Dusk fell, and the setting sun sank behind the distant mountains. A crescent moon hung high in the sky, spilling its cool silver radiance over the earth. Mu Chen had originally planned to take Tang Wulin to visit his senior brother early the following morning.
But barely had dawn broken when someone began pounding on the wooden door of the East Sea Blacksmith Association president's office.
"Who is it?" Mu Chen's steady, rich middle-aged voice came from within. He rose and opened the door, then froze. "Senior brother? And Your Excellency of the Body Sect?"
Mu Ye gave Mu Chen a sheepish smile. "Mu Chen, didn't you say there was something strange hidden in your disciple's bloodline? Zhen Hua was worried something might happen, so he dragged me here before daybreak."
Beside him, Zhen Hua avoided Mu Chen's gaze and silently grumbled, Nothing but lies.
They had originally agreed that Mu Chen would bring Tang Wulin to visit them. But the moment Mu Ye heard the words "Golden Dragon Bloodline," his heart had begun itching with anticipation. He had pestered Zhen Hua all night, insisting they come together to meet this extraordinary boy.
The Body Sect had fallen on hard times. Rather than a lack of money, its real problem was a lack of successors. Over tens of thousands of years of change on the Douluo Continent, the Body Sect had once reached the height of its glory during Huo Yuhao's era. Before his death, the former sect master, Du Busi, had entrusted the sect's core secret arts to Huo Yuhao. When Huo Yuhao ascended to the Divine Realm, he left those arts at Shrek Academy. From then on, the Body Sect had declined step by step.
Soul guidance technology advanced at a tremendous pace, battle armor burst onto the scene, and cultivators with pure body martial souls grew increasingly rare. Now, barely any legitimate successors remained in the sect-only Mu Ye and one disciple of his.
So when he heard that Tang Wulin possessed a strange Dragon Clan bloodline and might even have the potential to reach the Quasi-God level, Mu Ye could no longer contain his impatience.
Of course, the two men had not come empty-handed.
They had already prepared all three items Mu Chen had mentioned over the Soul Guidance Communicator the previous day.
A century ice crystal fruit, a century scarlet flame fruit, and ten drops of essence blood from a hundred-year-old dragon-attribute soul beast-these heavenly treasures, which ordinary people could hardly obtain even with a fortune, required little effort from Mu Ye, Mu Chen, and Zhen Hua. One was a red-grade mecha pilot renowned throughout the continent, while another was a God Craftsman who had long since reached the pinnacle of his craft. Acquiring such resources was hardly worth mentioning.
When Tang Wulin received his teacher Mu Chen's call, uncontrollable excitement surged through his heart, and even his fingertips trembled. Over the communicator, Mu Chen told him that all three heavenly treasures he had so eagerly sought were ready, and instructed him to come immediately to the private room on the top floor of the East Sea Forging Society.
Tang Wulin rode the Soul Guidance Elevator straight to the top floor and pushed open the door. Mu Chen was not alone. Three figures sat inside.
The white-robed elder in the middle was his teacher, Mu Chen. His plain white robe was clean and elegant, and the Blacksmith Association's exclusive Eight-Star Saint Craftsman badge gleamed on his left breast, displaying the bearing of a master blacksmith at the very pinnacle of his profession.
The other two were strangers. One looked only a little over thirty, with strikingly handsome features and a bearing reminiscent of Guan Gong. His long black hair fell over his shoulders, though a streak of frost-white marked his temples. The contrast lent him a distinguished air. His skin was fair and smooth, and his hands were delicate and elegant, with long, slender fingers. They hardly resembled a warrior's hands; they were finer than those of most women. He gazed at Tang Wulin with warm eyes and a gentle smile, his manner gracious and serene.
The other man, however, stirred an inexplicable unease in Tang Wulin's heart. He was extraordinarily large and muscular, with rugged features and a thick beard covering his face. He wore simple black everyday clothes, but most striking of all was his dark-golden skin, which exuded a vast, powerful, domineering aura.
At first sight, Tang Wulin immediately thought of Mang Tian. Yet this man's build and presence were even more imposing and overbearing than Mang Tian's, enough to strike fear into the heart.
Both men's gazes settled on Tang Wulin at once.
With a brief sweep of his eyes, Mu Ye discerned the boy's foundation in an instant. His soul power was only around rank fifteen. Despite his youth, an immensely vigorous and concentrated surge of blood energy lay dormant within him, firmly contained in his meridians and flesh without the slightest leakage. His reserves were astonishing.
The boy had short azure hair as clear as the sea, and eyes as pure and translucent as deep-sea sapphires. Looking at his delicate, handsome features alone, no one would have associated him with the forging craft, with its patient tempering and countless hammer blows. He seemed merely a handsome, inexperienced young boy.
