Thunder Dragon

The sun sank slowly, its orange-red rays filtering through the towering Ancient Trees and scattering dappled light across the forest floor.

The group had just joined forces to kill the Shadow Nether Leopard, and Yu Feng and Osler had absorbed Soul Rings in turn. After several hard fights, everyone had burned through a great deal of Soul Power, and each of them carried injuries.

Dugu Bo's arrival gave them a chance to rest. They chose a dry clearing on higher ground. With Dugu Bo and Su Wu, two Title Douluo, among them, they had no fear of Soul Beast attacks.

They set to work at once, and before long, seven spacious tents stood in the clearing.

Jiang Baiyu took out some medicinal powder and scattered it evenly around the tents to ward off poisonous insects. Soon a campfire was burning. Dry wood crackled, orange flames danced upward, and warmth drove back the cold damp creeping from deep within the forest.

They sat around the fire eating Soul Beast meat, their taut nerves finally easing.

Yu Feng sat beside the campfire with a smug smile. "Since getting the Cloud-Piercing Windhawk's Soul Ring, I've gotten a lot faster, and my ranged attacks are stronger too."

His comment sparked a little conversation. As night deepened, the group prepared to sleep.

"Tomorrow we hunt that Ten Thousand Year Thunder Prison Flood Dragon. How are you feeling?" Dugu Bo asked Yu Tianheng.

Yu Tianheng met his gaze with a serious expression. "Don't worry. I'll succeed."

The determination in his eyes made Dugu Bo see him in a new light. "Good. If you succeed, I'll go to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan myself."

Looking at the young man's shining eyes, he paused. "And talk to your grandfather about the two of you."

"Really?" Yu Tianheng could barely contain his excitement.

"Really," Dugu Bo said gruffly. "Now get some rest. You'll need to be sharp tomorrow."

"Got it." Grinning, Yu Tianheng hurried off to his tent.

The peaceful night passed in a blink. At dawn, faint light pierced the layers of towering Ancient Trees, scattering flecks of gold and dispelling the last chill among the trees.

The scattered growls of distant Soul Beasts gradually faded, leaving the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest briefly still. The campfire had long burned out, leaving only a mound of warm ash.

Rested and recovered, the group was back at full strength.

"All right. Our target is the Thunder Prison Flood Dragon." Jiang Baiyu pointed into the distant forest, his eyes bright.

Everyone's expression turned solemn.

Yu Tianheng curled his hands into fists, battle lust blazing in his eyes. The Thunder Prison Flood Dragon was an exceptionally rare lightning-aspected flood dragon. Its bloodline came close to a True Dragon's and was highly compatible with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. If he could absorb its Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, his foundation, the power of his Soul Skills, and the strength of his dragon aura would far surpass those of Soul Masters at his level. His Martial Soul might even evolve into a True Dragon.

The Shi Mo brothers stepped forward, dense Soul Power from their Black Tortoise Martial Souls covering their bodies. They took up defensive positions, ready to bear the brunt of an attack and hold the formation steady.

Yu Feng and Osler took the left and right flanks, one wind and one shadow. Their jobs were to scout from above and seize chances to strike.

Zhu Zhuqing stood quietly beside Jiang Baiyu. The dark phantom of the Hell Spirit Cat appeared behind her, its feline form sleek and agile, its black sheen subdued and cold. Its ears pricked slightly as it drew its presence in to the limit.

Ye Lingling stood on Jiang Baiyu's other side. With everyone ready, the group pressed deeper into the dense forest.

Half an hour later, the thick trees ahead gave way to an enormous natural valley. The moment they entered, an overwhelming pressure of thunder slammed into them!

The surrounding Soul Power grew increasingly violent. Tiny bursts of lightning filled the dry, scorching air. Residual heat had curled and dried the nearby vegetation. Charred wood littered the ground; the earth was cracked and hard, webbed with countless purple lightning marks. Every weed nearby had withered beneath the lightning's aftershocks, and violent lightning-aspected Soul Power saturated the entire area.

A colossal Sub-Dragon Species beast lay coiled in the valley: a twelve-thousand-year-old Thunder Prison Flood Dragon.

