Sacred Dragon Golden Body

Zhang Fei took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and summoned his Golden Dragon martial soul.

Guided by his will, the black Soul Ring slowly drifted over, circled above his head once, then suddenly sank into his body!

In an instant, an energy even more violent than when he had absorbed the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear exploded within him!

Soul Power surged madly through Zhang Fei's meridians like boiling magma.

Immediately afterward, the savage will of a ten-thousand-year soul beast, like an ancient ferocious beast trapped in a cage, desperately tore at his spiritual sea!

His soul trembled!

The most terrifying aspect of a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring was not the impact of its energy, but this spiritual attack aimed directly at the soul!

Within Zhang Fei's mind, a miniature Golden-Scaled Armored Python appeared out of nowhere. Baring its fangs and claws, it pounced toward his soul, trying to devour his consciousness and seize his body!

"Get out!"

Zhang Fei roared within his spiritual sea. His golden spiritual power transformed into a massive dragon and slammed viciously into the armored python!

The two giant beasts battled, rolled, and tore at each other within his spiritual sea.

Every collision sent splitting pain through Zhang Fei's head, as though his skull were about to burst apart.

Yet he gritted his teeth and desperately guarded the last shred of clarity in his mind.

"You're nothing but a worm, and you think you can devour me?!"

The golden dragon grew fiercer with every battle. The spiritual power enhanced by the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew revealed its full might at this moment.

In the end, the giant dragon bit apart the armored python's head, completely devouring and absorbing its soul power!

The remnant soul of the Golden-Scaled Armored Python turned into specks of golden light and merged into Zhang Fei's spiritual sea.

Zhang Fei's spiritual power surged at that moment, and his spiritual sea expanded considerably.

Two hours later, Zhang Fei's aura finally settled completely.

One yellow, one purple, and one black—three Soul Rings slowly pulsed beneath his feet, reflecting one another. The black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring gave off a deep, lustrous glow.

He slowly rose to his feet, feeling as though his entire body brimmed with explosive power.

After examining himself, he realized that he had grown a little taller again. He had originally stood just over 1.7 meters, but now he was nearly 1.8 meters tall.

Though not yet ten years old, the youth standing there was already as tall and straight as a grown man.

She Long walked over with delight written across his face, looking Zhang Fei up and down. "You succeeded? How do you feel?"

Zhang Fei clenched his fist, feeling the power surging through his body, and grinned. "Soul Power rank thirty-two! And all my basic attributes have improved drastically. I'm overflowing with strength!"

Absorbing a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring as his third Soul Ring had only raised his Soul Power by two ranks.

Zhang Fei was not disappointed by this. On the contrary, he was exceedingly pleased.

That was because, with ultimate attributes, Soul Power progressed extremely slowly between rank thirty and rank seventy.

At the same time, however, Soul Power became purer and more resilient. Once one broke through rank seventy, cultivation speed would soar.

It was a process of compression and refinement, as well as a test of building up strength for a single burst.

"Then what is your Soul Skill?" She Long asked impatiently.

Zhang Fei smiled faintly, and the black Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up!

"Third Soul Skill, Sacred Dragon Golden Body!"

In an instant, a layer of pale golden energy armor surged out from beneath his skin and swiftly covered his entire body.

The armor was condensed from pure golden Soul Power. Dragon-scale-like patterns flowed across its surface, radiating a holy and inviolable aura.

Zhang Fei explained, "Once activated, this Sacred Dragon Golden Body armor covers my entire body for two minutes. The armor can completely negate frontal attacks from soul masters of the same rank. Even attacks from opponents two major realms above me can be negated by more than fifty percent. While the Golden Body lasts, my strength increases by two hundred percent, and I'm immune to all negative effects, including control skills like paralysis and stun!"

She Long listened with his eyes wide, only drawing a sharp breath after a long moment. "Completely negate attacks from the same rank? Two hundred percent stronger? And immune to control?!"

