Anti-Fraud

When Zhu Jin heard this old dragon soul claim that he was the Dragon Emperor, he was basically like:

Zhu Jin sized up the soul body with narrowed eyes, thinking, Is this guy trying to fool me like I'm an idiot?

Zhu Jin did not find the soul body strange. After all, on the Dou Qi Continent, if there were no soul bodies, what would Soul Hall eat, right? According to the setting in the book, Soul Hall had originally existed to search everywhere for and capture the scattered soul bodies across the Dou Qi Continent, before gradually shifting to capturing alchemists.

So according to the setting, there were many soul bodies on the Dou Qi Continent, such as Skyfire Venerable. Thus, Zhu Jin thought it perfectly normal to encounter the soul body of an ancient Ancient Void Dragon.

But if this thing claimed to be the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, betrayed by treacherous dragons and reduced to a single soul body, then it was really treating him like a fool. Others might not know, but how could Zhu Jin not? Zhu Kun, the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, was still locked up in Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion. How could he possibly appear here?

However, Zhu Jin did not expose him immediately. Though he scorned him inwardly, his expression was flawless as he decided to draw out some information first. In an instant, the Emperor of Acting possessed him. Three parts shock, three parts reverence, and four parts greed swiftly appeared on his face. His dragon claws trembled slightly as he stammered, "Y-You! Could you be the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, who vanished thousands of years ago?!"

The giant dragon soul nodded slightly, its whiskers moving without wind. Its tone carried the weary desolation and sorrow of countless years as it sighed, "Vanished? Hehehe... So those people said that I vanished. Sigh, I did not vanish. I died at the hands of traitors, ambushed by traitors."

Zhu Jin's face was filled with shock and fury, while inwardly he thought, Keep making it up. Let's see how long you can keep this act going.

Zhu Jin hurriedly asked, "Betrayal! Who was it? Who would dare commit such a monstrous act and ambush Your Majesty, the Dragon Emperor?!"

At those words, the dragon soul froze. Its gaze flickered as it said, "Uh... who? Well, this..."

Zhu Jin quickly added, "Was it the East Dragon King, South Dragon King, West Dragon King, and North Dragon King? Did the four Dragon Kings of the four Dragon Islands join forces to ambush you? Only the combined strength of those four Dragon Kings could possibly have ambushed Your Majesty."

"Ah, right, right, right, it was those four." The old dragon soul's enormous golden eyes instantly got into character, revealing an expression of sorrow and complexity. "The four Dragon Kings of east, south, west, and north joined hands and used an ancient grand formation to imprison me here. My physical body was destroyed, leaving only a remnant soul. I could only flee into a spatial rift with that remnant soul. To think that my million years of cultivation would suffer such humiliation at the hands of four beasts. How tragic, how hateful."

Zhu Jin secretly rolled his eyes at the old dragon. There were no four Dragon Kings of east, south, west, and north. There were only three Dragon Kings, because wasn't he himself the Dragon King of East Dragon Island? The so-called East Dragon King was actually the Dragon Emperor. After all, East Dragon Island ruled over all Dragon Islands, just as the lord of the capital city would not simply be called a city lord. Zhu Jin had merely set a little trap.

Zhu Jin thought, He doesn't even know that Dragon Island has only three Dragon Kings and no East Dragon King. He's probably not a true Ancient Void Dragon. What is his goal?

Zhu Jin clenched his dragon claws, looking righteously indignant as he said, "A grand formation? Could it be the legendary Dragon Transformation Demon Formation?! The four Dragon Kings actually dared to use even that forbidden ancient demonic formation, rebelling against their superior. Their crimes deserve death a thousand times over!"

"Dragon Transformation Demon Formation? Yes, that's right. It was precisely that ancient forbidden formation, the Dragon Transformation Demon Formation." Seeing Zhu Jin's indignant appearance, the soul body's expression gradually relaxed, revealing a somewhat benevolent look. "Little fellow, I am greatly comforted that you possess such devotion. You managed to find this place through your own strength, so we are fated. I can take you as my adopted son. Once I return to my peak, the throne of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan will be yours in the future."

