Chapter 23: A Dragon’s Heart Finally Settled

Previously, Xi Yu had always believed that the white dragon did not possess the legendary supernatural ability to expand and shrink at will, but when the white dragon flew toward Ding Ren, it actually shrank and wrapped around him.

Subsequently, the white dragon instinctively found a position that was most beneficial and enjoyable for him.

Ding Ren actually had no real pursuits in his life, simply drifting along.

He had nothing to fear, and he did not dread death in the slightest.

But during this recent period, his outlook had finally begun to change.

Starting from the moment he met Xi Yu, he began to experience emotions of curiosity and concern.

When he ate large mouthfuls of the beast meat, he discovered he wanted to pursue something.

But until this very moment, he finally found meaning in his life.

The small white dragon—having shrunk to human size—wrapped tightly around his body, and he reached out to embrace the dragon’s form, feeling every scale of his body.

The small white dragon’s head pressed tightly against his cheek, rubbing with force, filled with craving.

Ding Ren couldn’t find the words to describe the feeling in his heart.

To think that in one’s life, one could enjoy such an incredible experience.

The white dragon’s body was as smooth as soft jade, yet it was burning hot.

The small white dragon was not well-behaved, slithering gently against his body, which caused every part of his own body to burn hot in response, to the point where his soul felt as if it were about to fly out of his physical form.

His other hand gripped the white dragon’s claw; at first glance, he thought the white dragon only had five claws, but upon closer inspection, there were actually four golden claw-like patterns adhering to the back of the claw.

The small white dragon’s claws actually felt soft rather than sharp and pointed when squeezed, appearing indescribably cute and amusing.

However, for Ding Ren, the spiritual sensation was even more incredible.

Once the dragon lust completed its first surge, the small white dragon turned into his human form.

Then, this fellow instantly began to play dead, hugging him tightly.

The small white dragon form had already been unimaginable to him, but Xi Yu in his human form likewise made his soul tremble.

Feeling Xi Yu’s slight shivering and the touch of every inch of his skin, he felt that Xi Yu was truly indescribably cute and alluring at this moment.

At this moment, he realized he had truly fallen.

How could there be such a cute person in this world? In this moment, Ding Ren truly only wanted to use all his strength to cherish and protect him.

And because he could completely hear Xi Yu’s thoughts, he knew exactly what the boy wanted, and how to make him feel the best.

Xi Yu and the small white dragon could freely switch between the two forms at any moment, and each body possessed its own unique qualities.

This experience of double accumulation—the spiritual impact combined with the physical fluttering—was truly indescribable.

It nearly made Ding Ren feel as if his soul was about to dissipate.

At this moment, for the first time in his life, Ding Ren truly knew what he wanted.

To think that living in this world could be so happy and beautiful.

He suddenly became filled with anticipation for every single day of his future life.

An unknown amount of time passed before Ding Ren, his face pale, fell into a deep sleep while embracing Xi Yu.

Only after Ding Ren fell asleep did the Xi Yu in his arms open his eyes.

Xi Yu let out a silent sigh in his heart.

If possible, he truly wished none of this had happened, and he even wanted to pretend he knew nothing about any of it.

However, that was impossible.

Although he had indeed lost consciousness for a period of time, he had quickly recovered his clarity, and every subsequent experience was impossible to forget.

Did he like it?

Of course he did; this experience surpassed all sensations of his past and present lives.

Especially with the enhancement of the dragon lust, he had enjoyed the most beautiful and perfect experience of his two lifetimes.

This experience was far too deeply etched into his mind; he feared he would never be able to forget it.

All of the emotions were far too beautiful.

Furthermore, he had inherited another bloodline memory of the white dragon’s body.

This was the second innate supernatural ability of the white dragon he had obtained across his two lives.

The first was transforming into a human form, and now, he was able to freely alter his size while in the white dragon form.

This ability was simply too important for Xi Yu.

He finally possessed the confidence that, at least at the current stage, no one on Kun Star could do anything to him.

In his previous life, the reason his enemies grew increasingly numerous and he couldn’t hide no matter how hard he tried was not only because his human appearance was known to all, but also because his white dragon form was far too colossal; once he transformed, it was essentially impossible to conceal his whereabouts.

