Chapter 156: Bloodline Transformation Ritual

People of the Winter Legion?! The White Dragon Lord immediately realized that the Winter Trial he had just passed was likely a test for outsiders to join the Winter Legion.

Although the Winter Legion was not as famous as the Four Great Elements, it was still a top-tier militant faction in the multiverse.

Despite its long isolation, its fearsome reputation continued to circulate among the upper-echelon powers of the multiverse.

Joining the Winter Legion offered far more benefits than drawbacks for the white dragon.

Generally speaking, an individual's only obligation upon joining an Elemental Legion was to fight whenever an Elemental War broke out.

Elemental Wars were among the most renowned conflicts in the multiverse.

Opposing elements were natural enemies. After long intervals of peace, conflicts would erupt across the elemental planes—either in one-on-one clashes between two factions or in chaotic brawls involving multiple sides.

The origin of the Elemental Wars remained an unsolved mystery. However, some scholars speculated that because too many powerhouses were born among elemental creatures, pushing the universe to its carrying capacity, wars were necessary to cull their numbers.

Naturally, the major elemental factions had never admitted to this.

Given the habits of elemental creatures, who sometimes slept for tens of thousands of years at a stretch, the frequency of these wars was understandably low.

Having figured this out, Amos spread his massive dragon wings like unfurled sails and lowered his head slightly in a display of humility.

"My respects to the commanders."

The three Winter Commanders looked toward the Winter Empress on the throne—Lissandra.

Lissandra scrutinized the white dragon with an expressionless face, while the dragon remained perfectly still.

A moment later, the mighty Ice Elemental who stood at the absolute peak of the multiverse spoke.

"Little White Dragon, from the moment you retrieved the Golden Key, you were destined to become an inseparable part of the Winter Legion."

Below the throne, the three Winter Commanders were initially shocked, then stared at the white dragon with complex expressions. It seemed the term "Golden Key" carried a massive impact for them.

The White Dragon Lord observed all of this. While confused, he plotted how to fish for more information, but before he could devise a plan, Lissandra spoke first.

"Do you know what the Golden Key means?"

Hearing Lissandra's question, the White Dragon Lord muttered inwardly, Nonsense, how would I know?

Before the white dragon could speak, Lissandra answered her own question. "It means you have obtained the qualifications to become our master's successor."

Master?!

Shock surged in the White Dragon Lord's heart as he recalled the four identical goddess statues in the trial plaza.

The leader of the Winter Legion spoke with a voice full of age and experience, continuing her explanation to the shocked white dragon, who quickly perked up his ears to listen.

"The Winter Legion traces its legacy back to a great deity of the natural pantheon, the Goddess of Winter—Wendou. Before Her Majesty departed for an unknown realm alongside the other gods of nature, she left behind an instruction: whoever clears the four trials perfectly shall become the new master of the Winter Legion."

Hearing this, the white dragon lowered his head in thought. Four statues meant four trials, but he had no idea what the entry conditions for the remaining three were.

As if understanding the white dragon's thoughts, Lissandra continued.

"Do not aim too high, Little White Dragon. Every challenger only gets one chance per trial. You must clear it perfectly on your first attempt to earn the right to challenge the next. Furthermore, the remaining three trials grow progressively more difficult."

"Since ancient times, counting yourself, only eight challengers have perfectly passed the first trial. However, only three have perfectly passed the second, and only one has ever passed the third."

The white dragon snapped fully awake upon hearing this. He had let his recent victory go to his head. How could a legacy left behind by an ancient natural deity be so easily claimed?

"And for every perfect clearer, I personally conduct the Winter Legion's initiation ritual."

Lissandra shifted the topic.

"But before we begin the ritual, bring out what you obtained from the Golden Treasury."

Amos hesitated inwardly. But then he reasoned that as the high command of the Winter Legion, they had no need to scheme against him using such underhanded methods. He immediately took out the vial he had acquired in the treasury.

Lissandra manipulated her spiritual power to lift the vial, pulling it through the air toward her.

Looking at the vial in her hand, a flash of nostalgia and reminiscence crossed Lissandra's eyes, as if she shared a history with the owner of the blood within.

Amos watched as the Winter Empress's face turned cold. She abruptly pulled out the stopper, then used her spiritual power to suspend the vial in the air.

Unhindered by the stopper, the energy contained within the blood radiated outward, and a chill capable of freezing everything spread through the air.

