Unfortunately, neither Dragon Core had the darkness attribute. Otherwise, he could scarcely imagine how terrifyingly fast his Dark Sacred Dragon Martial Soul would cultivate with the help of a Dragon Core that matched its attribute.
After all, he had already reached the Soul Emperor realm. He was only one step away from becoming a Soul Saint.
For an Ultimate Martial Soul, the hardest stage of growth was the early process of accumulation and transformation.
Now that he had nearly finished walking that most difficult road, his progress would only grow faster.
Not long after regaining consciousness in his Spiritual Sea, Long Wushang woke from his coma.
He was still submerged at the bottom of the Icefire Yin Yang Well.
After countless years of erosion, the immense bodies the Water and Fire Dragon Kings had left behind when they fell, along with the dragon bones scattered here, had long since become one with this land.
Although Long Wushang had absorbed the Water and Fire Dragon Kings' remaining divine souls, Dragon Cores, and divine bones, that had merely depleted a portion of the Icefire Yin Yang Well's accumulated energy.
Sustaining this wonder of nature would still be no difficult task.
Of course, Long Wushang knew none of this.
Nor did he have any intention of thinking about it right now.
This trip to the Icefire Yin Yang Well had already brought him an astonishing windfall. He had eaten his fill in one haul; calling it a million-strong retreat would hardly be an exaggeration.
He probably would not set foot on this land again.
For now, though, he looked down at his body and fell silent for a long time.
More precisely, he was staring at his bare upper body and the two ferocious dragon markings that had suddenly appeared across his chest and back.
A water dragon and a fire dragon.
The two dragons coiled around his body, so lifelike they seemed ready to burst out of him at any moment.
Worse, the placement of those markings was downright outrageous.
Who put a dragon's head on each arm?
It looked strange no matter how he viewed it.
But Long Wushang soon discovered that his changes went far beyond that.
Both arms felt as though they held inexhaustible strength. Beneath their skin, two objects resembling Soul Bones shone brilliantly, faint ripples of mysterious energy flowing through them.
Staring at all this and feeling the changes that had taken place while he slept, Long Wushang was utterly dumbfounded.
Hadn't I just passed out because I couldn't bear the pain of Ice and Fire Body Tempering?
How did I wake up to find that the Water and Fire Dragon Kings had given me their Dragon Cores and even something like divine-grade Soul Bones?
Could it be...
Had those two Dragon Kings thought so highly of me before they died that they gave me their Dragon Cores, their bones, everything? Had they truly pinned their hopes on me and wanted me to shoulder the responsibility of reviving the Soul Beast Clan?
At that thought, Long Wushang fell silent for a moment.
If that's true, then I can only apologize.
Before the advent of Artificial Soul Spirits, the conflict between humans and Soul Beasts was irreconcilable. Besides, he had no interest in playing savior.
Certain special cases aside, of course. If a beautiful Soul Beast underwent Soul Beast Transformation...
A beast girl? That might be worth considering.
Forget it. Some things were better understood without being said. No need to say too much.
In short, this round of Ice and Fire Body Tempering had not only raised his physical strength to an astonishing degree but also granted him a special immunity to both ice and fire.
On top of that, the power of the two Dragon Cores and two divine-grade dragon bones had sent his Soul Power surging.
His Soul Power had risen from level 64 to level 68.
A single stroke of fortune had raised it by a full four levels.
Even Long Wushang himself had never expected a leap like that.
When he had condensed the Lust God Ring, the power of a divine trial had raised his Soul Power by only two levels.
All I can say is... divine-grade dragon bones lived up to their name.
So did one of the greatest opportunities on all of Douluo Continent.
The Icefire Yin Yang Well truly deserved its reputation.
Meanwhile...
Outside the Icefire Yin Yang Well...
Tang Ya and Long Xiaoyao watched the perfectly still water with grave expressions.
A full week had passed since Long Wushang entered the spring.
Throughout that week, the water had shown no signs of anything unusual.
Apart from one night two days ago, when the Icefire Yin Yang Well had suddenly boiled violently and an overwhelming force had erupted from its depths, nothing else had happened.
Even Long Xiaoyao, who had complete faith in Long Wushang's abilities, could not help worrying now.
At first, he had even wanted to enter the depths himself to check on his son.
But when he tried, he discovered just how terrifying the ice and fire energies in the water were.
Even as an Ultimate Douluo, he could descend less than ten meters before he could bear no more and had to retreat.
If even he could not go deeper...
Could Long Wushang truly withstand it?
Long Xiaoyao's expression grew grimmer at the thought.
Just as the two of them wondered what to do, a terrifying draconic aura silently descended upon the area.
In the distant sky, a figure slowly approached, walking through the air.
It was Beast God Di Tian.
He held a silver dragon scale. Guided by his master's signal and the dragon aura he had followed along the way, Di Tian had finally found the source of the two Dragon Kings' power.
It was here.
The Sunset Forest.
Di Tian looked down at the valley. Sensing the immense ice and fire energies below and the terrifying draconic aura lingering in the air, his gaze gradually hardened.
Apart from the Nine Great Dragon Kings of old, no dragon-type Soul Beast on the continent today could possibly possess power on this level.
It's just... this poisonous miasma is troublesome.
Di Tian frowned at the dense poison ahead. He raised his right hand toward the vast bank of toxic mist. A low boom rang out as terrifying power erupted.
Great swathes of poison mist were forcibly scattered.
Because Long Wushang had devoured so many Immortal Herbs earlier, some of the poisonous plants had lost their foundations. The miasma was no longer as stable as it once had been.
Before Di Tian's power, a path into the depths was soon torn open.
But Di Tian's unconcealed display of power finally alerted Long Xiaoyao at the Icefire Yin Yang Well.
Startled by the force, Long Xiaoyao spun around, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.
His immense spiritual power swept outward and collided with the power Di Tian had sent out to probe the area. The two terrifying spiritual forces clashed without warning.
There was no sound, but the invisible spiritual storm left even the surrounding space subtly distorted.
That single exchange was enough to make Long Xiaoyao's expression turn grave.
He had felt an unprecedented pressure from that force.
The person outside... is every bit as strong as I am!
Since when did the Heaven Dou Empire have an expert like that?
Could it be someone from the Body Sect?
No, that can't be.
Du Bisou died ages ago, damn it. I know his younger brother Du Busi's aura even better. It definitely isn't him.
If it isn't either of the Du brothers from the Body Sect...
Then who could it be?
Before you continue