Whilst Ad his group were making haste to leave the territory of the Dark Alliance, Linley had just returo Wushan Town for the first time in almost four years.

  After finishing his training exercise in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, he first returo the Ernst Institute to inform them of his successful return before officially asking for some leave to return home.

  As it was right in the middle of a school term, the institute wasn’t in the habit of granting such requests unless it was for an emergency, but as it was their rising star whose strength had long since surpassed his peers, they decided to make an exception.

  There were three reasons for his wanting to return home. One was to tell his dad to get Wharton to stop pursuing Ace for a rematch. The sed was to speak to his father about his mother’s ‘dition’, and the church’s apparent part in it, and st but not least was to finally activate his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline.

  The thought of finally living up to his parent’s expectations filled him with so much excitement. The only reason he hadn’t do already was because he felt that this was something that should be doh his father, the man who passed down the bloodlio him in the first pce.

  As he made his way through the streets of Wushan Town, no one was able tnise him due to the length of time he’d been away from home. But even with his drastic ges over the st few years, the guards of his family manor were able tnise him almost immediately. After all, other than his actual family, they were the ones who probably saw him most.

  “Youn…

  Young master Linley?” One of the guards asked, uo believe that the strapping, handsome teen in front of him was really his young master.

  “Feli, it’s been a while,” Linley greeted amiably. “Is my father inside?”

  “Yes, young master, he is.” Guard Feli answered respectfully.

  “I’ll head iake care,” Linley said back before entering the back of the house, where he saw his father practising his swordsmanship with a rge war bde.

  Linley didn’t rush to interrupt his father’s training. Instead, he just watched patiently.

  After his trip in the wild these st few months of training in the wild, especially getting to see A a, his eyes had bee a lot more dising. He could tell just by looking at the way his father’s bde dahrough the air that his father had reached the boundary of ‘wielding heavy as though it were light’.

  An impressive feat for a man at the seventh rank, but it made him sigh helplessly as he remembered that Ace had mao not only fuse both states of wielding but also touch the boundary of impose.

  Linley had never experienced abacks when paring himself to anyone of his geion, but Ace was just a different breed. The most frustrating part about it was that it wasn’t just Ace.

  Ead every siudent in the Pavilion was a monster who, purely in terms of prehension, was ahead of Linley himself. But he wasn’t too disheartened. After awakening his bloodline, he’d make sure to catch up with and surpass ead every one of them.

  “Linley? Is that you?” Hogg asked as he turned around to see his son absentmindedly staring off into the distance. “I didn’t know you were ing back today, son. If you had let me know, I would’ve had the cooks prepare a feast for your return.”

  Hogg had never been much of aional man, so when his father took the initiative to take him into his arms, he could imagine how lonely he must’ve beehe st few years.

  He khat after he left for the Ernst Institute, both his parents had been arguing more, so when Wharton ted into the War God’s Academy, they had both degreed that Lina would go with him.

  Hearing that his parents were having marital problems was difficult for just about any child, and knowing that the church was ultimately the reason behind his mother’s tainted pure soul only served to anger him further.

  “What is it, son?” Hogg asked wheiced the abnormal ge in Linley’s demeanour. “Is everything alright?”

  Taking a deep breath, Lieeled his nerves as he met his father’s gaze. As hard as it would be, he couldn’t keep the truth about his mother’s dition from him. “Dad, you should sit down. There’s something you o know…”

  Hogg was at a plete loss for words as he listeo everything his son had to say, each revetion more shog tha, but whilst he was surprised about Linley’s assessment of Ace, a boy he would’ve all but fotten about had it not been for him hearing about his other son’s very public challenge annou, the thing he was most taken aback by was, of course, the news of his wife’s dition.

  He grit his teeth in anger and frustration.

  As an experienced warrior and also a desdant of one of the former most promi s on the ti, he obviously uood the power of the church, but as a husband, how could he not be angry that the kidnapping attempt of them, or someone who wished to get in their good graces, led to his wife’s ive spiral. Things may be teween them, but he still loved her.

  He was now at a loss. Even though Linley said there was a way to save her, he still wanted revenge, but he also knew he wasn’t capable of opposing the behemoth that was the Radiant Church.

  “Dad, don’t worry,” Linley reassured. “We may not be capable of paying the church baow, but iure, after we rebuild the Baru back to its former heights, the Church will be begging for our fiveness!”

  “Son, I need you to promise me you won’t go looking for revenge!” Hogg said sombrely when he sehe killing i his son was emitting.

  In Hogg’s eyes, though Linley wasn’t able to awaken his bloodline like his younger brother, his talent as a mage made him no less critical to the future of the . He wouldn’t be able to bear it if anything happeo either of his boys.

  “Dad, what do you think these are?” Linley asked as he withdrew a handful of deep green bdes of grass that emanated a faint blue light and a rge gourd.

  “Isn’t that blueheart grass?” Hogg asked in shock.

  His ’s records had written that those who couldn’t awaken their bloodlines naturally could use blueheart grass to teract the violent nature of the dragon blood. Using both together, a Baruch successfully stimute their bloodline.