The Winter Empress unleashed her peerless spiritual power, forcefully compressing the dissipating energy back into the vial.

"Little White Dragon, relax your body. Do not be tense."

Amos closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let his body go slack.

He realized what the Winter Empress was about to do and felt an overwhelming surge of ecstasy. With a top-tier powerhouse renowned across the myriad worlds hosting his Bloodline Advancement Ritual, what did he have to worry about?

The Bloodline Advancement Ritual!

It was the only path for a lesser dragon to evolve into a True Dragon, and the primary method for a True Dragon to purify its draconic bloodline.

The most critical prerequisite for holding this ritual was possessing the blood of a True Dragon with a higher bloodline tier.

When the White Dragon Lord had first seen this small vial of Ancestral Dragon blood in the Golden Treasury, he was terribly torn. On one hand, there was top-tier Legendary equipment that could immediately boost his combat strength; on the other, there was Ancestral White Dragon Blood that could evolve his potential but carried a significant chance of failure.

After a fierce internal struggle, the White Dragon Lord ultimately chose the Ancestral White Dragon Blood. He could always find more top-tier Legendary equipment, but if he missed this chance at an Ancestral White Dragon bloodline, he might never encounter another.

After leaving the treasury, the white dragon had been searching his memories for a suitable candidate to host the ritual. He had never expected the Winter Empress to voluntarily step up and do him this massive favor.

Seeing the white dragon ready, a vast and ancient incantation poured from the Winter Empress's lips. Every syllable contained a peculiar power; anyone of low strength would feel their head swell just from hearing it.

Accompanied by the profound spell, the Ancestral White Dragon Blood—speckled with tiny blue stars—flowed out of the vial. It formed a winding, thin thread in the air that connected straight to the white dragon's heart.

Facilitated by the power of the incantation, the deep red essence blood deep within the white dragon's heart fused with the Ancestral White Dragon Blood. The newly generated blood also bore faint blue specks of energy, just like the ancestral blood.

This new dragon blood rode the currents of the white dragon's circulatory system, traveling to every part of his body to fundamentally strengthen every single cell of the White Dragon Lord's flesh.

Numbness, soreness, and an intense itch!

Amos felt as though millions of ants were gnawing at him from the inside out. One moment brought sharp, stabbing pain; the next, a maddening, sore itch.

Yet, the White Dragon Lord clenched his jaws tightly and stood rooted to the ground. He forcibly endured the kind of agony that would break an ordinary person.

He knew this pain was a necessary phase of his bodily strengthening. Only by pushing through this bone-gnawing torture could he successfully complete the Bloodline Advancement Ritual.

Gradually, the negative sensations of numbness and itching faded, replaced by a warm, soothing comfort that spread throughout his entire body.

The White Dragon Lord felt his eyelids growing heavier. He glanced at the four Ice Elementals stationed around the temple hall, then settled peacefully onto the ground.

Exhaustion crashed into him like a tidal wave, instantly submerging the White Dragon Lord's consciousness.

The White Dragon Lord fell into a deep slumber right where he lay. His soul could not adapt to his body's rapid growth, triggering the hibernation mechanism hidden in his draconic genes ahead of schedule.

When the White Dragon Lord finally awoke, he would be completely transformed.

The ritual ended.

The Winter Empress put the vial away. A container capable of housing ancestral dragon blood and preserving its efficacy through endless eons was naturally no mortal item. She considered this magical wonder to be the payment for presiding over the ritual.

With that thought, the Winter Empress looked at the slumbering white dragon, carefully sensing the mutating bloodline within him. She then addressed the three Winter Commanders below the throne.

"Everyone, we have waited far too long for this moment. He might be the very last Ancestral White Dragon in the entire multiverse, and our final hope of retrieving the Goddess's relic. Now, let us commence the Winter Transformation Ritual."

Hearing this, the three Winter Commanders wore grave expressions. They nodded heavily and fanned out.

The four powerful Ice Elementals encircled the sleeping white dragon, waiting for the Winter Empress to give the order to begin the ritual.

Lissandra looked at the loudly snoring white dragon, her eyes flashing. After a brief internal struggle, she made up her mind. With a wave of her finger, a portal appeared before her.

The three great Winter Commanders watched their Legion leader step into the portal, completely baffled.

