Deep within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Liu Lin gazed at the two giant dragons before him. His eyes were utterly calm as he quietly waited for them to speak.
After all, as a transmigrator, Liu Lin knew full well that the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was a treasured place formed from the deaths of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King.
And the reason he dared come here was, of course, because Zhang Lexuan would be here in the future.
What was more, even if the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King really had lingering souls, after enduring the passage of so much time, they still wouldn't be able to defeat Zhang Lexuan.
As the saying went, the greater the waves, the more precious the fish. Today, Liu Lin was going to fish amid the waves.
The Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King stood before Liu Lin. As they looked at him, confusion filled their eyes.
After all, they had only awakened upon sensing a being that possessed the Soul Beast Clan's power of fortune.
Once awake, they had used their remaining divine sense to sense that this being possessed both Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire, two Ultimate Attributes. Only then had they decided to summon him and pass on their legacy.
Yet in the end, the one who appeared before them was a human. The two Dragon Kings probed Liu Lin with their divine senses several times, only to confirm that they hadn't made a mistake.
The two Dragon Kings could only stare at each other in bewilderment. At last, the Ice Dragon King was the first to react. He looked at Liu Lin and slowly asked:
"Human, who exactly are you? Why do you possess the fortune of my Soul Beast Clan?"
Only after hearing his brother's words did the Fire Dragon King react. He glared viciously at Liu Lin and said:
"Human brat, speak up! If you don't, you'll die here. Heh heh heh."
Liu Lin couldn't help twitching at the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King's words. Why did he feel like the two Dragon Kings were a little dim-witted?
The Fire Dragon King in particular—when he laughed just now, he sounded like some brainless minor villain from a novel.
Liu Lin bowed to the two Dragon Kings, then respectfully addressed them:
"This junior is Liu Lin. I am indeed human, and I obtained this power of destiny by chance. May I ask what the seniors intend to do?"
Hearing Liu Lin's vague answer, the Ice Dragon King's voice grew furious.
"Brat, don't try to wriggle out of this. Tell me, and perhaps I'll consider leaving your corpse intact."
Hearing the Ice Dragon King's angry voice, Liu Lin was about to ask whether the two of them wanted to weigh their chances against Zhang Lexuan when the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's voice came from his Sea of Consciousness.
"Liu Lin, leave this to me. I'll handle it."
Hearing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's words, Liu Lin nodded and handed control of his body over to her.
"All right, I'll leave it to you."
After Liu Lin spoke, the golden-haired, red-eyed girl in his Sea of Consciousness took over his body.
When Liu Lin opened his eyes again, his black pupils had turned crimson gold, lending him an even more noble and sacred air.
The Ice Dragon King watched the human before him change and gave a puzzled snort. In a stern voice, he said to Liu Lin:
"Human, I'll ask you one last time. Who are you? If you still don't answer, you'll die here."
"Senior, he's gone to rest. I'll explain things to you from here on."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion first introduced herself, then told the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King a shortened and altered version of her past and her story with Liu Lin.
"Senior, this junior is the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. The reason he possesses the power of destiny of Soul Beasts is because..."
After hearing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's explanation, the Ice Dragon King nodded his enormous head.
"If that's the case, then the person before us must be pure of heart. I shall pass my legacy on to him today."
As he spoke, the Ice Dragon King lowered his enormous head, his icy-blue dragon eyes gazing at Liu Lin from up close.
Beside him, the Fire Dragon King heard his brother's words and nodded in agreement.
"Brat, I'll pass my legacy on to you as well."
"However, we are only two lingering souls. Now that you've awakened us, we won't be able to hold on for much longer."
After the Fire Dragon King finished speaking, the Ice Dragon King continued, addressing them both:
"Once you've obtained our legacies, you'll only need to do one thing. Brat, can you do it?"
Hearing the Ice Dragon King's words, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, Senior. I'll make sure he does it. I guarantee he'll complete the task."
At that moment, Liu Lin, listening to the Ice Dragon King from within his Sea of Consciousness, couldn't help reflecting on how different things were when you came a few years early.
When Zhang Lexuan told me about the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well a few days ago, she never mentioned that I could inherit the Dragon Kings' legacy.
