Gifting the Earth Dragon Golden Melon, Dugu Xuan's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Evolves: Jade Scale Dragon Emperor!

Golden Crocodile Douluo waved his hand, leaped into the air, and vanished into the horizon in a streak of golden light.

Dugu Yan listened nearby, her heart pounding with alarm.

"Ce'er, you're going to challenge the Spirit Hall Golden Generation?

"But they're Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan...

"Every one of them is a genius among geniuses."

"Geniuses?"

Dugu Ce smiled.

"Big sis, who do you think is the bigger genius, me or them?"

Dugu Yan froze, then smiled wryly.

"You're level forty-five at twelve, you have Twin Martial Souls, and one of them is the mutated, evolved Calamity Sacred Dragon...

"What do they have that could compare?"

"Exactly."

Dugu Ce stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing toward Spirit City.

"In half a month, I'll make sure all of Spirit Hall knows.

"The Dragon-Serpent Sect's leader isn't someone they can push around."

Dugu Yan watched Golden Crocodile Douluo's golden light disappear into the horizon. She turned to Dugu Ce, hesitating to speak.

"Big sis, if you have something to say, just say it."

Dugu Yan bit her lip.

"Ce'er, you said just now... you have more Immortal Herbs?"

Dugu Ce took an herb from the Wishful Treasure Pouch and held it out to Dugu Yan.

"This is the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng King. I should've given it to you back at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

"But you weren't there, so I kept it."

Dugu Yan stared at him.

"F-for me?"

"You're my big sis. Who else would I give it to?"

Dugu Ce pressed the herb into her hand.

"Great-grandfather refined an identical one and jumped from level ninety-one to level ninety-three.

"Your foundation is cleaner than his, with no toxins eating away at you. After refining it, you should rise at least three levels."

Dugu Yan held the cool herb in both hands, her fingers trembling slightly.

"Ce'er, this is far too precious..."

"What's so precious about it?"

Dugu Ce cut her off.

"If the Dragon-Serpent Sect's deputy leader is too weak, people will laugh at us.

"Refine it as soon as we get back. Don't put it off."

There was no helping it.

The Dugu Family was simply too small.

Even counting Dugu Ce's mother, Yu Yin, they had only five people in all.

Dugu Bo and Dugu Xuan were both Titled Douluo now.

They were the Dragon-Serpent Sect's grand elders.

Dugu Ce and Dugu Yan, though barely in their teens and twenties, were the only ones who could take on the responsibility of leading the sect.

Dugu Yan took a deep breath, carefully put away the Ten Thousand Year Ginseng King, and said softly, "All right. I won't stand on ceremony with you."

"That's more like it."

Dugu Ce turned and headed up the mountain.

"Come on, let's find Grandpa. It's time for him to use his Immortal Herb too."

Dugu Xuan was meditating halfway up the mountain, regulating his breathing. At the sound of footsteps, he opened his eyes.

"Ce'er?

"Yan'er?

"What is it?"

Dugu Ce sat cross-legged opposite his grandfather.

"Grandpa, back at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, your body was so depleted that I only gave you the Ninth-Rank Purple Ganoderma to help you break through to Titled Douluo.

"But I still haven't given you the Immortal Herb I set aside for you."

Dugu Xuan paused, then waved a hand.

"I'm already level ninety-two. I'm satisfied.

"Keep that Immortal Herb for yourself."

"I have my own."

Dugu Ce rose to his feet.

"Grandpa, get ready. We're going back to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well."

Dugu Xuan looked at his grandson's uncompromising gaze. After a moment of silence, he stood and dusted off his robe.

"Fine. We'll do it your way."

Dugu Yan stepped forward.

"I'm coming too?"

"You stay here."

Dugu Ce looked at her.

"Yu Chengzhi and the others just came up the mountain, and Mother needs someone to look after her too.

"Big sis, keep an eye on things, especially Yu Chengsi."

Dugu Yan nodded.

"Understood. Go and come back quickly."

Grandfather and grandson left True Dragon Mountain and headed west, darting into the depths of Sunset Forest.

