Longevity Martial Arts: I have a Mysterious Water Snake Avatar

"It takes five hundred years for a Water Snake to transform into a Flood Dragon, and a thousand years for the Flood Dragon to transform into a Dragon. It takes another five hundred years to become a Horned Dragon, and a thousand more to attain the level of an Ying Dragon."

"A Flood Dragon is not truly a Dragon, as it still has a ways to go before it reaches dragonhood. During torrential downpours, the process of the Flood Dragon descending along the water flow into the East Sea is known as 'Walking Dragon.' Walking Dragon is the final step for a Flood Dragon—or any other enlightened creature, such as turtles or soft-shelled turtles—to transform into a Dragon."

"During the 'Walking Dragon' phase, it often triggers flash floods. In secluded mountain regions with sparse human activity, this may not be a concern. However, in densely populated areas, it often leads to severe disasters. This is why there's a saying: 'A Flood Dragon traveling down water brings havoc to all quarters.'

Moreover, when 'Walking Dragon' occurs, if a bridge is encountered, the Flood Dragon cannot swim under it. Instead, it must wait for the river to overflow the stone bridge and then swim over it."

Hong Yuan continued to extract information from this miscellaneous book. When he read about the Flood Dragon taking to the water to transform into a Dragon, he thought of a very popular term from web literature on Blue Star in his past life: 'ritual.' Ritual, or rather, role-playing!

Although I'm not sure what caused the Mysterious Water Snake's peculiar transformation, I think I know how I can accelerate its evolution towards the form of an Ice Armor Python, Hong Yuan thought.

He needed to have the Mysterious Water Snake play the part of an Ice Armor Python!

With a plan in mind, Hong Yuan began to collect information about Ice Armor Pythons in the Book Pavilion.

After spending three days, Hong Yuan finally gathered the information he needed and incidentally sold the newly crafted weapon to Liu Xiang'er.

From there, Hong Yuan patiently studied the role-playing ritual.

...

...

The Ice Armor Python boasts formidable defensive power and is able to create a world of ice and snow in the midst of scorching summer heat. It favors cold, detests heat, and enjoys stirring winds and waves on the shore.

Formidable defensive power—powerful innate defensive ability—Body-refining Cultivation Technique.

Ice and snow—Ice Talent—'Myriad Silence Origin Skill.'

Although the Ice Talent refined from the 'Myriad Silence Origin Skill' upon reaching the Minor Accomplishment Stage is powerful, progressing to this stage is quite difficult. Therefore, Hong Yuan decided to cultivate an additional, simpler ice-based Cultivation Technique.

Hong Yuan spent all of the two hundred and forty-plus Energy Stones he received from Liu Xiang'er to acquire a second-rank, ice-based Cultivation Technique: 'Frost Armor.'

With his natural aptitude of 28 points, Hong Yuan quickly advanced this Cultivation Technique to the Proficient Realm.

Once this Cultivation Technique reached the Minor Accomplishment Stage, Hong Yuan could use his Innate Ability to pretend to be an Ice Armor Python, thereby speeding up the Mysterious Water Snake's transformation into an Ice Armor Python.

At this moment, Hong Yuan was slowly swimming out of the Mysterious Water Snake's cave and towards the shore.

The Ice Armor Python likes to stir winds and waves on the shore. That was exactly what Hong Yuan intended to do to accelerate his avatar's transformation.

Hong Yuan did not go ashore; he only stirred up the waters near the bank.

At the first sign of danger, he would immediately turn tail and flee!

SWOOSH!

The black serpent set out, and the small fish and shrimp scattered.

Hong Yuan swam towards the glowing orb ahead.

As he approached the land, Hong Yuan slowed down and carefully observed his surroundings.

The pond was vast—truly vast. Hong Yuan, in his serpentine form, could swim for a long time, and it almost seemed as if he would never reach its end.

If not for the sight of elephants, giraffes, cattle, sheep, and other land animals drinking under the forest trees ahead, Hong Yuan might have suspected he was in some vast sea.

Gazing across the water, the vast green forest in the distance resembled an ocean, its trees growing lush and verdant.

Towering ancient trees reached for the sky, their canopy blotting out the sun.

Hong Yuan compared his current size to his surroundings and immediately felt at ease. At over six meters long, he was definitely a minor hegemon in this forest!

