Darkness swallowed me. I didn't know what would happen next, or how long I would be unconscious. However, one thing was certain: I, Chen Ming, the ridiculous reincarnation, had won an impossible fight, and now possessed meridians that were no longer entirely human. I would be in a coma, perhaps for a very long time. Perhaps... up to ten years.
As Chen Ming's body collapsed unconscious, before him, the Golden Dragon, Huanglong Zun, also felt a terrifying impact. That strange, non-Qi punch had disrupted its energy core, causing it to stagger and collapse onto the cave floor. A pain it had never felt in thousands of years flowed through every scale, mixed with burning confusion and rage. However, what was even more surprising was... its essence.
A small golden essence, which had floated out of its body and been absorbed into Chen Ming, now felt like an invisible bond forming. This bond was pulling, disturbing, yet also... somehow, familiar. Huanglong Zun, the majestic Eastern Sovereign, had never experienced anything like this.
Grrrrummm...
A suppressed roar escaped its throat, no longer a roar of anger, but a roar of frustration and deep pain. Its massive body began to tremble violently, its scales rubbing with a heartbreaking "Creak! Creak! Creak!" sound. The golden light that usually emanated from it now flickered unstably, dimming and brightening alternately.
Amidst the tremors, Huanglong Zun's giant body began to shrink. Its scales seemed to melt, merging, and its form shortened. Its horns curved inward, and its snout flattened. A bright golden light enveloped its entire body, blinding the eyes. Whoosh! A strong wind swirled around it, pulling dust and small rocks.
When the light subsided, what remained where the Golden Dragon stood was not a giant scaled creature, but a woman. Her hair was long, golden, shimmering like dragon scales under the dim light of the cave. Her eyes, which had been blazing red, were now pure gold, radiating profound ancient wisdom, yet also a hint of confusion. Her skin was as white as jade, and her facial features were so perfect, graceful, and enchanting, as if carved by the hands of a deity. A golden silk gown draped her slender body, adorned with delicate dragon scale patterns. However, on her forehead, a faint dragon scale-shaped mark was still visible, and on her back, a pair of beautiful transparent dragon wings flickered before slowly disappearing.
She was Huanglong Zun, in her human-dragon form, a transformation triggered by the essence disruption and unexpected chaos. However, extreme Qi exhaustion, coupled with the shock of defeat and sudden transformation, left her unable to sustain herself. Her eyes dimmed, and her newly transformed body collapsed onto the cave floor with a soft "Thud!", lying unconscious beside Chen Ming, who was also in a coma.
Three days passed in the silence of the cave.
Enghh...
A soft groan was heard. Huanglong Zun's golden eyes slowly opened. Her vision was still blurry, but slowly focused. She saw the cave ceiling, then the rock walls, and finally... Chen Ming, lying motionless beside her.
Memories of the battle flooded her mind like a storm. That strange punch. The pain she had never felt in thousands of years. The confusion that gripped her Qi. And... defeat. Absolute defeat at the hands of a lowly mortal who couldn't even cultivate properly.
Huanglong Zun slowly rose, feeling her still unfamiliar human body. She stood beside Chen Ming, staring at the young man's "beautiful" face, now pale and stained with dried blood. A frown appeared on her delicate forehead.
How could this be? I, Huanglong Zun, the Eastern Sovereign, defeated by this mortal? What kind of power was that? It wasn't Qi, not spiritual energy I knew. It was... pure chaos, yet somehow, incredibly effective.
She looked down, staring at her now human-shaped palms. A strange sensation spread within her. That bond. The essence bond formed with Chen Ming. It was something that had never happened in her thousands of years of existence. Her essence, which was the core of her power, was now divided.
Huanglong Zun stepped away from Chen Ming, walking towards the Golden Dragon Spiritual Pool. The golden light of the pool still emanated, but she could feel a slight... emptiness. Her essence had diminished. She touched the pool water with her finger. Cold. However, there was a trace of strange energy left in it, a trace of Chen Ming's power.
She spent a full day, sitting by the pool, contemplating her defeat. She, who had always considered herself invincible, now had to face this bitter reality. Defeat at the hands of a mortal. This was a harsh blow to her arrogance. However, amidst that contemplation, a new thought began to grow.
Chen Ming's power was strange, unexplainable by the laws of cultivation she knew. It was a power derived from anomaly, from strangeness. And somehow, this defeat, though humiliating, also felt like an enlightenment. She had been stagnant for too long, too arrogant with her power. Perhaps, the universe wanted to teach her something.
After a full day of contemplating her defeat, Huanglong Zun returned to Chen Ming, who was still in a coma. Her beautiful face now radiated a mix of serenity, acceptance, and a strange determination. She knelt beside Chen Ming, staring at his pale face with her deep golden eyes.
"Hey, mortal," she whispered, her voice now soft, yet still possessing a faint thunderous resonance, the Dragon's Echo. "I, Huanglong Zun, the Eastern Sovereign, acknowledge this impossible defeat. You... you have made me reflect, you have made me see the weakness in my arrogance."
She sighed, a breath that felt like cool mountain wind. "And now I regret. With this, I wish to become wiser, to understand this universe more. And you..." She looked at Chen Ming with an intense gaze. "...you have taken half of my essence, creating an unbreakable bond."
A faint, ironic smile, etched on her beautiful lips. "This is the strangest fate. You have bound me, mortal. You will be my lifelong companion, whether you like it or not. Because my essence is now within you, and our destinies are intertwined."
Huanglong Zun extended her hand, touching Chen Ming's forehead. A faint golden light emanated from her palm, flowing into Chen Ming's body, trying to stabilize the newly formed Half-Dragon Meridians. She knew that this young man's journey, and now her own, would be something very... strange.
Time passed relentlessly in the silent cave. Day after day, week after week, month after month, and finally, year after year.
Huanglong Zun did not leave. She remained by Chen Ming's side, caring for him with unimaginable patience for a majestic dragon. She cleaned Chen Ming's wounds, ensured his body stayed warm amidst the cold of the cave, and occasionally channeled a little pure Qi from her own body into Chen Ming's Half-Dragon Meridians, trying to stabilize and sustain the young man's life.
She observed the changes in Chen Ming. The Half-Dragon Meridians pulsed with strange energy, sometimes emitting a faint golden glow, sometimes radiating a mysterious white light. Chen Ming's face, though pale, appeared increasingly perfect over time, as if his body continued to evolve even in sleep.
Huanglong Zun, who initially only saw Chen Ming as a lowly, troublesome mortal, slowly began to see something else. The young man's strangeness, which had once enraged her, now became a source of deep curiosity. That essence bond, which initially felt like a curse, slowly transformed into something she couldn't ignore, a thread of destiny binding her to this mortal.