The Golden Dragon King

The kneeling figure slowly rose.

As she lifted her head, her peerless beauty came fully into view.

Her long silver hair fell loose down her back, all the way to her ankles. Not only was it smooth and silky, it also had the sheen of silver crystal.

Her beauty was beyond words; no description could do justice to her flawless features.

Her fair skin was just a touch pale, giving her a sickly kind of beauty.

Even in the plainest white dress, she looked incredibly alluring.

Her eyes were breathtaking, with long, curled lashes and clear, translucent purple irises that held boundless wisdom.

She looked at the boy sleeping on the ground.

After hesitating, she couldn't resist her curiosity. Once she had confirmed that the boy couldn't observe the outside world,

she gathered her spiritual power and cautiously probed the edge of his Sea of Consciousness, peering inside through the seven-colored barrier.

But what lay within clearly surprised her. Apart from a ball of burning white flame, there was nothing else.

What was that?

Could his God Core and the Golden Dragon King's both be inside that flame?

She pressed her rosy lips together. After a moment's inner struggle, she still managed to restrain her curiosity and didn't rashly enter Xu Lanqing's Sea of Consciousness.

After all, that was the most important territory a person had. Unless its owner willingly opened his mind and cooperated, intruding would surely cause irreparable damage to the Sea of Consciousness.

Even if he was asleep, that wouldn't do. The body's self-protection mechanism would instinctively repel any foreign intrusion.

With her current strength, she couldn't guarantee his safety.

He couldn't die. At least, not now.

She shook her head and withdrew her spiritual power.

When her awareness returned to her body, a mere thought brought everything in this space into her mind.

Her slender, delicate fingers brushed her silver bangs behind her ear, baring her pale forehead. She glanced toward the depths of the space, her eyes narrowing slightly.

At least her trip hadn't been for nothing.

The next moment, she vanished from where she stood.

Inside the Golden Dragon King's God Core.

A boundless golden world seethed with raging divine power, weighing heavily on the spirit.

A layer of white flame burned around Xu Lanqing. He paid no attention to the divine power rampaging around him, and it didn't attack him either.

He raced straight toward the center of the God Core's world. As the white flame around him grew dimmer, he clenched his fists.

Faster. I have to go faster!

An ever-growing sense of urgency pressed down on him.

Time passed, second by second.

Just as the white flame had nearly faded from sight,

at last,

a gigantic figure appeared at the edge of his vision, curled up in the distance.

It was a terrifying dragon, nearly a thousand zhang long. Its eyes were the color of rubies, but there wasn't a glimmer of life in them.

Compared to it, Xu Lanqing was as insignificant as a grain of sand.

It still seemed to be under the influence of Purification Fire.

Seeing it, Xu Lanqing actually breathed a sigh of relief. He felt no fear at all.

When he reached the Golden Dragon King's head, Xu Lanqing touched its scales with his right hand without the slightest hesitation. A sharp, icy chill made him shudder.

The white Purification Fire drifted down onto the dragon's scales, linking the Golden Dragon King and Xu Lanqing together.

"Ugh..."

A massive surge of spiritual power assaulted Xu Lanqing's spiritual body. Pain twisted his handsome face into a grimace, and a pained groan escaped his lips uncontrollably.

"This is..."

He endured the pain and steadied his mind.

"This is... the Dragon God's memories?!"

Scene after scene swirled around Xu Lanqing. They began with the Dragon God's ascension to godhood and recorded nearly his entire life.

But the Dragon God had lived for almost a million years. His memories were vast beyond measure. Xu Lanqing could only read the most important parts; otherwise, the sheer volume of information would probably have burst him apart.

"These... are they the Dragon God's will from back then?

The conflict between divine beasts and gods, a world where beasts and humans could coexist... He'd already thought of these problems."

Xu Lanqing murmured to himself. Then he withdrew the hand resting on the dragon's scales and took a small step back, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile.

"Looks like your mission isn't over yet. Isn't that right, Golden Dragon King?"

The Golden Dragon King's vacant eyes flickered faintly as he stared at Xu Lanqing. Under the influence of Purification Fire, he had briefly regained his senses.

"You're nothing but a lucky human. What right do you have to talk to me about a mission?"

His voice boomed through the space like the decree of heaven. The raging divine power around them fell silent like an obedient child.

Memories were exchanged. Clearly, he had read Xu Lanqing's memories too. However, Xu Lanqing had controlled the process. After making a few adjustments, the Golden Dragon King would only know Xu Lanqing's memories from this world.

"You're right. I am just a lucky human.

Lucky enough to come to this world, lucky enough to meet my teacher, lucky enough to meet you...

No, meeting you has to be bad luck, actually. Nobody wants a dangerous ticking time bomb in their head, living in fear that they could die the very next second, at any moment.

Honestly, I'm impressed with myself for not going crazy after all these years."

Xu Lanqing gave a self-deprecating smile, his gaze gradually growing resolute.

"But with so many people in the world, you just had to meet me. Maybe that's fate. You have no other choice but me now."

"You're human."

The Golden Dragon King was unmoved. He spoke calmly.

"I am human, but your enemies are those gods. And if I completely merge with you, do you think I'll still count as purely human? Will the gods of the Divine Realm leave me alone?"

Xu Lanqing's mouth twitched. Then, with a look of disgust, he said,

"If I weren't desperate, who'd want to merge with you? It'd just bring me nothing but trouble. Go sit somewhere cool."

The Golden Dragon King fell silent for a while, then looked away, as if he could see through space to the world outside.

"I can sense her out there."

Xu Lanqing's heart skipped a beat. Things seemed to be taking an unpredictable turn.

"Her?"

"The Silver Dragon King."

"The Silver Dragon King? How could she be here?"

Xu Lanqing blurted out, his eyes filled with uncertainty. He was startled. Why had the Silver Dragon King appeared so early?

Could the Silver Dragon King have been the one who saved him?

If she was outside, then she might have found him by following the Golden Dragon King's aura.

As for saving him, she must have wanted the power the Golden Dragon King had left inside him. The Golden Dragon King had already fused with him; if he died, that power would explode with him.

Then why hadn't she simply absorbed it?

She was the Lord of Soul Beasts. To revive the Soul Beasts, she needed power. But she hadn't absorbed it straight away, which could only mean she was unable to.

Xu Lanqing bit his lower lip, his mind racing. Looking at the unmoving Golden Dragon King, he gradually grew more certain.

If the timeline was right, the Silver Dragon King was still seriously injured. She couldn't absorb the Golden Dragon King's power, so she had saved me.

"Since the Silver Dragon King is outside, but you haven't gone out to merge with her, if I'm not mistaken, there must be some reason she can't absorb your power."

Xu Lanqing regained his confidence, a smile returning to his face.

The Golden Dragon King didn't deny it. He challenged him again. "You have some cleverness, I'll give you that. But as a human, what makes you qualified to shoulder the Soul Beasts' mission? Weren't the gods who slaughtered my people originally humans who rose to godhood?"

And just like that, they were back to the same question.