Its body was long and powerful, its head sharp. Hornless like a snake but scaled like a dragon, it possessed a top-tier Sub-Dragon Species bloodline.

Fine, glossy black scales covered its body, and purple prison lightning danced endlessly between them. Deep, domineering arcs crackled across its length. Its four claws were sharp as forged steel, while a light sweep of its thick, powerful tail could crack earth and stone. Cold violet eyes looked down on all before it, and the crushing presence and primal dragon aura unique to a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast surrounded it.

It watched the group warily.

"Move!" Yu Tianheng barked. He summoned his Martial Soul and led the team straight in.

Brilliant blue-violet lightning exploded outward as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul fully possessed him. Thick dragon scales covered his arms, and his own powerful dragon aura surged forward to resist the flood dragon's terrifying pressure.

"Third Soul Skill: Thunder Fury!" Yu Tianheng lunged, lightning coiling around him. He drove a fist packed with surging Soul Power straight at the flood dragon's head!

The Thunder Prison Flood Dragon roared in fury. It wrenched its long neck around and slammed its massive head forward, purple lightning flaring around its body. The clash shattered Yu Tianheng's lightning. Force met force, sending shock waves rolling outward. Yu Tianheng stumbled back, his entire arm numb and trembling.

"Nether Chi Poison Domain!"

Dugu Yan struck at once. Her Jade Nether Chi Dragon Martial Soul glowed dark green, and thick jade-colored poison mist burst forth, spreading in layers around the Thunder Prison Flood Dragon. Countless fine threads of poison wound around its scales, seeking a way in to weaken it.

But the ancient flood dragon had a powerful body, a pure bloodline, and formidable scales. A flash of lightning stopped Dugu Yan's poison before it could take effect or reach its flesh.

The Shi Mo brothers unleashed their Black Tortoise Martial Souls. Two thick, earthen-yellow barriers of tortoise shell rose across the middle of the battlefield, shielding the team from the lightning bursting in every direction.

High overhead, Yu Feng spread his wings, light flashing across his Windhawk Martial Soul!

"Fourth Soul Skill: Cloudflow Wind-Splitting Slash!"

Dozens of razor-sharp wind blades tore through the air, crossing and slicing toward gaps in the flood dragon's defenses. They obscured its vision and disrupted its attacks, forcing the huge beast to turn again and again.

In the shadows, Osler's figure faded completely into the darkness beneath the trees. Using a blind spot, he slipped behind the flood dragon and raked his black claws toward a weak seam between its scales.

"Shadow Devouring Kill!"

The Thunder Prison Flood Dragon sensed him at once. Its thick tail swept across with violent lightning!

Its massive body rolled, and countless bolts of purple prison lightning erupted from it. A savage shock wave swept the clearing, blasting stones into the air and splintering the vegetation!

After sparring with Jiang Baiyu, the group worked together with remarkable ease. They traded blows at close range with almost no regard for injury and managed to hold the ancient flood dragon in place. Time passed. Its roars grew hoarse and weary, its purple lightning dimmed, and its massive body heaved for breath. The monstrous ferocity it had shown at first was gone.

Now!

A sharp light flashed in Yu Tianheng's eyes as he released every bit of the Soul Power he had saved. Blue-violet lightning soared from his body, his dragon aura reaching its peak. He looked like a Thunder True Dragon descended into the world!

He gathered all his lightning Soul Power into his fists, along with the full might of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, and struck the vital point just behind the flood dragon's head!

Boom—!

A deafening blast shook the forest! Purple and blue lightning collided, sending violent shock waves in every direction. Ancient Trees shuddered, and leaves and branches rained down.

The Thunder Prison Flood Dragon's huge body convulsed. A gaping wound had opened at its vital point. The savage light faded from its eyes, and it crashed to the ground, never to move again.

An immense black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring threaded with purple lightning slowly rose from the corpse. It hovered in the air, radiating thunderous power and staggering pressure.

"Ready?" Jiang Baiyu asked Yu Tianheng.

Yu Tianheng wasn't sure. A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring would strain not only his body but his mind, and the danger was extreme. But...