Zhang Fei nodded with a smile, confidence gleaming in his eyes. "With my three Soul Skills stacked together, several times the defensive and strength enhancement, immunity to control, plus Dragon Transformation in my right arm, the Heaven-Rending Claw, and the indestructible body of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum..."

He clenched his fists and raised his chin. "I'm confident that even a Soul King's full-power strike cannot break my defense. Even attacks at the Soul Emperor level, I can take head-on without being injured!"

"Oh?" She Long raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "Big words. Come on, Grandpa will personally test just how tough that armor of yours is!"

Zhang Fei looked smug. "Bring it on, Grandpa. Try attacking me now. Put some strength into it—don't hold back!"

"Hmph, asking for a beating!"

She Long gave him a look, nodded, and walked up to Zhang Fei without another word.

He did not use his Snake Lance. Instead, he circulated his Soul Power and threw a punch at Zhang Fei's chest.

He used less than half his strength in this punch, roughly equivalent to a powerful strike from a Soul Ancestor.

Clang!

With a crisp metallic ring, She Long's fist was violently bounced away by the pale golden armor. The recoil left his wrist slightly numb. Meanwhile, the armor did not budge in the slightest—not even a ripple appeared on it.

"Oh?" A trace of surprise flashed through She Long's eyes.

"Grandpa, are you scratching an itch for me? Get serious!" Zhang Fei said with a grin, patting his chest.

"You brat, look how cocky you are!"

She Long laughed as he scolded him, and bluish-purple Soul Power gathered around his fist once more.

This time, he used nearly seventy percent of his strength. The punch he threw had already reached the full power of a Soul King!

Bang!!!

His fist smashed against the Sacred Dragon Golden Body armor. The armor shook violently, its dragon-scale patterns flowing as they weakened the terrifying force layer by layer.

This time, his fist finally penetrated the armor's defense and struck Zhang Fei in the chest.

But sixty to seventy percent of its power had already been weakened. The remaining force was nowhere near enough to injure Zhang Fei.

His body was merely pushed back several steps by the force, and he easily took the punch.

"This..."

She Long withdrew his fist and exclaimed in shock, "This Soul Skill is simply outrageous! A punch of mine stronger than the Soul King level was actually endured head-on by a mere Soul Elder like you?!"

Zhang Fei chuckled. "Grandpa, do you believe me now? With this Golden Body, who at the same rank can break my defense? If I activate my first Soul Skill too, I can completely withstand a strike close to the Soul Emperor level."

She Long looked at Zhang Fei before him and was momentarily dazed. Is this really my grandson?

"Good! Good! Good!" She Long heavily patted Zhang Fei on the shoulder. "Xiao Fei, you've grown up. Grandpa is proud of you!"

Zhang Fei put away his martial soul. Seeing She Long's excited expression, he smiled. "Hehehe! This is only the beginning."

Then his tone shifted, and he asked tentatively, "Grandpa, my strength is decent now, right? Does that mean I can return to the Crown Prince's Residence?"

"Of course not." She Long immediately put on a stern expression, his tone leaving no room for argument. "With this little strength of yours, you only barely have some ability to protect yourself. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will not let you go so easily. All they need is to send a high-ranking Soul Emperor, and he can easily beat you flat."

He paused, then continued, "The young master and I discussed it. Before you break through rank fifty and possess combat power truly sufficient for self-preservation, you cannot return to Heaven Dou City. This is for your own good."

"Huh? Rank fifty? How long will that take?" Zhang Fei asked, his face falling.

She Long raised his hand and smacked Zhang Fei on the head. "Brat, you already can't stand staying here? If you want to return sooner, then work twice as hard at cultivating! If you dare slack off, I'll break your legs!"

"Ow!" Zhang Fei clutched his head, baring his teeth in pain. "Got it, got it. It's just breaking through rank fifty. Why are you being so fierce?"

"Enough. Let's go. I'll take you back to Balak City first."

She Long used his Soul Power to lift Zhang Fei. The two shot into the air and sped toward the edge of the forest.