Zhu Jin thought, Oh, he's starting to make empty promises. Is it coming?!

Sure enough, the next moment, the soul body's tone changed. "Little fellow, I ask you this: are you willing to do something for me? If you succeed, I can grant you a tremendous opportunity."

At those words, Zhu Jin revealed an excited expression and hurriedly replied, "Please speak, Your Majesty the Dragon Emperor. Zhu Jin will brave fire and water without hesitation!"

The soul body nodded inwardly. "I have sensed that the Dragon Transformation Demon Formation has already failed. You need only go to the formation core and pull it out, and I will be able to emerge. With my assistance, you will certainly become stronger. In the future, you may control the entire Beast Domain, perhaps even take command of the Dou Qi Continent! So long as I can emerge, pills, Dou Techniques, divine weapons, rare treasures, and heavenly materials will all be within reach. Reaching the eighth and ninth tiers will be just around the corner."

Zhu Jin abruptly raised his head, ambition and desire blazing in his golden eyes. He said in a deep voice, "This subordinate is willing to go! It's just that..."

The soul body, which had been feeling rather pleased with itself, suddenly froze and quickly asked, "It's just that what?"

Zhu Jin's demeanor abruptly shifted. A conflicted expression appeared on his face as he said regretfully, "It's just that with this subordinate's current strength, I fear it will be difficult to enter the formation core of the Dragon Transformation Demon Formation. Your Majesty may not know this, but this place has now been occupied by the Nine Nether Deep Earth Python Clan. This subordinate only barely escaped here after risking his life. I fear that though I have the will, I lack the strength."

When it heard Zhu Jin say that he lacked the strength despite having the will, and saw the struggle and pain on his face, the soul body grew anxious and quickly said, "Fear not. Though my current strength is less than one-tenth of what it was at my peak, dealing with a mere Nine Netherworld Python is no trouble. How about this? I will bestow upon you a storage ring. I will store a portion of my soul power within it. It can provide you with assistance from soul power once. It can also guide you to the location of the formation core, so you need not worry."

With a hum, a yellowish-brown ring wrapped in a strand of soul power slowly rose from beneath the fissure in the ground and floated before Zhu Jin.

Sensing that the soul power stored in the storage ring was actually inferior even to the soul power attached to the dragon scale his father had given him, Zhu Jin could not help frowning as he asked, "Your Majesty, this soul power... what level can it reach?"

The soul body said, "It can allow you to wield the strength of a Dou Emperor."

"A Dou Emperor?!" Zhu Jin could barely maintain his expression as he asked, "Why is it only at the Dou Emperor level? Wasn't Your Majesty at the peak of the nine-star Dou Saint realm? Why is your soul power only at the Dou Emperor level?"

Faced with Zhu Jin's questioning, the soul body's gaze shifted as it hurriedly said, "I am currently imprisoned beneath the Dragon Transformation Demon Formation, and my strength is severely suppressed. Furthermore, I am heavily injured and have only a damaged remnant soul left, so I cannot divide out much soul power."

Zhu Jin played with the storage ring in his hand, thinking, Tch. I'd originally hoped to extort some good stuff, but it's just a one-time Dou Emperor experience card. Looks like whatever ghost thing is down there has limited strength. And it still dares pretend to be the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragons. Shameless.

Zhu Jin carefully put away the storage ring and nodded. "Please wait here, Your Majesty. Once this subordinate has wiped out those detestable Nine Nether Deep Earth Pythons, I will return to welcome Your Majesty!"

"Good. I cannot remain manifested for long, so I shall await your good news." As the words fell, the enormous soul body slowly vanished, as though everything that had just happened had been nothing more than seeing a ghost.