Breaking the Seal - The First Shackles

Dark clouds blanketed Eastsea City.

Violent winds howled through every street.

The leading edge of the typhoon had already made landfall from the sea, and fine raindrops pelted the windowpanes with a sound like gravel falling from the sky.

This was Mang Tian's private workshop in Eastsea City, established before his craftsmanship had been compromised.

Having gathered the century-old Red Flame Fruit, the century-old Ice Crystal Fruit, and ten drops of dragon-type soul beast blood, Tang Wulin rushed into the room and hurriedly bolted the doors and windows.

Outside, the typhoon wailed, and Tang Wulin's heart was equally unsettled.

The reason he hadn't returned to the academy was that he didn't know: was the voice that made him choose a defective soul spirit good or bad? Was the seal he described within his body real?

If it were true, he didn't want to cause a scene in his dormitory while breaking the seal; after all, the last two times he triggered this Golden Dragon power, he had entered a state of loss of control where he couldn't distinguish friend from foe.

Tang Wulin laid out the three expensive items on the table, then closed his eyes and sent out a mental call, attempting to summon that humanoid golden light.

Just as his patience was about to wear thin and he felt he was being toyed with again:

"Have you gathered them all?" a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

"They are all gathered!" Tang Wulin quickly replied, then tentatively asked, "Um... what should I call you?"

The golden figure paused for two seconds before replying stiffly: "Just call me Old Tang."

Tang Wulin continued to ask, "Then what else do I need to prepare?"

Old Tang's voice became very low: "Endurance and perseverance, for when the seal is broken, you will suffer the agony of ice and fire tempering and the pain of a dragon beast colliding with your body."

In truth, however, this was a well-intentioned lie, as the source of this suffering was the tempering of the body caused by the Red Flame Fruit, the Ice Crystal Fruit, and the dragon beast blood.

Only after being tempered by ice and fire and nourished by dragon beast blood could Tang Wulin's bloodline transcend humanity—in other words, cause his physique to undergo a certain degree of dragonification.

Finally, by adopting the method of "using dragon to feed dragon," the first layer of the Eighteen-Layer Seal would be broken, allowing Tang Wulin to contain and absorb a wisp of the Golden Dragon King's essence.

Accumulating this over time would allow the old king to be carved up as nutrients, feeding them layer by layer to nurture a new king.

This was the most important link in the Tang God King's ten-thousand-year grand plan.

However, upon hearing this condition, Tang Wulin's expression was somewhat flustered: "That's not right, you lied to me! Last time you told me to collect these three treasures, you didn't say I would have to endure this kind of pain."

Old Tang, however, instructed him patiently: "There has never been something for nothing in this world; if you want something, you must pay the corresponding hardship."

"Only by enduring the bitterest of the bitter can one become a master among men."

"You are still young. If you do not put in effort that exceeds the ordinary, and do not endure pain that others find difficult to bear, how can you possibly surpass others at the starting line?"

"If you do not take the initiative to break the seal, you will surely die in the near future, so you have no other choice."

Tang Wulin was silenced by this retort, so he could only compromise: "Fine, since I have no choice, then I will definitely be able to hold on!"

His gaze gradually grew firm, and he repeated to himself that he had come to Eastsea City to become stronger, to become wealthy, to forge a lot of iron, and to earn a lot of money.

He wanted to prove to Master Mang Tian that cultivation and forging did not need to be prioritized over one another; they could absolutely advance side by side!

Then, he would let his mom and dad live a wealthy life and let them eat plenty of delicious meat.

He also had to go find Na'er, use lots and lots of money to buy lots and lots of delicious food, and fill up Na'er, that little glutton!

He also had to fulfill his promise to Brother Long, to become a great Soul Master, to roam the vast seas, and to march into the starry sky!

"Old Tang, what exactly should I do? Please tell me!" After completing his self-indoctrination, Tang Wulin agreed with ironclad resolve.

"Good." The golden figure seemed somewhat gratified.

Under his guidance, Tang Wulin first soaked the Red Flame Fruit and the Ice Crystal Fruit in the dragon beast blood.

While waiting, he made a soul communication call to inform his good friend Xie Xie that he couldn't return to the academy due to the typhoon, and asked him to help request a short leave from Teacher Wu Zhangkong.

However, Xie Xie expressed that it was a bit difficult, as the Freshman Decisive Battle was approaching, and they should have been using the typhoon weather for extra training to achieve an overtake on a curve.

Still, as a friend who shared a bunk bed, Xie Xie agreed to the request.

Everything was ready.

Tang Wulin picked up the mixture and downed it in one gulp. Within a few breaths, scorching heat, freezing cold, and numbing pain exploded from beneath his chest!

One week later...

Beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Long Zijin held the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng in his hands, revealing a heartfelt smile.

Suddenly, he turned to look toward the Eastsea direction, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Because according to the feedback from that petal of his, a burst of Golden Dragon energy resonating with the Amethyst Dragon Marrow had just erupted right against that petal.

"What is going on?" Long Zijin stood up abruptly, the tranquil atmosphere of the entire valley broken by his movement.

Even the Fat Chi Dragon in his hand sensed the emotional fluctuation of the Flower Immortal Body and became still, as if listening.

"Emperor?" The Holy Dragon King also rose from the herb patch.

Long Zijin's expression was somewhat unsightly: "The first layer of the Golden Dragon King's Eighteen-Layer Seal has been broken."

"What!" Di Guangming's eyes widened, as if thinking of something, and he hurriedly asked back: "Is it the Silver Dragon King! Did she act ahead of schedule?"

Long Zijin pondered for two seconds, then shook his head: "The possibility is low, because with her current cultivation, it is absolutely impossible for her to break a God King's shackle."

"Furthermore, that sliver of God King soul is no mere decoration."

"That is..." The Holy Dragon King fell into deep thought, eventually arriving at an inconceivable conclusion: "Could it be that Tang San undid it himself?"

Long Zijin nodded and said, "As it stands, that is the only possibility."

He instructed the Holy Dragon King, "Make preparations. The plan has changed; we are going to Eastsea City."

"Nothing can be allowed to go wrong. I must see what is happening and completely eliminate the possibility of the Silver Dragon King."

Long Zijin handed the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng, which had already begun to gather spiritual energy, to the Aromatic Silk Beauty and said, "I leave it to you. I must depart for a while, but I will not be back too late."

"This dragon ginseng has already gained spirit and is only one step away from becoming a Grade Ten immortal ginseng. Once it absorbs the energy within its body and breaks through the Grade Ten boundary, just help it 'awaken its wisdom'."

"Once it possesses intelligence, you need not concern yourself with it further. It will complete the final absorption of the Dragon Ganoderma energy on its own. By then, even if it isn't Grade Eleven, it will be close enough."

"Understood." The Aromatic Silk Beauty took the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.

However, the Fat Chi Dragon, knowing it was to be separated from the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, became quite agitated, its dragon-claw-like tentacles constantly clutching at the Flower Immortal Body's fingers.

But Long Zijin was decisive; he released the dragon ginseng entirely into the palms of the Aromatic Silk Beauty and immediately stepped to the side of Di Guangming.

The Holy Dragon King shook his shoulders, his four wings of light and holiness expanding, and he swept up the Dragon Emperor, soaring into the sky and vanishing beyond the seven-colored poisonous barrier.

Left behind, the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng twisted its body upon the palms of the Aromatic Silk Beauty.