Old Tang!

After exchanging only a few words, the group returned to their dormitories.

Tang Wulin and Wang Dong shared a dorm room.

Gu Yuena lingered reluctantly at the stairwell, looking back for a long while.

Her silver-white hair gleamed softly beneath the dim lights of the corridor.

She gripped the stair railing, the light in her purple eyes flickering twice. In the end, she said nothing and turned to head up to the fourth floor.

Huo Yuhao pushed open the door next door, and its hinges let out a dry creak.

He paused in the doorway, then turned his head and gave Tang Wulin a slight nod.

A faint warmth of gratitude still lingered on his youthful face.

Then he gently closed the door.

Tang Wulin withdrew his gaze and turned to enter Room 108.

Wang Dong sat properly on the edge of his bed, his legs dangling as they swung lightly.

His blue-pink short hair was coated in a faint silvery sheen under the moonlight spilling through the window.

He was neither cultivating nor lying down to rest.

His gaze rested quietly on Tang Wulin, carrying an indescribable scrutiny. His lips pressed together slightly, and a shallow furrow formed between his brows.

Tang Wulin did not look at him. He walked straight to his own bed and sat down cross-legged.

He closed his eyes, and his breathing swiftly calmed. His back was straight and upright.

Moonlight slanted in through the gap in the window, spilling across half his shoulder.

It made him seem as though he had been glazed with a layer of cold white jade, clear and aloof.

Wang Dong stared quietly at his figure for a long time.

At last, he could not help lowering his voice and muttering softly, so quietly it was almost to himself.

"Why do I feel like he looks somewhat similar to me..."

"I feel inexplicably close to him..."

He tilted his head slightly, his fingers unconsciously tugging at the edge of the bedsheet.

Strands of blue-pink hair slipped over his ear, covering half an eye.

He did not raise a hand to brush them aside, simply continuing to gaze quietly at Tang Wulin.

A confusion and tenderness he could not even put into words surfaced in his eyes.

After a long while, he let out a long breath.

At last, he sat cross-legged properly, closed his eyes, and slowly began circulating his soul power to cultivate.

The night flowed silently beyond the window.

The shadows of parasol tree leaves were shattered by the evening breeze, scattered unevenly across the windowsill.

Light and shadow alternated, as if gently keeping time for the tranquil moonlight.

The instant Tang Wulin's consciousness sank into his spiritual sea, heaven and earth fell completely silent.

A magnificent golden palace stood upon the crystal-clear sea.

The sea was calm and unruffled, like an entire sheet of frozen golden glass.

The moment he stepped onto the stone stairs before the palace, Old Tang emerged slowly from within.

His steps were unhurried, and his face bore the same gentle smile as always.

His eyes, fixed on Tang Wulin, were filled with the generosity and warmth unique to an elder.

"What? You only just unlocked the sixth seal, and you're already thinking about the seventh?"

Old Tang stopped before him, his tone even and conversational.

"You're being a little too hasty. Although the Golden Dragon King bloodline in your body has stabilized quite well, the seventh seal is far stronger than the previous six. Forcing a breakthrough rashly could easily lead to an accident."

Tang Wulin smiled faintly, his hands tucked into his sleeves and his posture relaxed.

"I'm not in a hurry. I just want to find out what materials I'll need and make preparations in advance. As long as I know what to expect, I won't be scrambling when it's time to break through."

Old Tang watched him quietly for two or three breaths.

His gaze carried a careful scrutiny, confirming that Tang Wulin was not acting out of impatience.

Only then did he slowly nod and turn to walk two steps into the palace.

As he walked, he spoke slowly.

His tone was steady and familiar, as though reciting a list he had long since memorized.

"The seventh seal requires five exclusive heavenly treasures: Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon-Scale Fruit, Ten-Thousand-Year Azure Jade Root, Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood, Ten-Thousand-Year Frost Lingzhi, and Ten-Thousand-Year Flame Lotus."

Tang Wulin stood quietly where he was and listened seriously, but inside, he was roaring, That many? That expensive?

OMG, you scared me...

He raised his eyes toward Old Tang's back, his voice relaxed and indifferent, though he was barely holding himself together.

"Fine."

Old Tang did not turn around, merely nodding slightly.

He took several more steps forward before his footsteps abruptly paused.

Turning his head slightly, he deliberately lowered his voice by half a note.

"Oh, right. Your spiritual sea has been rather restless lately."

"Haven't you noticed anything unusual yourself?"

Tang Wulin raised a brow, his expression calm.

"What is it?"

"Some time ago, a strand of gray divine consciousness entered your spiritual sea."

Old Tang's tone remained placid, as though he were merely stating an objective fact.

"I examined it carefully, and there was not the slightest trace of malice."

"So I temporarily placed it in a corner of your spiritual sea. It has remained dormant ever since and has yet to awaken."

Tang Wulin was slightly startled, but understanding dawned on him at once.

Gray divine consciousness, dormant, completely harmless.

He knew those traits all too well.

It was Electrolux.

For some reason, this fallen Holy Necromancer had chosen him instead of Huo Yuhao.

His thoughts raced.

Electrolux's power had to be firmly controlled in his own hands.

The unique undead demi-plane and the mysterious, powerful undead magic.

Either one was an ultimate trump card capable of overturning the entire continent's balance.

If it fell into Huo Yuhao's hands, Tang Wulin would feel uneasy.

If it fell into anyone else's hands, he would not be able to rest easy.

This blade, capable of shaking heaven and earth—

From the very beginning, it should have been held firmly in his own palm.

"I understand."

Tang Wulin answered, his tone steady and unruffled.

"Leave him there for now. We'll talk once he wakes up on his own."

Old Tang said no more and turned to continue deeper into the palace.

Tang Wulin remained where he was for a moment.

His gaze swept lightly over the dark shadow in the corner of his spiritual sea.

A gray, misty cluster of divine consciousness lay curled quietly in the depths of that shadow.

It gave off no light, made no sound, and showed no fluctuation, like a stubborn stone forgotten for ages.

He withdrew his gaze and did not approach to disturb its dormancy.

He sat down cross-legged before the palace and closed his eyes once more.

Following the method Old Tang had taught him, he slowly circulated the soul power throughout his body. Gentle, enduring power flowed slowly along his meridians, seeping bit by bit into the long-silent extraordinary meridians and eight channels, opening them up as though fresh water were being drawn once more into a riverbed dry for years.

Every circulation was incomparably slow and incomparably cautious. Fine ripples spread across the surrounding golden sea.

A faint, lingering hum filled the void.

Suddenly, from the deepest reaches of his spiritual sea, a low and weighty dragon's roar sounded faintly in the distance. It came from a bottomless abyss, ancient and muffled, as though it had traveled through layer upon layer of heavy barriers, carrying the savagery and unwillingness suppressed for countless ages.

Tang Wulin's meridians trembled lightly, and an extremely faint golden pattern quietly lit up between his brows.

An invisible barrier formed instantly, answering the distant dragon's roar. Green and purple light flashed by in an instant, and the heavy sound grew farther and softer until it vanished completely, sinking into the depths of the golden spiritual sea.