Dragon Scale Vine, Late-Night Guidance for Mutation

As I stepped through the door, I released my Soul Power to block outside scrutiny. Seeing my display, the blush on Qing Luo's face faded by half, replaced by a serious expression.

"Didn't you notice anything wrong with yourself?"

Qing Luo froze for a moment, then lowered her head to sense herself. Her face went from flushed red to pale. "It's true... My Soul Power has increased again for no reason. Young Master, have I caught some strange illness?"

"It's not an illness. Summon your martial soul and look carefully."

She spread open her palm, and a lush green vine emerged from it. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary Green Vine martial soul. But upon closer inspection, a faint sheen covered its surface, and several tiny scales had somehow grown along the vine. They were an extremely pale shade of green.

Qing Luo stared at those scales, her voice trembling. "What are these?"

"Dragon scales. Your Green Vine martial soul is undergoing a draconic mutation. The source was that night's cultivation. The aura of my martial soul entered yours and triggered the change."

Qing Luo blanked out. It took her a while to react, then her face reddened all the way to her neck. "So... it was because of what happened with Young Master..."

"That's right." Seeing her flustered appearance, I couldn't help but smile.

"Don't panic. Mutation isn't a bad thing. The increase in your Soul Power proves that. But you can't control this power yet. If you keep letting it run wild, something will go wrong."

"Then what should I do?"

"Starting tonight, cultivate with me for two hours every night. I'll use my Soul Power to guide the dragon aura within your vine and make it fully merge with your martial soul. It may hurt a little, so you'll have to endure it."

Qing Luo bit her lower lip and nodded hard. "I can endure it."

She removed her outer robe, wearing only a thin inner garment as she sat cross-legged on the bed and closed her eyes. Moonlight slipped in through the window and fell upon her slender collarbones.

I calmed my mind, activated my Soul Power, and pressed my palm against her back. My hand touched warm, smooth skin. Qing Luo's body trembled slightly, but she bit her lip and made no sound. Azure Dragon Soul Power turned into a thin thread and slowly entered her meridians, beginning to guide the scattered dragon aura.

Dragon aura was an extremely domineering force. Even a trace of lingering residue from me was far too intense for an ordinary maid. The dragon aura was scattered throughout her meridians like glowing coals. Without guidance, it would eventually burn her meridians.

Qing Luo let out a muffled groan, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Her hands clenched the fabric over her knees so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"Don't resist. Relax," I said in a low voice. "Let the dragon aura follow my Soul Power."

She drew a deep breath and slowly relaxed her tense shoulders. As the dragon aura merged into Qing Luo's body, her vine martial soul shuddered sharply, and several more scales grew upon it. Their color shifted from pale green to green tinged with purple, glimmering faintly beneath the moonlight.

Her back was already soaked with sweat, her thin inner garment clinging to her skin and outlining the curve of her spine. Yet she never asked me to stop, gritting her teeth and enduring it.

A night passed.

At dawn, Qing Luo withdrew her martial soul and looked down at her palm. A completely new vine emerged from it, purple-blue throughout, covered in dense scales. At its tip was even a tiny fork shaped like a dragon claw. When the vine swung, it left several pale green afterimages in the air.

"Young Master, I can feel it... It's completely different from before." Her voice trembled with barely restrained excitement. "My Soul Power has also risen to level nine."

Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I said, "It's not over yet. This is only the initial fusion. From now on, cultivate once every three days. Within a month, your martial soul should complete its mutation. By then, you won't be an ordinary maid anymore."

Qing Luo's eyes immediately reddened. She knelt on the bed and bowed deeply to me.

"Get up."

I rose and pushed open the door. Morning sunlight poured in, shining upon her face, where the tear tracks had yet to dry.

The following days were unusually peaceful.

Qing Luo came to my room to cultivate once every three days, and her martial soul mutated even faster than I had expected. After the sixth cultivation session, her Green Vine had completely transformed into a Dragon Scale Vine of purple-gold. Its body was covered in fine dragon scales, and it produced a low whistling sound as it moved through the air. What surprised me most was that the dragon-claw fork at its tip could release a faint golden mist. When it touched the wooden table, corrosion marks immediately appeared.

