"But the Space-Time Dragon was the Dragon God's shadow guard back then. It had a powerful dragon bloodline, and its bloodline rank was second only to the Nine Sons of the Dragon God."
"So, Old Tang, you mean Xie Xie's Martial Soul affected the Golden Dragon King seal inside me?" Tang Wulin asked cautiously.
Old Tang nodded, looking rather helpless.
"So now I have to find ten drops of dragon-type Soul Beast blood within seven days and absorb the power of the first layer of the seal."
Old Tang merely nodded again, apparently without any better ideas.
Finding ten drops of dragon-type Soul Beast blood in seven days was an almost impossible task for nine-year-old Tang Wulin.
Soul Beasts were already scarce these days, and dragon-type Soul Beasts were rarer still. Even if their blood were actually for sale, Tang Wulin couldn't begin to imagine how high the price would be.
A thread of despair welled up in Tang Wulin's heart.
"Wulin, I've brought this on you." Yao Lao felt deeply guilty. He believed it was his fault for unilaterally raising the Soul Spirit's age to nine hundred and ninety-nine years.
Tang Wulin shook his head and forced a smile. "Yao Lao, how could you be to blame? You were only trying to help improve my Soul Spirit's quality. I should be thanking you. If anyone's at fault, it's me. I was too reckless and got into a fight right after school started."
"Wulin, don't worry. I don't have any dragon-type Soul Beast blood from your world, but take these pill recipes and see if someone reliable can tell you how much they're worth."
Before long, Yao Lao tossed out a huge pile of pill recipes. There were at least several dozen.
Tang Wulin didn't know that if these recipes appeared on the Dou Qi Continent, countless powerhouses would fight over them.
Tang Wulin bowed deeply to Yao Lao. "Thank you, Yao Lao."
"No need to thank me. It's the least I can do. Put these recipes away for now. I'll return to the Spirit Ring and think of a way to deal with the Golden Dragon King seal."
"Sorry for the trouble!"
Yao Lao gave a slight nod, then turned into a streak of white light and slipped into the Spirit Ring.
"Wulin, the mighty being who left this wisp of divine consciousness behind didn't leave anything tangible. All I can do is help you when you absorb the Golden Dragon King's power from the seal. From here on, you'll have to rely on yourself."
Tang Wulin bowed to Old Tang again. "Old Tang, you've already helped me so much. I can't thank you enough. How could I ever blame you?"
"Ah..."
A flash of golden light appeared before him, and Old Tang vanished too, leaving Tang Wulin alone in the small grove.
"Forget it. I'll head back to the academy first!" Tang Wulin gathered the pill recipes scattered on the ground and turned toward the academy.
Half an hour later.
Tang Wulin pushed open the door to dorm room 205.
As soon as he entered, Xie Xie walked up to him.
"Hey! Where'd you run off to? What happened to our promised duel?"
Tang Wulin's eyes had dimmed. He pushed past Xie Xie and sat down on his bed.
"Tang Wulin, what's that supposed to mean? Is it really that hard for you to fight me?"
Sitting on the bed, Tang Wulin felt something beneath his hand. He glanced down and saw the thirty thousand Federal Coins Xie Xie had given him earlier.
Suddenly, an idea struck Tang Wulin. He looked up at Xie Xie and said, "Xie Xie, I don't want these Federal Coins anymore. Can you give me ten drops of dragon-type Soul Beast blood?"
"What!" Xie Xie's face was full of shock. "Tang Wulin, are you kidding me? Do you know what ten drops of dragon-type Soul Beast blood are worth? It's not just that I don't have any. Even if I did, I wouldn't give them to you."
Hearing Xie Xie's answer, Tang Wulin lowered his head again. That was right. In this era, when everyone had a Soul Spirit, how difficult was it to find ten drops of dragon-type Soul Beast blood?
Seeing Tang Wulin's dejected expression, Xie Xie felt a little awkward about bringing up their fight again.
"I don't know what you need dragon-type Soul Beast blood for, but I can probably tell you where to find some."
Tang Wulin jerked his head up at that. "Really?"
"Of course." Xie Xie lifted his chin proudly. "It's not that this young master can't afford the stuff—wait, that's not what I meant. I don't need it, that's all. It's not like I don't know where to find it."
Seeing the hopeful look on Tang Wulin's face, Xie Xie gave a light cough and continued, "Something this precious might not even be available at Eastsea Academy, but there are a few places where you might have a good chance of finding it."
"One: the Eastsea City Spirit Pagoda."
"Two: the East Sea City Spirit Master Association."
"Three: the East Sea City Mecha Designer Association."
"Four: the East Sea Blacksmith Association."
"Those four places are your best bet."
To Tang Wulin, Xie Xie's words were like clouds parting to reveal the sun. They jolted him awake.
That was right!
He could smash his head against a wall trying to find something like that in the street markets and still never buy it. His only chance was to try his luck with those major organizations.
Tang Wulin rushed forward and hugged Xie Xie. "Thank you, Xie Xie!"
"Hey, hey, are we really that close? Let go!"
Tang Wulin let go, grabbed the backpack holding Yao Lao's pill recipes, and bolted out of the dormitory.
Seeing Tang Wulin about to leave again, Xie Xie ran to the door and shouted, "Hey! Remember to fight me when you get back!"
Tang Wulin waved an arm as he ran. "Got it! When I get back, you can beat me up however you like."
"What a strange guy."
"Come to think of it, why did I feel like my Martial Soul was being suppressed when I faced Tang Wulin? Isn't his Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass?"
Meanwhile, Tang Wulin left the academy and, after asking around a little, ran quickly in one direction.
His destination was the East Sea Blacksmith Association.
Tang Wulin had originally come to Eastsea City to have his blacksmith rank assessed at the Blacksmith Association. It was an assignment from his teacher, Mang Tian, and blacksmithing was what he knew best.
But as soon as he arrived in Eastsea City, Tang Wulin had been busy registering at the academy. Then came the fight, followed by the sudden outbreak of the Golden Dragon King seal.
And if Xie Xie hadn't pointed him in the right direction, Tang Wulin would never have known that the Blacksmith Association might have dragon-type Soul Beast blood.
A little over an hour later.
Tang Wulin arrived in front of a towering building. A statue of a hammer stood at its highest point, the most iconic symbol of blacksmiths.
A golden statue several meters tall had also been built in the middle of the fountain outside the building.
Tang Wulin had no time to admire any of this. He went straight into the lobby. There weren't many people inside. Most of the blacksmiths were probably still in the Forging Room, swinging their forging hammers.
"Little brother, who are you looking for?" A sweet-faced young woman walked over to Tang Wulin.
"Hello, miss. I'm looking for Grandmaster Cen Yue."
Before you continue