The scales covering Yueye’s body clacked together with a series of loud thuds. The long blue tail above her pert backside swayed slowly through the air... Her whole body was buzzing with excitement for the battle to come. Faster blood flow had turned her little face pink, and she wore an expression full of anticipation.
“Hissss.” The giant snake before her flicked out its bright red tongue, wary of its opponent. It lay there, staring at Yueye...
“You sneaky punk! Who do you think you are?!” Yueye waved her claws, a few sharp fangs peeking out from her little mouth.
“I was just worrying I wouldn’t find any prey, and then you came right to me...” Yueye was a little nervous, but the approaching battle had already set her blood racing. She was enjoying the thrill of it.
Rather than waste time talking, she chose to strike first. Yueye pushed off with her legs, and her blue figure vanished from the spot, sending a gust of air and clouds of dirt flying.
“Rustle, rustle, rustle!”
The giant snake’s tail trembled, making a wary rustling sound. The sound waves bouncing back through the air told it at once that its enemy was right above it. It darted aside. The ground shook and dust flew as Yueye’s claw curled into a fist and slammed into the empty patch of ground where the giant snake had just been coiled.
“Hiss, hiss, hiss!” The giant snake quickly moved to the side, a trace of fear in its eyes. It looked as if it had come up against a terrifying opponent.
“Not bad reflexes.” Yueye’s slit pupils focused on the giant snake’s red scales, as if it were already her prey.
“Now this is getting interesting.” A feverish glow lit Yueye’s golden-blue eyes. The dragon blood had her worked up, filling her with an excitement she could hardly describe.
Two ice blades formed in the air and shot toward the giant snake. At the same time, Yueye launched herself forward... Three blue figures closed in on the snake from three directions.
“Hiss.” To Yueye’s surprise, a red rune lit up on the giant snake’s body. From where she stood, it looked downright eerie.
“Boom!” A massive burst of flame sent Yueye flying. The two ice blades vaporized at once.
“Hiss!” Seizing the opening, the giant snake lunged straight for Yueye, who was frozen in place in midair...
“Tch!” Yueye reacted quickly. Her muscles instantly unleashed a tremendous burst of power, spinning her body 180 degrees in midair. Her tail lashed out and sent the giant snake flying, while several icicles shot after it.
After that close call, Yueye didn’t dare let her guard down again... She landed steadily and panted hard. The tail that had only recently grown in had come in handy at just the right moment.
“Hiss, hiss.” The giant snake crashed to the ground with a terrible cry, but its tough armor had kept Yueye’s attack from doing much damage.
“That hide’s thick...” Seeing her icicles stopped by its armor only made Yueye more eager to fight, though she also grew more cautious. Judging by everything it had done so far, this was an opponent she had to take seriously.
The giant snake’s scales had turned a bright, translucent red. In an instant, two enormous fireballs formed in the air and hurtled toward Yueye from the front. She barely managed to react in time. A huge explosion erupted behind her, sweeping away everything within ten meters. The blast wind nearly knocked her off her feet.
“...You’re not the only one who can do that!” Yueye shouted. A blue magic cube hovered in the air, and blue particles rippled through it. In an instant, a massive ice spear took shape and shot toward the giant snake.
“Szzzt.” There was no explosion like she’d expected. Instead, the ice at the point of impact began to grow rapidly, freezing the giant snake in place in an instant.
“It’s over!” A white sword appeared in Yueye’s hand. She leaped off the ground, then plunged down from the air and drove it straight into the giant snake’s head.
“Hiss! Hiss!” The giant snake let out several mournful cries, its body still thrashing and convulsing wildly.
“Level 5 magical beast killed: Redflame Demon Snake. Reward: 8,900 exchange points.” The system’s headache-inducing voice rang in her ears once more.
“Master, you were amazing! I was starting to wonder whether I should step in...” Baiyao darted out from the side, looking quite pleased with Yueye’s performance.
“...Do I really have to eat it?” Yueye gave Baiyao a pleading look, ignoring what Baiyao had just said. It was as if Baiyao were forcing her to do something.
“This is part of your training too, Master. As a member of the Dragon Clan, you can’t rely on human food forever. Eating too much of that stuff won’t do you any good. It doesn’t give you enough nutrition, for one thing. It’s just like how you need to train your own combat skills. You also have to learn to eat raw meat and hunt weaker animals to meet your needs!” There was a note of sternness in Baiyao’s voice. Baiyao wasn’t going to back down.
“I have to eat all of that?” Yueye looked at the giant snake, which was five meters long, and her mouth twitched.
“Yes. I’m not asking you to finish it all right now, but as your Dragon Clan bloodline awakens, your body will need more and more nourishment. You have to get used to it!” Baiyao stared at Yueye like a stern big sister.
“All right...” Yueye tentatively tore a piece of meat from the snake’s corpse and held it up to her little nose to sniff.
“It doesn’t seem too bad...” The bloody smell didn’t make Yueye feel sick. If anything, it stirred up a little appetite.
After what seemed like a long inner struggle, Yueye finally put the piece of meat in her mouth...
“Ugh!” Yueye gagged. Her eyes grew a little moist, and her face turned pale.
“That doesn’t make sense. Your body should like this stuff, especially after eating so much human food with barely any nutrients. You shouldn’t be reacting like this!” Baiyao hurried over to support Yueye, afraid something might be wrong.
“It’s okay. I just can’t get past it mentally.” Yueye assured Baiyao that there was no need to worry. She could still taste the piece of meat she’d just eaten.
It felt like the autumn sun shining down on her—a warmth that spread through her from the moment it entered her mouth.
“It’s... it’s pretty tasty.” Yueye began slowly cutting up the giant snake with her claws. The chewy texture and faint taste of blood lingered in her mouth... and she found herself craving more.
“Slow down... Don’t choke. I told you your body would come to like this!” Baiyao sighed helplessly as Yueye devoured the meat as if it were a feast fit for a king. Was this what people called “acquired taste”?
“I wonder if the snake’s fire attribute will have any effect on your Dragon Soul, Master. Maybe, if we’re lucky, you’ll awaken an affinity for fire...” Baiyao kept talking beside her, but Yueye couldn’t pay attention. She just couldn’t resist the delicious food in front of her.
“This low-level magical beast probably won’t do the trick. It can’t even reach the Dragon Soul Seal... And letting the Dragon Soul alter your body on its own would cause you tremendous pain. Better not...” Baiyao mused as she watched Yueye, a small smile unconsciously appearing at the corner of her mouth.
“Still, it seems to be doing something. This snake has a little Dragon Clan blood in it...?” Baiyao noticed a slight change in Yueye and looked pleasantly surprised.
