After Big Sis Sidra revealed that our family was descended from dragons, I stared at her for several long moments. It was quite the revelation. Dragons were powerful and mystical creatures. Many even considered them sacred and worshiped them.

  Here in the Azure Dragon Empire, Azure Dragons were held in high regard. After all, it was said that Clan Azure Dragon, the rulers of the Azure Dragon Empire, were descended from one of these creatures.

  In addition to Azure Dragons, there were many different kinds of dragons, such as Flood Dragons and Flame Dragons. At the apex stood True Dragons. They were divine creatures, beings from myth and legend that were on par with immortals and devils.

  Hearing that my maternal family was related to one of these great beings left quite the impression on me. However, I wasn’t as shocked as I might’ve been otherwise. When I met with Senior Azure Dragon back in the Sacred Ironwood province, he told me something similar.

  “To clarify,” Big Sis Sidra said, pulling me out of my thoughts, “We aren’t directly descended from dragons. Our connection to them is… Strange.”

  I frowned at my eldest sister.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Mother’s main soul is a dragon’s descendant.” Big Sis Sidra said. “Thus, we are descended from dragons in spirit, but not in blood.”

  My frown deepened. Senior Azure Dragon said the same thing, which hadn’t made sense to me at the time. It still didn’t.

  “How is that possible?” I asked. “Didn’t our mother take over her main soul’s body?”

  Big Sis Sidra shook her head.

  “No.” She said. “I don’t know the full story. Mother never told me. However, I know that she arrived in this realm as a spiritual being, before possessing a little girl and taking over her body.”

  I stared at Big Sis Sidra, horrified. It was a bit hypocritical of me, since I was fine with our mother possessing her main soul’s body, but even so.

  “Oh, don’t worry,” My eldest sister said, “It worked out in the end. After all, I was that little girl.”

  My jaw dropped when I heard this.

  “So, our mother’s current body used to be yours?” I asked, flabbergasted.

  Big Sis Sidra nodded.

  “Yes.” She said, amused by my reaction. “I’ll tell you the whole story some other time. To summarize, Mother possessed my body and preserved my soul, before giving birth to me. I agreed to this since I was an unwanted orphan at the time and Mother promised to become, well, my mother. That’s why she and I are so close in age, at least physically. Mother’s soul is much, much older.”

  This revelation filled me with a confusing mix of emotions. A part of me was horrified by what happened between Mother and my eldest sister. After all, Big Sis Sidra allowed a demon to possess her. What if said demon had eaten her soul instead of preserving it? However, another part of me understood Big Sis Sidra’s actions.

  As an unwanted orphan, she must have lived a lonely existence. I went through something similar when I lived on Mt. Wind Dance. In her shoes, I might have made the same choice. In fact, now that I think about it, I had in a way. After all, a demon kidnapped me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. It was the best decision I made in my entire life.

  “To get back to the topic at hand,” Big Sis Sidra said, “As Mother’s children, we inherited the spirit of a dragon but not the blood of one. However, with the right kind of blood, it is possible to rectify this.”

  I narrowed my eyes at my eldest sister.

  “Is that why you want the drop of Senior Azure Claw’s blood so much?” I asked.

  “Yes.” She said without an ounce of shame. “A drop of blood from a spirit beast descended from an Azure Dragon qualifies.”

  That explained everything. My eldest sister wanted to take this rare opportunity for herself! I cradled my storage ring.

  “Mine.” I said.

  “Are you sure?” Big Sis Sidra asked. “I am more than willing to compensate you for it.” She gestured to the palace around us. “As you can see, your eldest sister is quite wealthy.”

  I snorted.

  “Tell me this, Eldest Sister,” I said, “You said that we need the right kind of blood in order to unlock our draconic heritage. What kind of blood? And how rare is it?”

  Big Sis Sidra wore a pained expression on her face.

  “Very rare.” She said. “So much so that even a single drop is valuable to us. The blood needs to be draconic, obviously. However, it needs to come from the right kind of dragon. In this case, Flame Dragons and Azure Dragons.”

  In other words, dragons with an affinity with either Fire or Wood.

