Chapter 20: Glimpse of the Tail's Sting

Cloaked in wind, diving like a storm.

The arc carved by Ice-Crimson White Dragon was so breathtakingly perfect that it stole breaths—yet the force behind it was brutal, overwhelming, leaving even seasoned warriors stunned.

Nan Ye wasn’t good at hiding his emotions. But now, to keep himself from losing composure, he clenched his jaw tight, face flushing red one moment, pale as ash the next.

Zhu Minglang hadn’t expected little Bai Qi to whip its tail across the Green Dragon’s face. He let out a wry chuckle, calling the mischievous little beast back before Nan Ye lost all dignity—though truthfully, dignity had already been shredded.

It was already gone. Private spar? Fine. You know, I know. But getting humiliated right in front of the entire class? That was a different story.

Watching Nan Ye’s dazed expression, Zhu Minglang clapped him on the shoulder. “Everyone hits rock bottom sometimes. No need to lash out. Call your dragon back. Train it well—it’s got real potential.”

Sigh. Zhu Minglang was a few years older than these boys. He didn’t really want to waste time with their arrogance.

They’d never seen the real world—the kind of world that kicks you down and laughs while you’re still bleeding.

Still, he put on a calm face, pretending to be the wise elder soothing a hot-headed youth.

Inside? He wanted to do a backflip on the spot.

Bai Qi was *insane*!

He thought the little guy wouldn’t be battle-ready until growth phase—but this was *now*, in the juvenile stage!

Back to glory, my boy. The golden era is returning!

Nan Ye walked toward his Greenwood Dragon. The dullness in its eyes said it all—utter despair.

Ever since he’d claimed the dragon, he’d looked down on everyone else. While others struggled in the mud beneath the Dragon Gate, he’d been born atop it. His Greenwood Dragon would become a true Dragonling once matured—unmatched strength in its prime.

But how could his *true* dragon lose to common beasts in the mud?

“Ooooh… ooooh…” The Greenwood Dragon howled in agony.

Nan Ye raised a trembling hand, still struggling to accept what had happened, and pulled the creature back into his spirit realm.

“Ooooh!!! OOOOH!!!”

The cries grew louder. Just as Nan Ye feared his pet was suffering terribly, he realized something strange: the dragon had crawled back up on its own—and refused to return to the spirit realm for healing.

“Aaargh!!!”

With a sudden roar, the Greenwood Dragon reared its head, radiating fury.

Then, a surge of emerald light erupted from its body. On the stone platform, vines burst through cracks in the rock—wild, frenzied, coiling around the dragon like living serpents, twisting and spiraling in impossible speed.

As if synced with the vine growth, the dragon itself began to swell—bones cracking, muscles expanding. The sharp, echoing snaps of rapid growth filled the hall, as though some ancient monster were tearing its way out of a young body—stronger, fiercer, more terrifying than before.

"Evolved??" Nan Ye stared, mouth agape.

Driven by humiliation and an unrelenting hunger to win, the dragon had shattered its limits. It had skipped stages—leaping straight into Growth Phase… *right now.*

Juvenile to Growth Phase!

For ordinary creatures, such a leap would mean instant power surge. But this was a *true dragon*.

Even if full Dragonling strength came only at maturity, a dragon so close to crossing the Dragon Gate already held dominance over nearly every other being.

The classroom fell silent—every student wide-eyed, frozen in shock.

A juvenile Greenwood Dragon was already fearsome. Now standing four meters tall, it was no longer just a beast—it was a rampaging titan. The aura it exuded dwarfed its former self.

Humiliation had turned it feral. It snarled, eyes blazing, as if ready to tear every soul apart. Students scrambled backward, fleeing in panic.

Only Zhu Minglang remained.

The petite Ice-Crimson White Dragon perched calmly on his shoulder, its icy starlight eyes cold and unblinking, fixed on the transformed Greenwood Dragon.

Zhu Minglang tried to stay composed—cool, collected, unruffled.

But inside? He was sweating bullets.

Back then, he could’ve crushed this dragon ten times over. Now? He was terrified.

“Nan Ye,” he said, voice steady despite the tremor in his chest, “I told you—your Greenwood Dragon has real potential. Last round, I won. This round? I concede. We’re even.”

“I haven’t recalled my dragon yet,” Nan Ye snapped, voice rising. “That means the match isn’t over. Ha! A chicken can’t fly just because it inherited wind magic. Don’t think you’re anything close to a *true* dragon!”

Just moments after his first crushing defeat, the dragon had ascended—something that should’ve taken months, maybe even a year.

True dragons didn’t lose.

Not like this.

From shame to sorrow, sorrow to disbelief, disbelief to wild joy—Nan Ye’s face twisted, not in pain, but in ecstatic triumph.

He was going to reclaim every ounce of pride he’d lost. And more.

He’d be the center of attention again.

“Then I’ll—” Zhu Minglang sighed, about to surrender.

But before he could finish, the Ice-Crimson White Dragon on his shoulder unfurled its dazzling white wings and soared back toward the stone platform.

“Bai Qi,” Zhu Minglang called out, heart pounding. He didn’t want the little dragon hurt. After the earlier humiliation, Nan Ye and his dragon wouldn’t hold back.

Yet Bai Qi didn’t return.

Even facing a transformed, raging beast, it kept its posture—cold, regal, untouchable.

And for the first time, it carried a new fire in its gaze.

Its presence now echoed the old White Canglong—aloof, majestic, supreme in the sky.

“Finally… serious?” Zhu Minglang felt the shift. The dragon’s will burned bright.

Yes.

The opponent was weak compared to past enemies.

But in this moment, something deep within him ignited—a flame long buried.

After years adrift, everything reset.

And this feeling?

He’d never forget it.