Rebirth of the Prime Dragon Master
Chapter 9 The New Change

In an instant, Rocky was struck by intense pain radiating from his arms. It was as if a beast was bitinghis flesh ferociously. Overwhelmed with the pain, he couldn't stop himself and knelt on the ground.The color of his face began to turn pale. His body broke out into a cold sweat, and his face showedthe agony.

All the people were astonished because the Holy Dragon Bead responded to Rocky. But soon theypointed their fingers in his direction and commented on the odd scene before them. They wereconvinced that what Rocky was going through was the kiss of death. In a few hundred years thathad passed, no one—even if he was extremely preeminent—had successfully fused with the HolyDragon Bead. Since so many strong men had failed, there was no chance for Rocky. After all, he wasonly an abandoned prince.

Therefore, all the people just stood still and made no attempt to hold Rocky back. They looked withcold and shocked eyes as Rocky was devoured by the power of the Holy Dragon Bead.

Even Priest Dean, who saved the last boy, stood unmoved. He kept looking at Rocky with disdain. Itwas clear that he had no intention to help Rocky.

Lena couldn't stand it anymore. She was concerned and began to run towards Rocky. Suddenly adeep voice called out to her, "Lena, leave him alone.”

Hearing those words, Lena could not stop herself from looking back. It was the emperor of the HolyDragon Empire, the father of the owner of Rocky's body. No one thought that the father wouldstand still and watch his son die.

"But, Basil's body is unable to bear the power of the Holy Dragon Bead. He will die if it goes on likethis," Lena expressed her thoughts to the emperor.

"The fool is supposed to have died earlier. It's really a mistake to keep him alive. He is a disgrace toour royal family." At this point, a sneering sound burst out.

"Crown Prince Alston.” Lena called out after looking towards the source of that sound and replaceingthat it was Alston.

The handsome man was Alston, Basil's brother. Being the son of the empress of the Holy DragonEmpire, he would succeed to the throne to be the emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire in the future.Though Alston and Basil were related by blood, Alston was aloof and cold towards his brother. Hiseyes revealed his hatred for Rocky. He always looked down upon Rocky as the one who broughtshame to the royal family.

"Your Majesty..." Lena turned to the emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire. Anger flashed across hereyes.

However, the emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire gave no response to her pleas. He kept lookingimpassively at Rocky, who had knelt on the ground and writhed in suffering and pain.

Rocky felt that his limbs had gone numb as though they were frozen because of the sharp pain. Hehad no control on himself, it was as if the body was not his own. However, he could hear strangecries. Those seemed to be cries likely to come from an over-fussy baby. Though he didn'tunderstand what was happening, he knew it for certain that his pain had something to do with thecries.

Rocky calmed himself down. Then he tried to interpret the cries and comfort the baby. Though hewas not very good at it, he had gained rich experience when he got along with animals as an animalgeneticist. He knew that sometimes things could be conveyed through other ways instead ofspeaking. Like the usual exchange of expressions between humans and animals, it was fulfilledthrough movements and eye contact.

Thus, Rocky started to imagine that he was stroking a crying baby. Gradually, the cries faded away.Meanwhile, it appeared that the stroking had a sense of reality, which was a sort of fantasticsensation beyond description.

As he kept doing it and the cries faded, Rocky noticed that the pain along his arms began to wearoff. All of a sudden, there was relief and peace was restored all around. But a bright light band wasstill around his arms. The light band grew brighter and brighter. He felt a light burning sensation onthe skin as if something was being imprinted with a hot seal. He sensed that his arms were beinginjected with a certain power. Soon the arms began to swell. The power was too much for him andhe felt that his arms were going to burst with that power and pressure.

Suddenly, a turbid light was released around Rocky's body, which converged as a vortex above hishead. In the chaos, a shadow of a dragon with six wings showed up. Instantly, the light glared likethe scorching sun. All the people present there were overwhelmed by the formidable pressure. Itbegan suffocating them. The Grand Dragon Hall shook because of the effect of the amazing power.The people were astonished at the sight before their eyes.

On the circular platform, the messenger of the Dragon Master Clan, which used to look onindifferently, couldn't stop himself from trembling violently with a surprised expression evident onhis face. He uttered a few weird words and hastily disappeared from the circular platform.

While the people were watching it all in surprise, the profound light and the formidable pressurevanished like an illusion. When their eyes rested upon Rocky again, it was like a bolt from the bluefor them. Their eyes were wide open because they were surprised to replace him safe and sound.When Rocky got back on his feet, the Holy Dragon Bead had disappeared. Seeing the stunned royalmembers and nobles staring in his direction with an awkward silence, he stood up in bewildermentand looked around. He found it strange that everyone's eyes were fixed on him as if he was amonster.

