Chapter 402: Luke Asks to Ride His Dragon Wife?!

After leaving the palace, Luke, Rhaenyra, and Emberlyn were flying through the sky, with Luke relying on his wings while both Dragon Princesses traveled in their original dragon forms.

FWOOOSH!

Rhaenyra gracefully flapped her wings as she flew forward, occasionally attracting Luke's attention as he traveled beside her.

'Damn, is this the natural beauty that dragons possess?'

He couldn't help admiring her appearance, especially since, despite not being in a into beastly interest, he found something strangely beautiful about her dragon scales and elegant movements.

The way Rhaenyra moved through the open sky reminded him of a swan gliding freely through the air, carrying a natural grace that made every movement appear effortless.

However, while Luke was admiring her appearance, his gaze eventually moved toward her broad back, which was completely empty.

And without thinking much about the implications, he casually asked.

"Rhaenyra, can I ride you?"

[Oh boy, already thinking of riding her. As expected of the womanizer. b(^_^) — Thumbs up]

Luke ignored the System's teasing, although the same couldn't be said for the two Dragon Princesses, who immediately turned their heads toward him with expressions of disbelief.

And Emberlyn's dragon face developed a visible blush upon hearing his words, while Rhaenyra responded in an extremely cold voice.

"If you want to die, feel free."

"..."

Hearing that threatening response, Luke immediately shut his mouth, unable to understand why asking for a ride had become such a serious matter.

However, Emberlyn was once again surprised that her elder sister hadn't beaten him, especially considering how inappropriate his request sounded to dragons.

After all, among their race, allowing someone to ride upon a dragon's back was something that simply wasn't permitted, regardless of who that person might be.

The only exception involved intercourse, during which a male partner could ride upon the female dragon's back.

Therefore, when Luke casually asked whether he could ride Rhaenyra, his words carried practically the same implication as directly asking her to have sex with him.

Unfortunately, this was nothing more than a misunderstanding, since Luke was simply thinking about the dragon riders he had encountered in novels and wanted to experience what it would feel like to ride an actual dragon.

"Keep flying, and if you open your mouth again, then I'll break both your jaws."

After delivering that warning, Rhaenyra increased her flying speed, forcing Luke, who had already been struggling to keep up with the two Dragon Princesses, to work even harder.

'Tch! Why are you getting angry?'

He decided to ignore her unnecessary anger and concentrated on manipulating the wind element surrounding his wings, using it to increase his flying speed.

FWOOOSHHH!

With the additional assistance of the wind, Luke accelerated through the sky and continued following the two princesses.

After traveling for five hours, the three finally arrived at a valley filled with thousands of elongated hills, while numerous blackened trees stood along the lower ground, their branches completely devoid of leaves.

Above the valley, thick dark clouds stretched across the sky, with frequent flashes of lightning illuminating their interiors.

"This place looks good."

Luke nodded in satisfaction as he observed the large concentration of thunderclouds hanging above the hills, feeling that he had finally found a suitable location to complete his breakthrough.

However, upon seeing his pleased expression, the System couldn't help sighing.

[He still hasn't found out? He's going to summon a real tribulation cloud.]

According to the System, if Luke's EX-Rank foundation-building technique had progressed normally, the natural lightning present in this valley would have been sufficient to complete his advancement.

Unfortunately, because he had obtained Rhaenyra's Blood Essence along with the karma associated with her existence, his cultivation had attracted Valtharion's attention.

Although his existence hadn't been completely exposed, the Valtharion laws had already detected enough of an irregularity to interfere with his breakthrough.

Otherwise, if everything about him had been exposed, the punishment wouldn't have been limited to an ordinary tribulation, since divine thunder itself could have descended upon him.

The System looked toward the sky, where it could already perceive a single gigantic golden eye gradually taking shape, although the eye remained invisible to everyone else and its eyelid was still closed.

This was also one of the reasons Luke's Titan spirits hadn't awakened after falling asleep during the previous battle.

If Valtharion detected their presence while Luke was undergoing his breakthrough, its wrath toward those Titans might also be transferred to him, making an already dangerous situation even worse.

Meanwhile, after returning to her humanoid form, Emberlyn approached Luke and curiously asked.

"So what were you about to do?"

Not far away, Rhaenyra had also returned to her humanoid appearance and was currently sitting near a boulder, silently listening to their conversation.

Luke looked toward the dark clouds overhead before casually answering.

"Nothing, just that I have to take all of those lightnings head-on."

"..."

"..."

Both Dragon Princesses immediately fell silent, their gazes shifting toward the thunderclouds, where lightning continued crackling with enough power to make even higher-ranked beings cautious.

After all, many of those lightning strikes possessed B-Rank strength, while a smaller number carried attack power comparable to A-Rank.

Yet Luke, who was still only D-Rank, had casually announced that he intended to endure them directly.

"Okay ladies, wait for me."

After saying that, Luke removed his shirt, revealing his well-defined chest and abdomen, which immediately attracted Emberlyn's attention.

A slight blush appeared on her cheeks, and although she occasionally turned her face away, she couldn't help stealing another glance at his exposed upper body.

Unfortunately, Rhaenyra noticed her younger sister's behavior.

'Shameless.'

She inwardly cursed Luke for casually removing his shirt in front of them, clearly holding him responsible for the embarrassing situation.

Meanwhile, Luke paid little attention to their reactions and headed toward the highest cliff in the valley.

After reaching the summit, he sat down and began waiting for the lightning, although he hadn't forgotten the System's earlier warning that the strength of the attacks involved in his breakthrough would be considerably greater than expected.

Naturally, he needed to consider how he would withstand such powerful lightning while still being a D-Rank existence.

Just as he was thinking about his preparations, the System finally spoke.

[Ahem, Luke, there will be a little change in the lightning tribulation.]

Hearing those words, Luke paused, not immediately understanding what the System meant.

[Well, when I said earlier that the lightning attack power would reach A rank, I meant a tribulation lightning, not a normal A rank lightning.]

"..."

Luke's mouth twitched as he finally understood what the System was trying to tell him.

"And you didn't tell me this earlier."

He was clearly dissatisfied, especially since he knew that tribulation lightning was completely different from an ordinary attack of the same rank.

"So Valtharion would be involved?"

[Yes.]

The System answered in a lower voice, causing Luke to release a helpless sigh.

After all, his previous experiences involving Valtharion had hardly been pleasant, and he understood perfectly well that if the world's will became genuinely furious with him, he could very well lose his life.

Fortunately, the System's next words gave him a little hope.

[Though, as your technique stated, this lightning is nothing but a formality, that you got acknowledged, while your foundation is perfect.]

[So you will only face a single lightning, that normally A rank beings face during their tribulation.]