In the afternoon, an urgent summons was suddenly issued from the Public Security Bureau.
Su Yu changed into his Commander’s black armor and headed to the main hall to assemble on time.
This time, all the higher-ups of the Public Security Bureau were gathered. Standing in the center of the raised platform were Mansion Master Pang and the newly appointed Vice Mansion Master.
"Everyone, this is our new Vice Mansion Master, Zhao Long Ge!" Pang Xuan announced with a smile.
Su Yu’s gaze was sharp as he discreetly sized up the man.
Zhao Long Ge was dressed in a white robe, standing on the platform with his hands clasped behind his back. He had a pair of sharp, upturned phoenix eyes and handsome features.
This was the very man—a direct heir of the Zhao Family, one of the three great families—who had once presided over the Martial Examination.
Su Yu, of course, remembered him immediately.
"My fellow colleagues, I am Zhao Long Ge. I imagine many of you here have met me on several occasions."
"From now on, we will be working under the same roof. I hope I can count on everyone’s cooperation so that we may work together to resist the Black Lotus Demon Cult and preserve the peace here in Black Stone."
Zhao Long Ge’s tone sounded quite amicable, and a faint smile played on his lips. He didn’t seem to have the imposing air of a superior, nor the arrogance typical of the great families.
But Su Yu didn’t underestimate him in the slightest. ’For him to become the Vice Mansion Master, he must be a master of the Profound Bone Realm at the very least!’
’He looks to be only in his twenties, yet he’s already reached such a Realm. As expected of someone from one of the great families!’
...
「Evening. Su Mansion.」
The moment Su Yu returned to the mansion, he eagerly took out the Transformation Gourd.
He uncorked the stopper, squinted, and peered inside again. The wine within had transformed into a dark, amber-like gold, its surface shimmering with faint, thread-like wisps of an icy blue light.
The wine was as placid as a clear pond, completely devoid of the terrifying vision from yesterday of a vicious Flood Dragon churning up a storm.
’Looks like it’s fine now, after all.’
Without further hesitation, Su Yu raised the gourd and cautiously took a sip.
The wine went down his throat, but there was none of the mellow aroma he expected. The moment the liquid hit his stomach, it instantly transformed into a raging fire dragon! A searing, spicy sensation burned its way down his esophagus, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of molten lava. It caused the Qi and Blood in his body to go berserk, churning violently like boiling water!
"COUGH, COUGH..."
Even with his formidable physique, Su Yu couldn’t help but cough violently.
’Good heavens! This is so potent, it’s barely fit for human consumption. That Drunken Immortal Spring was supposed to be a mellow wine. It must have turned out this way because of the violent Evil Qi lingering in the Flood Dragon bone!’
However, before Su Yu could even circulate his energy to suppress it, the searing heat reached its zenith and then, as if embodying the principle that extremes beget their opposites, it abruptly transformed into a profoundly refreshing coolness that permeated his very being.
This icy-blue, water-aspected energy, like a spring in the dead of winter, seeped through his meridians into his limbs and bones. Tempered by the alternating heat and cold, Su Yu felt a pleasant cracking sound echo from his bones and sinews.
Just then, the Demon Ape Evil Qi that had been lying dormant within him seemed to be stimulated, and it began to stir of its own accord.
"ROAR—"
The faint roar of an ancient great ape echoed in Su Yu’s mind.
’Is this activating the White Ape bloodline inside me?’
The system had indeed granted him a diluted trace of ancient White Ape bloodline when he first achieved the Breaking Limit for his White Ape Long Arm Fist. But the bloodline was so thin it was barely better than nothing, so he usually paid it no mind.
’This Spirit Wine is clearly amplifying the effect of the Flood Dragon bone. Perhaps it’s just as that Li Yihuai said—it really can strengthen the bloodline of a Demon Beast!’
An idea sparked in Su Yu’s mind. ’This Spirit Wine isn’t that effective on me. After all, strengthening my White Ape bloodline this way is far less practical than just upgrading it directly with Breakthrough Points.’
