Wu Changkong turned and left Eastsea Academy's main gate with his three young charges.
The trouble brought to their doorstep had caused quite a stir. Besides Wu Changkong, who had stepped in to take control, the academy's other teachers and many students had also gathered after hearing the news.
The other teachers of Eastsea Academy were shaken to see Wu Changkong force Guang Biao, a fellow Soul Emperor, back with a single sword strike, but they were not entirely surprised-they all knew where Wu Changkong had come from. Someone who emerged from that place naturally had the strength to back his confidence. What truly astonished them was Tang Wulin's identity.
Ye Yingrong stood among the teachers, surprise lingering in her beautiful eyes as she kept watching the direction in which Wu Changkong and the others had disappeared.
"Sis, I used to think he was just born with an icy face. No matter how handsome he was, there was nothing special about him. But now... I think I'm starting to fall for him."
Beside her, Ye Yingluo's eyes shimmered, a bright sparkle dancing in their depths as she sighed softly. "Just what you'd expect from someone who came from that place."
Wu Changkong went straight back to his faculty dormitory. Before leaving, he offered the three only one cool instruction: "Go back and cultivate."
Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue each went their separate ways.
As the night deepened, Tang Wulin lay resting in his private room at the East Sea Blacksmith Association. Deep in sleep, an indescribable heat suddenly surged through his body, while the earthshaking dragon roar Guang Biao had unleashed with his Martial Soul that day echoed over and over in his mind.
That roar carried savage pressure and vicious fury. Every time it surfaced, it stirred the anger churning in Tang Wulin's heart, leaving him unable to settle down for a long time.
His eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, as though an invisible force had pinned them shut-the very sensation people called a ghost sitting on their chest. His consciousness slowly sank beyond his control, confusion filling his heart. He had merely fallen peacefully asleep, so why had he slipped into such a bizarre state?
Within the layers upon layers of dreams, intense discomfort swept through his entire body, leaving Tang Wulin stiff and miserable.
Just then, a vast, far-reaching dragon roar that shook his Divine Soul exploded deep within his mind. Wave after wave of draconic might washed through him, assailing every limb and bone.
Agonizing pain instantly swept through his whole body! Tang Wulin, who had been lying peacefully in bed, abruptly curled up, every muscle taut as he endured pain that seemed to tear his tendons and shatter his bones.
Had anyone entered the room at that moment, they would have witnessed a shocking sight: his eyes, normally as clear as sapphires, had lost their original color entirely, becoming a pair of sharp, cold, golden-red slit pupils, eerie and majestic.
Beneath the skin of his arms, dense patterns of diamond-shaped dragon scales faintly emerged, writhing constantly as though they would burst through his flesh in the next instant like shoots breaking through the earth.
The fierce pain continued to eat away at him. Tang Wulin's bodily awareness sank completely, and his mind plunged into his own Sea of Consciousness.
His mental world was now a gray expanse of chaos, neither light nor dark, boundless and deathly still, without a trace of life.
As he stood bewildered, a brilliant golden light suddenly shone from the depths of the chaos, floating quietly ahead as though it were his only guide.
Tang Wulin instinctively stepped forward. His hesitant footsteps gradually grew firm, then increasingly hurried. As he approached the light, his pupils abruptly contracted, and his mind reeled-
The true form of that light was an immense Primordial Golden Dragon whose body blotted out the sky and sun!
His five claws were fearsomely sharp, and his entire body was covered in overlapping layers of thick, majestic golden scales. Blazing golden light burst forth, instantly driving away the endless gloom of the Sea of Consciousness and illuminating the whole chaotic world.
At last, Tang Wulin's illusory mind gained the reassuring sensation of standing on solid ground, though his entire being remained intangible.
Looking closely, he saw eighteen thick, mysterious Golden Light Rings encircling the supreme golden dragon. The rings crossed and intertwined, while countless Golden Chains crisscrossed his enormous body, binding and shackling him fast.