"Young Master, what is this?" Qing Luo was startled.

I rubbed a bit of the mist between my fingertips, and the skin there went slightly numb. "Poison. Your vine has inherited the corrosive properties of the Azure Dragon aura. The concentration isn't high, but it's enough to deal with Soul Masters of the same level. With level-nine Soul Power and this poison, you're no worse than any official student at a junior Soul Master Academy."

Qing Luo stared blankly at her martial soul for a long time without speaking. The leap from a maid who could be given away by the family at any time to a Soul Master with a mutated martial soul was simply too great.

"Young Master, I... Can I follow you from now on? Not as a maid, but as..."

"As what?"

Her face reddened for a long while before she finally forced out, "As your guard!"

I smiled. "Sure."

On the morning of the sixth day, Yu Yuanzhen sent someone to summon me, saying he had something to discuss.

When I arrived at his study, I found a detailed map of Nuoding City spread across the table. The old man sat in his chair, holding a letter, his expression unreadable.

"Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy has sent me an invitation. It's for you. They said they're willing to accept all awakening-age children from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan this year, regardless of talent, including those from the branch families."

He tossed the letter onto the table. "To put it plainly, they heard our clan produced a genius and want to curry favor under the pretense of recruitment."

"What do you mean, Uncle Yu?"

"Go. But don't go as a member of the clan. Go alone and take the entrance test as a branch-family disciple. If you descend upon them directly as my personal disciple, they'll treat you like an ancestor and you won't learn anything." Yu Yuanzhen tapped the location of Nuoding City on the map with his finger. "Besides, Xiaogang is a guest lecturer there. You can use this opportunity to spend more time with him."

My heart tightened slightly. Yu Yuanzhen appeared utterly indifferent toward Yu Xiaogang, but this arrangement showed that he had never truly let go of his son.

"Understood. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow. Yu Xiaolou will go with you so you can look after each other on the road. Don't cause trouble once you reach Nuoding City, but don't be afraid of it either. You're a member of my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. No one in the entire Balak Kingdom would dare touch you."

Early the next morning, Qing Luo packed my luggage neatly and tucked two bottles of ointment she had made herself into the bundle.

"Young Master, I made this with dew from the vine. It works especially well on external wounds. Please keep it with you in case you need it." She lowered her head, her eyes slightly red, but held back her tears.

I took the ointment and casually patted her head. "I'll be back within a month. By then, your martial soul should have completely mutated. Remember to circulate your Soul Power every day according to the method I taught you. Don't slack off."

"Mm."

Yu Xiaolou ran over excitedly with a bundle bigger than his head strapped to his back. "Brother Tian Lin, the carriage is ready! My dad gave me fifty silver soul coins. That's enough for us to eat well on the road!"

Ever since his awakening, this guy had come running to my courtyard every day, calling me "Brother Tian Lin" more affectionately than anyone else. His father was the steward of the third branch. Upon hearing that his son could attend Notting Academy with the clan leader's personal disciple, he immediately dug out all his savings without hesitation.

As the carriage rolled out through the gates of the clan residence, I lifted the curtain and looked back. Qing Luo stood at the entrance, holding that old oil lamp and standing on tiptoe as she looked in our direction. When she saw me turn around, she quickly raised her arm and waved with all her strength.

The carriage turned the corner, and that slender figure was hidden behind the wall.

Yu Xiaolou sat beside me, chewing the jerky he had brought from home. With his mouth full, he mumbled, "Brother Tian Lin, what do you think Notting Academy is like? I heard their cafeteria serves braised pork every day, and you can eat as much as you want!"

"All you know is eating."

"Of course! You need to eat your fill before you have the strength to cultivate!"

The carriage traveled north along the official road. Nuoding City was about three days from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's residence. Along the way, we would pass through two small towns and one medium-sized city. Vast stretches of farmland lay on both sides of the road, and now and then, farmers could be seen plowing their fields with oxen.

From the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy, this entrance test would be my first official step onto the stage of the Douluo Continent.

Tang San, we would be meeting again very soon.