Golden Dragon

By noon the next day, a full day and night had passed since they began.

Suddenly, a dazzling golden beam shot out of the spring and soared into the sky!

The pillar of light lingered in midair for about three seconds before rapidly contracting.

Immediately afterward, the surface of the spring exploded.

A phantom of a massive golden dragon burst from the depths of the water, throwing its head back with a roar in the air.

That dragon's cry was clear and majestic, echoing off the walls of the mountain hollow.

Then the dragon phantom faded and sank back into the water, and everything returned to calm.

A few breaths later, Zhang Fei emerged from the spring.

He gripped the rocks by the water's edge with both hands, heaved half his body out, climbed ashore, and began getting dressed.

The moment She Long's gaze fell on Zhang Fei, his entire body froze.

Zhang Fei's skin was lustrous as jade, faintly covered in a pale golden sheen.

The contours of his features were sharper than before he entered the water. The lines of his brow ridge and nose bridge had become clearer and more forceful.

What made people unable to look directly at him were his eyes.

A trace of extremely faint gold flickered deep within his pupils, radiating the majesty of one who stood above others.

The instant She Long met his gaze, his back inexplicably tensed. It was as though he had encountered a life-form of a higher rank than himself—an instinctive fear carved deep into his bloodline.

That was... dragon might!

She Long rushed before him and looked him over from head to toe. "Xiao Fei, are you all right?"

Zhang Fei shook his head and finished dressing. "Grandpa, I'm fine. In fact, I feel very, very good."

He clenched his fist, feeling a surging power rise within him, several times stronger than before. His meridians were completely unobstructed, his bones had become tougher, and even the circulation speed of his soul power had doubled.

Seeing that he was indeed unharmed, She Long pressed further. "What were that golden light and golden dragon just now?"

Zhang Fei grinned. With a thought, he summoned his martial soul.

The Golden Python was gone, replaced by a solemn and majestic golden dragon.

The dragon was long and robust, its entire body covered in gilded scales. It had two horns on its head, powerful four limbs, and sharp five-clawed talons.

The dragon coiled behind Zhang Fei, lowering its head. A pair of pale golden vertical pupils looked down ahead as that heavy pressure spread outward, making even She Long involuntarily retreat half a step.

"My Golden Python martial soul frantically absorbed the dragon aura at the bottom of the spring. It has completely evolved."

Zhang Fei looked at the golden dragon behind him, unable to suppress the excitement in his voice. "From now on, it's no longer called the Golden Python. It's called the Golden Dragon."

Zhang Fei knew that, by bloodline rank, the dragon clan was divided from highest to lowest into the Dragon God, Dragon Kings, Sacred Dragons, True Dragons, and sub-dragons.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, hailed as the world's number one beast martial soul, belonged to the True Dragon rank. One-Horned Fireburst Dragons and White-Armored Earth Dragons were sub-dragons, and his own Golden Python martial soul had also been a sub-dragon.

When a True Dragon broke through to the godly rank, it became a Sacred Dragon.

The Ice and Fire Dragon Kings that had fallen here were Dragon Kings of an even higher rank.

By absorbing the residual dragon aura of two Dragon King-level beings, Zhang Fei's sub-dragon-level Golden Python had leaped two ranks in succession and evolved into the Sacred Dragon-level Golden Dragon.

The Golden Dragon's bloodline originated from the Golden Dragon King. The Golden Dragon King was one half split from the Dragon God and had inherited the Dragon God's ultimate power.

In Soul Land 2, Wang Qiu'er had possessed combat strength far beyond others of her rank through the Golden Dragon martial soul. She had even been considered invincible among those at the same level.

She Long stared at the golden dragon, mouth hanging open, unable to utter a single word.

Only after a long while did he sigh. "Xiao Fei, this... this is far too incredible. How on earth did you do it?"