The dragon's eyes were tightly shut as he lay quietly in the depths of the Sea of Consciousness, seemingly sunk in a sleep stretching across the ages, without the slightest sign of waking. Even so, Tang Wulin could still feel the supreme majesty emanating from the sleeping golden dragon, a power rooted deep in his bloodline that could crush all things.
As Tang Wulin quietly gazed at the primordial golden dragon, an ethereal, indifferent voice suddenly echoed from every direction within the deathly silent Sea of Consciousness.
"You're here."
The voice sounded neither male nor female, neither old nor young. It was utterly devoid of emotion, yet filled with a timeless presence that seemed to reach through heaven and earth.
As the voice sounded, strands of gentle golden light slowly rose from the surrounding gray chaos, gathering and weaving together. Specks of gold steadily condensed and took shape, and a translucent golden human figure slowly descended from the void.
Tang Wulin looked intently at him. The golden figure was clear and luminous throughout, as though formed from pure flowing light. His features were impossible to make out; only a tall, indistinct human silhouette stood quietly amid the chaos.
In an instant, towering waves surged through Tang Wulin's heart.
The golden figure...
It was Old Tang.
He was also a strand of Divine Sense left inside him by his biological father, Tang San.
At that realization, Tang Wulin's emotions tangled into a complicated knot. He felt awe toward this mysterious presence, a sense of unfamiliarity, and a bond he could neither explain nor define. For a moment, he did not know what to say and could only brace himself inwardly, remaining utterly vigilant.
After a brief silence, the golden figure spoke again, his tone gentle and steady, carrying a soothing strength. "Child, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."
Tang Wulin suppressed the turbulent shock in his heart and asked in a low voice, "Who are you? Where is this? Am I... dreaming?"
In truth, he already had a vague idea that he was within his own Sea of Consciousness. But the situation was so strange that appearing too calm and composed would have seemed conspicuous. Thus, he deliberately voiced his questions, feigning bewilderment.
The golden figure fell briefly silent, as though every movement of his Divine Sense and every word he spoke required an enormous expenditure of strength.
"I am merely a remnant strand of Divine Sense, an essence of consciousness left specifically to guide you as you grow."
"This place is both your dream and your Sea of Consciousness."
As his words faded, the golden figure slowly raised his right hand and pointed at the enormous golden dragon held fast by layers of rings and Golden Chains.
"The golden dragon before you is the manifestation of the Golden Dragon King's entire origin essence."
"You cannot yet understand what the Golden Dragon King is, and for now, I cannot explain too much. But you need only remember one thing."
"The Golden Dragon King is the supreme origin bloodline flowing within your veins. He is the greatest opportunity of your life, but also a catastrophe that will engulf you-one you can neither avoid nor escape."
The figure's voice remained calm and level, yet every word fell heavily upon Tang Wulin's heart.
"The power contained in the Golden Dragon King Bloodline is far too vast and overbearing, boundless in its immensity. With your current body, constitution, and soul foundation, you have no ability whatsoever to bear it. If the bloodline seals loosen prematurely and come completely undone, the immense dragon power will burst your body apart in an instant. You will perish on the spot, your body and soul both destroyed."
Tang Wulin fell utterly silent.
Ever since he could remember, he had vaguely known about the special bloodline within him. He knew it carried endless danger and was tied to his fate, his very life and death.
Yet when the word "perish" came directly from this mysterious Divine Sense, falling cold and clear upon his ears, a bone-piercing chill still swept through every limb and bone.
No one understood the terror of death better than Tang Wulin.
He had already died once.
Even after several years, the unbearable agony and despair of approaching death remained vividly etched into his memory, branded deep within his Divine Soul, never fading. The shadow of death was the boundary in his heart that inspired his greatest dread and fear.
An overwhelming sense of danger enveloped him. Tang Wulin immediately suppressed his tangled emotions and asked solemnly, "What should I do?"
