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After a long moment of silent thought, Shendu glanced down at Xue'er, who was kneeling on the ground, and said calmly, "It's nothing. Get up. Stand aside and watch."
Xue'er stood up. Even though Shendu wasn't angry, she still felt uneasy. Her fists clenched tightly, and her eyes stayed locked on Ling'er, who was floating mid-air. No one knew what was going through her mind.
Staring at the frightened, crying human child, Shendu didn't scold her. Instead, he exhaled a thick stream of fiery breath that branded her forehead with a mark in the shape of a dragon's soul.
"Alright, enough crying."
A dragon's claw, powerful enough to shred anything, gently touched her forehead. Instantly, the wailing that had been echoing through the palace came to a stop.
But Ling'er's tears didn't stop. She kept crying quietly.
"It's time for the next step."
"Humans don't live past a hundred. That rebellious brat of the future—Drago—is completely different from the original Shendu."
"Thinking about it… maybe Drago was actually born from the black chi using the leftover flames of Shendu's power."
"Well, either way, let's test it now. This little girl's got exceptional talent for a human—more than enough to handle my power."
As he spoke, Shendu picked up the tiny Ling'er and turned toward the deeper part of the palace—his private chambers.
Watching the two slowly disappear into the distance, Xue'er was torn. Should she follow them? That was her little sister, after all.
But even before she made up her mind, her body began to float on its own, trailing behind Shendu.
Snapping back to reality, she tried to struggle, twisting and turning in the air, but it was no use—she continued to float right behind him.
"Lord Shendu, what are you going to do to my sister!?" she shouted.
"Human lives are so fragile and pitifully short. So tell me—what if I turned her into a dragon?"
Shendu tossed Xue'er into his palm and spoke with a calm tone.
At the same time, he pushed open the door to his room and stepped inside casually.
He flung both girls into the air, trapping them in a spherical barrier that kept them suspended, unable to fall to the ground.
Turn her into a dragon?!
A horrifying thought flashed through Xue'er's mind.
Shendu actually wanted to turn her sister into a dragon—into a demon?!
No way. That can't happen!
"My Lord, my sister is human! You can't turn her into a demon!"
"Please… I'm begging you… spare her."
Her desperate plea reached Shendu's ears, but he didn't care at all.
Turning humans into dragons—yeah, that was exactly what he had in mind.
According to ancient legends, the Pool of Transformation could turn anything into a dragon—even humans.
Shendu didn't have that mythical pool, but with the power of his own bloodline, he could transform a human into a sky-soaring dragon. Not a lizard-like dark dragon like the ones he'd created before—but a true divine dragon like himself, whose very essence had been elevated. A being of eternal life.
Any emperor in history would have been overjoyed. Who wouldn't want to be a true "Son of the Dragon" and become a real dragon?
Probably only in the Jackie Chan Adventures world, back in the age of the ancient demons, would people think of dragons as evil.
Ignoring Xue'er's begging, Shendu began drawing runes for the transformation spell.
With his dragon claw, he etched glowing patterns into the air. Gradually, a giant dragon-shaped diagram took form, surrounded by Eight Trigram symbols and the four elements: wind, fire, water, and earth.
As time passed, the glowing design became more vivid. At Shendu's will, the massive rune array landed on the floor, releasing a radiant blaze of light and heat.
"All I need is a drop of my blood… and a human with insane magical talent. That's enough."
As he spoke, Shendu reached into the floating barrier holding the girls, pulled Ling'er out, and held her in his hand.
Even though her mouth moved, not a single sound came out. But from her lips, it was obvious—she was terrified.
"Sis!"
Xue'er cried out, watching her sister get taken away from her arms.
"Lord Shendu! You can't just turn a human into a demon!"
This time, her voice wasn't filled with fear—it was full of courage.
Unfortunately, she was still too weak. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break the magical sphere Shendu had them trapped in. All she could do was stay put and keep yelling.
"Humans can become dragons. As for demons—please. I wouldn't degrade my power by turning a human into one of them."
"Let me tell you something. Everyone knows me as the Demon Sorcerer—but nobody realizes that I'm actually a divine dragon, born of the heavens and earth. A true spirit of nature, a god who holds dominion over the world."
"Demons? That's just a name humans slapped on me."
"And that fool Drago—he believed himself to be a demon lord just because humans thought so. It's laughable!"
"Demons don't rule. Only true, divine beings—like me—can hold real power!"
Shendu gripped the magic sphere in his hand and glared at Xue'er as he shouted.
Faced with Shendu's terrifying aura, Xue'er couldn't help but tremble. It was her first time seeing him this angry. She lowered her head and knelt inside the transparent barrier.
Seeing this, Shendu nodded with satisfaction. "That's more like it. I'm not a demon—I'm a god. It's not my fault humans or the black chi gave me that label."
With that, he stopped paying attention to Xue'er and tossed the trembling Ling'er into the center of the magic circle.
Then he chanted:"Yagami Moya, Yagami Chiwa, Yagami Moya, Yagami Chiwa..."
"Activate!"
Shendu's eyes glowed red. He slammed one hand onto the ground, and a wave of intense flame erupted from the circle, instantly engulfing Ling'er.
Next, he slashed across his own chest with a claw, releasing a single drop of thick, fiery blood that fell into the spell.
In an instant, the drop hit the circle, and the fire consumed Ling'er's human body.
"It's done!"
Shendu's voice was full of excitement.
Where the tiny human had once been now sat a massive dragon egg—five meters wide. The flames vanished, and the powerful natural energy of the world poured into it, feeding it.
The magic circle beneath the egg glowed brighter and brighter, forming nine rays of divine light that bathed the egg's surface.
With everything complete, Shendu released Xue'er from the magic sphere and said, "Your sister… Heaven and Earth are ruled by the number nine. Nine is the ultimate. In nine days, she'll hatch."
"When she does, she won't be a weak little girl anymore—she'll be a majestic dragon, soaring across the skies!"
"Of course… she'll be very busy. I've got a lot of work for her to do."
The ritual Shendu used didn't resemble the magic seen in Jackie Chan Adventures—it felt more like something out of ancient mythology.
Maybe that's because Shendu's true form was the Golden Sun Dragon.
He wasn't doing all this out of sentiment. Shendu created his own divine dragon—a being tied directly to him—not for love or family.
But to have a powerful lifeform he could exploit forever.
A human magic prodigy fused with dragonkind? The power would be unimaginable.
Sure, it might be cruel to use Ling'er like this—but in return, she'd get eternal life. That made it "fair," at least to him.
Shendu was a divine being born of the world itself—an innate dragon spirit.
But the dragon he just created?
That was an acquired dragon—one born by magic, not nature.
"....."