Response

The advancement of one’s cultivation rank was equivalent to a total metamorphosis of every cell in the body; the restless blood within her cheered incessantly, preparing to welcome a brand-new state of existence.

As the master of this body, however, she had no choice but to suppress this instinctive excitement…

It was not yet time.

She constantly admonished herself in this way.

Endurance was the only thing she could do now.

Even though her body was burning with agonizing heat and her consciousness was growing increasingly blurred from the high temperature, she remained stubbornly persistent.

Hallucinations had already begun to appear before her eyes one after another, and even her ears were starting to experience auditory illusions.

Despite staying in a tavern, she frequently mistook this lonely room for that endless gravel desert.

In that desolate, uninhabited place, that man seemed to be waiting for her by the campfire forever, existing somewhere between a dream and reality.

Aurelia realized that her consciousness was starting to fade.

If Norin, who had gone out, could not find the Dragon Mysterious Ice soon, she would truly be forced into the advancement trial.

To buy time for Norin and herself, Aurelia had to drag her weak and exhausted body into the bathroom.

She turned the shower to its maximum flow, letting the icy water pour over her uncovered, delicate frame, yet it only kicked up clouds of white steam…

Her body temperature was so high that the cold water soaking in the bathtub warmed into hot water within a few short seconds.

Mist filled the enclosed bathroom. Aurelia lay weakly in the water-filled tub, her eyes turning more and more vacant as she stared at the ceiling.

I’m… losing consciousness…

No, no, I can’t just fall asleep like this. I haven’t… I haven’t seen him yet…

Aurelia was not certain if her advancement could proceed smoothly this time without the assistance of the Dragon Marrow Saint Crystal.

It wasn’t about the safety of her own life, but rather the man she had been yearning for day and night, yet had never been able to see again.

Her vision grew smaller and smaller, and her heavy eyelids felt as if they could never open again. Just as the light before her was about to close off completely, the red hair tie—which she had held tightly in her hand even while soaking in the cold bath—suddenly emitted a faint, shimmering glow.

Within the Divine Realm.

Freya gazed at the reassembled giant crystal stone, watching a wisp of pale pink light spiral upon it. Resting her chin in her hands, she let out a long, melancholy sigh.

“Good luck, little girl. This is as much as I can help you…”

Having said that, she turned her head to look at the giant white dragon lying shamelessly on the ground, snoring loudly.

Suddenly, her anger flared. In a rare display of unrefined behavior, Freya stood up, lifted her long leg, and gave the massive creature two “thump-thump” kicks.

“Wake up, you big, stupid dragon! Your own house is about to be robbed, and you’re still sleeping here!”

Unfortunately, no matter how loudly Freya shouted, the slumbering Dragon God Radon remained as unshakeable as a dead pig, his snoring like thunder.

Freya looked at Radon, who occupied nearly half of her small Divine Realm by himself. She felt that if she didn’t wake Him up now, with Radon’s disposition, he might sleep for a hundred years.

If she had to spend a hundred years listening to his snoring, she might as well just kill Him.

Unable to endure it any longer, Freya finally channeled her divine power. Pink divine energy whipped up a hurricane that slammed against the giant dragon’s body. Finally, the body of the Dragon God Radon moved…

Radon extended a claw, scratched His belly, rolled over, and continued to sleep.

Well, He moved. He technically moved.

Freya stood there speechless and finally had to call for outside help.

Countless crystal stones swirled in her hand as the connection between deity and deity was established.

“Hello? Is this sister Themis? There’s a stupid dragon here who refuses to leave. Can you come over and help me out?”

The red hair tie emitted a pink light, and Aurelia’s consciousness, which was about to be dragged into the advancement trial, suddenly cleared up quite a bit.

At the same time, she had a sudden sensation—she felt that in the room outside the bathroom, there was a person extremely special to her standing there.

Consequently, Aurelia hurriedly wrapped her body in a bath towel and pushed open the bathroom door.

Finally, she saw that figure about to climb out the window. Yes, she hadn’t mistaken that figure—the messy, unkempt hair, the worn yellow denim outfit, the leather boots with holes…

He was standing by the window, opening it and preparing to leave.

Aurelia followed him without hesitation, reaching out to grab his wrist.

The emotions accumulated in her heart exploded completely at that moment. She hugged the man’s arm and refused to let go no matter what. The man seemed just as he had been in the past, neither older nor heavier.

Only for a brief moment when their skin touched did she have the fleeting illusion of a girl-like softness.

She hugged Conde’s arm and poured out all the words she had gathered in her heart over the years. The man, after his initial panic, gradually calmed down.

Smelling the familiar scent beside her, Aurelia felt nothing but sweetness at this moment.

Although she didn’t know why Conde appeared now, as long as she saw his figure, all the difficulties before her no longer seemed like difficulties.

Thinking of her previous farewell to Conde, Aurelia felt her eyes moisten.

Leaning on the man’s shoulder, Aurelia felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

The sensation of her consciousness being pulled into some strange space became increasingly intense. But this time there were no regrets, because the person she had always been searching for was staying by her side.

With him here, there was nothing to fear.

The White Dragon girl dizzily closed her eyes as if falling into a deep sleep. At the moment her consciousness sank into darkness, a sweet smile still hung at the corners of her mouth.

In reality, Selina attended to Aurelia, making sure she lay comfortably on the bed.

She gazed at the lingering smile on the girl’s lips with a complex look in her eyes.

During the time just now, for some reason, the authority belonging to Hestia’s crystal sword had been triggered again. In a brief trance, she had read through all the life experiences of the girl on the bed.

Only by truly experiencing it could one understand just how important a position she held in this girl’s heart.

Selina used a clean towel to dry the fine sweat on Aurelia’s forehead.

She propped up the girl’s chin with one hand, while carefully pinching the precious Dragon Marrow Saint Crystal with the other, gently placing it into the girl’s mouth.

The crystal, like jelly, slid down her tongue and into her esophagus.

Finally, Selina carefully tidied the little dragon girl’s messy hair and whispered a warm reminder.

“You must wake up successfully. Only when you wake up can I respond to your feelings to your face…”

“Little dragon girl, this time, no matter what, I won’t leave you alone again.”

The girl murmured as she held Aurelia’s hand, a light of conviction flickering in her eyes.