Xu Changqing listened, and a possibility surfaced in his mind. He blurted out, "The dragon you mentioned... could it be Prison Mirage?"
Zhao Ziyue froze for a moment, nearly losing his grip on the fishing rod. His face was full of surprise. "How did you know it was a Mirage Dragon?"
Xu Changqing looked at him with a faint, inscrutable smile and did not answer directly.
Prison Mirage's dragon soul was still buried within his Portable Space.
Moreover, it had already become the first Dragon Vein in that space.
Back then, he had wondered why there was only a dragon soul but no Dragon Pearl.
Now, everything became clear at once. So Lao Zhao had absorbed it.
No wonder Lao Zhao had been the one taken away during the Hundred Dragons' Procession.
So this karmic thread had been buried long, long ago.
"It was because of this Mirage Dragon Pearl that the Lord of the Ruins chose me."
Zhao Ziyue shook the fishing rod in his hand. The line sent ripples spreading through the chaotic mist, and he continued, "Dragons like Mirage Dragons are unbelievably rare across the entire universe of starfields.
"The Lord of the Ruins said that this Dragon Pearl had remained in my body for two hundred years and fused with my divine soul and bloodline. That was why I was the most suitable person to become an angler."
He paused, his tone carrying a trace of emotion. "With the Lord of the Ruins's help, my cultivation soared to the Second-Layer Spirit Transformation Realm.
"To be honest, I thought my fortune was one of a kind.
"Back then, I even thought, Lao Xu, Lao Hu—when we met again, I'd surely have left you both far behind."
At this point, Zhao Ziyue looked Xu Changqing up and down,