Tempering!

At the edge of the diving platform, Gray looked down at Natsu's miserable state, his hands instinctively gripping the edges of his swim trunks.

Gray knew very well that Natsu rarely cried out in pain, even when his skin was burned through by flames.

Natsu screamed like a pig being slaughtered as soon as he fell in, which shows just how terrifying the commotion at the bottom of the pool really is.

However, a disdainful sneer suddenly came from the side.

Gajeel crossed his arms and looked down at Natsu, who was struggling in the water, and began to mock him arrogantly.

"Fire Dragon! A mere bathwater has turned you into this wretched state!"

"Let me show you how!"

Gajeel's right leg muscles suddenly tensed, his toes touched the edge of the diving board heavily, and he leaped into the air, plunging straight into the dark red pool water in a perfectly executed starfish shape.

Thump!

Blood-red spray splashed everywhere.

Gray watched as Gajeel jumped into the water first, and his initial hesitation vanished instantly.

Within the Fairy Tail guild, anyone can back down, but you absolutely cannot back down in front of these bastards.

"Stop spouting nonsense! I won't lose to you!"

Gray then plunged into the pool.

Elfman stood on the shore, pounding his chest with both large hands, making a crisp slapping sound.

"A real man faces challenges head-on! What kind of man is he if he can't even jump into a pool of water?!"

Elfman strode towards the deep water, his massive body creating a heavy gust of wind before he plunged into the water with a splash.

Immediately afterwards, Cana threw down the glass of juice in her hand, Bisca and Alzack exchanged glances, and the other twenty-odd young mages in the guild followed suit, lining up to jump into the pool one after another.

Erza and Mirajane remained on the shore.

Lucy stood behind the two of them, gripping the swim ring with both hands, her legs shaking like a leaf.

"Miss Erza, Sister Mira, are you two... really going down there?"

Lucy was terrified; just smelling the ancient dragon's might in the air made her legs go weak.

"There is never a smooth road to becoming stronger. The treasures that Jiang Bai painstakingly refined must not be wasted."

Erza, holding onto the railing with one hand, stepped into the pool without hesitation, her long, straight legs bare.

Mirajane followed Erza, stepping lightly into the pool.

In an instant, the air in the entire backyard was completely turned upside down.

"Awooo!!"

"Ouch! This is killing me!!"

"My skin! My bones feel like they're going to break!!"

Heart-wrenching screams echoed one after another in the backyard.

Even though they were mentally prepared, the moment they came into contact with the dark red pool water, their defenses were completely overwhelmed by the domineering and tyrannical energy.

Dragon blood contains the violent will of an adult ancient dragon.

These highly concentrated active substances acted without regard for logic, forcefully breaking through everyone's magical defenses and penetrating their flesh and blood through tens of thousands of pores all over their bodies.

Gray gripped the gaps in the tiles by the pool with both hands, his whole body convulsing violently, letting out a beast-like growl.

Elfman's thick muscles trembled violently as he clutched his head and sank underwater, unable to even utter the words "man" properly.

Gajeel's skin, which was originally as tough as steel, was now covered with glaring purplish-red patches. He lay on his back in the water, thrashing about wildly, completely devoid of his previous arrogance.

Erza was also suffering.

The moment Erza stepped into the deep water, she gritted her teeth and gripped the metal handrail beside her tightly with her long, white hands. The alloy handrail even twisted and deformed slightly under the pressure.

Mirajane leaned against the edge of the shallow water, his arms crossed over his chest. His breathing became rapid and erratic, and large beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, sliding down his pale cheeks and into the bloody water.

This is not your average exercise routine.

This is a brutal and domineering forced metabolism.

The necrotic tissue, hidden damage, and fragile, inferior cells accumulated over years of cultivation and combat were completely destroyed and crushed under the brutal onslaught of the pure dragon blood.

The rejection reaction sends out danger alarms from every nerve ending.

In less than three minutes.

A layer of murky black substance rose to the surface of the pool water.

Those were years of impurities and dead skin cells that were forcibly expelled from everyone's bodies.

The screams gradually turned from high-pitched to suppressed groans.

The resilience of the Fairy Tail members was on full display at this moment.

Even though their bodies trembled like falling leaves, not a single person actually climbed out of the pool and ran away.

Natsu yanked his head out of the water, wiping the blood off his face, and grabbed the buoy rope with both hands, glaring fiercely at Gray not far away.

"Hey! Droopy eyes! Why are you shaking like that! Are you about to collapse?!"

Natsu's lips were purple, his teeth were chattering, but he still yelled and provoked wildly.

Gray wiped the sweat from his face, placed one hand on the float, and retorted without any politeness.

"Bullshit! I... I'm enjoying myself! What do you know, you squinty-eyed idiot! If you can't hold on, then climb ashore first!"

"Anyone who climbs this is a dog!!"

Natsu roared, abruptly releasing the ropes and plunging himself back into the dark red pool.

