The Black Dragon was likely the one with the most collection of gold and treasures among all dragons.
Powerful and deeply passionate about his hoard, he spent every moment outside of essential cultivation, eating, and sleeping on gathering treasures.
Thus, his lair was filled with mountains of gold and jewels, piled so high they could bury ten of him.
But the other races were no fools.
They set up camp right outside the Black Dragon’s lair, building temporary wooden huts one after another, clearing the vast forest at his doorstep.
Not only that, but their kin also poured in endlessly from beyond the Coiling Dragon Mountain Range.
More people meant more treasures to loot.
Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of such a bargain?
Yao Zuizui watched as the Black Dragon’s treasure mountains dwindled by a centimeter in thickness every day, her heart heavy with worry.
In contrast, the Black Dragon pretended not to care.
He still brought her delicious food and fun trinkets from his travels, doing everything to make her happy.
But Yao Zuizui knew—he just wanted to ease her worries.
In truth, every night when she tossed and turned in bed, she could sense him sitting at the cave entrance, gazing at the bright moon in the distance. The silver light spilled over his scales, making him seem even lonelier.
They couldn’t afford to keep going like this.
Yet all the races had surrounded the Black Dragon’s lair in layers, sealing it so tightly that even Yao Zuizui couldn’t escape.
She had considered stepping out herself, letting them fight over who should claim her.
But they refused to play along. Instead, they insisted on taking her crystal heart out of the Coiling Dragon Mountain Range first, then settling the matter among themselves.
Not even bothering with pretense anymore.
No talk of a grand wedding, no promises of glory—just her heart, and then a battle for supremacy.
To them, Yao Zuizui wasn’t a beautiful princess, nor even a person.
She was an object, a treasure, something that could reshape the entire continent.
Only the Black Dragon treated her as both treasure and a living, breathing being.
Yao Zuizui watched with growing distress as the Black Dragon came and went each day, racking his brains for a solution.
He seemed thinner, his massive frame shrinking, even his large dragon eyes dulled with exhaustion.
Worse still, she noticed fresh wounds on him every time he returned, his expression more haggard than before.
She tugged gently at his claw, tracing the cracks with her fingers. “What happened to these injuries? Didn’t those despicable races agree to a temporary truce?”
Her brows furrowed slightly, her blue eyes clouded with worry.
The Black Dragon quickly pulled his claw back, hiding it behind him. “It’s nothing! Just sparring with my dragon brothers, training to improve. Don’t worry, these are just minor wounds—they’ll heal soon!”
He grinned carelessly, flashing two half-grown fangs as he made a silly face.
Yao Zuizui couldn’t help but smile, reassured by how shallow the wounds seemed.
But what the Black Dragon didn’t tell her was that he was currently competing in the election for the Dragon Clan’s next Young Patriarch.
The current Patriarch, whose strength was unmatched, had grown obsessed with cultivation, seeking only to challenge powerful opponents and refine his skills. He no longer wished to govern the clan.
The Young Patriarch would wield most of the clan’s authority in his absence, commanding the dragons’ unified actions.
The selection process was brutal—every round a life-or-death duel.
On the arena, there was no mercy. Contracts were signed, and the losers paid with their lives.
The Black Dragon was a strong contender, but victory wasn’t guaranteed. So he pushed himself relentlessly—training day and night, battling magical beasts, doing anything to increase his chances.
He even skipped meals and sleep.
But he couldn’t tell Yao Zuizui. He didn’t want her to worry.
Because this was his last hope.
The Patriarch refused to intervene, but if the Black Dragon won, he could mobilize the entire Dragon Clan to drive the invaders out of the Coiling Dragon Mountain Range.
Yao Zuizui watched helplessly as the Black Dragon grew more haggard by the day, his eyes bloodshot, his temper fraying.
She had never felt so lost, so useless.
Not since her mother disappeared had she felt this wretched.
===
“Kill yourself.”
A voice, ethereal and serene, whispered into her mind—one she knew all too well.
Her beautiful eyes widened in confusion. “Immortal Venerable…?”
“It’s me.” Suhei’s voice resonated across dimensions. “If you die, all your troubles will end.”
“But what about him…?” Yao Zuizui hesitated, thinking of the Black Dragon.
“Your heart grants immortality to whoever fuses with it. Don’t leave it for him.”
With that, Suhei’s voice faded, the air crackling briefly before silence reclaimed the cave.
Yao Zuizui stood frozen.
Her heart… could grant eternal life?
Wasn’t that exactly what she wanted?
