Dragonblood Warriors

Bebe shot out of the tree, his body swelling to nearly a meter long in midair as he lunged straight for the Golden Dragon's head. The Golden Dragon had no choice but to turn its head, throwing its holy light blast off target.

The golden beam grazed past An and Linley, reducing a stretch of dense forest to charcoal.

An finished his spell as well.

A second Wind Roar: Extreme!

The azure wind column blasted out again, this time aimed at the Golden Dragon's wing. Cracks had already appeared in its Holy Light Protection during the last attack. This time, the barrier shattered completely.

Crack-

The golden barrier broke like glass, and the wind column struck the Golden Dragon's left wing. Wind Blades tore through the wing membrane, and bones snapped. With an agonized scream, the Golden Dragon plummeted from the sky.

"Linley, Earth Spike Array!" An shouted.

Linley unleashed the last of his magical power. Dozens of sharp earthen spears thrust up from the ground, completely covering the spot where the Golden Dragon would land.

Squelch-

The Earth Spike Gun pierced the Golden Dragon's belly. No scales protected that spot. The spears punctured its soft skin, and golden dragon blood poured down like a waterfall.

The Golden Dragon struggled to rise, but the wounds in its belly were too deep. It could no longer stand. Its golden slit pupils gradually dimmed, yet even in its final moments, there was no surrender in its eyes.

Bebe dropped from the sky and landed on the Golden Dragon's head, pressing a little paw against its neck.

"Boss, it's almost done for," Bebe said.

An and Linley walked over.

The Golden Dragon lay in a pool of blood, its golden blood staining the surrounding earth. Its breathing grew weaker, its eyes slowly losing focus.

Bebe became a streak of black lightning, darting onto the Golden Dragon's head and driving his sharp foreclaws into its eye socket. The dragon's body convulsed violently a few times, then went completely still.

An had already taken the blue heart grass out of his pack. He handed five stalks to Linley. "Five should be enough. Chew the blue heart grass and swallow it first, then drink the dragon blood. The grass can neutralize the blood's violent potency. Otherwise, we'll burn alive."

Linley took the blue heart grass, and both of them stuffed the leaves into their mouths and chewed. Emerald juice slid down their throats with a cool, refreshing flavor, soothing their throats and stomachs.

Then they bent over the wound on the Golden Dragon's neck and gulped down its scalding blood.

The instant the golden blood entered his throat, An felt as though he had swallowed a ball of fire.

The fire burned down his throat into his stomach, then spread throughout his limbs and body. Every bone burned. Every inch of muscle spasmed. The pain was ten times worse than any injury he had suffered in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

"Argh-" Linley let out a low roar, curling up on the ground as his entire body shook violently.

An could not hold out either. He fell to his knees, bracing his hands against the ground and clenching his teeth. The energy in the dragon blood rampaged through him like a runaway horse, tearing at every meridian.

Doehring Cowart flew out of the Coiling Dragon Ring and hovered beside them, his brow deeply furrowed.

"The dragon blood is far more violent than I expected. Even with the blue heart grass to neutralize it, the pain is unavoidable. But this is a transformation you must endure. Get through it, and you will be true Dragonblood Warriors."

Bebe paced anxiously around them, looking from An to Linley, his little eyes filled with worry.

An felt as though his body were being dismantled and reassembled. The energy in the dragon blood was merging with his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline, activating genes that had lain dormant for over a thousand years.

After an unknown stretch of time, a tearing pain erupted in An's back.

Rip-

Two golden bone spurs burst through his shoulder blades, and membranes and feathers rapidly grew over them. They were wings-a pair of golden wings, as thin as cicada wings yet incredibly tough.

An's eyes widened.

But he had no time to dwell on it. More changes were still taking place.

His spine began to tremble, each vertebra giving off cracking sounds. Golden spikes slowly grew from his spine, piercing the muscles of his back and lining up neatly along either side. They were short, only about ten centimeters long, but wickedly sharp, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen in the light.

At the same time, golden scales began to emerge across his skin. Each was small, no larger than a fingernail, but they overlapped in tightly packed layers without a single gap. They were not the azure scales described in the Baruch Clan's records, but pure gold-exactly like the Golden Dragon's.

