Ao Xiangtian's laughter was filled with endless sorrow and heartbreak.
After a long while, he finally stopped laughing and choked out, "My wife and I have been tirelessly searching for a way to help Long'er transform into a dragon, enduring countless dangers and expending immense effort, yet we've made no progress."
His gaze fell upon the corpse of the black dragon, and he continued, "Now, Long'er can finally transform, but the price is his mother's life. Is this fortune or misfortune?"
As Ao Xiangtian spoke, two tears rolled down his cheeks.
At this moment, he could no longer conceal his emotions.
A man's tears are not shed lightly, only when his heart is broken.
All pride of the dragon race, all innate arrogance, were completely cast aside by Ao Xiangtian.
As the leader of his clan, he could not protect his own child, nor could he protect his wife in the outside world. What a tragic clan leader he was.
Zi Linling had wanted to comfort him several times, but in the end, she said nothing.
Ye Lingyuan watched Ao Xiangtian express his true feelings, his eyes flickering uncertainly.
After venting his emotions, Ao Xiangtian's mood finally stabilized.
He looked up at the sky with piercing eyes and said to Zi Linling, "Young lady, I entrust Long'er to you!"
Zi Linling was now somewhat unable to fathom Ao Xiangtian's intentions.
Previously, he had not taken Long'er with him because he feared bringing disaster upon him.
Now that such a possibility was gone, why was Ao Xiangtian still willing to let Long'er stay behind?
"Why?"
"I have important matters to attend to back in the dragon race, and it would be inconvenient to bring Long'er."
Ao Xiangtian looked at Long'er with reluctance and said.
How could he not want to keep Long'er by his side? But he was returning to settle accounts with those stubborn old men.
If it weren't for those old men insisting on killing Long'er, would their family have been forced to flee the dragon race with Long'er in desperation?
If it weren't for the black dragon suffering severe injuries while escaping, how could she have been pushed to the brink of exhaustion by those lowly beings?
Therefore, he was going back to reason with those old fossils. It was inevitable that conflicts would erupt, and he feared that Long'er would be harmed.
A father's love is like a mountain!
Seemingly plain, even indifferent, but the love at its core is profound.
This was precisely why Zi Linling couldn't fathom Ao Xiangtian's thoughts, because only the love of parents transcends ordinary logic.
"But Long'er needs you!"
Zi Linling argued.
She might be the only one who pushed her contracted beast away from herself.
"He needs time to grow!"
Ao Xiangtian said, looking at the distant sky, a phrase imbued with deep meaning.
Zi Linling was rendered speechless.
Ao Xiangtian was not wrong. This world was too cruel, and only by growing stronger could Long'er obtain everything he desired.
This was true for Long'er, and it was true for her as well.
"Let Long'er stay!"
Ye Lingyuan suddenly interjected. His tone was beyond question.
Zi Linling looked at him in confusion.
Ye Lingyuan looked at Long'er, who was frolicking joyfully, and said, "Contracted beasts can only grow rapidly when they are with their contractor, and vice versa."
Then, he transmitted his voice to Zi Linling, "Your cultivation technique has a significant impact on bloodline and divine consciousness, which can help Long'er grow quickly."
Zi Linling recalled the secondary awakening of Long'er's bloodline that day and felt that Ye Lingyuan's words made perfect sense.
Therefore, she nodded and said, "Alright then, if Long'er is willing, he can stay!"
Ye Lingyuan's lips curved into a smile. He asked Qing Yu to bring Long'er over.
Ao Xiangtian clasped Long'er into his arms, stroking the back of his head. "Long'er, Daddy needs to take Mommy back to the dragon race and bury her in the dragon tomb. Will you stay obediently with sister, okay?"
Long'er wriggled out of Ao Xiangtian's embrace, his bright eyes fixed on him. "Daddy, why aren't you taking Long'er back? Long'er can already transform into a dragon, look!"
As Long'er spoke, he willed it, and transformed into a dragon body of seventeen or eighteen meters.
Indeed, after the second baptism of the exotic fragrance, Long'er's dragon body had grown by two or three meters.
Ao Xiangtian's jaw dropped in astonishment.
According to Zi Linling's account, it had only been three days since Long'er transformed into a dragon.
Calculated this way, Long'er should be considered a young dragon. And shouldn't a young dragon's body be only about five meters long?
Yet, now, Long'er's dragon body was nearly twenty meters long, approaching that of an adult dragon!
Let alone a five-clawed golden dragon, such a situation had never appeared in the entire history of the dragon race.
What was going on? Was this a blessing in disguise for Long'er?
Not to mention Ao Xiangtian's shock, Zi Linling was also stunned.
She clearly remembered that three days ago, Long'er's body after transforming into a dragon was only five meters long. How had it grown so much in just three days?
Could this be the benefit of the dragon race's secondary bloodline awakening?
A flicker of surprise also crossed Ye Lingyuan's eyes.
Unlike Zi Linling, who was ignorant of cultivation world matters, he had read extensively since childhood and studied various ancient texts, making him knowledgeable.
It was precisely because of this that he was extremely shocked. A young dragon, who had transformed into a dragon for no more than three days, had a dragon body that reached sixteen or seventeen meters. This was unprecedented in the history of the dragon race.
Ye Lingyuan did not believe that this was due to Long'er's innate talent.
He vaguely felt that this had a great deal to do with Zi Linling.
Therefore, while he was happy for Zi Linling, he became even more curious about her.
Long'er showed off for a moment, then transformed back into human form.
Seeing the three of them gaping in astonishment, he grinned mischievously and said, "Daddy, sister, what's wrong with you all?"
Zi Linling suddenly had the urge not to speak to this little brat, who was taking advantage and acting innocent.
Ao Xiangtian's lips twitched slightly. He said incredulously, "Long'er, was that really your dragon body just now?"
Long'er nodded and said, "Yes, after the secondary bloodline awakening, I felt like I had grown a lot!"
"Secondary bloodline awakening?"
Ao Xiangtian almost bit his tongue.
As the patriarch of the five-clawed golden dragon clan, he naturally knew what this meant.
Due to a curse, the dragon race had been unable to undergo a secondary bloodline awakening for nearly a hundred thousand years.
Could Long'er be so lucky?
No! If Long'er were truly that fortunate, why hadn't this happened before?
Then there was only one possibility!
Ao Xiangtian looked at Zi Linling, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.
Being stared at by him and Ye Lingyuan made Zi Linling feel somewhat uneasy. She quickly changed the subject, "Why are you two looking at me?"
Then, she said to Long'er, "Long'er, will you return to the dragon race with your daddy, or stay by my side? You choose."
"Stay!"
"Stay!"
Before Long'er could answer, Ao Xiangtian and Ye Lingyuan's voices rang out simultaneously.