He glanced at Dugu Yan, then set his jaw. "I'm ready!"

"All right." Jiang Baiyu summoned his Shennong Cauldron. "Focus on the dragon aura from my Martial Soul. It'll help you absorb the ring."

"Right!" Yu Tianheng stepped forward and quieted his mind, steadily drawing the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring into his body. Pure lightning Soul Power flooded through his meridians and into every limb. Sensing it, his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul trembled wildly as it began to evolve.

The others watched him tensely. No one had ever absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as their fourth ring. The slightest mistake could destroy him utterly.

Yu Tianheng forced the ring's immense Soul Power into himself, swelling his meridians. Thanks to his recent training and the work he had put into strengthening his body, he could still bear it. He slowly exhaled, thinking the worst had passed.

But just as he drew the ring in and was about to refine it—

A crushing mental pressure from the ancient Soul Beast descended without warning and raged through his mind!

This was no ordinary surge of Soul Power. It was the beast soul's lingering will, tempered across ten thousand years, intertwined with a primal dragon aura that threatened to crush his consciousness.

Yu Tianheng jolted. It felt as if thousands of thunderbolts had exploded inside his head at once.

Agony tore through his mind. His consciousness was a lone boat in a raging storm, on the verge of breaking apart. Violent, frenzied, bloodthirsty impulses hammered at his will, trying to swallow his mind and leave him a puppet of the ring's Soul Power.

Such powerful mental pressure...

Yu Tianheng clenched his teeth. Veins bulged at his temples, and cold sweat soaked his clothes.

An ordinary level-thirty-nine Soul Master had no business absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. The mental pressure alone could shatter a typical Soul Master's consciousness and blow their body apart. Yu Tianheng's meridians ached as though they would split, while the Blue Lightning Soul Power within him teetered on the brink of running wild. His three Soul Rings flickered. At any moment, the domineering power of that ancient lightning could overwhelm him and tear him apart.

I can't hold on... Yu Tianheng's awareness blurred. His consciousness was close to breaking, and he was about to collapse completely. Just as his mind began to give way and his Martial Soul neared destruction—

Beside him, the Shennong Cauldron glimmered red and blue. A wisp of supreme, primordial dragon aura quietly spread from it.

Vast, ancient, and pure, that aura surpassed every Sub-Dragon Species bloodline. Gentle yet commanding, it enveloped Yu Tianheng. The Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring's lightning Soul Power, violent and uncontrollable a moment before, became docile the instant it touched that supreme dragon aura.

The beast soul's mental assault subsided. His crumbling consciousness steadied, and the vast dragon aura forced his chaotic meridians back into order.

This is my chance! Yu Tianheng's scattered thoughts snapped back into focus. With the Thunder Prison Flood Dragon's lingering will suppressed by the supreme dragon aura, he refined the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring and drew it into his body.

At the same time, the dragon aura pulled at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul within him. Seizing the chance, it began to evolve.

The pale blue dragon scales on his arms, shoulders, and back changed rapidly, growing denser and darker. Pale blue deepened to rich azure, shot through with purple and gold. Behind him, the phantom of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon stretched and took solid form!

Its horns rose proud, its dragon body lengthened, and lightning patterns covered it!

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon had evolved into a Thunder Dragon!

Its dragon aura surged skyward, and lightning pierced the air!

Lightning Soul Power throughout the valley rushed into Yu Tianheng. His Martial Soul devoured every trace of lightning power within a hundred meters!

The once-rampaging Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring now floated beside him as meekly as a fledgling returning to its nest.

His body transformed. His marrow was cleansed, his meridians reforged, and his Martial Soul became a dragon!

With the ice and fire dragon auras aiding him and the strain of absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring beyond his level driving him onward, Yu Tianheng continued to transform!

At last, he became a Thunder True Dragon!

Boom!

A vast dragon aura burst outward!

Yu Tianheng's eyes flew open. Purple-gold lightning flashed in them for an instant before fading into their depths. Four Soul Rings revolved around him: yellow, yellow, purple, and black!