“I’m coming in now!” Qin Yu gently turned the doorknob and pushed open the door…
The door wasn’t locked, and Qin Yu easily pushed it open.
The curtains in the room were drawn open, and the afternoon sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, tracing thin paths of dust through the air.
Directly facing the entrance was a wide desk, cluttered with all sorts of books and magi-tech devices, some even scattered on the floor.
On both sides of the room, the walls were lined with cabinets as tall as the room itself, packed with books of almost every genre imaginable.
There were so many books that they couldn’t all fit in the shelves; quite a few were stacked in piles on the floor beside the bookcases.
By the wall next to the desk was another door.
In front of the desk stood two large sofas facing each other, a tea table set between them—clearly a sitting area.
Both sofas were piled high with all sorts of clothing.
Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu walked over to the sofa, moved the clothes to one end, and sat down together at the other.
The clothes carried the unique fragrance of young girls—clearly worn but not yet washed.
Seated on the sofa, Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu began to discuss their next steps.
“Do you think the Pavilion Master is in that room…” Qin Yu pointed at the door and speculated.
“Should we check?” Luo Shangyu stood up, pulling Qin Yu with her to the door.
The door was made of purple sandalwood, exuding a faint, pleasant scent.
Luo Shangyu extended her hand and tapped lightly on the door with her knuckle.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
No response.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
“Is anyone there?”
Still, no response.
“Is there really no one? Is the person downstairs messing with us?”
Luo Shangyu pressed her ear to the door, listening for sounds inside.
Qin Yu saw Luo Shangyu’s right ear against the door.
The expression on her face changed from confusion to shock, her eyes growing wide.
“This is…”
Seeing Luo Shangyu’s reaction, Qin Yu grew curious about the sounds beyond the door and pressed her ear against it as well.
Inside, there were rustling noises, accompanied by high-pitched cries and heavy breathing from a girl.
The door was well soundproofed; only by pressing their ears close could they make out the sounds inside.
“Ah… this…” Qin Yu seemed to realize something.
“Let’s just go sit back down.” Luo Shangyu pulled Qin Yu back to the sofa.
***
After a while, the room’s door finally opened, and the Master of Lingyan Pavilion stepped out slowly.
“Uh… hello…” Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu greeted her awkwardly, their eyes darting everywhere except at the Pavilion Master, not daring to meet her gaze.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” The Pavilion Master gave them a deep bow before taking a seat on the empty spot across from them.
“So, what brings you here?” Qin Yu wanted to get closer to the Pavilion Master, hoping to find some common ground, but the moment she spoke, she regretted it.
‘What kind of question was that!’
As if she’d tell you about… that sort of thing!
“I was just punishing the Vice Pavilion Master,” the Pavilion Master said with a smile.
“This must be Your Highness’ first formal meeting with me, right?”
“Mm…”
“My name is Murong Xue, Master of Lingyan Pavilion, Ninth-Tier Pseudo-God.”
“I’m Qin Yu, Crown Princess of the Chengji Empire, Fourth Tier.”
“I’m Luo Shangyu, Regent of the Chengji Empire, Seventh-Tier Quasi-God.”
After briefly introducing themselves, the three finally became properly acquainted.
“Your Highness, is there anything I can help you with?”
“You don’t have to be so formal,” said Qin Yu.
“There’s no need for such honorifics.”
Although Murong Xue was the strongest Ninth-Tier Pseudo-God of the present era, Qin Yu had deep respect for her.
“Since Your Highness says so, I’ll comply.” Murong Xue nodded.
“So, what can I do for you?”
“I’m mainly here to consult you about a few things.” Qin Yu relayed the content of their earlier discussion to Murong Xue and asked, “If Valya really becomes a Tenth-Tier True God, how much of a chance do you have to stand against her?”
“Well…” Murong Xue didn’t answer directly, instead returning the question, “Why do you have so much faith in me?”
Murong Xue leaned in, her gaze burning as she stared at Qin Yu.
“Eh?” Caught off guard, Qin Yu froze.
But Luo Shangyu noticed something unusual and studied Murong Xue’s eyes carefully.
“Luo Shangyu, is there something on my face?” Murong Xue sensed the intensity of Luo Shangyu’s gaze.
“I’m just curious about your eyes, they seem…” Luo Shangyu couldn’t find the words to describe Murong Xue’s eyes.
Her golden irises shimmered with a mesmerizing light, almost enchanting, and the shape differed subtly from those of ordinary people.
Murong Xue’s eyes were slightly narrower in width than in height, somewhat like vertical pupils.
“My eyes?”
“Yes, your eyes—they’re beautiful.” Unable to find the right words, Luo Shangyu simply responded.
“Anything else?” Murong Xue pressed.
“They kind of look like vertical pupils, does that count?”
Murong Xue didn’t reply, but nodded affirmatively, encouraging Luo Shangyu to continue guessing.
“Could it be… you’re of the Dragon Clan?”
“Bingo!” Murong Xue snapped her fingers and sat back on the sofa.
“As expected of Luo Shangyu, descendant of the Elf King—so well-informed!”
“Your Highness, why not get to know me better and then decide for yourself if I can defeat Valya?”
“Alright.” Qin Yu leaned back, preparing to listen seriously to Murong Xue’s story.