A sharp pain came from his forehead. Two small golden dragon horns emerged above his brow, curving slightly backward. A tail covered in golden scales extended from his tailbone, its tip as sharp as a spear.

An held out his hands. All ten fingernails had become sharp claws. The backs of his hands, his arms, shoulders, chest-every part of his body was covered in golden scales.

He lowered his head to look at his reflection in a puddle.

The face reflected in the water was no longer human. It was sharply defined and completely covered in golden scales. His eyes were still dark brown, but faint golden light swirled within his pupils. The two small golden dragon horns on his forehead gave him an air of majesty and mystery.

His wings spread to a full three meters. An gave them an experimental flap, and air surged beneath them, scattering loose stones and fallen leaves across the ground.

"This..." An froze.

He studied his gold-scaled hands, deep in thought.

Linley's transformation was taking place at the same time.

His scales, however, were a deep azure with a faint sheen. His wings were slightly smaller than An's, spanning about two meters, and azure tinged with gold. He had more spikes along his spine, but they were longer and thinner. He also had two dragon horns on his forehead, slightly longer than An's.

"Linley, how do you feel?" An asked.

Linley stood and spread his wings, his golden slit pupils filled with shock.

"I... I can feel endless power inside me." Linley clenched his fists. "I don't even know how many times stronger I am than before."

An nodded. He felt the same way.

Bebe jumped onto An's shoulder, poked the golden scales on his face with a claw, and squeaked twice.

"Boss, you've turned into a monster!" Surprise filled Bebe's Soul Transmission, along with a trace of excitement. "But you look pretty good, all shiny and gold."

An tried to control the Dragonblood Battle Qi inside him. According to the Dragonblood Codex, after their first Dragon Transformation, Dragonblood Warriors should be able to switch freely between human and dragon forms. He tried drawing his Dragonblood Battle Qi back into his dantian. Sure enough, his scales began to recede, his wings withdrew into his body, and his horns and tail vanished.

Within a few breaths, An had returned to human form.

He was stark naked-his clothes had burst apart during the Dragon Transformation. An rummaged through his pack for a spare set and put them on, then let out a relieved breath.

Linley also returned to human form and changed into fresh clothes.

"An, what level have you reached now?" Linley asked.

An considered for a moment. "Brother, I was a Level Eight Mage and a sixth-level warrior before. Now that my Dragonblood Warrior bloodline has awakened, my human form should be at the level of an Eighth-level Warrior. In Dragon Transformation form, I should be on the threshold of the ninth level."

Linley nodded, unsurprised. An had started with a stronger foundation, so naturally he was stronger after awakening.

An and Linley exchanged a look, each seeing delighted surprise in the other's eyes.

An activated his Dragonblood Battle Qi again, entering Dragon Transformation form. Golden scales covered his body, and his wings spread. He kicked hard against the ground and shot into the sky.

Flying with wings felt completely different from using the Flight Spell.

An circled twice in the air, then swooped down and landed steadily in front of Linley.

"That felt incredible," An said, a rare smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

Linley spread his wings and took a flight around as well. When he landed, his face was flushed with excitement.

Bebe bounced between them, squeaking nonstop. "Boss, both of you can fly now, and I'm the only one who can't! It's not fair!"

An walked over to the Golden Dragon's corpse, drew the Flat Blade, and deftly cut open its head, extracting a glittering golden Magic Crystal Core. The core of an eighth-level Golden Dragon was worth at least five hundred thousand gold coins-and that was only its listed market price. In reality, cores of this level were unavailable at any price.

"Linley, this is yours." An tossed him the Magic Crystal Core.

Linley caught it and tucked it into his pack. "We'll sort it out when we get back to the academy."

They did some basic work on the Golden Dragon's corpse, collecting its scales, tendons, and teeth. All were top-grade materials for making magical items and weapons, and worth a fortune. An cut off a large chunk of dragon meat, wrapped it in leaves, and put it in his pack. Dragon meat was a premium ingredient, rich in energy and highly beneficial for training.

With everything packed away, they spread their wings and flew toward the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Golden wings and azure-gold wings glittered in the sunlight as two figures swept over the Magical Beast Mountain Range, startling a flock of birds into flight.