In the Coiling Dragon World, talent was a very important factor in becoming truly powerful!
Talent fell into two kinds: bloodline talent and talent for comprehension.
Among those with bloodline talent, some had powerful bodies, such as Hemus, whose body rivaled a Sovereign Artifact the moment he became a deity. Some had powerful innate divine abilities, such as the God-Eater Rat, whose soul attack was unstoppable among those at the same level unless they had a Soul Defense Sovereign Artifact. Others could transform in strange ways, such as the Bula Clan, whose souls could split and whose auras were entirely different.
Those with talent for comprehension comprehended laws far faster than ordinary people and had a greater chance of becoming Paragons. Bluefire, for instance, had comprehended the Fire Element Law to its utmost in just a million years. A Paragon stood at the pinnacle of deities! Across countless planes and countless ages, only a few dozen people had ever become Paragons!
Those with bloodline talent were mostly Special Lifeforms and divine beasts, whereas talent for comprehension appeared quite randomly. Generally speaking, those with bloodline talent often did not have much talent for comprehension.
Andrew, however, knew that to become truly powerful, neither kind of talent could be lacking!
A powerful bloodline alone was not enough. Beirut had an immensely powerful bloodline. He was the first God-Eater Rat across countless planes, with a body that rivaled a Sovereign Artifact and a soul attack that struck terror into everyone who heard of it. Unfortunately, had he not become a Sovereign, he would have had no way to deal with a Paragon. Conversely, a Paragon could easily banish him into Spatial Turbulence. As for becoming a Paragon himself, that was probably impossible!
Talent for comprehension alone was not enough either. Magnus was powerful, wasn't he? He was one of the rare Paragons across countless planes, an invincible expert beneath the Sovereigns. Having cultivated the Laws of Light to the Paragon level, he was fast and had powerful attacks. Yet against Linley, who had only just gained Willpower, he could not even escape. Under the Azure Dragon's innate divine ability, Magnus suffered a swift defeat. Why? Because he had been born an ordinary human and had no innate divine ability!
Knowing all this well, Andrew aimed even higher. He wanted to become powerful, to become an expert without weaknesses, to become an expert who surpassed Paragons and all kinds of divine beasts! This was the goal he pursued in this life!
Had he been born anywhere else, even in the Infernal Realm, Andrew would not have dared be so audacious as to set such a goal, even if he knew he was in the Coiling Dragon World and knew its entire plot. He would have had no chance at all. But on the Yulan Continent, he had the necessary conditions!
The Yulan Continent, where the story of Coiling Dragon began, held far too many treasures. The most precious among them were undoubtedly the three Sovereign Sparks of earth, fire, and water. Beirut had prepared these for the geniuses of the Yulan Continent.
Unfortunately, Andrew's strongest talents were in lightning and fire. There was no Lightning Element Sovereign Spark, and he could not possibly beat Bluefire to the Fire Element one. By his reckoning, fewer than ten thousand years remained before Bluefire escaped his confinement. No matter how capable Andrew was, he could not possibly cultivate the Laws of Fire to the Paragon level in ten thousand years.
But aside from those, there was another item that, in Andrew's eyes, was worth no less than a Sovereign Spark: the Coiling Dragon Ring!
The Coiling Dragon Ring was the key that had opened Linley's path to power. With it, Linley had received guidance from a Saint-level magus. With it, Linley had strengthened his Azure Dragon Bloodline. With it, Linley had escaped unscathed from the soul attacks of powerful experts many times!
Andrew remembered very clearly that the Coiling Dragon Ring was a Soul Defense Sovereign Artifact that the Azure Dragon Sovereign had cherished dearly. Later, the ring had been damaged by Augusta's soul attack. This damage was not irreparable; spiritual energy could mend it. The stronger one's spiritual energy, the faster the repairs would be.
In addition, the ring contained a drop of essence blood left by the Azure Dragon, as well as three drops of Sovereign's Might!
Andrew's goal was the Azure Dragon Essence Blood inside it. As long as he could devour that essence blood, Andrew could obtain the Azure Dragon Bloodline and thus gain the Azure Dragon's innate divine ability. This was the bloodline talent he had sought out for himself.
In the original story, Doehring Cowart had obtained the Coiling Dragon Ring. Later, while fighting an old rival, he had been ambushed by another Saint-level expert and had ultimately sealed his own soul inside the Coiling Dragon Ring. Doehring Cowart was a Saint-level Magus of the Pouant Empire. The Pouant Empire had been founded around year 3000 of the Yulan Calendar and had fallen more than two thousand years later. It was now year 8 of the Yulan Calendar, which meant there were still nearly three thousand years to go.
With Andrew's talent, he would certainly become a deity in three thousand years. When the time came, as long as he found Doehring Cowart, obtaining the Coiling Dragon Ring would be a trivial matter.