Zhang Fei withdrew his martial soul and said with a mischievous grin, "Read more books, read more papers, play more... uh, sleep more."

She Long's face immediately darkened.

He glanced at the sky and asked, "About time, right? Should we head back? We've been out for quite a while. The young lord is probably worried."

Zhang Fei nodded. By his calculations, they had been away from the Crown Prince's Residence for nearly half a month.

"All right. Wait for me a moment. I'll pick some herbs to take back."

Zhang Fei took the emerald-green gourd-shaped storage soul tool from his waist. His gaze swept over every immortal herb as he rapidly compared them against the knowledge in his mind.

He crouched down and began harvesting. The first plant was the king of immortal herbs, Lovesick Heartbreak Red.

The conditions for earning its recognition were harsh, but what if? He was this handsome, after all.

Next came the Velvet Skyreach Chrysanthemum, its petals layered like a lotus pedestal and giving off a faint, warm fragrance.

Then there was the Ink Jade Divine Bamboo, its stalk as black as ink jade, with a subtle gleam flowing between its joints.

Zhang Fei became increasingly practiced as he dug. He then picked Autumn Water-Gazing Dew, Serene Fragrance Qiluo Immortal Herb, Qiluo Tulip, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, Nine-Grade Purple Lingzhi, Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid, Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone, Blood-Colored Swan Kiss, Earth Dragon Golden Melon... selecting every one in turn.

So long as he knew its name and was sure of the proper harvesting method, he left none behind.

Besides those, he also swept up more than a dozen second-tier herbs. Some were eighth-grade, some seventh-grade. Though they could not be considered immortal herbs beside the true immortal herbs, any one of them would be enough to make auction houses fight over it on the outside soul master market.

Zhang Fei refused nothing, filling seven or eight tenths of the gourd's more than ten cubic meters of storage space.

He rose and brushed the dirt from his hands, then looked back at the red-and-blue intertwined spring, his heart filled with emotion.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was now his in name. He could slowly develop it in the future.

After gathering the herbs, he tied the gourd back around his waist, walked up to She Long, and asked, "Grandpa, has Dugu Bo come back?"

She Long shook his head. "No. That old poisoner hasn't returned since he left. What is it?"

Zhang Fei nodded. "Grandpa, I picked some herbs just now, and one of them was specifically chosen for you. Dugu Bo is temperamental and could return at any time. This place isn't safe. Let's find somewhere secluded and secure first."

She Long was stunned. "There's even one for me? I'm already an old man. Wouldn't it be a waste for me to take it? You should save such good things for yourself. Why bother with an old man like me?"

Zhang Fei immediately waved his hands. "That wouldn't be a waste. Grandpa, these herbs are all immortal-grade. They can reshape your sinews and bones and improve your potential. How many years has your soul power been stuck at Rank 92? Haven't you ever wanted to take another step forward?"

She Long opened his mouth, but swallowed the words that reached his lips.

He had indeed been stuck at Rank 92 for nearly ten years. Of course, he had worked hard during that time, but because his foundation had not been properly laid, he had never been able to break through. Gradually, he had given up.

Every additional rank for a Titled Douluo was as difficult as ascending to heaven. The difference between Rank 92 and Rank 93 was only one rank, yet the gulf between them was more daunting than an entire major realm between a Soul Emperor and a Soul Sage.

She Long looked at the earnest expression in Zhang Fei's eyes and finally sighed. "Fine, fine. Whatever you say."

Zhang Fei grinned and wasted no more time.

She Long scooped him up again. The two shot out of the mountain hollow, crossed the poisonous miasma, and flew toward the outer reaches of Sunset Forest.

After roughly the time it took to burn an incense stick, She Long set Zhang Fei down before the entrance of a secluded mountain cave.

The two entered the cave, and She Long sat cross-legged on a flat stone surface.

"This should be secluded enough, right?"

Zhang Fei nodded and took out the Ink Jade Divine Bamboo from the gourd.