"Eh? What Perfect Dragon? What are you talking about?"
Because she failed to properly control the volume while using the [Word Magic: Kamaitachi], Bailu had been startled so badly by Lingsha's shout from far away that her little head felt like it had rattled.
Coupled with the fear of elders engraved deep in her DNA, she had spent the entire time Sylvester and Aventurine were talking trembling in the corner.
But now, Aventurine's sudden profanity and Sylvester's overly loud conclusion finally snapped her out of it.
Aventurine turned to look at Bailu, who still wore a completely blank expression, and let out a bitter laugh.
As a bystander, his emotions had risen and fallen violently, worrying himself sick over the changes in her strength.
Yet the very person involved—now incomparably powerful—was acting like a weak, helpless little ball of flesh, completely detached from the situation.
This world, honestly…
Compared to Aventurine's inner turmoil, Sylvester looked perfectly at ease as he said, "Miss Bailu, what we were discussing is the most perfect dragon in the cosmos—the Vidyadhara High Elder, Bailu."
"Eh? You mean… me?"
Bailu pointed at herself, tilting her small head, her eyes filled with the most genuine confusion.
"That's a bit much, isn't it…"
Sure, she was very strong now. Word Magic and all—one move and several planets could be blown to bits.
But there was still General Xuanquan of the Xianzhou Fanghu above her, right? He wasn't just a High Elder—he was also an Emanator.
"That's right. You." Sylvester nodded with a smile. "In today's cosmos, there is no dragon more dragon than you."
After he explained in detail what he had just discussed with Aventurine—
The little dragon person immediately stepped out of the shadow cast by Lingsha and became lively again.
"So, I'm actually this strong now?!" Bailu's small face flushed with excitement, her eyes wide open as she exclaimed in delight, "Doesn't that mean I can walk sideways through the entire cosmos?!"
She pumped her little fist enthusiastically, saying with obvious satisfaction, "Next time those elders scolded me for no reason, I'll make them pay! I'll toss them into the sea one by one and make them choke on water! Haha!"
Hearing Bailu's grand ambitions, Sylvester shook his head with a chuckle. "There's no need to go through that much trouble. After your bloodline was reinforced through the Curio's cosmic adaptation, you now possess irresistible deterrence against your own kind. If you also use the [Word Magic: Emperor], your dragon might will be elevated another level."
"Just open your mouth. Within the domain expanded by the Emperor, all dragons will instinctively prostrate themselves at your feet, completely unable to muster even the slightest resistance! And that domain is as large as an entire planet!"
"In other words… the entire Vidyadhara dragon race would kneel before me?"
Bailu looked down at her little feet, then compared them in her mind to the heights of those old fossils back home…
"Ehehehe."
For a moment, both her eyes and mouth curved into slender crescent moons.
Just imagining those fellows several times taller than her, twisting their necks and scraping the ground to lower themselves beneath her calves—like little mud loaches wriggling by a puddle…
It felt amazing, alright?!
And this wasn't some upside-down rebellion against the heavens—this was establishing High Elder authority fair and square!
"Miss Bailu, if it were me, I wouldn't reveal this power so quickly—especially in front of so many unrelated people. It will bring you trouble."
Just as Bailu was enjoying her mental storm to the fullest, Aventurine poured a bucket of cold water over her.
Her fantasies were smashed apart by the blunt warning, and she said unhappily, "Why? I'm already this strong—why do I still have to pretend to be weak?"
This Curio wasn't gold or jewels, and it had nothing to do with "treasuring jade invites disaster" or anything like that.
This was a solid, tangible boost in strength! Showing it off should scare bad people away, shouldn't it?
Seeing Bailu's unconvinced expression, Sylvester instead regarded Aventurine more highly.
From Aventurine's standpoint, he didn't have to say anything at all.
Sylvester had already planned to tell Bailu privately and then give Lingsha a heads-up so they could prepare secrecy and protection measures. Now, some explanation had been saved.
And Aventurine wasn't exaggerating.
If this Curio were made public immediately, Bailu would indeed attract endless assassination attempts.
This problem wouldn't exist if Jing Yuan, Feixiao, Lingsha, or even an ordinary Cloud Knight soldier had obtained it.
But it was Bailu who got it.
