“Wow—”
Yiyi couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp, her small body trembling slightly—not out of fear, but from a surge of longing stirred up by the breathtaking sight before her.
She turned to look at Lilia beside her, her eyes shining bright, the tip of her tail sweeping excitedly across the ground.
“Lilia! Look!”
Lilia smiled, rubbing Yiyi’s hair, her fingertips brushing over her slightly warm cheek:
“Our Yibao will be able to become like that too, even more amazing than Luoli.”
“Little Princess, it’s your turn now. Take it slow.”
Luoli’s voice echoed from the mouth of the silver-scaled dragon, carrying the deep resonance unique to dragons, yet remaining gentle.
She slowly folded her wings, the silver light once again swirling around her, and her figure gradually shrank.
At last, she turned back into her cold and aloof dragon maiden form, her white clothes spotless.
Yiyi took a deep breath and climbed up from the stone steps, her little fists clenched tight, the tips of her dragon horns glowing with a faint red light, like two small flames igniting.
She walked to the center of the plaza, turned around, and nodded vigorously toward Lilia, the tip of her tail raised high in a stance full of resolve.
“I can do it!”
She cheered herself on silently, then, following Luoli’s instructions, closed her eyes and calmed her mind to feel the dragon power within her.
Dragon power flowed like a warm stream through her limbs and bones, usually so hard to control, always scattering with the slightest exertion.
The next moment, Yiyi transformed from a little girl into a baby dragon on the ground, her dragon scales shimmering with a delicate luster under the sunlight.
She was a whole size bigger than last time when Lilia had forced her into her dragon form.
The little horns on her head were no longer tiny nubs but had curved into gentle arcs, the tips glowing with a lustrous sheen.
Her limbs were short yet sturdy, her claws hidden in soft, paw-like pads, landing so lightly as to make almost no sound; her tail was even longer than her body, the tip gently sweeping the ground and stirring up a fine dust, each scale arranged in perfect order.
When Yiyi landed, she staggered a bit, her little legs wobbling before she managed to steady herself.
She lowered her head to look at her chubby pink paws, then flicked her long tail behind her.
Her eyes instantly brightened, as if filled with the morning sun.
“Wow! Yibao is so adorable!”
Lilia’s voice was full of boundless tenderness as she hurried to Yiyi’s side.
Her fingertips gently stroked Yiyi’s chubby little paw, then softly smoothed the silver-white scales on her back.
“Our Yibao’s little dragon cub form is just too endearing—these scales, these dragon horns.”
She crouched down to meet Yiyi’s gaze, her eyes smiling with a warmth deep enough to drown in: “Let me give Yibao’s little head a good rub.”
Lilia’s palm, perfectly warm, lightly pressed on Yiyi’s little head, slowly caressing along the curve of her dragon horns.
Under her hand, the dragon scales gleamed with a delicate glow, their touch smooth and warm, carrying the unique vitality of a dragon cub.
She couldn’t help but rub Yiyi’s forehead gently with her fingertips.
Yiyi squinted in comfort, her dragon eyes curling into crescents, her little head instinctively nuzzling into Lilia’s palm, the tip of her tail softly swaying behind her, stirring a gentle breeze.
“The next thing to do is to make sure you can transform at will, so Little Princess, let’s start practicing.”
Luoli’s voice sounded at just the right moment.
Yiyi’s eyes flew open, dragon pupils flaring with determination.
She nodded vigorously, the tip of her tail whipping quickly behind her, scales throwing off tiny sparkles.
“I’ll practice right now!”
Her voice was soft and sweet, yet filled with stubborn persistence.
As soon as she finished speaking, she focused her mind, guiding the dragon power to flow back.
A faint red glow enveloped her small body.
With a light crack of her bones, the baby dragon form quickly shrank and stretched.
In an instant, she had turned back into the form of a little girl.
She landed steadily, her cheeks flushed from exertion, her breathing a bit quick, but she immediately raised her hand to touch the top of her head, then flicked at the empty space behind her, her eyes filled with excitement.
Luoli watched her smooth transformation, a hint of praise flickering in her eyes: “Little Princess, you’re much faster than I expected. As expected of His Majesty’s daughter. His Majesty said, if Your Highness can master the transformation, I should take you out for ice cream.”
“Yay!”
Yiyi cheered crisply, the red glow at the tips of her dragon horns shining even brighter with excitement.
She bounced up and down, fists clenched, her eyes brimming with anticipation for strawberry shaved ice cream.
“Lilia, Luoli, let’s go! Let’s get ice cream!”
“Alright.”
Lilia smiled, taking Yiyi’s little hand.
Luoli followed closely behind, and the three of them walked toward the dessert shop outside the palace.
Meanwhile, deep within the palace’s council hall.
Aze stood beside the rosewood long table, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the carved patterns along the edge, his gaze fixed on the trial scroll opened in Xiamier’s hands.
The scroll was densely packed with rules written in golden ink, each word exuding a sense of rigor and solemnity.
Xiamier pointed to a section of the scroll, her voice gentle yet dignified:
“The trial consists of three rounds. The first round is a group elimination, with the junior and youth groups competing separately, pairings assigned by random draw, and the winner advances; the second round is a survival challenge in the secret realm, where those who advance must survive three days in the Misty Secret Realm, collecting dragon crystals—the number of crystals determines ranking; the third round is the final showdown, taking the top two dragon crystal collectors from both groups, with each pair facing off to decide the ultimate champion.”
She paused, her fingertip moving to the end of the scroll, her tone growing more sacred: “The final champion will awaken the power of their bloodline in the clan’s sacred temple. That is the core inheritance of the Dragon Clan, capable of elevating one’s power to a new level, even awakening the ancient Dragon Might hidden within.”
Aze’s fingers abruptly stopped.
He looked up at Xiamier, black eyes blazing with intense resolve, his tone brooking no argument: “I understand. By the way, can we have Hades in the youth group… I want to beat her for once!”
Xiamier looked up, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment before suddenly letting out a knowing laugh, her tone tinged with insight:
“So you really want to defeat Yibao that much? Alright, I agree. But when you two fight, no going for the kill, alright?”
Aze’s ears instantly turned red, as if his secret had been exposed, but he still stiffened his neck and replied in a deep voice, “I will.”
“Alright, go get ready then.”
Xiamier waved her hand, a barely perceptible smile in her eyes.
“Yes.”
Aze bowed and left the council hall.
After Aze departed, Xiamier shook her head and smiled slightly:”Ah~ These two little ones, just how deep does their grudge go?”
Her fingertip tapped lightly on the desk, a sly gleam flashing in her eyes.