Effects

"The Godly Taotie Bull actually gave you a defensive Soul Skill! I didn't expect that...

Looks like you'll need a Soul Beast with strong offensive power for your Second Soul Ring to make up for it."

Lu Mingfei shook his head, a sly smile tugging at his lips. "It's not entirely defensive."

"What do you mean?"

With a thought, Lu Mingfei abruptly contracted the Dustless Domain's force field from a radius of ten zhang to less than one.

The rapidly flowing air grew denser and fiercer, surrounding him like a web of sharp blades.

He aimed the edge of the field at a nearby rock the size of a millstone.

The airflow at the field's edge swept across the rock like an invisible blade, instantly shaving a layer off its hard surface.

The high-speed current whipped up powdered stone, turning it into a cloud of white dust.

"Defense is its main function, but I can also use the force field to crush an opponent."

Lu Mingfei withdrew the Soul Skill and flexed his dragon claws. "If I trap someone inside the field and compress it, the high-speed airflow can grind them to pieces.

I can't do it yet, but once my Soul Power grows, this force field will become a moving meat grinder."

Huang Fei stared at him for a moment. Then a flash of admiration crossed her violet eyes.

She circled Lu Mingfei, studying the spot where the Soul Skill had just been, as though confirming something.

"Dustless Domain..."

She repeated the Soul Skill's name under her breath. "It can defend and attack, protect one person or a group, let you float briefly, and even shield your teammates...

Your First Soul Skill does more than many Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skills."

She paused, a note of wonder in her voice. "The Godly Taotie Bull's earth and devouring attributes should only have given you defensive and restorative abilities.

But your Black Dragon King Martial Soul refined, fused, and elevated those two powers into an exceptionally versatile Soul Skill.

Even I didn't see that coming."

Lu Mingfei stood where he was, looking down at his ink-black dragon claws. The purple Soul Ring beneath his feet pulsed slowly, and traces of the pale golden domain still lingered around him.

For the first time, he felt solid ground beneath his feet.

As of today, he, Lu Mingfei, had officially become a Soul Master.

His First Soul Ring: a thousand-year purple ring. Its skill: Dustless Domain.

At first glance, the Soul Skill seemed defensive, but it shifted freely between offense and defense. It could shred enemies or save his life, making it far more flexible than a purely offensive or defensive skill.

The Black Dragon King tattoo on the back of his right hand had vanished completely. In its place, deep within his soul, the two dragons now coexisted, their powers resonating together...

The Black Dragon King had awakened for the most part, and the White Dragon King had awakened fully.

Two utterly different powers intertwined and balanced within him, turning endlessly like yin and yang.

Lu Mingfei raised his head toward the sky above Dragon Valley, a faint smile touching his lips.

Hui Liyi, I'm one step closer.

Huang Fei patted his shoulder and gave him a rare, genuine smile. "Come on. Let's get your Second Soul Ring, then head back to the Papal Palace. His Holiness the Pope will be pleased when he hears what your Soul Skill can do."

Lu Mingfei nodded and withdrew his Martial Soul. His black dragon claws slowly returned to ordinary hands.

"We're still going deeper?"

Lu Mingfei eyed the valley path ahead as it grew darker. "I only just absorbed my First Soul Ring. Aren't we taking a break?"

Without looking back, Huang Fei said, "We should find a few more suitable Soul Beasts while we're here. Otherwise, coming back will cost another thousand Gold Soul Coins."

"Fair point... A thousand Gold Soul Coins would buy me meals at Spirit Hall's cafeteria for ages."

"Such lofty ambitions."

Huang Fei scoffed, but did not slow down.

Dusk had settled over the border of Dragon Valley.

Lu Mingfei followed Huang Fei along a winding stone path, continuing deeper inside.

The new power in his body still surged through his blood, leaving him strangely exhilarated.

After a while, Huang Fei faltered for an instant. Her violet eyes narrowed as she glanced toward Dragon Valley's core.

A thick gray fog shrouded it year-round.

Even Huang Fei's Soul Sage eyesight could not pierce it.

But now the fog was churning with unprecedented force, as though a colossal beast that had slept for ten thousand years had turned over within it.

"Lady Huang Fei?" Lu Mingfei stopped when she did. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

Huang Fei looked away and considered for a moment. "Something just feels wrong. The Soul Power fluctuations deep in Dragon Valley are too unstable. It's as if... something has woken up."

Lu Mingfei scratched his head.

The Black Dragon King and White Dragon King within him had just undergone a profound awakening, sharpening his senses far beyond what they had been.

He followed Huang Fei's gaze to the roiling gray fog deep in the valley. Faintly, he sensed an ancient will stirring on the other side.

It felt vast and distant, burdened with a weight that did not belong to this age.

But he could not make it out clearly.

"Let's go."

Huang Fei turned back. "Before it gets completely dark, let's search the border between the outer and middle valleys for a suitable Second Soul Ring.

The Godly Taotie Bull gave you a defensive Soul Skill. Your Second Soul Ring should ideally give you a powerful offensive ability."

Lu Mingfei nodded and followed.

They continued deeper along the valley path, where the rock underfoot gradually changed from dark red to deep brown.

The oppressive presence of dragons in the air grew heavier and heavier, making even breathing feel difficult.

Neither of them noticed that, somewhere in the deepest reaches of Dragon Valley's core,

a gaze had quietly fixed on them.

At the heart of Dragon Valley lay a hidden realm shrouded in gray-white fog that never dispersed.

No Soul Beast dared set foot there.

Even Tyrant Dragons, Horned Dragons, and Rainbow Dragons with more than seventy thousand years of cultivation only dared linger at its edge.

It was as though some unseen taboo warned them...

This is not a place you should enter.

At the center of the hidden realm stood a small stone platform.

Carved entirely from ancient dark-gray stone, its surface was covered in densely packed runes.

The runes were of an exceedingly ancient design.

A bone floated above the exact center of the platform...

It was a strange, completely transparent bone.

Its surface held countless precise facets, each like a polished crystal mirror reflecting a faint light.

The glow looked weak from outside, but deep within the bone it shone as brilliantly as a condensed galaxy.

That bone had slumbered at Dragon Valley's core for untold hundreds of thousands of years.