The green centipede crawled from Celeste Grant’s hand to her wrist, then onto her sleeve. It found a spot and settled there, motionless, looking just like a touch of green embroidery on her clothes.

Sitting beside Javier Sinclair on the swing, Celeste Grant gripped the vine on one side and said, "To think Jade is The Azure Dragon... That’s a *dragon*..."

Celeste was a little excited at the thought that the Right Protector’s true form was The Azure Dragon.

Celeste had been quite calm when she saw Divine Beasts like Vermilion and the White Tiger. After all, zoos in her old world had tigers—even Siberian ones—they just didn’t have wings. So they looked more or less the same. Vermilion was a bird, too, so it didn’t seem all that rare.

Only dragons, with no similar counterpart, were truly unique. That made them rare, and she was eager to see one for herself.

Javier Sinclair turned to look at her. "The Right Protector is The Azure Dragon. Is that so strange?"

Celeste Grant smiled faintly.

She glanced at him and said, "You wouldn’t understand... I’d heard of dragons before, but I’d never seen one, so I was always curious about what they looked like. To think a dragon has been by my side all this time... I’d really like to see one, to know if it’s like what I imagined."

As someone from the twenty-first century, dragons were beings of legend in the world she came from. Everyone always wondered: do dragons really exist in this world?

In fact, even back then, Celeste Grant had believed they must exist. Perhaps someone had truly seen a dragon in ancient times; otherwise, how could the stories have been passed down through generations?

But since dragons could fly, Celeste used to speculate that the Dragon Clan might even be an alien race, living on some planet rich with the Spiritual Energy needed for their survival.

Now that she was in the Cultivation World, anything seemed possible.

’The Azure Dragon was right beside me, and I had no idea all this time.’

Javier Sinclair glanced at her.

"You want to know what a dragon looks like? That’s simple."

"Wait here."

As he spoke, he brought his joined fingers to his eyes and called out.

"Jade, come here for a moment."

The moment his voice fell, a figure appeared before them with a WHOOSH.

The newcomer was tall and clad in snug black clothes, his long hair casually tied back. He wore a half-mask in the shape of a fiendish demon, revealing the upper half of his face from the nose up. He looked young and quite handsome.

Jade knelt on one knee, placing a hand over his chest.

"This subordinate greets The Exalted One and Madam."

Javier Sinclair raised his hand slightly.

"Rise."

"Yes, Exalted One."

Jade stood up.

Just then, Celeste Grant rose from the swing, her gaze sharp as she stared intently at the young man in black who had just appeared.

Stared at so directly, Jade took a step back.

’Did I do something wrong?’ He thought hard. ’No, I don’t think so! Why is Madam staring at me like that? Is there something off about me today?’

Celeste Grant walked up to him.

She looked at the young man in black before her and asked in a low voice.

"Right Protector?"

Jade replied respectfully.

"Do you have any orders for me, Madam?"

"No, no... I just have a question."

Still finding it hard to believe, she pointed at him. "You’re not human, are you?"

Jade looked utterly baffled. ’Of course I’m not human. I’m a dragon... a dragon is a dragon, definitely not a person!’

Despite his thoughts, he replied respectfully, "In response to your question, Madam, my true form is that of an Azure Dragon. I am not a Human Cultivator."

Celeste Grant stared at him.

"So, you’re really a Divine Beast that cultivated into human form?"

The young man, Jade, nodded slightly.

"Yes."

At that moment, Javier Sinclair, still seated on the swing, gestured with his hand. Then he looked at Jade and said, "Your madam is very curious about what you look like. Transform into your true form and let her see."

Jade scratched his head.

"Yes, Exalted One."

He was a dragon, after all, so he didn’t think it was any big deal.

He leaped into the air.

The next moment, a dragon’s roar echoed as his figure transformed directly into a dragon, coiling twice as it soared into the sky.

Celeste Grant looked up to see an Azure Dragon appear in the night sky.

Its body was like a great serpent, its head like a qilin, its tail like a carp. It had long whiskers on its face, antlers like a deer, and five claws on its underbelly. Its massive form, an imposing shade of cyan, circled majestically in the sky.

"Th-this... There really are dragons?"

Seeing this sight, Celeste Grant couldn’t help but mutter, "Sisters... my people... there really are dragons in this world."

If anyone ever asked her in the future, "Are dragons real?" Celeste Grant would answer without a moment’s hesitation... "Yes."

Watching The Azure Dragon circle among the clouds, Celeste Grant took her phone out of her Storage Ring and started snapping pictures of the sky. CLICK! CLICK!

"It’s so huge, and those long whiskers... The Dragon Scales are beautiful, and those Dragon Horns... So cool, just so cool!"

This dragon was clearly an adult, its body strong and powerful.

Javier Sinclair stood up and walked to her side.

He put one arm around her shoulders, leaned down close to her ear, and spoke in a low voice. "Want to give it a try?"

Celeste Grant froze.

"Try what?"

Just then, Javier Sinclair scooped her up into his arms, carrying her horizontally, and leaped into the air. At the same time, The Azure Dragon circled the pair once before carrying them away, and they vanished from sight.

The wind howled in their ears.

Jade’s voice reached them.

"Exalted One, where are we going?"

"Just a casual tour of the area will do."

"Yes, Exalted One."

The Azure Dragon’s massive form carried the two of them through the sky.

Javier Sinclair now sat casually on the dragon’s back, one arm resting on his left knee. Celeste Grant was settled in his lap, and his other arm was wrapped around her waist from behind.

’So Jade is a dragon... a real dragon.’

’Is this what it feels like to ride a dragon?’

Celeste Grant reached out and touched a Dragon Scale. The texture felt soft under her hand.

"Aren’t Dragon Scales supposed to be hard?"

Javier Sinclair said nonchalantly, "Jade’s Dragon Scales can easily tear the flesh of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. If he didn’t make them soft for you, you’d probably lose your hand."

Celeste Grant smiled. "Hahaha, so that’s how it is."

Javier Sinclair smiled faintly.

He reached out and patted her on the head.

Celeste Grant turned slightly to look at him. "Your Right Protector is The Azure Dragon. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?"

Javier Sinclair glanced at her. "You never asked."

Celeste Grant looked at The Azure Dragon before them and asked curiously, "Jade, are there any other dragons in the Cultivation World besides you?"

The dragon’s head turned slightly to look at her, then shook.

"In reply, Madam, since the day I was born, I have never sensed the presence of any kin. Nor have I sensed any blood relatives. In the entire Cultivation World, I am the only dragon. I can sense the aura of two Flood Dragons over in Eos, but they are merely snakes that transformed into jiao. They don’t count as true dragons."

Celeste Grant was taken aback.

’No kin... that means in this entire world, he’s the only dragon, all alone.’

"There, there," she said, "you still have us."

’Imagine if you were the only person in the world, and everyone else wasn’t human. In a world so vast, you would surely be lonely without anyone else of your kind. Jade must feel the same way.’