Chapter 244: Chapter 239: Dragon Transformation - Profound Dragon Arm
After a false alarm, the Xuanling Empire had once again returned to its former prosperity. Gazing at the pleasant weather outside, Mu Chen slowly closed the white scroll in his hands and sighed, "It looks like this is going to be another long journey."
Comparing his current geographical map with the map of the Netherworld Purgatory his Master had given him, he determined the route. To get from the Xuanling Empire to the Netherworld Purgatory—a name Mu Chen had given the unknown, dangerous region himself—he would have to travel straight south, passing through several low-class empires and a medium-sized one called the Terral Empire. The Netherworld Purgatory itself was located right near the Terral Empire.
Mu Chen roughly estimated that the round trip would take at least a year and a half. If anything delayed him along the way, it could be closer to two years.
’Two years... The Imperial Competition is also in two years, it seems. If I can make it back in time, I should be able to make good use of this period. It’s just... Bing’Er and Mo Qing...’
Thinking of the two of them, Mu Chen hesitated. It had only been three months since he returned to the Xuanling Empire, and the time he had been able to spend with Bing’Er amounted to a mere half a month. Now, he had to leave again. A pang of guilt rose in his heart. ’As a family member, I’ve failed. As a fiancé, I’ve failed even more.’ But then, the image of Mo Qing shielding him, blood splattering everywhere, flashed through his mind, and an inexplicable, sharp pain pierced his heart. He never wanted to experience that feeling, that scene, a second time.
"A painful separation now is for the sake of a better reunion in the future. For you to live happy lives, I must become strong... stronger... and even stronger!"
’Because... I don’t want to lose you...’
As if he had made a firm decision, Mu Chen closed the scroll and quickly entered a state of cultivation. The Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique began to circulate at a terrifying speed. He was in the first month of his weakened state, and half a month had already passed since the Celestial Eagle Empire’s retreat. Every day, Mu Chen had been absorbing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi with an almost frenzied cultivation method. With the help of the Gathering Essence Pill and the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique, his dark and empty Dantian finally began to brighten once more.
’My power... it’s coming back!’
Feeling the change in his Dantian, Mu Chen felt a small thrill of excitement. One could only imagine what it was like for someone who once possessed great power to suddenly be reduced to a powerless man. Not everyone could endure the feeling of hitting rock bottom like that. Fortunately, Mu Chen was strong-willed, and this was only a temporary period of weakness, which was why he was able to recover his strength so quickly.
Guided by the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi rapidly gathered toward Mu Chen, slowly filling his Dantian like a spring pool. With the support of Primordial Power, his Dantian was finally reactivated. As the Dantian Vortex began to spin, everything within it started to move slowly in an orderly fashion.
The instant Mu Chen regained his Primordial Power, a piece of information that had appeared after his Demonization surfaced in his mind. For Mu Chen, whose Spirit Realm was at the Late Stage of the Kan Realm, Dual Tasking was a simple enough skill. So, while he continued to circulate the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique, his consciousness sank directly into his Sea of Souls to browse this new information.
"Dragon Transformation—Profound Dragon Arm!"
The first thing that caught his eye was this title, followed by a series of descriptions. Dragon Transformation was an advanced Secret Technique, created when the Taotie Seal absorbed the Bloodline Power of a certain Magical Beast and evolved. It allowed one to transform a part of their body into that Magical Beast’s combat form.
This power of Beastification was not fixed; it could be a tiger transformation, a lion transformation, or even a snake transformation. In short, it was a Beastman’s Secret Technique, yet it was superior to any of theirs.
After all, a Beastman’s Beastification transformed their entire body, increasing their ferocity and savagery but lowering their intelligence. A Secret Technique that only involved partial Beastification was, by contrast, the most perfect kind.
Withdrawing his consciousness from his mind, Mu Chen muttered in a low voice, "Could it be that the Demonization activated some kind of Magical Beast bloodline within me? But why would I have a Magical Beast bloodline? And a Dragon-type Magical Beast’s bloodline, at that? Could it be that someone in my family is a Beastman?"
The moment this thought appeared, Mu Chen immediately dismissed it. Everyone in his family was human; there were absolutely no exceptions. It seemed this was yet another mystery. At this point, even he couldn’t quite figure himself out. He felt like he was a stranger to himself.
’I really want to test the power of this Dragon Transformation.’
With this in mind, Mu Chen further accelerated the circulation of his Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique. Aided by the Gathering Essence Pill, the Primordial Power in his body was rapidly recovering.
’Almost... Almost there...’
Watching the light from the Dantian Crystal grow increasingly intense, an expectant look appeared in Mu Chen’s eyes. At the same time, a black marking like an eye socket pattern SWISHED into view on his face. A flash of light streaked across his originally purple pupils, and six ice-blue, snowflake-like Ice Crystals began to spin rapidly. The flow of Primordial Qi in the surrounding space became incomparably clear in his vision.