He coiled repeatedly within the pond, stirring up a large whirlpool near its edge. Then, riding a massive wave he had created, he surged towards the shore.

BOOM! RUMBLE! RUMBLE RUMBLE!

The giant serpent, riding a torrential flood, crashed onto the opposite bank, startling countless animals into a frantic escape.

CRASH! The massive waves slammed into several land animals, leaving them in intense agony. Barely alive, they lay on the shore while the giant serpent, Hong Yuan, circled in the churning water, its head raised, watching them.

[Ice Armor Python (713/10,000)→(778/10,000)]

HISS, HISS, HISS!

Discovering that the role-playing ritual worked, Hong Yuan was so excited that he repeatedly slapped the river surface with his tail, sending more water splashing onto the green shore.

Gazing at the land animals gasping for breath on the damp, green earth, the giant serpent Hong Yuan grinned viciously.

The master is kind-hearted and can't bear to see people suffer, Hong Yuan mused with dark humor. And so, he closed his great maw and turned to flee.

He now understood that the role-playing ritual was effective. However, causing such a ruckus was definitely not suited for his path of Longevity Martial Arts. He resolved never to use this particular method of role-playing again.

After Hong Yuan submerged into the large pond and vanished without a trace, a blood-red giant python emerged some time later, coiling around a gigantic tree. Its head, the size of a truck, extended into the open air as it flicked its crimson forked tongue, surveying the surroundings. Check for the latest updates on My Virtual Library Empire (M-VL-EMP-YR).

Another immense Sword Tiger appeared, swaggering arrogantly, unconcerned by the blood-red python's hostility.

SCREECH! A golden eagle soared through the sky, startling the blood-red python, its body tensing.

The commotion Hong Yuan had created drew these forest hegemons together.

Third-order! Every Demon Beast capable of standing near the giant trees was at least third-order, and there were even a few fourth-order ones—a truly terrifying assembly!

ROAR! The immense Sword Tiger bellowed at the golden eagle.

The blood-red giant python also reared its head, taking this opportunity to express its hostility towards the golden eagle.

The golden eagle, however, ignored the clamor of the two defeated beasts below. After carefully identifying Hong Yuan's scent, it disdainfully wrinkled its beak.

Clearly, it considered Hong Yuan too weak, not even worthy of being its prey.

FLAP, FLAP!

The golden eagle flapped its wings and soared high. It was the first to leave, flying off to another part of the forest to hunt.

The blood-red giant python, wary of the immense Sword Tiger, slowly withdrew.

It had been a false alarm.

「Elsewhere, at the edge of the deep end of the large pond.」

Hong Yuan continued experimenting with the role-playing ritual.

Although he had ruled out role-playing 'stirring up a storm on the shore,' several other aspects of the Ice Armor Python were available for him to mimic, especially its renowned powerful defensive power.

Hong Yuan watched a giant lobster, roughly four meters long, wandering in the deeper region of the pond.

This four-meter lobster had a star-shaped mark on its head and blue patterns on its carapace. Its body was mainly red, and it looked rather malevolent.

As the four-meter lobster approached, Hong Yuan immediately launched a weak Water Gun attack at it.

[Water Gun]

PUFF!

A weak jet of water squirted out, striking the four-meter lobster.

The giant lobster felt the impact and turned in anger. However, as soon as it saw Hong Yuan's size, it halted its advance.

However, sensing the 'weakness' of Hong Yuan's Water Gun, its confidence surged.

PUFF, PUFF, PUFF!

Hong Yuan's weak Water Gun attacks continued, frustrating the lobster to the point it ground its mandibles.

No longer hesitating, it raised its pincers and charged at Hong Yuan.

Hong Yuan controlled the rhythm of his attacks, planning to let the giant lobster strike him.

But just sensing the speed of the lobster's pincer swing, Hong Yuan immediately changed his mind.

Hong Yuan expressionlessly killed the giant lobster with a swift counterattack.

The giant lobster was stunned, its expression frozen. Are you toying with me? it thought.

This won't work. Letting others attack me for free is too much of a loss, Hong Yuan decided. Whoever wants to role-play this 'powerful defensive power' can go ahead. It's no big deal if my transformation is a bit slower.