Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
Qinglong (Azure Dragron)
…
Today marked the grand opening of Black Dragon Tower. However, the massive influx of out-of-town demons meant that most local demons opted to avoid the crowd and wander around the underground supermarket instead.
Anything Black Dragon Tower had for sale that they could afford, they'd already bought and brought home long ago. As for the things they couldn't afford—well, looking wouldn't help, and there was no rush.
After all, they lived in Black Dragon City. If they wanted something, they could just come back and get it any time.
As for the revolving restaurant on the top floor, local demons who worked in the factories had already been given vouchers—they could go enjoy it in the evening.
But that wasn't even the biggest news in town today.
Something far more significant had happened: since the rebuilding of Black Dragon City, the very first child had been born.
Dog Leftovers' mother, Wu Xiang, had given birth to a baby boy.
Old Mo gave his three students the day off so they could go visit Dog Leftovers' home.
Wu Xiang named the baby "Gou Xiwang"—Hope Leftovers.
Since becoming pregnant, Wu Xiang had been working as the manager of the garment factory, and she still held that position to this day.
Thanks to her keen eye, she'd handpicked a team of female demons from across the city skilled in making clothes. Most of the garments in Black Dragon City now came from their hands.
The garment factory had long since expanded beyond just spinning and weaving. Their curriculum now included lessons on fashion design and various fabrics. There was a long road ahead.
Wu Xiang kept working at the factory right up until labor. Though she couldn't physically do much while pregnant, she'd sat and focused on designing clothes instead.
All of it was by choice. Yin Jixue had granted her several months of maternity leave long ago, but Wu Xiang, once busy, simply couldn't sit idle.
Inside the medical hall, Wu Xiang leaned against the headboard and said, "I hope your little brother grows up to be just as accomplished as you."
Dog Leftovers scratched his head bashfully. "I'm not that accomplished…"
He was already fourteen this year.
Wu Xiang smiled. "What do you mean? You're the Prophet's top disciple! The women at the factory are all jealous of me."
At that, Dog Leftovers grinned from ear to ear.
"When are we doing a full moon celebration for my little brother? The teacher was asking me about it."
Wu Xiang gave her silly son a look. "You silly child, of course, we wait until your brother is one month old to celebrate!"
Dog Leftovers chuckled sheepishly. "I forgot… I'm just so happy he was born."
While mother and son chatted happily, Dog Leftovers' father was still on his way home.
Suddenly, the sky changed—wind and clouds surged, and a mass of dark clouds rolled in above the city.
In the blink of an eye, day turned to night. Thunder roared and lightning split the sky.
"What's happening?!" Dog Leftovers immediately shielded his mother and newborn brother.
Outside, gale-force winds knocked pedestrians off their feet. People scrambled to find shelter in the nearest buildings.
Thanks to the transparent walls, the revolving restaurant atop Black Dragon Tower provided an unobstructed view of the unfolding chaos.
"Wha-what the hell?" A merchant who had just picked up a piece of meat flinched. The meat slipped from his chopsticks and splashed into his juice.
Dark clouds churned and thickened.
At the moment darkness fell, the restaurant's internal lights automatically flicked on—likely making it the only building still lit up in all of Black Dragon City.
All across the city, demons retreated indoors or ducked into shelters, peeking through windows to watch the strange weather.
Although the Black Dragon Clan had once lived in poverty, its climate had always been stable. So had the demon race's lands overall.
Now, every citizen of Black Dragon City, whether native or visitor, shared the same thought:
"This has never happened before in demon lands. What is going on?"
Meanwhile, outside the city, demon farmers noticed their livestock—demonic beasts—were all lying flat on the ground, trembling with fear.
Their earlier worry that the beasts might escape had vanished. Now the demons were the ones taking shelter in their homes.
The extreme weather continued for a full half-hour. Strangely, the only one in the entire city who wasn't concerned was Old Mo.
He sipped tea contentedly with the three esteemed teachers.
"I told you," he said with satisfaction, "the key to breaking the demons' plight lies with Lou Zhao. You came to the right place, didn't you?"