He looked down at his arms and found some Dragon Spirit Marks, just like the ones he had seen onother people, though they were not as obvious compared to the others. If not looked carefully, theycould easily be ignored or missed. Besides, the aura it carried was also very weak.

"Basil, you made it! You really made it!" A voice reached his ears. It was filled with a subtle joy.Rocky looked up. It was Lena, whose beautiful delicate face was full of surprise and excitement. Herthin, red lips slightly parted as her small hand covered her mouth. Though recovering from shock,she looked really adorable.

"Is that for real? Bryant as the head of the Ximen Clan has not been able to fuse with the HolyDragon Bead. Then how could Rocky do that?" Shirley was stunned at the sight of Rocky managingto fuse with the Holy Dragon Bead. Just yesterday, she had humiliated Rocky. It was clear that noone had imagined that Rocky could perform such a miracle.

"Have I finished the ceremony?" Rocky was witty, and could quickly guess the reason of the silenceand shock. Thinking of that, he burst into laughter. He was aware that he had performed a miracle.He knew that what had happened just now was beyond everyone's expectation for an abandonedprince.

However, a few skeptical voices began to rise from here and there.

"How could this happen? How could an incapable prince like him fuse with the Holy Dragon Bead?It's the holy treasure of the Holy Dragon Empire!"

"He had spent years to fuse with the Dragon Spirit Bead, but he got nowhere earlier. How could hedo it now?"

"There must be something fishy. How could this useless man suddenly be able to accept the powerof the Holy Dragon Bead?"

Standing still, Priest Dean looked serious. He repeatedly glanced over Rocky with his amazed andqueer eyes. He couldn't hide his rage and finally began to rebuke, "Your Royal Highness, do youknow that you have destroyed the most sacred ritual of the Holy Dragon Empire?”

"Did 1?" Faced with Priest Dean's wrath, Rocky just shrugged his shoulders, pretending to beinnocent.

"Don't feign ignorance. You have done it all intentionally,” Priest Dean spoke furiously at hisresponse.

"Priest Dean, what do you mean? Why do you accuse Basil of wrong intentions?” Lena questionedas she walked over.

"All the people have seen that Basil touched the Holy Dragon Bead without permission. He shouldknow that the Holy Dragon Bead is the holy treasure of the Holy Dragon Empire. No one issupposed to touch it, if not allowed,” Priest Dean announced seriously.

"Don't you remember? Basil has lost his memory. He knows nothing. How could he recognize theHoly Dragon Bead?" Lena argued.

"But... who knows. Maybe he has been deliberately planning this, over a long period of time. A manlike him is too weak. He will never be able to qualify as a spirit manipulator. As you can see, only alittle spiritual power can be sensed from his body, though he has fused with the Holy Dragon Bead,"Priest Dean scoffed publicly.

All the other people realized the fact mentioned by Priest Dean. It was true that Rocky still did nothave much spiritual power. It was foretold that the Holy Dragon Bead was such a holy treasure thatit had the ability to make the human, who fused with it, the King of Spirit Manipulation. How couldit be possible that Rocky's spiritual power didn't reach the first grade of the Mortal Stage? Rather itseemed inferior to that of the last twenty-nine people. In theory, after fusing with the powerful HolyDragon Bead, the man should at least obtain the spiritual power of the fifth grade of the MortalStage instantly.

There was such a great contrast. It was unconvincing for anyone to accept.

Immediately, the people in the Grand Dragon Hall were in a state of tumult again. Their eyes turneddisdainful and jealous. Staring ferociously at Rocky, they thought that the idea of him gaining thepower of the Holy Dragon Bead was nothing but a waste.

"Priest Dean, you're overreacting! Anyhow, it shouldn't matter as Basil is a prince,” Lena retortedangrily. She defended Rocky from Priest Dean's insult.

When all this went on, Rocky, though being the initiator of the whole debate, just quietly saw themarguing and their faces reddening to the ears. Tittering inside, he felt so lucky that he was able tofuse with the holy treasure of the Holy Dragon Empire. If he would not have been able to make thatfusion, he could never become a spirit manipulator. On the whole, he was glad that he had obtainedthe dragon spiritual power. He had become a royal spirit manipulator, and now he was able tocontrol the dragon.

Suddenly, the argument between Lena and Priest Dean was interrupted by a cough. They turnedback and saw the emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire coming towards them. After glancing atRocky and looking around the crowd, he said, "I must admit that it is Basil who has beenirresponsible. He disturbed the ritual and destroyed the holy treasure of the Holy Dragon Empire,which has been passed over from one generation to another for years. Thus, I have decided toabolish his royal status. I announce him to be equal to any civilian of the empire.”

All the people were startled at the words of the emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire. They had neverexpected that he would punish his own son in the cause of justice. The crowd was agitated.

In all that chaos, the announcement made by the emperor, his father, left Rocky flabbergasted.