Mirror Dream Tree

Merin looks back and sees Kiyoshi leaning against Minami's wall.

He hadn't sensed him at all—Kiyoshi must be using his Rule of Concealment.

Merin already knows what Kiyoshi is thinking.

If Minami breaks through using his technique, a new lineage will begin.

People will copy the same path and become stronger through these transformations.

Those who share similar bloodlines will adapt the technique even more easily, forming powerful clans.

And from these clans, an entirely new class of humans will emerge.

Merin answers calmly, "That will take years. Even then, with our strength, it won't matter.

Those who merely follow will never match us, and our human race will only grow stronger."

Kiyoshi pats his shoulder and vanishes into the morning fog.

Just before he disappears, Merin hears him say, "But after all those transformations, will they still be human?"

Merin doesn't answer.

He already knows the goal of this technique isn't to remain physically human.

And whether his body is human or not, his heart and purpose will remain.

As he walks toward his house, he murmurs, "If I believe I am human, then I am human.

And even if I become something more, my goal matters most."

With firm resolve, he walks onward into the night.

Once back in his room, the image of a beast is already clear in his mind, and even the name surfaces.

Now all that remains is to see if he can bring this image into reality.

He will become a dragon.

There are no dragons in this world, nor any record of one. How could a dragon even exist here?

This world could never support the birth of one.

Yet on Earth, in myths and stories, he read of dragons as the ancestors of all scaled beasts.

He never witnessed one himself, and he cannot know whether they ever truly existed.

But if they didn't, then perhaps this world would be the first place they do. 

When he thinks of beasts with scales, fish, snakes, and lizards are the first that come to mind.

But with deeper thought, crocodiles, tortoises, and even armadillos also make the list.

He then considers insects like butterflies, with the microscopic scales on their wings, and even notes that birds have scales on their legs.

While he understands the body structure of all these creatures, he first needs to imagine a body structure for his dragon transformation.

The image of a Western dragon from Earth's novels immediately comes to mind.

For this, a lizard would be the best base, especially considering some are called "flying lizards" and most descendants of dragon blood are lizard-like.

He also admires the Eastern dragon's slender, powerful body and long tail, and plans to incorporate these features into his own dragon.

Since all dragons, whether Western or Eastern, are powerful swimmers, adding a fish's structure would greatly enhance their underwater capabilities.

Thus, the foundation of his dragon will be built upon the body structures of lizards, snakes, and fish from this world.

Next, he considers the dragon's abilities.

Initially, he prefers to have no inherent abilities.

This way, he can thoroughly comprehend the magical abilities of thousands of lizards, snakes, and fish.

Many of these abilities could react to each other, potentially forming more powerful ones, or they might conflict.

Therefore, it's best not to add any comprehended magical abilities while creating the dragon transformation technique.

He will, however, instil the artistic conception of vitality and the artistic conception of strength into the dragon.

He plans to first create the transformation technique, and only then will he begin adding artistic conceptions and abilities to enhance his transformed dragon's power.

With that thought, he settles onto his bed and begins to meditate.

He opens his eyes as the sun sets, just as Minami knocks on his door.

Merin sends a mental message, asking, "What do you need?"

"I want to transform to the third stage of the transformation technique that you mentioned," Minami replies.

Merin quickly climbs down from his bed, walks to open the door, and says, "Let's go."

Minami, surprised by his abruptness, steps back.

Merin steps outside, closes the door behind him, and repeats, "Let's go."

Minami, wide-eyed, nods and says, "Okay."

She turns to walk, and Merin quickly steps to walk beside her.

As they walk, Merin asks, "What beast are you going to transform into first?"

Minami's face scrunches up.

"I should start with an ordinary beast. It would be easier."

"From the notes you gave me," Merin says, "there are three ordinary beast transformations: Long-nose Dog, Spotted Cat, and Red-eyed Crow. Which among them are you going to choose?"

Minami replies, "Before you explained the transformation technique, my goal was to capture a baby Black Lightning Swan."

Merin's eyes take on a thoughtful look as he recalls what he knows about Black Lightning Swans.

