Radiant Flood Dragon

After bidding farewell to Tang Wutong, Xiao Yi headed toward the academy's library.

This was the so-called compensation Xiao Yi had requested from Yan Shaozhe. Originally, it was supposed to be a Soul Ascension Pill, but for Xiao Yi, such things were extremely lackluster. The Mystic Water Pill was the same; setting aside its effects on improving innate aptitude and purging impurities from the body, the primary issue was its production.

First of all, the manufacturing process for these items was incredibly crude. Douluo Continent lacked any true heritage of alchemy. At the end of the day, these pills were merely a rough amalgamation of mild medicinal herbs and the essence blood of water-attribute soul beasts.

This method failed to refine the medicinal properties in any meaningful way. While Xiao Yi could attempt alchemy using his Heavenly Flame, he would likely only be able to refine herbs with similar properties into a medicinal liquid. The effect would certainly be better than the Mystic Water Pill, but only marginally so.

Xiao Yi's application to the library was for one purpose: to prepare for his fourth soul ring.

Xiao Yi's first soul ring came from a Red Fire Python, which could only be considered average in terms of martial soul quality. After years of growth, its fire attribute had improved significantly, and it was only a step away from evolving into a flood dragon, though it was still a long way from reaching the ultimate attribute.

Xiao Yi had actually attempted to use his Heavenly Flame to assist the snake's transformation as mentioned in the original Battle Through the Heavens, but it was clearly ineffective in Douluo Continent; the mere aura it emitted nearly sent the Red Fire Python to its grave.

The Nether Cold Ice Python also showed signs of evolving into a flood dragon, and its speed was countless times faster than Xiao Yi's other two soul beasts.

It was then that Xiao Yi realized he had fallen into a misconception. Clearly, the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils were balancing the evolution speeds of the three soul beasts; otherwise, the Red Fire Python should logically have been the first to evolve.

In reality, it was the Purple Lightning Flood Dragon—which already showed signs of evolution before Xiao Yi absorbed it—that had taken the lead, yet its evolution had now stalled, as if waiting for the other two.

Xiao Yi had previously thought it didn't matter if they weren't dragons or snake-like sub-dragons, but he realized now that seeking out dragon-type soul beasts was the correct path.

Absorbing a dragon-type soul beast for his fourth ring might accelerate the transformation of the others, which would be a massive, earth-shattering boost to Xiao Yi's strength.

A snake is, after all, just a snake. He could not simply wait for it to evolve on its own; the speed was far too slow. He had to constantly seek out stronger soul beasts to accelerate the process.

Xiao Yi's purpose in coming to the library today was to find his next target.

Shrek's ten thousand years of accumulation included not only resources and powerhouses but also rare records. Although Xiao Yi could not enter the most classified areas—which were said to house the Self-Created Soul Skills developed by generations of Shrek's experts—the lower levels were more than sufficient. Finding the section for soul beast categories, Xiao Yi walked straight toward the light-attribute area.

Xiao Yi even found a description of the Bright Sacred Dragon.

Its entire body was covered in dense, heavy, pure-gold dragon scales. Each scale looked as if it had been forged from thousand-refined red gold, shimmering with brilliant light and carrying its own holy radiance, blindingly dazzling under the sun.

This soul beast possessed a long, majestic body, with adults reaching up to a hundred meters in length. Its dragon form was powerful and dignified, possessing the three elemental attributes of light, lightning, and fire.

Judging by the description, it could be absorbed by the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. Looking further down, there were many sub-dragon and snake species that carried its bloodline.

After some searching, Xiao Yi locked onto a soul beast called the Radiant Flood Dragon. This soul beast possessed a pure light attribute; it was a lower-tier sub-dragon species of the Bright Sacred Dragon and also carried the bloodline of the Golden Sacred Dragon.

Records even mentioned that thousands of years ago, a Shrek powerhouse had encountered a Radiant Flood Dragon with a regressive bloodline in its habitat. It had already developed the characteristics of a Bright Sacred Dragon and possessed a pure light attribute, and was hunted by their descendant as a fifth soul ring.

