Chapter 123: Hatching —— Is It a Divine Dragon?

With the last trace of combat energy infused, Rod’s body was completely empty, unable to release any more combat energy. At that moment, the eggshell finally dropped to the ground after another fragment fell off. After a clear sound, the broken eggshell split in two under everyone’s gaze.

A red creature covered in milky-white viscous substance appeared before him.
A faint smile appeared on Rod’s lips, his eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and excitement. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the creature was actually like a small snake, about twenty centimeters long and as thick as a little finger. Its entire body was red, and upon closer look, traces of scales could be seen on it, though they hadn’t fully formed yet. It was tightly closed-eyed, seemingly unaware that it had hatched and been awakened.

“A divine dragon!” Rod exclaimed in disbelief after observing for a while. There was not the slightest trace of a fire dragon on this creature—no signs of a lizard at all. On the contrary, it resembled a divine dragon extremely closely. Although it was still very small and its exact shape couldn’t be discerned, resembling a small snake, closer inspection revealed features like claws, a head, and a body that became increasingly similar. This situation really shocked Rod.

“What’s going on? Could I have taken the wrong one? What’s happening? Xuanyuan…” His first thought was that he might have taken the wrong item. He quickly recalled everything—there was no problem at all. It was definitely an egg laid by a fire dragon! Frowning, Rod placed his hopes on Xuanyuan and began to call for help.

“What’s so strange about this? Do you think dragon eggs can hatch as soon as they’re born? Let me tell you—from the memories I’ve read, dragon eggs can only hatch with the help of their parents. Even their fathers can only do so with difficulty, as they need to inject a special element, undergo daily baptism with dragon blood, and also receive magical elements from their parents every day—only then can they hatch! This is that egg; I just made a slight change to it!” As expected, Xuanyuan hadn’t left for a moment. His calm voice soon came through, seemingly completely under his control.

“This… what on earth is going on!” Rod was stunned. What exactly was going on with this seemingly complicated situation? Suddenly, an idea struck him—remembering the sudden change that had occurred when he first arrived. Yes, at that time, a layer of pale red energy had emerged from his body, enveloping the dragon egg before disappearing into it. Back then, he had faintly seen that energy take the shape of a divine dragon totem. Indeed, upon closer inspection, it resembled what this little one might look like when it grew up—his own shadow could be seen within it!

“Hehe, it seems you’ve figured it out. That’s right, it was me. That lizard? It’s not bad, but as your beast soul? It doesn’t deserve it. However, this egg is quite good. Considering it possesses dragon blood of decent purity, I’m giving this little guy a fair deal.”

Ten thousand years ago, the previous owner accidentally encountered a dying divine dragon. The dragon was in critical condition, and the owner spent immense effort using his extraordinary powers to turn the situation around. Though he ultimately failed to save the dragon, he took its soul and stored it within me. Initially, he planned to wait until he had reached a sufficient level of cultivation to restore the dragon’s true form and bring it back to life. Unfortunately, that day never came before something else happened!

Ten thousand years later, it’s finally useful. Unfortunately, its memories won’t recover in a short time—it will take some time. But don’t worry, the memories passed down through the dragon lineage will still be there! Consider it your good fortune—everything really worked out. Hehe, this egg, infused with the divine dragon’s soul, naturally changed upon hatching!

Xuanyuan dismissed Rod’s powerful fire dragon as insignificant. Indeed, for someone who had seen a true divine dragon, that fire dragon was nothing but a lizard or reptile—utterly unremarkable.

Listening to Xuanyuan speak slowly, with a hint of sadness, Rod’s mood became tense. Looking at the little one still tightly closed his eyes, he felt deeply conflicted. He never expected it to have such a profound origin!

A true dragon soul had created a divine dragon from another world. In the future, he would lead this little one to conquer the world and achieve great things. Thinking of this, he showed a gentle expression and looked down at it attentively.

“Woo… woo…” Suddenly, a faint sound came from it, followed by movement from the little fire dragon. Then, its eyes, which had been tightly closed, slowly opened.

Woo… woo… With a weak yet sharp cry, it suddenly became excited and leaped onto Rod’s shoulder while he was still in shock.

