5 5. Transformation

"Yu'er." Bai Gui greeted his wife.

"Husband, I want the best tutor in our region to teach Cong'er basic knowledge." Bai Ying Yu demanded in a tone that was new to Bai Cong. He never dreamed that his mother could be this demanding.

"Teach Cong'er?" Bai Gui cried out in surprised, "At his age?"

"You know how smart he is. Plus, he told me he could do it." Bai Ying Yu urged.

Bai Gui looked at Bai Cong who was still being held in his arms.

"Your son can do it father." Bai Cong looked back at his father with reassurance.

"Okay, I'll find someone for him." Bai Gui said after careful deliberation. He then looked at his two eldest sons.

"Follow me." He said and turned around.

"I will meet you later." Bai Ying Yu said as she looked at all three of her sons, but her gaze stayed on Bai Chen longer before she finally looked away. Then out of nowhere, her whole body transformed into small crystals of snow and flew away with the wind in the direction of the house.

Bai Gui led them into the estate. He walked down the main hallway until he reached a door which was being protected by two guards. When we passed them they bowed their heads at bai Gui and resumed their posts. Behind the door was another hallway but this hallway was completely dark. The only source of light were the candles hanging on the walls.

Bai Gui turned left down another hallway until he reached a black door. He bit his finger and pressed it onto a small hole where a key is supposed to go on a door.

The door shook and slowly creaked open, revealing a small room. The room was completely covered in ice from the floor to the ceiling. A huge chandelier was hanging above a long table which was also made of ice. Six chairs were placed around it and they all had the family emblem imprinted to the back of the seats.

Bai Gui set Bai Cong down on a seat and beckoned his other two sons to find a seat. After everyone settled, Bai Gui scanned his three sons.

"Chen'er." Bai Gui called.

"Yes father."

"How old are you this year?" Bai Gui asked.

"Your son just turned 13 this year father." Bai Chen answered respectfully.

"13," Bai Gui nodded his head, "Already a young man now."

"Yes father." Bai Chen acknowledged.

"It's time for your awakening." Bai Gui said slowly with a drawn out voice.

Bai Chen sat up a little straighter when he heard that.

"Have you prepared yourself?"

"Your son is ready father." Bai Chen said confidently.

"Follow me then," Bai Gui said as he got up, "You two can watch. It will help you when you're at the age of awakening." He told his two youngest sons.

Bai Cong and Bai Chang nodded their heads and followed Bai Gui and Bai Chen. Bai walked to the front of a bare icy wall. He bit his finger and pressed it against the wall. Nothing happened but a moment later, Bai Cong heard a creaking sound before a small section of the wall slowly rose up.

Bai Cong gasped in amazement because behind the wall was a cave. Like the small room, the cave was completely covered in ice. In the middle of the cave was a huge pond that was filled with sparkly, clear water.

"This is the liquid essence of this crystal cave," Bai Gui said when he saw them staring curiously at the water, "It can help you cleanse your meridians and aid you in your awakening."

Bai Cong and his brothers nodded their heads in understanding.

"Chen'er, get in." Bai Gui ordered.

"Yes father." Bai Chen stripped off the outer layer of his robes. All he was wearing now was his white bottoms. His chest was totally bare, showcasing his developed muscles. Bai Chen slowly slid into the water and his face contorted into pain.

He sat down on the shallow under of the pond and crossed his legs.

"It will be extremely painful," Bai Gui told Bai Cong and Bai Chang, "Close your eyes Chen'er and look for your inner core."

Bai Chen slowly breathed in and out to calm down and did as his father commanded. He willed his conscious into his body and looked around for his inner core. He found it after searching for a while.

The core looked like a small ice crystal with jagged edges.

"I found it father." Bai Chen said with clenched teeth.

"Good, now guide the energy you will absorb from the pond into the core to nourish it." Bai Gui guided.

Bai Chen absorbed the essence around him and, like a vortex, it assimilated into his body and straight into his core. The core brightly shimmered as it was being fed the essence from the pond.

Bai Cong watched in rapt attention as his brother continued the process and saw his brother's body begin to glow brighter and brighter.

Three hours passed and Bai Cong was still watching intensely when he saw something appearing on Bai Chen's skin.

"Father, your son sees something on elder brother's skin." Bai Chang also saw something happening to Bai Chen and pointed it out to Bai Gui.

"Yes, those are just his scales forming," Bai Gui said, "He's beginning to transform."

Bai Cong watched as more scales appeared on Bai Chen's body. They were silver in color and had a distinct translucent gleam. The water around Bai Chen started to swirl around him as he took in even more liquid essence. This phenomenal went on for another hour until Bai Chen's body was completely covered in scales. His silver hair was gone, instead, on his head were silver scales.

Then, Bai Chen's body started to shake. He got up from the pond, revealing a long, scaly tail jutting out from his bottom. Bai Chen opened his eyes, black dots peered out. HIs eyes were as shiny as black gems, but not even a second passed before Bai Chen keeled over in pain as something grew out from his back. It was small at first but started growing bigger until it was recognizable as wings. Bai Chen's arms and legs then started to form long, sharp claws that hooked at the tips.

This whole process took another excruciatingly painful hour before Bai Chen completely transformed into a silver dragon.

"That's my son," Bai Gui laughed when he saw that Bai Chen was done, "Chen'er, stay in there and absorb more essence."

Bai Chen, who was now a dragon bobbed his head up and down and sunk back into the pond.