They passed through the poison array Dugu Bo had laid, and the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well appeared before them.

The hot spring still bubbled, half scorching and half icy. The two currents met at the spring's heart, sending a hazy mist billowing upward.

Dugu Ce walked to the spring and took an Immortal Herb, an Earth Dragon Golden Melon, from the Wishful Treasure Pouch. He handed it to Dugu Xuan.

Dugu Xuan's Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor possessed the bloodline of a poison flood dragon.

Though the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor lacked earth attributes, consuming an Earth Dragon Golden Melon could still strengthen its dragon bloodline.

"Grandpa, this is an Earth Dragon Golden Melon."

Dugu Xuan took the gleaming golden, melon-shaped Immortal Herb. It felt heavy in his hand, and a warm, earthy scent mingled with the fragrance of dragon's breath.

"Earth Dragon Golden Melon? I've never heard of such a thing."

"It's an Immortal Herb that specifically strengthens dragon bloodlines."

Dugu Ce sat beside the spring.

"Grandpa, your Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor fused with the dragon bloodline of the Nine Nether Poison Flood Dragon. But a flood dragon still isn't a true dragon.

"Refine this herb, and your Martial Soul should be able to evolve at least once more."

Dugu Xuan looked down at the melon in his hands and fell silent for a long while.

"Ce'er, isn't it a waste to give this to an old man like me?"

"What's wasteful about it?"

Dugu Ce looked up.

"You're my own grandfather. Who else would I give it to?"

Dugu Xuan opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

Dugu Ce took another herb from the Wishful Treasure Pouch: a fiery-red Spirit Mushroom shaped like a cockscomb, radiating scorching heat.

"This is the Infernal Delicate Apricot. Refined together with the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, it can forge an Ice and Fire Golden Body."

Dugu Xuan glanced at the melon in his hands and sighed.

"Ce'er, you gave Immortal Herbs to me, your great-uncle, the Golden Crocodile Offering, Liu Erlong, and Yan'er.

"How many do you have left for yourself?"

"Enough is enough."

"How much is enough?"

Dugu Ce fell silent for a moment but didn't answer.

"Grandpa, refine yours first.

"I'll be by the spring across from you. Call me if anything happens."

With that, Dugu Ce walked to the opposite side of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and sat cross-legged on a chill-wreathed slab of blue-gray stone.

Watching his grandson walk away, Dugu Xuan shook his head and held the Earth Dragon Golden Melon in his palm.

"That little rascal's still keeping things from his own grandfather."

He brought the melon to his lips and took a bite.

A surge of dense, ocher energy poured into his throat, then raced through his meridians to every part of his body.

Dugu Xuan grunted and hurriedly closed his eyes, calming his mind as he guided the violent medicinal power through his body.

At the same time, Dugu Ce held the Infernal Delicate Apricot in his palm. Its crimson medicinal power seeped into his skin like molten lava.

Ice and fire rose on opposite sides of the spring.

Time passed, second by second.

Who knew how long it had been when a muffled roar came from across the spring.

Dugu Ce opened his eyes and saw Dugu Xuan enveloped in ocher light, the phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor appearing behind him.

The serpent's once-emerald body was now covered in dark golden patterns, and the single horn on its forehead had grown thicker, its tip beginning to split.

"Did it work?"

Dugu Ce rose and walked over.

Dugu Xuan opened his eyes. A flash of dark golden light passed through them.

"My Martial Soul evolved."

He raised his right hand, and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's phantom appeared again.

This time, its body was no longer purely emerald; a layer of dark golden scales clad it from head to tail.

The horn on its forehead had split into three prongs, giving it a faintly dragonlike appearance.

"What should we call it?" Dugu Ce asked.

"The Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor... No, it can't be called the Serpent Emperor anymore."

Dugu Xuan clenched his fist.

"The Jade Phosphorous Dragon Emperor.

"My Martial Soul has evolved into the Jade Phosphorous Dragon Emperor."

Calling it the Jade Scale Dragon Emperor was a bit of an exaggeration, but names were names—what mattered was that it sounded impressive!

People in later generations even called themselves Dragon God Douluo!