The real world, inside the treatment room.
Long Jinyu opened his eyes. A trace of shock and... ripples still lingered in his mismatched eyes.
He immediately lowered his head and looked at Ma Xiaotao, whose eyes were still tightly shut in his arms. Her cheeks were flushed with a healthy color, and her breathing was steady and deep, as if she had fallen into a sound sleep.
His gaze involuntarily fell on her alluring lips. The sweet, delicious sensation from the Spiritual Sea seemed to surface again.
His Adam's apple bobbed unconsciously, and a rush of heat surged straight to his head!
No!
He rubbed his temples, forcibly suppressing the restlessness. Carefully, he laid Ma Xiaotao back on the hospital bed.
Their clothes were both soaked through with sweat. A wildly assertive scent, mingling a young woman's fragrance with the faint saltiness of sweat, burrowed domineeringly into his nostrils.
Long Jinyu glanced at the enchanting curves faintly outlined beneath Ma Xiaotao's soaked clothes and felt the heat he'd just suppressed threatening to flare up again.
A wave of heat, born entirely of physical instinct, surged fiercely toward his lower abdomen, setting his blood ablaze once more.
His brain hadn't even had time to think when an utterly primal and forceful thought sprang up—
I want to... have her!
The thought was savage and direct, tinged with a man's instinctive desire to conquer. It made his breathing catch.
But it lasted only an instant.
Like a bucket of ice water, ice cubes and all, dumped over his head.
He practically leaped upright in a fluster and hurried to the door, calling over the nurse:
"Ahem... help her change into clean clothes. Be careful."
"I... I'm going to get some rest. When she wakes up... notify me immediately...!"
"Y-Yes... yes... Your Highness!" The nurse caught sight of Long Jinyu's little tent, blushed, and stammered out her reply.
After giving his instructions, he fled the treatment room and made straight for his private lounge in the Medical Pavilion—
He needed to take a cold shower immediately and... deal with certain unavoidable physical reactions that came with being a young man in the prime of life.
He'd held Ma Xiaotao for so long, gone through that kind of unconventional "battle," and in the end, even...
He was a normal man, after all. And with "dragons being naturally lustful," holding back until now had truly been his limit.
Half an hour later, refreshed and changed into clean robes, Long Jinyu returned to his office. The heat had faded from his face, and his eyes had regained their usual composure.
Ma Xiaotao still hadn't woken up. It was time to take care of business first.
He sank his consciousness into his sea of awareness and began to demand an explanation. 'System brat, care to explain? Why were you pretending to be dead earlier?'
[What brat?! How dare you! This system was not "pretending to be dead" earlier. It was absorbing the vast energy and insights into the laws accumulated by its host, undergoing a crucial core upgrade.] [Upgrade complete. New function module "Dragon Clan Covenant" activated.] [Description: In the future, the host can spend specific resources or complete specific missions to summon powerful dragons from different planes who respond to the Codex's call and have them descend to assist in battle.]
Long Jinyu's heart leaped with joy at the news.
Shrek was riddled with internal problems, and he didn't trust them at all. Although the Yanhuang Lingyun Medical Mansion was a fine place, it was ultimately an "inheritance" left behind by Sister Su.
Now... he could finally have forces that truly belonged to him!
His heart surged with excitement. With a grand sweep of his hand, he ordered, "Good! Just in time! Don't dawdle. Summon all the Nine Dragon God Guards first! I'll lead them in flattening the Holy Spirit Cult!"
Silence filled his mind.
[System: ...]
Long Jinyu furrowed his brow. "What? I told you to summon them. Why aren't you doing anything?"
[The system's tone remained utterly calm: The Nine Dragon God Guards are excessively powerful. Summoning each one requires an enormous amount of points.] [Host's current points: 46000201. Insufficient. Furthermore, according to the core algorithm's calculations, if all nine guards descended at once, their combined energy would be enough to unify Douluo Planet in a short time.]
"Damn it! Points again..."
Long Jinyu couldn't help cursing under his breath, but the latter half of the system's reply immediately caught his attention.
"...But the Nine Dragon God Guards are that strong? That's good, then. It gives me another ace up my sleeve against the other Transmigrators. So what can I summon now?"
[The system's current level is low, and its energy channels are limited. It can only locate and attempt to summon Soul Masters with dragon-type Martial Souls from the Douluo I timeline. Would you like to perform a free random summon now?]
Long Jinyu: "..."