The instant the boy entered, Mu Ye's figure flickered, almost becoming an afterimage as he appeared at Tang Wulin's left side. His rough hands, covered in thick calluses accumulated over the years, descended steadily and pressed hard upon Tang Wulin's shoulders.
In the next instant, terrifying pressure crashed down upon him like towering mountains!
A thousand-pound force poured down without warning. Tang Wulin's body sank sharply, his steps faltered, and his knees weakened. He nearly dropped straight to one knee.
The overwhelming pressure seeped into every limb and bone, but he clenched his teeth and stubbornly held himself upright, refusing to yield an inch.
Understanding flashed through his mind.
The two mysterious experts beside his teacher possessed extraordinary bearing and unfathomable strength. One had suddenly attacked to test him, and his teacher had made no attempt to stop it. Clearly, this was deliberate-a test designed specifically for him.
Soul power churned violently through the boy's body, surging wildly. Every muscle tightened to its limit, every inch of sinew and bone resisting pressure far beyond his own level.
A bright gleam quietly flashed through Mu Ye's eyes, and he marveled inwardly.
The soul power pressure he was exerting on Tang Wulin had already reached a genuine Soul Elder's level.
Yet this boy, barely rank fifteen and not even at the threshold of Soul Grandmaster, had actually endured such terrifying pressure for so long.
Mu Ye's gaze remained calm, but the force in his hands continued to climb steadily.
Rank thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-eight, forty!
The terrifying pressure of a Soul Ancestor completely enveloped him!
At last, Tang Wulin could no longer withstand that crushing force.
With a faint tremor of soul power, a soft green glow burst from his palms. Supple, vigorous Blue Silver Grass emerged from his body, spreading and dancing freely through the enclosed room on the top floor.
But Mu Ye's soul power was almost tangible, and it had already locked down the space. No matter how the Blue Silver Grass darted and spread, it could not break free in the slightest.
Left with no other choice, Tang Wulin unleashed the full power of his martial soul. Countless strands of Blue Silver Grass rapidly wound around him, layer upon tightly packed layer, wrapping his entire body into a firm green cocoon. He relied on his martial soul's resilience to barely withstand the mountainous pressure.
At that moment, both Mu Chen and Zhen Hua, who stood quietly nearby, were visibly moved, profound shock surging in their eyes.
Their cultivation might not have been as unfathomable as Mu Ye's, but both possessed exceptional discernment.
As a veteran Soul Douluo, Mu Chen possessed deep experience and broad insight. Though Zhen Hua had relied on external assistance to become a Titled Douluo and was comparatively weak in actual combat among his peers, he still stood at the continent's highest cultivation level. His knowledge far surpassed that of ordinary people.
A low-ranking Soul Scholar at rank fifteen had neither collapsed nor fallen to his knees under genuine Soul Ancestor-level pressure. He had merely been forced to summon his martial soul to protect himself. Such physical resilience and willpower were simply inconceivable!
Mu Ye's gaze sharpened slightly. The soul power in his palms pressed down once more, and the terrifying pressure surged again, crashing toward the young figure wrapped in layers of Blue Silver Grass.
The instant that overwhelming pressure descended, brilliant golden light erupted around Tang Wulin!
A dazzling golden radiance exploded from deep within his young body. An ancient, resounding dragon roar burst forth, shaking the entire top-floor forging room slightly and setting the air humming without end.
Mu Ye's eyes abruptly focused, and he immediately withdrew the soul power pressing down.
Tang Wulin's sea-blue, sapphire eyes had now completely transformed into a pair of majestic, narrow, golden-red draconic pupils. His gaze was piercing, with a faint dragon's might within it. Dense golden diamond-shaped markings appeared in layers across his small hands, spreading over his skin as though some supremely powerful bloodline force was about to shatter the shackles of his flesh and break free.
Vast, surging blood energy gushed forth within him, powerful and heavy, concentrated without leaking away.
As the Body Sect's sect master, Mu Ye immediately grasped how terrifying this physical foundation was. Such immense, pure, resilient, and domineering blood energy was not something a mere Soul Scholar should possess-even many Soul Saint-level experts might not have it. Yet the boy's slender body held that violent power firmly in place like the divine needle that steadied the seas, unmoving. His reserves were terrifying beyond measure.
Just as the Golden Dragon King Bloodline ran wild in the outside world and Tang Wulin lost control and threw a punch, a change quietly arose within his turbulent Sea of Consciousness.
The complete awakening of the Golden Dragon King's violent bloodline had stained his entire Sea of Consciousness a bloody crimson. Towering waves raged through it, savage and restless, and a destructive, brutal aura filled every corner.
But in the next instant, a pair of distant, indifferent azure eyes, as though gazing down across eternity, slowly opened in the deepest reaches of that blood-red sea.
They held neither ripples nor joy nor anger, yet carried the majesty of heaven and earth, as though their owner ruled the four seas and subdued the eight wildernesses, able to quell all turmoil in the world with a single thought.
