Revealing His True Form, Eight Hundred Thousand Years

Tang San stared at the playful curve at the corner of Yu Chen's mouth, and the last trace of warmth in his eyes froze over inch by inch.

Having lived two lives and judged countless people, Tang San's eye for others had never failed. Anyone who caught his attention had ultimately bowed their head and obeyed. Yet this half-grown child, from the moment he appeared until now, had not shown the slightest fear in his eyes. It gave Tang San a visceral sense of discomfort.

An utterly clear thought surfaced in his mind—this person could not be tamed.

That smile suddenly became blindingly offensive in his eyes, as though it were mocking his earlier charity of "granting him a future." Tang San slowly lowered his gaze, and every thought of recruitment vanished.

Since he could not have him, he would destroy him.

The instant that thought arose, the gentle, jade-like mask Tang San wore receded like the tide, revealing the cold, razor-sharp nature beneath. Within Sea God's Realm, the once-calm sea suddenly boiled. Blue-gold divine power gathered frantically, turning into tentacle-like streams of light that spread toward Yu Chen. The air instantly became thick and heavy; every breath felt like swallowing frigid air laced with shards of ice.

The pressure of a half-step God King crashed down without reservation.

It felt as though an ancient divine mountain had settled upon his shoulders. Yu Chen's bones groaned under the unbearable strain, and the Soul Power in his meridians surged wildly. He understood clearly—standing before him was a half-step God King, while he was merely an eleven-year-old Soul Emperor. The gap between them was an uncrossable chasm.

The Icefire Dragon Kings clearly understood this as well. The two dragon souls endured the pressure and positioned themselves to Yu Chen's left and right. Their dragon bodies trembled slightly, yet they stood firm as rocks and did not retreat a single step.

"Honored Lord, we'll hold him back. Quickly find a chance to break through space and escape!" the Ice Dragon King transmitted through gritted teeth, her voice resolute.

The Fire Dragon King hesitated even less, directly igniting her remnant soul. Crimson dragon flames shot into the sky.

Yet this was merely their final burst of light. Even with everything they had, the two dragon souls could only briefly unleash the strength of third-class gods. Between a third-class god and a half-step God King lay a distance even more despairing than that between a Soul Master and a Titled Douluo.

This was not a battle. It was slaughter by overwhelming superiority.

Tang San watched coldly, a contemptuous smile curling at his lips. "Two remnant souls, and you dare try to stop me?"

He could not even be bothered to raise a hand. With a slight movement of his will, the laws of Sea God's Realm tightened. An invisible hand appeared from nowhere and crushed the Icefire Dragon Kings down. The light on their dragon bodies visibly dimmed, like candles flickering in the wind.

"Honored Lord... run..."

Yu Chen clenched his fists so tightly that his nails pierced his palms, blood dripping down. Run? Where could he run? This was Tang San's divine domain. A Soul Emperor could not even touch the barriers of space.

Tang San approached at an unhurried pace. With every step he took, the crushing pressure on Yu Chen increased another degree. He stopped thirty feet away, looking down at the youth who could neither kneel nor stand straight.

"I gave you a way to live once. You were the one who refused it." Tang San's voice was calm and utterly without fluctuation, as though he were discussing a useless vessel. "Since you abandoned it, don't blame me for being ruthless."

The Golden Trident slowly rose. Its icy golden tip pointed directly at Yu Chen's brow, and a speck of blue-gold light gathered at its point. Though tiny, it contained enough terrifying power to reduce a Titled Douluo to ashes.

"Today will be the day you die."

Just as that destructive strike was about to fall—"Honored Lord!!"

Two shrill, furious roars exploded. The Icefire Dragon Kings actually forced themselves free from the restraints of the laws. Their dragon bodies shot down like falling meteors, blocking Yu Chen without hesitation.

"No—!" Yu Chen's pupils constricted. He reached out to seize them, but grasped only emptiness.

