Chapter 199: Ancestor Dracontis
"I was only able to get 10kg from my father’s stash. The thing has become incredibly expensive of late," Ao Lorn said humbly.
He kept his head bowed low, showing absolute submission.
A large, heavily sealed box of meat appeared instantly by his side.
The moment the heavy box hissed open, a powerful, overwhelming vitality immediately spread through the enclosed room.
Even Ethen could feel the raw energy washing over his skin like a sudden wave of heat.
The beasts and demi-human clans primarily focused on their blood purity to survive.
They relied heavily on their vitality to improve themselves and push their cultivation forward.
Their cultivation was closely tied to their bloodlines, meaning that treasures of heaven and earth were constantly sought after.
Pills, rare herbs, and countless other biological resources were always in high demand.
The stronger the bloodline, the greater their potential to grow.
The body of a high-ranking beast, however, was one of the most sought-after resources anywhere in the beast territories.
It contained the absolute essence of the creature’s lifelong cultivation.
It held its pure bloodline and its condensed vitality, making even its flesh incredibly valuable.
When the Blood Serpent God died, his massive beast form had been carefully partitioned by the strongest clans.
It was distributed among them as the ultimate prize.
Every single piece had been treated as a priceless treasure.
The strongest clans had used his flesh, blood, bones, and other parts of his body to strengthen their own bloodlines.
As the raw flesh wrapped in clear plastic packets appeared on the ground, even the Dragon Knights couldn’t help but drool.
They tried their absolute best to remain composed and maintain their strict military posture.
But their eyes kept drifting toward the glowing red meat.
They too needed to improve their bloodlines to advance in rank.
And the Blood Serpent God was extremely close to true dragon blood in its genetic composition.
For Dragon Knights who relied heavily on their dragon-related bloodlines, the value of this meat was painfully obvious.
Ethen noticed their primal reactions and couldn’t help but shake his head.
"Zion, get me a good meat chef from the base. There’s no way I’m eating this foul meat raw," Ethen sighed.
He leaned back, thinking back to exactly who the Blood Serpent God was.
This deceitful, disgusting, truly evil monster.
The mere thought of him sent a sudden, uncomfortable chill down Ethen’s throat.
It was a strange, conflicting feeling to process.
The meat sitting in front of him was an incredible treasure that could rapidly boost his strength.
Yet Ethen couldn’t completely separate it from the vile creature it had once belonged to.
Still, he definitely wasn’t going to waste such a rare resource.
"Yes, Lord."
The Dragon Knight nodded quickly before leaving the room with his fellows.
The remaining knights stood around the meat, their expressions carefully controlled.
None of them dared to step forward or touch it.
Not only was Ethen their assigned lord, but this was actual Godbeast meat.
Even a small mistake could cause massive internal problems if they consumed too much without proper preparation.
Ethen simply waited.
Some three hours later, a group of nervous chefs lined the area alongside Lady Liana and Arian.
By then, the rich, savory smell had already spread throughout the surrounding military quarters.
"What’s the occasion?" Liana smiled bitterly, seeing the meat being grilled openly behind the quarters.
The chefs were working carefully, their hands steady despite the pressure.
They were cutting the thick meat into appropriate portions before placing it over the roaring flames.
The moment the flesh began to cook, the vitality contained within it became even more noticeable.
By now, all the neighbors could smell the thick vitality exuding from the high-grade meat.
Several figures had already begun looking in their direction from a distance.
Their bloodlines would be going absolutely crazy with wanting by this time.
Just like Liana and Arian.
Both women stared intently at the grilling meat for several long seconds.
They could instinctively feel the immense value contained within those cuts of flesh.
Their dragon bloodlines were reacting wildly to it.
"Ohh, yeah, that. Why don’t you join us?" Ethen smiled.
He suddenly realized this was not a great idea, cooking this completely in the open.
If anyone were to find out that all this meat was the actual flesh from a dead Godbeast, they would probably lose their minds.
The entire military base could easily descend into bloody chaos.
"Hehe."
The two noble women eagerly grabbed a set of plates.
They took thick slabs of meat from the chefs and joined Ethen and his wives at the table.
Hela and Ella were already eating their portions.
