Dragon Mane

Wang Chuan studied the Dragon-Headed Jackal King with a strange look in his eyes.

Among the Red-Headed Jackals from before, the strongest one Wang Chuan had observed was only around forty thousand years old.

As the leader of that pack, Wang Chuan had initially assumed it possessed at least that level of cultivation. Since it carried Sub-Dragon blood, its combat strength should have been enough to rival a Soul Douluo, so he had expected a fierce battle.

But now that they were face-to-face, Wang Chuan realized his estimate had been wildly off.

According to the information provided by the Ge Clan, the standards for judging a Dragon-Headed Jackal King before ten thousand years were the same as those for Red-Headed Jackals.

But after ten thousand years, a scale would appear amid the mane on its neck. Every additional scale signified another ten thousand years of cultivation progress.

As for further information, the book said nothing.

Wang Chuan did not know whether the Ge Clan had deliberately omitted it, or whether these Spirit Beasts were simply too rare and even the Ge Clan possessed pitifully little information on them.

Yet the Dragon-Headed Jackal King before him had only a single scale on its neck!

That meant this creature, with merely ten thousand years of cultivation, had commanded a Red-Headed Jackal pack containing more than a dozen ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts.

Wang Chuan naturally did not believe that was authority granted by its bloodline.

For these savage creatures—or rather, for the vast majority of Spirit Beasts—strength carried far more authority than bloodline.

Otherwise, creatures like the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape would not have ended up needing to be raised by Xiao Wu's mother.

And after that brief exchange, Wang Chuan had not only confirmed that it possessed a spiritual attribute, but that the power of its physical attacks was no weaker than that of Spirit Beasts with sixty or seventy thousand years of cultivation. That was already enough to rival the combat strength of a Soul Douluo.

But according to the information provided by the Ge Clan—

The creature before him was only a mere ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast!

Its potential was nearly on par with the Titan Giant Ape!

That was why Wang Chuan felt his estimate had been so absurdly wrong.

But that also meant it would certainly provide him with another powerful Spirit Ring, help Golden Scale transform, and, with its cultivation below twenty thousand years, fall far beneath his original worst-case estimate. Absorbing it would definitely be easy.

Wang Chuan gradually broke into a delighted smile.

Seeing that it was currently biting him, Wang Chuan instinctively felt that the fastest way to end the battle was naturally to use an internal destruction technique and directly burst the creature before him apart.

But Wang Chuan quickly dismissed that brutal idea.

After all, if he really did that, the Dragon-Headed Jackal King would be blasted into pieces. How was he supposed to make the most efficient use of its resources then?

Wang Chuan's gaze sharpened as Observation Haki activated.

Through their zero-distance contact, Wang Chuan directly locked onto his opponent's heart.

Six Styles: Finger Pistol!

The Finger Pistol wrapped in Armament Haki shot out fiercely, directly piercing through the Dragon-Headed Jackal King's body.

Compared to the Titan Golden Python from before, the Dragon-Headed Jackal King, with only canine hide for defense, had defense that was simply not worth mentioning. Combined with its small frame, Wang Chuan pierced its heart with a single strike.

Feeling the agonizing pain from its heart, the Dragon-Headed Jackal King widened its eyes in furious disbelief.

It had only just become the leader of the jackal pack, only just become the ruler of this region, and now it was going to die like this. I refuse... ah...

But no matter how resentful the Dragon-Headed Jackal King was, the complete destruction of its heart, that fatal weakness, had already declared its fate.

In the end, under the influence of the laws of heaven and earth, a black Spirit Ring slowly condensed into existence.

However, Wang Chuan was in no hurry to absorb it. He grabbed the Dragon-Headed Jackal King and raced back toward the direction of the earlier battle, collecting the remaining Red-Headed Jackal corpses.

Then Wang Chuan hurried toward Zhao Wuji.

Including the time Wang Chuan had spent watching the show, the entire battle had taken no more than fifteen minutes.

But that was not because the Red-Headed Jackals were weak. Their strength was evident from how the Copper-Armored Giant Elephants had been surrounded and slaughtered without any ability to fight back.

It was purely because Wang Chuan's instantaneous burst of power was too monstrous, and it was also an area-of-effect skill that killed swathes of enemies at once.

However, Zhao Wuji paid none of that any mind.

He was simply relieved to see his boss return safely.

And Wang Chuan still was not in a hurry to absorb the Spirit Ring. As a Spirit Ring's age increased, the longer it could remain in existence, so he had plenty of time to prepare.

Thus, upon seeing Zhao Wuji, Wang Chuan said directly.

"Old Zhao, the target's been secured. Things are getting dangerous—let's get out of here."

Zhao Wuji immediately followed Wang Chuan, and the two raced along the path they had slowly traveled earlier, one they had already confirmed was free of danger.

Eventually, they arrived at a safe spot they had chosen before.

It was a small, barren cave on the shadowed side of a hill, where not even a blade of grass grew.

After calling out a greeting to Zhao Wuji, Wang Chuan ducked inside, blocked the cave with stones, and began summoning Golden Scale to refine the Spirit Ring.

The instant it appeared, Golden Scale impatiently connected with Wang Chuan through their thoughts and placed the pitch-black ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring around itself.

In an instant, surging Soul Power, just as before, rushed from Golden Scale straight into Wang Chuan's body.

Throughout the process, Wang Chuan still felt no discomfort. He only felt pleasantly warm from head to toe.

Outside, Golden Scale's length underwent another explosive leap in growth, directly reaching ten meters and nearly filling the entire little cave.

Other than that, Golden Scale did not change much overall. Only a red dragon mane slowly grew around its neck, and it began to truly possess the majesty of the legendary Eastern Divine Dragon.

In the blink of an eye, half a day passed, and Wang Chuan slowly opened his eyes.

The ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring had been refined.

As for the Soul Shock that came with refining a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring?

Wang Chuan felt that he had underestimated himself before.

The spiritual attack formed by the Dragon-Headed Jackal King's remaining soul was no different from a scratch to him now.

But after waking up, Wang Chuan thought it over and realized that made sense.

He had not feared the Dragon-Headed Jackal King's spiritual attack even in its complete state. What was a mere remnant soul worth?

At that moment, sensing Wang Chuan's awakening, Golden Scale brought its head, now a full size larger, close and eagerly rubbed against Wang Chuan like a puppy.

Caught off guard, Wang Chuan was nearly knocked flat.

But Wang Chuan did not blame it. Instead, he stroked Golden Scale's head, satisfaction appearing in his eyes as he sighed.

"You've grown again, Golden Scale. It seems the path we chose wasn't wrong, even if the process will be somewhat winding.

But I believe that you will definitely grow into a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon soaring through the nine heavens."

Afterward, Wang Chuan connected with Golden Scale through their thoughts. He was somewhat curious what Spirit Skill this ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring would provide, though he did not hold much hope.

Just like with Luo Sanpao, Wang Chuan always felt that these Spirit Skills had not been prepared for him.

Golden Scale's first Spirit Skill was called Golden Power. It could increase its strength attribute by one hundred percent for half an hour.

Very soon, things turned out just as Wang Chuan had expected. Golden Scale's second Spirit Skill truly was not for him either.

It was called Roaring Dragon Rage, a soundwave-type spiritual attack Spirit Skill that should have evolved from the Dragon-Headed Jackal King's earlier spiritual attack on him.