“I’m a half-dragon. My father is a prince of the Dragon Clan, and my mother is human.”
As Murong Xue spoke, Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu seemed to be transported back in time…
“That day, my father was out hunting when he met my mother. She was a member of the Hero Party, heading to the Cold Plains to slay an Old One-level monster.”
“Wait, where exactly is the Cold Plains…” Qin Yu, not great with geography, asked.
“The Cold Plains are north of the Saint Dragon Empire (the Dragon Clan’s domain), and you have to pass through the Saint Dragon Empire to get there,” Luo Shangyu explained.
“I see…”
“My mother was found by my father near the border of the Cold Plains and the Saint Dragon Empire,” Murong Xue continued.
“The Hero Party was defeated by a Calamity-class monster before they even reached the Cold Plains. The party fell apart, and when my father found my mother, she was already gravely wounded and unconscious.”
“After that, it was a pretty clichéd story. My mother fell in love at first sight with my father, who had saved her life. As it happened, my father was single, so they ended up happily together.”
“I left the Saint Dragon Empire to wander the world after turning twenty, and eventually came to the Chengji Empire.”
“I studied at Ji Xia Academy for a few years, and after graduation, received an invitation to join the Lingyan Pavilion as a member of the Special Action Group.”
“After that, it was the daily grind—clocking in and out. Eventually, as the years passed, I became the most senior member, outlasted all my colleagues, and finally became the Pavilion Master.”
“So how old are you?” Qin Yu asked, looking at the girl before her who looked as young and beautiful as herself.
“At least two thousand,” Luo Shangyu interjected.
“Hehe, it’s two thousand and twenty-five,” Murong Xue added with a wink.
“How long do members of the Dragon Clan live?” Qin Yu couldn’t wrap her head around these long-lived races—a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old-looking girl, yet over two thousand years old!
“That depends on individual strength,” Murong Xue replied, “Someone like me can probably live more than three thousand years, but my father, who isn’t that strong—only about Fifth Tier—will only live a little over a thousand years.”
“Valya’s only a bit over eleven hundred years old…” Qin Yu began, but Murong Xue cut her off.
“How do you know her age?”
“We met her last time. She was just around a hundred when she was granted the title of Grand Duke. Back then, Luo Shangyu was still a child and attended the investiture ceremony. Now Luo Shangyu’s just over a thousand years old, so Valya would be around eleven hundred.”
“I see…”
“So, with your two thousand years of experience against Valya’s one thousand, you should definitely win, right?” Qin Yu said, sharing her thoughts.
“Not necessarily,” Murong Xue shook her head.
“You’re underestimating the boost an Old One gives Valya.”
“An Old One-level monster has lived for at least ten thousand years. The boost it gives Valya is enormous—she can directly inherit its ten thousand years of accumulation.”
“…” Qin Yu had never thought that refining an Old One would give Valya such an overwhelming advantage.
“But you don’t need to worry.” Murong Xue spoke as she stood up.
Her jet-black hair cascaded down to her waist, and with a slight shake of her head, it fell smoothly behind her.
“Watch carefully!” With those words, Murong Xue stepped back, her feet slightly apart, one foot in front of the other.
A surging dragon might burst forth from her, flooding the entire room.
As the dragon might was released, Murong Xue’s appearance began to change.
Her golden irises transformed into vertical pupils—narrow slits of gold.
Behind her, golden wings unfurled, folding neatly against her back.
On her head, two dragon horns sprouted.
Her arms and neck became covered in fine, golden scales, and a golden dragon tail appeared behind her.
“Dragon Transformation!” It was the first time Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu had witnessed Dragon Transformation up close.
“Golden Dragon?” Seeing the golden scales, Luo Shangyu instantly identified Murong Xue’s dragon lineage.
“Yes.” Murong Xue lifted her chin with pride and let out a soft roar.
Dragon breath and a deep, resonant dragon’s cry poured from her mouth.
“So cool!” Qin Yu’s eyes sparkled with envy, “Can I… touch these scales?”
“Of course!”
Hearing Murong Xue’s agreement, Qin Yu reached out to touch the scales.
They were dry, cold, and incredibly smooth.
Qin Yu then went around to Murong Xue’s back, feeling her dragon tail.
The dragon tail, hard with scales but soft underneath, could be shaped by Qin Yu in any way she liked.
Standing on tiptoe, Qin Yu reached up and gently grasped Murong Xue’s dragon horns.
The horns were hard and sharp, so Qin Yu only dared to hold them gently.
“Haven’t you touched enough yet?” Murong Xue looked at Qin Yu, who had gone over every part of her dragon transformation and still didn’t seem satisfied, a bit exasperated.
“No…” Qin Yu looked at Murong Xue with innocent eyes.
Murong Xue was at a loss for words.
“And you, Luo Shangyu!” Seeing Luo Shangyu as curious about her dragon form as Qin Yu, Murong Xue grew a bit angry.
‘Qin Yu’s at least a fourteen-year-old loli, so curiosity is normal, but you’re a thousand-year-old geezer—how are you so interested, too?’
“I haven’t either…” Luo Shangyu mimicked Qin Yu’s pleading gaze, looking pitifully at Murong Xue.