Their expressions became increasingly relaxed as the warm vitality entered their bodies.
"What kind of meat is this?" Arian asked, looking Ethen up and down.
Ethen didn’t answer her immediately.
He simply took another piece of the grilled meat and began eating in silence.
From the dramatic event with the royal decree, to this grilled meat that was slowly attracting the neighbors.
Ethen was slowly making them see that he wasn’t that same young man from Bark anymore.
He seemed completely different now.
The young man they had known before had been powerful, but there was always something restrained about him.
Now, sitting comfortably among them as a Demi God and Messenger of Karth, Ethen carried a completely different presence.
He had experienced too much in too little time.
Even the Dracontis sisters could clearly feel the heavy difference in how he carried himself.
Meanwhile, the glowing text boxes flashed in his vision.
[You have consumed 300g of Blood Serpent God meat]
[You have consumed 20g of Blood Serpent God meat]
[You have consumed 50g of Blood Serpent God meat]
Ethen felt his physical body slowly changing as he took one piece of meat after the other.
A powerful surge rolled rapidly through his veins, feeling exactly as hot as molten steel.
The intense sensation spread outward from his stomach throughout his entire body.
His muscles tightened slightly as the pure energy was absorbed.
Even his bones seemed to tremble under the immense vitality.
Godbeast meat wasn’t just a rare culinary delicacy to be enjoyed.
It was an active, highly effective way to become stronger.
This was especially useful for those with bloodlines directly related to powerful beasts.
For ordinary humans, consuming too much of this rich essence at once could even be dangerous.
But for powerful bloodline users, especially those naturally blessed with dragon blood, the benefits could be enormous.
Ethen quietly continued eating.
He could feel his body slowly absorbing the energy, reinforcing his physical form.
The system continued to actively notify him of every portion he consumed, but Ethen paid little attention to the numbers.
His complete focus was squarely on the sensation.
It wasn’t like consuming an ordinary natural treasure.
The energy within the meat felt alive in a sense.
It carried lingering traces of the terrifying vitality that had once belonged to the Blood Serpent God.
Ethen, from the corner of his eyes, saw Hela and Ella begin to have a special splendor to their very being as they ate.
Their fair skin seemed to gain a faint, healthy luster.
The spiritual aura wrapping around them became noticeably denser.
The physical changes weren’t incredibly dramatic, but Ethen could clearly see them taking place.
Their inherited dragon bloodlines were aggressively responding to the high-grade essence.
He couldn’t help but wonder exactly how much stronger they would become after finishing the entire meal.
"Good evening."
Suddenly, an older man appeared directly in the middle of the yard wearing ancient Chinese dragon robes.
He had a polite smile on his weathered face.
He had appeared entirely without making a single sound.
There was no dramatic entrance to announce his sudden arrival.
No powerful burst of spiritual energy accompanied his presence.
He was simply there.
Yet the exact moment he appeared, the entire atmosphere of the courtyard changed.
Immediately, Liana and Arian dropped their plates, stood up, and bowed with absolute reverence.
"Evening, Ancestor Dracontis!"
The two women echoed together.
Their loud voices immediately caused several of the nearby neighbors to come out fully in sheer surprise.
The people who had been watching the commotion from a distance now became much more interested.
Ancestor Dracontis.
This was the person who had successfully spread the family throughout the human territories.
No one knew exactly how long this ancient man had actually lived.
There were countless stories about him, but very few people knew which ones were actually true.
What everyone knew for a fact was that he had always been a constant presence in the family’s affairs.
Whenever something major happened to the Dracontis family, his revered name would eventually appear.
He was an existence that even the younger generation of the family treated with absolute reverence.
Ethen’s dark eyes narrowed slightly as he focused on the old man.
’An Angel.’
He could feel it immediately.
The old man’s aura wasn’t particularly oppressive, but that was precisely what made it so frightening.
An Angel no longer needed to constantly display their overwhelming strength to prove their dominance.
Their existence alone was more than enough.
Ethen understood perfectly that he was standing before someone who existed an entire major realm above himself.
As he realized this, Ethen too stood up from the table.
He fell into a deeply respectful bow.
This was, after all, the ancestor of his two wives.