As for whether Linley could still become powerful without the Coiling Dragon Ring, that was not something he considered.
Aside from that, Andrew could also seek out Beirut. Beirut had plenty of Azure Dragon Essence Blood. In the original story, around year 5000 of the Yulan Calendar, Beirut had begun cultivating the Four Ultimate Warriors, expending a considerable amount of essence blood. As long as Andrew demonstrated sufficient talent, Beirut would certainly not refuse.
As long as I can obtain the Azure Dragon Bloodline, with my talent, becoming a peerless expert in the future certainly won't be impossible!
At the thought of the Azure Dragon Bloodline, Andrew's heart burned with excitement. In his view, the Azure Dragon was unquestionably one of the very best divine beasts in the Coiling Dragon World and ought to rank above the God-Eater Rat.
The God-Eater Rat was formidable, arguably invincible among those at the same level, and had a powerful body that could grow to match the strength of a Sovereign Artifact. However, his weakness was also obvious: he was easily countered. As long as his opponent had a Soul Defense Sovereign Artifact, the God-Eater Rat's innate divine ability became useless. In the early stages, he could sweep through his opponents, but the further he progressed, the more apparent this weakness became. Many top experts had Soul Defense Sovereign Artifacts.
Moreover, against a Paragon, the innate ability God-Eater was also useless.
The Azure Dragon's innate ability, Dragon Roar, however, directly affected time. As long as the bloodline was strong enough, even a Sovereign could not escape it!
Although Dragon Roar had very little offensive power, no other divine ability could compare to its supporting effects. In this world, the laws of time and the Laws of Space were forbidden territory. The Azure Dragon's divine ability could touch upon the laws of time, so it could absolutely be considered a forbidden divine ability!
In terms of the body, the Azure Dragon's talent was no inferior to the God-Eater Rat's either. The God-Eater Rat's body rivaled a Sovereign Artifact, and so did the Azure Dragon's. There was no difference between them in this respect; they were evenly matched.
Overall, the Azure Dragon ought to be stronger!
If I want to obtain Azure Dragon Essence Blood, I must gain Beirut's approval. Otherwise, it's all empty talk. Besides, how to devour the Azure Dragon Essence Blood is another problem.
Suddenly, Andrew realized that he had to obtain the Azure Dragon Bloodline before becoming a deity. Once he chose External Godhood, his original body would separate from his Divine Clone, and their bloodlines would no longer be connected. Only their soul power would remain linked. At that point, even if his original body obtained the Azure Dragon Bloodline, his Divine Clone would undergo no changes; at most, its soul power would increase.
Do I have to wait a full five thousand years, until the Four Ultimate Warriors appear?
Andrew was dumbfounded.
In fact, Andrew had overlooked another problem. The Azure Dragon Essence Blood inside the Coiling Dragon Ring could only be extracted after becoming a deity. Otherwise, he would not even be able to sense it.
After being lost in thought for quite a while, Andrew suddenly burst out laughing. "I'm just making trouble for myself. I'm only a Fifth-level Warrior right now, yet I'm actually worrying about matters at the Saint-level and after becoming a deity. This is ridiculous. Things will work themselves out when the time comes. I'll deal with the future in the future. No matter what, I won't give up!"
Having sorted out his thoughts, Andrew picked up his large saber and began hacking at the stone again. This was a cultivation method he had worked out himself, modeled after Doehring Cowart's Flat Blade Style of sculpting, yet different in some ways. He used a large saber to carve boulders, training his control over his strength. Once he immersed himself in it, it could also increase his spiritual energy, making it a method of cultivating both magic and martial arts. Its effects simply were not as pronounced as those of the Flat Blade Style, and the sculptures did not have such high artistic value either.
Two days passed in a flash, and Andrew joined the Keli Tribe's hunting party as agreed.
The party numbered more than forty. Among them, the grand elder was a Warrior of the Seventh Rank, and there were twelve Sixth-level Warriors as well. Howard had originally intended to come too, but Andrew had talked him out of it.
Andrew and Baru walked in the middle of the party. Gripping his long saber, Andrew watched his surroundings warily, his mind highly focused, not daring to relax for even a moment.
This was clearly not Baru's first time entering Mogan Forest, and he seemed entirely at ease along the way.
"Andrew, relax a little. We're not going into the center of Mogan Forest, just hunting along the outskirts. High-rank magical beasts rarely appear here. There won't be any danger," Baru said casually.
Andrew frowned, not out of annoyance, but out of some disappointment. He had come to Mogan Forest to temper himself, hoping to make a breakthrough under pressure. But now it seemed he would not be able to achieve that goal at all.
"Baru, I've decided. I won't be going with you."
After thinking it over carefully, Andrew spoke solemnly to Baru.