A Dragon Within

Tang Wuyang and Tang Wulin exchanged a glance, then both smiled helplessly and climbed onto their beds to sit cross-legged.

How could they not be excited?

On the contrary, deep down, they were even more excited than Xie Xie. They simply did not show it.

Tang Wuyang took a deep breath. Recalling Wu Changkong's astonishing two sword strikes, he began trying to meditate.

Teacher Wu's two strikes had been far too miraculous. To him, they had felt like a power from another world.

The instant Wu Changkong drew his sword, Tang Wuyang felt as though his mind had been drawn into it. It was as if Teacher Wu had become the core of the entire world, pulling the whole world along to attack Guang Biao.

To others, the second strike was likely the most shocking—Wu Changkong wielding the Frost Sky Sword to unleash Extreme Cold Sword Qi with unstoppable force. But to Tang Wuyang, the first strike had been even more stunning.

At that time, Wu Changkong had shifted the Frost Sky Sword from pointing diagonally at the ground to an upward slash. It had looked effortless and casual, without any overwhelming momentum. Tang Wuyang had not noticed anything unusual then.

But when the tip of Wu Changkong's Frost Sky Sword struck Guang Biao's fist, Tang Wuyang distinctly heard what sounded like a mournful Dragon Roar within his mind.

Moreover, those dragon cries rose and fell one after another. Scale after scale was sent flying, and the agonized roars made his mind tremble, giving him the sensation that he was suffering alongside it.

Tang Wuyang could even sense streams of Extreme Cold Sword Qi drilling in after the dragon scales were knocked away, causing Guang Biao's Martial Soul pain.

At that moment, Tang Wuyang was deeply shaken, yet another voice sounded from the depths of his mind.

That voice filled him with boundless fury.

The scorching sensation that had previously appeared only when he was struck by the Light Dragon Dagger or the Holy Dragon Spear surfaced again. Though it lasted only briefly and did not cause any changes to his body, it still shocked Tang Wuyang greatly.

Since this power had first appeared, it seemed to be surfacing more and more frequently. He realized that some secret appeared to be hidden within his body.

Thinking of this, Tang Wuyang grew restless. Usually, he could easily enter a meditative state, but tonight, he could not calm himself for a long time.

Zhou Changxi entered the dorm with Yun Xiao, who had come over to visit.

Even Xie Xie and Zhou Changxi, who normally were not particularly close, happily discussed Wu Changkong's two sword strikes with Yun Xiao.

Hearing their animated discussion, Tang Wuyang found himself unable to enter Meditation.

Gradually, his consciousness grew hazy. In his mind, mournful dragon cries seemed to echo continuously, as if something were slowly fermenting.

As time passed, Tang Wuyang's awareness began to blur, and the Dragon Roars quieted. His Soul Power circulated, and he seemed to enter Meditation.

Tang Wulin, on the upper bunk, had already entered Meditation.

When he had watched Wu Changkong's two strikes earlier, aside from excitement, he had also felt an inexplicable discomfort.

As he meditated, an extremely faint silver-gray glimmer flickered across the center of his left palm before vanishing.

As Tang Wuyang's Soul Power circulated peacefully, everyone else in the dorm also entered meditation to cultivate.

Behind Tang Wuyang, the golden pattern extending from his cervical vertebrae all the way to his tailbone appeared once more.

A faint scorching sensation enveloped his body, making him tremble slightly.

Tang Wuyang occasionally furrowed his brows, as if he were experiencing something incomparably painful.

Black. Everything around him was pitch-black, and he could see nothing.

Tang Wuyang discovered that he seemed to have arrived in a black world.

Suddenly, a beam of golden light illuminated the distance. It was dazzling and instantly seized his attention.

The golden light came closer and closer, gradually growing larger. When Tang Wuyang saw what it was, he discovered in horror that it was a massive Golden Dragon.

The Golden Dragon had five claws, and its body was covered in enormous diamond-shaped golden scales. It had deer antlers and the body of a serpent.

