Technique Reversal or Reverse Cursed Technique

The wind and rain raged outside, but the room shut out all clamor, leaving only the faint sound of breathing.

Chen An pushed the door open, moving so lightly that he made no sound at all.

Through the resonance of their shared origin, he found Tang Wuling's room. His gaze quietly settled on the girl sitting cross-legged in the center.

Tang Wuling had her eyes tightly shut, her body trembling slightly. She had already entered the state.

Using a Hundred-Year Ice Crystal Fruit together with a Hundred-Year Crimson Flame Fruit to temper the body normally required a protector whose cultivation far surpassed one's own, someone to guide and balance the opposing forces of ice and fire.

But Tang Wuling had no companion and no protector. Gritting her teeth, she swallowed them alone and forced her way through this life-or-death trial.

Chen An did not go forward to disturb her. He silently sat cross-legged in a corner not far from her and stood guard.

He still believed Tang Wuling could endure the pain of tempering her body and successfully break through the first seal.

Time slowly passed, and the pain of the tempering suddenly swept through Tang Wuling's entire body.

The first sensation to surge forth was searing heat.

Crimson flames spread through her limbs and throughout her body. It felt as though she had fallen into a blazing furnace, her internal organs scorched by intense heat.

Fine beads of cold sweat poured out wildly, only to be evaporated by the heat in an instant. Her skin reddened all over, and the scorching temperature even vaporized the sweat dripping onto the floor, raising wisps of white mist.

Tang Wuling's body began to shake violently beyond her control, her teeth clenched tight.

Fine golden markings, like chain patterns, slowly emerged from her forehead, spreading down her neck and arms across her entire body. They were a sign that the Golden Dragon King seal was stirring.

She endured the burning pain for dozens of seconds through sheer tenacity. Just as the heat began to subside during a brief interval, bone-piercing cold suddenly struck.

One hot, one cold—the two extremes reversed.

Extreme cold seeped through her bloodline, freezing her flesh and numbing her nerves.

The first thing unable to withstand the extreme temperature difference was her clothing. Torn and crushed by the opposing forces of ice and fire, the fabric shattered inch by inch into fine powder.

Chen An slightly turned his gaze away, unable to bear looking any further.

Even a Three-Ring Grand Soul Master who swallowed them recklessly could easily suffer bodily damage and be left with hidden injuries that would never heal.

Yet Tang Wuling, with only Level 12 Soul Power, was forcibly enduring the ice-and-fire tempering.

After two different forms of extreme pain came the third—the effect of dragon-type soul beast blood.

The pain drilled into her heart and gouged at her bones. Tang Wuling finally could not hold back a cry.

But she was still persevering.

This was only the beginning. What came next, the backlash from the Golden Dragon King Origin, was the true hellish torture capable of crushing both body and mind.

Sure enough, the next second, a heart-rending, soul-piercing roar exploded within the sealed room.

"Aaaahhhhh!!!!"

The miserable cry shook the air, carrying the girl's unbearable pain and struggle.

All three agonies erupted from within her body at once.

Chen An instinctively raised his hands to cover his ears, his expression calm.

He knew how the story was supposed to unfold. Tang Wuling would soon lose strength and faint under the extreme pain, using that opportunity to complete the initial breakthrough of the first seal. The Golden Dragon King Origin would briefly lose control and leak out.

This was also the opportunity he had waited so long for.

He silently counted down in his heart, quietly waiting for that moment to arrive.

A few breaths later, Tang Wuling's screams suddenly weakened.

Her slender body crashed heavily onto the floor. Her limbs twitched and spasmed uncontrollably, and fragmented groans of pain still escaped her throat. Every inch of her muscles struggled amid extreme soreness and numbness.

At the same time, the restraints of the Golden Dragon King's long-confined first seal shattered. Majestic, domineering golden aura burst uncontrollably from her body and filled the entire room.