’But it would be perfect for the Cyan-Scaled Eagle and the little crocodragon!’
At this thought, he grabbed the wine gourd and strode to the edge of the lotus pond in the rear courtyard.
He glanced at the sky. Qingyuan had probably flown off to hunt in the deep mountains and ancient forests outside the city again. The eagle wouldn’t be back anytime soon.
"SPLASH—"
Just then, a large patch of emerald lotus leaves on the water was violently shoved aside. A head with a small bulge on top was the first to break the surface. Then, with a great splash of water, the little crocodragon dragged its stout, dripping body onto the bluestone slab at the pond’s edge.
Su Yu looked at the little creature, which had grown a full size larger, and chuckled as he tapped its iron-black head.
"You’re growing fast, little one. This small pond can barely hold you anymore. Soon, I’ll have to toss you into the Black Water River outside the city and let you roam free."
Su Yu had been thinking about this for a while. His Lingxi Beast Taming Technique had only undergone a Breaking Limit once, allowing for just one contracted Spirit Beast.
If he could achieve another Breaking Limit, he might gain a new contract slot. Given his current level of affinity with the little crocodragon, it would surely meet the requirements for a contract.
If the little one could evolve again by then, it would be more than capable of making a name for itself in the Black Water River!
"Come on, little one. Drink up this good stuff and grow up big and strong! Then I’ll let you go to the Black Water River, and you can bring your dad—me—some Treasures of Heaven and Earth!"
The moment Su Yu uncorked the wine gourd, a fragrant aroma wafted out.
The little crocodragon, which had been lazing about, suddenly perked up. Its vertical pupils flashed, and an urgent "GULP!" sound came from its throat.
"SWOOSH!"
The little creature performed a sort of doggy-paddle version of a "Flying Dragon soaring to the heavens." It shot upright, raising the upper half of its body, and opened its fanged maw wide, waiting desperately beneath the wine gourd. Its two stout, short legs flailed impatiently in mid-air.
’Huh? That desperate for a taste?’
Amused, Su Yu tipped the wine gourd over.
"GLUG, GLUG, GLUG..."
A stream of the dark-gold Spirit Wine poured precisely into its massive mouth. The little crocodragon had no concept of savoring anything; its throat gulped frantically. Before he knew it, Su Yu had poured nearly half the gourd of fine wine down its gullet.
"GULP! GULP! GULP..."
Mere moments after it finished drinking, the potent medicinal power, mixed with the alcohol’s kick, went straight to its head! The little crocodragon’s cold, vertical pupils went crossed, and it exhaled a puff of white, alcoholic breath.
"SPLASH!"
It dove headfirst into the lotus pond. Its once-stout tail now thrashed the surface like a motorboat propeller, whipping up a whirlpool in the small pond!
The koi in the pond were terrified, frantically burrowing into the mud. Only the largest fish, a fat-headed koi king, was unafraid. It angrily flicked its tail and charged the little crocodragon.
"BAM!"
The little crocodragon, its eyes hazy with drunkenness, didn’t even look. It casually delivered a powerful tail whip.
With a dull THUD, the koi king, which weighed several dozen pounds, was sent flying out of the water. It spun a few times in mid-air before falling back with a SLAP, its eyes rolling as it was knocked completely senseless.
"GURGLE..."
After causing a ruckus in the pond, the little crocodragon seemed to decide the water was too warm.
It immediately performed another "Flying Dragon soaring to the heavens," its body swaying gracefully, its two front claws paddling like oars.
"BOOM!"
This time, the little creature launched itself right out of the lotus pond and landed on the ground, shattering a thick bluestone slab and creating a web of cracks.
Then, the little creature simply rolled over onto its back, all four feet in the air, exposing its soft, white belly to the sun as it lay perfectly still.
When Su Yu saw its belly, a bright glint flashed in his eyes.
