Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 303 - 298: The 72 Transformations

Chapter 303: Chapter 298: The 72 Transformations

Because of a whole day’s worth of bustling about, both Tassera and Cecilia returned early to their Mage Towers or lairs to sleep.

Upon returning to the Volcanic Island from Watchtower Port and stepping back into his villa alone, Leon’s pupils involuntarily contracted when he saw his Golden Finger reward.

It was the 72 Transformations, Sun Wukong’s signature ability, definitely no weaker than the Vajra Body.

Leon was overjoyed but suddenly recalled something terrifying, causing his expression to stiffen.

He couldn’t be sure whether the 72 Transformations he had just received via the Golden Finger reward were the Earthly Fiendish 72 Techniques or the 72 Morphing Powers.

The former originated from *Journey to the West*, specializing in transformation methods for dodging the Three Disasters—precisely the type of transformation Leon anticipated, where Sun Wukong turns into various mythical creatures, his ideal version.

The latter came from *Comprehensive History of Immortals*, a collection of 72 divine skills and spells. While undoubtedly powerful, it carried an odd feeling of disconnect for some reason.

Leon plopped down onto the sofa and forced himself to calm down, nervously reading the user manual for the 72 Transformations. After one minute, his suspended heart finally settled. His 72 Transformations were undoubtedly the same as those Sun Wukong mastered, though there might be minor differences in the details.

First, his 72 Transformations didn’t seem to be usable for dodging the Three Disasters. Then again, *Journey to the West* never explicitly details how Sun Wukong uses the ability to evade such calamities—it resembles Nine-Ring Magic used by Mages or Druids, particularly their Shape Shifting spell.

Shape Shifting allows you to transform into another creature for the duration of the spell, provided its Challenge Rating is less than or equal to your own. Such creatures cannot include constructs or undead, and you must have seen them at least once before.

Sun Wukong’s 72 Transformations enable transformations into flying creatures, beasts, plants, buildings, tools, insects, and so forth. Unlike Shape Shifting, his ability extends beyond living beings into constructs, undead, or even objects like a tree stump or a rock.

And that’s not all.

Leon glanced at the teacup on the coffee table, then caught a glimpse of the ship-in-a-bottle in the corner. Pointing to the teacup, it turned into the ship-in-a-bottle instantly.

His 72 Transformations could even transform a random pebble into something entirely different, similar to how Sun Wukong plucked a hair to create a Grand Purple-Gold Gourd or how he turned palace garments into shabby rags and a broken bell during his duel of magic in the Kingdom of Carriers.

Leon waved his hand, reverting the ship-in-a-bottle back into the teacup, and redirected his attention back to Shape Shifting.

Shape Shifting adjusts your Life Points to those of the new form, and when you revert back, your Life Points return to their original state.

The mechanics of the 72 Transformations align with Shape Shifting—but with an added benefit: every transformation grants a fresh health bar. Being killed in a transformed state simply means reverting back to normal, after which you can transform again to gain another fresh health bar. In some sense, this equates to having countless lives, as long as you have enough Mana to sustain it.

Eight represents the extreme of Yin, nine the extreme of Yang—the essence of the 72 Transformations lies in infinite adaptability.

Eager to test it out, Leon slapped his thigh, stood up, and walked out to the deserted beach outside the villa.

Seeing the coconut trees swaying gently in the sea breeze, he spun around and transformed into a tall, majestic coconut tree.

In his tree form, Leon was nothing more than a coconut tree. Unless he transformed into a Treant, he couldn’t move or speak—though fortunately, he retained the ability to see and hear.

The sense of immobility was awful. Leon wasted no time summoning the 72 Transformations again, morphing into a seagull... A palm-sized seagull, whose negligible Mana cost reflected equally negligible combat abilities; even a small cat or dog could easily bite it to death.

A Worg, Owlbear, Fire Element... Leon quickly recollected the monsters he had previously encountered, flapped his wings, and transformed into an Ankheg. As a Challenge Rating 2 creature, transforming into an Ankheg required more Mana than turning into a coconut tree.