Xi Yu had always believed the white dragon didn’t possess this skill at all, yet to his surprise, it was finally discovered under these circumstances.

This made him want to shield his face.

To resolve the dragon lust, the small white dragon had truly pushed his potential to the limit.

Of course, this was the first piece of good news.

The second piece of news was that the influence of the dragon’s nature on him had vanished—though only temporarily.

Even so, Xi Yu felt deeply shaken.

He hadn’t expected the solution to be so simple—so simple that it nearly made him believe he was dreaming.

However, the headache that had tormented him for two lifetimes told him this was no dream; it was real.

He could now clearly perceive that the draconic instincts would not affect him in the slightest for at least three months.

Dragon lust was originally a part of the draconic instincts—and the most fundamental and powerful part at that.

Once the dragon lust was completely released, the instincts were naturally mostly depleted as well.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but steal a glance at Ding Ren.

‘A pity Ding Ren was far too weak, unable to even hold out past the sixth round, otherwise…’

However, there was likely no way to blame him; after all, the white dragon had been drawing upon Ding Ren’s life force, and the man had made things easy for him.

As the ultimate beneficiary, he seemed to have even less right to complain, but he had now successfully broken through to F-class.

Xi Yu’s face felt hot.

He had wanted to stop it, but he had been completely unable to control it.

He had no idea how to master this instinct of the white dragon, and in the end, he simply chose to put it out of his mind.

There were pros and cons.

With this deeply etched experience, he felt that if the dragon lust flared up again in the future, resolving it wouldn’t be as simple as before.

Furthermore, he now knew that the dragon lust couldn’t be resolved by just anyone; it had to be someone he genuinely loved from the bottom of his heart.

Only then could the most powerful draconic instinct rooted deep within the white dragon’s bloodline be eliminated.

When soldiers arrive, block them; when water comes, cover it with earth.

Xi Yu didn’t think too much about it; at least for the next half a month, he didn’t have to worry about the dragon lust erupting again. He was very certain of this in his heart.

Moreover, the white dragon was now capable of shrinking, so he no longer had to worry about exposing his identity. To him, the dragon lust was no longer as troublesome.

However, thinking of what had occurred, Xi Yu felt very restless.

He stopped thinking about how it had happened; how to interact with Ding Ren in the future was what concerned him most.

The intimacy had already occurred, and he no longer thought about whether he regretted it.

It was just that his plan to become friends with Ding Ren was destined to fail.

He didn’t know what they would become in the future and could only take things one step at a time.

****

Ding Ren had no choice but to open his eyes.

Xi Yu kept chanting in his heart, making it impossible for him to sleep even if he wanted to.

He was mastering the [Heart Eye] ability more and more.

Initially, he didn’t know how to turn the ability off, so he heard everything anyone said. Just now, he had been truly exhausted and wanted to block out the Heart Eye; to his surprise, he actually achieved it instinctively.

It was so simple it left him in disbelief; previously, he had tried everything to no avail.

He couldn’t explain how it worked right now, but regardless, it was a good thing.

Furthermore, he discovered there were many aspects of the Heart Eye that could be explored; for instance, he could completely block out one person, or choose to only listen to one person.

Of course, he would have to continue exploring how to do it specifically.

After blocking out the Heart Eye, he finally let out a sigh of relief, no longer forced to hear what the people around him were saying.

Especially regarding Xi Yu; he truly didn’t need to know too much of the boy’s secrets. No matter what Xi Yu wanted to do, it was enough for him to cooperate to the best of his ability. He knew Xi Yu would never harm the Middle Continent under any circumstances, and currently, the boy’s goal was to help the nation grow strong.

However, he now realized that as long as Xi Yu mentioned him, [Heart Eye] would passively allow him to hear what Xi Yu was thinking.

He wasn’t sure if he could completely turn this function off in the future, but at this stage, he couldn’t do it yet. He would have to explore the Heart Eye ability further.

And just now, he had been stabbed awake by Xi Yu’s sharp thought.

Ding Ren felt quite a blow to his pride right now.

