What exactly had gone wrong?
Everything had been fine in the early stages of the fusion. There had been no problems at all when they came into contact with the Silver Dragon King's origin power.
Could it be that his own son's talent was too poor? That he wasn't compatible enough with the Silver Dragon King and Qian Jue's Martial Souls?
Tang San's divine consciousness sank into deep self-doubt.
No. Impossible.
His son was the son of a God King, inheritor of the great God King bloodline. How could something like this happen?
While Tang San's divine consciousness searched for the reason the Martial Soul Fusion had failed, Tang Wulin stood outside, his face blank with shock.
First came shock and confusion, then finally disappointment and sadness.
Several expressions flashed across his young face in quick succession, and a wave of grievance suddenly welled up inside him.
The feeling was no less painful than when he had spent three years laboring over a forge, painstakingly saving up Federation coins, only to go to the Spirit Pagoda and come away with nothing but Little Gold, a damaged Artificial Soul Spirit.
"So I'm not qualified after all..."
Tang Wulin collapsed onto the sofa, utterly dejected. He looked pitifully forlorn.
Xie Xie and Wang Jinxi exchanged glances, then stepped forward to comfort him.
"Don't be discouraged. Your situation is special, Wulin. Your Martial Soul may be the universally acknowledged Trash Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, but your bloodline is pretty unique!"
"Who knows? Once your Soul Power Level goes up and you develop your bloodline further, maybe you'll be able to use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with the captain."
Wang Jinxi, standing beside him, could barely take it anymore.
Seriously, man? Blue Silver Grass was pretty useless—that was an established fact.
But you couldn't say that while comforting someone. Weren't you just rubbing salt in the wound?
Sure enough, Tang Wulin looked even more dejected after hearing that. He buried his head between his knees and began to sob quietly.
Seeing Tang Wulin like this, Qian Jue suddenly thought of the nine kids he had raised in his previous life.
Ah, I guess I'm just too softhearted~
Qian Jue guided his body over to Tang Wulin. He didn't say much, simply sitting down and gently wrapping his arms around him.
"All right, all right. If it doesn't work this time, we can try again."
"We're all good friends. If you're sad, I'm sad too."
"We've got plenty of time. We can take it slow. Rushing things isn't always a good idea."
Tang Wulin glanced at Qian Jue. In that moment, with her face still resembling Kanna's, she looked so gentle, radiating a warm, maternal glow.
Gradually, he stopped sobbing.
Xie Xie and the others exchanged glances, deeply shaken.
They had actually sensed a motherly aura from Qian Jue—in Kanna's form.
W-was this the "loli mom" everyone had been talking about on the Soul Net lately?
Tang Wulin's emotions gradually settled. He wiped his tears and said earnestly, "Don't worry, Captain. I'll work twice as hard from now on, and do my best to perform a Martial Soul Fusion with you!"
"Sure ヽ(￣▽￣)و. I'll always be here."
Qian Jue habitually ruffled Tang Wulin's hair. In his previous life, he had often done the same with Xiao Jiu and those little dragon cubs. His hand had reached out before he even realized what he was doing.
Tang Wulin looked at Qian Jue's youthful yet mature face as he got his hair ruffled. His face turned bright red in an instant, and he hurriedly stood up and backed away a few steps.
"Captain, I'm going back to rest. See you tomorrow."
With that, Tang Wulin ran straight back to his room without looking back.
Afterward, Qian Jue ended the Martial Soul Fusion state.
Once the fusion was over, Gu Yue and Na'er, who had been arguing up a storm just moments ago, fell completely silent.
Qian Jue even had the faint impression that they were avoiding him.
"Junior brother, I'm a little tired today. Maybe it's a side effect of the Martial Soul Fusion just now. I'm going to rest too."
"Hey, hey, me too! Gu Yue, take me with you. I'll sleep with you tonight."
With their heads lowered, the two of them went back to their room together.
