Book 4: Chapter 35 |
Inside, the Human–Dragon War: Season Two was raging at full throttle.
Outside, others weren’t idle either.
Beneath the cherry blossom tree in the practice grounds, Noya sat cross-legged with her eyes closed.
Autumn had already turned cool, so from time to time, cherry blossom petals drifted down from the branches, landing on Noya’s head and beside her hands.
Several petals had already piled up on her small head, yet she didn’t notice at all.
Inside her consciousness, Noya was “reviewing” things with her ancestor.
“I want to talk to you about that live-action interactive game from a few days ago.”
The white dragon before her yawned lazily. She lay prone in front of Noya in an obedient posture, her dragon eyes carrying a hint of indolence.
“It’s been over half a month already. Why are you still thinking about it?”
Noya slightly lowered her brows, her small face cool and serious as she stared at her ancestor.
“…or was it you controlling my body at that instant, using my tail to snatch the bell?”
The ancestor gave a soft snort instead of answering right away.
“After struggling with this for so many days, even though you’re only asking me now, you should already have an answer you lean toward in your heart, right?”
Noya bit her lower lip lightly and nodded.
“At that moment, you briefly took control of my body. Otherwise, I’d have just been picked up by Dad like one of those claw-machine dolls.”
She remembered that scene vividly.
After all, it was one of the very few times she had truly faced that man head-on.
At the final moment of that one-on-one game, Noya had lunged to snatch the bell at Leon’s waist. She had missed—but then she cleverly used the tail behind her, slipping around Leon’s line of sight, successfully grabbing the bell and winning the game.
Yet when she had rehearsed that final lunge in her mind, she hadn’t considered using her tail at all.
That was why she had been conflicted these past few days—whether her victory over her father had been coincidence, or…
…assistance from her ancestor.
“All right,” the ancestor said. “Since you’ve already guessed it, I’ll reluctantly take the credit.”
“Yes. At that moment, I did briefly take over your body and used your tail to snatch the bell.”
“But I—”
“I know you wanted to win the game on your own,” the ancestor interrupted. “But you shouldn’t ignore the absolute gap in strength between you and your father.”
“So since we couldn’t make up for that difference in power, we could only be clever—find advantages in small details.”
“You might think the win wasn’t honorable, but—”
Her tone and gaze grew more serious.
“Kid, don’t push yourself to do things beyond your current limits.”
“I understand how you feel.”
“You’re the eldest in the family. You want to look after and protect your two younger sisters.”
“You also have outstanding parents. Their words and actions have taught you a great deal about responsibility.”
“So you’re desperate to become stronger—stronger than someone your age normally should be.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. Dragons pursuing greater strength is perfectly natural.”
“I admire—and like—the resilience and spirit you have. And I’m absolutely certain that one day, you’ll become a Dragon King even greater than I ever was.”
“But you also need to understand this: the higher your expectations of yourself, the higher your hopes.”
“And when you fail to meet those excessive expectations, they turn into disappointment of equal magnitude.”
Noya listened quietly, savoring her words.
“The higher the expectations… the greater the disappointment…”
The ancestor continued sternly.
“If that disappointment happens again and again, you’ll inevitably fall into deep self-doubt.”
“That’s the last thing I want to see.”
“Your parents care about you deeply—but they’re not like me. They can’t stay with you twenty-four hours a day.”
“I know every move you make. I understand what you want to do.”
“That’s why I’m reminding you now, kid. You can be strict with yourself—but you must also know when to relax. Otherwise, you’ll only get the opposite result.”
“After all, if a string is pulled too tight, it will eventually snap.”
Drip—
A drop of water fell from the dark-golden ceiling into the pool beneath their feet, sending out a faint ripple.
The ripple slowly spread until it reached Noya’s feet.
She lowered her head, eyes cast down, looking at her reflection on the water’s surface.
Noya rarely examined herself. As she kept moving forward, she constantly urged herself on—never stop, never look back.
But after listening to her ancestor, she felt she had come to understand something new.
Not just the simple idea of “higher expectations mean greater disappointment.”
Even deeper, more meaningful lessons—ones that, despite her age and experience, she could faintly sense.
After a long while, Noya slowly raised her head. A faint smile finally appeared on her once-serious face.
“Okay. I understand now. Thank you for telling me all this.”
“Hmph. I just don’t want my host wrecking her own body,” the ancestor said.
“After all, I’ll need your body someday to stop the ultimate terror.”
Noya blinked and tilted her head.
Hiss—
Why did that stubborn, tsundere-style answer sound so familiar?
Didn’t Mom and Dad always talk like that too?
After mulling it over, the overachiever chuckled softly.
“Is it really that hard to admit you’re worried about me?”
“I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about your body.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Believe it or not!”
Her ancestor lost face and immediately stood up.
The massive body’s sudden movement made the entire waterway tremble slightly.
“Enough talk. Time for real work.”
Noya nodded. She knew exactly what “real work” meant.
The next moment, she withdrew from her consciousness.
Cool air brushed against her face, snapping Noya fully awake.
She shook her head, flicked the cherry blossom petals off her hair, then took a black bead from her pocket.
The Black Sacred Stone.
Or rather—the Nightspirit Crystal.
In the present era, Nightspirit Crystals were rare, but because of their blank attributes—unable to aid in cultivating magic—they were mostly used as decorative ornaments.
What few people knew was that, in Noya’s ancestor’s era, this thing had been priceless.
Only ancient primordial power could awaken the dormant strength within a Nightspirit Crystal.
And the results proved that her ancestor hadn’t gone senile at all—her mind and memory were sharp. The Nightspirit Crystal truly did greatly improve Noya’s efficiency in condensing primordial power.
In just half a month, the amount of primordial power Noya had accumulated already exceeded her previous total.
Although the overachiever didn’t know how much primordial power her ancestor needed, since this crystal both improved refinement efficiency and strengthened Noya’s own body, she was more than happy to “work” for her ancestor.
While Noya focused on refining her power, behind a nearby tree, two small heads popped out—one above the other.
“See, second sis? Big sis is right there.”
“Wow~”
Xiaoguang froze.
“Wow? Wow what?”
“Big sis looks so cool when she’s training seriously~”
“……”
The pink-haired girl raised her head and gently bumped her forehead against her second sister’s chin.
“Now’s not the time for your big-sis obsession. We’re here to catch the ghost inside big sis.”
Muen reluctantly tore her gaze away from their sister and looked down at Xiaoguang.
“Xiaoguang, you’ve been trying for months, but we haven’t even seen a shadow of a ghost.”
“You don’t understand, second sis.”
“Huh?”
“Ghosts… don’t have shadows!”
“Eh?~~ Is that how it works? ╰(°▽°)╯”
Xiaoguang nodded with conviction.
“Exactly. But I have a feeling—tonight, we’re definitely going to make huge progress!”
…
Footnotes:
- zui ying ao jiaoExplanation: A tsundere-like way of speaking—acting tough or dismissive while clearly showing concern underneath.
- juan wangExplanation: Internet slang for an “overachiever” or hyper-competitive person who constantly pushes themselves to excel.
- xia ma weiExplanation: Literally “give a dismounting blow”; figuratively means to assert dominance or make a strong initial show of authority.
- kou ying xin ruanExplanation: “Hard mouth, soft heart”—someone who refuses to admit care or concern despite clearly feeling it.
- da gongExplanation: Colloquial slang meaning “to work for someone,” often used humorously or self-deprecatingly.