Targaryen Who Turned Dragon

The Universe Penta Jade Pellet... what an absolute drag.

Aerion sighed. The number of rare materials required to make it was absurd but... understandable. The pill granted heavenly benefits to those below the Divine Spirit Realm. In fact, one could jump straight from the Divine Origin Realm to the Divine Tribulation Realm with just one Universe Penta Jade Pellet! But even this pill wouldn't be enough... but it was a good place to start.

Aerion only had one out of five of the materials required to make one. This was the Ancient Dragon Heart from the Ancient Horned Dragon... however, he was missing a Qilin Horn, Wood Spirit Orb, Divine Nine Star Buddha Jade and an Immortal Emperor Grass. Gathering all those materials would require a lot of time and frankly, the Divine Tribulation Realm isn't enough to even scratch the top 1000. All of the top 1000 geniuses lay in the middle stages of the Divine Spirit Realm, after all.

At this point, Aerion himself had the power of a late Divine King so he didn't have to worry about not being strong enough. The top 1000 get to spend 3000 years in the Eternal Heaven Pearl and that time is actually shortened to three years in real-time. If they could attain this reward, then their strength will greatly increase to the Divine Master Realm. Aerion couldn't make use of this opportunity because he feared that the ceremony would happen during that three-year span.

"So, where are we going first, Lord?"

"I was thinking of gathering the materials required to make a Universe Penta Jade Pellet... but now I see that doing so would be a waste of time and effort. Heh, I've decided! But it is rather dangerous..."

"Wherever you march, I will follow, even if that place is Hell!"

"..." Aerion chuckled. "Well, it's not quite Hell. It's a star realm which goes by the name Darkya Realm. Its Realm King is a sinful man who deserves severe punishment. I will strip him of his cultivation strength before taking his life. You will then be given his cultivation strength slowly, piece by piece."

"A Divine King... huh, Lord, won't that be more useful for you?"

"I doubt it. my veins are quite the handful. I probably won't even gain a single breakthrough from his cultivation strength while you can jump to the Divine King Realm... if everything goes smoothly. Besides, there are many Divine Kings in this world."

"I understand, so when are we going?"

"Today... Izanami is coming as well."

Robb nodded. "Alright, I'm ready to get this process started!"

"I like your enthusiasm but I need to take a short nap before we proceed any further."

"Eh, short nap?"

Aerion closed his eyes and entered the Seventh Floor, where the Cloaked Man sat. His trading post looked the same as ever. "I knew you'd come to see me eventually. That gold has to go somewhere, isn't that right?"

"Yes, you are correct."

"Hehehe, today I have quite a special item on sale. Item... hmm, that's not right. It's a living thing, after all."

"A living thing... do you sell living things? I don't remember you doing so before..."

"There's a new time for everything. The living thing on sale is quite special... I would never sell anything useless to you, after all. He was fated to meet a terrible end but I decided to be merciful and give him a chance. Whether he lives or not, ultimately depends on your decision. If you don't buy him, then I'll probably kill him myself."

"Who are you talking about?"

"He Lin, I'm sure you know of him."

"Who in Seven Hells is this He Lin?" Aerion asked once more.

"You really don't know... he is the last male Royal Wood Spirit!"

"Oh... so that younger brother is called He Lin. I believe that a Royal Wood Spirit would be useful to me so how much for him?"

"Every drop of gold on you, that's all."

Aerion sighed. "Isn't that a bit too much? Why don't you sweeten the deal by adding something else to the trade."

Come now, my haggling skill is peerless.

"You strike a hard bargain... but I will indulge your request! I'll add something to make the deal spicier, you won't even be able to reject."

"Go on, elaborate, what is this 'something'?"

"A pill which contains a single drop of extra spicy blood. It will completely devour one's entire body before they are reborn as something far greater. It wouldn't work for you... since you'd lose all of your legacies, including the Flame Dragon God's legacy. It would be a downgrade for you, in short. But for anyone else, it's truly life-changing."

"Far greater... very well! Take it." Aerion gave the Cloaked Man his ring and watched as a drop of blood was placed inside.

"Where's He Lin?"

"Oh, right." He clapped his hands and He Lin appeared. "There he is."

"So... so... you're the big bad Dragon?"

Aerion scratched his head as he gazed at the Cloaked Man's empty hood. "Big bad Dragon... where did that come from?"

"I had a little fun with him." The Cloaked Man laughed. "He's a great kid, though. Treat him well and you'll have much to gain."

"Whatever." Aerion moved on after taking his dungeon ring back. "You are coming with me."

