Chapter 44: Primeval Blood

"Indeed, it's quite normal for my form to change now that I've become a Dragon King," Demos said, lowering his head and gazing down with eyes like molten gold at Muria and the Golden Dragon Mother, Atrelis, who had taken the form of a blonde young woman.

"It's you, Atrelis, my daughter," the Golden Dragon King said with a hint of surprise. "You called me 'dad' today. How long has it been since I last heard that term?"

"Heh, old man, it's rare for me to call you 'dad', just respond nicely, why bring it up!" the Golden Dragon Mother snapped, sitting on Muria's now broad shoulders, visibly annoyed.

Old man! When the Dragon King Demos heard his daughter call him this, his expression returned to normal. This was the nickname he was used to; the term 'dad' was still somewhat foreign to him.

Muria was baffled by this interaction. Was this a normal parent-child relationship? His impression of the Golden Dragon Mother had always been largely positive: powerful, knowledgeable, albeit a bit greedy.

But now, seeing her address her father so casually twisted Muria's understanding. What surprised him even more was his grandfather's attitude, seemingly unphased by it, indicating an unusual familiarity with such interactions.

"It's quite rare, Atrelis," Demos's eyes gleamed playfully as he looked at Muria. "Is it because of my grandson? Heh, trying to maintain your elegant and ladylike image in front of your son?"

"Are you done?" the Golden Dragon Mother glared at her father. "Have you gathered the items I asked you to collect?"

"Ha ha." Demos chuckled awkwardly. "The items you asked for are too numerous and diverse; I haven't completed the collection yet."

"Hmm!" Atrelis narrowed her eyes. "How much have you collected?"

"Cough, not much," Demos coughed, seeming a bit embarrassed.

"How many?"

Demos fell silent.

"You haven't collected a single one!" the Golden Dragon Mother stared blankly at Demos. "You've gathered nothing? Then why are you here wasting my time?"

"It's not my fault, daughter. The items you want are all of legendary quality and related to bloodline purification. Anyone who gets their hands on such items would use them right away or trade them quickly. How am I supposed to collect them?" Demos tried to explain, hoping for understanding.

"You're a Dragon King now; legendary materials shouldn't be a big deal for you. Just find an ancient, weak deity, defeat them, and take their hoard. A deity's hoard can be traded for anything, can't it?"

"It's not as simple as you make it sound. Besides, I've only just become a Dragon King and am still consolidating my power. Although I don't fear any deities right now, thinking about slaying one is premature."

"Humph, every other Dragon King in Erathia has slain a god. You're really disappointing, old man."

"Pfft, those old dragons had been Dragon Kings for ages before they went god-slaying. I've only just ascended. Once I fully master my power, I'll pick a deity to challenge."

"That's your promise, and when you do, remember to share half of the spoils with me," the Golden Dragon Mother quickly added.

"Share half? Impossible," Demos responded without hesitation, but his next comment made Muria doubt if his grandfather was really a dragon. "However, you can choose three items you like and take them."

"That's not enough; I want at least thirty items."

"Thirty? Then I might as well give you all the spoils. That's impossible, five items at most."

"Fifteen items, no less."

...

Muria listened speechlessly as his mother and grandfather haggled over the spoils from a dark deity they hadn't even faced yet.

"Alright, that's settled then. When you defeat the dark deity, I'll pick seven items I like."

At last, the Golden Dragon Mother set the final terms, and Demos looked painfully resigned. Unlike Muria, who lacked "common sense," both parent and child thought it normal for a Dragon King to easily slay a minor deity as a matter of course.

"Alright, old man, let's get to the point. You were supposed to gather materials, but you came here without doing anything," the previously joyous Golden Dragon Mother immediately turned stern, looking displeased at Demos.

"You asked me to collect materials for bloodline purification," Demos noted, scrutinizing his grandson whom he was meeting for the first time. "You're doing this for my grandson's bloodline, right?"

"Correct, the ancestral golden dragon bloodline in him is weaker than mine," Atrelis raised an eyebrow. "I want to set up a legendary-grade bloodline purification array to elevate little Muria's bloodline to at least match mine. Lower-grade arrays are useless."

"Muria, that's my grandson's name, right? Good. I've just checked; the weakening of the ancestral dragon bloodline in him is quite severe," Demos concluded after a glance.

"What's going on? I also feel that the golden dragon bloodline in little Muria is too weakened," the Golden Dragon Mother frowned.

