Murong Xue watched as Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu carefully examined the parts of her body transformed by Dragon Transformation, and was just thinking about how to get them to stop when Qin Yu suddenly said: “Murong Xue, can you turn into a dragon and let me ride you?”
Murong Xue’s face instantly darkened, “Don’t you know how to respect your elders and care for the young?”
“Hehe…” Qin Yu laughed awkwardly, and along with Luo Shangyu, put down what they were doing and sat back down on the sofa.
“My Dragon Clan bloodline isn’t that pure. I can only undergo Dragon Transformation for a short time, and can’t unleash the true dragon form, so I can’t let you ride me.” Murong Xue shook her head, returning to human form as she sat back down on the sofa.
“Although my bloodline’s purity isn’t high, it’s extremely rare. It’s the bloodline passed down by the Dragon Clan’s God King from back then,” Murong Xue said proudly, “If I go all out, holding my ground against Valya wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Of course, if you let me set up a Secret Magic Array in advance, I might even be able to defeat her.”
“So, you mean you can defend against Valya’s attack?” Qin Yu’s eyes lit up.
That meant they no longer had to worry about Valya launching a decapitation strike inside the Chengji Empire.
“Yes, if it’s defense, I can guarantee Valya can’t break into my Chengji Empire. But I’d have to rely on a Secret Magic Array to beat her, so I can’t go on the offensive.” Murong Xue said, “Of course, even defending isn’t that simple. You have to make preparations ahead of time.”
“After all, with our current defensive capabilities, even a random Magus—no, even just anyone sneaking in, and we wouldn’t notice.”
“Then what if you break through and become a Tenth-Rank True God? Could you go on the attack?” Qin Yu asked.
“It’s not that simple.” Murong Xue let out a helpless sigh, “You should know, the way everyone evaluates Magus power is from Rank One to Ten. Rank One is Magus, Rank Two and Three are Archmage, Rank Four to Six is Archmagister, Seven and Eight is Quasi-God, Nine is Pseudo-God, and Ten is True God.”
“Each time you break through a rank, your elemental affinity, magical perception, mana capacity, and recovery speed all improve. And with the accumulation leading to a qualitative change, as your rank increases, you gain different titles.”
“A Magus can use at most C-Rank battle techniques. An Archmage can use up to B-Rank, Archmagister up to A-Rank, Quasi-God up to S-Rank, Pseudo-God up to Pseudo-Divine Technique battle arts, and Quasi-God up to Divine Skill battle arts.”
“Of course, that’s not absolute. A Magus could use higher-level battle arts magic if they’re exceptionally gifted. Hey, by the way, Luo Shangyu, I heard you can use Pseudo-Divine Technique level magic?”
“Hehe…” Luo Shangyu smiled bashfully, lowered her head, and scratched at her hair, “Just lucky, I guess.”
“Continuing from earlier,” Murong Xue said, “To use higher-level battle arts early, you have to have exceptionally high magical talent and comprehension. Of course, using across ranks has its issues too—like not being able to sustain it long, poor effects, hard to use easily, and so on.”
“Based on my guess, Valya’s power is Seventh Rank now, so she can use Pseudo-Divine Technique battle arts. When she breaks through to Eighth Rank, she might be able to use Divine Skills. And once she’s a Tenth-Rank True God, her power will be immeasurable. After all, there’s a big difference between just reaching the threshold of the Tenth Rank and reaching the peak of it.”
“I’m only at the peak of the Ninth Rank right now, still some distance from even entering the Tenth. Even if I break through, I’d never beat Valya, who’s evolved into an Old One by devouring others.”
“Is there really such a big gap even between those at the Tenth Rank?” It was the first time Qin Yu heard there could be such a gulf even among True God-level experts.
“Of course! Even in the same rank, there’s a huge difference in power between entry-level Tenth Rank and the peak. In the God King era, a Tenth-Rank True God was the pinnacle for ordinary beings. One more step, and you’d be a god.” Murong Xue lifted her chin, her eyes filled with longing for the God King era.
“Once you reach Tenth-Rank True God, you’re basically considered a god, and there’s a whole new system for evaluation. And every level after that is a massive leap, even the difference within a single rank can be vast.”
“But, you know, I still have another way. Do you know about the Divine Realm?” Murong Xue suddenly asked.
“I…I don’t.” Qin Yu shook her head and looked at Luo Shangyu, hoping she’d know what the Divine Realm was.
“I don’t know either.” Luo Shangyu shook her head as well.
“The Divine Realm is the dwelling place of the gods. Only when you reach Tenth Rank and enter the Divine Realm are you considered a true god.”
“As for Old One-level monsters, they’re equivalent to our Tenth Rank in power, but because they can’t enter the Divine Realm, they’re forced to remain in the mortal world. So, every Old One has at least more power than a Tenth-Rank True God. Dealing with Valya would be a cinch.”
At this, Murong Xue gave a devilish grin, showing her sharp little canine teeth, “If you want to beat Valya, you just have to raise an Old One.”