“Don’t move!” Xuan Yuan’s voice suddenly came through.
The little dragon’s action startled Rod, who almost reached out to grab it and throw it away, fearing that the little dragon, with the consciousness of the great dragon, had realized he wasn’t its kin and was about to attack. Xuan Yuan’s words made Rod hold back from acting.
“Woo woo woo…” It made a familiar sound and rubbed against Rod’s face, smearing the milky white substance all over his face before starting to lick him with its snake-like tongue.
It was warm and moist, quite comfortable, but there was a strange sensation.
“Don’t be afraid. It seems this little guy regards you as its kin. Hehe, that’s good—it saves a lot of trouble. Don’t worry; it’s just awakened now, and many aspects of its inheritance aren’t completed yet. Be patient!”
Xuan Yuan’s voice came again, calming Rod down as he allowed the little dragon to keep rubbing against his face.
Until all the milky white substance on its body disappeared, the little dragon suddenly grew longer. Then it leaped down to the ground, devouring the eggshells that had fallen earlier. It looked quite cute.
In less than a moment, all the eggshells were gone. A miraculous scene unfolded— a red light emitted from the little dragon’s body, followed by countless strange characters that flowed into its mind. These characters were in a script Rod didn’t recognize.
After all the characters were absorbed, the red light disappeared again, and everything returned to calm. After a while, when the little dragon let out another roar, Rod’s consciousness was pulled back.
Staring in shock, Rod saw that the little dragon was now about fifty centimeters long—more than twice as long as before—and its thickness had increased from the size of a little finger to slightly thicker than his thumb. Its red color became even more vivid, and tiny scales began to appear. Though it still had a fleshy appearance, its form was now recognizable—four legs appeared at the front and back, forming two pairs, with its body arched as it quickly rushed to Rod’s side, cuddled up to him affectionately, and then closed its eyes to sleep.
“What… what’s going on?” Watching the scene before him and the little dragon sleeping soundly in his arms, Rod muttered to himself with a troubled expression.

“Memory inheritance—a capability unique to powerful races. I never expected this little guy to possess the Blood Inheritance, the highest form of memory inheritance. Truly, as a dragon creature, it’s hardly inferior to a divine dragon. It seems I really made the right choice this time!”
Like Rod, Xuan Yuan was also shocked by what he saw, finding it even more perfect than he had imagined.
“Alright, the inheritance is complete. Don’t ask me how it happened. Such ancient and powerful creatures are beyond our comprehension. Now it needs time to process this, and you need to restore your combat energy. Say nothing more—hurry up. As for the matter of the beast soul, we’ll discuss it later. Let’s get started!”
Interrupting Rod’s further thoughts, Xuan Yuan quickly added.
With a sigh, Xuan Yuan spoke thus. What else could he do? He could only look at the little dragon in his arms, smiling wryly, then withdraw his mental energy and begin cultivating. Overexertion was indeed severe; he had to restore his combat energy quickly, otherwise it would harm his body.
He didn’t know how long this cultivation lasted until he felt a warm, moist sensation on his face again. Along with it came the absorption of his combat energy by the outside world, which shocked Rod greatly. His combat energy had been restored by about eight or nine tenths. He quickly opened his eyes and saw the pure eyes of the little fire dragon in front of him, whistling softly as it licked him. He could sense that the combat energy lost from his body was flowing toward this little guy—was it being absorbed by it?
“Hmm, have you finished cultivating?” Xuan Yuan’s voice came as expected.
“It’s because of this little guy. My combat energy is being devoured by it. Damn it, what’s going on? And I should be told about the beast soul now, right?” Rod grumbled inwardly, not knowing how to deal with the affectionate little dragon before him.
“Don’t worry. This is just how little dragons grow. You’re doing what their mother should do. It’s not a big deal. As for the combat energy, it will stop once it’s full. I guess it will absorb about one-third of your combat energy on the first attempt.
As for the beast soul, heh, it’s right here. Just follow my instructions from now on!”
Anticipating what Rod might say next, Xuan Yuan simply explained everything at once.
Holding his breath and listening carefully, Rod knew that the most critical moment had finally arrived, and his heart began to race.