HUMMM!!
A humming sound spread out as the Primordial Power in the entire room fluctuated violently. Mu Chen was like a meteorite crashing into the ocean, stirring up a monstrous wave that swept through the entire space!
With a BOOM, a pillar of ice-blue light shot up from within Mu Chen’s body. Four dazzling green Martial Rings instantly appeared at his feet. Mu Chen felt as if every cell in his body had been activated by Primordial Power. It was a sensation he had never experienced before, as if all his bodily functions had been completely revitalized.
A grin spread across his lips as Mu Chen immediately stood up. Four exquisite Ice Crystal Petals quietly materialized behind him; the Red Lotus Ice Technique would manifest on its own whenever he used his Primordial Power. With a single thought, he raised his left arm high and clenched his fist. He let out a low shout, "Dragon Transformation!"
Following his shout, countless streams of Ice Attribute Primordial Qi instantly swirled around him. Crystalline, ice-blue specks of light spiraled rapidly around him. Suddenly, the phantom image of a dragon-shaped Magical Beast formed from icy energy shot toward the heavens, bursting through the roof of the high-level residence and soaring into the sky.
At that exact moment, classes were letting out for noon, and all the students were outside. The massive Ice Dragon looked dazzling under the gentle sunlight, and everyone couldn’t help but stop in their tracks and look up at the sky.
"What is that?!" a student exclaimed.
"It looks like a dragon! Heavens! Why is there such a huge dragon at the academy?!" another student standing nearby shouted.
"If I’m not mistaken, that seems to be where Senior Mu Chen lives."
"It’s Senior Mu Chen? Then it’s not surprising. Only Brother Mu Chen could cause such a huge commotion!"
By now, everyone in the outer circle worshipped Mu Chen. So, regardless of their age, all the students would sincerely call this monstrous prodigy "Senior Mu Chen" in their hearts.
Little Tiger, Ye Shuangshuang, Qing Lei, Mo Qing, and Mu Bingling, who had just walked out of the Demon Castle, were all drawn by the powerful fluctuation of the Ice Element.
Mu Bingling looked toward the source of the Ice Dragon phantom with astonishment, a hint of joy in her voice. "That’s Chen’Er’s Primordial Power fluctuation... Chen’Er has recovered."
Little Tiger was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed, "Brother Mu Chen has recovered? That’s great!!"
Qing Lei and Ye Shuangshuang exchanged a look, and both saw the heartfelt joy in each other’s eyes. Their Brother Mu Chen was finally... back!
Mo Qing’s hands were clasped tightly, an indescribable gentleness in her expression. ’That’s the man I love,’ she thought. ’He’s finally recovered.’
Mu Chen looked up at the sky, his purple, vertical pupils revealing a hint of surprise. He, too, could see the phantom of the Giant Dragon formed from Ice Attribute Primordial Qi; it was incredibly clear and distinct.
ROAR!!!
After soaring into the heavens, the Giant Dragon rapidly coiled into a majestic posture and let out a tremendous roar toward the sky. The resulting shockwave scattered all the surrounding clouds, revealing the hidden sunlight and brilliantly illuminating the entire Imperial Capital.
At the same moment the dragon roared, Mu Chen’s arm underwent a tremendous transformation. Fine, blue Dragon Scales rapidly spread out from his skin, covering his entire arm in just a few breaths. The scales appeared crystal clear under the sunlight, but this was only the beginning.
The next moment, ice-blue scales began to appear even on the left side of his face, quickly enveloping it completely. The scales were so densely packed that they looked perfectly seamless. In no time, a half-mask in the shape of an Ice Dragon had formed, concealing his handsome face and giving him a mysterious aura.
SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!
Just then, with a sound like three longswords being unsheathed, three sharp ice spikes of varying lengths extended from the outside of his forearm, elbow, and shoulder. Mu Chen’s instincts told him that these ice spikes were nowhere near as fragile as the ones he condensed with his Ice Attribute Elemental Power. The transformation continued, this time moving to his hand. With a crystalline TING, his scale-covered fingertips were frozen by the Extreme Ice Elemental Power into the shape of a Dragon Claw.
At that moment, the Ice Dragon phantom condensed from Ice Attribute Elemental Power suddenly descended from the sky, its target none other than Mu Chen in his dorm room. An ice-blue light flashed in Mu Chen’s eyes, and with a WHOOSH, he shot up from the room to meet the Giant Dragon’s phantom head-on.
BOOM!!
As the two collided, an immense amount of Primordial Power instantly erupted from Mu Chen’s arm. An intense, ice-blue light completely engulfed his figure, leaving only a single speck of ice-blue light suspended high in the air.
Every student in the academy stared at the point where the Giant Dragon and Mu Chen had collided. They could clearly sense an immense power brewing. Naturally, Mu Chen’s actions had not only startled the students; even the instructors had left their office buildings and were now hovering in the air, their gazes fixed on Mu Chen’s dormitory...