Gray's lips twitched twice, and unwilling to be outdone, he took a deep breath and plunged into the water with a splash, beginning a new round of the struggle to hold on.

Gajeel watched the two clowns from the side, enduring the aches and tearing sensations throughout his body, keeping his mouth tightly shut, and letting the violent medicinal power wash over his bone marrow.

As black, murky impurities are continuously expelled from the body.

Those in the pool clearly sensed the incredible changes occurring inside their bodies.

The voids left by the crushed and destroyed old cells were filled by the nourishment of pure dragon blood, and new, highly dense cells were rapidly generated.

The bones emitted extremely fine, crisp sounds, and the muscle fibers were tightly intertwined and pressed together.

The bone fractures and meridian blockages left from various high-intensity S-Class missions in the past have all healed and subsided under the cleansing of the massive life energy.

An unprecedented sense of fullness and power surged through my limbs and bones.

Shore.

Makarov stood with his hands behind his back, his short frame hovering on the edge of the diving platform, silently watching the younger generation transform and tumble in the bloody water.

The old man's two white beards trembled slightly, his heart filled with indescribable satisfaction.

These children are the future of the guild.

Normally, everyone jokes around and acts without any seriousness, but when it comes to a critical moment involving life and death, everyone possesses an iron backbone.

After this Dragon Blood tempering, the guild's overall strength will definitely reach a whole new level.

Makarov turned his head, just about to say a few words of praise to Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai had somehow walked up behind Makarov.

Jiang Bai looked down at the seemingly profound old man with his hands behind his back, and stroked his chin with one hand.

"Old man, what are you doing standing on the shore watching? Why don't you go into the water?"

Makarov coughed, waved his hand, and adopted the air of a highly respected elder.

"I am old and my body has long since reached its final form; such a treasure is extremely precious."

"The important thing is for you growing children to absorb more energy; I won't compete for this opportunity."

That's exactly what Makarov was thinking.

The dragon's blood has amazing effects, but the medicinal power in the pool water is ultimately limited.

As an old man with one foot in the grave, if I take an extra breath, the younger generation will have one less to enjoy. There's really no need to waste it.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Bai immediately scoffed, seeing right through Makarov's intentions.

"Come on, old man."

"There's only one liter in here, and I still have eight liters left, so there's no problem of not having enough to go around."

"Your chronic leg pain and the internal injuries you sustained when you were young really need this to clear your meridians."

Jiang Bai gave Makarov no chance to continue making excuses and prevarications.

He casually raised his right hand forward.

Buzz!

A massive surge of Psychokinesis erupted from his palm, transforming into an invisible giant hand that precisely gripped the wide robe on Makarov's back.

The old man felt his feet suddenly dangle in the air, and he was lifted into the air without any resistance.

Makarov flapped his short legs violently in the air and screamed in protest at the top of his lungs.

"You brat, what are you doing?! Put me down right now! Don't you know how to respect your elders?!"

Jiang Bai remained calm and gently flicked his wrist downwards.

"Enough talk, go inside and soak!"

A loud thud!

Makarov didn't even have time to take off his clothes before he transformed into a round cannonball and plunged straight into the center of the deep water.

A large splash of dark red water was stirred up.

"Glug... You brat, I'm going to deduct your commission fee! Ouch! It's so hot and it hurts!!"

The old man had barely poked his head out when the dragon blood energy instantly seeped into his body through his pores, causing Makarov to frantically slap the water's surface with his small hands, joining the ranks of those screaming in agony.

After dealing with the president who was all talk and no action, but soft heart, he was finally apprehended.

Jiang Bai stretched his neck and slowly walked to the shallow water escalator at the edge of the pool in his slippers.

Jiang Bai tossed his slippers onto the lawn, wearing only his loose black and gold beach shorts, and slid down the stainless steel steps into the Boil, dark red pool.

Just as Jiang Bai's feet touched the water's surface...

The dragon's essence blood, which had been churning and tearing at other people's bodies like boiling oil, suddenly calmed down and stopped Boil violently, as if it had encountered its natural enemy.

All the domineering dragon's might transformed into a gentle, docile stream the moment it touched Jiang Bai's skin.

Every cell in Jiang Bai's body had been tempered to an unbelievable state of perfection, and there were absolutely no old injuries.

Jiang Bai casually stretched his legs forward, leaned comfortably against the sloping tiled surface, raised his left hand behind his head, and half-reclined in the warm, deep red pool water.

He stretched his right hand into the void, and the storage space rippled slightly.

The next second, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice with a yellow straw, filled with ice and lemon slices, appeared in Jiang Bai's palm.

Jiang Bai bit down on the straw and took a big gulp of the cool, sweet and sour juice, then let out a long, comfortable breath.

"Readily."

The movements were fluid and natural, exuding a sense of ease and comfort.

If the background were changed slightly, Jiang Bai would appear to be enjoying a cool and refreshing experience at a top-tier five-star hot spring resort hotel in the Southern Continent.

Dragon blood is not entirely useless to Jiang Bai.