Of course, Liu Lin might not have told Zhang Lexuan about it. But he quickly tossed that thought aside. He could always ask her about it later; if he missed this chance right in front of him, it would truly be gone.
Hearing the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's assurance, the Ice Dragon King began recounting a story from the past and explaining what he wanted them to do. His eyes took on a distant, reminiscing look.
"After you inherit our legacies, all you'll need to do in the future is go to Dragon Valley and lay our kin to rest."
After the Ice Dragon King finished speaking, he fell silent. The Fire Dragon King, standing beside him, took over, his voice carrying a trace of weariness and sorrow:
"Before we perished, my brother and I sensed that Dragon Valley was somewhere on this continent. So we hoped to give our fallen kin a proper resting place."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion felt she should leave the decision to Liu Lin, so she returned to his Sea of Consciousness.
"All right, I'm going to eat. I'll leave the rest to you, Liu Lin."
After saying that, she kissed Liu Lin, then vanished from his Sea of Consciousness.
Meanwhile, Liu Lin remained lost in thought within his Sea of Consciousness. He'd thought the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King would ask him to find one of the Dragon God's incarnations.
Instead, all he had to do was go to Dragon Valley and bury the dragons for a thousand days, just like Tang Wulin in the future.
It wasn't until the Three-Eyed Golden Lion kissed him and left his Sea of Consciousness that he came back to himself.
Liu Lin then emerged from his Sea of Consciousness and took back control of his body. He gave the two Dragon Kings a solemn nod to show his agreement.
"I promise to do this. I'll find Dragon Valley in the future and let those giant dragons rest in peace."
The Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King exchanged a glance, a hint of relief flashing in both pairs of dragon eyes. Then the two dragon shadows transformed into one icy-blue and one crimson-gold streak of light and merged into Liu Lin's body.
Vast yet gentle energy erupted through Liu Lin's meridians, and both his Martial Souls let out joyful dragon roars at almost the same time.
An icy-blue dragon phantom and a crimson-gold dragon phantom appeared in turn behind him.
About half an hour later, the crimson-gold dragon phantom appeared, and four Soul Rings slowly emerged beneath Liu Lin's feet.
Yellow, purple, purple, crimson gold.
Pale-gold patterns slowly flowed across the newly emerged crimson-gold Soul Ring.
But immediately afterward, the crimson-gold dragon phantom behind him was replaced by the icy-blue dragon, accompanied by the rise of a silver-blue Soul Ring.
After sensing the state of his body, Liu Lin couldn't help feeling that his Soul Power was increasing a little too quickly.
After absorbing the Soul Rings formed from the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King's power, Liu Lin felt he would reach level 48 in just a few days.
But before he could enjoy the feeling for long, he ran into a problem. The colors of these two Soul Rings were far too conspicuous: one icy blue, the other crimson gold. Wouldn't people drag him off to study him if they saw them?
Just as he thought this, his mind stirred, and both Soul Rings changed to purple at the same time. They looked no different from ordinary Thousand-Year Soul Rings.
"This is the last gift the two of us can leave you." The Ice Dragon King's voice sounded in his mind, much weaker than before, as if it were about to fade away.
"These two Soul Rings can change color, switching between purple and their original colors. Until you can protect yourself, purple will be enough to conceal them."
After a pause, another voice, even weaker, added, "Also, we left you two Soul Bones. They're the last things we can give you. Farewell, human."
As soon as the words fell, the auras of the two dragon shadows vanished completely. Liu Lin took a deep breath and bowed solemnly in the direction where the Dragon Kings had disappeared.
"Safe travels, both of you."
Just as Liu Lin finished speaking, two Soul Bones burst through the ground at the bottom of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and flew before him.
One was the right arm bone bestowed by the Ice Dragon King, and the other was the left arm bone bestowed by the Fire Dragon King.
As soon as Liu Lin reached out to touch the two Soul Bones, they turned into streaks of light and merged into the two Soul Rings.
"Hmm? What's going on?" Liu Lin stared blankly as the Soul Bones merged directly into his Soul Rings.
After all, he had never heard of anything like this.
He sensed them carefully and found that the Soul Bones had merely merged into the Soul Rings. When he wanted to absorb them, he could take them out directly.
Once Liu Lin understood that, he couldn't be bothered to think about why they had merged into his Soul Rings. The most important thing now was to get back up.
