Candy Martial Soul's First Soul Skill: Golden Dragon Body!

A sweet, refreshing flavor burst across his mouth. The candy rapidly melted, and vast energy surged through his meridians like a flood, flowing into his internal organs.

The qi and blood within his body seemed to be ignited by that energy, turning scorching hot. A faint layer of Golden Light enveloped Nan Liujing's entire body, and his skin vaguely carried a Dragon Scale-like Déjà Vu. However, it was extremely faint; one would not be able to see it without looking closely.

His Spirit Connection Realm Mental Power allowed Nan Liujing to keenly sense that his strength, speed, offense, and defense had all increased dramatically. His strength in particular had improved to an astonishing degree.

"Why does this soul skill feel like Tang Wulin's First Blood Essence Soul Ring skill, Golden Dragon Body?"

Feeling the changes in his body, Nan Liujing suddenly had Eyes Widened and thought in shock,

"Could the opportunity seized by the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl be Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King bloodline?"

Good heavens.

Upon considering that possibility, Nan Liujing became instantly energized, as though he had eaten a Snickers.

Golden Dragon Body was an ability Tang Wulin had acquired when he broke through the Gold Dragon King's second seal. It provided an immense enhancement to the body.

If a physically weaker Soul Master like Xu Xiaoyan used it, she would immediately possess the strength to uproot mountains and overwhelm the world. She might not be able to compare physically with power-attack Soul Masters of the same rank, but she should be on par with most Agility Attack System Soul Masters.

To put it another way, since soul skills were useless against you, this humble Daoist happened to know a little martial arts.

Most importantly, Nan Liujing himself was an Artifact Soul Master. Under normal circumstances, his body's strength would never grow as much as that of a Beast Martial Soul user. Now that he had Golden Dragon Body, it filled that gap during the early stages of being a Soul Master.

Rustle, rustle.

Before he could further savor the exhilaration brought by Golden Dragon Body, Nan Liujing heard footsteps rushing toward him from afar.

Without making a sound, he withdrew his golden Soul Ring and silently stood on the branch, waiting.

To Nan Liujing's surprise, he was not currently circulating Soul Power, yet the Golden Dragon Body soul skill showed no signs of fading. It did not even consume the Heaven and Earth Yuan Power automatically absorbed by the Soul Ring. It was as though someone had pressed pause.

Tang Wulin, on the other hand, consumed Bloodline Power even when he remained still. The difference between them was worlds apart.

Was this the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl's true power?

He just wondered what effect Golden Dragon Candy would have if someone else ate it.

"Pant, pant, pant!"

Rapid breathing echoed through the dense forest. Ye Xinglan's Azure Eyes warily and fearfully swept across the dense bushes around her, as though something terrifying lurked nearby.

"Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky!"

Ye Xinglan's pretty face was flushed red, the lingering result of her anger. She had never felt so unlucky in her life.

First, her father had made her wait a day before entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, all so she could wait for the nephew of some so-called old friend. She had waited and waited, but he never came, so she entered the Spirit Ascension Platform by herself. Then, after killing only a few Ten-Year Level Soul Beasts, she ran into a Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

The Green Bush Wolf was not an especially powerful Soul Beast, but she was only a level-twelve Soul Master. How could she possibly defeat a Thousand-Year Soul Beast? Yet she had finally gotten a chance to experience the Spirit Ascension Platform, and she did not want to leave just like that. With no other option, she could only run.

Fortunately, Green Bush Wolves had a habit of pursuing prey for a long time, preferring to exhaust their prey before attacking. Otherwise, she would not have been able to flee very far.

However, maintaining Soul Power for such a prolonged escape had severely drained her as well. At most, she could hold on for another minute or so before she truly had to consider pressing the distress signal.

The longsword in her hand slashed forward, scattering the bushes everywhere. Ye Xinglan's gaze shifted, and she gritted her Silver Teeth. "You've chased me for so long. Even if I die, I'll cut you a few times."

Beyond the bushes lay a relatively open area. Though the branches overhead remained lush and thick, preventing the accumulated sunlight from penetrating, the Green Bush Wolf could no longer rely on the terrain to pursue or intimidate its fleeing prey. It could only step out of the grass.