  “Aren’t Flame Dragons and Azure Dragons rare and powerful?” I asked.

  Big Sis Sidra’s expression grew even more pained.

  “Yes.” She said.

  In short, the chances of me finding another drop of the right kind of blood was low. No wonder my eldest sister wanted it so bad.

  “I’m not trading it.” I said.

  Big Sis Sidra sighed.

  “I didn’t want to resort to this.” She said.

  A chill ran down my spine at her words. She wouldn’t try and steal the drop of blood from me, would she? Big Sis Sidra gave me a wicked smile, which exacerbated my worries.

  “In order to refine that drop of blood and awaken your draconic heritage, you’ll need the right technique, Little Demon.” My eldest sister said. “One tailored to our family. Thankfully, Mother created one such technique. However, since she’s in seclusion, you’ll have to get it either from me or one of our sisters. Without it, that drop of blood is useless to you. I’m willing to trade it to you.” Her smile widened. “For the right price of course.”

  I gaped at her, my mouth hanging open. My eldest sister was trying to pressure me into giving her the drop of blood!

  “Shameless!” I said. “Absolutely shameless!”

  Big Sis Sidra scoffed.

  “You come into my home, drink my wine, and have the audacity to call me shameless?” she asked, her gaze turning sharp. “You are a bold one, Little Demon.”

  I snorted.

  “Hmmph! At least I’m not trying to pressure my younger sibling into giving up a rare and valuable treasure!”

  “You’re the youngest of us,” Big Sis Sidra said. “You don’t have any younger siblings.”

  “My point still stands.”

  The two of us glared at each other for a full minute, neither one of us giving in to the other. I cracked first. My lips twitched, before I burst out into laughter. Big Sis Sidra followed suit. The two of us laughed for a while before we regained our composure.

  “As amusing as that was,” Big Sis Sidra said, “I wasn’t joking. The technique that Mother developed, Dragon Blood Awakening, is valuable. I can’t just give it to you, Little Demon. You need to earn it one way or another.”

  I sighed. I thought as much.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Rather than trying to guess what my eldest sister wanted in exchange for the Dragon Blood Awakening technique, it was faster to just ask her.

  “The token that Sect Leader Twinheart gave you,” Big Sis Sidra said.

  I grimaced. When I first reached Foundation Establishment, my loved ones threw a party in celebration. The sect leader of the Dawn and Dusk Sect, Twinheart, arrived at the party to congratulate me. He also gave me a token with the Dawn and Dusk Sect’s crest on it.

  I could exchange this token for any technique or mystic art available in the Dawn and Dusk Sect, including those exclusive to each hall. It was quite valuable. So much so that I still had no idea what to exchange for it. A part of me wanted to wait until I became more powerful first.

  “Is there anything else I can give you?” I asked. “I did earn a lot of loot from killing a Golden Core cultivator.”

  Big Sis Sidra shook her head.

  “No,” she said, “I’m not interested in trifles. The only things I want from you are either the drop of blood or the token.” She gestured to me. “You could go to one of our sisters, but they’ll demand a similar price.”

  I fell silent as I considered whether or not to make the trade. Both the drop of Senior Azure Claw’s blood and the token from Sect Leader Twinheart were quite valuable. I was reluctant to give either one up. Big Sis Sidra sipped her wine as she waited for my answer.

  In the end, I chose to make the trade. As much as I wanted to keep the token, I wanted the Dragon Blood Awakening technique more. I pulled the token out of my storage ring and tossed it to my eldest sister.

  “Here.” I said in a cross tone.

  Big Sis Sidra caught the token and placed it in her own storage ring with a satisfied expression on her face. She then took a jade slip out of her storage ring and tossed it to me.

  “Pleasure doing business with you, Little Demon.” she said.

  “Why do I feel like I got swindled?” I muttered.

  Big Sis Sidra just smiled at me and didn’t respond. I grumbled under my breath, before I pressed the jade slip against my forehead and examined its contents with my spirit sense. Similar to the Celestial Asura dual refining technique, which my mother also created, the Dragon Blood Awakening technique was profound and filled me with awe.