With that, Liu Lin swam toward the surface of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Meanwhile, outside, after absorbing the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and Heaven Soul Grass, Zhang Lexuan's cultivation had risen from level 71 to level 76.
She could sense two entirely different divine powers within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, answering one another.
Worried about Liu Lin when she sensed this, Zhang Lexuan hurried to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. Just as she was about to enter and look for him, the surface of the water broke, and Liu Lin leaped out, landing steadily on the bank.
Liu Lin saw Zhang Lexuan standing beside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. He was just about to say something when he noticed the teasing look in her eyes.
He hurriedly looked down at himself, only to discover that because of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, his clothes had all dissolved into strips of fabric.
He was completely naked now. No wonder he'd felt a little chilly when he first climbed out.
Fortunately, before entering the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, he had handed his Storage Soul Tool to Zhang Lexuan. Otherwise, he would have had to run around naked.
"Sister Lexuan, d-don't... don't look. Could you give me my Storage Soul Tool?"
Hearing Liu Lin's words, Zhang Lexuan gave him a wicked smile and came over with his storage ring in hand.
"Little Lin, you're so small. What's there to look at? I'm only checking on your condition."
"And if you want your storage ring, tell me first: who do you like most? Who's the prettiest?" As she spoke, she pointed at her cheek, indicating that she wanted Liu Lin to kiss her.
Hearing Zhang Lexuan's words, Liu Lin's forehead filled with dark lines. But when you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head.
Liu Lin looked at Zhang Lexuan, who had come up behind him, and kissed her.
"Sister Lexuan is the prettiest. I—I like Sister Lexuan the most..."
Watching Liu Lin blush and stammer through those words, Zhang Lexuan couldn't help giggling. Still, she handed him the storage ring.
Meanwhile, in the Sea of Consciousness, Zhang Lexuan's blush hadn't faded as she watched her future self tease a little boy.
And when she saw Liu Lin naked, she had tried to shield her eyes with her hands, like someone covering their ears while stealing a bell. But she still peeked through her fingers.
"What are you covering your eyes for? If you want to look, just look. He'll be yours in the future, anyway." As Zhang Lexuan peeked, a voice sounded in her Sea of Consciousness.
Hearing her future self's infuriating tone, Zhang Lexuan grumbled, "You're the one who's into little boys. Don't say things like that. I had no choice but to look."
"Hmph, as your future self, I obviously know you. Besides, I'm you, and this is what you'll be like in the future."
"No, I'm not. How could I possibly... possibly do that?" As she spoke, Zhang Lexuan's voice grew softer and softer.
"All right, I'm done talking. Just stay right here in your Sea of Consciousness and watch me get together with Liu Lin." With that, Zhang Lexuan's future self disappeared.
"Isn't this my body? And why do I feel like... I've been set up by myself?" Zhang Lexuan muttered as she knelt on the ground in her Sea of Consciousness.
Outside, inside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
"I'm done for. I've never been so embarrassed." Liu Lin took the storage ring from Zhang Lexuan and hurriedly pulled out a set of clothes and put them on.
When Zhang Lexuan had seen Liu Lin naked, she'd used divine power to shield him. Nobody but her had seen him, since she didn't like letting other people see what belonged to her.
In less than a minute, Liu Lin had finished the whole process of taking out his clothes and changing.
Zhang Lexuan glanced at him, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. "You're dressed now? What were you about to tell me?"
"Mm." Liu Lin nodded. Hearing Zhang Lexuan's question, he hurried to change the subject by telling her what had happened inside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Zhang Lexuan didn't press him for details. She merely stood up and brushed the bits of grass from her skirt.
"Right. None of that happened in my previous life. You only obtained two Soul Bones back then."
"Oh, right. Do you want to bring two Immortal Herbs back for your fiancée?"
"Mm, of course..." Liu Lin had barely said those words when he clamped his mouth shut. After spending the last few days getting along peacefully with Zhang Lexuan, he'd almost forgotten what had happened to him in Star Luo City.
"Hmph~ Hmph. You just said I was the prettiest, and now you're thinking about another woman."
"But, Little Lin, you're still not in great shape. I'm afraid I might let something slip one of these days."
Hearing Zhang Lexuan's words, Liu Lin nearly fell to his knees.