"Humph, it's because you chose a Titan as a mate. If you had chosen a dragon, even a common golden dragon, the offspring's bloodline might have weakened, but not like this."

"Choose a dragon as a mate?" Atrelis repeated disdainfully, scoffing, "Forget the golden dragons; even among the metallic dragon tribe, who is worthy of me, Atrelis Elonsas?"

"So, you chose a near-god as a mate?" Demos looked helplessly at his daughter. "There isn't a single dragon in the metallic tribe that catches your eye, but you could have looked among the legendary dragons, like the force dragons or the time dragons. They're not bad."

"They're just a bunch of trash dragons that rely on their bloodline. My mate, Ansol, dragged back a force dragon a few years ago and is keeping it as a pet."

"Er!" Demos was momentarily speechless and swiftly changed the topic. "Honestly, I'm surprised you could have offspring with a Titan. Though Muria's ancestral golden dragon bloodline has weakened, that's only half of his heritage. With his Titan blood, his future won't be much worse than yours. There's no need to purify his bloodline."

"Cut the crap. I want to purify the golden dragon bloodline in little Muria. Can you do it or not?" the Golden Dragon Mother waved dismissively, impatient.

"Of course, there's a way. It doesn't need to be as complicated as setting up a legendary array." Demos raised a claw, placing it on the platform of the Five-Color Dragon Castle, and bent down to observe Muria more closely.

Muria felt uneasy under the intense gaze of those giant dragon eyes.

"Hey, old man, turn into a human form; you're too big right now, you're scaring little Muria," the Golden Dragon Mother noted her son's discomfort.

"Ha ha, sure." A blaze of brilliant gold light flashed, and the

 towering golden dragon vanished. In front of Muria, a golden-haired, golden-eyed young man appeared.

He stood tall and majestic, appearing young in form but with eyes that carried the weight of endless ages, reminiscent of a wise old sage.

"Muria, my descendant." The Dragon King, now a handsome young man, looked at Muria. "Is this your true form now?"

Muria nodded; he rarely assumed his human form these days, mostly staying in his true form. After all, it was still humanoid, just slightly larger and with a few more appendages. Over the years, he had grown accustomed to it.

"Can you transform into a golden dragon?"

"A golden dragon... how do I do that?" Muria asked, puzzled. He could morph into a human form through polymorph magic and could transform into various animals, much like the mythical Monkey King's seventy-two transformations from his previous life.

But a dragon wasn't just any animal. In the hierarchy of transformation, dragons were among the highest forms. Druids, for instance, could only transform into a dragon at very high levels, and even then, only into a mid-tier green dragon among the five chromatic dragons. He had never heard of anyone able to morph into a metallic dragon, especially not the most powerful among them, the golden dragon.

"By tapping into the power of the golden dragon bloodline within your body, you should be able to take on the form of a golden dragon," Demos explained.

"How?" Muria looked blankly at his grandfather.

Demos paused, then spoke again after a moment, "It should come naturally. Do you know about sorcerers with bloodline powers?"

"Yes," Muria nodded. Bloodline sorcerers were individuals who fought by harnessing or inheriting the blood of powerful creatures, although this came with significant limitations, they were generally more powerful than ordinary practitioners.

"Some bloodline sorcerers, once their bloodline is sufficiently pure, can transform into the creatures that are the source of their bloodlines. According to their standards, you should have been able to take on a golden dragon's form long ago, and for as long as you wish, without any restrictions."

"Why can't I then?"

"It's because of the Titan bloodline; the Titan blood in your body is suppressing your golden dragon bloodline," the Dragon King said, frowning as he looked at Muria's predominantly Titan-like true form. He was frankly quite displeased.

"The golden dragon bloodline is being suppressed?" The Golden Dragon Mother looked at the Dragon King incredulously. "That's a joke, right? I'm not weaker than Ansol; how could my bloodline be suppressed by his?"

The Golden Dragon Mother was visibly frustrated, then stared directly at her father. "I don't care anymore, you're the Dragon King now, you must have a way to fix this, quickly solve it. I don't want little Muria's golden dragon bloodline to be suppressed."

"Of course, I have a way," the Dragon King said, frowning as he watched golden scales sporadically appear on Muria's body—a reaction caused by his presence that led to a resurgence in the bloodline, but ultimately futile.

Extending his hand, a pale gold crystal the size of his current human form appeared. Encased within the crystal was a drop of dazzling golden blood, its tangible aura filling the space before Muria.

Today is a special day, hence the bonus chapter!