Fusion!

"All right, I believe you!"

Those four simple words seemed to weigh a thousand jun, echoing for a long time through the chaotic void of the Forbidden God Land.

At Ling Xuqing's answer, an extremely complicated expression seemed to flicker across the face shrouded in divine light.

But it was quickly replaced by determination and fervor.

"Good! Since you've made up your mind, prepare to welcome your rebirth! The process will be excruciating, but you must cling to the origin of your soul with all your strength. You must not lose yourself, not even for a moment!"

The Dragon God's voice rose abruptly, booming like divine thunder from the highest heavens.

As soon as his words fell, the entire Forbidden God Land erupted!

"Roar—!!!"

A terrifying dragon's roar, as if from the primordial wilderness, suddenly burst from the immense dark-golden dragon body beneath Ling Xuqing.

The roar brimmed with endless grief and indignation, unwillingness, and a resolve to perish together with its enemy.

Then, to Ling Xuqing's utter horror, the Golden Dragon King's mountainous body began to shudder violently.

Boom!

Blinding golden divine light erupted from its dark-golden scales.

The radiance was so dazzling that it outshone all the chaotic laws in the Forbidden God Land, lighting the entire chaotic space as bright as day.

"Golden Dragon King's Origin—sacrifice!"

The Dragon God formed an ancient, mysterious seal with both hands and slammed it into the void.

In an instant, the Golden Dragon King's enormous body began to disintegrate and melt away at a visible speed.

There was no spray of blood or severed limbs. The body that had borne all the Dragon God's power and Bloodline Power became a vast, boundless sea of dark-golden light!

Within that sea of light lay Bloodline Power capable of destroying the heavens and the earth, along with the purest possible essence of the dragon race.

"Go!"

The Dragon God shouted. The sea of dark-golden light instantly became a roaring golden dragon, bringing with it a terrifying pressure that could scorch mountains and boil seas as it charged straight toward Ling Xuqing.

"Ah—!!!"

The moment the golden dragon crashed into Ling Xuqing, he let out a scream of agony.

Pain!

Pain beyond anything words could describe!

Ling Xuqing felt as though he'd been thrown into Laozi's Eight Trigrams Furnace. Every inch of his skin, every bone, every blood vessel was being violently wrenched apart and crushed by the raging dark-golden energy, only to be reassembled again!

His blood boiled, his bones broke and regenerated, and even his soul seemed to be roasting in a raging fire.

"Hold on to your mind! Fuse your bloodline!" The Dragon God's voice rang urgently in Ling Xuqing's mind.

Ling Xuqing gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot and scarlet.

Amid the endless agony, he fought with all his might to protect that single glimmer of clarity in his mind.

He thought of his parents on Blue Star, of the lamp they'd left burning for him, and of his unshakable determination to return!

That determination became the firmest anchor in his soul.

Meanwhile, the Dragon God was not idle.

He burned what little power remained in his remnant soul and forcibly stirred the chaotic laws of the Forbidden God Land, forming layer upon layer of barriers to seal off the space around Ling Xuqing completely.

Not only that, he also drew the power of the Ascending Dragon Pillar's origin and the Golden Dragon Spear's weapon spirit from deep within the Forbidden God Land.

"Let your flesh and blood be the foundation. Fuse with my origin and reshape your true body!"

With the Dragon God's final chant, Ling Xuqing's adult body, in its twenties, began rapidly shrinking inside the sea of dark-golden light.

His bones crackled as they became crystal-clear, while his muscles were torn apart and healed until they were flawless.

The features of an adult faded away, replaced by the body of a six-year-old child, brimming with boundless life and potential.

The Golden Dragon King's bloodline was engraved deep within his marrow like a brand.

The phantom image of the External Soul Bone, Dragon Wings, flashed behind his back before finally merging into his shoulder blades.

A pair of phantom Dragon Claws, radiating dark-golden light, took shape over his hands, then sank into his palms.

A divine Soul Ring formed at his feet and revolved around him once before turning into a golden pattern that disappeared inside his body.

As for the Golden Dragon Spear, renowned throughout the Divine Realm, it was tempered by divine light and transformed into the phantom image of a more ancient, domineering spear. It fused with the origin of his Martial Soul—and so the Golden Overlord Spear was born!

No one knew how long it took. Perhaps an instant, perhaps ten thousand years.

When the final trace of dark-golden light had completely fused with Ling Xuqing's body, the deafening agony finally receded like a tide.

Ling Xuqing's body floated in midair.

He had now become a boy of about six years old.

His short hair shimmered with dark-golden radiance, his skin was as fair as jade, and his delicate features seemed like a masterpiece crafted by heaven and earth.

His eyes were closed, his breathing long and steady. His entire being radiated an indescribable vitality and a terrifying pressure, held tightly in check.

He had been reborn.

The Dragon God hovered silently before Ling Xuqing, gazing at this new life.

By now, the Dragon God was utterly weak.

His figure had become so insubstantial that even a breeze might have scattered him.

To complete this unprecedented sacrifice and rebirth, he had nearly exhausted the last trace of power in his remnant soul.

"Little one... from here on, you'll have to walk the road ahead by yourself."

The Dragon God's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

He slowly raised a nearly transparent hand and gently touched Ling Xuqing between the brows.

"Go. Go to the Douluo Continent. Awaken your Martial Soul. Become the ruler of this world..."

As the Dragon God spoke, the space in front of Ling Xuqing suddenly rippled like water.

A spatial passage radiating soft white light quietly took shape.

Ling Xuqing's small body seemed to fall into a deep sleep. A gentle force lifted him and slowly carried him into the passage of white light.

The passage closed, and the Forbidden God Land once more returned to a deathly silence.

The Dragon God hovered silently where he was, his gaze fixed for a long time on the place where Ling Xuqing had vanished.

After who knew how long, he slowly turned his head and looked toward the other end of the Forbidden God Land—the direction of the Douluo God Realm.

A bizarre smile, touched with a hint of madness, suddenly appeared on his once-weary, sorrowful face.

The smile held relief and mockery, as well as the glee of revenge he had suppressed for millions of years.

"Asura God..."

The Dragon God's faint, barely audible voice drifted through the empty Forbidden God Land, a whisper from the depths of hell.

"I hope you'll like the gift I've prepared for you..."

The instant his words fell, the pair of brilliant golden horns atop his head suddenly erupted with one last burst of dazzling light.

Humm—

With an almost imperceptible hum, the Dragon God's already insubstantial remnant soul crumbled bit by bit in the golden light. It finally dissolved into golden motes of light and vanished completely amid the endless chaotic laws of the Forbidden God Land.

Not a trace remained, as if he had never existed.

The Forbidden God Land once more sank into eternal chaos and silence.