In his Ankheg form, Leon burrowed into the sand with ease, tunneling down over ten meters—something his Dragon Form could never accomplish. Though a Red Dragon’s climbing ability is exceptional, burrowing is not its forte.

With the 72 Transformations, Leon no longer had to fret about braving Underground Cities and risking cave-ins. He also didn’t have to worry about facing burrowing foes while awkwardly stuck on the surface.

Speaking of burrowing, the Purple Worm reigns supreme. These massive burrowing creatures can traverse solid rock and devour prey indiscriminately in the Dark Territory—a pure force of insatiable hunger.

Leon yearned to transform into a Purple Worm but had only ever seen one in a bestiary; he hadn’t personally witnessed any of these elusive monsters. Without firsthand experience, he struggled to imagine where to begin.

The nighttime sea breeze was fierce, its roar echoing as waves crashed against the rocky shore. This reminded Leon of his glaring lack of underwater combat capability.

Leon recalled the Dragon Turtle he had once encountered. With a hop and a skip, he transformed into the colossal creature, opening its jaws to release scalding steam before charging into the sea, stirring tidal waves as it dove into the ocean depths.

The underwater world was stunningly beautiful in some areas, but the majority of the seafloor was barren. Within less than thirty minutes, Leon surfaced, finding himself unable to use Gathering Form and Scattering Energy—or any spell for that matter.

Indeed, neither Shape Shifting, the Druid’s Wild Shape, nor Leon’s 72 Transformations grants any occupational levels or spellcasting abilities. Even legendary actions or nest actions are absent from all transformations.

Without class levels or spellcasting capability, the transformed Ankheg holds a Challenge Rating of 2, while a Purple Worm’s Challenge Rating is 15, and a Transformed Efreet tops out at a Challenge Rating of 11. In this sense, the 72 Transformations don’t seem overwhelmingly powerful.

Weak monsters are naturally unimpressive; strong monsters, however, are a different story.

The enormous Dragon Turtle bobbed on the ocean surface, rising and falling with the waves.

Leon reminisced about the strongest creature he had ever encountered: the Evil Dragon Queen Tiamat.

Although tempted to transform into Tiamat, Leon ultimately decided against it, recognizing that carelessness leads to disaster, especially when provoking entities far above his level.

Slankus was impressively strong. As Tiamat’s Priest favored by her blessings, he was merely an elderly Green Dragon by nature. Leon could manage a transformation into an aged Green Dragon—a standard one at that—though its Challenge Rating wouldn’t be particularly high.

Tiamat? Out of reach.

An aged Green Dragon? Nothing special.

What about Su Ausis?

A standard Male-faced Sphinx carries a fairly high Challenge Rating.

Leon suddenly remembered encountering an Ancient Jade Dragon before and decisively transformed into one. Becoming such a dragon consumed considerably more Mana than summoning a Red Dragon clone using the Downy Hairs technique.

The 72 Transformations don’t allow transformations into creatures with a Challenge Rating higher than his own nor does it grant invincibility. In many scenarios, it’s impractical—especially because transformations exclude spellcasting.

Even so, with the 72 Transformations, Leon now had no weaknesses; he could fight anywhere. For water battles, he could turn into a Dragon Turtle, Kraken, or Leviathan. Against burrowers, he could morph into a Purple Worm or Blue Dragon—and he shouldn’t forget those micro-forms capable of invading someone’s body.

Even if struck down, the worst case was burning Mana to transform yet again. You can kill me once, but can you kill me ten times?

Turtles, lounge chairs, parasols, elephants, Elder Brains, goblins, Half-Elf girls, spectacled Tassera, skirt-clad Cecilia... Leon eventually drained most of his Mana, reluctantly slipping back into the villa. Lying on his bed, he didn’t sleep—his thoughts ran wild.

Since he can only transform into things he’s already seen, there’s still much he cannot achieve. To unlock the full potential of the 72 Transformations, he realized he must roam the world to broaden his horizons.