Blue-gold divine power crashed down with devastating force. The Ice Dragon King's body instantly exploded, leaving only a wisp of soul; the Fire Dragon King's scales shattered, and her remnant soul burned away. The two dragons slammed heavily into the sea, turning into two dim points of light before extinguishing.

The Icefire Dragon Kings' remnant souls had fallen.

Yu Chen stared blankly at the fading light, his hand trembling. Not from fear, but from boundless rage. It was fury enough to burn away reason, erupting from the depths of his chest.

They were his subjects. Ever since the Auspicious Body awakened, they had recognized him as their master and entrusted their lives to him. Yet he could only watch as they took a fatal blow in his place.

"You..." Yu Chen's voice was hoarse and shattered, thick with the scent of blood.

The next instant, he suddenly raised his head.

Those eyes had changed.

The once-clear pupils were consumed by spreading gold. Ancient dragon markings crept from the corners of his eyes across his cheeks. Tang San frowned slightly as an instinctive sense of danger rose within him.

"This is..."

Yu Chen's body rapidly expanded. His clothes burst apart, and golden dragon scales covered his skin, each one engraved with ancient runes. His spine reformed and extended amid bone-chilling cracks, while his limbs transformed into thick dragon claws.

A savage dragon tail burst from his body. With a casual sweep, it cleaved a vast abyss across the sea's surface.

A dragon's roar rose.

It was no mortal dragon cry, but the supreme sound that came from primordial antiquity and resounded through heaven and earth. The sound waves rolled outward, shaking all of Sea God's Realm violently. Spiderweb-like cracks even appeared across the blue-gold sky overhead.

A giant dragon stood in the air.

Its entire body shone like gold. Its scales seemed forged from divine iron, and its horns pierced the heavens like coral. Its golden dragon eyes reflected the entire God Realm, their majesty impossible to behold directly. Between its horns, a golden dragon pearl flickered in and out of sight; merely a wisp of its aura made heaven and earth change color.

Boundless golden dragon might pressed down from above, forcing the waters of Sea God's Realm down by dozens of yards.

The Golden Dragon King?

No—purer and more ancient than the Golden Dragon King!

Tang San's pupils suddenly contracted, and a crack finally appeared in his composed expression. "Your true form... is actually a Golden Dragon?!"

He instinctively stepped back half a pace, then fixed his eyes on that golden dragon body. The gravity in his gaze faded, replaced by almost crazed greed.

"No, not an ordinary Golden Dragon. It has reverted to its ancestors..." Tang San muttered, calculation growing ever thicker in his eyes. "Its bloodline is infinitely close to the Golden Dragon King's true body? No wonder its fortune is so immense... If such a bloodline could be brought under the Tang Family..."

Yet he did not know that his judgment was wrong from the very foundation.

Yu Chen's bloodline was not merely "close" to the Golden Dragon King—it surpassed him. It was a unique Dragon God-level bloodline nurtured by the laws of the universe, the ancestor of all dragons! The Golden Dragon King was merely the incomplete half-body left after the Dragon God's fall.

Tang San was immersed in the ecstasy of claiming a treasure for himself. Looking at the golden giant dragon, all he saw was a vast mineral vein waiting to be claimed.

"An Eight-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?" Tang San raised his brow slightly and slowly circled Yu Chen, as though admiring an interesting prey. "No wonder you were so confident. But I am curious—since you have already taken human form, how can you still freely switch back to your true body?"

He shook his head, his smile growing colder. "What a pity. It is meaningless."

He raised the trident and casually pointed it at Yu Chen, as though indicating an ant he could crush at any moment.

"The gap between an Eight-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and a half-step God King is like that between the deep sea and the heavens. This is an uncrossable chasm."

Yu Chen said nothing. He merely slowly spread his wings.

Their span blotted out the sky, ancient star-like patterns flowing across the golden wing membranes. In those golden vertical pupils, rage erupted like magma—the pride of a dragon from the depths of his bloodline.