Huh? Why did he know it was a dragon?

It was clearly different from the dragons on the continent! It had no wings and five claws beneath its body, so why did he simply know that it was a dragon?

The golden light suddenly bloomed. Tang Wuyang felt solid ground beneath his feet. Looking down, he was finally able to see himself, though his body now seemed somewhat illusory.

The ground was paved with blue bricks, as though this were an enormous hall. Above the hall, the massive Golden Dragon hovered in the air.

Compared to before, he could see much more clearly now. Tang Wuyang discovered in astonishment that eighteen rings of light surrounded the hundred-meter-long Golden Dragon.

Every ring radiated a clear blue-gold light.

Its enormous left claw tightly gripped a blue-gold orb that was the same color as the rings.

For some reason, the instant Tang Wuyang saw that blue-gold color, he first thought of his brother's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

"You have finally come."

At that moment, a deep, majestic voice rang out.

A humanoid silhouette of light appeared before Tang Wuyang, its form gradually becoming clear.

It was a burly man with bulging arm muscles and a head of golden hair.

Tang Wuyang asked in confusion, "Who are you? Where is this? Am I dreaming?"

"Hahaha! You may consider it a dream."

"I am a strand of divine sense, the divine sense of the dragon before you. This place is a part of your body."

Though Tang Wuyang was afraid, he was only nine years old after all. His curiosity outweighed his fear. "You mean there's a dragon living inside my body?"

"I am not merely a dragon. I am the Dragon King, an incarnation of the Dragon God—the Golden Dragon King!"

Tang Wuyang was somewhat surprised. "Then is it my Martial Soul?"

The man claiming to be the Golden Dragon King shook his head. "No. This is your opportunity, but it is also your disaster."

"It contains all the essence of my Golden Dragon King power. That energy is far too immense. Once it erupts, your current body will be unable to withstand it. You will die."

"What?" Tang Wuyang's mind went blank.

"The fact that you can come here means that you have sensed this king's power and have begun to be affected by it."

"As an incarnation of the Dragon God, I possess the strongest physical power. Benefiting from the feedback of my energy, is your own strength not extraordinary compared to others?"

If Tang Wuyang had previously believed this might be a dream, then after hearing the Golden Dragon King's divine sense say this, he gradually understood that it might not be a dream. At the very least, it was not a simple dream.

"That's right. My strength is greater than that of others my age," Tang Wuyang answered honestly.

The Golden Dragon King's divine sense looked as though it had expected as much. "That is because your body has already been influenced by me."

"Do you see those rings of light?"

"They are all Seals. As long as you can steadily break them one by one and absorb the energy from every Seal for your own use, you can at least preserve your life."

Tang Wuyang's eyes suddenly lit up upon hearing this.

"Do not be happy too soon, little one. Though there are Eighteen Seals on this power, my violent nature is also contained within them."

"If you gradually break the Seals as they are now, you will eventually be controlled by that violent part and harm those around you without distinguishing friend from foe." The Golden Dragon King's divine sense calmly looked at Tang Wuyang.

Tang Wuyang bit his lip. "Then what should I do?"

The Golden Dragon King's divine sense said, "That is why I wish to make a deal with you."

"I will help you dissolve the Vicious Qi within the Seals and replace the Seals. In return, you will do one thing for me. What do you say?"

Tang Wuyang asked, "What are you going to do?"

The divine sense smiled. "I am merely a strand of divine sense. There is a strange power within you that has awakened me from my original viciousness. Even if I do nothing, I will dissipate before long."

"I will absorb most of the Vicious Qi into this divine sense. As the divine sense dissipates, that Vicious Qi will also be resolved."

"As for the small portion that remains, with the nature of your Martial Soul, it will not have much effect on you as long as you do not lose control of your emotions."

Tang Wuyang froze. "Then won't you die?"