  Though he was surprised by the blueheart grass and could faintly guess what Linley was thinking, as it was something that had crossed his mind several times over the years, he knew better than anyone how hard it was to get your hands onblood as virtually all dragons live in the dragon pit in the forest of darkness where there were even several saints.

  He was about to expin the problem to his son when suddenly he felt his slumbering bloodlihrum with excitement.

  Looking at Linley’s other hand, he realised that he had just opehe gourd revealing a thick crimson liquid that emitted a slight azure hue.

  Though he didn’t know which dragon it came from exactly, he khat it must’ve e from aremely pure-blooded dragon to elicit such a rea from his bloodline.

  “Dad, this blood came from a genuine Divine Dragon,” Linley expined with a hint of excitement. “And there should be enough for both of us to awak-”

  “No!” Hogg stated directly, interrupting his son mid-sentence. “Linley, you may not know this, but when awakening your bloodlihere are two factors that are important. First is the potency of the dragon’s blood, and the sed is the amount you’re able to drink.

  Splitting that blood between both of us would be a waste of su incredible treasure.”

  Linley looked down at the bottle unwillingly. Though he wao drink it and awaken his bloodlihe most important thing was avenging his mother. As his father was much strohan him already, the best thing for their family would be if he took it, but when he heard his father’s following statement, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

  “You o take it all yourself!” Hogg stated uantly. “Linley, even though you weren’t able to awaken your bloodline, your speed when training as a warrior isn’t much slower than your brothers, and that’s whilst bang it with ye training.

  Although my drinking it would make our more powerful in the short term, if we’re going to get revenge for what happeo your mother, we o be thinking more long-term.

  Not only do you have more potential as a warrior than your old man, the fact that you’re such a talented mage as well makes this choice even easier.

  I already see you ushering in a new era for our Baru!”

  “Dad…” Linley replied, feeling a little choked up.

  After his time in the wilderhese st few months, he had seen how easy it was for humans to get corrupted by greed, but his father was able to dee something so precious with such ease. How could it not make him feel emotional?

  “Enough of your snivelling,” Hogg scolded as he turo head bato the manor. “Follow me into the basement; you do the awakening there. I’ll stand guard for you.”

  “You’ve read the ’s records,” Hogg said as he stood opposite his son in the dimly lit basement. “Begin whenever you’re ready, and remember to drink every drop before using only this single bde of grass.

  The less blueheart grass you use, the less diluted your awakening will be. It’ll be a painful process, but it’ll be worth it in the long run.”

  “Yes, father. I uand!” Linley said solemnly as he picked up the gourd and began downing the tents.

  As soon as the blood entered his throat, he was overwhelmed by an intense burning, but he forced himself to tinue.

  The burning only got worse as the blood reached his iihe burning became almost unbearable, but whehought about his mother, he was able to tinue. But, unfortunately, the pain only got worse.

  Thankfully, he was able to finish it all, but that was just the beginning. He quickly bit down on the blueheart grass, but the alleviation of pain was minimal.

  Watg their son in so much pain would be hard on any father, but Hogg khis was best for his son’s future, so he ched his teeth and watched patiently, praying it would e to an end sooner rather than ter.

  Cowart, who had silently watched from ihe coiling drag, was suddenly caught by surprise wheiced the spiritual essence suddenly surge forth aer Linley’s body.

  Linley was in too much pain to realise that anything was amiss. Still, when the spiritual energy in the ring sehe familiar blood entering the body of its host, it acted on instinake the fusion as thh as possible.

  With the assistance of the coiling drag, Linley’s body tinuously got stronger and stronger. It was only when he broke through from the fourth to the fifth rank that the pain of the awakening finally began to fade, only to be repced by the pain of his skin being torn apart as glowing azure scales formed above his skin, tearing his clothes apart.

  Even though his son was screaming in pain, a tear of pure joy fell down Hogg’s face as he uood that the awakening was ing to an end.

  As the pain finally receded, Linley released a bestial roar that caught the attention of just about every person in their little vilge, but Hogg didn’t care o as he looked at his son’s glorious transformation.

  Those who awakeheir bloodlih external stimulus would adopt some of the characteristics of the dragon whose blood they used to awaken with, meaning their scales could be of just about colour, but only those who awakened naturally would have Azure scales, like his you son – Wharton.

  But Linley’s azure scales made his younger brothers look almost dull in parison. Not only that, but instead of the singur horn protruding from the tre of their foreheads, Linley had two milky white curved horns stig out from either side of his forehead, but the most shog ge was the differen strength.

  Normally, those who had awakened unnaturally would only experien increase of a single rank when transformed, whilst those who awakened naturally would experien increase of two ranks after mastering their transformation.

  Linley had just experienced a breakthrough during the awakeniering the fifth rank, but after transf, Cowart and Baruch could sense Linley had directly ehe eighth rank, giving him an increase of not two but three ranks!

  “This power is incredible!” Linley muttered to himself as he ched and unched his fist. ‘With this, no one will be able to stop me from achieving everything I want to!’

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  P.atreon./ACoilingDragon

  Book 5 - Chapter 4