Turtle blood itself is an extraordinary tonic. Coming from a Chaos Giant Turtle that once stood at the absolute peak of ninth rank, a being so powerful that merely appearing on the Castro continent would invite constant backlash from the world’s laws, forcing it to hide in dimensional pockets for thousands of years, the blood collected from the massive haemorrhage that dropped her to seventh rank was naturally no ordinary substance.
It only needed water and salt to coagulate into jelly-like chunks. Following the method for pig blood tofu is made with, Ye Chong succeeded on his first try. The resulting deep reddish-brown turtle-blood tofu had a slightly peculiar flavour, yet carried no trace of bloodiness. Dipped in sauce and eaten hotpot-style, it was indescribably fresh and exquisite. Most importantly, every bite flooded the body with surges of potent energy.
Both Ye Chong and Boslily had burned through more than half their mana in the Beast Garden. Now that depleted mana was recovering at shocking speed, far surpassing the nourishing effects of the Bone-Winged Beast they had eaten before.
When Debbie, Resha, Green, and the others saw Ye Chong and Boslily safe and sound in the castle, they were overjoyed. Hearing there was fresh turtle-blood tofu hotpot, Debbie immediately sat down at the table. She took the sauced piece Ye Chong offered her in a porcelain bowl and popped it into her mouth. The taste was strange, yet undeniably sublime.
To anyone who fought with mana, any food that restored it acquired a sixth flavour beyond the five basic ones, an indescribable sensation that brought bliss to every cell in the body.
Debbie nodded in satisfaction, cheeks bulging like a squirrel, when she suddenly noticed the chubby little boy standing on the bench beside her. Eyes widening, she asked, “And who might you be?”
Only then did she seem to remember something and turn to look at the little turtle-tailed girl who had been standing on the other side of the table moments ago.
Resha, Green, and Guni were not as slow on the uptake as Debbie. Though they too were eager to taste the turtle-blood tofu, the moment they entered the dining hall their attention locked onto the two exquisitely adorable little girls.
The elven baby toddled right up to Turtle Treasure, staring at her new peer with big curious eyes and babbling, “Goo goo, ha?”
“Don’t you even recognise this dragon anymore?” Dragon Treasure was now dressed in emergency silk clothing Ye Chong had summoned Bear Grylls to sew for him. Were it not for the two conspicuous little dragon horns on his head, he could easily pass for some noble family’s young master.
He stood with hands on hips, looking immensely pleased with himself.
“Dragon? You’re… Dragon Treasure?” Debbie’s jaw dropped.
“Precisely! This dragon has grown even stronger after devouring that dragon soul. I can now maintain human form without relying on Ye Chong’s grimoire. Of course, transforming into full dragon shape still requires recovering dragon-soul power inside the grimoire. Right now I…”
He was proudly puffing out his chest, radiating draconic majesty, when Debbie’s eyes sparkled. She reached out and pinched both his chubby cheeks. “So cute! Just like little fatty when he was young.” Little fatty referred to the old emperor…
“Enough, enough! This dragon is the God of Ten Thousand Beasts! Show some respect!” Dragon Treasure angrily swatted her hands away, eyes puffed with indignation.
Useless. Debbie immediately moved on to the dragon horns, playing with them with great interest.
“…” Dragon Treasure looked utterly defeated.
“You’ve been able to stay in human form ever since waking in the secret realm?” Ye Chong suddenly realised. “Then why have you never shown it to us before?”
“This dragon is the mightiest dragon in the world! Lil’el (the elven baby) grew up under my watch. Now she has been reborn as a toddler, and I too am a toddler. How could this elder possibly stand beside her and keep any dignity?” Dragon Treasure explained with perfect seriousness.
Resha asked, “Then why are you willing to show it now?”
“Heh heh, naturally because of her.” Dragon Treasure pointed at Turtle Treasure. “Now that someone else is here to share the embarrassment, I have nothing to fear. When I first brought her back to the divine realm, it was Lil’el who looked after her at the beginning. By human generational terms, she’s an entire generation below Lil’el. She should call me Grandfather!”
Hey, hey, you were ready to lay claws on your own “granddaughter” back then…
Debbie, Resha, Green, and Guni all turned curiously toward Turtle Treasure.
Dragon Treasure continued smugly, “Both of them are my juniors. As their elder, it is my duty to look after them…”
“Who wants your care!” Turtle Treasure, who had been silent until now, snapped in annoyance. She raised her little hand and fired a beam of milky-white light. “Pew!” It struck Dragon Treasure squarely. Let us call this a Turtle Wave Attack.
Dragon Treasure yelped and tumbled off his stool.
The elven baby had been standing curiously beside Turtle Treasure the whole time. When Turtle Treasure swung her arm, she accidentally knocked off the baby’s hat, revealing long green hair and pointed elven ears.
Green hair and pointed ears, hallmarks of the elven race.
Turtle Treasure was about to continue teaching Dragon Treasure a lesson when she caught sight of the baby’s features. She froze. Dragon Treasure had just mentioned the name Lil’el and spoken of rebirth, stirring a suspicion in her heart. The baby’s appearance had already felt strangely familiar and comforting. Now seeing those unmistakable elven traits, everything clicked. Her voice trembled. “You… you are… Your Majesty the Queen!?”
