Inside the Star Palace, starlight flowed slowly, and the depths of the dome seemed to still retain the warmth of Tangyi's transformation. She stood there quietly, as if she was still getting used to this new form. Her fingertips clenched slightly and then gently released. Her breathing was very shallow, yet it was faintly in sync with the pulse of the entire Crabapple Shadow Star Palace.
Then, she looked up.
There was no overwhelming pressure or the roar of the dragon's path at that moment; only an extremely gentle yet undeniable presence naturally spread throughout the space. Her gaze fell upon Qin Yu, clear and focused, as if for the first time she was truly looking at the world "as herself."
She spoke softly.
The voice wasn't loud, but it was so clear it was almost transparent. It carried a hint of naivety that hadn't completely faded, yet it also contained the deep resonance unique to the Dragon Clan race, like an echo from the depths of the starry sea, deliberately softened countless times.
"... Owner."
The moment those two words were uttered, the light within the Star Palace seemed to tremble slightly.
It wasn't a vow-like declaration, nor a solemn submission, but rather a reliance and affirmation that came out instinctively, carrying an extremely pure emotion, without any embellishment.
Qin Yu burst out laughing almost immediately.
That smile was genuine ease and joy, without any defensiveness or hesitation. He took half a step forward, his tone gentle yet firm, carrying a sense of natural intimacy.
"Congratulations again, Tangyi, on successfully transforming into human form."
When he spoke, his gaze was not condescending at all; rather, it was as if he were looking at a companion who had finally completed his transformation.
"Also," Qin Yu paused slightly, his tone softening, "You're not allowed to call me 'master' anymore. Just call me 'young master'."
As these words fell, it was as if some invisible constraint had been gently released.
Tangyi's eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn't expected to be corrected like this. For a moment, she seemed a little lost, but not flustered. She simply nodded subconsciously, her hair swaying gently, a flash of dark golden light appearing at the ends.
"Yes, young master."
This time, her voice was even softer, almost without any sharp edges, but it carried a noticeable sense of reassurance.
Just then, a very familiar voice, tinged with a lazy yet cunning tone, broke in.
"Oops--"
Azure Ring had already sat back on Qin Yu's right shoulder at some point. Her small figure sat cross-legged, her hand supporting her chin. Her gaze swept back and forth over Tangyi, and the more she looked, the wider her smile became.
"I was thinking, after finally managing to... uh, I've got a dragon. It'll be so cool to go out like this, perfect as a mount."
She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, her eyes curving into crescents, her teasing tone undisguised.
"And now look what's happened," Azure Ring gently patted Qin Yu's shoulder, then gestured towards Tangyi with her chin, "Using such a beauty as a mount? That's such a waste, hahaha!"
A crisp laugh echoed through the Star Palace, dispelling the lingering solemnity of the moment.
Tangyi was clearly taken aback for a moment, then a faint blush appeared on her cheeks, as if she were both shy and not quite understanding what "mount" meant. She could only look at Qin Yu somewhat awkwardly, and then secretly glance at Azure Ring.
Qin Yu simply smiled helplessly and shook his head. The tense atmosphere in the Star Palace, which had been building for so long, finally relaxed completely.
The light in the Crabapple Shadow Star Palace gradually quieted down, like a sea of stars smoothed by the wind. Tangyi stood still, looking down at her hands. They were not dragon claws, but slender, real, and warm fingers.
She gently closed her fingers and then slowly opened them. As her fingertips brushed against the air, she could clearly sense the flow of air, the temperature difference of light, and even the faint yet steady life rhythm of Qin Yu's breath.
This feeling was completely different from when I was in the dragon's body.
Back then, her perception was vast and raw, encompassing the world with its origins and laws; but now, the world seems to be reversed, gradually settling upon her. Emotions are no longer simple "judgments of will," but something that gently warms her chest and ripples in her heart. When she looks at Qin Yu, she feels an inexplicable sense of peace; when she hears Azure Ring's laughter, she subconsciously feels a subtle shyness and unease.
