Inside the Myriad Souls Pagoda.
Su Hao's consciousness instantly returned to his true body. A crimson Dragon Pearl, blazing like the sun, had appeared in his hand, along with the multicolored immortal sword "Dragon Palace," which chirped joyfully in his palm, its flowing radiance dazzling.
Before him, the chain-bound Four Seasons Dragon Lord wore a bewildered expression, having no idea what had just happened.
Yet his gaze fell entirely upon the items in Su Hao's hand. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he cried out, "Dragon Palace?! And... and Dragon Emperor Jingji's 'Ancestral Origin Pearl'! You... where did you get them?!"
"You... where did you get those?"
Four Seasons Dragon Lord was completely stunned.
"Since you recognized them, can't you guess where I got them?"
Su Hao toyed with the Dragon Pearl, sensing the vast, ocean-like essence within. He glanced at Four Seasons Dragon Lord with a faint smile. "You have a fine father. Fine, in light of such a 'generous gift' from him, if not for the monk's face, then for Buddha's, I, Su Hao, am not so heartless as to leave you no way out. I'll spare you this once."
With that, Su Hao left the Myriad Souls Pagoda.
The isolated space within the pagoda vanished, and the other Dragon Lords immediately surrounded Four Seasons Dragon Lord. "What did Su Hao do to you?"
"He wanted to refine my bloodline, but Father Emperor must have acted in secret and made a deal with Su Hao."
Four Seasons Dragon Lord had calmed somewhat as he recounted what had happened, his words carrying both the relief of surviving a disaster and an indescribable sense of humiliation.
He explained how Su Hao had tried to refine his bloodline, then abruptly stopped, vanished for a time, and reappeared holding