His energy consumption had indeed been a bit high, which somewhat hurt his self-esteem.

Although Xi Yu was a divine dragon and not an ordinary being, it was still difficult for him to accept.

In any case, he had solidified his determination to cultivate desperately in the future.

However, he quickly put this matter aside.

He truly began to sense that something was wrong.

He knew Xi Yu was a cowardly dragon by nature; when a problem arose, his first reaction would be to flee.

Fortunately, Xi Yu didn’t truly plan to run away this time; otherwise, he really wouldn’t have known what to do.

Seeing Ding Ren open his eyes, Xi Yu immediately closed his own, pretending to sleep.

Since the boy wasn’t chanting in his head right now, Ding Ren didn’t know what he was thinking.

Since Xi Yu didn’t want to wake up yet, he was in no hurry to rouse him. He wanted the boy to sleep more, so he simply continued to hold Xi Yu without moving.

Xi Yu had initially only been unsure of how to face Ding Ren, but to his surprise, Ding Ren had fallen back asleep upon waking.

Suddenly, he felt it wasn’t right to wake up, nor was it right to stay asleep.

Amidst this hesitation, he actually drifted back to sleep in his dazed state.

With the draconic instincts exerting no influence on him now, he finally enjoyed an unprecedentedly beautiful sleep.

And with Ding Ren by his side, he slept with absolute peace of mind.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally woke up. The person beside him had long since awakened and was resting his chin in his hand, staring at him intently.

“Captain Ding, when did you wake up? Why didn’t you call me?” Xi Yu said instinctively.

He had thought it was time to start training, but as soon as he lifted his head, he felt a coolness on his body. In an instant, Xi Yu realized what the current situation was.

Xi Yu felt a moment of embarrassment, then pretended nothing had happened and began to put on his clothes.

Ding Ren turned around to avoid looking at him, which instantly made Xi Yu feel much more at ease.

“Xi Yu, there’s something I want to discuss with you seriously.” Ding Ren truly didn’t want to delay any longer, otherwise he would be tormented to death.

“Captain Ding,” Xi Yu interrupted him again, looking at him seriously. “Sometimes, whether you’re a human or a dragon, it’s best to be a bit muddled.”

The next moment, he looked at Ding Ren pitiably. “I’m hungry. We should head back and eat.”

Ding Ren paused, then let out a long breath. “Alright, let’s head back.”

He wasn’t sure if Xi Yu truly knew something, but he suddenly decided never to mention the [Heart Eye] again. Fortunately, he was already able to turn off a portion of the ability, so the impact wasn’t major.

Now, as long as Xi Yu didn’t complain about him in his head, he wouldn’t hear what the boy was saying, which was quite good.

“Let’s go. Head back.”

After putting on his clothes, Ding Ren instinctively reached out to wrap his arm around Xi Yu’s waist, but he suddenly stopped and grabbed Xi Yu’s hand instead, pulling him along as they sped back.

Xi Yu was startled for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

He suddenly didn’t want to live so tiredly; going with the flow like this was quite nice.

Because Xi Yu was thinking of him, Ding Ren happened to hear this thought, and his mood instantly improved along with it.

****

This time, the two of them only took a few minutes to return to Xincheng City.

Zhang Qingyuan and the others had been worried sick; Ding Ren and Xi Yu had been gone for a full day and two nights without leaving a single word, and now it was already the morning of the third day.

“Boss, where did you guys go?” Zhang Qingyuan couldn’t help but complain a bit.

If he hadn’t known Xi Yu truly wouldn’t face any accidents, he would have tried to contact the First Realm Guard. The boss was really something, running off suddenly for so long without saying a word.

“Something happened to me, and Ding Ren helped me resolve it.” Before Ding Ren could speak, Xi Yu quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Captain Zhang, for making you worry.”

“Oh, then it’s fine. The captain did the right thing.” Zhang Qingyuan’s face did a complete turnaround, a smile blooming as he asked warmly, “Boss, you guys rest first. I’ll go get you some food.”

“Alright, thank you for the trouble.” Ding Ren shook his head inwardly; his status in the team was truly declining.

