666, This Savage Has Gained Intelligence

After eating and drinking her fill, Tang Wuling patted her slightly rounded belly in satisfaction and finally rose from the table with reluctance.

The mountain of empty plates and bowls piled across the table bore witness to the epic feast that had just taken place.

After wiping the corner of her mouth, she bid Qi Ji farewell and returned to the cultivation room Gu Chaosheng had specially built for her.

This cultivation room was located in a quiet courtyard on the outskirts of Mingdu. Though it could not compare to the top-tier underground cultivation facilities of the War God Temple, its soundproofing and spirit-gathering effects were both excellent—more than enough for her to undergo a breakthrough in peace.

Tang Wuling sat cross-legged on the spirit-gathering cushion in the center of the room, formed a hand seal, and slowly closed her eyes.

There was only one thought in her heart—break through to level thirty. She absolutely could not be slower than Gu Yuena.

Otherwise, what right would she have to call herself "Qi Ji's guardian" in front of Qi Ji?

No matter what, she could not let that silver-haired woman surpass her.

Clinging to that obsession, Tang Wuling's breathing gradually became long and steady, and the Soul Power within her began to circulate slowly along the path of her cultivation technique.

Her consciousness sank deeper and deeper into her body, while her awareness of the outside world gradually blurred. Her whole being entered a state of deep meditation.

Who knew how much time passed before Tang Wuling's consciousness slowly opened its eyes amid a haze of chaos.

To her surprise, she found herself standing in a vast, boundless spiritual world. A faint golden mist filled the surroundings, warm and gentle.

At the center of that space, an incomparably enormous golden dragon coiled across the sky. Its body wound like an endless mountain range, with no end in sight. Vast, terrifying power flowed across its golden scales. Its dragon eyes were half-closed, as though it were asleep, yet also as though it were waiting for something.

"Isn't this my martial soul?"

Tang Wuling blurted out in surprise.

That familiar golden dragon silhouette was clearly the Golden Dragon martial soul that she had lived with day and night, one that had long since fused into her bloodline.

Yet the Golden Dragon before her seemed somewhat different from the martial soul phantom she usually summoned.

It was larger, its aura more ancient. The oppressive sensation originating from the depths of its bloodline was countless times stronger than her own Golden Dragon martial soul. It was as though this was the true source, while the martial soul she used in daily life was merely the projection of this colossal dragon's shadow.

Why was there another Golden Dragon inside her body?

And it seemed to be bound by something. Pale golden lines of light wrapped around the dragon's body like chains, yet also like... seals.

Tang Wuling frowned.

She quickly recalled the past—Tang Ziran and his wife had found her abandoned by the roadside. After she awakened her Twin Martial Souls, the Golden Dragon and the Soft Bone Rabbit, Tang Ziran and his wife had told her the truth.

They were merely ordinary people without Soul Power. Though they lived in poverty, they had given her all their love and warmth.

But who were her biological parents? Why had they abandoned her?

Those questions had always been buried in her heart without answers.

But now, it seemed that the seal within her body could never have been placed by ordinary people without Soul Power like Tang Ziran and his wife. In other words... had her biological parents done it?

But why? Why had they sealed a giant dragon inside her? And after doing all that, why had they discarded her like some unwanted relic in the grass by the roadside?

Tang Wuling could not make sense of it. She raised her head and looked at the golden dragon silhouette, her gaze slowly sweeping over the layered seal patterns on its body before finally settling on the outermost seal, which was already on the verge of collapse and seemed ready to break naturally at any moment.

The seal's glow had dimmed to the extreme, and the edges of its patterns trembled faintly like a bubble about to burst. It only needed the slightest touch to be pierced.

She hesitated for a moment, but still extended her hand, her fingertip slowly reaching toward the seal.

"Child... don't be so reckless."

The instant before her fingertip touched the seal, a hand reached out from beside her and firmly grasped her wrist.

That hand was neither warm nor cold, carrying a solid, reassuring weight. Its grip was not strong, yet it could not be broken free from.

Tang Wuling abruptly turned her head and warily looked toward the figure that had suddenly appeared behind her.

He was a man with waterfall-like aqua-blue hair that fell all the way to his ankles. The tips drifted slightly, as though submerged in seawater.

If not for his imposing build and broad shoulders, one might have mistaken him for a woman from behind.

He wore a luxurious blue robe, its surface seeming to ripple with flowing waves. Countless tiny blue lights wandered across the fabric. If one looked too closely, their gaze would instantly be drawn into that deep azure, and even their entire soul might be swallowed by that ocean-like, bottomless blue.

He looked only a little over twenty, so handsome that he seemed inhuman. His features were well-defined yet gentle, but his eyes were profound, as though they had experienced countless ages.

Those eyes appeared empty, yet seemed to contain everything. A hint of purple occasionally flashed through them, stirring the soul with a quality of fleeting splendor and instant deathly oblivion.

Standing there, he was like a living ocean—calm and peaceful on the surface, yet concealing beneath it the power to destroy everything.

"Who are you?"

Tang Wuling violently pulled back her hand, swiftly retreating two steps as she assumed a defensive stance. Her eyes were full of vigilance and suspicion.

She would not lower her guard so easily before someone of unknown origin.

Even if this was a spiritual world, who knew what this person who had suddenly appeared really was?

"I... I don't know either."

Yet the figure shook his head, genuine confusion appearing on his face, as though he himself was puzzled by his own existence.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands, then raised it again. His gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if he were struggling to remember something but could not. "I only remember... that my surname seems to be Tang. You can call me Old Tang."

After a pause, his gaze fell upon the golden dragon, and his tone turned solemn. "I came to protect you. I know what this is—these are eighteen seals containing the essence of the Golden Dragon King. You must never undo them lightly. If you cannot bear the Golden Dragon King's power, your body may explode, and even your soul could be torn apart by that violent force."

"Of course... you can't simply leave it alone forever." Old Tang's tone softened somewhat, carrying the concern and worry of an elder.

"If you have not undone the first seal before the age of ten, your body will also collapse because it cannot bear the Dragon King's essence. My mission seems to be to guide you in gradually mastering the Golden Dragon King's power, so that you can undo each seal at the right time and in the right way."

Old Tang spoke sincerely. His deep eyes held an inexplicable gentleness, like a father looking at a child who had yet to grow up.

Tang Wuling stared at him for a long while, her gaze repeatedly sweeping over his blue hair, blue robe, and those eyes that seemed to contain an entire ocean, as though judging whether his words were true.

Only after a long time did she slowly speak, her tone calm after careful thought. "You've rambled on for so long... I think I understand. I probably wasn't originally from Douluo Continent, was I? Maybe my true homeland was that Divine Realm that has already disappeared. And my Golden Dragon martial soul... perhaps it was born because of this Golden Dragon King, formed from the sealed power within me seeping out."

Old Tang fell silent for a moment before slowly nodding. "That possibility cannot be ruled out."

Tang Wuling's mind raced as she connected every clue she knew—his surname was Tang, the Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul, blue hair, eyes like the ocean, the sealed power of the Golden Dragon King, apparent knowledge of the Divine Realm, and the name Old Tang...

Her pupils suddenly contracted. A name exploded in her mind like thunder crashing through the depths of her soul.

"You... you're fucking Sea God Tang San!"