The Divine Transformation, The Dragon’s Marrow

  Huang Di was beginning to grow accustomed to the sensation of teleportation, yet the new experience before him was far more intense. He found himself in a vast hall, its columns seemingly reaching the heavens and a ceiling that displayed a moving cosmos of stars and galaxies. Before him stretched a majestic staircase, with landings that held priceless treasures, rewards reserved for those who became members of the Relic of Space and Time.

  As he approached the first flight of stairs, Huang Di was enveloped by an overwhelming pressure, intense, yet manageable. With each step ascended, the pressure intensified, only to briefly relent in the intervals where the treasures rested.

  On one stone table lay a golden object shaped like an organ. Sai Hu, observing from above, revealed it to be the Dragon’s Marrow. This treasure, coveted by many but attained by few, possessed the power to elevate its bearer to divine status, allowing transcendence beyond mortal limits.

  Sai Hu explained that blood was the essence of life and the true proof of inheritance across all universes. In the mortal realm, legends spoke of celestial beings, immortals, and gods, and the sole path to join their ranks was to possess their blood. The Dragon’s Marrow offered precisely that opportunity, though the assimilation process was painful and perilous.

  As Sai Hu spoke, Huang Di, without hesitation, extended his hand to touch the organ. What he did not know was that this act would trigger a monumental event. The Dragon’s Marrow was absorbed into his body, immediately initiating a fusion with his spinal marrow. From this marrow emerged a golden drop of divine blood that began to spread throughout his body, causing excruciating and indescribable pain.

  At that moment, Sai Hu was not alone in witnessing the process. Beside her stood the four mythical beings and the Great Golden Dragon, the very same who had once wished for Huang Di’s death. Now, he saw in the young man the hope to restore his former divine form. For this, he had offered the marrow of his own son, a significant sacrifice, in exchange for the favor of the Goddess of Fortune and Misfortune.

  Blood, in many realms and cultures, is seen as the essence of life and the symbol of lineage. In the case of divine beings, blood carries not only life but also the power and heritage of their divinity. Thus, the Dragon’s Marrow, fusing with Huang Di’s blood, began transforming his essence, making him more than human.

  From that moment forth, Huang Di’s marrow would produce a drop of divine blood each month. It was estimated to take roughly five thousand months for all his mortal blood to be replaced by divine blood. The golden drop initiated a silent yet profound transformation: strengthening his veins, tissues, organs, muscles, tendons, and bones. The process of destruction and reconstruction was necessary so that his body could withstand the new divine essence taking root within.

  The great question remained: would Huang Di survive?

  His determination to reach the highest rank of power would be tested to the extreme. The Golden Dragon, having lost his son, now placed hope in the young cultivator, praying he would overcome the challenge. He embodied a chance for redemption, not only for Huang Di but for all the mythical beings watching silently.

  Above them, hidden beneath a veil of time and space, an eye observed Huang Di with tenderness and affection. It was the gaze of the Goddess of Fortune and Misfortune, silently rooting for him, adjusting the Relic’s rules to favor his survival without violating natural laws.

  Slowly, Huang Di began to acclimate to the terrible sensations coursing through his body. Over time, he realized the most brutal part of the process seemed to have passed. He knew that having survived this transformation, he was one step closer to becoming something beyond imagination, someone with the blood of a divine dragon flowing through his veins.

  The Rise of Huang Di, The Awakening of the Dragon

  The drop of divine blood spreading throughout Huang Di’s body had already permeated his bones, tissues, muscles, and several organs, yet it had not reached every part. The sensation was one of total destruction, followed by regeneration and refinement. When the drop arrived at his head, ascending his spine and reaching his brain, Huang Di, who believed he had already endured the worst, was stunned. He had no control over the drop, which flowed like a fish in a new river, altering everything around it.

  Huang Di screamed and writhed, feeling as if his head were being pierced by hundreds of needles. The drop coursed through all regions of his brain, expanding his reasoning capacity, memory, and sensory perception. Upon reaching his ears, mouth, nose, and finally his eyes, Huang Di temporarily lost his sight and was seized by a sharp, excruciating pain. His pupils regenerated, changing in shape and size, assuming a more feline form that filled the entire iris. The sclera, once white, turned golden, dramatically enhancing his vision. Now, he could see thousands of kilometers away, with extraordinarily sharp focus and zoom capabilities.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  As the drop left his eyes and resumed its path, Huang Di, still in intense pain, marveled at the enhancements in his body. The drop, seemingly about to conclude its journey, moved to his back, expanding and exiting his body, growing in volume before descending along his back and creating a tattoo of a colossal golden dragon. Huang Di felt as if he were inside a sauna at maximum temperature, as though he were being cooked alive.

