Cautiously, Jin Shu reached into his waistband and pulled out his Desert Eagle. "See? It's just my weapon…"

Mei You Ren flushed and ducked behind Wudao Jia, who looked almost disappointed. Zhu Ren and Bing Hou casually slid their blades back into place—as if they hadn't just been about to slit his throat over a supposed erection.

"So," Wudao Jia said with a smirk, a strange gleam in her eye, "why are you half-clothed?"

"That girl is a carnivore," Gold warned.

Jin Shu's eye twitched. He had just escaped one woman who wanted to jump him, only to stumble into another who looked two seconds away from pinning him to the ground. Honestly, he half-considered leaping off the waterfall—at least Tian Li wouldn't actually do anything out there. This one? He wasn't so sure. And this was their first meeting.

"I was washing the blood off my daughter and my… protégé?" He shrugged, still not sure what to call Ji Ji.

"You're a father?" she pressed.

"Well… yeah, kinda."

"Then why not join us in the hot spring, papa~?" She licked her lips.

Jin Shu cringed and instinctively stepped back—straight over the cliff's edge. He would have fallen if Bing Hou hadn't snagged his wrist and yanked him back.

"Thanks," he muttered.

She glanced at the rune etched on his chest. "Try not to die again. I doubt your fate rune has enough left to bring you back a second time."

His brow furrowed, but before he could ask what she meant, she continued:

"When is he going to make good on his promise?"

It took Jin Shu a moment, then he remembered: Long Jinshu had promised to awaken her bloodline—the dragon clan's lesser branch, not the divine azure dragons.

"Uh… about that. He went into a deep slumber and only has a year left to live. I don't think he can…"

"What about you?"

"…What about me?"

"Can't you help me?"

He blinked. He probably could—after all, it was similar to what he was doing with Ji Ji. But he wasn't exactly sure how.

"Sure. Give me a second to dig through his memories."

He shut his eyes, ignoring the whispers from the other women as they speculated about their conversation.

It didn't take long to sift through Long Jinshu's memories, though the answer wasn't what he'd hoped.

"To awaken a dragon bloodline in someone who's lost their heritage, you either need to drink the blood of your closest ancestor… or take a dragon spouse and align your bloodline with theirs." He opened his eyes. "Neither option is something I can help you with."

"Those are the only ways?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Your blood won't work?"

"No. I'm human, not dragon. And even if you mean his blood, he's long dead. Plus, your clan's bloodline is so diluted from the Azure Dragons that, honestly… a serpent would be a closer relative."

Her brows knit together, her expression darkening. Not that he blamed her. That hadn't been the kindest way to put it—but unfortunately, it was the truth. Her clan was made up of dragon-blooded beasts, not true dragons. At least, according to Long Jinshu's memories.

She spun on her heels a moment later. "We're leaving," she said, walking off without waiting for the others.

Zhu Ren followed in silence. Mei You Ren hesitated, glancing between him and Bing Hou before blushing and hurrying after her. Wudao Jia lingered a heartbeat longer, gave him one last look, winked, and blew a kiss before sauntering off with the rest.

"Uhh… what was that?"

"Some women are just that way," Gold offered.

"Not what I meant, but whatever. Doesn't matter."

He shook his head and started back toward the cliff path. But he paused when Nano spoke for the first time in a while.

"I think I can create a pseudo-dragon bloodline," Nano said thoughtfully.

"Huh?"

"If I mix your qi and blood correctly while altering your chemical makeup, I should be able to simulate a dragon bloodline—though it won't be the same as the Azure Dragon's."

"Pretending I understand that… does this mean I could become a dragon again?"

Stolen novel; please report.

"No. You'd still be human, but your blood would carry draconic properties. Essentially, you would gain attributes similar to a dragon."

"Are there downsides?"

"Well, it's purely theoretical. Side effects could range anywhere from developing scales to immediate death."

"That… that's a very large range," he said weakly. "Let's shelve that for now. Maybe forever."

"I will perfect the theory."

"Sure," he answered noncommittally.

Sliding his pistol back into the earring, he descended the cliff path. Soon he reached the lower pool—and froze. The water had warmed, returning to its hot spring state, and the five he'd left behind were already making the most of it.

If not for the setting, he might have thought he'd stumbled back onto Earth: the women lounged in bikinis, while Yin'er and Ji Ji splashed about in one-piece swimsuits.

They soaked and played in the steaming pool, laughing and enjoying themselves without him.

His eye twitched. What kind of fanservice situation is this?

"How do you even know what fanservice is?" Gold asked, genuinely curious.

