Chapter 21: Dragonblood Warrior
Linley’s entire body convulsed in pain. Every vertebra along his spine trembled violently as sharp spikes slowly pushed through his back, piercing through the surface muscles and gradually emerging.
This agony forced Linley to let out low, guttural roars. Sweat continuously seeped from every pore of his body, and at the same time, black scales began to appear all over him. The shape of each scale closely resembled that of a Spiked-Back Adamantine Dragon, the only difference being their smaller size.
Gritting his teeth, Linley released the intense pain through deep, rumbling sounds from his throat. With an iron will, he continuously cycled the secret techniques of the *Dragonblood Codex*.
The Dragon Crystal, repeatedly eroded by the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline, steadily shrank in size. Meanwhile, the bloodline voraciously devoured the astonishing dark energy contained within the Dragon Crystal, accelerating the body’s transformation even further—
“Sssss~~” A tail covered in black scales and stained with blood slowly emerged from the end of Linley’s spine, resembling a steel whip.
“Why? Why is this happening?” Linley felt the changes throughout his body, especially the spikes on his back and forehead, as well as the black scales. Everything left him utterly shocked.
According to the *Dragonblood Codex*, a Dragonblood Warrior had three forms—
The third form, the Complete Dragonization form. In this state, the Dragonblood Warrior’s entire body was covered in azure dragon scales, and a single dragon horn would appear on the forehead. This was also the most powerful state of a Dragonblood Warrior. However, Linley’s current form was completely different from what the *Dragonblood Codex* described.
Linley’s body was covered in black scales, not azure ones. The spikes on his back should not have existed. Linley couldn’t help but think of the Spiked-Back Adamantine Dragon.
The second form, the Semi-Dragonization form. The third form had the strongest combat power, while this state partially dragonized the body, making it slightly weaker.
The first form, the normal human form. Under normal circumstances, Dragonblood Warriors remained in this state. It was also the weakest of the three forms.
According to the *Dragonblood Codex*, when one first mastered ‘Dragonblood Battle Qi,’ the body would uncontrollably enter the ‘third form’ directly. This first transformation would be extremely painful, but it would only happen once. Subsequent transformations would not cause pain.
Inside Linley’s body—
A deep azure, almost black liquid spread throughout his entire body. Every muscle and meridian continuously absorbed this energy, and Linley’s physical condition was improving at a terrifying speed. This rapid enhancement also caused him excruciating pain.
“Damn dragons,” Linley cursed inwardly. “It must be you. Otherwise, the ancestors of my clan would have recorded in the books the consequences of drinking living dragon blood and the precautions to take.”
The more Linley thought about it, the angrier he became.
The *Dragonblood Codex* of his clan clearly had contradictions. The book claimed that no one in the clan had succeeded by using living dragon blood, yet it confidently stated that this method would definitely work. This was an obvious contradiction.
What was the clan like four or five thousand years ago? Linley had no idea now!
“Those dragons must have forced the ancestors to omit the method of transformation through drinking living dragon blood,” Linley thought, not knowing what to do.
His ‘dragonization’ form was clearly different from the orthodox, step-by-step ‘dragonization form’ described in the books.
“My willpower is too strong. I wish I could just pass out from the pain,” Linley prayed instead. If he fainted, at least he would feel some relief.
“Ah~~”
Linley’s entire body trembled again. The ten fingers on his hands and the ten toes on his feet ached to the bone. Each fingertip became sharp, like a miniature version of a dragon’s claw. The pain of these claws forcibly growing out nearly made Linley lose consciousness.
A dizzying sensation surged into Linley’s head. His eyes closed, and his consciousness instantly fell into deep slumber.
“Boom!”
Linley collapsed heavily to the ground.
“He’s passed out,” Doehring Cowart said, standing beside Linley and observing his current appearance. He couldn’t help but marvel, “How peculiar. I didn’t expect Linley’s ancestor, ‘Baruch,’ to possess this ability to dragonize.”
Doehring Cowart frowned and muttered to himself, “Strange. Aside from the Dragonblood Warrior, there are three other ultimate warriors. When I was alive, these four ultimate warriors didn’t exist. Shortly after my death, they all appeared at once.”
With over a thousand years of wisdom and experience, Doehring Cowart found it hard to imagine how this had come about.
“To kill a Hydra Emperor, Linley’s ancestor ‘Baruch’ must have been at least as strong as me, if not stronger,” Doehring Cowart thought. He knew well the power of a Hydra Emperor. The Hydra clan was terrifying, and every Hydra Emperor throughout history had been a peak Saint-level powerhouse.
Even he wasn’t confident he could kill a Hydra Emperor.
“That little Shadowmouse is no ordinary creature either,” Doehring Cowart said, turning to look at ‘Bebe,’ who was still embedded in the stone wall, quietly recovering his strength. “The Spiked-Back Adamantine Dragon is the strongest rank-9 dragon clan. This one named Sadistas was a peak rank-9. His deathblow could have ripped open even a rank-9 magical beast, yet this little Shadowmouse withstood it.”
Doehring Cowart couldn’t help but be astonished.
He even began to wonder…
“Could this little Shadowmouse not be a Shadowmouse, but a Stone-Eating Mouse?” Doehring Cowart knew well.
There were two major clans of rodent magical beasts—Stone-Eating Mice and Shadowmice. Stone-Eating Mice were far more numerous, with the lowest being rank-1 and the highest reaching rank-7 or rank-8. Shadowmice started at rank-3 and also maxed out at rank-7 or rank-8.