"Hahaha! My divine sense could not have existed for much longer anyway. Trading it for one thing from you is well worth it."

"So, little one, will you make this deal with me?" The Golden Dragon King's divine sense was utterly calm, without the slightest trace of fear.

Tang Wuyang hesitated, but his desire to live still drove him to agree. "All right, I promise you. But you cannot ask me to do anything immoral."

"Of course."

The Golden Dragon King's divine sense paused, then solemnly looked at Tang Wuyang. "I want you to help the Soul Beasts create a home, a home far from humanity's persecution."

Tang Wuyang looked firmly at the divine sense before him. "All right, I promise. I swear it upon my Martial Soul. But how can you be sure that I can do it?"

"I cannot be sure. Therefore, I want you to stand on the side of the Soul Beasts when a great war breaks out between humans and Soul Beasts."

"Besides, three-quarters of the bloodline within you belongs to Soul Beasts. You can barely be considered one of them!" The Golden Dragon King's divine sense smiled at Tang Wuyang.

Tang Wuyang stared in shock as he processed those words, which contained an overwhelming amount of information. His gaze at the divine sense became somewhat vacant. He opened his mouth but said nothing.

"All right, little one. Remember what you promised this king."

"Work hard and grow stronger. Do not disgrace this king's bloodline."

"Oh, right. If you can, take good care of this king's younger sister, the Silver Dragon King."

The instant the Golden Dragon King's divine sense finished speaking, his entire body shone with golden light, so bright that Tang Wuyang could not open his eyes.

"Wait, who is the Silver Dragon King? How am I supposed to find her?" Tang Wuyang shouted, but received no response.

"This king has replaced the Seals within your body. You need only draw out their energy while cultivating."

"When you reach the Zero Point, the Seals will naturally break one by one." The voice echoed beside Tang Wuyang's ears.

Tang Wuyang looked toward the Golden Dragon King's massive body. The original eighteen pale-blue rings had become brilliant gold, appearing even more magnificent.

Tang Wuyang suddenly opened his eyes and rose from his bed. His body was soaked in sweat, and he felt indescribably awful.

He could clearly feel his originally scorching body temperature slowly fading.

Was it a dream?

If not for everything he had experienced before, Tang Wuyang might have believed it was only a dream.

But was it really something as simple as a dream?

If it was a dream, why had it felt so real?

Why did stimulation from the Light Dragon Dagger or the Holy Dragon Spear cause Golden Scales to emerge?

Clearly, his strength had not been remarkable when he was younger. Yet after his Martial Soul Awakening, it had begun increasing drastically, even surpassing his brother, who possessed Twin Martial Souls.

Tang Wuyang vigorously shook his head to clear his thoughts. Quietly getting down from bed, he ran to the washroom, cleaned himself up, and changed into dry clothes.

Without disturbing the other three, who were still meditating, Tang Wuyang returned to bed and finally calmed down somewhat.

Taking a deep breath, Tang Wuyang's eyes gradually settled.

According to the Golden Dragon King's divine sense, its essence was within his body. It placed him at risk of death, but it was also an opportunity.

From the current situation, he could at least draw two conclusions.

First, the essence of a Dragon King truly existed within his body and threatened his life. If he could not absorb it, he would die.

Second, if he could gradually absorb it, he could become stronger.

Then, the first thing he needed to do was draw out the energy from the Seals and attempt to break the First Seal. Only then could he understand what it truly was.

Work hard and grow stronger. After all, do only what your abilities allow. With that thought, Tang Wuyang entered Meditation once more.

This time, he would try to absorb the Golden Dragon King bloodline power within his body.

Not long after entering Meditation, Tang Wuyang's blood began to boil.

His body temperature rapidly soared. Scorching heat surged through him as if he had been thrown into a furnace. Sweat poured down like rain, and his body began trembling uncontrollably.

Faint web-like golden patterns spread out from his forehead. The skin over his whole body turned red, and he could vaguely see blood rushing through his veins.