To let the fragment of the Great Demon King’s soul remain in this world forever—never returning to the Immortal Realm to be purified, never facing annihilation.
Let him stay here, a carefree dragon, delighted by the simplest treasures.
That was the best ending for him.
Yao Zuizui knew she couldn’t stay in this world forever, couldn’t accompany him for millennia.
Since parting was inevitable, better to do it sooner.
Before their bond grew too deep.
She didn’t want him to suffer like this anymore.
Her gaze fell on the Black Dragon’s dwindling hoard—now barely a finger’s width tall.
Every time he returned, he deliberately avoided looking at it.
Whether to spare her guilt or his own pain, she noticed every little gesture.
Yao Zuizui pressed a hand to her chest.
Her heart burned and chilled at once, two opposing sensations merging strangely beneath her ribs.
She had wanted to bid the Black Dragon a proper farewell, but as night fell completely, only the distant glow of the invaders’ camps remained.
The Black Dragon was nowhere in sight.
Too late, then.
No goodbyes.
At least her heart would stay with him forever.
A soft glow began to emanate from Yao Zuizui’s body, spreading from her heart outward.
Her already fair skin turned translucent, crystalline, as if she were becoming glass.
She lifted a hand, watching as her fingertips hardened into flawless crystal, shimmering and perfect.
Then, inch by inch, her fingers dissolved, her palm, her arm…
Her legs followed, vanishing from toe to thigh…
Her entire body had turned to crystal, shrinking slowly, fading away.
In the last second, a shadow flickered at the cave entrance.
Her lips curved into a faint smile.
*Goodbye, Great Demon King.*
The Black Dragon saw only that smile as he rushed in—the one that shattered his heart.
So beautiful, so pure, so flawless.
More radiant than any angel.
And the last he would ever see of her.
His soul splintered into fragments no treasure could ever mend.
Yao Zuizui’s heart, sensing his presence, burst into countless specks of light, drifting toward his chest.
The glowing motes, dreamlike and weightless, purer than anything he had ever seen, pulsed with a power that made his heart tremble.
They seemed capable of cleansing all darkness, all evil.
The Black Dragon beat his wings desperately, trying to block them.
“No! I don’t want this! Get away! Reassemble! Bring her back!!”
“I don’t want you! I don’t!” His voice tore into a raw scream, his vocal cords fraying.
But the lights didn’t understand.
They pressed forward, merging into his heart one by one.
The Black Dragon thrashed uselessly, his mind blank save for grief.
*Why… why was he so weak?*
Today, he had lost the Young Patriarch election.
Hopeless, he had wandered aimlessly, out of ideas.
And now, returning to this.
*It was all his fault.*
If he had come back sooner, his treasure wouldn’t have died.
At least he could have died first.
The last mote vanished into his chest.
The cave plunged into absolute darkness, not a single glimmer left.
All the gems and luminous pearls that once lit the lair had been traded away.
The Black Dragon lay on the cold stone floor, staring blankly into the void.
He saw nothing.
Only endless blackness swallowing his vision.
Memories of her flooded back.
*”Daddy, hug me!”*
*”Daddy, this is yummy, try it!”*
*”Daddy, does it hurt…?”*
…
The Western Continent’s historical records documented the world-changing event thus:
*On the 11th day of the 11th month, Year 13,986 of the Blazing Era, multiple races gathered at the Coiling Dragon Mountain Range, vying for the Supreme Crystal and the princess’s hand at the lair of the Dragon Sovereign, the Black Dragon.*
*The princess willingly offered her heart to the Dragon Sovereign.*
*The Dragon Sovereign ascended in fury, slaughtering all 1,200 invaders before his lair, leaving a sea of blood with no survivors.*
*Thereafter, the great races suffered devastating losses, their power waning. The Dragon Clan rose as the continent’s supreme force, its wrath unprovokable.*
*On the 11th day of the 11th month, Year 13,987 of the Blazing Era, the Dragon Sovereign circled the battlefield for a full year without landing.*
*Exhausted, he finally perished mid-flight.*
*The land, flattened by his divine might, was renamed Dragon’s Vale.*
*Legends say the Supreme Crystal rests at its heart, guarded eternally by the Dragon Sovereign’s spirit.*
*Beware: Dragon’s Vale is the princess’s resting place, the Dragon Sovereign’s sacred ground. Trespassers will die without exception!*
===
Yao Zuizui stared at the water mirror before her, tears rippling across its surface.
“Would you like to know where your mother is?” A voice spoke behind her.
[This Worldline: End]
[VII] Young Master, Won’t You Move a Little?
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