Ancestral Bloodline, the Little Maid's Drive to Improve!

Night fell, bringing a rare trace of coolness to the sweltering Stone Desert City.

Qing Lin's petite, delicate figure carried a basin of steaming water, looking timid as a startled fawn.

Under the dim candlelight, the little girl's exquisite, adorable oval face appeared somewhat nervous. Her unique jade-green eyes, like two translucent emeralds, glimmered with unease.

Xiao Yao slowly opened his eyes. Seeing how tense and restrained she looked, he could not help but smile inwardly and gently called out, "Put it down. It's getting late, so go back and rest early. I can handle this myself."

"N-No, Young Master!"

Unexpectedly, hearing this only made the little girl more nervous. She gathered her courage and stubbornly shook her head.

Lowering her head and not daring to meet Xiao Yao's eyes, she spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, yet exceptionally firm. "The head captain already instructed me that Qing Lin is your maid! Qing Lin must serve you properly! Y-You can rest assured, Qing Lin... Qing Lin is... is very careful and capable!"

She raised her head, and those jade-green eyes were filled with unprecedented earnestness and gratitude.

"And... and, Y-Young Master... you saved my life today. Qing Lin also wants to do something for you within her abilities..."

Seeing her adorably stubborn appearance, Xiao Yao smiled.

"All right. You're pretty stubborn."

He no longer wished to refuse the little girl's good intentions. Rising to his feet, he walked over to the table.

Although, with his current Innate Dao Body, no dust or grime could cling to him, he still scooped up some water and washed himself.

A soft, clean towel was promptly offered before him.

Xiao Yao accepted it and casually rubbed his face.

The instant he handed the towel back to Qing Lin, his gaze met those unique jade-green eyes.

"Hm?"

Xiao Yao silently focused his soul power on the little girl's pupils.

Qing Lin's soul strength is remarkably condensed!

Is this the special trait of a natural snake-human hybrid?

Grandpa Lu, take a look at this girl's eyes. Is there anything unusual about them? he asked inwardly.

"Hm? Let this old man see..."

An even more ancient and vast divine sense swept out from within Xiao Yao's body.

"Oh?" Grandpa Lu's voice carried a trace of surprise. "Kid, this little maid of yours has some real potential!"

"Her bloodline is a mixture of human and snake clan. But the most peculiar thing is that the trace of snake clan blood within her actually... actually contains an extraordinarily faint, yet incomparably pure, sign of Ancestral Return!"

"The rank of this bloodline power is so high that it absolutely does not seem like something this lower realm could nurture!"

"Ancestral bloodline?" Xiao Yao was also stunned, but he instantly understood the cause and effect.

No wonder she possesses the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, and no wonder most ordinary snake-human hybrids die young while she has survived safely until now! So this is the root of it!

It seemed that, in an even more ancient era, a powerful member of the Snake People Tribe from the Great Thousand World had descended upon this Dou Qi Continent and left behind a bloodline inheritance.

However, like the Xiao Family, this powerful bloodline had nearly vanished beneath the merciless erosion of time. Only the extremely unlikely phenomenon of Ancestral Return occasionally appeared, giving rise to the inherited Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils!

While Xiao Yao's thoughts raced, Qing Lin, whom he had been staring at without blinking, blushed as red as a ripe apple.

Perhaps the intense fluctuation in her emotions had stirred the bloodline power within her.

Several fine snake scales suddenly appeared on her slightly exposed snow-white wrist, glowing with a faint jade-green radiance!

Qing Lin immediately noticed the abnormality in her body, and her pretty face instantly turned pale!

She abruptly yanked down her sleeve, clutching it tightly! Then, cautiously, she took two steps back. Finally, she retreated into the corner, slowly crouched down, buried her little head deeply between her knees, and wrapped both arms around her legs. Her frail body trembled.

"I-I'm sorry... I... I didn't... didn't mean to scare you..."

The little girl's choked, trembling voice came from between her knees.

Looking at that small, frail figure huddled in the corner as though the entire world had abandoned her, Xiao Yao sighed softly inwardly.

He slowly crouched down and gently patted the little girl's head.

As the little girl looked up at him in terror, he took hold of her cold, trembling arm and carefully lifted her sleeve again.

Looking at the jade-colored snake scales that shone with a gentle luster, Xiao Yao spoke softly in a voice gentler than ever before.

"Such beautiful scales."

"..."

The terror on the little girl's face abruptly froze.

She stared blankly at Xiao Yao. Ever since she had been born, everyone who saw these scales on her body had looked at her with disgust and contempt. They called her a "little monster" and a "snake-human bastard"...

He was the first! The first person to say that these scales... were beautiful!

It was as though a seed had quietly broken through the soil within that fragile little heart at this moment.

Her jade-green eyes, faintly radiating an unusual charm, looked at him timidly as she asked,

"Young Master... Y-You... don't hate them?"

"Hahahaha!"

Hearing that, Xiao Yao burst into laughter!

"What's so frightening about that?"

"Little one," his voice carried a convincing magic, "this world is vast. It is far more than the Tagor Desert before your eyes, and far more than the Desert Iron Mercenary Group."

"Here, you may be excluded and discriminated against because you are different. But you do not know that if your 'specialness' were placed elsewhere, countless people would respect you, cherish you, and even treat you as an honored guest in some of the greatest super sects!"

"As far as I know, there is a faction on the Central Continent called the Heavenly Snake Mansion. If they learned of your existence, they would likely fight to invite you to join them!"

The little girl revealed a look of partial understanding, yet boundless longing.

"You possess tremendous talent, and on the Dou Qi Continent, strength is respected above all! Personal power is the one eternal truth! And you happen to possess the outstanding potential to become strong!"

Qing Lin nodded her little head heavily. "Qing Lin will listen to Young Master Xiao Yao!"

"Little one, just wait! You said you're my little maid, so I'll teach you how to control this power. On the day you truly become strong, you'll discover that the people who once scorned and bullied you will no longer look at you with disgust and fear. There will only be..."

"Reverence!"

Boom!

Xiao Yao's words were like a sun cast into Qing Lin's long-parched heart!

She felt an unprecedented, overwhelming shock in her heart! From the deepest reaches of her soul, a longing for the future and a desire for power began to grow!

"Y-Young Master... I... can I really... do it?"

"Of course you can!" Xiao Yao's answer was resolute. "If I say you can, then you definitely can!"

Light returned to the little girl's jade-green eyes. She nodded heavily and said in a crisp voice,

"Yes, Young Master! Qing Lin will definitely work hard! Qing Lin will await your orders!"

With that, the little girl carried the basin and towel out of the room with light, brisk steps.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yao mischievously thought, Medusa hasn't evolved into the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python yet. So, in theory, doesn't that mean my little maid can also control that tsundere Queen?