Chapter Three: Bleeding the Dragon

“Great Goddess of Life, let your glory descend upon the world and have mercy on us humble believers!” The solemn and profound incantation echoed through the towering Sunset Mountains.

At the summit of the main peak, the highest point of the entire range—Sky-reaching Peak—bright clouds swirled as the Holy Priest of Light, Anthony, prayed. Suddenly, fierce winds arose, driving layers upon layers of colorful clouds toward the altar at the mountain’s center. The clouds gathered ever thicker, soon enveloping the entire peak. From afar, a lone mountain stood tall amidst rolling hills, clad in radiant clouds, gazing down upon all with proud majesty.

Anthony raised his staff high, arms outstretched to the heavens. A milky-white, sacred glow shimmered around him. As the incantation ended, he lifted his head, focusing intently on the sky above. Under Anthony’s devout gaze, a brilliant white light suddenly descended, like a sword cleaving through the thick clouds, shining directly upon the altar and the languishing red dragon lying there.

Seeing his prayer answered, Anthony exhaled deeply, wiped the sweat from his brow, steadied his wavering form, and thought to himself: Still too taxing. In my prime, a mere eighth-level prayer would never have exhausted a ninth-level Holy Priest like me...

When his prayer was finished, Anthony’s face was etched with fatigue. He slowly stepped down from the altar and spoke to the anxious Kanas waiting below. “Dragon Knight Kanas, I have petitioned the Goddess of Life. I believe there will soon be results.”

“Thank you, Your Eminence,” Kanas replied, though his gaze remained fixed on the dragon atop the altar—his mount and companion, the red dragon Crimson Flame.

Seeing Kanas’s nervous demeanor, a faint smile of appreciation appeared on Anthony’s pale, weary face. To treat a magical companion as kin—only such devotion would win the dragons’ recognition. No wonder he became the youngest dragon knight on the continent!

Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the ground. The earth quaked, and the Sunset Mountains, stretching for hundreds of miles, seemed to ripple with the shaking. Even the altar threatened to collapse. Kanas quickly steadied the weakened Anthony, asking, “Your Eminence, are you all right?”

At that moment, the light at the altar began to change—from white to red, orange, green, purple... Finally, a pillar of dazzling seven-colored light shot upward from the altar, piercing the sky above Sky-reaching Peak, swirling for a long while before vanishing into the vast sea of stars.

“The Goddess of Life has responded!” The Holy Priest nodded to Kanas, signaling the spell was complete. Seeing Anthony’s gesture, Kanas leapt up, rushing toward the altar with a burst of speed, leaving fading afterimages behind—a testament to his formidable prowess befitting a dragon knight.

Yet atop the altar, the unfortunate Crimson Flame remained motionless, unchanged. “Your Eminence, it’s still... the same as before!” Kanas gently patted his magical companion, but there was no response. His voice trembled with anxiety.

“How can this be?” Anthony hurried to the altar, inspecting the dragon closely from head to tail, his wrinkled face furrowing all the more.

“My prayer cannot be wrong. The Goddess of Life clearly responded just now.” Feeling his magic and faith severely challenged, the old priest’s features scrunched together, his back hunching further. Though his strength had greatly waned, he couldn’t believe even an eighth-level spell would fail him. Anthony pondered bitterly, when suddenly a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.

“Any harm imposed upon Crimson Flame should vanish under the divine light. But... could its injuries come from within?” He paused, tapping his battered staff, explaining to Kanas but seeming to comfort himself more.

“From within? But it was wounded by the golden Behemoth’s claws and trampling, wasn’t it?” Kanas couldn’t believe it, though his tone was not one of doubt, only gentle inquiry.

For a moment, the atmosphere grew quiet.

A certain someone, together with the dog in his arms, found themselves slightly sidelined, mouths agape, tongues lolling, gazing blankly in awe at the miracle before them.

Although he’d seen countless computer effects and grand scenes on screen, witnessing real magic unfold before him left Chu Tian utterly stunned.