She realized for the first time—
It turns out that emotions are not a weakness, but a completely new "way of being".
Just as she was still immersed in this unfamiliar yet gentle feeling, Azure Ring swung her legs, her tone suddenly becoming somewhat serious, yet still retaining her usual casualness.
"Alright, alright, you're almost used to it now."
She tilted her head and looked at Tangyi, her eyes sparkling. "Tangyi, you just fully comprehended the three great divine abilities, how can you not try them out?"
Tangyi was slightly taken aback, then understood.
Unlike Long Shi, she did not summon the mighty dragon's might, nor did she deliberately mobilize any external power. Instead, she gently closed her eyes, held her breath, and let her mind sink down little by little. At that moment, she was not "activating her supernatural powers," but rather sensing—sensing the three Ultimate killing sources that had completely merged with her.
When the first sensation arose, Tangyi's consciousness seemed to be pulled back to before the beginning of time.
It was an extremely quiet "emptiness," devoid of energy flow, power manifestation, and Does Not Exist the concept of "danger." She clearly understood that this was precisely—
Vast Sea Dragon Breath - Primordial Return to Zero.
It's not a breath that requires preparation, but rather a "state." Once she's willing, that Ultimate killing breath, imbued with the primordial power of Annihilation Hongmeng Origin, will unfold naturally. Its essence isn't simply erasing the target, but a dual termination centered on "slaughter"—
First, there is a backtracking. All the foundations of the target—the Dao, authority, cause and effect, and concepts—are forcibly pulled back to the primordial node "before birth," as if they were never allowed to exist.
Then comes the primordial annihilation. The power of primordial Annihilation will follow the blank space after the reversal, crushing and annihilating everything from the physical body to the soul, from the imprint of laws to the traces of existence, inch by inch.
This entire process occurs without warning or fluctuation. The locked entity doesn't even have the right to "sense danger" before it completely experiences the killing cycle of "foundation collapse - soul tearing - physical annihilation - Trace Vanishing," ultimately returning to nothingness more complete than dust.
Tangyi merely sensed that the space of the Star Palace had already shown extremely subtle "retrograde misalignment," which even Qin Yu could detect. It was not a leakage of power, but rather the world instinctively avoiding it.
The second sense then unfolded.
It was a deep sea seemingly composed of countless abstract symbols and meanings; her consciousness gently probed into it, and she understood that this was—
Primordial Dragon Claw: Conceptual Removal.
The essence of this supernatural power lies not in "tearing apart," but in positioning. The invincibility of all powerful beings depends on one or more "core concepts"—eternity, immortality, dominion, uniqueness, etc. What the Primordial Dragon Claw does is to directly lock these fulcrums in the sea of concepts.
Once the claws fall, what is cut away is not the appearance, but the very reason why it exists.
The moment the concept shatters, the backlash occurs simultaneously: the target's essence is pierced by the power of the collapsing concept, the soul is pulverized by the shattered meaning, and the physical body disintegrates inch by inch as the concept dissipates. There is no struggle after losing power, Does Not Exist a transition of falling— the Ultimate slaughter is completed the instant the concept is severed.
Tangyi knew in her heart that this was a direct denial of the "invincible essence," an absolute termination that would leave no trace of rebirth, reincarnation, or remnant soul.
When the last sensation appeared, her consciousness seemed to touch a vast and boundless river.
That is a structure that existed before time, outside the world, the fundamental principle of the mutual attraction of all existence—cause and effect.
The tail of the primordial dragon, the trace of cause and effect.
This supernatural power is not merely about "reversing the past," but rather uses the reverse flow of cause and effect as a trigger to launch a double crushing attack. First, it reverses the river of cause and effect, erasing all the prerequisites for the target's rise, enlightenment, and invincibility, denying the possibility of its peak existence from the source. Second, the Annihilation power carried by the reverse flow itself will directly act on the target's "present," crushing its physical body, soul, authority, and all connections with the world into bubbles in the river of cause and effect.
