Persuading the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings to Sacrifice

Why were more powerful Soul Masters more cautious when choosing Soul Rings?

Because after tens of thousands of years of experience, Soul Masters had discovered that Soul Rings did far more than help them break through. They could also strengthen the innate power of a martial soul!

In other words, they could improve the quality of a martial soul. The higher the quality of the martial soul, the more Soul Power it could store once one reached level ninety-six or above.

Taken to the extreme, without a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring, it would be impossible to break through to level ninety-eight. Though that was somewhat extreme, there was some truth to it.

As Golden Crocodile thought about it, he could not help recalling the Soul Core cultivation method Jin Yan had mentioned.

If breaking through by comprehending one's martial soul still placed certain requirements on the martial soul, then Soul Core cultivation relied entirely on oneself.

It was equivalent to shifting a Soul Master's focus from their martial soul back onto themselves.

As long as one's body could withstand it, one could try to open up a Soul Core within it.

And store Soul Power within that Soul Core.

"Let's first see if it works."

After thinking it over, Golden Crocodile had tentatively accepted Jin Yan's idea, but he still needed to test whether this method was viable.

Golden Crocodile began as Jin Yan had, forming a vortex in his palm that gradually grew larger.

However, his control was undoubtedly far greater than Jin Yan's, and he did not let it slip out of his grasp.

After a while, just as he was about to succeed, he dispersed the Soul Power.

His eyes filled with deep astonishment as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Grandfather, how was it?" Jin Yan stepped forward and asked.

After all, although he thought there would be no problem, no one knew whether others could cultivate it successfully.

"No problem." Golden Crocodile nodded.

As he spoke, he headed outside.

"Grandfather, where are you going?"

"This is such an important matter. Naturally, I must first tell the Grand Pontiff."

Golden Crocodile did not even turn his head.

"Then you should break through first. Wouldn't that be more convincing?"

Golden Crocodile stopped in his tracks. On second thought, that was true.

He really was getting senile.

At once, he returned to the bank of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, sat cross-legged, held the Earth Dragon Golden Melon in his hand, and swallowed it in one bite.

After chewing it a few times without much care, he swallowed it and began cultivating.

As earthy-yellow Soul Power radiance spread from his body, Golden Crocodile entered a state of cultivation. No one knew how long this breakthrough would take.

When Soul Masters broke through, especially during breakthroughs of such major ranks, the duration was always unpredictable.

It could take one or two days, one or two weeks, or even one or two months!

"It's time to take a look at the bottom of the spring," Jin Yan murmured.

After giving Zhang Yan another instruction on the shore, Jin Yan leaped directly into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

As he sank deeper and deeper, Jin Yan's vision became increasingly blurred.

In the end, he could only swim downward by relying on his senses.

After swimming down for an unknown length of time, Jin Yan's surroundings suddenly brightened.

He looked around.

Jin Yan discovered that the space beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was exceptionally vast.

The entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was like a bottle embedded underground. Its mouth was narrow, but the farther down one went, the larger the space became.

Using the light as guidance, Jin Yan continued diving for a while, and then a shocking sight appeared before him.

At the very bottom of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well,

one red and one blue—two enormous dragon corpses, each conservatively estimated to be dozens of meters long—appeared before him. The two dragon corpses were entwined together, creating an incomparably spectacular sight.

Before them, Jin Yan was only as large as one of their dragon claws.

"Yes, yes, yes! These are the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings. I can sense the aura of their dragon souls, which have yet to perish."

The Golden Dragon King spoke incoherently in his mind.

"It looks like their dragon souls have fallen asleep. How do I awaken them?"

"You only need to release your martial soul. Your Golden Dragon Crocodile carries the aura of me, the Golden Dragon King. They will awaken."

"Alright."

With a low dragon roar, Jin Yan released his Golden Dragon Crocodile martial soul.

At the same time, the two dragon corpses below seemed to sense something and lit up with icy-blue and fiery-red radiance.

Two dragon roars rang out at once, and two illusory dragon souls floated out from the dragon corpses.

"It is the Golden Dragon King's aura... our lord's aura."

The two dragon souls murmured as they swam toward Jin Yan.

They were now so faint that they barely retained their form, yet they could still maintain their consciousness.

"Human, how can one carrying the Golden Dragon King's aura be a human?!"

They looked at Jin Yan, then at the Golden Dragon Crocodile martial soul behind him, and were utterly bewildered.

They had clearly emerged only because they sensed the pure aura of the Golden Dragon King. How had it turned into a human?

"This junior greets the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings, seniors," Jin Yan said.

"Young one, you know us?"

"The Golden Dragon King sent me to find you," Jin Yan replied neither servile nor overbearing.

"The Golden Dragon King... it truly is the Golden Dragon King. We did not sense it wrongly." The Ice Dragon King spoke somewhat excitedly.

"Young one, answer me. Where is Lord Golden Dragon King?" The Fire Dragon King suddenly moved close to Jin Yan. Two heavy streams of air burst from his nostrils as he stared down at Jin Yan.

Even under such overwhelming pressure, Jin Yan remained neither servile nor overbearing.

"The Golden Dragon King was severely injured and sent me here to ask for your help."

"We are already nothing more than remnant souls. What can we possibly do for Lord Golden Dragon King?"

Jin Yan composed himself and said, "The Golden Dragon King said..."

"Said what?"

"He said..."

The two Dragon Kings flew into a rage. "Boy, what did he say? Speak at once! Do not delay the great affairs of our Dragon Clan!"

"He said that you could sacrifice yourselves to me," Jin Yan said as though facing death without fear.

"Impossible! Boy, you dare deceive us?" The Fire Dragon King let out a dragon roar and snarled.

"It is true. The Golden Dragon King said that you could grant me a second martial soul and raise my aptitude to the god level. It would not work without your involvement. He said the same would apply if he sought out the other Dragon Kings.

"You are the finest among the Nine Great Dragon Kings, so he had me come find you first. The other Dragon Kings can wait for now."

The two Dragon Kings exchanged a glance.

"I think what he says should be true. After all, no one knows that we are the finest among the Nine Great Dragon Kings. Even the other Dragon Kings do not know."

The Fire Dragon King nodded. "Boy, I believe you."

"We can indeed use the strength we have left to sacrifice ourselves to you and help you obtain a second martial soul. But you must tell us: what is the Golden Dragon King's purpose?"

Jin Yan thought for a moment before saying, "Lord Golden Dragon King said that he wants the Dragon God to return to this world and lead the Dragon Clan back to glory!"

The two Dragon Kings nodded.

"Boy, this may hurt a little. Endure it."

As the Ice Dragon King spoke, bright icy-blue Soul Power radiance spread from his illusory dragon body.

At the same time, the Fire Dragon King also radiated Soul Power light.

The two Dragon Kings circled and danced before Jin Yan, their two kinds of Soul Power unexpectedly merging together.

The nine Dragon Kings had originally been formed from the Dragon God's source energy. As their powers interacted and merged, they actually revealed a trace of the Dragon God's majesty.

Accompanied by a resounding dragon's cry, the two brilliant golden Soul Rings formed by the two Dragon Kings slowly settled around Jin Yan's body.