Xuan Hao withdrew the Golden Dragon phantom behind him. The dazzling golden light faded, and the suffocating pressure vanished with it.
He scratched his head and accepted Hu Liena's incoherent assessment without complaint. After all, "freak" was sometimes a compliment to one's strength in this world.
He turned to Bibi Dong and asked curiously, "Elder Sister, you said just now that it couldn't appear directly in humans. Does that mean it can appear indirectly?"
"Correct." Bibi Dong nodded slightly and explained patiently, "The bloodlines of overly powerful ancient Soul Beasts truly cannot be inherited directly by humans, but their bloodline branches can."
"For example, Dark Gold Bears that possess a thin trace of Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear bloodline, as well as the various sub-dragon species that possess a trace of True Dragon Bloodline.
"If Soul Masters with such Martial Souls possess exceptional talent, absorb high-quality Soul Rings that are highly compatible with their Martial Souls, and cultivate to a sufficiently high realm...
"Usually, after a level-seventy Soul Sage activates their Martial Soul Avatar, their Martial Soul has a chance to undergo an ancestral bloodline reversion and evolve toward the powerful creature at its source."
"At that point, after being tempered by seventy levels of Soul Power and strengthened by seven Soul Rings, a Soul Master's body will be powerful enough to naturally withstand the power of the evolved Martial Soul."
Having said that, Bibi Dong walked straight over to Xuan Hao.
"Now that we've confirmed your Martial Soul is the Golden Dragon, I need to test your current physical limit so we can determine the age of your First Soul Ring."
Bibi Dong raised her hand, soft Soul Power glowing in her palm. "A Titled Douluo can use released Soul Power and Spiritual Power to simulate the energy of a Soul Ring striking your body. This process will be extremely painful, perhaps even worse than actually absorbing a Soul Ring, because I'll keep increasing the pressure until you reach your limit. Bear with it."
Xuan Hao took a deep breath and stood straight. "Come on."
"Good." Bibi Dong did not hold back. She was also filled with curiosity toward a body capable of bearing the Golden Dragon Martial Soul.
With a slight movement of her palm, a vast yet precisely controlled surge of Soul Power instantly poured into Xuan Hao's body. At the same time, a powerful spiritual pressure accompanied it, simulating the resentment left behind after a Soul Beast's death.
"Ugh!"
Xuan Hao grunted. His face instantly turned pale, and veins bulged across his forehead.
One hundred years... two hundred years... four hundred years...
The surprise in Bibi Dong's eyes grew stronger. Four hundred years was already the theoretical limit for an ordinary Soul Master's First Soul Ring, yet aside from looking a little pale, this child's body did not tremble in the slightest.
Five hundred years... six hundred years... eight hundred years...
Hu Liena watched from the side with her heart in her throat. She clearly remembered that when her own First Soul Ring limit had been tested, she had already felt as if her body were about to split apart at four hundred and thirty years.
Nine hundred years... nine hundred and fifty years... nine hundred and ninety-nine years!
When the pressure reached that critical point, Xuan Hao finally swayed. A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but something within him seemed to awaken. It let out a faint dragon roar and forcibly withstood the pressure.
"That's enough."
Bibi Dong instantly withdrew her Soul Power. Looking at Xuan Hao, who was gasping for breath, her expression was as though she had seen a ghost.
"Anything below a thousand years is no problem for you."
"What?!" Hu Liena cried out, "Below a thousand years? Doesn't that mean nine hundred and ninety-nine years? Teacher, you're not joking, are you? The limit for my second Soul Ring was only eight hundred years!"
Bibi Dong ignored her disciple's wail and merely stared intensely at Xuan Hao.
Xuan Hao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Although he felt as if every bone in his body were about to fall apart, he was still a little pleased to hear the result.
But he quickly thought of something and asked tentatively, "Then... what about a thousand-year Soul Ring?"
"Since nine hundred and ninety-nine years works, a thousand years is only one year more. It should be about the same, right?"
"No." Bibi Dong's expression instantly turned serious, and she sternly cut off that thought. "A hundred years and a thousand years may differ by only one year, but it is a qualitative leap."
