[Spent: 36,000 Gold Soul Coins.]
[System evaluation: This old leek has a good attitude. He's as devout as a pilgrim, with far more class than that female gambler from earlier, whose head was full of winning her money back. This system is very satisfied and can bestow some decent rewards.]
[Random reward: Martial Soul Origin evolution—Sacred Dragon Bloodline!]
[Host reward: 3,600 Gourmet Points.]
Martial Soul... Origin evolution?
Lin Feng's heart gave a sudden thump. At the depths of his eyes, a genuine flicker of surprise finally appeared.
This reward was far rarer than a Soul Bone or an Ultimate Attribute.
A Soul Bone was ultimately an external object, and an Ultimate Attribute merely meant reaching the pinnacle along a single path.
But Martial Soul Origin evolution reshaped one from the very foundation of life, transforming them completely!
It was a true defiance of fate!
He slowly lifted his eyelids. For the first time, his calm, still-as-an-ancient-well gaze settled directly on Tuoba Xi.
The moment that gaze fell upon him, Tuoba Xi stiffened all over. He felt as though his soul and Martial Soul had been seen through in an instant, leaving him with no secrets at all!
Everyone in the shop held their breath.
They knew the moment that would decide his fate had arrived.
Lin Feng parted his thin lips. His voice remained as calm as ever, yet it carried the weight of some supreme decree.
"I have sensed your devotion."
Those few words alone made Tuoba Xi's aged body tremble with excitement!
"However..."
Lin Feng's tone shifted, and a hint of... disdain crept into his voice.
"Your Martial Soul, the White Armored Earth Dragon, has a bloodline that is too impure. It's of little use."
At those words, Tuoba Xi's face turned deathly pale!
Of little use?
This was the dragon-type Martial Soul that had let him stand at the pinnacle of the continent! It might only be a lesser dragon, but it was still a dragon!
Yet in this senior's eyes, it was so utterly insignificant?
A wave of crushing disappointment and resentment surged through him.
But before he could despair, Lin Feng's calm voice rang out again, imbued with a godlike mercy and grace.
"So be it."
"Today, I shall grant you a great fortune..."
Lin Feng raised a finger and casually pointed it toward Tuoba Xi.
"Let this lizard of the earth taste what it's like... to become a divine dragon of the heavens."
As soon as the words fell,
a speck of light more brilliant than the stars shot into Tuoba Xi's body!
"Roar—!"
A dragon's cry, mingling agony and ecstasy, burst from deep in Tuoba Xi's throat!
His Martial Soul, the White Armored Earth Dragon, burst out of his body uncontrollably!
Under the speck of light's baptism, the immense lesser-dragon phantom let out a wretched howl as its body began to crumble inch by inch!
Yet after each piece shattered, flecks of sacred light swiftly gathered to rebuild its form!
Its scales changed from gray-white to dazzling platinum!
Its horns grew more imposing, as if forged from divine metal!
Its once-stout limbs grew longer and stronger, and a pair of enormous wings of light suddenly spread from its back!
The impure aura of a lesser dragon was cleansed away completely. In its place arose the supreme, sacred might of a dragon that ruled the world and passed judgment on all creation!
Tuoba Xi's face was already streaked with tears!
"This... this is..."
Feeling his Martial Soul's transformation, as if he'd been reborn, he was too overwhelmed to speak coherently.
Everyone in the shop had turned to stone!
The Spirit Kite Douluo's phoenix eyes, which had only just blazed with Divine Flame, were now filled with shock!
Before that sacred dragon might, even her Blazing Kite Martial Soul, which had just gained Ultimate Fire, felt an instinctive... submission!
Lin Feng watched the Martial Soul bathed in divine light, on the verge of completing its final transformation, then calmly spoke its name.
"Remember."
"It is now called..."
"Sacred Giant Dragon."
Boom—!
The moment his words fell, an utterly terrifying storm of Soul Power erupted around Tuoba Xi!
It was the purest and most immense energy, flowing back into him after his Martial Soul Origin evolved!
The level-91 bottleneck was as fragile as a sheet of paper before that sacred dragon might. In an instant, it was torn to shreds!
Level 92!
His aura showed no sign of stopping. It continued to surge with near-savage force!
Level 93!
Only then did the surge finally slow, settling firmly at the peak of level 93, a single step away from the threshold of level 94!
He could even clearly feel that with a little seclusion after returning, he could easily enter that new realm within a month!
Of course, he'd never be foolish enough to give up eating and drawing rewards just to go into seclusion.
Nearby, the Spirit Kite Douluo had only just gained Ultimate Fire and was still basking in the joy of her surging power. The smile on her face froze completely.
She...
Had he caught up with her?
And judging from how perfectly rounded his Soul Power felt, it wouldn't be long before he left her, his "senior," far behind!
At the thought, a defiant spark flared in the Spirit Kite Douluo's heart.
No!
Absolutely not!
Tomorrow!
She would eat more! Spend more!
She would draw a reward even more terrifying and heaven-defying than the Sacred Giant Dragon!
She absolutely would not become the weakest member of the Elder Council!
"Crack—!"
But just as the Spirit Kite Douluo glared at Tuoba Xi, a sudden, unmistakable crunch of a joint popping out of place rang out.
"Ah, shit! M-Master! Your hand!"
Yan's face, which had been stunned by Tuoba Xi's successive breakthroughs, instantly twisted into a mask of agony. He let out a pig-like squeal.
"It's going to break! It's really going to break! I can feel my bones screaming, Master!"
Only then did the Spirit Kite Douluo snap back to her senses.
She slowly lowered her head, her gaze falling on her fair, jade-like hand.
At some point, she had clamped it around Yan's shoulder.
Her five slender fingers were tightening, inch by inch, against her will.
Beneath her fingertips, the teeth-grinding sound of bone rubbing against bone rang out loud and clear.
The Spirit Kite Douluo paused, then slowly released her grip.
She raised her head. The twisted look of jealousy had vanished from her face, replaced by a warm, spring-breeze smile that sent a chill through Yan's soul.
She gently brushed away the nonexistent dust on Yan's shoulder, then asked in a tender, deeply concerned voice, like a loving elder speaking to a junior:
"Oh, my good disciple, I saw Elder Tuoba display his might just now, and was so moved that I didn't control my strength."
Her phoenix eyes curved slightly. Deep within them, a dangerous golden Divine Flame flickered.
"I didn't do it on purpose."
"Do you believe me?"
Believe you?
I believe you, my ass!
You old hag, your heart's smaller than a needle's eye!
Yan raged inwardly with the most vicious words he knew, while pain and fear contorted his face beyond recognition.
So what if I laughed because you had noodles hanging from your nostrils!
Was that really necessary?!
You're obviously using "losing control of your strength" as an excuse to take your revenge out in the open!
But the moment his eyes met the Spirit Kite Douluo's "sincere" and "kind" gaze, his instinct to survive crushed everything else.
Yan forced his face into a flattering smile more miserable than a cry.
As he tried to move his shoulder, which felt as if it had been dislocated, he spoke in a voice on the verge of tears:
"Of course I believe you! This disciple naturally believes you!"
"Master, you've just gained a supreme divine flame. It's only natural that you can't control your strength yet!"
"This disciple is thick-skinned and tough. Getting to feel your power firsthand is a blessing I've earned over three lifetimes!"
"Y-yes... it doesn't hurt at all. Look, Master, I can still move!"