Star Dou Great Forest, Lake of Life.
After swallowing the Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit in one gulp, Zeng Tian briefly wondered whether he was eating a Devil Fruit. How could it taste this awful?
How could anything in this world taste so bad?
Fortunately, although the fruit tasted terrible, its effects were anything but.
Zeng Tian could clearly feel a warm current flowing through his body, gradually spreading into every limb and bone.
With the help of this tremendous energy, not only was Zeng Tian's body strengthened, but his level also rose.
The bottleneck at level thirty-four shattered, followed immediately by level thirty-five, level thirty-six...
At the same time, Zeng Tian's appearance began to change.
Specks of golden light appeared on the surface of his body, eventually gathering toward his forehead.
Reddish-blue steam rose from his body, his muscles swelled, and the flame on his tail gradually shifted from bluish-white to deep blue-green.
Clearly, Zeng Tian's body was undergoing a transformation, and it was a change for the better.
Unfortunately, the medicinal potency of the Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit seemed limited, and Zeng Tian did not complete this transformation.
The instant its potency ran out, the specks of golden light gathering toward his forehead dissipated, and his level stopped rising just as he was about to break through to level thirty-seven.
The flame on his tail abruptly reverted from deep blue-green to bluish-white, though its color was slightly deeper than before.
"Whew..."
Zeng Tian opened his mouth, exhaled a cloud of black gas, and opened his eyes.
It truly lived up to being a ten-thousand-year Dragon Scale Fruit. Although it had not helped him complete his evolution, he could feel that his physical capabilities had improved by at least fifty percent, and even the power of his flames had increased somewhat.
Most importantly, there was his level. With the help of this single Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit, he had gained nearly three levels, saving him at least a month of grueling cultivation.
Compared to before he consumed the Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit, Zeng Tian's strength had now increased by at least thirty percent.
"Zeng Tian, how do you feel?"
Seeing Zeng Tian open his eyes, Miss Auspicious Beast immediately approached him and asked eagerly.
Zeng Tian said, "I feel great. My strength has increased a lot, but my Dragonkind bloodline doesn't seem to have awakened."
"Ah, don't be sad. Even if it didn't work this time, we Soul Beasts have plenty of time. I can just ask Di Tian for some more spirit herbs later."
Hearing this, Miss Auspicious Beast assumed Zeng Tian was disappointed and hurried to comfort him.
This unexpected concern from Miss Auspicious Beast warmed Zeng Tian's heart. He stroked her head and said with a soft chuckle:
"Thank you for your concern. I never expected a single Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit to awaken my Dragonkind bloodline in the first place. I'm already very satisfied with these results."
Zeng Tian had anticipated this outcome. If Charmeleon's Dragonkind bloodline were so easy to awaken, then he would not still lack the Dragon-type even after evolving into Charizard.
Moreover, although the Dragon-type of Pokémon and the Dragon-type of the Douluo Continent were both dragon types, they were actually quite different. The Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit's ability to strengthen dragon bloodlines might not work on him.
Listening to their conversation, the Scarlet King thought to himself, Even a Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit couldn't awaken his Dragonkind bloodline. There are only two possibilities: either his Dragonkind bloodline is so thin that it's practically nonexistent, or the Dragonkind bloodline he inherited is of extremely high quality.
But after considering it carefully, the Scarlet King felt that the first possibility was unlikely.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit was extremely potent. Never mind a nearly nonexistent bloodline—even someone with no Dragonkind bloodline at all would most likely acquire some after eating one.
Unless Zeng Tian's luck was truly terrible, a single Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit should have awakened his bloodline no matter what.
That left only the second possibility: the Dragonkind bloodline within Zeng Tian was of extremely high quality. This would also explain, to some extent, why Zeng Tian possessed such tremendous combat power at his current cultivation level.
"Wh-who's concerned about you? Don't flatter yourself! It's only because you're my underling. I was afraid you'd go out without a dragon bloodline and embarrass me, that's all!"
Hearing Zeng Tian's words, Miss Auspicious Beast immediately stepped back, escaping his touch, and spoke in embarrassed irritation.
Zeng Tian did not argue. Instead, he found Miss Auspicious Beast rather adorable.
He shifted his gaze away from the prickly Miss Auspicious Beast and looked at the herb beside him, blood-red from top to bottom, with faint fiery light flowing across its leaves.
Zeng Tian could faintly sense a fiery aura emanating from this Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Grass. From that, he could tell that the dragon blood used to water it had most likely come from a Fire-type giant dragon.
"Di Tian is pretty thoughtful."
Clearly, Di Tian understood his circumstances, which was why he had brought out this Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Grass.
Zeng Tian swallowed the Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Blood Grass in one mouthful and chewed. The next instant, a tremendous surge of energy, as scorching as molten lava, spread from his stomach throughout his body.
Zeng Tian immediately felt a wave of searing heat, and his skin began to turn crimson.
Although Zeng Tian's skin was already quite red, anyone could see that something was wrong with his current condition.
Not only had his skin changed from its original orange-red to blood-red, but even his formerly cream-colored belly had now turned blood-red.
At the same time, a scorching wave of heat spread from Zeng Tian's body, sending ripples through the grass. The astonishing temperature even made Miss Auspicious Beast and the Scarlet King instinctively retreat several steps.
"Scarlet King, what's going on? Nothing like this happened when he ate the Dragon Scale Fruit!"
Seeing this, Miss Auspicious Beast immediately frowned and questioned the Scarlet King.
As she spoke, blood-red flames ignited across Zeng Tian's body, enveloping him completely, while the bloodflame on his tail shot straight into the sky.
Even with the help of the life force radiating from the Lake of Life, the grass beneath his feet instantly turned to ash.
In an instant, the heat radiating from Zeng Tian multiplied several times over.
In response to the Auspicious Beast's question, the Scarlet King kept his gaze fixed on Zeng Tian and replied, "Auspicious Beast, I've never seen anything like this either. But I don't think it's a bad thing. Zeng Tian's aura is growing stronger rapidly."
The Scarlet King was also profoundly shocked, because the instant those blood-red flames appeared on Zeng Tian's body, the hellfire within his own body had actually begun to tremble.
His hellfire was already infinitely close to ultimate fire. For the blood-red flames on Zeng Tian's body to make his hellfire feel fear, there could only be one explanation.
Ultimate fire!
The layer of blood-red flames covering Zeng Tian's body had definitely reached the level of ultimate fire.
"I have a feeling that once this is over, his strength will undergo a qualitative leap."
At this point, the Scarlet King paused, then changed tack. "Perhaps you should consider whether you'll still be able to beat this underling of yours."