"Your memories. I saw the anime in there. Fanservice is just a creator's tool to hook viewers and sometimes stretch a subplot. Basically filler." He shrugged.

Even with that thought, he couldn't help but take in the scene. The water here was crystal clear, unlike the steamed-over pool above—leaving nothing to the imagination.

Li Xue's bright yellow bikini with pastel pink flowers was the flashiest of the bunch, while Biyu's plain green top and skirt set leaned understated. Tian Li's, by contrast, was the plainest of all—a simple white tube top and skirt. Yet, on her, the effect was explosive.

Two little girls splashed each other nearby, and he briefly wondered how Tian Li had even managed a swimsuit for Ji Ji. Then he realized—since Ji Ji and Yin'er were exactly the same height—Ji Ji was probably wearing Yin'er's spare.

Shaking the distraction away, he headed toward his robes laid neatly on a rock at the pool's edge. The idea of joining them flitted across his mind, but he dismissed it. They were still in enemy territory, and he had no intention of leaving himself open—an ingrained habit thanks to Gold's tactical sense.

Biyu spotted him first.

"Welcome back," she said with a wave.

His brow twitched at her casual tone.

"I see you're all having fun without me…"

"We didn't mean to leave you out," she replied, pointing at the waterfall. "After you went up, a block of ice fell and splashed us."

She gestured toward a tree where three soaking robes hung limply from its branches.

"Luckily, Tian Li had the swimsuits she'd just designed."

"Isn't mine the cutest?" Li Xue called, swimming to the edge from deeper in.

She propped her arms beneath her chest, deliberately emphasizing her bikini top.

"It's cute," he admitted. "But I can't say the same for the one wearing it." He smirked.

Li Xue's face flushed red, jaw clenched. She slapped both hands against the water, sending a splash his way—but he wove his water affinity through it, flipping the wave back on her. The blast knocked her flailing into the deep end.

"No fair! Cheater!" she sputtered, thrashing about.

"Daddy! Come swim with us!" Yin'er shouted, wings fluttering as she flew in from near the waterfall.

"Maybe another time," he said, patting her head. "Also, since when did you like swimming? You always fight me when I bathe you…"

"I don't like getting wet," she declared proudly, as if disliking baths were some kind of accomplishment.

That only left him more confused. Wasn't swimming and getting wet the same as bathing and getting wet?

"I placed runes on her swimsuit to keep her dry," Tian Li explained, wading over from the opposite side of the pool. "Since I knew she wouldn't want to get wet."

"I see," he said.

Though that wasn't all he could see. From his vantage point above the women, the view below was… an unparalleled feast for the eyes. So much so that his nose suddenly bled.

"Are you okay?" Biyu asked, climbing up out of the hot spring.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," he muttered, wiping his nose quickly and turning away, embarrassed.

"Sorry, that was my fault," Nano said apologetically inside him. "I was experimenting with a blood transformation."

"I thought I told you not to do that?" he asked out loud.

"What?" Biyu blinked, reaching out a hand toward him.

"Ah, no, not you. I was talking to myself."

"To Gold?"

"Uh… no," he shook his head. "It's… uhh… I was talking to my blood. It's sentient…"

She gave him a very strange look. "You are… bizarre. You know that?"

"Yeah… I know."

Shaking her head, she pressed her palm against his chest, releasing a steady stream of healing energy into him.

Since the tournament, she'd grown more confident in using her physique to heal both herself and others. Nurse Xi Yue had even given her a scroll of techniques to practice alongside her physique's natural abilities. And after he returned from the library, he'd told her what he discovered in the sect founder's diary—how she needed to cultivate life energy from the wood element. Her cultivation had shifted into a new direction since then, leaning more toward the path of a healer.

Warmth spread through his body as her energy worked, knitting even hidden injuries he hadn't realized he'd accumulated. Her control had clearly sharpened since the last time she'd healed him.

"Thanks, Biyu," he said, smiling warmly at her.

She hesitated a moment before removing her hand. Then she motioned for him to lean down. He bent toward her, curious, until their eyes met at the same level. Standing on tiptoe, she pressed her lips to his—light, delicate, but full of unspoken feelings.

She pulled back quickly, her cheeks faintly flushed.

"What was that for?" he asked, still dazed, the lingering softness of her lips etched against his own.

"Tian Li got to kiss you by a pool," she said quietly, looking at anything but his face, "so… I thought I should too."

"Oh…"

He was about to say more when a sharp scream split the air, followed by the rattle of automatic gunfire. He recognized both sounds instantly—Li Xue. His head snapped toward the forest's edge, and what he saw there made his skin crawl.