Qin Yu: (“▔□▔)
Luo Shangyu: (“▔□▔)
Are Old Ones something you can just raise if you want?
Just then, the room’s door opened, and a girl in pajamas walked out.
The girl was draped in a long robe, with nothing visible underneath.
Her face was flushed, and her eyes were filled with exhaustion.
“Murong Xue, I’ve already tidied up the bed. Who are you chatting with?”
“The Crown Princess has graced us with her presence, go make some tea quickly!”
Murong Xue’s command snapped the girl back to her senses, “Ah…ah? Crown Princess, I was being rude!”
She then hurriedly dashed back into the room to make tea.
“Who’s that?” Qin Yu didn’t recognize the girl from earlier.
“She’s the deputy master of Lingyan Pavilion, Murong Li, a pure-blooded Dragon Clan member.”
“You two are…relatives?” Qin Yu noticed Murong Xue and Murong Li shared the same surname.
“This is a long story, but I’ll make it short. I saved her during my travels in the Fantasy Realm. I saw her at a Black Market slave auction. I realized she was a Gold Dragon, and our bloodlines were connected somehow, so I bought her.”
“After talking, I learned she used to be a princess of the Saint Dragon Empire. After a coup, she was captured, her magic sealed, and sold as a slave. If not for my rescue, she’d have become a weapon long ago.”
“After that, I lifted her seal and had her follow me. She resolved to start anew, leaving behind the identity that brought her so much trouble, so she took my surname, ‘Murong,’ and I gave her the name ‘Li.'”
“And as expected of the Saint Dragon Empire’s royal bloodline, her talent is outstanding. She’ll definitely surpass me one day.”
“What rank is she now?” Luo Shangyu asked.
“Ninth Rank.”
“How old is she?” Qin Yu asked.
“She’s still fairly young, only about sixteen hundred years old.” Murong Xue replied with a smile.
“Sixteen hundred years old…young…?” Luo Shangyu and Qin Yu’s lips twitched.
They were speechless.
Qin Yu was only fourteen, Luo Shangyu just a bit over a thousand, yet Murong Li at over sixteen hundred was considered young?
Qin Yu was really floored by these long-lived types.
Seeing the wonderful expressions on Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu’s faces, Murong Xue was quite pleased with the effect of her words, crossing her legs and enjoying their reactions.
‘Why does she look so smug?’ Luo Shangyu felt Murong Xue’s expression made her look like she needed a beating.
‘Was this really a two-thousand-year-old granny? She was clearly just a troublemaker!’
She couldn’t let Murong Xue get away with this!
Luo Shangyu decided to fight back and hit Murong Xue where it hurt.
“She’s your girlfriend, right?” Luo Shangyu stared straight into Murong Xue’s eyes and asked.
“Huh?” Murong Xue’s smile froze, “How did you know?”
Qin Yu was also shocked.
Luo Shangyu didn’t know either Murong Xue or Murong Li.
How did she figure that out!
“Because,” Luo Shangyu’s smile didn’t fade, only shifted to her own face, “You two really look like a married couple!”
“Eh? Really?” Murong Xue was a bit doubtful.
“Sorry, Crown Princess, Regent, I haven’t been a good host!” Murong Li happened to come out of the room carrying hot tea.
“Come, come,” Luo Shangyu waved Murong Li over to sit beside Murong Xue and said to Murong Xue, “See for yourself!”
Murong Li was a bit confused but obediently sat next to Murong Xue.
Murong Xue conjured an ice mirror out of thin air, carefully examining her own face and Murong Li’s.
Their faces were almost the same shape, their eyes nearly identical, only Murong Li’s hair was a lustrous golden color.
Their heights and figures were also very similar, with perfect coordination in both appearance and stature.
“It’s true, Murong Li is my girlfriend,” Murong Xue admitted, “I just didn’t think you’d figure it out so quickly.”
“Actually, I didn’t look at your faces,” Luo Shangyu whispered, “She just came out of your room in her pajamas—what else could she be?”
Upon hearing this, Murong Li buried her face in her hands, blushing so hard steam almost rose from her head.
Qin Yu examined Murong Li closely.
Her robe reached past her knees, exposing her slender calves.
There were a few fresh scratch marks on them that stood out sharply.
‘Murong Xue’s punishment really was intense!’ Qin Yu thought secretly.
“Let’s not joke around, Pavilion Master,” Qin Yu continued the topic that had been interrupted, “We can’t afford to raise an Old One to deal with Valya!”
“Then we can only strengthen the border defenses.” Murong Xue replied.
***
The sunset outside was gradually fading, and the room grew darker as well.
It was getting late.
When mealtime came, Qin Yu’s stomach grumbled embarrassingly.
“Since the Crown Princess and Regent have honored us with your presence, if you don’t mind, would you both stay for dinner?” Murong Xue invited Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu to join them for a meal.
“Sure!” Qin Yu and Luo Shangyu gladly accepted.
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