Ye Xinglan tapped the ground with her toes and rushed into the clearing. The instant she entered, her delicate brows twitched.

Something appeared to have happened ahead. The ground was covered in countless dense cracks like a spiderweb, while a deep pit lay at the center. There was not a single Grass Blade nearby.

"Whoosh."

The sound of fur brushing against Grass Blades came from the bushes behind her. Ye Xinglan's heart tightened, and she vigilantly looked around.

She did not stop until she reached the middle of the clearing. The Bright Yellow longsword in her hand, its blade wreathed in faint yellow starlight, emitted a sharp radiance. Its Sword Tip pointed at the ground, ready to thrust at any moment.

"Come out," Ye Xinglan shouted.

"Whoosh."

A blurred shadow flashed through the bushes to her left.

Ye Xinglan hurriedly looked over, but only saw the Grass Blades swaying slightly.

Frowning faintly, she pretended to sit cross-legged on the spot. A faint Soul Power Fluctuation emerged from her body, making it appear as though she were meditating to recover her Soul Power.

This time, the Green Bush Wolf could no longer hold back. A low growl came from its throat, and its pitch-black pupils carried Icy Killing Intent. Slowly, it moved behind Ye Xinglan before suddenly bursting out of the bushes like a green afterimage.

Its sharp wolf claws tore through the air as they viciously slapped toward the back of Ye Xinglan's head.

Almost instantly, the only Soul Ring on Ye Xinglan's body lit up with yellow light. Her left hand struck the ground, releasing a surge of Soul Power that forcefully propelled her body nearly one and a half meters into the air.

The wolf claws struck empty air, exposing the Green Bush Wolf's back. Ye Xinglan's eyes sharpened as she gripped the Stargod Sword with both hands and viciously stabbed toward its waist. A cluster of starlight flew from the Sword Tip, seemingly containing more than a dozen sword rays infused with highly penetrating Star Power.

Within the dim environment, it was like starlight falling from the sky, dazzlingly brilliant.

The Green Bush Wolf let out a low roar. The Dark green fur on its back suddenly mutated, and over a hundred thin, elongated wolf-hair spikes rapidly emerged, stabbing upward.

The starlight collided with them, but failed to inflict any damage. Instead, it was shattered into countless fragments.

Ye Xinglan's pupils contracted. She hurriedly held the Stargod Sword horizontally before her, and the next instant, the wolf-hair spikes that had shredded the starlight slammed fiercely into the blade.

The immense force sent Ye Xinglan flying. Her face flushed, and a sweet taste rose in her throat.

After landing again, a Trace of blood stained the corner of Ye Xinglan's lips. She wiped it away with her hand and coldly stared at the entirely Dark green Green Bush Wolf.

She swore that once her cultivation became stronger, she would kill a Green Bush Wolf every time she entered the Spirit Ascension Platform to vent her anger.

"Howl, howl."

Yet just as Ye Xinglan reluctantly prepared to press the distress signal, the Green Bush Wolf became agitated instead, baring its fangs at her.

Its nearly two-meter-long body crouched slightly as intense Soul Power Fluctuations spread out. It had fully entered combat mode, completely unlike the relaxed ease it had displayed when dealing with Ye Xinglan earlier. It was as though it faced a formidable enemy.

Ye Xinglan froze. At first, she thought the Green Bush Wolf was deliberately drawing her attention in order to Ambush her.

But slowly, the Green Bush Wolf actually retreated several steps backward.

If it was pretending, then its acting was truly impressive.

"So..."

Ye Xinglan placed her left hand over the distress signal button and slowly turned her head. Her beautiful eyes immediately widened.

About ten meters behind her stood a boy around her age with refined features. He carried a Dark Green Staff over his right shoulder and watched her with a smile at the corner of his lips.

A Purple Soul Ring floated around his body.

Inside the room, Ye Changming finally Breathed a Sigh of Relief after seeing Nan Liujing appear behind his daughter with a Purple Soul Ring. He had been frowning for quite some time.

"His First Soul Ring is Thousand Year Level?"

Several cries of shock rang out from the Spirit Pagoda staff.