"O... ok."

"Make sure to choose a suitable location for the receiver of the blood. It can be quite... destructive, heh." The Cloaked Man added.

Aerion left the Seventh Floor and returned to the dark plane of nothingness. Rotias instantly noticed the boy that was He Lin. He looked about eleven years old, twelve years at most. The features of a Wood Spirit could easily be pointed out. He Lin seemed quite relieved when he left the Seventh Floor, the Cloaked Man's presence to be exact.

"I can't have you walking around with me everywhere so you'll be staying here for some time until I find a safe place."

"Why is it so dark here?"

"I don't know."

"I don't like it here... you know, Wood Spirits like me can grow many things like spirit herbs and all types of flora at a really fast speed. It would be a huge waste to leave me here. You should make the most of my abilities, Master."

Aerion had an idea. "Hmm, could you grow flora here?"

"No... it's a really strange place."

My inner world is a strange place, huh. I wonder, does he love working with nature or is it the darkness which he wants to escape? Perhaps both play a part.

"I'll find you a good place to start growing herbs in a single day then... is that enough?"

"A day? Ok, I can wait that long."

"Then it's a deal."

Aerion opened his eyes at last. Robb was patiently waiting for him all this time. "So... are you ready now?"

"That wasn't a nap for resting purposes... hmph, here, take this." Aerion gave him the pill and stood up. "This will make you a heavenly talent, like myself." He said confidently.

The way the Cloaked Man addressed it... the blood can't be ordinary. He said that it would be a downgrade only for me so that means it has to be something truly special!

"But first, we have to leave the Ice Phoenix City and go somewhere more discreet."

"Ok." Robb nodded obediently.

So they left the Ice Phoenix City and flew a hundred thousand kilometres into the wilderness. It was an icy and mountainous landscape where quite a few troublesome beasts laid. But to Aerion, these beasts were no more than ants so this place was perfect.

"Am I really going to be like you after this?"

"All I know is that you will become something 'far greater' than your current self," Aerion replied as his eyes focused on Robb. He, himself, was curious as to what that drop of blood was capable of. His observations told him nothing and this made him even more curious as to what it was. "You can take it now."

He took a deep breath. "Alright... here goes."

Gulp.

It will completely devour one's body...

If anything goes wrong, I'll be sure to use Izanagi.

"AHHH..." Robb cried out as a ray of golden light emerged from him. It started to grow and surround his entire body, one moment at a time. This ray of light exploded multiple times, destroying the ground below.

So strong... what is this?

It took thirty whole minutes for the ray of light to calm down and condense itself into a human figure. This figure was, of course, Robb... but he seemed different. His previously brown. ordinary, eyes glowed an extraordinary golden colour. His cultivation strength had almost vanished as he was sent back down to the first stage of the Elementary Profound Realm.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel... tired." Robb lost consciousness. Aerion observed and his face was that of disbelief.

Nearon's Legacy... the Ancestral God of War...

~

"How... how is this even possible!? There can only be on Nearon and that is I. For someone to emerge with my blood... what is the meaning of this!? He must have done it... damn bastard." Nearon cursed.

"Did you say something, Naeron?" The Transcendent Being answered.

"Uh... nothing. It was nothing at all."

"I see. Why did I do this, you may ask? I felt like it was time for you to be challenged... after so many years, you've grown complacent and weak. I was thinking; perhaps it was time that you were replaced."

"..."

The Transcendent Being laughed at his speechless reaction. "To retain and solidify your position, you must slay this new inheritor in combat. It's as simple as that."

"That should be easy enough."

"Hmm, I don't believe so. Even with far superior might... killing him will be difficult, now more than ever."

"How come?"

"The Dragon protects... if you find that you like the inheritor, you can always give him the rest of the legacy. He has the core, the body, but he is missing the soul... you, Naeron. Hahahaha."

"How troublesome." Nearon sighed. "You love to play with the lives of others... but I never thought that you would go so far."

"Nothing is eternal but I, Naeron. Aerios was close to my power as well... ah, his fall was so beautiful. A fight between two great friends over nothing but a silly title... how pathetic yet... so very satisfying. You see, I was the one who fueled Rotias' ambition. Naturally, he was envious of Aerios but he never let it get to him until I did a little tinkering and showed him the way. He took the opportunity without asking another question... what a fool."

"... You... your actions resulted in... Celia's death... you killed her."

"Hmm, perhaps, I did, in a way. What can you do about it?"

"Bastard... I'll slaughter you!"

"You can try... hahahaha." The Transcendent Being vanished.