Chapter 368 - First Defeat
"Well… If he cannot stay here, how about I just follow him outside?" Xi Meili suddenly suggested. "I have always been interested in the outside world, anyway."
"You want to go outside? Are you crazy? The humans will hunt you for your blood! It's too dangerous!" The Dragon Emperor immediately refused.
"That's only what our ancestors taught us, but they have also never been to the outside world before. If there are humans like Yuan and Wang Xiuying outside, I don't think it'll be that bad."
After a moment of silence, the Dragon Emperor said, "Unfortunately, that's impossible— not because I don't want to let you go outside with him. Your cultivation base is simply too high to follow him back to the Lower Heavens, where Spirit Grandmaster is the limit."
"You're simply asking to be punished by the heavens for doing so."
"Oh, right… He's from the Lower Heavens…" Xi Meili sighed, completely forgetting about that for a second.
Meanwhile, inside Yuan's room, Wang Xiuying checked his pulses just to make sure he was okay.
'Seeing him sleep like this… he really reminds me of Yu Tian…' Wang Xiuying said as she stared at Yuan's sleeping face with a somewhat dazed gaze.
The more she looked at Yuan, the more she felt like she had seen him before.
"Nnn…" Yuan suddenly opened his eyes slowly.
"Where am I…?" he mumbled in a dazed voice.
"Oh, you're awake, Yuan. We're at the Dragon Palace in your room. Xi Meili took us back after you fell unconscious during the match." Wang Xiuying explained to him what had happened.
"I see… So I lost the match, huh?" A smile on Yuan's face as he realized the situation.
"This was my first time losing a fight," he sighed in a somewhat bitter voice.
Losing felt much worse than he'd expected, especially since it's his first defeat.
"I wouldn't really call that a fight… And your opponent has 10 thousand years more experience than you. It's only obvious that you wouldn't be able to defeat her no matter your talents." Wang Xiuying said, trying to comfort him.
"I guess you're right." Yuan nodded.
"Wait right here. I'll go to Xi Meili to let her know that you're awake." Wang Xiuying said before leaving the room for a few minutes.
"Xi Meili… she was very strong— stronger than anyone I have ever fought before," Yuan mumbled as he stared at the ceiling with a dazed look on his face.
Sometime later, Wang Xiuying returned with Xi Meili and the Dragon Emperor.
"Are you okay, Yuan? Are you hurt anywhere?" Xi Meili asked him.
"I am fine," he said.
"Anyways, you really surprised me, Yuan. You're only 18 years old, yet your comprehension for the Dragon's Gaze is already as strong as mine!" Xi Meili immediately praised him afterward.
A bittersweet smile appeared on Yuan's face.
"As strong? That's not true. I was completely defeated by your Dragon's Gaze."
"Yuan, if you don't mind me asking, where did you learn the Dragon's Gaze? And how long has it been since you learned it? The Dragon's Gaze is a secret technique only available to the Royal Family." The Dragon Emperor suddenly asked him.
"Oh, I learned it from the Great One. And it was probably around a month ago when I learned it," he said.
"The Great One?!" The Dragon Emperor exclaimed.
"One month?!" Xi Meili was shocked for a different reason.
To think Yuan could comprehend the Dragon's Gaze to such an extent in a mere month whilst it took her thousands of years to reach her current level! The disparity was too large!
"Can you tell me more about it? How did you learn it from the Great One?" The Dragon Emperor continued to ask.
Yuan nodded and explained to him how he learned it from the Tablet of Comprehension, where he met the illusion of the Great One.
"I understand it, but I cannot believe it… The Great One is teaching the secret technique to random people? Just what is he thinking?" The Dragon Emperor could feel a headache coming.
It would be a disaster if their secret technique was revealed to the public, but luckily for them, according to Yuan, only two people have learned the Dragon's Gaze, and he was one of them.
"Is it really that bad if an outsider learns the technique?" Yuan couldn't help but ask them.
The Dragon Emperor nodded and said, "Since ancient times, only the Royal Family can use the Dragon's Gaze, and it's already well-established that whoever learns the Dragon's Gaze is royalty in the Dragon Race. If someone who isn't part of the Royal Family learns this technique, it'll create massive confusion and chaos amongst us— the dragons."
"There are multiple Royal Families out there, and we're just one of many. Although we don't really care that much about an outsider learning the technique since we're in this isolated world, the other Royal Families in the upper heavens may not react so kindly to an outsider learning their technique, something they are extremely proud of."
Xi Meili added, "They consider the technique as sacred as their bloodline, as both of them were given to them by the Dragon Ancestor."
"In other words, you shouldn't use your Dragon's Gaze so lightly— especially in front of other dragons."
"I see… I didn't know about this since the Great One never told me about it when I learned the technique…" Yuan said.
"Anyways, there's nothing we can do about it now that you've learned the technique. Just make sure you're not around dragons when you use that technique, as it will definitely cause misunderstandings." The Dragon Emperor said to him.
"I understand." Yuan nodded.
"Of course, if you marry someone from the Royal Family, you'll be considered royalty, allowing you to use the technique as much as you wish." Xi Meili suddenly said, clearly suggesting something here.
Of course, Yuan was too innocent to pick up the hint and said, "Marriage? As in husband and wife? But I don't think it's right to marry someone just to use a technique."
Xi Meili smiled after hearing his words, "I think so too."