Na'er blinked in confusion. She did not understand Soul Rings; she only thought her brother looked incredibly cool.

The staff member who had brought everyone to the Spirit Ascension Chamber, however, had a change in expression. He stared at Nan Liujing, seemingly lost in thought.

"You ran into a Gou Lang. You're really unlucky," Nan Liujing said as he walked forward.

Gou Lang was the Green Bush Wolf's nickname.

It clearly possessed the ability to quickly kill its prey, yet it insisted on proceeding steadily and slowly. Still, that was why Green Bush Wolves only went extinct from the major Soul Beast Forests two thousand years later.

Seeing that he was human, Ye Xinglan visibly Breathed a Sigh of Relief. She stood up and said arrogantly, "You're unlucky too. This Gou Lang is Thousand Year Level."

A First Soul Ring at the Thousand Year Level had certainly shocked Ye Xinglan, but she did not believe a one-ring Soul Master could defeat a Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Nan Liujing smiled. "How about I kill it in one hit for you to see?"

Ye Xinglan said disdainfully, "If you can kill it in one hit, I'll drink all the water in the Heaven Dou River on the spot."

"Remember what you said." Nan Liujing's smile faded as he leisurely walked toward the Green Bush Wolf.

Ye Xinglan pursed her lips. Though she was disdainful inside, she still prepared to help him. In truth, she did not know whether a one-ring Soul Master could defeat a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. It was simply her nature—she refused to believe someone else could accomplish what she herself could not.

A chilling, muffled growl came from the Green Bush Wolf's throat. Then, it saw the human walking toward it swing the stick in his hand.

The stick was not long. By all logic, even if it were swung, it should not have been able to hit it. Yet at the instant it swept over, it abruptly extended, instantly surpassing twenty meters. Dark Blue, Dazzling lightning crackled and scattered from its surface.

Whoosh.

An intense tearing sound tore through the air. Only then did the Green Bush Wolf suddenly realize the danger, but it was clearly too late.

With a bang, its more than two-meter-long body was sent flying by the Dragon Subduing Staff. The crisp crack of shattering bones was plainly audible. At the same time, rampant electric currents frantically burrowed into its body, as though its internal organs were being ground apart. The excruciating pain made the Green Bush Wolf instinctively circulate its Soul Power in an attempt to resist.

Yet what terrified the Green Bush Wolf's limited intelligence was that the current forcibly sealed the flow of Soul Power within its body. Though only for a brief moment, it interrupted its best chance to protect itself. That was the truly fatal part.

Under Ye Xinglan's stunned gaze, Nan Liujing drove the Dragon Subduing Staff, which had shrunk back to its normal length, straight into the ground. Then it extended again, carrying his entire body into the air.

At the instant the Dragon Subduing Staff reached its maximum extension, dazzling lightning burst from Nan Liujing's Eye Pupils. He gripped the staff in reverse and smashed it forward. The Dragon Scales on the surface of the Dragon Subduing Staff seemed to come alive, releasing a low Dragon Roar as it traced a brilliant semicircle of lightning through the dim sky.

"Boom!"

Before Ye Xinglan's eyes, the Dragon Subduing Staff viciously smashed into the Green Bush Wolf, whose body was surrounded by electric currents and whose mobility had been severely restricted.

The instant it hit the ground, a cloud of blood mist exploded. Powerful tremors spread outward, and accompanied by fine electric currents, the nearby Grass Blades instantly shattered.

At the center of the attack, the Green Bush Wolf, crushed into a puddle of flesh, was clearly displayed before Ye Xinglan. The golden strands of hair at her forehead curled slightly in the gusts of Soul Power, while her lovely face had long since gone blank.

Having completed a one-hit kill, Nan Liujing inwardly marveled at how greatly Golden Dragon Body enhanced his strength and attack power. However, his expression remained calm. Since he was acting, he had to act until the end.

"River water doesn't taste like much. Want me to add a Candy for you?"

Ye Xinglan pretended not to hear him. "A Soul Beast's actual combat strength cannot be fully judged by its age, but the Green Bush Wolf is still Thousand Year Level. You didn't even use a soul skill. How exactly did you kill it?"