Imagining himself, someday surrounded by gold and beauties, wielding such power, Chu Tian’s mind, out of professional habit, shifted to technical considerations.

Not from external sources? Could it be internal injury? Trampled... unable to move... Glancing at the dragon’s unfocused eyes, a flash of inspiration struck Chu Tian’s heart. He confirmed his thoughts and made a decision—a legendary gamble that might turn the wheels of history...

“Perhaps I can heal it.” Though uncertain, Chu Tian spoke firmly, delivering a bombshell to the hesitant Anthony and Kanas.

“Heal it? Are you a priest as well? I can’t sense your power.” The old priest frowned, scrutinizing Chu Tian in disbelief.

“Xiao Tian, you really can heal it?” Kanas’s expression was one of incredulity, yet a glimmer of hope shone through.

Chu Tian’s confidence wavered under their scrutiny. Weighing the pros and cons: if successful, he’d become a benefactor to a dragon knight, a relationship enough to guarantee a lifetime of glory. If he failed, well, after nearly dying from lightning, he might as well risk it for the future. “Of course I can. Big brother, do you trust me?” He placed the puppy on the ground, looking earnestly at the two men.

Anthony and Kanas exchanged glances.

After a long pause,

“Then give it a try. Things can hardly get worse.” Kanas nodded sharply, as if making a desperate decision. Those at the brink of despair would never let hope slip away.

Suppressing his anxiety and recalling the standard for lizards, Chu Tian began a thorough examination of the dragon.

If Crimson Flame were a lizard, Chu Tian could confidently diagnose: a heavy blow caused blood to pool in its hindbrain and neck, pressing on the nerves and making it unable to move. But this conclusion only applied if it were a lizard. As for a dragon? Chu Tian’s scalp tingled.

Lizard equals dragon? That equation spun endlessly in his mind.

“Big brother, give me a dagger.” Hesitation was never Chu Tian’s style. Gritting his teeth, he decided to go all in.

Taking the dagger, with Anthony and Kanas watching, Chu Tian felt the dragon’s neck. Skin that should have been as tough as steel felt wrinkled and sunken; the fine scales had softened and would not resist the blade. This was the place. The hindbrain was too dangerous; Chu Tian wasn’t bold enough to operate on a dragon’s head, so he settled for the neck, a relatively safe spot.

“What are you doing? Crimson Flame must not be harmed any further.” Though he’d lent the dagger and chosen to bet on Chu Tian, seeing him wielding a weapon over his magical companion, Kanas’s heart was in his throat. Anthony looked at Chu Tian with equal puzzlement.

“I’m going to let it bleed!” Chu Tian squinted and smiled slightly, but with no hesitation plunged the dagger into Crimson Flame’s neck. His swift, ruthless action lived up to his reputation as a butcher!

A burst of crimson spurted out, dragon blood gushing from the wound. Completely unprepared for the dragon’s blood volume, Chu Tian was drenched from head to toe!

Kanas, the dragon knight, was stunned. Anthony, the Holy Priest of Light, was stunned. And Xiao Bai, covering its eyes with two paws, peered through the gaps with wide, bewildered eyes at the showered Chu Tian.

“What are you doing?” “Crimson Flame!” Anthony’s cry and Kanas’s lament rang out together, but at that moment Chu Tian had no time to appreciate it.

Pain! That was all Chu Tian could feel. Bathing in dragon blood—whether anyone would dare follow suit, he was certainly the first. Dragon blood, a treasure countless people dreamed of. Weapons forged with it could cut hair, magical scrolls written with it could flatten cities. If the continent’s mighty saw so much dragon blood used as a bath... Chu Tian’s future might not be so bright.

But the guilty Chu Tian knew nothing of this. It seemed every cell was groaning, every nerve dancing. Amid Anthony and Kanas’s shouts and Xiao Bai’s whimpers, Chu Tian finally gloriously fainted.

“Roar!” As Chu Tian collapsed, a dragon’s cry echoed through the mountains, snapping everyone from their shock.

Under surprised and incredulous gazes, Crimson Flame, who moments before could not move, slowly, shakily stood up!