The timid, cowering pale-gold puppy, once as cowardly as a mouse, had become astonishingly fierce. Its eyes always glinted with menace, and even its bark was much louder than before.
Its devouring speed had also improved dramatically. It used to take half a day to digest a piece of Hundred-Year Soul Beast meat; now it could manage it in half an hour, several times more efficiently.
As a result, Yu Xiaogang's own cultivation speed had improved considerably.
In just over a month, his Soul Power had risen from level eleven to level fourteen.
He couldn't compare to Yu Tianlong's monstrous pace, but for a "good-for-nothing" with only half a level of Innate Soul Power, this was a speed he'd never even dared dream of.
"Yu Tianlong, oh, Yu Tianlong. You died well."
Yu Xiaogang stood in the family square, watching the peers who had once mocked him now cower before him. A sense of satisfaction unlike anything he'd ever felt welled up inside him.
"Now that you're dead, Luo Sanpao's bloodline belongs to me, and so do your resources. You spent two years raising him with all your heart, only for everything to end up as a wedding dress for me."
A smug smile curled his lips, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"Don't worry. I'll make good use of everything you left behind."
"Once I become a true powerhouse, I'll occasionally... remember you."
Time slipped by, years flowing like a stream.
Beside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, the seasons remained unchanged. The Cold Pool still breathed out biting chill, and the Fire Pool still churned with searing bubbles. Immortal Herbs grew in successive waves across the land between the two springs, as if they would never wither.
And in this secluded corner of the world, five years passed in silence.
On this day, two enormous figures clashed fiercely in the sky above the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
One was gold, the other silver.
The golden figure was over ten meters long, its entire body covered in dense golden scales that gleamed like metal in the sunlight.
Its head had taken on a distinct dragon shape, and a pair of golden horns jutted skyward like swords. A broad pair of golden wings unfurled from its back, each flap whipping up howling winds.
Its limbs were thick and powerful, ending in sharp dragon claws. Cold light glimmered at their tips, as if they could tear through anything.
The silver figure was even larger. At fifteen meters long, it was half again as big as the golden one.
Its scales were a fantastical silvery white, shimmering with a faint glow as if they had been formed from moonlight.
Its horns were longer and more graceful, curving elegantly. When its silver wings spread, they blotted out the sky, with a wingspan of twenty or thirty meters. Its eyes were a deep, lustrous hue, as if they held a sea of stars.
The two creatures, now unmistakably dragon-shaped, battled fiercely in the air.
The Golden Giant Dragon roared and slashed at the Silver Giant Dragon, launching a fierce assault.
Every swipe carried immense force, tearing through the air with a shrill whistle.
But the Silver Giant Dragon handled the assault with ease. At times, it breathed out a stream of icy blue frost that froze the Golden Giant Dragon's attack; at others, it spat a ball of crimson fire, forcing its opponent to dodge in a panic.
Sometimes, it flashed out of sight and used its spatial abilities to appear behind the Golden Giant Dragon in an instant, then smacked it across the back with its tail, staggering it.
"Roar—!" The Golden Giant Dragon flared with rage after the blow and wheeled around to slash again, but the Silver Giant Dragon easily dodged. It then breathed a stream of frost into its face, making it shake its head violently.
The fight went on for about the time it took an incense stick to burn. The Golden Giant Dragon gradually ran out of strength, and the Silver Giant Dragon seized an opening, striking it in the chest with a precise blast of ice and fire. With a pained cry, the golden dragon plummeted from the sky and slammed into the ground, kicking up a storm of dust.
"Aow..." The Golden Giant Dragon lay on the ground and let out a plaintive growl. It rolled over, exposed its belly, and surrendered.
The Silver Giant Dragon lifted its head and gave a triumphant roar. Then it descended slowly and rubbed its head against the Golden Giant Dragon's neck, as if asking, "Do you give up?"
The Golden Giant Dragon turned its head away in annoyance and ignored it.
"All right, all right. That's enough fighting," a voice called from below, tinged with exasperation.
A young man rose from beneath a great tree beside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. He brushed the dust off his clothes and looked at the two enormous "dragons," his expression caught between laughter and tears.
He looked to be around thirteen or fourteen, with a tall, straight bearing and handsome features. His short blue hair gleamed with a healthy sheen in the sunlight.
His eyes were deep and bright, seeming to hold boundless wisdom and power.
Most striking was the aura that seemed to emanate from him—a unique presence blending draconic might with the medicinal power of Immortal Herbs, one that commanded respect.
It was Yu Tianlong.
Five years.
Five whole years had passed since he entered the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well to cultivate in seclusion.
Over those five years, he had nearly swept clean the Immortal Herbs around the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Infernal Delicate Apricot, Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, Aromatic Silk Beauty... Every one of these peerless herbs could have unleashed a storm of bloodshed in the outside world.
He had swallowed them down like cabbages, turning them into pure medicinal power that nourished his meridians, bones, Soul Power, and spiritual power.
Little Gold and Little Silver had been the greatest beneficiaries of this feast of Immortal Herbs.
After devouring vast quantities of Immortal Herbs and the extreme elemental energy of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, the two Luo Sanpao had long since shed their former cuddly appearance and undergone astonishing evolutions.
Little Gold had now evolved into a Golden Giant Dragon over ten meters long. Though it still had the youthful innocence of a young dragon, it already carried something of the bearing of the Golden Dragon King.
Little Silver had grown to fifteen meters long. Its command of ice, fire, space, and other elements had reached a truly masterful level.
Amusingly, as their strength had grown, the two Luo Sanpao's personalities had changed as well.
Little Gold was still the same impulsive, straightforward musclehead, devoted to the simple philosophy that "one punch breaks all laws" and fond of meeting every fight head-on.
Little Silver, meanwhile, had grown more and more "scheming." It had learned to exploit elemental advantages and spatial abilities to toy with its opponents, and especially loved "settling old scores" during their fights, making Little Gold pay back every beating it had dealt out in the past—with interest.
Thus, a "Battle of Gold and Silver" played out in the sky above the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well almost every day.
The winner was usually Little Silver, whose size and attributes both gave it the advantage. It would then circle the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well three times in triumph, leaving Little Gold behind to sulk.
"Aow..."
Little Gold got up, shook the dust from its body, and trudged over to Yu Tianlong. It lowered its enormous head and rubbed it against his chest, letting out a series of mournful whines as if voicing its indignation.
Yu Tianlong reached out and rubbed its big head, smiling as he said,
"All right, all right. Don't be so upset. Little Silver has the advantage of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, with its abundant elemental energy, so naturally it's growing a little faster. Once we leave, we'll find some Soul Beasts with powerful vitality for you to devour. You'll catch up, too."
"Roar!" Little Gold nodded hard, the fighting spirit rekindling in its eyes.
Little Silver landed as well, shrinking to about two meters long before settling on Yu Tianlong's shoulder. It rubbed its head against his cheek.
It let out a smug "coo-coo." Although it could now roar like a dragon, it still preferred the call it had made as a baby when it was with Yu Tianlong.
Yu Tianlong patted its head, then raised his gaze toward the distance.
Five years.
He had spent five springtimes at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, growing from an eight-year-old child into a thirteen-year-old youth. His strength, too, had undergone earth-shaking changes over those five years.