He remembers reading that they are a rare Dharma Realm beast clan, living hidden from the world.

They also don't procreate with humans to create Half-Yao with their bloodline.

"Did you find their habitat?" Merin asks.

Minami shakes her head.

"No."

"Then you'll transform into an ordinary swan beast?" Merin inquires.

Minami stops walking, reaching a secluded, empty clearing by the lake.

"I would transform into a Blue-eyed Swan," she states.

Merin walks a short distance away, giving her space for the transformation.

A mist of natural energy envelops Minami's body.

Merin notes that she still hasn't formed mana within herself.

After several seconds, an enlarged Blue-eyed Swan stands before him, her clothes scattered on the ground.

This, Merin understands, is the first stage of the transformation, where natural energy forms a temporary skin.

The second stage then begins, and the swan's body starts to shrink.

Merin observes with his mental domain as her form morphs.

The initial skin changes, white feathers sprout, and her hair shrinks, becoming enlarged feathers.

Her bones and muscles morph and shrink, and the internal changes rapidly follow.

All of this happens within a minute.

Now, an average-sized Blue-eyed Swan stands before him, distinguishable only by the large feathers at the back of its head.

No one would recognise her as Minami just by looking; only her cells could confirm her identity.

"I am starting the third stage," Minami's message rings in his mind.

Merin watches intently with his mental domain, observing her cells begin to transform.

However, she stops after only her skin cells have transformed, reverting to her human form just before the transformation is complete.

Merin waves his hand, conjuring a fog to surround her, allowing her to dress.

When the fog dissipates, Minami stands before him.

"The third stage of the transformation technique is correct," she confirms.

He and Minami have a brief chat, then quickly return to their homes.

Minami is eager to complete her cell transformation and verify if the fourth stage is also correct.

A few days pass in quiet meditation.

Then, one night, Merin feels a strange ripple of energy sweep through his body.

Still half-dressed, he steps out into the cool dark as clothes of shimmering natural energy wrap around him.

As he walks toward the lake, he sees others leaving their homes too, drawn toward the same place.

From the lake, a column of red light surges into the sky, so bright it paints the clouds.

Gradually, that light deepens into reddish-black iron.

Above it all, a reddish-black iron moon hangs in the sky.

Merin can feel the power stirring—the rule of blood spreading and intensifying, becoming the most powerful law tonight.

He understands why.

The Holy Blood Ancestor, born from the fusion of purification and blood, must be about to awaken as a true ancestor.

And with his birth, the world will change.

The world will now have a guide that benefits it.

All other beast ancestors will eventually become obstacles.

Apart from the Dark Ancestor, who arose only a century ago and cultivates the spiritual way, most are mere parasites, draining the world for their own ends.

That cannot continue.

Merin knows that after tonight, the coming war will only grow fiercer.

As these so-called ancestors sense the world turning against them, they will realise there can be no compromise.

They will fight or they will perish.

And the world itself will no longer tolerate those who stand in the way of its evolution.

Merin feels the reddish-black iron moonlight wash over him, and nothing happens.

He murmurs, "The world must be announcing the birth of a new ancestral-realm cultivator."

Suddenly, screams ring out—first one, then several.

He looks toward the crowd and spots a few people collapsing to their knees, blood seeping through their skin and tearing it.

A transparent cocoon of natural energy quickly forms around each of them.

Their own blood dyes these cocoons a deep red as they vanish inside them, one by one.

Merin frowns and wonders why only these people react to the reddish-black iron moonlight.

He listens carefully to the murmurs of those around him and reaches a simple conclusion: these people must share a bloodline with the Holy Blood Master—or with the one becoming an ancestor tonight.

The crowd stands still, watching the enormous cocoon floating above the lake and the human-sized cocoons scattered around the shore.

Merin stays there all night, meditating as he watches.

When he finally opens his eyes at dawn, it isn't the light that wakes him—it's the sharp sound of something cracking.

He looks toward the lake.

The huge cocoon is splitting open.

Reddish-black iron light floods through the cracks.

The cracks deepen, the light grows brighter, and Merin has to close his eyes as his mental sense shatters under the intensity.

A powerful aura surges outwards.