However, he was currently in an exceptionally good mood. Aside from Xi Yu’s influence, the Heart Eye was finally quiet, no longer forced to hear Zhang Qingyuan’s internal complaints, and he was no longer being driven mad by the noise.

“Did anything happen yesterday?” Ding Ren asked, in a good mood.

Zhang Qingyuan was about to leave but stopped immediately, casting a puzzled glance at him. “Aside from City Seat Guan coming to find Xi Yu, nothing major occurred.”

“City Seat Guan was looking for me? For what?” Xi Yu, who was about to enter the house, asked curiously.

“He didn’t say, so it shouldn’t be anything urgent.” Zhang Qingyuan nodded to Xi Yu and then left.

“Are we still training today?” Ding Ren looked at Xi Yu.

“Do you have things to attend to today?” Xi Yu asked.

“No,” Ding Ren shook his head; he was only responsible for combat, while other matters were handled by Zhang Qingyuan.

“Then let’s continue training.”

Xi Yu didn’t plan to waste any opportunity to cultivate, even though the draconic instincts no longer had much effect on him. He had just enjoyed a great sleep and wasn’t tired at all.

As for the events of yesterday, his body hadn’t been affected in the slightest. With that thought, he stole a glance at Ding Ren.

“Alright.” Ding Ren nodded with a smile, enjoying the time spent training with Xi Yu.

Furthermore, his meditation was most effective during these times.

However, upon seeing Xi Yu’s smile, the faint smile on his face vanished instantly. He was still too gentle with Xi Yu; today’s training would be doubled.

****

The two prepared to eat before starting their training, but before they could finish their meal, Guan Zhang arrived.

“City Seat Guan, is there something wrong?” Xi Yu set down his chopsticks to welcome him in.

“I actually wanted to ask for your guidance on some things.” Guan Zhang appeared a bit sheepish. “Captain Ding, those boys of mine have admired you for years. See if you can find some time today to give them some pointers.”

“Alright.” Ding Ren felt a bit disappointed but agreed directly.

He knew Guan Zhang had business with Xi Yu, so he didn’t want to act as an obstacle. He had no intention of continuing his meal and directly let one of the guards behind Guan Zhang lead him out.

“Then we appreciate the trouble, Captain Ding,” Guan Zhang thanked him quickly.

He was also very embarrassed; previously, he had been incredibly wary of Ding Ren’s team, yet now he was asking for help. But the guidance was real, and he also wanted to use the opportunity to apologize to them sincerely.

“City Seat Guan, since you’re here, I happen to have something I’d like you to help me with.” Xi Yu saw Guan Zhang acting sheepish and not speaking of his purpose, so he spoke first.

“Please, tell me.” Guan Zhang let out a sigh of relief and said quickly; if there was anything he could do to help Xi Yu, he was absolutely obliged.

“No rush. Share a meal with me first.” Xi Yu smiled, pointing at a plate of meat on the table. “City Seat Guan, taste this meat first.”

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Guan Zhang felt embarrassed.

The aroma of the meat on the table was far too rich.

Previously, when Xi Yu had people send some over for him, he had been too wary to eat, which made him feel very awkward now. However, he still ate with thick skin; although he indeed wanted to eat meat, he wanted to know what was so miraculous about this meat and how it could be so fragrant.

Guan Zhang instantly picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth.

The next moment, his eyes bulged, and he stared at Xi Yu in disbelief.

Xi Yu gave him a small smile, then stopped speaking and focused on his food.

Guan Zhang also began to devour the food, his heart growing increasingly shocked with every bite; he had fully realized the true value of this meat.

After finishing and watching Guan Zhang sweep clean the dishes on the table, Xi Yu said to him, “City Seat Guan, I’ll speak plainly. There should still be people raising poultry in Xincheng City right now, right? I want to purchase them from you, and I’ll trade the pure meat you just ate—which has no mutation traits—for them. What do you think?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Guan Zhang agreed instinctively, but his eyes immediately bulged. “You want to trade this meat for our inedible mutated meat?”

“This… won’t you be taking a loss?” Guan Zhang was stunned.