The golden figure's voice sounded slowly, steady and grave. "The fact that you can enter this Sea of Consciousness and meet me means your body has already begun to suffer the erosion and influence of the Golden Dragon King Bloodline."
"The Golden Dragon King commands the ultimate physical strength in this world, unrivaled in his might. The power of his bloodline nourishes your body at every moment. That is the fundamental reason your physique and strength far surpass those of ordinary Soul Masters your age."
"Back then, a supreme being intervened and placed eighteen seals within you, holding the violent Golden Dragon King Origin firmly in check. Only that protected your life and allowed you to grow up safely. But no one can face this life-and-death predicament in your place. The only person who can save you is yourself."
The figure paused briefly, deliberately leaving Tang Wulin a moment to absorb these earthshaking secrets.
A short while later, his voice sounded again. "Now that your Divine Soul has stirred and you have glimpsed the origin, it proves your physique has reached the required standard. You have gained the foundation needed to refine and absorb the first seal."
"To merge with the Golden Dragon King's origin essence, stabilize the seals, and resist the bloodline's backlash, you must fulfill two indispensable conditions. First, your physical foundation must continue to strengthen, far surpassing others at your level. Second, you need treasures born of heaven and earth as external aids to temper the dragon blood and neutralize its viciousness."
"You must find three things: century ice crystal fruit, century scarlet flame fruit, and ten drops of essence blood from Hundred-Year Soul Beasts possessing pure dragon bloodlines. Remember, not one of them can be missing."
"The Golden Dragon King Origin is a supreme opportunity to defy heaven and change your fate, but it is also a blade of life and death hanging over your head. If you cultivate and grow stronger too slowly, and your body and Divine Soul cannot keep pace with the bloodline's unsealing, you will no longer be able to suppress the restless power of the seals. In the end, the violent dragon power will burst your body apart completely, ending both your life and your path."
Every word the figure spoke rang with authority that brooked no argument.
"You must gather these three things before you turn ten. Once that deadline passes, even I will no longer be able to help you suppress the restless Golden Dragon King Bloodline."
After hearing this, Tang Wulin's heart felt heavy beneath an immense burden. He hurriedly asked, "Then how should I call you? If I find the treasures, how do I find you?"
The golden figure's outline wavered slightly, and a gentle voice emerged. "My surname is Tang. From now on, you may simply call me Old Tang."
The instant his words fell, Old Tang lightly swept his golden sleeve.
A gentle yet irresistible force instantly enveloped Tang Wulin's illusory Divine Soul. The brilliant golden dragon, the gray mental chaos, and the floating golden figure all receded like an ebbing tide. As heaven and earth spun around him, Tang Wulin's consciousness was steadily ushered back into his physical body.
"Hah-"
With a sharp gasp, Tang Wulin abruptly opened his eyes.
Dazzling morning light streamed through the window into the room, driving away the darkness of the night. Day had fully broken, and classes at Eastsea Academy would begin soon.
His body was slightly damp with sweat, and his limbs were sore and weary in the wake of the excruciating pain. Yet the astonishing dream from the previous night, every instruction Old Tang had given him, and the sight of the Golden Dragon King shackled in chains remained utterly clear in his mind, nothing like an illusory bubble.
After Tang Wulin returned to his physical body, the quiet, deep Sea of Consciousness once again fell still.
Within the empty chaos, only the sleeping golden dragon remained, bound fast by eighteen rings and the Golden Giant Lock.
The golden figure stood quietly in midair. His formerly peaceful presence silently receded, and his invisible Divine Sense settled upon the layers of seals, revealing a gravity and gloom he could not conceal.
The years weighed heavily; fate was hard to fathom.
After a long while, the golden figure swayed gently, dissolving little by little into tiny flecks of golden light. They melted into the vast mental chaos, returning completely to nothingness.
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