The Dragon Scale on Chen An's chest, linked to the Dragon God's shared origin, suddenly lit up with brilliant golden light.

An invisible suction force silently spread outward. The wildly drifting, violent yet pure Golden Dragon King Origin aura gathered toward Chen An like countless rivers flowing into the sea.

The incomparably pure draconic origin continuously nourished his body and washed through his Soul Power.

He broke through Level 29, then Level 30.

In just a few breaths, Chen An quietly completed two consecutive breakthroughs. His Soul Power became thick and abundant, while his body was further strengthened by the nourishment of the Golden Dragon King Origin.

[Identity: Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in Human Form]

[Age: 9 years old (human form)]

[Appearance: C+ (young girl)]

[Bloodline: Carp (Special Dragon Species)]

[Bloodline Evolution Progress: 27%]

[Talent Sequence 199: Luck (Level 3)]

[Martial Soul: Verdant Crimson Fish Scales]

[Soul Power: Level 30]

[First Soul Ring: 1001 years]

[Second Soul Ring: 1010 years]

[Third Soul Ring: 900 years] (forcibly suppressed to a hundred-year ring due to insufficient spiritual power)

[Spiritual Power: 400]

[First Soul Skill: Ripple]

[Second Soul Skill: Insight]

[Third Soul Skill: ?]

[Available Draws: 1 (next draw obtained at Level 35)]

But just as he restrained his aura and stabilized his cultivation, another sudden change occurred in the room.

The Golden Dragon King aura that had originally been spilling out wildly plummeted like a cliff collapse, instantly retracting completely.

Tang Wuling suddenly coughed up a mouthful of bright red blood. Her aura withered completely, and she could no longer make even the faintest groan of pain. Only the weak rise and fall of her chest proved that she was still alive.

Her breathing was rapid and weak, and every inhale carried unmistakable difficulty.

"What happened?"

Chen An's brows furrowed sharply as he muttered under his breath.

A normal breakthrough should not have looked like this.

According to the established course of events, after Tang Wuling successfully broke through the first seal, she would be weak and exhausted, but her aura would remain stable. There should never have been signs of her life force draining away.

He strode forward and crouched beside the girl on the floor.

The golden markings remaining on the surface of her skin still flickered unpredictably, alternating between bright and dim without any sign of fading. This was a sign that the seal breakthrough had been incomplete and the backlash of the origin remained inside her body.

Seeing the girl weak and on the verge of death, Chen An felt an inexplicably powerful urge rise within him to reach out and touch her, to examine her condition.

But his absolute rationality stopped him at once.

He could not touch her.

Recklessly touching her could easily trigger a second disruption and cause irreversible consequences.

But the situation before him had clearly already gone wrong.

Tang Wuling's aura continued to weaken, her life force rapidly draining away. Her condition had become critical beyond measure.

There was no external aid left to rely on—no spiritual treasures, no cultivation techniques, and no one else to help.

Chen An's gaze darkened as he stared fixedly at Tang Wuling, who lay on the floor with a weak aura, barely clinging to life.

He looked at his Roulette. He had just gained one chance to draw.

The Roulette sections had refreshed. He could choose to draw either a Soul Skill or a special ability.

Chen An chose a special ability. The sections changed, but he did not even look at what appeared. He simply pressed the activation button.

"I want to exchange Soul Power for a stronger Luck effect." (It appeared in Chapter 14.)

As long as Tang Wulin was fine, it would not be difficult to cultivate that Soul Power back.

Level 30 dropped back to Level 29.

The gale raged outside, and a peal of thunder struck down.

[Talent Sequence 199: Luck (Level 4)]

The Roulette changed speed, and the indicator pointed toward a section from the same draw pool where Luck had appeared before.

—Alter Soul Power output and learn the Reverse Cursed Technique to heal the body.

Chen An stared at his hands, waiting for his Soul Power output to transform into the pure-white Reverse Cursed Technique before touching Tang Wuling.