Tang Wulin closed the box and looked up at Mu Chen. "Thank you, President."
"Don't thank me just yet." Mu Chen waved a hand.
"You'll need a place where you won't be disturbed to take these things. The spirit fruits have potent medicinal properties, and the dragon blood is an immensely nourishing substance. If you're interrupted halfway through, at best, all the medicinal effects will go to waste; at worst, your life will be in danger."
"My place may not be anything special, but most people won't come here."
He pointed to a hidden door inside the room. "There's a quiet room in there that I usually use for secluded cultivation. The Soul Guidance shielding and soundproofing are both quite good."
"You can take them in there."
Tang Wulin's heart leaped. "Thank you, President!"
Mu Chen smiled faintly and said nothing more.
He watched Tang Wulin carry the wooden box into the inner room, wondering to himself what the little fellow would transform into after taking those things.
Seven million's worth of materials, and an eight-year-old's body. There would be trouble if he couldn't endure it.
But he didn't say it aloud. Since the child had dared to ask for those things, he probably knew what he was doing.
This probably had something to do with that unknown teacher of his. Mu Chen wondered who his teacher was. It really did make him curious.
The door to the quiet room closed, shutting out every sound from outside.
Tang Wulin looked around the room.
It wasn't large, about seven or eight square meters. A soft cushion covered the floor, Soul Guidance shielding patterns were set into the surrounding walls, and a Soul Guidance Lamp stood in the corner, casting a gentle light.
A faint, soothing fragrance lingered in the air.
He placed the wooden box on the floor, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.
His consciousness sank into his body and followed the Mysterious Heaven Skill's circulation route for several cycles. Then he began calling out to that strand of divine consciousness.
He pictured the golden dragon in his mind: a five-clawed golden dragon with antlers and a serpentine body, bound by eighteen rings.
Darkness descended.
He plunged straight into a void. Golden light flared before him, revealing the enormous golden dragon coiled there, eighteen rings pressing firmly down on its body.
The figure of light stood before the golden dragon. Its indistinct human outline seemed a little clearer than last time.
"You found the three spirit items?" Old Tang's voice rang out.
"I did." Tang Wulin held out the wooden box he was carrying. "What should I do next?"
"Don't rush." Old Tang's gaze swept over the box.
"Find a container that can be sealed and put the three things in one at a time. The Ice Crystal Fruit first, the Scarlet Flame Fruit second, and pour in the dragon blood last. Once they're all in, seal the lid tightly and wait for the commotion inside to settle on its own. Then open it and drink it."
Tang Wulin nodded, then asked another question. "What should I call you? I can't keep calling you 'hey.'"
Old Tang fell silent for a moment and seemed to smile. "Just call me Old Tang."
"Old Tang." Tang Wulin repeated it once and committed it to memory.
"This process may take four or five days." Old Tang's tone grew serious.
"The Ice Crystal Fruit and Scarlet Flame Fruit have conflicting medicinal properties, and the dragon blood is an immensely nourishing substance. Once the three are mixed, the impact on your body will be extremely intense."
"You need to prepare yourself. You can't stop halfway through. If you do, all your previous efforts will be wasted. If you can endure it, the first seal will be broken."
"Understood."
"Go on."
Tang Wulin opened his eyes, back in the quiet room.
He rummaged through his storage bracelet and found a metal water flask with a sealed lid. His mother had prepared it for him before he set out.
He placed the flask on the floor, opened the wooden box, and took out the Ice Crystal Fruit first, placing it inside.
The instant the fruit entered the flask, a layer of white frost formed on its surface. Next came the Scarlet Flame Fruit. The moment he put it in, the frost turned to vapor, and the flask grew warm.
Finally, he pulled the stopper from the jade bottle and poured in the dark golden dragon blood.
The moment the three things mixed, a rapid crackling came from inside the flask, as though ice and fire were fighting in there.
The flask alternated between scorching hot and icy cold, and the pressure inside made the lid bulge and tremble slightly.
Tang Wulin pressed both hands against the lid, gritting his teeth as he waited, feeling waves of heat and cold strike his palms in turn.
After several minutes, the commotion gradually died down.
The crackling grew less and less frequent, and the flask's temperature stabilized. It felt lukewarm to the touch, neither cold nor hot.
After he waited a little longer, the flask fell completely silent.
Tang Wulin unscrewed the lid, glanced inside, then closed his eyes.
It was purple, an eyesore, and it smelled a little pungent.
He took a deep breath, tipped his head back, and gulped it down.
The moment the liquid entered his throat, Tang Wulin felt as if he had been split in two.
A line of ice and a line of fire traveled down from his throat to his stomach at the same time. The icy one froze him stiff from the inside out, while the fiery one burned his whole body until it was scorching hot.
His body switched back and forth between extreme cold and extreme heat, goosebumps rising on his skin even as hot sweat poured out.
"Hiss!"
Gritting his teeth, Tang Wulin sat cross-legged and used the Mysterious Heaven Skill's circulation route to guide the medicinal power through his meridians.
The sensation reminded him of the scene he had read in the first part of Douluo Continent in his previous life, when Tang San had refined his golden body in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Ice and fire alternated, tempering the body again and again, forcing impurities out layer by layer while making the muscles, bones, skin, and flesh stronger and tougher.
Was I also refining an Ice and Fire Golden Body?
It was painful, but it didn't seem all that unbearable.
He was thinking this when Old Tang's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
"Are you ready? It's starting now."
"What's starting?"
The next second, an extremely violent force burst from the base of his spine.
Tang Wulin's whole body jolted, and he nearly bit his tongue.
That force was more than ten times as fierce as the ice-and-fire assault from the medicinal power. A golden torrent of energy rampaged through his meridians, stretching their walls until they creaked wherever it passed.
The Golden Dragon King's first seal had been broken.
Tang Wulin's entire body trembled. The golden markings on his forehead reappeared, his muscles tightened, and his veins bulged. Sweat evaporated into white vapor from the heat inside him as soon as it emerged.
"Ah-!"
He clenched his teeth and forced a low roar through them.
"Let the storm rage even harder!"
Outside the door, Mu Chen sat behind his desk, leafing through documents and occasionally looking toward the inner room.
He couldn't hear a thing.
The quiet room's soundproofing was too good.
But for some reason, he kept feeling that the office was a little hotter than usual today.
The power of the Golden Dragon King's first seal was far greater than he had imagined.
That golden energy poured out in an endless stream.
He gritted his teeth and held on.
Other than holding on, there was nothing else he could do.
The Soft Bone Rabbit Soul Spirit emerged from his chest.
Immediately afterward, the Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul appeared behind him.
The pink rabbit's illusory form was a size larger than the Soul Spirit, with fluffy fur and slender limbs.
More and more gold spread through its fur.
Then came the Clear Sky Hammer.
The pitch-black hammer hovered beside him, its body trembling slightly as it gave off a deep hum.
Dark golden patterns emerged on its surface, spreading from the handle toward the head, as though something had lit it from within.
Two Martial Souls and one Soul Spirit appeared around him at the same time, each taking a different position as they absorbed the Golden Dragon King's energy essence alongside Tang Wulin.
All three grew along with Tang Wulin.