"Even if I cannot defeat you, so what? Even if I die, so what?"

Yu Chen's voice was low and hoarse, rumbling like rolling thunder. His massive dragon body leaned forward slightly, and his golden eyes locked firmly onto Tang San.

"I—will—never—be—a—slave."

The four words struck like thunder across the universe. Golden dragon might climbed to its peak, and another dragon roar shook the sky as the cracks in the heavens spread wildly.

Tang San froze for a moment, then laughed. There was no anger in that smile, only lofty amusement—as though he were watching a child charge into an army of thousands while brandishing a wooden sword.

"Good, good, good. You have spirit. But your end can only be—falling here."

Before his words had even faded, wind and thunder surged forth.

Yu Chen struck first. The golden giant dragon transformed into a streak of light, its wings beating fiercely as it lunged forward at the extreme speed of an Eight-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. His right claw rose, five Golden Dragon Claws tearing five black spatial rifts through the air—

"Soul Skill—Space-Rending Claw!"

With a furious roar, the dragon claw crashed down carrying destructive force. Countless fragments of space, wrapped in an aura of ruin, howled toward Tang San like a storm.

Yet Tang San did not move an inch.

He merely raised the trident carelessly and held it across his body.

"Clang—!"

A muffled boom so heavy it made hearts tremble rang out. A terrifying shockwave ground outward from the two of them, instantly crushing the sea within miles into a deep pit and sending seawater spiraling into the sky.

Then—

Yu Chen's dragon claw was knocked away.

It was like striking divine iron with all his strength. The rebounding force surged madly up his arm. Cracks covered all five Golden Dragon Claws, and golden dragon blood seeped out.

"Is that all?" Tang San's voice remained calm behind the curtain of water. "The full-force strike of an Eight-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is only this much? It is not even enough to scratch an itch."

He casually flicked the dragon blood from his trident. "A mortal is still a mortal."

Yu Chen's dragon body shook violently, his claw bones cracking. Pain drilled into his heart, but he clenched his teeth tightly. He refused to believe in fate!

His dragon wings beat again. He twisted back through the air and launched a second charge with even more violent force.

Space-Rending Claw! Again!

"Clang—!" At the second collision, the cracks on his claw widened, and golden blood splattered.

The third time. "Clang—!" The scales on his left claw exploded away, leaving mangled flesh.

The fourth time. "Clang—!" One claw on his right hand snapped off entirely, golden blood pouring like a waterfall.

The fifth time.

Before Yu Chen's attack could arrive, Tang San finally moved.

He merely swung his arm backward.

Only one stroke of the trident.

The Golden Trident swept out casually, trailing blue-gold divine radiance. Fast—too fast. Yu Chen had no time to evade. He only felt a chill spread across his chest and abdomen—

"Pfft—!"

A horrifying wound suddenly appeared across the golden giant dragon's chest, slicing through his entire torso. Dragon scales shattered, and dragon blood sprayed forth. The enormous dragon body was blasted away like a kite with its string cut, rolling across the sea for dozens of miles and plowing a shocking trench through the water.

Yu Chen lay prone on the sea, gasping heavily. His chest wound was so deep that bone could be seen. He tried to push himself up, but his broken dragon claws slipped again and again across the slick surface.

Three fingers on his right claw were broken, while the scales on his left claw had been completely destroyed. His dragon wings were riddled with holes, and the bone in his left wing was bent at a grotesque angle.

It was utterly devastating.

From the moment they clashed until now, only a dozen breaths had passed. An Eight-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could not even force his opponent to take a single step.

Tang San floated in the sky, looking down indifferently at the giant dragon barely clinging to life on the sea.

"Do you see now? This is the chasm. No matter how you struggle, no matter how furious you become, it is all futile."

Yu Chen lay in the water, golden dragon blood continuously spilling from the corners of his mouth. The light in his dragon eyes flickered in and out.

But the fire in those eyes had still not gone out.