It seemed he'd gotten excited too soon.
"Lots of thunder, little rain? What happened to dragons from all the worlds in the heavens? This is it? You can only summon people from Douluo I?"
"Dragon Soul Masters from the Douluo I era... Aside from the handful at the top, weren't most of them just background characters? I don't remember there being many Titled Douluos. The strongest was only around level 95, right?"
He tried to bargain.
"Can't you make an exception and skip ahead a version? Let me summon someone from the Douluo Dalu III era. At least bring Long Yeyue over to add some presence?"
[Insufficient authorization. Summoning beings from the Douluo I era is already the current limit. This summon is a free trial. Still dreaming of Long Yeyue? The host is seeing peach blossoms. Unless you pay extra... No, wait, paying extra won't work for now, either.]
Long Jinyu's mouth twitched. "Crook! You're a complete crook! Fine, fine. Can't complain when it's free... Start."
[System: Initiating summoning process...]
"Wait!"
Long Jinyu suddenly grew wary.
"You aren't going to screw me over, are you? What if you randomly summon Huo Wushuang or Yu Tianheng at the Soul Ancestor stage... Who'd be protecting whom? I'd probably end up babysitting them!"
[The system's tone held a hint of innocent mischief: The summoning result is completely random. Please remain optimistic, host. What if you summon Huo Wushuang or Yu Tianheng at the Soul King stage?]
A vein twitched at Long Jinyu's temple. "What difference does that make? They're still weaklings!"
[So, is the host summoning or not? When did you become so indecisive?]
"..."
Long Jinyu was left speechless. He secretly prayed that his 99 points of luck would come through, then gritted his teeth and said:
"Come on! Spirits of heaven and earth, Supreme Lord Lao, show your divine power! Give me a godly draw! Bone Douluo, Thunder Douluo, or even Sea Dragon Douluo would do!"
[Command confirmed. Scanning relevant planes... Douluo I historical timeline... locating eligible target... anchoring spatial coordinates...] [Target locked: Tuoba Xi.] [Martial Soul: White Armored Earth Dragon.] [Level: Level 91, Holy Dragon Douluo.] [Status: The Rakshasa God inheritor, Bibi Dong, is draining his Soul Power and life force through a secret technique. He is on the brink of death. Executing "Emergency Recruitment" procedure... 3... 2... 1...]
"Tuoba Xi? The Sect Master of the Holy Dragon Sect?"
He quickly searched his memories.
"Hmm... He might not measure up to those Super Douluos I was hoping for, but at least he's a proper Titled Douluo. Much better than getting a Soul King or Soul Emperor."
He rubbed his chin and offered an objective assessment:
"Still, expecting him to help me build a force to stand against the Holy Spirit Cult, the Body Sect, and giants like Shrek isn't realistic."
"A level 91 Titled Douluo with a top-tier earth dragon Martial Soul is still just 'some nobody by the roadside' among the high-level fighters. But he's much stronger than those pretenders like Cheng Gang."
"It looks like if I really want to stop 'eating beef,' the Nine Dragon God Guards are still the key."
As soon as he'd finished speaking, golden light flashed in front of him. A faint spatial ripple followed, then came a heavy thud.
A tall, burly figure landed face-first on the floor and lay motionless.
He wore a tattered white Soul Master robe, filthy and stained. Dragon-shaped patterns could just be made out on it, but they had lost all their luster.
His hair was gray and scattered across the floor. There wasn't the slightest trace of powerful Soul Power around him, only a thread of life so faint it seemed liable to go out at any moment.
Long Jinyu: "???"
He stared for two seconds, then realized what had happened and nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Holy crap! System brat! You useless piece of crap! You hauled him over without healing him, too?! He's about to kick the bucket!"
"Dragon Bath Spring Rain!"
He cried out. With no time left to complain, he immediately wrapped his right hand in rich jade-green light. Pure, surging Ultimate Life energy flowed like a spring into Tuoba Xi, who lay at death's door.
The emerald glow completely enveloped Tuoba Xi, forcibly driving away the stubborn remnants of Rakshasa Divine Power and nourishing his withered meridians and depleted life force.
As Long Jinyu exerted himself to the utmost, he couldn't help roaring inwardly:
'Brother, you absolutely cannot die! I'm short on manpower here! If you kick the bucket the moment you arrive, won't I be taking a huge loss?!'
'Besides, this is a hospital! If you die here, where would that leave me as "Your Highness"?!'
Before you continue