By the time the late-night snack was ready, Xia Zhi found Azhdaha in the midst of telling everyone stories from long ago.
"Come and eat, the noodles are ready."
"Alright!"
Azhdaha paused his storytelling, taking a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
Just as he was about to stand up to fetch his bowl, Yaoyao had already brought it over to him, her crisp and cheerful voice ringing out clearly:
"Grandpa Dragon King, Master asked me to bring this to you!"
Azhdaha hurriedly reached out to take it: "Ah, careful now, don't burn your hands. Yaoyao is such a good girl."
"It's fine!"
Yaoyao smiled sweetly, then ran off to grab her own small bowl.
Azhdaha watched the little girl's retreating figure, a gentle, grandfatherly smile spreading across his face, before he lowered his head to enjoy the noodles.
Xia Zhi watched this heartwarming scene unfold from his god's eye, shaking his head inwardly.
Storytellers often talk about the vast differences between immortals and mortals—but in truth, they really aren't so different after all.
Besides, Yaoyao truly is a little angel.
---
It wasn't until the late-night meal was nearly over that Xia Zhi discovered another remarkable trait of Azhdaha's:
The Dragon King had an astonishingly large appetite.
"Dragon King, this is your tenth bowl. Do you want more?"
"Seems like we're out of noodles, aren't we?"
"No worries, we have plenty of flour. I can knead some fresh dough right now."
"Ah, that's too much trouble. Let's leave it at this—I'm nearly full anyway. Mr. Xia, your cooking skills truly are unmatched!"
"You're too kind, Dragon King. Tonight's meal was hastily prepared; it can't be considered anything special."
"This still isn't special?"
"Tomorrow, I'll officially prepare a proper banquet as an apology for my earlier behavior."
"What apology? Mr. Xia, really!"
Azhdaha hurriedly waved his hands.
After eating those ten bowls of noodles just now, he already felt that the punches he'd received earlier were more than worth it.
Besides, he had been the one who'd lost control first—he certainly couldn't blame Xia Zhi.
Who could have guessed there would be even more delicious dishes tomorrow?
Azhdaha couldn't help but feel excited at the thought.
Mr. Xia was genuinely sincere and reliable—a person truly worth befriending!
---
Inside his room.
Xia Zhi lay on his bed, resting for a moment.
After today's fight and then preparing a late-night meal, he felt somewhat tired.
But the day's gains had been plentiful as well.
A Diamond Treasure Chest, the Geo Dragon King's skill list, Adepti reputation +1, server +1, favorability +1…
Xia Zhi sat up from his bed, retrieved the Diamond Treasure Chest from his inventory, and studied it thoughtfully. Then, he bought a bottle of [Luck Potion] from the [Shop], drank it down, and opened the treasure chest.
A black chain materialized before his eyes.
[Chain of Darkness]
Quality: Diamond
Type: Special Equipment
Traits: Shadow Travel, Enemy Binding, Anti-Divine
Effects: Automatically grants mastery of all Dark-type spells tier five and below; can automatically target and bind selected opponents. The stronger the target's divinity, the more effective the binding.
Hidden Effect: Initial affinity with Demon-type beings set to Friendly, and affinity increase rate +100%.
Recyclable: 10,000 points.
Xia Zhi gazed at the item's description in mild surprise.
It turned out to be special equipment with an [Anti-Divine] trait.
This was the second [Anti-Divine] item he'd obtained.
The first had been the [Virtue Template].
Back then, when he'd still been weak, the [Anti-Divine] trait hadn't been particularly useful.
Rather than keeping it for an uncertain future, he'd chosen to turn it into starting capital.
But now, as he'd already reached god-level, the [Anti-Divine] trait would prove extremely useful—perhaps even exactly what he needed most.
The Luck Potion's super-high luck bonus was clearly in effect.
For instance, during tonight's events at the Dragon-Queller tree, if he'd had this [Chain of Darkness] then, he wouldn't have needed to transform and painstakingly knock out Azhdaha. He could have simply bound him and fed him the tea leaves directly.
As for the first effect—automatic mastery of fifth-tier Dark spells—and the hidden effect, affinity with Demon-type beings, it closely resembled the [Radiant Wings] he had previously obtained, which granted fifth-tier Light spells and affinity with Celestial-type beings.
Were there any Demon-type creatures in Teyvat? He didn't think so.
Xia Zhi considered briefly, then equipped the [Chain of Darkness] onto his character panel.
Instantly, his skill panel filled with a large array of Dark-element spells.
System notifications echoed continuously in his mind:
"[Dark Body] mastery acquired automatically."
"[Dark Heart] mastery acquired automatically."
---
"Host has acquired trait: [Space Rip]."
"[Chain of Darkness]'s traits [Shadow Travel] and [Enemy Binding] can now be activated remotely."
Another new combination of traits.
Xia Zhi extended his hand, lightly beckoning.
A black chain slithered out from his own shadow like a giant serpent, winding continuously around his body.
He tossed the pillow from his bed into the air, and with a thought, the black chain vanished instantly.
In the next moment, the space around the airborne pillow rippled as the black chain reappeared, tightly binding the pillow.
The black chain obediently brought the bound pillow back to his side.
"The binding target doesn't necessarily have to be a person; objects work too. In this case, aside from restraining enemies, the [Chain of Darkness] can also be used to rescue people or retrieve items—very practical indeed."
Next, Xia Zhi tested [Shadow Travel].
This trait allowed him to leap and move freely between different shadows without causing any spatial fluctuations.
It was quite a good stealth ability.
Though still not as powerful as his [Stealth] trait.
Glancing at his system panel, he saw the [Luck Potion]'s duration still had plenty of time remaining.
Xia Zhi took out the [Transformation Badge] from his inventory.
[Transformation Badge]
Quality: Platinum
Type: Rechargeable Item
Traits: Transformation, Fusion
Effect: Each use requires charging with a large amount of elemental energy. After fully charged, the item grants the user one random transformation ability related to the charged element, with a time limit.
Hidden Effect: Elemental energy recovery speed +30%, transformation duration +100%.
He had just used it earlier tonight, so the badge was currently at zero charge.
Now that he'd newly acquired Dark-element abilities, he could try and see what new transformation he might randomly obtain.
Holding the [Transformation Badge], Xia Zhi began pouring Dark-elemental energy into it.
"Charging complete: 100%. Randomly selecting transformation ability—element type limited to Dark."
"Selecting ability…"
"Transformation acquired: [Vampire Progenitor]. Time limit: 5 minutes."
At the same moment, the badge turned a deep, blood-red hue.