1196 An Overwhelming Presence
The following morning, Yuan looked in the mirror, and sure enough, he was still transformed. But since it didn't negatively affect him, he didn't mind it too much. In fact, his body was surging with an enormous amount of energy that felt similar to Heaven's Supremacy, which made him feel invincible.
He had a feeling that if he fought with Xi Mingze in his current state, he'd be able to defeat her with ease.
Sometime later, Yuan left his room, where Xiao Hua and his other companions were waiting for him.
"Brother Yuan?" Xiao Hua made a puzzled face when she saw Yuan's new appearance, almost as though she didn't recognize him.
"Y-Young Master?" Feng Yuxiang's eyes were as wide as saucers.
"..." Lan Yingying was utterly speechless.
"How do I look?" Yuan asked them with a smile on his face.
"Heavens! What did they do to you, Young Master?! Why do you smell like a dragon?! E-Even your aura is that of a real dragon! I know they said that they'd disguise your human scent, but this is too much…" Feng Yuxiang asked him, feeling perplexed by his new appearance.
Yuan then said, "Well, that is because I am actually transformed."
"What?! How is that even possible when you don't have dragon blood in you?!"
He proceeded to tell them about his experience yesterday at the Ancestral Sanctuary.
"Bathing in the blood of a dragon…?" Feng Yuxiang swallowed nervously.
Just like phoenix blood, dragon blood is insanely valuable. Even a single drop is worth a fortune if sold in an auction house, yet Yuan managed to bathe in a pool for dragon blood meant for the dragon clan's royal family? Nobody would believe such nonsense even if he told everyone.
"Does that mean you are no longer human but a dragon…?" Lan Yingying asked the most important question.
"No, I am still human. This transformation is temporary. However, you're free to see for yourself." Yuan lifted his hand, offering his blood to them.
"Then if you'll excuse me…" Feng Yuxiang did not hesitate to taste his blood, as it has been a long time since she last savored it.
Lan Yingying also did not refuse to taste his blood, her taste buds dancing with bliss afterward.
"You're right… I don't taste any dragon blood in your blood… How mysterious…" Feng Yuxiang mumbled with a dazed look on her face.
"Brother Yuan, can I also taste it?"
To their surprise, Xiao Hua also requested to taste his blood.
"Can you even tell the difference?" Feng Yuxiang looked at her with raised eyebrows.
Naturally, Xiao Hua did not have such an ability, as she was human. However, she did not want to feel left out when the other two always seemed to be enjoying themselves with his blood.
Seeing her silence, Feng Yuxiang shook her head and said, "No matter your reason, a human drinking another human's blood is weird. That's something only depraved humans that walk the path of evil would do."
"..."
Yuan then said, "Feng Feng is right, Xiao Hua. My blood only tastes good to Divine Beasts."
Hearing their words, Xiao Hua eventually gave up on the idea.
Sometime later, Yuan and his group arrived in the dining area, where the Xi Family was already seated.
"Good morning, Yu—" Xi Meili greeted as she turned to look at him, and when she finally saw his appearance, her jaw dropped to the floor.
"W-What the…?" Xi Murong was just as startled as Xi Meili.
Xi Mingze chuckled at their reaction, something she has been waiting all night to see.
Xi Meili eventually snapped out of her daze and stood up.
She then walked over to him, stopping in front of him.
"Yuan…? Is that you?" She asked in a low voice as she inspected his body from head to toe multiple times.
"Yes, it's me." He responded with a calm smile.
Meanwhile, inside her head, Xi Meili was trying her hardest to not freak out.
'Oh my heavens! He's so freaking handsome! What is this?! What is going on?! Why does he look like this?! What is this tingly sensation in my body?!' Xi Meili cried inwardly, feeling an incredible urge to drag Yuan to her room to do unspeakable acts.
"Are you okay?" Yuan couldn't help but ask her, whose face was flushed red.
"Ahem." Xi Shengmo loudly cleared his throat. "Sit back down. You're being rude."
Xi Meili quickly turned around and walked back to her seat, but not before saying, "Sorry for acting weird, you just look so different."
Yuan chuckled, "I was also surprised when I first saw this appearance."
Xi Mingze then said, "As you can see, this is the result of his Blood Cleansing Ceremony."
"Is that permanent?" Xi Murong asked.
"No, it should go away soon." Xi Mingze shook her head.
"Then are you still human?" Xi Meili asked after returning to her senses.
Yuan nodded, "I am still human. 100 percent."
Xi Shengmo cleared his throat again, sounding a little stiff this time, and he spoke, "Oh, right. Yuan, can I have some of your blood? I'd like to make sure that nothing has changed since yesterday."
"Sure." Yuan did not hesitate to give him a few drops of his blood.
Xi Shengmo's eyes snapped wide open when Yuan's blood touched his tongue, looking as though he'd just been electrocuted.
'W-What the hell is this?! Why does his blood taste so freaking delicious?!' Xi Shengmo turned to look at Xi Mingze with a look of disbelief.
He finally understood what his wife had been hiding from him and why she refused to share Yuan's blood to him yesterday.
Of course, he also made the same mistake as her and forgot to analyze the blood.
"What do you think? Any changes?" Yuan asked him.
"Uhh… N-No. Everything is the same." Xi Shengmo was not shameless enough to ask for more, so he decided to lie.
Xi Meili and Xi Murong found their father's action a little odd, but they couldn't pinpoint it.
Eventually, everyone sat down for breakfast.
And for the entire meal, Xi Meili could barely take her eyes off Yuan, as his presence was simply too overwhelming and deadly in a nonlethal way.
'She's totally smitten with his dragon looks...' Xi Mingze barely held her composure.
blood.
'He was already attractive enough as a human. Now that he's basically turned into a dragon, his charm will be countless times more effective on us females in the dragon race. If he visits the Azure Dragon City in that appearance, he'll probably attract even more attention than before... At least it'll be the good kind of attention...'
Unbeknownst to her, Xi Mingze would also subconsciously glance at Yuan from time to time.