Shadowmice excelled in ‘speed and sharp claws and teeth.’ Stone-Eating Mice excelled in ‘defense and sharp claws and teeth.’
“Stone-Eating Mice are small, but their defense is the strongest among all magical beasts of the same rank. The defense of a rank-8 Stone-Eating Mouse might rival that of a rank-9 Spiked-Back Adamantine Dragon!” Doehring Cowart was well aware of the Stone-Eating Mouse’s terror.
Stone-Eating Mice were tiny, but their fur’s defensive power was astonishing.
Looking across all magical beasts—whether dragons, bears, Hydras, or other races—when comparing beasts of equal rank, the small Stone-Eating Mouse had the strongest defense of all!
“Bebe’s strength should be around rank-8. If he were a rank-8 Stone-Eating Mouse, I could believe he survived that blow. But he’s not. A rank-8 Stone-Eating Mouse would have golden fur,” Doehring Cowart thought, full of doubt.
“Black fur, terrifying speed, and such strong defense? Too strange.”
Suddenly, Doehring Cowart’s eyes widened.
A terrifying name surfaced in his mind!
“Could it be… could this little Shadowmouse be connected to ‘that one’ in the ‘Dark Forest’ in the northeast of the Yulan Continent?” Doehring Cowart was somewhat shocked. When he was alive, there were only two supreme powerhouses on the entire Yulan Continent who could make him feel utterly helpless.
Back then, Doehring Cowart was undoubtedly among the top five on the Yulan Continent. Aside from the first and second, the other three were close in strength.
But the number-one and number-two experts of the Yulan Continent were unquestionably powerful.
No one could say for sure who was first and who was second. One of these two was the ‘pillar’ of the Yulan Empire. With him there, even if the Yulan Empire decayed to this extent, it wouldn’t fall.
The other was ‘that one’ in the Dark Forest.
When the Yulan Empire unified the entire Yulan Continent in year 1 of the Yulan calendar, that human number-one expert had already shaken the world. The empire later fragmented into its current state of two alliances and four empires.
“That one in the Dark Forest is the number-one expert among magical beasts. I’ve heard he has a particular fondness for rodent-type magical beasts. Could this strange little Shadowmouse have been created by him?” Doehring Cowart speculated.
But the super experts Doehring Cowart knew of were all from over five thousand years ago.
Five thousand years ago, there were indeed two absolute peak powerhouses on the continent—one a human expert, the other a magical beast expert. Other Saint-level experts could only look up to them.
But what about today, five thousand years later?
“Perhaps some mutation occurred among rodent magical beasts. That’s also possible,” Doehring Cowart consoled himself.
Doehring Cowart glanced at Linley and Bebe and nodded slightly. “A descendant of a Dragonblood Warrior and a mutated little Shadowmouse. What will their future be like?” He felt a hint of anticipation. Perhaps staying by Linley’s side wouldn’t be too lonely.
The entire underground passage was silent.
Linley, lying unconscious on the ground, continued to undergo slow changes. The Dragonblood Battle Qi energy within him gradually gathered at a point three inches below his navel, forming a structure similar to a Dragon Crystal. Meanwhile, Bebe’s injuries slowly healed.
…
Three days later.
Linley opened his eyes and abruptly scrambled to his feet.
At this moment, Linley was completely naked. His clothes had been shredded into pieces during his first ‘dragonization.’ But now, having returned to his normal human form, he looked just like an ordinary person.
“Finally changed back.”
Although the *Dragonblood Codex* recorded that one could revert to human form, seeing it happen to himself put Linley’s mind at ease. After all, his ‘dragonization’ differed from what the ancestors’ books described.
“Boss, you’re awake!” A crisp, familiar voice rang in Linley’s mind.
Linley turned around in surprise. Bebe leaped into his arms. Holding Bebe close, Linley finally felt his heart calm. When Bebe had been severely injured by the Spiked-Back Adamantine Dragon’s deathblow, Linley had been truly afraid.
Afraid that the little Shadowmouse who had grown up with him would die.
“Bebe, are you okay?” Linley carefully examined Bebe’s body. He noticed an inconspicuous wound on Bebe’s abdomen, but he knew it was only hidden by the fur.
Bebe chuckled, “I’m fine. Do you think I’d be afraid of that little worm?”
“Boss, hey, how come you don’t have any scars on your body? Your face too—not a single mark left,” Bebe suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
Only then did Linley notice his own body.
“Indeed, just like the *Dragonblood Codex* records. The first ‘dragonization’ completely remodels the body, continuously transforming it internally, even the outer skin,” Linley thought. His entire body was now flawless, without a single scar, in perfect condition.
Feeling the surging power within him, Linley’s heart thrilled.
“Such immense physical strength.” Linley sensed that his current power was at least dozens of times greater than before. Activating the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline greatly enhanced his physical condition. Even in human form, he was far stronger than before the bloodline was awakened.
Clenching his right fist, he instinctively channeled his Dragonblood Battle Qi. Linley suddenly punched the stone wall beside him.
“Boom!” Like steel striking stone, the wall was smashed, creating a crater, with cracks spreading outward in all directions.
“Rank-6. Linley, your human form has reached the strength of a rank-6 warrior!” Doehring Cowart flew out of the Coiling Dragon Ring and said to Linley with a smile.