He naturally knew how valuable the meat he had just eaten was, yet Xi Yu actually wanted to trade it for mutated meat that no one could eat; he couldn’t understand it.

“No,” Xi Yu smiled. “Even if I’m willing to do a losing business, I must possess enough capital first. Let’s set the trade ratio at 2:1—two pounds of mutated meat for one pound of pure meat. What do you think?”

“I naturally have no problem, as long as you don’t suffer a loss.” Guan Zhang couldn’t possibly refuse, and from the bottom of his heart, he didn’t want to.

This wasn’t just a matter of being able to eat meat; it could also partially resolve their food crisis. Xincheng City’s supplies were not abundant, and many people were still going hungry. Having more meat would absolutely be a huge help to Xincheng.

Furthermore, meat was high-calorie and much more effective against hunger than ordinary grain.

Guan Zhang had already cast aside his original purpose; the help Xi Yu was offering was far greater than anything he had hoped for. Currently, he couldn’t sit still and wanted to arrange this matter immediately.

“City Seat Guan, wait a moment.” Xi Yu quickly stopped the excited Guan Zhang. “I still have some things to discuss with you.”

“Go ahead.” Guan Zhang forced himself to calm down, feeling he was truly about to lose his composure. But with such major news, he indeed couldn’t help but be excited.

“Right now, no matter how much poultry Xincheng has, I’ll take it. But I can only give you the pure meat the next day. Furthermore, you must slaughter and process all the poultry first, and prepare a sufficiently secure location for us to complete the trade.”

“Ideally, deliver the meat to me in batches; otherwise, I won’t be able to process it all at once. Additionally, I don’t want beast meat—only poultry.” Xi Yu laid out the details.

“Alright, I will make sure it is handled perfectly,” Guan Zhang promised seriously.

****

Once Guan Zhang left, Xi Yu also lost his drive to train.

Since his rebirth, he had thought about how to help the Middle Continent.

Aside from the key information he possessed, he felt his greatest advantage lay in being able to provide large quantities of food for the nation.

Given the Middle Continent’s current situation, they were very short of food; although the volume he could provide was small compared to the entire nation, having a batch of food would be helpful. At the same time, this would give some people a chance to train and grow strong.

As for the beasts and ghosts, they could never be fully eliminated; only by raising the overall strength of the nation could they secure a sliver of hope.

Originally, he had planned to start this after meeting the First Realm Guard. But since Guan Zhang had approached him, he decided to begin early. There was no telling when the First Realm Guard would arrive, and being able to help the nation a day early was always better.

The reason he didn’t want beast or ghost meat was mainly because the conversion ratio wasn’t cost-effective.

Poultry and livestock were most suitable, as the citizens could raise them themselves, which was safe and provided them with another avenue to obtain food.

And for Xi Yu, poultry meat in large quantities was actually more suitable for the dragon aura to convert into Dragon Source. Thus, he wasn’t purely giving; cooperating with the Middle Continent like this was a win-win scenario.

Guan Zhang’s actions were very swift; he began preparations immediately after leaving.

Xi Yu went out to find Zhang Qingyuan and the others to ask for their help.

Zhang Qingyuan’s team was incredibly enthusiastic and active about this matter. This was a massive benefit to the Middle Continent, and even without Xi Yu asking, they would have proactively assisted.

In truth, the most critical issue was where to arrange the drop-off location.

If they didn’t have to worry about the origin of the meat being difficult to explain, Xi Yu could have simply gathered the meat into his space in any warehouse or directly from the trucks, and brought it back the same way.

Currently, it was best to find a secluded spot to serve as a cover.

“Why don’t we put it at the core of the Ghost Domain? The space there is large and relatively secluded. We can have Zhang Qingyuan and the others drive the trucks directly there, and no one else will know,” Ding Ren suggested upon returning and learning they were discussing this.

“That’s a good idea, but that stretch of road isn’t very easy to travel,” Xi Yu recalled the road conditions.

“Not a major issue; I’ll clear it once in a bit,” Ding Ren thought it over and felt it was manageable.

“Let’s forget it; we probably won’t be staying in Xincheng City for long,” Xi Yu shook his head. “There’s no need for such trouble. I think we can just find a secluded corner outside the city, and if you keep an eye on it, Captain Ding, there should be no problem.”