So hot!

Tang Wuyang felt unbearably hot, as though he could no longer endure it, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered.

Before long, the scorching heat turned into extreme cold.

Hot and cold alternated throughout his body, as though countless tiny insects were crawling wildly beneath his skin.

Tang Wuyang's trembling intensified. He felt utterly miserable, but he still gritted his teeth and endured.

After an unknown amount of time, the sensations in Tang Wuyang's body finally settled, and the golden patterns faded away.

Early the next morning, all four people in the dorm woke from Meditation full of energy.

Tang Wuyang sensed his own condition, and to his delight, his Soul Power seemed to have improved greatly. He had likely reached the peak of Thirteenth Rank.

"Come on! Wulin, Wuyang, let's eat." Xie Xie jumped down from his bed.

Tang Wuyang said helplessly, "We haven't even washed up yet."

"Uh, I'm a little hungry. Then let's hurry up and wash!" As he spoke, Xie Xie prepared to head out.

Tang Wulin, sitting on the upper bunk, suddenly spoke up. "Xie Xie, let me ask you something."

"Have you heard of Kongling Fruit?"

Xie Xie paused. "Kongling Fruit? Of course I have!"

"Isn't it a very ordinary Spirit Fruit? They sell it in malls."

"It has a decent nourishing effect for people whose Martial Souls possess the Space Attribute."

"Why are you asking about that?"

Tang Wuyang looked at Tang Wulin with confusion in his eyes, unable to understand why his brother had suddenly begun asking about a Spirit Fruit he had never even heard of.

Tang Wulin climbed down from bed, walked over to Xie Xie, and lowered his voice. "Then... is this Spirit Fruit expensive?"

Xie Xie said, "It's not too bad. One costs ten to twenty thousand Federation Coins, depending on the quality."

Tang Wulin was instantly overjoyed upon hearing that. "If it's high quality, would that mean something like a Hundred-Year Kongling Fruit?"

Xie Xie rolled his eyes. "Can you use some common sense? A Spirit Fruit over ten years old is already very good. Ones over a hundred years old only appear at auctions. They can be considered Spirit Treasures."

"If they are over a thousand years old, they are Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures."

"Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, as the name suggests, are priceless treasures."

Tang Wuyang smiled bitterly. "Then how much would a Hundred-Year Kongling Fruit cost?"

Xie Xie said, "Kongling Fruit is relatively common, so the price is manageable. At an auction, it would probably be around eight hundred thousand to one million Federation Coins."

Tang Wulin stared blankly, as if stunned by the price.

"Brother, what happened? Why are you suddenly asking about this?" Tang Wuyang could not help sounding somewhat worried.

"Yeah. People rarely use Spirit Fruits under normal circumstances, because their medicinal effects are too potent and can be risky for the human body. Unless there are special circumstances, no one would use them lightly."

"Otherwise, once they affect your foundation, they may have the opposite effect."

"Of course, those over a thousand years old are an exception, but they are not something just anyone can obtain."

"Spirit Fruits over a thousand years old can already be considered Soul Beasts. Once they reach ten thousand years, they even possess their own intelligence."

Tang Wulin did not answer Tang Wuyang's question. "Xie Xie, when the rest day comes this week, take me to an auction house, okay? I've never been to one."

"Sure!" Xie Xie agreed immediately. "Wuyang, want to come too?"

He had always been cold toward outsiders, but toward friends he acknowledged, he was actually very straightforward.

"Sure. It'll be a good chance to broaden my horizons."

"Then it's settled. We'll go together when the time comes." After saying that, Xie Xie went to wash up.

"Brother, what's going on?" Tang Wuyang grabbed his brother's arm, his brows slightly furrowed.

Tang Wulin patted the hand on his right arm, a smile appearing on his face. "It's nothing. I'll explain it to you tonight. Let's wash up and go to class first."

Hearing that, Tang Wuyang could only temporarily suppress the doubts in his heart.