  The drop then contracted and returned into his body, heading toward his heart, where it began to touch his spirit. Huang Di roared like a dragon, and the earth and sky trembled. In the sky over the Great Forest, a colossal golden dragon, one hundred kilometers long, emerged, roaring in response. People, beasts, and creatures of all kinds trembled before the magnificent sight. Even the invaders of the Relic of Space and Time froze, open-mouthed, stunned by the impact of the vision.

  The dragon expanded, leaving that world to contemplate the small planet of 150,000 kilometers in diameter. Its form was translucent, yet its energy shimmered intensely. It raised its eyes to the starry sky and roared once more, while Huang Di did the same. Beings beyond the mortal realm felt the vibration. Seers and oracles sensed a new era. Even a great black dragon, hidden in darkness, murmured with sorrow:

  “He has returned.”

  After several minutes of roaring and pulsing energy, the golden dragon began to vanish. Shrinking slowly, it dove back into the world, returning to the Relic of Space and Time, where Huang Di remained. It then entered the young man’s body, causing the entire environment to vibrate, as if space itself could not bear its presence.

  Finally, Huang Di began to regain consciousness, after what seemed like ten long hours of transformation. Now, he radiated a powerful aura, with a primitive and ancestral touch that affected everyone around him. Even the spiritual armor gifted by Bobby reacted: it ascended toward the moon, attempting to accept him as master. However, proud, it decided to wait until Huang Di grew even stronger to be worthy of wearing it.

  He observed his remodeled body, muscles now at a new level of definition and strength. The upper part of his armor had been destroyed during the transformation, leaving his torso unprotected. Yet Huang Di was unbothered: the next gift awaited him, a new set of Sky Rank armor, equivalent in power but with a different design.

  The Bearer’s Ring and the Mysterious Portal

  After a brief rest, Huang Di realized that the drop of golden blood had peacefully merged into his bloodstream, causing no further noticeable changes. He noticed that, although his energy and attack power had not increased significantly, his defense had made a remarkable leap. His body was now so fortified that it had become practically invulnerable to common strikes from Sky Rank cultivators, making the use of armor almost unnecessary. However, to avoid suspicion, he decided to keep wearing armor, merely to disguise his newfound ability.

  Just ahead, Huang Di spotted the next reward: a set of black armor with claws, ranked 6. As he ascended the staircase leading to it, he felt the pressure intensify, double that of before, but with the modifications to his body, he overcame the challenge with ease. Without hesitation, he used his dimensional ring to store the equipment.

  The final reward awaited him: a golden ring shaped like a serpent dragon devouring its own tail. Upon trying to grasp it, Huang Di noticed the ring would not move. Following Sai Hu’s advice, he slipped it directly onto his finger. The ring immediately adjusted to his size and then began absorbing energy from Huang Di’s body, draining half of his total energy, leaving him with 32,768 Qi.

  He soon discovered this value would be his new usable energy limit, as the ring would continue draining any additional energy he tried to recover. An ancient voice echoed in his mind, revealing that Huang Di was now officially a VIP member of the first stage of the Relic of Space and Time. From that moment on, he could enter and exit the relic at will, but with a cost: 50% of his energy would be permanently consumed to maintain the bond with the relic. This cost, however, would decrease as he ascended to higher stages.

  Additionally, there would be a mandatory one-day interval in the outside world before he could return to the relic, and the internal stay time was limited to seven days per entry.

  The ring also marked Huang Di’s soul with unknown runes, creating an exclusive connection that allowed only him to access the ring’s true power. To anyone else, the object would appear as just an ordinary ring with a dimensional storage function.

  Suddenly, Huang Di was teleported to the city of Casa Boom, where he heard a tremendous crash. Before his eyes, an immense pagoda, a thousand times larger than the one he had visited before, shot up into the sky. Immediately after, an unknown rune formation covered the entire firmament of the world. Both the pagoda and the formation disappeared in moments, leaving Huang Di with an enigmatic smile on his face. He understood the situation.

  Now with a new goal in mind, Huang Di decided to become wealthy quickly. He knew some steps were necessary to reach this destiny, and the relic had given him the edge he needed.

  Observing the sky, Huang Di noticed the time was approximately the same as when he had entered the relic: around four in the afternoon. Asking a passerby, he confirmed his suspicions: it was March 22, 1551, of the Empire. Only ten days had passed in the outside world, while for him, it had been months.

  The revelation made him joyful but also stunned. Even with the difference in the flow of time, the world continued its course. Time, relentless, waited for no one, no matter how differently it moved in certain places. Huang Di was the same: a man who never stopped. And so, he resumed his journey through the bustling streets of Boom House.

  End of volume 1

  Volume 1- The Awakening of the Dragon

  To be continued...