  Like many techniques above the Qi Condensation level, it came in multiple layers; three, in this case. However, unlike other techniques which required practice and enlightenment in order to increase one’s mastery, the Dragon Blood Awakening technique was simple to advance in. Simple, but difficult.

  In order to reach the first level, one just needed a drop of the right kind of draconic blood. From what I could tell, the drop of Senior Azure Claw’s blood in my possession was more than enough. Reaching this level would give me a draconic physique, increasing my physical prowess overall. Strength, endurance, agility, etc. It would also increase my healing speed and the rate at which I recovered vitality. This would reduce my need to consume Healing Pills whenever I received injuries, though not eliminate it.

  Both of these effects scaled with my cultivation base. No matter how powerful I became in the future, I would always benefit from the first level of the Dragon Blood Awakening technique.

  That alone was powerful enough, but the next level was even more ridiculous. Not only would reaching the second level amplify the effects of the first level fivefold, but I would gain an innate ability called Roar of the Dragon. As the name implied it was a sound-based attack. However, reaching the second level required thousands of drops of blood, making it that much more difficult to reach than the first level.

  Reaching the third level amplified the effects of the first level by tenfold, instead of fivefold, and I would also gain access to another innate ability: Dragon Form. This innate ability was self-explanatory. I would be able to turn into a dragon. I thought back to my first meeting with my mother, when she looked like a beast that was a mix of lion and dragon, and wondered if that was her Dragon Form. As with the second level, reaching the third level required an exorbitant amount of draconic blood. Tens of thousands of drops, in this case.

  After I finished reviewing the Dragon Blood Awakening technique, I pulled the jade slip away from my head and just stared at it. While it came with strict requirements, this technique was quite powerful. To think that my mother created it. This led me to wonder just what kind of being she was. The more I learned about her, the more of a mystery she became. On a related note, what kind of being was my mother’s main soul?

  “Is the Dragon Blood Awakening technique the reason why our family is so powerful?” I asked, looking up at my eldest sister.

  Big Sis Sidra made a so-so gesture.

  “It’s one of the reasons.” She said. “There are others.” Her expression turned flat. “If you asked Estelle that question, she would say it was the most important one.”

  I snickered. That didn’t surprise me. The Dragon Blood Awakening technique benefited one’s physique the most and Big Sis Estelle focused on body refinement. There was a reason why Big Sis Astra called her a brute. My second eldest sister was a physical powerhouse.

  “Do you think I’ll have enough time to refine the drop of blood?” I asked, putting the jade slip into my storage ring.

  “Before the Rising Heroes Tournament?” Big Sis Estelle asked.

  I nodded.

  “Yes,” she said, “Though you’ll have to wait until after you heal your internal injury. Attempting to refine the drop of blood in your current condition would be folly.”

  She was right. Before I did anything, I needed to see a healer about my internal injury. I would worry about refining the drop of Senior Azure Claw’s blood after that.

  “If that is everything,” Big Sis Sidra said, standing up, “Let us head to the training hall. We have the entire day together, and we might as well make the most of it. You mentioned that you don’t know your own strength, so why don’t I help you test your limits?”

  My eldest sister gave me a sinister smile when she said this, and a sense of foreboding filled me.

  “Wait!” I said before she could put her plan into action. I held my hands out towards her, as if to ward her off. “There is one last thing that I wanted to ask you about.”

  Big Sis Sidra put her hands on her hips and glared at me.

  “This better be something important,” she said, “Otherwise, I will assume this is your attempt to get out of training and punish you.”

  I faked a coughing fit.

  “You would punish me even though I’m injured?” I asked, giving her a pitiful look.

  “Yes.” My eldest sister said without hesitation. “I did the same thing with our other two sisters, so I see no reason to treat you differently.”

  I stared at Big Sis Sidra in disbelief. She punished our sisters when they were injured? Had my other two sisters done something to deserve it? Or was Big Sis Sidra just too strict?

  “Well?” My eldest sister asked.

  “When I told you about my travels earlier,” I said. “I mentioned that I had a strange experience after my fight with Cultivator Vivian.”

