Dragon Beasts

The two guards would not even say another word.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect had long treated freelance soul masters entering Dragon Valley as routine business. As long as they paid, anyone could enter, and if anything happened, it had nothing to do with the sect.

Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and stepped into Dragon Valley.

Dragon Valley Town behind him gradually faded into the morning light.

Ahead, the shadows of Dragon Valley blotted out the daylight. Faint beast roars drifted through the dense mist, and pairs of golden, emerald, and crimson eyes glimmered in the darkness.

Lu Mingfei clenched his fists and felt the Black Dragon King tattoo on the back of his hand tremble faintly.

Like a beast that had caught the scent of flesh and blood, it let out an excited growl from deep within his bloodline.

"Let's go."

Huang Fei's voice came from ahead, calm and steady. "Your first soul ring is in here."

The instant he stepped into Dragon Valley, Lu Mingfei felt an intense dragon's might rush toward him, so dense it was almost tangible.

It was similar to the dragon's might emitted by his own martial soul, yet mixed with all sorts of different auras.

Some were blazing like fire, while others were cold as frost.

Some were rank and pungent.

The Black Dragon King tattoo on Lu Mingfei's hand instantly grew scorching hot, as though something had set it alight.

A warm current spread from the back of his hand through his entire body, stirring the dormant soul power within him into relentless surges.

The sight within Dragon Valley was far grander than Lu Mingfei had imagined.

The cliffs on either side of the gorge soared into the clouds.

The crimson rocks glistened beneath the sunlight.

The cliff faces were covered in claw marks of varying depths.

Some were several feet wide and deep enough to swallow half an arm, clearly left behind by enormous dragon beasts.

The valley vegetation was dense, but the variety was limited.

Dragonblood Trees were everywhere, their leaves thick and covered in a waxy layer. Occasionally, Dragon Saliva Fruit glimmered faintly among the branches, giving off a delicate fragrance.

Huang Fei walked in front, neither too fast nor too slow, but every step she took was exceptionally steady.

Her senses were fully spread out, and every movement within several hundred zhang was under her control.

Lu Mingfei followed closely behind her, glancing around as his palms grew slightly sweaty.

Every inch of air here carried the scent of danger.

He could feel countless eyes watching them from the shadows, filled with greed and killing intent.

"Dragon Valley is divided into the Outer Valley, Middle Valley, and Inner Valley."

As they walked, Huang Fei introduced the place to Lu Mingfei in a low voice. "The Outer Valley mainly has low-level dragon beasts that are a hundred or a thousand years old.

"The Middle Valley is home to ten-thousand-year dragon beasts. It is said that dragon kings seventy thousand years old or even stronger dwell in the depths of the Inner Valley.

"With your current strength, the boundary between the Outer and Middle Valleys is the limit of where you can hunt.

"We'll operate around this area. Don't be reckless."

Lu Mingfei nodded, but his gaze drifted toward the deeper parts of the distant valley.

He could feel that the Black Dragon King tattoo within him had become unusually active ever since entering Dragon Valley. It continuously radiated warmth, as if it had caught the scent of its own kind and was so excited it could barely restrain itself.

Huang Fei suddenly stopped and tilted her head slightly to listen.

Lu Mingfei stopped as well, holding his breath.

A moment later, Huang Fei gave him a look and nodded toward a raised hill ahead on the left.

A deep rumbling came from behind the hill, as if something massive were breathing. It was accompanied by the rustling sound of dirt and gravel falling away.

Lu Mingfei cautiously climbed to the top of the hill, pushed aside a dense thicket, and looked down. His pupils abruptly contracted.

In the hollow below the hill, a completely crimson dragon beast was sleeping soundly.

The dragon beast was several zhang long, with thick limbs and a row of sharp bony spikes along its spine. Fine sparks occasionally spilled from its mouth, and every breath carried a searing wave of heat.

Its scales gleamed dark red in the sunlight, like the surface of cooled lava.

The knowledge he had learned in his soul beast class immediately surfaced in Lu Mingfei's mind.

A Blazing Earth Dragon, a fire-attributed draconic subspecies.

Adults were usually between one thousand and two thousand years old. They were hot-tempered and fiercely territorial, but generally did not stray far from their nests.

Judging by its size and the color of its scales, this one was around five hundred years old, already exceeding the usual requirements for a soul master's first soul ring.

He turned back to Huang Fei and silently mouthed, "Will this one work?"

Huang Fei glanced at the Blazing Earth Dragon and shook her head slightly. She mouthed back, "Its fire attribute doesn't suit you."

Lu Mingfei froze for a moment, then understood.

Huang Fei still believed that his Black Dragon King martial soul was only aligned with darkness and corrosion. If he added a fire-attributed soul ring, the effects of his soul skills would be greatly diminished, preventing his martial soul's attributes from reaching their full potential.

What Huang Fei wanted was to find a dragon beast with darkness or corrosion attributes, so that the soul ring and martial soul would have the highest possible compatibility.

Lu Mingfei did not explain anything.

He nodded, silently retreated, and followed Huang Fei as they continued to probe deeper.

The two walked inward along the valley path for about half an hour, and Lu Mingfei had already spotted several dragon beasts.

A grayish-green Earthshell Dragon lay atop a huge boulder, basking in the sun and lazily swishing its tail, completely indifferent to their arrival.

Two juvenile Windwing Dragons circled and chased one another in the low sky, letting out sharp cries as if playing.

A small Spineback Dragon crouched by a stream, drinking water. When it saw people approaching, it warily raised its head for a look before slowly walking away.

Most of these dragon beasts were mild-tempered and showed no intention of attacking them.

Lu Mingfei observed their sizes and auras.

Most were around a hundred years old, their soul power fluctuations hovering within a few hundred years.

The strongest one, the Spineback Dragon, was around six hundred years old.

Huang Fei walked ahead, her gaze sweeping over the dragon beasts. She shook her head slightly without slowing down.

"None of these will do," Huang Fei said without turning back. "Their quality is too poor. They don't deserve your martial soul."

Lu Mingfei nodded and followed.

He understood as well. Though these hundred-year dragon beasts could provide soul rings, their compatibility with the Black Dragon King would likely not be high.

Bibi Dong had gone to such lengths, providing whale glue and soul pills, all so that he could withstand the impact of a thousand-year soul ring. If he returned with a hundred-year soul ring in the end, he would be letting down Her Holiness the Pope's investment far too much.

They continued deeper into Dragon Valley for another half hour or so.

The dragon's might around them grew heavier and heavier. Those docile dragon beasts gradually vanished, replaced by individuals with much fiercer auras.

A Venom Lizard Dragon coiled around a withered Dragonblood Tree.

Its eyes remained fixed on the direction the two were walking. Drool dripped from its mouth onto the ground with a sizzling corrosive sound, scorching even the scattered stones and sending up white smoke.

Huang Fei merely glanced at it and released a trace of her own aura. The Venom Lizard Dragon immediately shrank its neck back.