Tang Wulin didn't know how much time had passed.
It might have been two days, or perhaps three.
Tang Wulin felt the assault inside his body finally begin to weaken.
He had absorbed most of the Golden Dragon King's power from the first seal, and what remained could no longer stir up much of a wave.
The golden torrent in his meridians had dwindled from a flood into a stream.
His body had adapted to being scoured with such intensity and had even begun to draw in the remaining power on its own.
After some more time passed, his body absorbed the last trace of the Golden Dragon King's power.
The quiet room fell silent.
Tang Wulin opened his eyes and let out a long breath.
He looked down at himself. His clothes had long since been left crumpled by sweat and heat.
He clenched his fist, and his knuckles cracked several times. The strength in his palm had increased by more than a little.
Just then, a series of golden scales emerged on his right arm.
Once the scales covered his right hand, it changed shape. His five fingers drew together, their nails growing longer and harder, while the joints thickened. His entire hand transformed into a dragon claw.
Immediately afterward, Tang Wulin felt his Soul Power rapidly drain away, losing a full quarter of it.
Using the Golden Dragon Claw consumed a great deal of Soul Power.
His Soul Spirit, the Soft Bone Rabbit, hopped onto his lap and nuzzled his stomach.
Tang Wulin looked down at it and froze for a moment. His Soul Spirit looked completely different. Almost all its pink fur had turned gold, leaving only a small patch of pink on its belly.
Its two long ears gleamed gold, and golden rings encircled its red eyes, giving it a surprisingly majestic air.
But the way it nuzzled his stomach was just as clingy as before.
The phantom image of his Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul had changed too.
Golden fur covered most of it, with only a patch of pink left on its belly. Its overall bearing had shifted toward something fiercer.
The Clear Sky Hammer floated back into his palm.
The moment it landed in his hand, Tang Wulin's wrist dipped. The hammer had grown heavier.
He hefted it. It was nearly twice as heavy as before, and the golden patterns on its body had stabilized, becoming dark-gold grooves that looked as though they had been carved into it from the start.
A ring of extremely fine golden markings had appeared on the surface of the hammerhead, giving it a steadier, weightier look.
Holding the Clear Sky Hammer, Tang Wulin felt completely reassured.
He could feel that his strength had increased by more than a little, but his Soul Power hadn't changed.
In his spiritual world, Old Tang's voice rang out, carrying unmistakable satisfaction.
"Your first seal has been broken."
"Your physical condition was better than I expected. You absorbed all that power in just three days. I thought it would take you a long time."
"But don't celebrate too soon. The first seal was the weakest. The ones after it will grow fiercer and fiercer."
"You need to break the second seal and absorb its power before you turn fifteen."
Tang Wulin did the math in his head.
He was eight this year, so he still had six years before he turned fifteen. There was plenty of time.
"The second seal requires thousand-year spirit treasures: the Thousand-Year Earth Dragon Tendon, Thousand-Year Azure Tendon Vine, Thousand-Year Sea Dragon Marrow, and Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit."
"Thousand-year heavenly treasures are even harder to collect. Take your time gathering them. Once you have them all, call for me again, and I'll break the second seal for you."
Tang Wulin committed the four items to memory.
Old Tang said nothing more, and Tang Wulin's awareness returned to reality.
He had thought he'd spent four or five days in the quiet room, but only three had passed.
Tang Wulin raised his right hand. The dragon claw returned to normal, and only then did he walk to the door and pull it open.
Outside, both Cen Yue and Mu Chen were there.
Cen Yue sprang to his feet when he saw Tang Wulin come out.
Mu Chen stood with his arms folded, looking calmer than Cen Yue.
But when he saw Tang Wulin emerge unharmed, his shoulders visibly relaxed.
"You brat!"
Cen Yue's voice exploded.
"Do you know how close you came to scaring us to death?!"
"There wasn't a sound from inside for three whole days! If the president hadn't stopped me, I'd have kicked the door down long ago!"
"Mang Tian called me several times!"
"Do you know how worried your family must be?"
Tang Wulin hurriedly put on an apologetic smile. "Grandmaster Cen, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"It took some time to take the spirit fruit, and I didn't wake up right away."
"I'm sorry for making you and the president worry."
Mu Chen stared at him for a while but asked no more questions.
He noticed that Tang Wulin's mental state had improved by more than a notch compared to three days ago. It was as though his entire being had been tempered anew.
He had seen no shortage of geniuses, but someone shedding his mortal body and exchanging his bones to this extent in three days was still beyond his understanding.
"All right, what matters is that he's fine." Mu Chen waved a hand.
"Call home first. Your parents are probably worried sick."
Only then did Tang Wulin remember. He hurriedly pulled out his soul communicator and dialed home.
The call was answered after a single ring, and Lang Yue's voice rang out.
"Wulin! Why haven't you called for three days?!"
"Your dad said he was going to Eastsea City to find you, but I stopped him. If you still hadn't called, we'd have gotten on a train tomorrow!"
"Mom, I'm fine. I just entered a meditative state while cultivating and lost track of time."
Tang Wulin offered the explanation he had prepared long ago. "I'm really fine. Everything's all right."
On the other end of the line, Lang Yue questioned him about everything several times over.
Only after confirming that everything was normal did she reluctantly believe him.
Tang Ziran took the phone and gave him a few more reminders, telling him to stay safe and not push himself too hard.
Tang Wulin agreed to each one and spoke a few words with Na'er before hanging up.
He wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and looked up with a smile at Cen Yue and Mu Chen.
Cen Yue glared at him fiercely.
"Next time you take something like a spirit fruit, you ought to have someone watching over you."
"That way, if anything goes wrong, they can help you deal with it."
"That teacher of yours is far too irresponsible, letting an eight-year-old child shut himself away and take medicine on his own. If something happened, whose fault would it be?"
Tang Wulin gave a sheepish smile but didn't answer.
Instead, he muttered inwardly.
What teacher do I have in real life? I don't have one at all.
Tang Hao is someone from a dream, and Old Tang is a divine consciousness.
"All right, all right." Mu Chen waved a hand, cutting off Cen Yue's nagging.
"What matters is that he's fine."
Tang Wulin nodded and took a Federation bank card from his storage bracelet. "President, I'll transfer you the money for the three items first."
Mu Chen gave him an account number. Tang Wulin made a few taps on his communicator and transferred six million Federation credits.
Mu Chen glanced at the notification confirming the payment and nodded.
"There's one more thing." Tang Wulin put the card away, his tone turning serious.
"President, I need four more spirit treasures. Sorry for the trouble, but could you keep an eye out for them?"
Cen Yue raised an eyebrow. "More? How did you get so fixated on spirit treasures, kid?"
Tang Wulin smiled sheepishly. "Grandmaster Cen, you've seen the changes in my body too. These things really do help me a lot."