  Big Sis Sidra raised an eyebrow and gestured for me to continue.

  “That strange experience involved this ring,” I said.

  I pulled out the copper ring, the one related to the Devouring Demon. It was wrapped up in the seal made of golden flames that I had created. This was one of the finer details that I kept to myself. Not because I wanted to keep it a secret from my eldest sister, but because I wanted to focus on other topics first.

  “What happened?” Big Sis Sidra asked.

  I relayed to her what happened and how the Devouring Demon implanted the, well, Devouring Demon technique into my mind. When I finished, my eldest sister gave me a furious look.

  “I thought I told you to leave nothing out!” She spat out.

  I shrank away from her and hunched my shoulders.

  “I did,” I said, “Just now.”

  Before I could even blink, my eldest sister appeared right in front of me and grabbed me by the shoulders. I didn’t even have time to react.

  “You don’t understand.” Big Sis Sidra said. “This thing, this Devouring Demon, could have infected your mind or your soul. Maybe both. I need to examine you and, if necessary, purge-…”

  Before my eldest sister finished speaking, the seal that I put on the copper ring broke and a black cloud emerged from within. The cloud looked like it was made from a mix of smoke and liquid sludge, which didn’t even make sense. And yet, that was the only way I could describe it. Countless eyes, each one different from the others, opened up all over the black cloud. They were accompanied by countless mouths.

  I recognized this as the being that I saw in my dreams: the Devouring Demon.

  It let out a horrific shriek from its mouths, all of them at the same time, before it rushed towards Big Sis Sidra. She fell back as she grew two additional heads and two additional pairs of arms: the Three Heads, Six Arms innate ability. Two heads and two pairs of arms focused on chanting incantations and forming hand seals, while the third focused on fending off the Devouring Demon.

  This all happened in a fraction of a second.

  The two clashed, moving so fast that I couldn’t follow them with my eyes or my spirit sense. However, I felt it. The collision of their initial clash sent me flying back and I slammed into one of the walls that marked the boundary of this garden. My crimson robes, a mid-grade defensive magic treasure, were torn to shreds. Afterwards, I fell face first onto the ground.

  Pain wracked my entire being and overwhelmed me, almost to the point of madness. It felt like someone had hit me with a mountain, tearing my flesh apart and shattering all of my bones. I couldn’t think. All I could do was lay there and experience the pain as it washed over me. I couldn’t even move to take a Healing Pill. Worst of all, it felt as if someone had ripped my internal injury wide open.

  A small part of me, one that somehow remained sane despite the pain, pointed out that I was lucky to still be alive. My eldest sister was a peak Nascent Soul cultivator and the Devouring Demon was at least as powerful as she was, if not more so. A battle between the two of them could level an entire province, let alone kill a measly early Foundation Establishment cultivator like myself.

  Bit by bit, I dragged myself from the edge of madness until I regained some measure of sanity. The pain continued to wash over me, but at least I could think now. However, I still couldn’t move. I checked my body with my spirit sense and despaired at my condition. It would be simpler to list off the parts of my body that weren’t broken and damaged. I was on the verge of death. Worst of all, my internal injury leaked vitality at a rapid rate. If this continued, I would die in mere minutes.

  Unfortunately, I couldn’t move and there wasn’t anyone around who could help me. Big Sis Sidra was busy fighting the Devouring Demon, and she didn’t have any servants in her abode. Despite this, I refused to give up. There had to be something, anything, I could do. As long as I still lived, there was hope.

  If nothing else, I could distract the Devouring Demon by shouting at it through telepathy in order to help my eldest sister. I might die as a result, but it was better than laying here and doing nothing.

  However, just before I put my plan into action, I felt something warm touch my back. Heat entered my body, cutting through the pain and filling me with a sense of comfort. The pain was still there, but it was more bearable now. Best of all, the warmth stemmed the flow of my leaking vitality.

  ‘Don’t worry, Little Demon,’ a voice said in my mind, ‘Mother is here.’

  My mother, Nova, had arrived.

  I have a up and running, if you want to say hi.

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  This chapter was edited by Radriel7