Xiao Yi planned to spend more time finding one around 9,000 years old, then absorb Whale Rubber afterward to improve his physical constitution, driving it to evolve into a ten-thousand-year soul beast. With the help of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, he might be able to help it cross the most difficult stage of dragon transformation.

This was also why he wouldn't absorb a ten-thousand-year beast directly. The evolution of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils' soul beasts was not perfectly synchronized—otherwise, the varying progress of the three beasts wouldn't exist. Absorbing Whale Rubber in advance could allow the first three to accelerate their transformation and absorb a ten-thousand-year ring directly, but it wouldn't allow the fourth to complete its final transformation.

This way, Xiao Yi could possess a Bright Sacred Dragon as his fourth soul ring.

Xiao Yi also discovered in the library records that those with only a single attribute were generally within the absorption range of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.

For example, the Ice Dragon, Fire Dragon, Silver Dragon, Bright Sacred Dragon, Dark Sacred Dragon, and Thunder Dragon.

These were all long-bodied dragons, similar to the Chinese dragon, with snake-like bodies.

Meanwhile, those with multiple attributes, such as the Golden Sacred Dragon, Hell Demon Dragon, and Golden Dragon, were essentially Western dragons with lizard-like bodies.

After confirming the habitat of the Radiant Flood Dragon, Xiao Yi left the library.

He still had to worry about the ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber. Unlike ten thousand years ago, the price of Whale Rubber remained high, to the point where it was practically impossible to find on the market.

It was just a sad fact that he had no money.

He could easily dominate the freshman assessment in three months and become a core disciple, but Xiao Yi didn't even want to participate.

However, the core disciple quota in the Treasure Gathering Pavilion was quite tempting. As for the talk of "owing Shrek," that was pure nonsense. If he turned Shrek into his Shrek, then that wouldn't be an issue anymore.

So, he had to find a way to make money.

Meanwhile, Huo Yutong and the others were running into trouble...

Just as he stepped out of the library, a figure walked toward him, making Xiao Yi pause slightly. This person looked very familiar.

A waterfall of red hair cascaded loosely, and her charming, alluring face was stunningly beautiful. Her fiery figure was exquisite, and the most eye-catching feature was the arrogance displayed by her chest.

It was none other than the "Flame Maniac" of the Inner Court, Ma Xiaotao.

She walked straight up to Xiao Yi. Even though she was a full head shorter than him, Xiao Yi felt an inexplicable sense of being suppressed by her aura. Yes, it was definitely her aura.

"You must be Xiao Yi, right? I'm Ma Xiaotao." Ma Xiaotao's expression was somewhat unnatural; seeking out a junior she didn't know for such a purpose felt strange.

Seeing that she didn't seem to be looking for a fight, Xiao Yi withdrew the soul power he had been preparing to mobilize. Fighting her would be quite difficult.

"Yes, I am Xiao Yi. Senior Ma Xiaotao must be here regarding the Evil Fire, right?"

This caught Ma Xiaotao off guard. She hadn't expected him to know her purpose, assuming Teacher Yan Shaozhe had already spoken to him. She nodded to confirm.

Xiao Yi pondered. Although his Nether Cold Ice Python's ice attribute hadn't reached the ultimate level, its quality was high, and the Evil Fire Phoenix's evil fire wasn't at the ultimate level either. After a moment of thought, he agreed; he had his own needs, and this was the perfect time to bring them up.

"Fine, I agree. But I will require compensation afterward."

"No problem, that's only natural. Just follow me now."

The two headed in the same direction. Not far away, Yan Shaozhe watched this scene from a room and nodded with satisfaction. Others called him a fool, but in reality, he was incredibly shrewd.

He was quite confident in his disciple's beauty.

As for Ma Xiaotao, she looked at Xiao Yi following behind her and, thinking of what her teacher had said, felt slightly unnatural.