The life source energy of the nine-headed dragon is pure. Although most of the energy could not be forcibly integrated due to the saturation of Jiang Bai's physical body, a small portion of the source energy still passively seeped into his body.

This absorption efficiency is extremely low, roughly equivalent to giving Jiang Bai's muscles a gentle, warm massage, bringing a series of warm, soothing, and relaxing sensations.

That's all.

Quiet.

The screams that had been rising and falling in the middle of the pool suddenly and eerily stopped for a few seconds.

Natsu and Gray, who were holding their breath underwater, surfaced almost simultaneously to breathe.

The two looked up at the water and their eyes met Jiang Bai, who was leaning against the stone steps, drinking an iced beverage through a straw.

Natsu clung to the buoy with both hands, his chin nearly falling into the pool.

Gray, who was desperately trying to resist the pain by circulating his ice magic, suddenly lost control of his magic upon seeing this.

Beside him, Gajeel's face had turned a deep liver color, his eyes were bulging, and his mouth was twitching uncontrollably.

At this moment, everyone's hearts were filled with a tremendous surge of emotions.

We are being tortured one by one in the eighteenth level of hell here.

You treated this like a private hot spring, and even drank iced beverages there?!

Is the difference in physical constitution between people really greater than the difference between a human and a dog?!

Erza, sitting on the other side of the shallow water, rested one hand on her knee, trying to regulate the rhythm of her breathing, which was heaving violently in her chest.

Seeing Jiang Bai's relaxed and contented expression, with his eyes half-closed in enjoyment, Erza's tense and serious face finally relaxed, and the corners of her lips couldn't help but turn up slightly.

Mirajane sat beside Erza, her hands supporting her chin, her silver bangs damp with moisture and clinging to her cheeks.

Mirajane looked at Jiang Bai and chuckled softly, her gentle voice spreading across the water.

"That Xiao Bai guy is always so infuriating, no matter what."

Jiang Bai, sipping his straw, listened to the group's complaints without even opening his eyes. He simply lazily raised his right hand and waved it in the air.

"What are you yelling about? The fact that you still have the energy to shout at me means the water in this pool is still too weak."

"Focus on channeling your magic to guide the absorption of the medicine. Anyone who dares to get distracted or slack off at this time and waste the medicine's effects will be personally escorted to run 30 kilometers of weighted runs in the back mountains later."

These words were spoken.

Natsu and Gray shrank back, swallowing the words that were about to come out of their throats.

No one dared to focus their attention on Jiang Bai and invite further trouble. They all composed themselves, gritted their teeth, and fought against the waves of increasingly intense pain from cell remodeling within their bodies.

Time flew by, second by second.

Half an hour passed quietly.

The originally deep, viscous, dark red pool water, which resembled a living organism, began to fade at a visible rate as dozens of people greedily absorbed it with all their might.

Deep red turned into light red, and light red turned into pale pink.

The scalding reddish-brown mist that had been billowing and swirling on the surface of the pool slowly dissipated in the breeze.

Eventually, the liquid in the entire swimming pool returned to its original clear and transparent state, with only a trace of pleasantly soothing hot spring warmth remaining.

All the black metabolic filth had already been Disassembly and vaporized by the dragon's blood's immense purifying properties.

"Huff... huff..."

Heavy, rapid breathing echoed throughout the backyard.

The pain has finally subsided completely.

Thump!

Natsu was like a lump of mud, his arms hanging limply on the granite steps by the shore, half of his body submerged in the water, too weak to even move a finger.

Gray leaned against the pool wall, his arms outstretched and resting on the edge of the tiles, his head tilted back as he looked up at the sky, his chest heaving violently.

Gajeel, Elfman, Alzack, and others were sprawled out in various corners of the pool, their faces blank with exhaustion.

Even Laxus looked exhausted.

Makarov, soaking wet, climbed ashore and lay sprawled on the grass, panting heavily.

However, under extreme exhaustion and fatigue...

At this moment, an uncontrollable ecstasy surged in the hearts of every Fairy Tail member.

The transformation is complete.

Natsu tried clenching his right fist.

Without using any Fire Dragon magic, relying solely on pure physical grip strength, crackling sounds of air bursting forth from between his knuckles.

The bones became stronger and heavier than ever before, and the muscle fibers were filled with terrifying explosive power.

Under the baptism of the dragon's blood, everyone's physical strength and resistance thresholds were completely surpassed, a huge hurdle that they could not reach even after months or years of arduous training.

Jiang Bai braced himself against the edge of the tile beside him with one hand, and with extremely light movements, he flipped and leaped out of the pool, landing steadily on the lawn.

He casually grabbed a large, dry bath towel from the shelf next to him and draped it over his shoulders.

Jiang Bai looked down at his companions, who were collapsed in the water and unable to get up, a calm, faint smile on his lips.

"It will be over in half an hour."

Jiang Bai wiped the water droplets from his hair, his tone light and natural.

"Congratulations everyone, from today onwards, you are no longer fragile mages who break at the slightest touch."