The instant they stepped into the Thunder Dragon Nest, it felt as though they had crossed from the human world into another realm.
Even without looking, Chen Zhuo could sense that many things in this hidden realm differed from the outside world.
Was this the work of the Dragon King that fell in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan ten thousand years ago?
Chen Zhuo had a suspicion, but he was not entirely certain.
He knew that the bones of true dragons lay buried within those Lotus Peaks.
This was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's greatest trump card, one they would only use when the clan faced life or death.
In the original timeline.
Spirit Hall had underestimated the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's foundations, believing that sending six Titled Douluo would guarantee victory.
In the end, they had paid a devastating price before completing the clan's extermination.
Hidden within the Lotus Peaks was the True Dragon Nine Crowns, a secret treasure that had safeguarded the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan for ten thousand years.
These soul bone fragments from ancient Dragon Kings could temporarily fuse into a soul master's body.
With all nine crowns activated, they could increase the ages of one's soul rings by up to 99,999 years.
A soul master who originally possessed only the optimal soul ring configuration could briefly acquire several soul rings approaching the age of a hundred thousand year soul ring.
Their physical strength and soul power would receive an enormous boost.
The price was the burning of the user's vitality and lifespan.
Chen Zhuo was not particularly interested in this secret treasure resembling a suit of soul bone armor.
It was rather like chicken ribs-little meat to savor, yet a shame to discard.
The True Dragon Nine Crowns could not compare to genuine soul bone armor, let alone divine equipment a tier above that.
One example was the divine equipment passed down through Spirit Hall's angel lineage.
What Qian Renxue possessed was soul bone armor composed of six soul bones, each infinitely close to a hundred thousand years old.
Once fully fused, it would become divine-grade equipment.
His main reason for entering this hidden realm was to avoid hunting for a needle in the ocean in a place as vast as the Star Dou Great Forest.
Ignoring a ready-made breeding ground would be a criminal waste of nature's bounty.
The group emerged from the Thunder Dragon Nest's spatial passage.
They saw ancient, dark-purple rock walls stretching endlessly around them.
Above their heads.
Violent lightning took the form of purple electric serpents, like roaming dragons, striking the rock walls from time to time.
Smoke billowed from the charred pits blasted out by the lightning.
The smell of ozone in the air was overwhelmingly strong.
Occasionally, faint dragon cries and beast roars echoed through the area, shaking their blood and leaving their hearts unsettled.
This was the entrance to the Thunder Mist Cavern that Yu Tianheng had mentioned before they entered the hidden realm.
The Thunder Dragon Nest's hidden realm was divided into three layers: the Thunder Mist Cavern, the Dragonbone Abyss, and the True Dragon's Heart.
The Thunder Mist Cavern mostly housed hundred-year and thousand-year dragon beasts.
The Dragonbone Abyss was the territory of the vast majority of the ten-thousand-year soul beasts.
As for the True Dragon's Heart, rumor had it that soul beasts over fifty thousand years old could be found there, suitable for high-level soul masters seeking soul rings.
"Stay sharp and form a defensive formation! No one moves alone. Don't get separated!"
Yu Tianheng barked the order, and his blue lightning tyrant dragon martial soul instantly possessed him. Phantasmal blue-purple scales spread across his arms.
Three soul rings-yellow, yellow, and purple-circled beneath his feet as he took the initiative to secure a safe area ahead.
"Don't worry, little sister Yan'er, Brother Chen. I'll protect you."
"This time, I'll definitely help you hunt soul beasts that suit your martial souls best!"
As their host, Yu Tianheng subconsciously considered himself the strongest person on the team.
He possessed the world's foremost beast martial soul.
Even if they were both at level forty, Yu Tianheng was confident that Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorous Serpent would be no match for him.
A Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor would not fear the draconic suppression of the blue lightning tyrant dragon martial soul quite as much.
But a mere Jade Phosphorous Serpent posed little threat to him.
As for Chen Zhuo's combat strength, he paid it even less attention.
Apparently, the other boy's martial soul was Snake Pupil, a rare body martial soul mutated from the jade phosphorous serpent martial soul.
Presumably, an eyeglass martial soul would be weaker than even an ordinary Jade Phosphorous Serpent.
Still, passing the Thunder Dragon Nest's entry screening meant his soul power was at least level thirty.
Level thirty at twelve years old-he was indeed a genius.