One must remember—even if Bailu was overwhelmingly strong, she was still a child. A child who could be frightened into clutching her head and crouching down by a single shout from Lingsha.
That was a massive weakness.
Sylvester gave Aventurine an encouraging look.
Aventurine responded with a helpless smile.
Logically speaking, keeping silent would have been the best choice.
If things went smoothly, someone from Abundance or Destruction would eventually come to deal with her.
But after long consideration, he decided to tell Bailu the consequences she would face.
Obtaining this Curio was her fortune. A child so innocent and bright shouldn't be burdened with even more suffering.
For an instant, the image of his long-departed sister flickered before his eyes.
He then smiled and said, "Miss Bailu. May I ask—who was it just now that scared you so badly?"
"Ah… um… this."
Bailu instantly became embarrassed, rubbing her fingers together, stammering, unwilling to explain this mortifying incident.
But Aventurine didn't need her confirmation. He waved a hand and said, "You don't need to answer. I already know—it must have been a close family member getting angry with you, right?"
What could scare a child? It never strays far from teachers or elders.
Having her thoughts exposed, Bailu's eyes widened as she asked timidly, "H-How did you know?"
"Sigh~" Aventurine said reproachfully, "Miss Bailu, you shouldn't have asked that. From the start, you should've shouted at me, 'What's it to you!' That's how a qualified warrior protects their secrets. The way you reacted just now was basically an admission."
"I-Is that so…?"
Bailu was left completely flustered by the lecture, her gaze darting everywhere except at Aventurine.
In her panic, she looked to Sylvester for help.
Seeing this, Sylvester spoke gently, "Bailu, don't worry. Mr. Aventurine means you no harm. What he's really saying is that you still lack a warrior's awareness—not strength, but awareness."
"This is your weakness. You panic. You feel fear. Just like when he hit the mark just now—you became flustered. In that situation, if Mr. Aventurine had suddenly attacked, could you have used a Word Magic in time to stop him?"
"I…"
Bailu puffed out her chest, wanting to stubbornly argue back.
But the moment the words reached her lips, her momentum collapsed.
Because she had to admit—even just now, there were several moments when her mind went completely blank.
At that point, forget counterattacking—crying for help would probably be her first reaction.
And if her current situation were made public, the ones coming to assassinate her wouldn't be random nobodies. When that happened, wouldn't she just be…?
Realizing this, Bailu's little face quickly turned pale.
"I can't do it." Like a defeated rooster, she lowered her head.
"Mm, exactly." Sylvester stepped in front of her, bending down to comfort her. "So, you need to practice quietly, and then amaze everyone later. And before that—you can use other methods to vent your anger."
Bailu asked timidly, "Are there really other ways?"
"Of course. Let me tell you—this is called playing the pig to eat the tiger." Sylvester narrowed his eyes with a smile, patiently guiding her. "If a Vidyadhara elder treats you badly, you can invite them out under the pretense of apologizing, then hide in the shadows and use the Word Magic: [Guixu]. Use the power of water to crush them into dust. The official conclusion would be that the Vidyadhara elder accidentally fell into water and drowned—completely unrelated to you."
As he spoke, he even made a grasping gesture with his hand, making Bailu's heart tremble.
T-This is straight-up killing them… isn't that too bloody?
But as she listened further, she realized her imagination had been far too tame.
Sylvester continued, "Or when someone is refining pills, use the Word Magic: [Candle Dragon] to blow up their furnace—make it look like they were killed by alchemical backlash. Oh right, this works just as well on artisans from the Artisanship Commission."
"Or better yet—when using the Word Magic: [Emperor], compress the domain that could cover an entire planet onto a single person. You can crush them straight into minced meat without anyone noticing. Then casually toss out a mask and make it look like Aha did it. And then there's—"
"My Amber Lord…"
Aventurine couldn't help but mutter as he listened to Sylvester's enlightenment education for Bailu, staring at him in sheer horror.
How could this man be so vicious? Every move went straight for the jugular. He listed over a dozen methods and didn't leave a single survivor!
Was it really okay to teach a child like this?
Even growing up in Avgin, he felt this was far too extreme.
Listening to Sylvester's careful guidance, Bailu was utterly shaken.
These clean, brilliant ideas—why didn't Sister Lingsha ever teach me this before?!
After that brief moment of dejection, a whole new world opened up before Bailu.
===BREAK===
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