There were too many eyes in the city; at this stage, it was best not to expose Xi Yu’s secrets, so they should maintain secrecy as much as possible.

“That works too,” Ding Ren nodded. “In that case, let’s get moving. Zhang Qingyuan, the six of you coordinate with Guan Zhang’s men to load the trucks for transport. Once a location is found, I’ll notify you.”

“Yes!” Zhang Qingyuan and the others were currently full of drive.

“Shall we go together?” Ding Ren looked at Xi Yu.

“Alright,” Xi Yu nodded.

****

When Xi Yu and the others left the city, Xincheng also began to mobilize.

Xincheng had a population of over a million, but in reality, very few raised poultry. Everyone lacked enough food for themselves, so keeping chickens and ducks was out of the question.

Those who did raise them usually kept them free-range on the outskirts of the city; although mutated chicken and duck meat tasted terrible, it could still ward off starvation in times of desperation—always better than starving to death. But this also meant the quantity of poultry wouldn’t be very large.

Guan Zhang didn’t “drain the pond to catch the fish” either; he was hoping for a long-term cooperation with Xi Yu, so he had to leave a portion of breeding stock.

Even so, collecting the various poultry caused quite a commotion.

However, most people were overjoyed; mutated chickens and ducks that no one wanted had suddenly become hot commodities, making the entire city feel significantly livelier.

Especially once they heard they would soon have pure meat to eat, everyone went wild. Just yesterday, they were facing a relocation crisis due to the Star-Dream Jellyfish, yet today they were going to have meat. The once lifeless Xincheng City suddenly seemed to gain vitality.

Guan Zhang had already planned how to distribute the meat.

Although tens of thousands of chickens and ducks seemed like a lot, and their military guard could easily consume them all, it actually wouldn’t last many meals.

Furthermore, inequality bred discontent, and this matter was bound to be impossible to hide, so he might as well distribute it all to the citizens. Let everyone celebrate together; it would serve to boost the morale of the entire city.

He would buy all the poultry first, then prepare to sell them to everyone at a low price.

If they weren’t also short of food, he would have preferred to just give it away.

Although eating their fill of meat was impossible, letting everyone have a taste of meat would at least give them something to look forward to in life.

Ding Ren’s search for a location was very smooth.

There was basically no one outside the city now, so almost anywhere would do. They quickly found a remote, secluded small forest that could be reached in ten minutes of driving. Unloading wouldn’t even be necessary, making it very convenient.

“Let’s head back,” Xi Yu said, wanting to return quickly.

“Why can’t you stay idle?” Ding Ren truly couldn’t help himself, reaching out to ruffle his hair. Counting the night he spent with him yesterday, he had rarely seen Xi Yu rest.

He now hoped Xi Yu would take better care of himself.

“I’m not tired,” Xi Yu brushed his hand away.

Then, as if remembering something, he couldn’t help but look Ding Ren up and down, a smile once again playing on his lips.

Ding Ren’s face turned black; even if he wasn’t forced to hear what Xi Yu was thinking at this moment, he could read it clearly from his face.

“Fine, let’s head back.”

Ding Ren quickly grabbed Xi Yu’s hand and led him back to Xincheng City without pause, preventing him from letting his mind wander. Being caught in his grip, Xi Yu instantly became well-behaved.

They had only been gone for a little over an hour, yet upon returning, they found the city gates of Xincheng exceptionally lively. Several trucks were parked at the gate, with many people gathered around; it looked like the first convoy was about to set out soon.

Xi Yu hadn’t expected Guan Zhang to move so quickly; had he known, he wouldn’t have bothered coming back, simply waiting for the convoy to arrive.

But upon reaching the gate, both of them were startled. Standing there, watching everyone work with excitement, was someone they hadn’t expected.

“The First Realm Guard?”

Xi Yu was taken aback; he had thought the First Realm Guard would need another two days to arrive. Seeing him now, Xi Yu suddenly felt a sense of relief.

The massive pile of secrets he carried—including the anti-gravity technology—could finally be completely handed over.