On the little crocodragon’s belly, which rose and fell with each breath, a profound golden pattern had appeared! The pattern flickered in and out of sight like a living thing, stretching all the way up to its jaw. Each pulse of light was accompanied by an astonishing wave of heat.
Su Yu had been raising this little creature himself, so he was intimately familiar with its appearance.
’This golden marking was definitely not there before! Is this a bloodline manifestation triggered by the Flood Dragon wine?’
Su Yu shook the still-heavy gourd in his hand. ’What a fine wine! More than half of the Flood Dragon bone is left. I can brew at least three to five more gourds with this!’
’You’re in for a treat, little one. For the next few days, you can have as much as you want!’
...
Over the next several days, Su Yu brewed several more gourds of Spirit Wine.
During this time, Qingyuan returned. Su Yu gave the eagle half a gourd to drink, but found that aside from its cyan feathers growing even glossier, it underwent no fundamental transformation.
’Perhaps its own bloodline was too high-grade for a mere trace of Flood Dragon aura to trigger a qualitative change.’
And so, the little crocodragon got to enjoy all the remaining Spirit Wine.
「Three days later.」
The little crocodragon finally licked up the last drop of Spirit Wine. The accumulated power in its bloodline at last reached a tipping point, triggering an explosive, qualitative transformation!
"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK..."
In the rear courtyard, accompanied by a cringe-inducing series of cracks, the little crocodragon’s one-and-a-half-meter-long body began to expand and stretch under the sun, the change visible to the naked eye. It only stopped when it had grown to nearly two meters long!
Su Yu stood a short distance away, his eyes wide with amazement as he took in its brand-new form.
When the little crocodragon was born, it was no bigger than his palm, its body covered in fine scales that looked like they were forged from black iron. Now, however, the edges of those iron-black scales had taken on a noble, dark-gold hue! They gleamed in the sunlight, its defensive power clearly having multiplied.
Its limbs grew thicker and longer. As it walked casually across the bluestone, its sharp claws carved deep furrows into the stone as easily as cutting through tofu.
Its short, Bone Spike-covered tail not only grew longer, but the spikes themselves transformed into razor-sharp, backward-facing blades. A casual flick sent a sharp whistle through the air!
But the most astonishing changes were to its head and belly.
On its head, which had originally sported two small, fleshy nubs, the left nub had now split wide open! A sharp, single horn, about an inch long and colored a mixture of jet-black and dark gold, had pierced through the scales to stand proudly.
As for its belly, the single golden marking had now split into three distinct lines! The three golden lines pulsed rhythmically with its breath, as if three furnaces burned within its body, granting it a terrifying physical strength several times greater than before!
"HISS—"
The little crocodragon raised its head. On either side of its short, thick snout, the two golden whiskers that were once as thin as thread had now grown to the thickness of chopsticks and were translucently crystalline.
As it swam, the draconic whiskers floated gracefully, flashing with a subtle golden light from time to time.
The little crocodragon excitedly shook its head, scampered over to Su Yu’s feet, and gently rubbed its newly grown horn against his pant leg, cooing appeasingly.
’A single horn, golden markings, and long whiskers... incredible!’
Sensing the rampant Qi and Blood within its body, Su Yu broke into a satisfied smile. "Your potential has been completely unlocked, little one. In the future, you might just be able to dominate the Black Water River!"
...
After the little crocodragon’s evolution, Su Yu returned to his Martial Arts training with peace of mind.
Time flew by, and more than ten days passed in a flash.
On this day, as Su Yu finished his final repetition of the Mountain-Shaking Demon Ape Fist, new text appeared before his eyes.
[Mountain-Shaking Demon Ape Fist Skill Level +30]
[Martial Arts]: Mountain-Shaking Demon Ape Fist (Perfection)
"BOOM!"
An earth-shattering change instantly occurred within Su Yu’s body. His Qi and Blood erupted like a tsunami, surging with an intensity he had never before experienced!