"Didn't you see it?" Nan Liujing asked with a smile.

Ye Xinglan's expression stiffened. She had indeed seen it, but the problem was... the problem was that she did not understand it.

So a one-ring Soul Master truly could kill a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. It was not as the textbooks said, that one needed a Second Ring to possess the power to contend with one.

"Don't dwell on it. Killing a Green Bush Wolf is nothing impressive." Nan Liujing collected the spiritual energy. That was another hundred years of commission.

Honestly, this Green Bush Wolf was not even as formidable as that Yuhao Happy Beast.

Nothing impressive... A string of black lines crossed Ye Xinglan's forehead. She had been chased for one or two kilometers by the thing.

Watching Nan Liujing's back, Ye Xinglan seemed determined to etch it deeply into her memory. She said in a Deep Voice, "My name is Ye Xinglan. What about you?"

"Lu Mingfei." Ye Changming had already told Ye Xinglan his name, but Nan Liujing still wanted to tease the girl, so he simply did not use his real name.

"Lu Mingfei, I'll remember you." Ye Xinglan's Azure Eyes, blue as the sky, fixed tightly on Nan Liujing.

From the moment her Stargod Sword Martial Soul awakened, her father had told her to continually temper her heart through the sword. The best way to temper one's heart was to challenge those who stirred it.

The last person clearly known to have awakened a Sword Soul had been Ji Juechen during the Dou Er era.

Nan Liujing ignored her eyes full of fighting Intent and calmly said, "Want to team up?"

Ye Xinglan's gaze Slightly Moved. "Can we?"

"No." Nan Liujing shook his head.

Ye Xinglan's expression froze, and she said angrily, "Then why did you ask whether I wanted to team up?"

Nan Liujing chuckled. "I just asked casually. Who knew you'd actually agree?"

After saying that, he carried the Dragon Subduing Staff on his shoulder and headed into the distance.

Ye Xinglan abruptly clenched the Stargod Sword in her right hand and took several deep breaths, forcibly calming herself down.

"Jerk. If it weren't for the fact that I can't... if it weren't for the fact that I have no Soul Power left, I'd definitely spar with you."

With a cold snort, she planned to find a safe place to recover her Soul Power.

"Hey, do you want to really form a team?"

Just as Ye Xinglan cursed under her breath and walked toward one side, she suddenly heard that jerk call out to her again.

Ye Xinglan did not even bother to respond.

"You can learn real combat techniques faster if you follow me," came a tempting voice.

Ye Xinglan halted.

A faint, gentle smile rested on Nan Liujing's refined face.

Based on memories from his previous life, he knew just how deeply Ye Xinglan was devoted to combat cultivation. One could call her arrogant or say she had a poor personality, but one could not deny that the girl's martial talent was genuinely exceptional. At such a young age, she had already awakened a Sword Soul.

"Follow me if you're willing." This time, Nan Liujing truly turned and left.

Ye Xinglan turned to look at him with a complicated expression. After a moment of silence, she still chose to follow.

The Soul Beast Forest was far crueler than she had imagined. One person's strength would always be inferior to two people's.

She quickened her pace and soon walked shoulder to shoulder with Nan Liujing. Though both were six years old, Nan Liujing was still a few centimeters taller than her.

"We need to find somewhere for you to recover your Soul Power first." Nan Liujing returned to a vigilant state, constantly watching the possible dangers lurking within the nearby bushes.

Ye Xinglan froze for a moment and said softly, "Thanks."

"No need to thank me. It's normal for companions to help each other," Nan Liujing said casually.

Companions?

Having trained her swordsmanship alone at home since childhood, Ye Xinglan had never had any so-called friends. Hearing that word suddenly made her mind drift for a moment.

She secretly glanced at Nan Liujing's profile, not knowing what she was thinking.

Before long, Nan Liujing found a suitable location with a broad view for Ye Xinglan to recover her Soul Power.

Ye Xinglan sat cross-legged, faint yellow Soul Power glowing from her body.

Nan Liujing stood before her and looked up at the sky, feeling an indescribable sense of oppression in his heart.

It seemed Dark clouds were beginning to gather in the sky.