshit name of the creature he made up on the spot.
"Come on, Axel. It's time we go home."
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