Edgar looked at him and fell silent for a second.
"OK..."
"Come on, I'm ready."
Then he held out his hand.
"Old blackskin, get a good feel for this great power."
Xiao Long pushed the ball of fire in his palm forward. Firelight flowed along his claws into Edgar's palm and burrowed beneath his skin.
Edgar's fingers suddenly clenched.
"Hmm?!"
His body began to change.
His back arched.
His suit jacket stretched open, and a button popped off his shirt.
Green scales grew out from beneath his skin, starting on either side of his spine and spreading to his shoulders, arms, and back.
Something grew on either side of his forehead, pushing outward against his skin. Then a pair of small, curved horns emerged at his temples.
His fingers lengthened, and his nails turned into black claw tips.
A tail extended from his tailbone, thick and covered in scales. It hung behind him, its tip swaying gently once and brushing across the carpet with a rustle.
Edgar looked down at his hands.
Green scales, black claw tips.
He spread his fingers, then closed them again.
He could feel power filling every finger.
The sensation was completely unlike anything in his life before, as though an engine had appeared inside his body and was constantly running, ready to deliver power wherever it was needed.
And that power was inexhaustible.
He raised his head and looked at Wangchuan.
Wangchuan was still standing beside the floor-to-ceiling window, his head tilted as he watched him.
There was not a ripple in his purple lunar phase eyes, as though he had known this would happen all along.
Edgar opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
Then his right hand suddenly clenched.
A ball of flame burst from his palm, its tongues shooting half a meter