Absorbing the First Golden Dragon King Seal

After finishing all this, Tang Wulin sat in the bathtub and began to meditate. It was the best way to keep his mind steady.

After seeing Tang Wulin drink the Earth-Shaking Dragon's blood, Yao Lao began gathering a pale, bone-white flame in his palm. Once it had reached a certain intensity, he sent it straight into Tang Wulin's body.

Tang Wulin's first sensation was not the searing heat of flames, but an extreme cold, as if his blood were about to freeze.

And that was exactly what happened. As a Heavenly Flame from the Dou Qi Continent, Bone Spirit Cold Flame could not be judged by ordinary standards. Its defining trait was the alternation between extreme cold and heat.

In just a few seconds, the water in the bathtub had frozen solid, with half of Tang Wulin's body trapped inside the ice.

Once Bone Spirit Cold Flame entered his body, its extreme cold even affected his Soul Power, slowing its circulation considerably.

"Circulate the Flame Mantra."

Tang Wulin had not forgotten what Yao Lao had just told him. The contents of the scroll flashed through his mind.

Tang Wulin began circulating his Soul Power according to the method in the Flame Mantra Yao Lao had provided, while also directing the Bone Spirit Cold Flame coursing through his body.

But just then, the flame's aura suddenly underwent a dramatic change.

Its former, extreme cold turned to searing heat in an instant. Tang Wulin felt as if his internal organs were about to be burned to ash by the flames.

The water in the bathtub, which had frozen solid, melted in just a few seconds and then began to boil.

"Ah!"

Tang Wulin cried out in agony. For a nine-year-old boy, this kind of suffering was far too cruel.

Even Yao Lao, standing to one side, could hardly bear to watch. Old Tang, on the other hand, showed no reaction. In the consciousness of this wisp of divine sense, as long as Tang Wulin's life was not in danger, he could not intervene.

But what came next was even more terrifying.

Extreme cold and searing heat appeared in Tang Wulin's body at the same time. Bone Spirit Cold Flame's full power revealed itself within him.

By now, Tang Wulin had completely lost control of his body. He could only rely on a shred of instinct to keep the Flame Mantra circulating, barely guiding a trace of Soul Power through his body alongside Bone Spirit Cold Flame.

But Tang Wulin was still alive. He held on. Even as his consciousness grew hazy, he knew he still had things left to do.

He had yet to become the most powerful Soul Master on the continent. He had yet to repay his parents for raising him, and he had yet to find Na'er.

"I haven't gone to see the stars and the sea!"

At last, Tang Wulin felt as though something inside his body had cracked, and a savage aura spilled out.

"It's here!" Old Tang said gravely. "Tang Wulin, prepare yourself. The seal is only just beginning!"

"What?" Tang Wulin cried out in alarm.

But the next moment, endless pain swallowed his thoughts.

Tang Wulin's uninterrupted screams echoed through the workshop. Fortunately, its soundproofing was good; otherwise, who knew how many people would have been drawn by the noise?

The Golden Dragon King's power filled Tang Wulin's body, but it was too strong and too savage for him to endure. For the moment, he simply could not accept it.

His Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, emerged on its own, filling the entire workshop with its vines.

At the same time, Tang Wulin's Soul Spirit, Golden Scale, appeared as well. The first seal had completely broken, and the seal's pull on Golden Scale had naturally come to an end.

One day and one night.

Tang Wulin remained in this state for a full day and night. Many times, he felt he was about to give up and thought he might as well fall asleep. But the things he had yet to accomplish kept him going.

After holding on again and again, Tang Wulin's aura gradually stabilized. He had absorbed most of the power from the Golden Dragon King's first seal, and the pain in his body began to subside.

"Old Tang, it should be all right now, shouldn't it?" Yao Lao asked, watching Tang Wulin settle down.

Old Tang's indistinct face remained fixed on Tang Wulin, but suddenly he shook his head.

"No. It won't work. Tang Wulin can't absorb any more of the Golden Dragon King's power!"

"What?" Yao Lao exclaimed. "Why not?"

"Even the power in this first Golden Dragon King seal is more than he should be able to withstand at this point in time. And his cultivation is also insufficient to bear it. So there's probably still about thirty percent of the Golden Dragon King's power that he can't absorb."

"What will happen if he can't absorb that thirty percent?"

"He'll still die!"

A worried look appeared on Yao Lao's face as he stepped closer to examine Tang Wulin.

Things really were starting to go the way Old Tang had described. Tang Wulin's face was flushed, and his whole body had grown considerably larger, like someone who had eaten until he was stuffed.

"Do you have any ideas?" Yao Lao turned to ask Old Tang.

Old Tang fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "If I intervene, I'll expend a great deal of divine sense. He still has seventeen seals left. If I act now, something could go wrong with the remaining seals later. So I can't intervene unless his life is truly on the line."

"I really have no idea what kind of relationship the person who left you behind had with Wulin. Couldn't they have left behind a little more divine sense? What a useless fool!"

Yao Lao stopped counting on Old Tang and instead carefully examined Tang Wulin, hoping to find some way to help.

Old Tang was not angered by Yao Lao's words. He was only a wisp of divine sense and had few emotions.

Seeing Tang Wulin's condition grow worse by the moment, Yao Lao wanted to pull Bone Spirit Cold Flame back and stop the process. But he couldn't. If he interrupted it, Tang Wulin would most likely die anyway.

Just then, Yao Lao noticed a small golden snake curled up on a little block of ice beside Tang Wulin.

It was Tang Wulin's Soul Spirit, Golden Scale. Ever since Tang Wulin had begun absorbing the first Golden Dragon King seal the day before, Golden Scale had remained outside.

But Yao Lao noticed that Golden Scale seemed to have changed a little. Two tiny bumps had appeared on its head. They were... horns!

Golden Scale was a snake, yet it had grown horns!

"Is it because of the Golden Dragon King's essence?"

Earlier, Tang Wulin had been unable to release Golden Scale precisely because the minuscule trace of dragon bloodline within it had been drawn to the Golden Dragon King's seal.

Could that period of attraction have raised Golden Scale's bloodline, granting it a trace of the Golden Dragon King's bloodline?

If Golden Scale could gain a trace of the Golden Dragon King's bloodline, would that mean it could absorb the Golden Dragon King's power too? After all, from the moment a Soul Master fused with a Soul Spirit, it became an inseparable part of them.