"When a Soul Beast's cultivation breaks through a thousand years, its soul power undergoes a transformation. The energy impact contained within its Soul Ring increases geometrically. Your body might barely endure the energy, but your Spiritual Power absolutely cannot withstand the soul impact of a thousand-year Soul Beast."
"There is no retreat once you begin absorbing a Soul Ring. Overflow it, and you die! Don't gamble your life on that illusory single year."
After being lectured by Bibi Dong, Xuan Hao immediately behaved himself.
"I understand. Elder Sister is right to lecture me."
After the testing incident, the three continued on their way.
However, luck was sometimes truly mysterious.
Even with Bibi Dong acting as a top-tier radar, throughout the entire afternoon, the Soul Beasts they encountered were either too young or completely unsuitable in type.
They were either plant-type Soul Beasts that were only a few hundred years old, or all sorts of strange insects.
By the time night fell and the forest became pitch-black, they still had found nothing.
Bibi Dong was not in a hurry. She led the two of them to a sheltered patch of high ground.
"Nana, go set up the tent."
After instructing Hu Liena, Bibi Dong turned to Xuan Hao. "Come with me."
Xuan Hao's heart skipped a beat.
In the middle of the night, a man and a woman alone... no, an orphan and a widow... that wasn't right either.
In any case, the atmosphere of a private conversation made him instinctively uneasy.
But he still obediently followed her.
The two walked beneath a massive ancient tree. By the faint moonlight, Bibi Dong turned around and fixed Xuan Hao with a piercing gaze.
"The Golden Dragon is a pure strength-type Soul Beast. It possesses the ultimate physical destructive power and can even be said to be the bane of all flashy elemental tricks."
"However, when I tested your physical limit during the day, there was another fluctuation within you besides that domineering power."
Xuan Hao's heart missed a beat.
"Moreover..." Bibi Dong stretched out her hand, a faint point of light circling her fingertips. "After entering the Star Dou Great Forest, the elemental energy here became far denser than outside. My Spiritual Power sensed that the wind, fire, water, earth... all the surrounding elements were subtly gathering toward you, displaying a kind of... affinity."
"A pure strength-type Martial Soul cannot attract elements. It would even repel them."
Bibi Dong stepped forward and bent down, her pale violet eyes staring directly into Xuan Hao's flustered ones.
"So, little one, you've been hiding your strength."
"You definitely have another Martial Soul."
Though phrased as a question, her tone was a certain declaration.
Xuan Hao awkwardly stepped back half a step, his back pressing against the tree trunk.
He knew that before the meticulous observation of a Titled Douluo—especially an expert like Bibi Dong, who also possessed Twin Martial Souls—it was nearly impossible to keep it hidden forever.
Besides, since he had already boarded the pirate ship... no, since he had already accepted Bibi Dong's help, continuing to hide it would only make him seem insincere and easily arouse suspicion.
"Fine. Elder Sister really is amazing. I can't hide anything from you."
Xuan Hao sighed and resignedly extended his left hand.
"Roar—"
This dragon's roar differed from the previous one's deep majesty. It was clearer and more soaring, as if it had descended from beyond the heavens.
The elements in the surrounding space instantly stirred into chaos, and points of multicolored light wildly gathered together.
Above Xuan Hao's left palm, a miniature dragon with an entirely silver-white body and incomparably elegant lines slowly emerged.
Its scales possessed a strange translucent texture, as if they had been condensed from crystals of countless elements. With every breath, it absorbed and expelled the elemental energy between heaven and earth.
Lord of Elements—the Silver Dragon!
Bibi Dong was completely stunned.
She looked at the Silver Dragon radiating dreamlike brilliance, then recalled the peerlessly domineering Golden Dragon from the day. In that instant, the ancient knowledge in her mind regarding Soul Beasts seemed to suffer a violent impact.
"Silver Dragon..."
Bibi Dong murmured, her eyes filled with disbelief. "According to the theoretical consensus of the Spirit Master World, every dragon-type Soul Beast that controls elements can be traced back to the Silver Dragon Lineage. But true Silver Dragons, like Golden Dragons, are primordial beings that exist only in myths and legends."
"The Golden Dragon controls ultimate strength and destruction, while the Silver Dragon controls ultimate elements and creation."
"These two completely opposite powers, which could even be said to repel each other..."
"Actually... appeared within the same person?"
Before you continue