Bailu felt as if her mind had suddenly been emptied, unable to stir up any emotion at all.
With a calm expression, she asked, "A true dragon? In other words, I can be like all the previous High Elders—respected by everyone, with no one daring to point fingers at me?"
Sylvester smiled. "Of course. Almost everyone will fear your power."
Bailu's body trembled slightly, yet she still spoke evenly. "I won't have to listen to the Vidyadhara Elders nag anymore. Those long, boring meetings they insist on holding—I can go if I want, leave whenever I want?"
Sylvester nodded. "You could even give each of them a solid slap on your way out. That'd be fine too."
Bailu swallowed hard, her voice brimming with barely concealed excitement. "Then what if the Denizens of Abundance ambush me? Like someone on Hoolay's level—if he suddenly breaks out of the Shackling Prison and attacks me, can I fight back?"
Hearing this, Sylvester looked as though he'd just heard a joke. He replied lightly, "Of course you can. Against a little mutt like that, you wouldn't even need to think. Instinct alone would drive you to recite a draconic incantation and burn him to ashes with a heat fiercer than the sun."
"Hoo—ha—"
Bailu exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, lowering her head as she clenched her small fists tightly.
After a long while, she suddenly threw a punch upward and shouted in excitement, "I—I'm finally a Dragon Lady in both name and reality!"
Only she herself knew how easy it was to say those words, and how unimaginably difficult it had been to truly make them real.
Back in the days when she was constantly watched over by the Vidyadhara Elders, forbidden from stepping outside the medical pavilion, only able to vent her frustration by scribbling "I'm so mad!" across archived diagnostic reports or drawing silly faces at the end—during those days, she had sworn countless times in her heart that once she became strong, she would beat every last Vidyadhara Elder into a pig-headed mess!
And now, that sentence was no longer a daydream she muttered while chatting with a trash can—it had become an undeniable reality that no one could stop!
One thought after another sprang up in her mind. One destination after another—places she had wanted to go but never could—flashed through her thoughts.
In that instant, Bailu felt as though she hadn't merely gained a powerful strength, but had been freed from a wax statue.
The sensation of sudden freedom after being stifled for so long sent an indescribable comfort surging through her entire body.
Seeing the little one so happy she looked ready to take flight, Sylvester sighed inwardly.
A rising star who had just stepped onto the broad road of cunning tricks and hadn't even taken two steps yet—only to turn around and march straight back onto the irreversible path of head-on confrontation. What a waste.
He joked, "You're this happy—do you still remember the ability to strengthen yourself through 'light'?"
"Of course!"
Bailu laughed with confidence and ease, two rows of pearly white teeth gleaming faintly.
Hands on her hips, she said with lifted brows, "Ahem. Even though this Dragon Lady is already invincible, I've never minded becoming even stronger. Just how powerful can the power of 'light' get?"
Sylvester answered decisively, "Powerful to the point where it practically has no upper limit. As long as you can continuously obtain 'light,' in theory, you can grow infinitely stronger. However…"
He changed tone. "This [Ultraman's Heart] hasn't reached the level of a golden Curio yet, so there are still some limitations when using it."
"The first method is to rely entirely on your own belief to achieve a breakthrough in power. Ultra warriors themselves are beings composed of 'light,' so if one's will be strong enough and their faith in light is firm enough, the light can undergo a qualitative leap, resulting in self-enhancement. However, this usually comes with extremely dangerous circumstances. Many people succeed in evolving, but after annihilating the enemy in a single battle, they themselves also reach the end of their lives."
"The second method is to obtain 'light' from others. Simply put, for you to acquire the 'light' generated by others, they must resonate strongly with you and be willing to stand with you against a common foe. In this condition, 'you' are crucial—only light that is clearly directed toward you will be gathered."
"In other words, you must have the ability to make others shine and burn bright."
"Make others shine and burn bright?" Bailu tilted her small head, her expression full of confusion.
For her, figuring out how to make others genuinely believe in her was indeed a difficult problem.
Sylvester thought for a moment, then said, "Take General Feixiao as an example. She leads from the front on the battlefield, unstoppable, and with a single shout of 'The Xianzhou soars,' countless soldiers respond in unison with 'The Cloud Knights are ever-victorious.' If she possessed a [Ultraman's Heart], she could easily ignite the soldiers' 'light' and gain a tremendous boost."
"Ah—so that's how it is!"
Hearing this, Bailu's eyes lit up, and she began to seriously ponder a question.
She murmured softly, "Then… should I resign from the Alchemy Commission and directly transfer to the Cloud Knights?"
The more she thought about it, the brighter her prospects seemed. She even muttered, "Hmm… maybe I could even make it to general someday. One move, multiple gains."
Hearing her train of thought, Sylvester's eyebrow twitched.
Abandon medicine for the military?
If Lingsha were to find out that Bailu, after opening a trash can here, suddenly got fired up and decided to head to the battlefield to risk life and limb, who knew what kind of expression she'd make.
Lingsha, sis! I'm not being a medic anymore!
Mm… when kids grow up and start wanting to cut people down, it really is a headache for the guardians.
Oh—wait. Before that, Lingsha would first have to endure the shock of a complete dragon. In that case, it was fine. Once Lingsha personally witnessed Bailu slapping a Vidyadhara Elder straight into the wall so hard they couldn't be pried out, she'd naturally accept it.
Probably.
He said calmly, "Let's hope Lingsha can handle it."
"Ah… Sister Lingsha."
Bailu, who had just been brimming with ambition, heard that name and felt as if an angry shout of "Bailu!" echoed in her ears again.
She could suppress the Vidyadhara Elders with brute force without any psychological burden, but Lingsha treated her well. Coupled with the fact that she was in the wrong for sneaking out, it really left the little one at a loss for what to do.
Seeing her guilty expression, Sylvester shook his head and laughed.
One thing truly did counter another.
Pretending to speak casually, he said, "Mr. Aventurine, I've heard there's a way to handle scandals—by creating an even bigger piece of news to overshadow the original, thereby minimizing the damage. Is that right?"
Aventurine, unaware that Sylvester was trying to help a child sort out household troubles, found the sudden topic rather awkward.
He answered as comprehensively as he could. "That's right. Such a method does exist. I didn't expect Shopkeeper Sylvester to be knowledgeable about crisis management as well."
Sylvester smiled. "After all, I'm a businessman. I know a thing or two about commercial warfare."
"Create bigger news to suppress the heat?" Listening to their seemingly idle exchange, Bailu felt as if she had grasped something.
Suddenly, her tender purple dragon horns seemed to flash with light.
She understood.
Slamming her small fist into her palm, she said excitedly, "That's it! I'll go teach the Vidyadhara Elders a lesson right now. When Sister Lingsha sees how powerful I've become, she'll definitely be overjoyed—then I'll be completely fine, right?"
===BREAK===
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