Master Nanlü and Master Zhongshang both nodded silently. The painter Qinghe also sat quietly nearby.
He murmured, "You were right. We made the right choice."
These three had once been saved by the previous Demon King.
At the time, they had intended to express their gratitude and continue journeying across demon lands. The demon realm was far larger than the ancient records made it seem—many undiscovered tribes still existed. They had been documenting their journeys into a still-unfinished book.
But the Prophet persuaded them to stay with the Black Dragon Clan, and stay they did—for centuries.
Now, in this very moment, they finally embraced their identity as members of the Black Dragon Clan.
As a dragon's roar split the heavens, the dark clouds began to part, and daylight pierced through.
Every demon in Black Dragon City, native or otherwise, felt their hearts pound, and their heads spin. And in perfect unison, they dropped to one knee in awe and submission.
At that very moment, the bloodlines of those with ancestral traits suddenly awakened. Bodies shifted—some into black-scaled serpentine dragons, others into dragons of every dazzling color.
A chicken leg fell from the elder's mouth and plopped into his dessert soup.
Across from him, Bai Baobao, who had just been spacing out, suddenly transformed into a baby.
He was smaller than a typical tiger cub, not quite what one would expect from a Winged Tiger scion, but—he had achieved humanoid transformation!
Naked and curious, Bai Baobao blinked his large eyes, clearly confused—where did all my fur go?
Bai Buer frantically grabbed a nearby set of clothes—no idea whose they were, but whoever they belonged to could go buy a new set later.
He hurried to dress his brother, voice trembling with excitement:
"Baobao, I'm your big brother!"
Bai Baobao simply chewed on his hand—he didn't recognize him.
Bai Buer wasn't hurt. Soon enough, his little brother would grow up.
Elsewhere, Dog Leftovers was watching in shock as his infant brother transformed into a white dragon.
"M-Mom! He turned into a dragon!" he stammered.
Wu Xiang had seen it too.
She blinked once. Then again.
"Your brother has awakened his ancestral blood… He's a dragon!"
Mother and son embraced, weeping with joy. The palm-sized little dragon flopped around the bed, tail flicking excitedly.
…
Meanwhile, the one responsible for all this was currently basking in post-coital bliss, clinging to Her Majesty and demanding kisses.
Lou Zhao hung his head in mock misery. "You don't kiss me anymore… Is it because now that you've had me, you don't treasure me?"
If she had the strength, Yin Jixue would've punched him.
Instead, she rasped, "I don't want to talk to a lying dog-man."
Of course, Lou Zhao wasn't going anywhere. He wriggled under the covers and wrapped himself around her.
"Nope. I'm sticking to you."
Yin Jixue was filled with regret.
What had possessed her? From now on, Lou Zhao was only allowed to speak to her while wearing a mask. Otherwise, it was her poor self-control that would suffer.
She had walked right into the trap, delivered herself like a meal, and now she'd been devoured clean. There probably wasn't a single person more foolish than her.
Rubbing her sore waist, Yin Jixue complained, "You said you didn't know how to do it. I didn't know either. We were supposed to study a textbook together. And this—this—is what you call not knowing?!"
She flipped on him mercilessly.
"You're sleeping in the study tonight."
Lou Zhao looked utterly betrayed. "No way! I just became your man! How can you treat me like this?"
Hey! Who was getting taken advantage of here, huh?!
"You know, if we weren't living in a feudal society, you'd be in jail for this," Yin Jixue snapped.
Lou Zhao put on his thickest skin. "But I'm just a minor boy…"
Excuse me? A dragon who's lived for centuries claiming to be a minor?!
"Then you can go explain to Officer Demon how a several-hundred-year-old guy qualifies as a minor!"
Lou Zhao tried to placate her, but then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right! I have to tell you something… but don't get mad."
"Spit it out," she said irritably.
Lou Zhao fiddled with his fingers. "I just came of age. Which… probably means the whole city knows. Or maybe the whole demon race."
Yin Jixue yanked the blanket over her face in sheer embarrassment.
This was the peak social death.