Everyone else blinked in surprise.
Celtic’s head, placed in the corner of the table, explained, “After Turtle Treasure was brought to the divine realm, it was the Elven Queen, Lil’el, the baby’s previous incarnation, who cared for her during the first few thousand years. In the divine realm, Turtle Treasure respected almost no one except Lil’el.”
“Your Majesty, it really is you?” Turtle Treasure grew even more emotional.
“Ya? Eee ya?” The elven baby tilted her head, utterly confused. Each of her lives was brand new; she remembered nothing of her past incarnations and had no impression of the turtle girl before her.
Turtle Treasure dropped to her knees before the baby, voice shaking with fervour. “When the divine realm was invaded, I was gravely wounded by those terrifying beings (the devils) and fled into chaotic space. By the time I healed and emerged, the divine clan had already fallen. I heard you still lived, so I sought to find and assist you. I was on the verge of successfully ascending to true dragon at peak ninth rank, but during the transformation I suffered backlash from the laws. The injury was irreparable, so I hid once more in dimensional seclusion… Your Majesty… so you have already undergone rebirth…”
Hearing Turtle Treasure’s story, Ye Chong fell silent. During the invasion of the divine realm, Turtle Treasure was wounded and fled. Later she tried to find the Elven Queen, attempted dragon transformation, suffered law backlash, and hid until today. As for the Elven Queen, she truly was the last of the divine clan to fall. For five thousand years she evaded doom inside the Time Gap using supreme time laws, until Ye Chong found her.
Turtle Treasure revered Celtic deeply, but for the elven baby, her feeling was pure awe and worship.
With solemn resolve she declared to the baby, “My Queen, I shall devote all my strength to helping you grow. I swear it upon the name of the Chaos Giant Turtle clan!”
“Eee ya?” The baby tilted her head again, staring curiously at the kneeling turtle girl. Her infant mind could not comprehend any of it.
Dragon Treasure waddled over to the two girls, puffed out his little chest, and announced with utmost seriousness, “The divine clan has fallen, but fortunately you have met this dragon. I shall take care of both my juniors.” He reached out and gently patted Lil’el’s head.
This action enraged Turtle Treasure.
“Remove your filthy hand! Do not touch Her Majesty!” Turtle Treasure roared. She raised her hand and unleashed another barrage of Turtle Wave Attacks. Pew pew pew!
Dragon Treasure leapt more than two metres into the air, dodging frantically while yelling, “What are you doing? Have you forgotten how this dragon took care of you back then?”
“You only took care of me so we could produce offspring!” Turtle Treasure shouted back furiously, continuing her pew-pew-pew assault.
Dragon Treasure ran for his life around the kitchen.
The entire room descended into chaos.
The elven baby stood dazed for a moment, then seemed to find the spectacle hilarious. Babbling “Eee ya! Ya!” she joined the chase, summoning elven vines that instantly bound Dragon Treasure hand and foot. The vines grew rapidly across the stone floor, hoisting him upside-down into the air.
“Lil’el, baby, you’re ganging up with her against me? In your previous life you respected me most…”
“Pew pew pew—”
“Eee ya! Ya!”
Ye Chong and the others watching: “…”
The scene… was oddly heartwarming in a very heavy-taste way…
These three toddlers looked only two or three years old, yet their power, though Ye Chong hated to admit it, every one of them possessed god-level strength, just a hair stronger than everyone present…
And thus, the Casually Named Magic Guild’s official Brat Trio was born: Dragon-Turtle-Elf Three Treasures.
…
After the commotion, everyone settled down to enjoy the turtle-blood hotpot once more.
Though the Beast Garden incident had concluded perfectly, Ye Chong had acquired nearly eighty percent of its magical beasts, turned the secret realm into the new Beast Garden, and gained a seventh-rank Chaos Giant Turtle loli pet, the duel between him and Boslily was not technically over. They still needed to tie up loose ends.
“In a bit we’ll put on a show for the others. We’ll pretend we barely escaped the collapsing Beast Garden world with our lives to properly end this duel,” Ye Chong said, twin streams of noseblood trickling down, clearly a bit over-nourished…
“Then I have to pretend to have won,” Boslily said, also bleeding from both nostrils. She sighed inwardly. If they truly fought now, she might no longer be his match. But the Phase King Grimoire held limitless potential. Given time, she would become far more terrifying. Reaching Saint-tier would pose no difficulty… yet Ye Chong’s grimoire seemed no inferior.
“It would be best if you both look completely exhausted, unable to fight on, collapsing to the ground. But big brother should collapse first. That way, although Miss Boslily technically wins, you won’t lose too badly,” Resha suggested, her noseblood dripping straight into her ample cleavage.
“Then it’s time to test your acting skills,” Debbie added, nose also bleeding freely.
Among everyone present, only Guni was not having a nosebleed, though her flushed little face showed she too was suffering from excessive internal heat…