Fernando, the Winter Commander with an inverted triangle body shape, spoke up. "Where is the boss going? Motznovi, do you know?"

Motznovi shook his head.

"I don't know either, but I have a guess."

Fernando cocked an ear, waiting for Motznovi to elaborate. However, after a long silence with no response, he looked up in confusion, only to see a poorly stifled smile tugging at the corners of Motznovi's mouth.

As it turned out, the awful Motznovi had stopped halfway just to bait Fernando's appetite. He kept his mouth firmly shut, enjoying the sight of Fernando's bewilderment.

"Motznovi, you bastard! Do you want to fight again?!"

"You think I'm afraid of you?!"

Catalina, the sole female figure among the three Winter Commanders, sighed helplessly. "Stop arguing. If you wake this sleeping white dragon and interrupt his evolution, the boss will tear you both apart when she gets back."

"Hmph!" both of them snorted.

Catalina looked at her two colleagues, who had turned their heads away to avoid looking at each other. She felt both helpless and deeply amused.

They were best friends who had grown up together from their weakest stages all the way to the pinnacle of the multiverse, yet they constantly bickered over the most trivial things until they came to blows. And every single time, they forced her to play the peacemaker.

Catalina really didn't know if this was a privilege or a tragedy.

Fortunately, the three Winter Commanders didn't have to wait long. The portal reappeared in the great hall, and the Winter Empress returned.

"The ritual continues."

The three Winter Commanders returned to their stations.

Suddenly, their pupils contracted when they saw the Winter Empress pull out a milky-white thread of energy.

"Boss, are you planning to...!"

Motznovi gasped, exclaiming.

"Boss, you're really going all out this time."

"Enough nonsense. This operation can only succeed. I will not accept failure!"

"Yes!" the three of them answered in unison.

The three Winter Commanders—Motznovi, Fernando, and Catalina—along with the Winter Empress, Lissandra, took up positions in the four cardinal directions.

The Winter Empress gave a single nod and activated the magical array inside the temple.

Outside the temple, ink-black storm clouds gathered from all directions, roiling and churning above the sanctuary.

The creatures living around the temple—ice worms, ice scorpions, frost lizards, and more—sensed an impending disaster. They either fled outward, trying to get as far from the temple as possible, or burrowed desperately into the ground, hoping to hide beneath the ice for a pitiful shred of safety.

A moment later, a streak of silver lightning branched out like a centipede, instantly tearing through the heavy sky and illuminating the dim Elemental Plane of Ice. A deafening thunderclap followed, its booming roars echoing across the world.

The wind howled! The snow fell!

Even a mere natural phenomenon triggered by the gathering of energy possessed such terrifying might. The pitiful, weak lifeforms scrambled to run even faster.

Yet, the vast majority could not outrun the ensuing energy siphon.

The air between heaven and earth shuddered. Frost-attribute energy surged madly toward the temple from all directions, creating an oceanic tide of energy in the air.

The weak lifeforms around the temple were instantly frozen solid the moment they touched the ice-blue energy tide, their lives extinguished.

Once they perished, the magical energy inside their bodies became ownerless, turning into targets for the energy siphon.

Stripped of their energy, their lifeless husks weathered like relics that had survived countless eons, turning into dust that scattered in the howling gale.

Only a handful of Master-rank Ice Elementals managed to endure the energy tide, suffering the continuous drain of their internal energy as they struggled outward for survival.

However, in this man-made disaster, even Master-rank entities were nothing more than slightly larger ants.

The Master-rank Ice Elementals too close to the epicenter had all their elemental energy swept away by the tide. With mournful howls, they shattered into ordinary chunks of ice on the ground.

From the inside out, more and more Ice Elementals failed to hold on, crumbling into shattered ice.

Only the Ice Elementals situated on the fringes of the energy tide were lucky enough to survive.

Having escaped the danger, these fortunate few hurriedly fled even farther away.

The temple area acted like a bottomless black hole, devouring all the surrounding energy. Then, after being compressed and refined by the magical array inside, the energy transformed into an even purer magical essence that flowed into the slumbering white dragon's body.

Only a small fraction of this energy served as nourishment for the white dragon's physical growth. The vast majority was absorbed into the ice-blue snowflake mark on his forehead.

The minimalist snowflake mark radiated dense, visible magical power that rippled through the air like waves on water.

Mysterious and dangerous!