With the past cause destroyed and the present being strangled, the double killing will not only cause the target to perish, but even the traces of cause and effect that "once existed" will be completely erased.
When Tangyi slowly opened her eyes, the Star Palace returned to its usual calm, as if nothing had happened. But Qin Yu and Azure Ring both knew very well that this was not because the power was weak, but because these supernatural abilities did not need to be displayed in any way.
Tangyi let out a soft breath, her eyes filled with an unprecedented calm. She finally understood that these three supernatural powers were not "extensions of power," but rather the judgment she, as a true dragon, naturally possessed after touching upon existence, concepts, and causality.
Qin Yu and Azure Ring exchanged a glance. Neither of them spoke, but almost simultaneously nodded slightly. It wasn't a performance of tacit understanding, but a judgment formed through long-term collaboration— Tangyi's aura had stabilized. Her existence was no longer merely an accumulation of power, but had undergone a true transformation, moving from "bearing" to "self-sufficiency."
Azure Ring sat on Qin Yu's shoulder, her legs swinging gently. A satisfied smile, bordering on pride, graced her lips, but her eyes remained calm. She saw more clearly than anyone else that the three divine powers were not stirring within Tangyi's body. Instead, they were like stars sleeping in the deep sea, perfectly contained, waiting to awaken when the time truly came to a judgment.
Before the silence had even faded, a very faint tremor suddenly came from the depths of the Crabapple Shadow Star Palace, as if a world that had slumbered for countless eons had finally taken its last breath. The colossal gate of the palace, which had never been opened to mortals since time immemorial, slowly opened silently.
The door didn't push open outwards, but rather dissolved itself to both sides, transforming into layers of receding starlight and dark patterns, revealing an unfathomable space behind it. At that moment, the light wasn't dazzling, yet it was impossible to look away, as if all gazes were drawn by nature to witness what was about to appear.
The old woman's figure reappeared before the palace gate.
She was still hunched over, still leaning on that seemingly ordinary wooden cane whose origins were shrouded in mystery, but the moment she stepped out of the palace gate, Qin Yu clearly sensed that something was different.
It wasn't the outward manifestation of her cultivation, nor the display of her aura, but rather a change in her "status"—she stood there, as if she weren't dependent on this space, but rather this space was silently acknowledging her existence.
Even Tangyi subconsciously suppressed the lingering aura of the dragon's path that had not yet completely faded, and her expression unconsciously became respectful.
The old woman raised her head, her cloudy yet unfathomable eyes lingering on Tangyi for a moment before shifting to Qin Yu. Her gaze wasn't sharp, yet it was impossible to look away, as if it could see through the surface of existence and reach the deepest components of Fate Soul. After a moment, she slowly nodded, her voice not loud, but it echoed clearly throughout the hall.
"Hmm, not bad."
When those two words were uttered, there was no fluctuation of power, yet it seemed to have made a final judgment on all the trials that had just taken place. She then turned her gaze entirely to Qin Yu, her eyes showing a seriousness and inquiry that she had never shown before. It was not an assessment of power, but an examination of "essence".
"Young man," she began slowly, her words carrying the weight of countless years, "You are special."
Qin Yu remained calm, neither smug nor overly humble, simply standing there naturally, as if the evaluation had not exceeded his expectations and had not caused any ripples in his heart. Azure Ring, however, tilted her head slightly on his shoulder, a cryptic smile curving her lips, as if she had long anticipated this scene.
The old woman gently tapped her wooden cane, and a barely audible echo reverberated from the depths of the palace, as if something had been responded to, or as if something was awakening. Her voice then became deep and resonant.
"I have another treasure here," she said, her gaze fixed on Qin Yu, "It doesn't belong to the middle level of the Source of Silent Void, nor to any defined inheritance, but... it's especially suitable for you."
She paused for a moment, as if giving Qin Yu room to think, before continuing, "I wonder, are you interested?"