Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 342 - 337: The Choice of Transferring Power

Chapter 342: Chapter 337: The Choice of Transferring Power

In many novels, there are stories about Transformed Demons that can take human form, and to some extent, it’s understood that demons capable of transformation are powerful creatures.

The standard challenge level of Salamanders is 5. The Salamanders living on the Volcanic Island, which Leon has long since transformed into a feng shui treasure land, undoubtedly have a higher challenge level. Even so, they certainly don’t qualify as Transformed Demons... To be called a Transformed Demon, one would at least need to be on the level of the Efreeti. Even the Efreeti can barely qualify.

Take a look at that Salamander—it’s only barely humanoid. Its head is still the head of a Salamander, its arms covered in scales, and its skin is fiery red all over. It’s still far from truly taking human form.

Regardless, in this world, under normal circumstances, Salamanders cannot achieve humanoid form. The fact that this Salamander can is undoubtedly due to Leon’s influence—and helping Leon acquire a Golden Finger reward counts as an impressive feat.

"Why did you suddenly transform into this form?"

"I don’t know, it was just a sudden impulse."

"After transforming into this form, do you feel stronger?"

"I... I don’t know."

Salamander... or rather, Fire Lizard Spirit now, looked completely baffled. Leon realized he couldn’t learn anything useful from it. Conveniently, he had more pressing matters at hand, so he waved it off and said, "You should go back for now. Take your time to contemplate this, and always be ready for my Summoning."

"Yes, my master," the Fire Lizard Spirit replied, before awkwardly walking away on its two legs, even stumbling to the ground at one point. After so many years of using a serpent’s body, suddenly switching to using legs would throw anyone off.

Leon dismissed the Fire Lizard Spirit as well as the Tiefling maids, returning to his lounge chair where he had been lying for half the day, pondering over the Golden Finger reward he’d just obtained.

The skill was called "Transmitting Power," which, as the name suggests, allows one to transfer cultivation to another person.

The cultivation transmitted to others comes at the cost of one’s own. From this perspective, it seemed to be quite a mediocre skill—not much better than the Water Walking Technique.

But looking at it from another angle, this power could be used to tempt others into loyalty; it could also be a way to enhance someone’s strength in exchange for better service. For instance, sacrificing one year of cultivation to transform a Tiefling maid into someone as mighty as a Salamander could allow them to go infiltrate the Talia Alliance to gather intelligence.

Still, there were lingering concerns. The process of transmitting cultivation might incur losses. One year of cultivation transferred might not result in the recipient absorbing the full amount, or worse, they might fail to acclimate to the power and have their bodies destroyed by the sudden surge of strength... There’s a lot of messy, unpredictable elements involved.

Power is the foundation of Leon’s survival, and he’s severely reluctant to part with even a sliver of his cultivation. But he couldn’t deny being intrigued enough to want to try.

"Don’t let the fat water flow into someone else’s fields." Leon’s first thought was to transmit power to his Queen, Tassera. But after reconsideration, he realized that passing cultivation to Tassera might have no noticeable impact, whereas transmitting it to a penniless Tiefling maid would immediately produce an effective subordinate.

So, which Tiefling maid would be best suited for receiving the power? Leon never seriously considered that perhaps the Salamanders could have been valid options for this.

"Should their chests be big, or their waists slender and legs long? Is there one with all three—big chest, slim waist, long legs? And then there’s the face, which has to be beautiful, the proportions perfect, thick hair—ideally white hair... Ultimately, loyalty matters more."

Loyalty is crucial, but intelligence is just as vital. Someone who’s loyal but utterly useless isn’t much help either.

Leon, perpetually plagued by decision-making dilemmas, couldn’t decide which Tiefling maid should receive the power and opted to postpone the matter for now—after all, there was no rush.

Leon summoned the Fire Lizard Spirit again to learn more about its circumstances. It turned out the Fire Lizard Spirit could seamlessly shift between Salamander form and a smaller giant form. While neither form exhibited any changes in strength, the giant form was noticeably more agile, allowed for the use of more equipment, and even made it easier to advance careers.

"Shasrall, is it? I’ll remember your name." The Fire Lizard Spirit had earned Leon a Golden Finger reward, and Leon didn’t forget to reward it in return. "I grant you permission to select a set of refined gold equipment from the storeroom."

Leon hadn’t paid much attention to how Fiora was getting along with the Sea Elves and Triton Fishmen, but finally, he found himself in the mood to care.

A portion of the Sea Elves refused to accept his rule and chose to leave Flash Sea. The remaining Sea Elves agreed to conduct commercial activities in Watchtower Port and promised to dispatch some of their own to join the Zhen Dan Kingdom—but they would only fight against the evil marine creatures. As for the Triton Fishmen, there didn’t appear to be any in Flash Sea.

Days passed, yet Leon still hadn’t decided on which Tiefling maid to choose. Since he wasn’t particularly familiar with any of them, he decided to seek Cecilia’s advice.

"I think Pella is a good choice," Cecilia said. "The one with gray hair, pale gray skin, speaks rarely, and is taller than the other Tiefling maids—one who inherited traits from the Great Devil Mephisto. You remember her, don’t you, Master?"

"I have a vague impression." Leon squinted at Cecilia. "Why would you recommend her? I recall she’s quite well-endowed, and you’re flat-chested. Shouldn’t you two be natural enemies?"

Cecilia pursed her lips tightly.

"Alright, I’m just joking," Leon chuckled. "I just want to know—why do you recommend her? Is it because she’s your person?"

Cecilia crossed her arms and smiled. "I’m not only your Chief Maid, I’m also your Prime Minister. All the Tiefling maids were recruited by me and trained by me, which means every Tiefling maid belongs to me."

Leon laughed, saying, "So, is it because she’s loyal?"

"All the Tiefling maids are loyal; disloyal ones wouldn’t have made it inside, let alone stayed to the present day."

Cecilia pondered for a moment. "She’s not the smartest, but she’s smart enough—perfectly so. She always executes tasks precisely without doing anything unnecessary, which is very commendable. She’s even quite talented... My original plan was to train her as an assassin. We’ll definitely need a group of assassins someday."

Cecilia suddenly grinned mischievously, saying, "What I value most in her, though, is the fact that she’s an orphan—no parents, no siblings, and because she speaks so rarely, she hardly has any friends either."

Leon followed suit with a laugh.

Leon trusted Cecilia’s judgment and said, "Bring her here; I want to meet her."

Cecilia left briefly and soon returned with Pella.

Leon crossed his legs and openly examined Pella. A pair of small, delicate horns adorned her forehead. Her long, smooth gray hair draped down to her waist. Her pale gray skin appeared smooth and supple. She had a high, prominent nose bridge, thin lips tightly pressed together, with the corners of her mouth slightly downturned, exuding a natural air of detachment. Her figure was tall and slender—truly an ice-cold beauty—all wrapped in a maid’s uniform. At the very least, Leon was satisfied with her looks.