Chen Ye opened his palm, and the fingernail-sized white scale lay quietly in his hand.

As soon as it appeared, Qing Jun’s big eyes, which were originally darting around, suddenly froze.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

It was as if an invisible large hand had gripped her heart, causing it to pound violently. Blood surged through her veins, creating a roaring sound that only she could hear.

A desire from deep within her soul made her almost unable to control herself from leaping forward and swallowing the scale whole!

"Smells so good..."

The little girl subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Her usually mischievous eyes were now fixed straight, staring intently at the scale. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Master, what is this delicious thing? Is it for me to eat?"

Chen Ye: "..."

He looked at his disciple’s greedy expression and couldn’t help but hold his forehead.

This is a True Dragon Scale! It’s a supreme treasure capable of withstanding a Golden Core’s blow!

And all you see is food?

"Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating."

Chen Ye flicked her forehead with a hint of irritation,

"This is a True Dragon Scale, gifted to me by True Inheritor Bai for protection. She said it could withstand a full-strength attack from a Golden Core True Man."

"True Inheritor Bai? That Golden Furred Ball?!"

The desire in Qing Jun’s eyes was replaced by vigilance. Her little face turned stern,

"Why would she give Master something so precious? Offering virtues without reason means a plot is afoot! Master, don’t be fooled by her sugar-coated bullets! She must be plotting after Master’s beauty! Listen to Qing Jun and let’s return this thing quickly!"

Hmph!

That despicable person must have hidden motives.

Qing Jun knew from a young age that there is no such thing as an unearned gift.

Just like how she cooks for Master every day, does she really enjoy cooking?

Hmm... she does like it a bit, especially since it’s for Master.

Chen Ye’s old face blushed, and he averted his eyes guiltily.

She actually hit the mark... although it was a bit convoluted, Bai Susu indeed has ulterior motives.

"Nonsense, this is... this is for the greater good of the sect!"

Chen Ye forcefully explained, then said seriously,

"However, I feel that this item is tied to your fate. After touching this dragon scale, your body should have sensed something, right?"

"I don’t want..."

Qing Jun was about to pridefully refuse the "bad woman’s stuff," but the alluring aura from the scale made it impossible for her to look away.

Every cell in her body shouted "want it."

She bit her finger in agony, her big eyes darting between the scale and her master’s face.

If she took it, wouldn’t she owe that bad woman a favor?

But... she really wanted it!

It felt like a starving girl seeing a delicious roast chicken after three days of hunger.

No, it was a hundred times stronger than that!

But...

For Master’s sake, she could still control herself!

The little girl was about to refuse again when she saw Chen Ye starting to retrieve his hand: "What? You don’t want it? Then I’ll keep it for myself. Anyway, once it’s in my hands, I won’t return it to True Inheritor Bai."

"I want it!"

Qing Jun panicked. She grabbed Chen Ye’s hand, snatching the scale and clutching it tightly in her palm.

"Hmph! Then I’ll reluctantly accept it! After all, the sneaky Master has already decided to take someone’s item... in that case, this dragon scale is Master’s, and Master’s items are Qing Jun’s items!"

The little girl found herself a perfect excuse, instantly feeling justified.

Chen Ye chuckled, this logic was something else.

He pinched Qing Jun’s cheek with a smile: "Does that mean, Qing Jun’s items are also Master’s items, including Qing Jun herself?"

Qing Jun’s face turned pale: "You, you, you... Taoist Chen, what nonsense are you spouting! Sigh... it’s really worrying Qing Jun, let’s see how you perform, Master."

Chen Ye’s face darkened. What strange things was this girl talking about again?

He always felt that Qing Jun’s mind was filled with peculiar thoughts now; could she be growing up?

Before the master and disciple could continue their bickering, a sudden change occurred with the dragon scale in Qing Jun’s palm!

"Buzz—"

The once dull and dim scale suddenly burst into a blinding milky white light!

Within the light, an ancient and long dragon’s roar faintly echoed, shaking the souls of everyone in the room.

Next, the scale, like melting snow and ice, transformed into a gentle stream of light and directly flowed into Qing Jun’s body through her palm!

"Ah!"

Qing Jun let out a cry, feeling a warm current instantly circulate through her entire body, so comfortable she almost moaned aloud.

She instinctively closed her eyes, and faint silver patterns emerged on her skin, resembling fine dragon scales that flickered and disappeared.

Chen Ye and Zhiwei were both stunned.

"This..." Zhiwei covered her mouth, "It directly refined? Even recognizing a magical treasure doesn’t happen this fast, right?"

Chen Ye was even more shocked.

He had seen those patterns on the Profound Scale Guard, but the scale patterns on them seemed beast-like, while on Qing Jun, they bestowed a touch of divinity.

"Could it be... that it further awakened Qing Jun’s bloodline?"

Chen Ye pondered silently,

"Especially since the owner of this scale is closely connected to Qing Jun... after all, Qing Jun isn’t really Mao Qingzhu’s daughter, she couldn’t have appeared out of nowhere. And this is a white scale... could it be Qing Jun’s kin?"

A moment later, the light faded.

Qing Jun slowly opened her eyes and, for a moment, her pupils were blood red, exuding majesty and indifference, but they quickly returned to their original adorable black and white.

"Burp~"

The little girl let out a satisfied burp, rubbed her belly, and looked delighted,

"So full... Master, this was really delicious!"