Jiang Lin opened his eyes. A flash of blood-red lightning flickered and vanished in his left eye, while golden flames danced in his right for a moment before slowly fading.
The Radiant Holy Dragon had awakened far more smoothly than he had expected.
The two opposing forces had each found their place among his meridians. They had yet to fully harmonize, but at least they could coexist peacefully.
He lowered his head to look at his hands. With a thought, he turned his right palm upward, and a tiny golden dragon appeared in its center.
The dragon shadow was barely half a foot long, its body covered in fine golden scales. Its head was held high, and holy golden flames burned in its eyes.
It swam slowly across Jiang Lin's palm, like a fish living in the light.
This wasn't Martial Soul Possession. That was when a Martial Soul merged with a Soul Master's body, enhancing their attributes.
But his current state was different. He had fully summoned the Radiant Holy Dragon, which existed apart from his body, alive in the air before him.
With another thought, the golden dragon let out a faint, delicate cry and darted back into his palm.
Immediately afterward, a pale golden glow seeped through his skin. His pupils became golden slits in an instant, and a pure draconic might radiated from within him.
This was the possessed state—completely different from when the dragon had been outside his body.
"Outside the body... possession..." Jiang Lin murmured, knitting his brows.
Ordinary Beast Martial Souls only had a possessed state. Soul Masters gained their Martial Soul's power and traits through Martial Soul Possession; no one could summon a Martial Soul independently outside their body. That was a trait unique to tool Martial Souls.
Well, except for Da Fei. Jiang Lin didn't count him as human.
Tool Martial Souls could leave the body and be wielded as weapons, while Beast Martial Souls could only possess the body and strengthen it. This was an ironclad rule passed down for countless years across the Douluo Continent.
But the Radiant Holy Dragon was a Beast Martial Soul, and yet he could summon it outside his body like a tool Martial Soul.
Jiang Lin fell silent for a moment, rapidly reviewing the theories about Martial Souls in his mind.
Twin Martial Souls were rare to begin with, and those that included both a tool Martial Soul and a Beast Martial Soul were rarer still.
The Blood Fiend Divine Thunder Halberd was a tool Martial Soul, while the Radiant Holy Dragon was a Beast Martial Soul. As they awakened, the two had tugged against and adapted to each other, causing the Radiant Holy Dragon to take on some of the traits of a tool Martial Soul as it formed. That might be why it could leave his body.
On top of that, the Golden Thunder Python's Soul Ring carried a golden bloodline—a branch of the dragon bloodline. It had resonated with the Radiant Holy Dragon in some way, further catalyzing the mutation.
"Every cloud has a silver lining."
The corners of Jiang Lin's mouth lifted slightly.
The baleful aura of the Blood Fiend Divine Thunder Halberd had not suppressed the Radiant Holy Dragon. Instead, during its awakening, it had forced the dragon to mutate.
Now, his Second Martial Soul had retained the enhancement granted by its Beast Martial Soul possession, while also gaining the ability to fight outside his body like a tool Martial Soul. It was as if he had two different ways to fight at once.
He withdrew his Soul Power. His golden slitted pupils returned to their normal black, and he turned to leave Thunder-Struck Forest.
Elder Chen was waiting for him at the end of the stone steps.
As Jiang Lin came down, Elder Chen first examined the fluctuations in his Soul Power, then nodded in satisfaction.
"Level forty-four. Not bad."
Then he took another look at him, his brow furrowing as if he had noticed something unusual. In the end, though, he said nothing.
He had been with Jiang Lin for four years and knew there were too many things about the boy that defied common sense. If Jiang Lin didn't say anything, he wouldn't ask.
The two followed the mountain path down, crossed the streets of Heaven Dou City, and returned to the residence in the east of the city, shaded by locust trees.
Jiang Lin sat in the grand chair in the main hall and took the jade slip containing the Soul Refining Pill recipe from his Storage Soul Tool, setting it on the table.
Elder Chen and Dugu Bo, who had just been summoned, stood before the table. One stroked his beard, deep in thought; the other rolled up his sleeves, eager to get started.
"The Soul Refining Pill doubles cultivation speed," Jiang Lin said without preamble.
"I just got the recipe. The ingredients shouldn't be too hard to find, but the refining process is unusual. It requires controlling the fire with Soul Power, and the temperature has to be exact."
"Elder Chen, fire control is your specialty."
"Old Poison, you've spent years working with poisonous plants and insects. You understand medicinal properties better than most alchemists."
"You each have your strengths. Why not work together and see if you can make it?"
Elder Chen took the jade slip and probed it with his Soul Power. After sensing its contents for a moment with his eyes closed, he opened them, his expression more serious.
"The age of the ingredients, the order they're added, the heat—all of it has to be just right."
"The slightest deviation will ruin it. However..."
He paused, lightly tapping the jade slip with his thin, withered fingers.
"When I was with the Fire Leopard Sect, I saw plenty of ways to process medicinal ingredients. The thinking behind this recipe differs from conventional methods, but it should work. Give me a few days to gather the ingredients, and I'll try it."
Dugu Bo took it next and looked it over. A glint of excitement flashed in his emerald eyes, but soon his brow furrowed.
"Young Master, this recipe is a treasure, but it's certainly not easy to make."
"I can oversee the medicinal properties, and Old Chen can control the fire. We'll need both of us."
"No rush. Just give it a try." When he finished speaking, Jiang Lin turned to Tang Yuan.
Tang Yuan had been leaning against a pillar in the hall, arms crossed, as silent as a shadow.
When he saw Jiang Lin looking his way, he took several things from his Storage Soul Tool and laid them on the table one by one.
First came three palm-sized dark-silver crossbows. They were small and finely made, each with a row of six short bolts fitted above the mechanism.
Then came several lotus-shaped metal creations. Their layered petals were dark gold, each engraved with fine patterns.
When closed, they looked like metal lotuses waiting to bloom. They were Buddha Wrath Tang Lotuses.
Unlike the hand crossbows, these were one-use weapons of mass destruction, and their craftsmanship was more than a level harder.
"Godly Zhuge Crossbows," Tang Yuan said, pointing to the three hand crossbows. "I made three, following the diagrams in the manual. The triggers are light, they reload quickly, and within forty paces they can pierce an ordinary Soul Elder's defenses."
Then he pointed to the metal lotus and, unusually, said a few more words. "I only made one Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus. I didn't have enough materials. I haven't tested its power."
Jiang Lin picked up one of the Godly Zhuge Crossbows and weighed it in his hand. It was just the right weight, and wouldn't be noticeable tucked into his sleeve.
He then lifted the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus. It was heavy in his hands, and the metal edges of its petals were sharp as blades. In the light, they gleamed with a cold, dark-gold sheen.
He set both items back on the table and nodded at Tang Yuan. "Thanks for all your hard work."
Tang Yuan said nothing, only giving a quiet "Mm."
Jiang Lin leaned back in the grand chair, his gaze passing over the three people in the hall.
"Now that everyone's here, I have a few things to say."
His tone was no longer as casual as it had been when they talked about cultivation or pills. It was steadier now, carrying greater weight. "First, I've decided to establish a force of our own. It officially begins today."
"I've already thought of a name: Dawn."
"Dawn as in daybreak. It means it's time to bring a little light to this world."
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