Besides, if he truly married Dugu Yan one day, Chen Zhuo would become his younger brother-in-law.
Whether out of affection or common sense, while the boy had yet to fully mature.
He ought to treat this future younger brother-in-law well.
Yu Tianheng had already made up his mind. Now he just had to show off his abilities and win the siblings' admiration.
Dressed in a fitted dark-green outfit, Dugu Yan giggled, her eerily alluring eyes carrying a trace of languid indifference.
Dugu Yan simply found Yu Tianheng a little endearingly foolish.
Bored, she played with a loose strand of hair between her fingertips.
The fighting strength of ordinary thousand-year soul beasts did not even measure up to the battles she had fought in the Great Soul Arena two years earlier.
Beside her, however, fifteen-year-old Meng Yiran looked far more cautious.
She gripped the Dragon-Snake Scepter tightly, her clear eyes occasionally flicking toward Chen Zhuo ahead with a measure of reliance and awe.
She knew better than anyone just how powerful Chen Zhuo was.
"Yiran, could we switch places?"
"You know my martial soul has no offensive abilities at all."
Standing at the rear of the team, Ye Lingling spoke as she looked at Meng Yiran.
"Oh, sure."
Meng Yiran switched places with Ye Lingling.
Now Ye Lingling stood behind Chen Zhuo.
Ye Lingling was a little puzzled.
Whether in a competition or venturing into dangerous territory to hunt soul beasts as they were now.
Factors that affected the team's overall fighting strength, such as its composition and positioning, all needed to be considered.
Yet Chen Zhuo and the others seemed completely unconcerned about that.
Perhaps she had not fully integrated into their little circle.
That would be perfectly normal, though.
Chen Zhuo had known Dugu Yan and Meng Yiran for so long, while he had only known her for a few days.
Or perhaps these people simply did not care about outside threats.
But how could that possibly be the case?
Out of the corner of her eye, Ye Lingling studied the leader of the other team.
At that moment, lightning surged around Yu Tianxin, with four soul rings beneath his feet: yellow, yellow, purple, and purple.
His expression was relaxed, nowhere near as solemn as Yu Tianheng's.
That had something to do with his own strength, too.
Yu Tianxin's soul power level was actually two levels higher than Yu Tianheng's.
No wonder he had nothing to fear.
Before the teams had traveled even half a kilometer, something suddenly changed!
"Hiss, hiss-"
Accompanied by a teeth-grating scraping sound, pairs of golden vertical pupils suddenly lit up on the surrounding rock walls.
What began as a few soon became a densely packed swarm.
Purple Lightning Thunder Lizards, their bodies wreathed in purple electrical arcs, emerged from the shadows and crawled along the rock walls.
From a distance, they looked like vines fluttering in the wind.
Sensing the approach of human soul masters, these purple-gold lizards, each about a meter long, instantly surrounded the rear half of the team.
"Prepare for battle!"
Yu Tianheng roared, and the electric serpents around him shot outward like arrows in every direction.
This was his second soul skill, Thunderous Might, an area attack perfectly suited to fighting in terrain like this.
He focused most of his protective efforts on Dugu Yan and Chen Zhuo.
The Purple Lightning Thunder Lizards moved nimbly, some even leaping straight from the rock walls to pounce on them.
Although these soul beasts were individually only around a hundred or a thousand years old, they were numerous and naturally immune to most lightning attacks.
For low- and mid-level soul masters, they were quite troublesome.
"Damn it! I hate these big lizards!" a Blue Lightning Direct Disciple cried out in alarm.
He had just unleashed a lightning soul skill when a Thunder Lizard swallowed it, then slashed his arm with its sharp teeth.
Fortunately, this type of soul beast was not venomous.
"Hold formation!" Yu Tianheng's brow furrowed as he prepared to unleash his third soul skill and forcibly clear the area.
"Tian Heng, my dear older brother, need a hand?"
"Otherwise, your little brother will be going on ahead."
Although Yu Tianxin said this, his feet never stopped moving.
"Fourth soul skill, Blue Lightning Divine Dragon Rush!"
Yu Tianxin transformed into a dragon-shaped phantom wreathed in blue light, swept up the teammates under his protection, and brutally tore through the Purple Lightning Thunder Lizards' encirclement before speeding away.
Before escaping, he still remembered to look back and mock Yu Tianheng.
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