The phantom's hand turned gently, and a Trident interwoven with flowing blue light and covered in intricate sacred patterns silently appeared in his palm. This was no physical divine weapon, but a phantom formed entirely from supreme divine power. Boundless divine radiance flowed through every inch of its shaft, its vast pressure holding all the heavens in check.
As the Trident's divine power slowly spread, endless azure divine light poured from his palm, washing through the entire turbulent Sea of Consciousness in an instant.
The savage blood-red mist was swiftly cleansed, dissolved, and suppressed. The raging waves vanished into stillness in an instant. The crimson, ferocious Sea of Consciousness shed every trace of blood-red and returned to its clear, tranquil azure state, calm and boundless.
The overturned heavens and earth returned to stability, and divine power completely soothed the bloodline's restless brutality.
Tang Wulin's core consciousness, lost outside, was gently drawn back by that sacred power, both mild and domineering. It broke free of the shackles of his rampaging flesh and slowly returned, settling within this clear spiritual world.
Tang Wulin gazed at the humanoid figure formed from light within his Sea of Consciousness, confusion still lingering in his heart. Before he could ask a question, a cold, majestic rebuke rang out.
"Do you realize you nearly died just now?"
"The Golden Dragon King Bloodline suddenly awakened, and its backlash was ferocious beyond measure. Had no one suppressed it, that savage power would have torn your body apart from within and shattered your divine soul! Once your divine soul dispersed, you would have sunk into oblivion forever, with no chance of awakening."
The sudden, stern reprimand left Tang Wulin stunned. His pupils contracted slightly, and bewilderment filled his heart.
"I...?" He was dazed and at a loss.
The figure of light spoke in a restrained tone, carrying the gravity of one who looked down upon the ages. "The Golden Dragon King Bloodline within you is a forbidden power of supreme strength and dominance. Its foundation is far too terrifying, and its backlash is perilous beyond measure. Until your body and divine soul are fully stabilized, you must never recklessly unleash it. The slightest carelessness could plunge you beyond all hope of redemption."
After his stern reprimand, Old Tang's majestic tone softened a little, and he addressed the matter at hand.
"Have you obtained the three heavenly treasures I previously instructed you to find?"
Before Tang Wulin could answer, he added gravely, "The Golden Dragon King Bloodline's sudden awakening and rampage violently battered the seal within your body. The seal originally had another half year of stability left, but this incident has consumed much of that time. Now, less than a month remains. Time is running short. We cannot delay any longer."
Tang Wulin's heart tightened. He nodded solemnly and answered inwardly, Old Tang, I've obtained all three items. They're with my teacher, Mu Chen, right now.
As his words fell, Old Tang's divine sense quietly reached through Tang Wulin's body toward the outside world.
Everything in the forging room appeared within the Sea of Consciousness. Seeing Tang Wulin remain unconscious and unresponsive for so long, the three experts outside were already burning with anxiety. The atmosphere was tense, and they had begun arguing in hushed voices.
Mu Chen's brows were tightly furrowed, his face filled with worry. He turned toward Mu Ye beside him, his voice urgent and accusatory. "Mu Ye! What exactly did you do just now? Why did Wulin suddenly lose control and consciousness and fall into this state?"
Mu Ye, too, looked anxious and helpless. He shook his head repeatedly as he explained, "I didn't know something like this would happen! I only wanted to test this child's physical foundation and the potential hidden in his bloodline, to see where his limits lay. I never imagined it would provoke the power within him into suddenly running wild."
Zhen Hua stood nearby, his expression grave. He had observed in silence throughout, but unease filled his heart as well.
Just as the three supreme experts stood helpless, consumed by anxiety and unable to think of a solution, Tang Wulin's eyelids trembled faintly.
The azure divine light enveloping his Sea of Consciousness slowly faded, and his awareness left that spiritual sea and gradually returned to his body.
After a while, Tang Wulin slowly opened his eyes and regained consciousness.
Seeing this, Mu Chen, who had been keeping watch beside him, suddenly felt the taut strings of his heart loosen. He hurried forward a step, his voice filled with concern and lingering fear as he asked softly, "Wulin, how do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
"I'm fine."
Tang Wulin breathed heavily, a trace of lingering fright still visible between his brows. The moment he finished speaking, he looked at Mu Chen and asked urgently, "Teacher, those three things..."
Before Mu Chen could answer, Mu Ye stepped forward. He took the three prepared heavenly treasures from his Soul Tool and solemnly offered them to Tang Wulin. His rugged face was filled with guilt and apology, his voice carrying self-reproach and ruefulness. "Child, I'm sorry. I truly never expected something like this to happen. Over the Douluo Continent's tens of thousands of years, countless martial soul mutations and bloodline evolutions have occurred, but I've never in my life seen a bloodline eruption as terrifying and strange as yours."
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