Dragon Transformation, AI Dragon Soul

As one of the larger dragon-type Spirit Beasts, a Heavy Armored Earth Dragon weighed at least several thousand jin. Hearing Chen Ming tell him to flip the thing over, Dugu Bo fell silent for a moment.

He summoned his Martial Soul and carefully used Soul Power to send the poison he had recently refined into the Heavy Armored Earth Dragon's nostrils, startling it awake from its sleep.

Before the Heavy Armored Earth Dragon could react, Dugu Bo stepped forward, seized it by the neck, and hurled it onto its side, leaving the massive creature flat on its back.

Though he was the weakest Titled Douluo, Dugu Bo was still a Titled Douluo. With Soul Power, this much was no problem.

The panicked Heavy Armored Earth Dragon cried out frantically, trying to turn itself over, but Dugu Bo gave it no chance. With a slight release of poison, he paralyzed every muscle in its body, leaving only its eyes able to move.

Looking at the Heavy Armored Earth Dragon, Chen Ming suddenly had an idea. "Senior, if a Spirit Beast is killed with poison, who does the Spirit Ring belong to?"

"The one who poisoned it, of course," Dugu Bo answered matter-of-factly. "I experimented with it in my early years."

"But what counts as poison, and who counts as the poisoner? If poison concocted by Senior Dugu Bo were given to a low-level Spirit Master, and that Spirit Master used it to kill a Spirit Beast, could that person still obtain the Spirit Ring?"

"The answer is yes, but the poison was made by Senior Dugu Bo. The low-level Spirit Master merely used it. Why wouldn't the Spirit Ring belong to you, Senior?"

"That's because of the aura. Although I made the poison, the aura left behind when it kills is different."

"Then what if a low-level Spirit Master used Senior Dugu Bo's poison from afar, then immediately went dozens of li away to ensure his aura could not possibly contaminate the scene? When the Spirit Beast was finally poisoned to death, who would be qualified to absorb its Spirit Ring?"

"If someone had a Spirit Skill that allowed disguise, and disguised himself as Senior Dugu's aura while using your poison to kill a Spirit Beast, then the Spirit Beast would have died from your poison, and the aura left behind would also be yours. Could that Spirit Master with the disguise Spirit Skill absorb the Spirit Ring?"

"This... I've truly never tested that. But I can't imagine what circumstances would produce such a situation."

"Senior, if we could figure this out and make auras concealable or disguisable, hunting Spirit Beasts would undergo tremendous changes in the future. But I haven't researched that yet, and I don't have enough examples, so let's put it aside for now."

In truth, Chen Ming knew that Douluo Continent II was the final era in which traditional Spirit Rings became widespread, and a special method had emerged during that era.

Using special Soul Tools to kill Spirit Beasts prevented a Spirit Master's aura from being stored within their Spirit Rings, allowing anyone to absorb such rings. Combined with Soul Tools capable of storing Spirit Rings, this even made it possible to sell Spirit Rings.

However, near the end of Douluo Continent II, Huo Yuhao revealed the method of Spirit Souls to the public and founded the Spirit Pagoda, rendering that method obsolete. Otherwise, things might have developed into a strange direction no one could have imagined.

Chen Ming merely mentioned it before setting the matter aside. He walked over to the Heavy Armored Earth Dragon and began examining this Spirit Beast, whose form matched the Martial Soul he had awakened with.

"Judging by its jaw and scales, it's just over a thousand years old. Roughly eleven hundred, perhaps eleven hundred and fifty years, but no more than twelve hundred and fifty."

"And this belly... it's actually a Golden Belly? That's truly rare."

When Heavy Armored Earth Dragons digested metal, their abdomens produced heat. If they remained sprawled in one spot for long periods, their metallic scales would slowly turn dark brown.

But if they enjoyed moving about, their scales would dissipate heat to a certain extent and take on a dark golden color.

Golden Belly was not a rare innate talent, but the result of acquired circumstances. Still, an active Heavy Armored Earth Dragon was undoubtedly of better quality than its lazy kin.

After considering it, Chen Ming nodded at Dugu Bo. "Senior, I'll take this Spirit Beast. I choose it for my second Spirit Ring."

"Do you need me to break through its defenses for you?"

"No need." Chen Ming took out a thick iron stake with a conical bottom and a Big Iron Hammer.

He stepped forward and pried open the Heavy Armored Earth Dragon's jaws. Then he forcefully drove the iron stake into its upper jaw and, with several resounding hammer blows, smashed its pointed end straight into the creature's brain.

The Heavy Armored Earth Dragon's massive body twitched slightly, and then a purple Spirit Ring rose from its corpse.

The poor Heavy Armored Earth Dragon had merely taken a nap at home, only to lose its life just like that.

Chen Ming sat atop the Heavy Armored Earth Dragon's belly and took out the Earth Dragon Golden Melon from the Ruyi Hundred Treasure Pouch.

The instant the Earth Dragon Golden Melon appeared, the still-warm corpse of the Heavy Armored Earth Dragon suddenly convulsed, while the purple Spirit Ring floating in midair sharply contracted before expanding again.

But constrained by reality, neither the corpse nor the Spirit Ring showed any further reaction afterward.

Chen Ming placed the Earth Dragon Golden Melon before his Dantian. While dedicating part of his processing power to drawing out its energy, he began guiding the absorption of the Spirit Ring.

In Chen Ming's original estimation, absorbing a thousand-year Spirit Ring like this should have placed some pressure on him. Yet in reality, the process went far more smoothly than expected.

Though the quality of the Soul Power matched his expectations, due to the aura of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon, this Soul Power not only showed no violent resistance, but was extraordinarily docile. It also fused into Chen Ming's body faster than usual.

After only one shichen, Chen Ming opened his eyes and let out a dragon roar.

He rose to his feet, jumped down from the Heavy Armored Earth Dragon's corpse, and gripped the Earth Dragon Golden Melon in his hand. The scales covering his body like golden armor turned into flowing liquid energy and gathered toward the Earth Dragon Golden Melon.

As his second Spirit Ring lit up, Chen Ming's Martial Soul began to stir and boil. At last, a savage giant hammer slowly emerged in his hand.

Its head was a ferocious dragon's head, while its handle seemed metallic yet possessed the texture of bone. The dragon head's eyes carried an indescribable liveliness and coldness, and a golden sphere—the Earth Dragon Golden Melon—was held within its jaws.

"Hah!"

Chen Ming roared. Light flashed fiercely in the Dragon Head Hammer's eyes, while the Earth Dragon Golden Melon radiated brilliant light. A faint dragon's cry seemed to echo through the air.

The original one-handed hammer rapidly swelled in size, ultimately transforming into an enormous warhammer so oversized that even Chen Ming found it somewhat excessive to wield with both hands.