Qian Jue was left completely bewildered.
A woman's heart was truly impossible to understand.
Never mind. The most important thing right now was to focus on cultivation and raise his Soul Power.
After thinking it over, Qian Jue turned his gaze toward Wang Jinxi and Xie Xie in the living room. "They've left, so you two can stay tonight and meditate with me."
"We can test how much your fused Soul Bone has improved you, and how much his Bone Dragon King Martial Soul can improve him."
Xie Xie and Wang Jinxi watched Qian Jue closing in on them step by step, then shut their eyes and accepted their fate.
Bring it on!
The three of them sat down in the living room, with the Dragon Rising Pillar at the center. The other two released their Martial Souls and began to meditate.
Sure enough, with the Dragon Rising Pillar's assistance, Xie Xie and Wang Jinxi could clearly feel the Soul Power flowing through their meridians faster.
Fifty percent faster than when they cultivated on their own!
And that wasn't all. They also felt a burning heat throughout their bodies. It was as if the dragon bloodlines hidden inside them had awakened, slowly improving every aspect of their physiques.
Heh... hehehe... oh no. What if they got addicted to this feeling?
Wang Jinxi was practically drooling.
This was the first time Xie Xie had ever enjoyed meditating so much.
Off to the side, Zhang Yangzi watched the two of them grinning foolishly with their eyes closed, deeply shaken.
Was this seriously Martial Soul cultivation? It was practically like they were high.
The scene was too bizarre for Zhang Yangzi to handle. And since he didn't have a dragon-type Martial Soul, he wouldn't get any of the benefits anyway.
He took one last look at Wang Jinxi. Though reluctant, he turned around and went upstairs.
Inside the room, Tang Wulin sat cross-legged, releasing his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul to meditate under the moonlight.
After Qian Jue had comforted him with such motherly tenderness, his resolve to cultivate had only grown stronger.
As long as his Soul Power was high enough, he would be able to undo more of the Golden Dragon King's seals.
Then the human blood in him would dwindle and the dragon blood would increase. Once he had fully become a little dragon man, maybe he'd be even more compatible with the Martial Soul than Gu Yue!
This inferior Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul is the biggest obstacle between me and the captain.
I have to make the Golden Dragon King bloodline transform it completely!
Within the Sea of Consciousness, Tang San's divine consciousness sensed his son's determination and nearly wept.
It was good that he was working hard, but hearing his own son call his Martial Soul and bloodline trash still hurt.
Suddenly, Tang San's divine consciousness narrowed his eyes and focused on the layers of seals in the deepest part of the Sea of Consciousness.
"Golden Dragon King, you were behind what happened just now, weren't you? When the Martial Soul Fusion failed, I sensed you take control of Wulin's blood and qi for an instant."
Only silence answered him.
Could he have been mistaken?
"Golden Dragon King, whatever you're plotting, as long as I'm here, you won't lay a finger on Wulin!"
The calm Sea of Consciousness instantly erupted into towering waves. The blue-gold light of Sea God's Light illuminated the surroundings as Tang San's divine consciousness hovered above the water, staring gravely at the Golden Dragon King's seal.
Yet still, there was no response.
Had he really been mistaken?
That made sense. The Golden Dragon King had inherited the Dragon God's madness and physical strength, but possessed no wisdom whatsoever. What had just happened was probably only an accident.
Tang San's divine consciousness shook his head, then turned back to sleep and store up his strength.
Once he had left completely and fallen into slumber, a golden-red glimmer quietly passed across the Golden Dragon King Origin Divine Core inside the seal.
"Tang San, oh, Tang San. No one can stop me from reuniting with my wife."
"As long as you still covet the Dragon God's power, your greed will ultimately become the stepping stone to my resurrection."
Within the Divine Core, the Golden Dragon King's gaze fell upon Tang Wulin.
The vessel he had chosen back then might one day become the greatest help in allowing her to see the light of day again.