At the Dawn of Antiquity, Dragons Did Not Reign Alone

Jin Huang said nothing, merely listening in silence to the two old men arguing.

At last, Old Master Ma's voice rose above Old Master Qing Xiunuo's.

"Old Xiu Nuo, I'm telling you, don't argue with me about this now. The two of us are evenly matched in a fight, but when it comes to theory, you can't possibly beat me."

With the almost terrifying ability to record and look things up that his Martial Soul, the Boundless Book, gave him, Elder Ma Chengyuan fancied himself, in a sense, a walking version of the Martial Soul Headquarters' great library.

"What I mean is that those beings capable of contending with the dragon-species Soul Beasts of their era must also have passed their bloodlines down among the countless living beings of the world."

"The Yellow Golden Crocodile is the best example."

"Judging by my brother's ancestor's Soul Ring configuration, he should have strengthened his dragon-species bloodline, constantly bringing himself closer to a dragon. But because that bloodline could never completely suppress the other half, he couldn't advance any further."

Jin Huang's eyes sharpened.

He seemed to have heard something extraordinary.

He pricked up his ears, afraid of missing even the slightest thing Elder Ma inadvertently revealed.

"And in my estimation, if that brother of mine had truly followed the path I laid out for him in adding several Soul Rings, a Titled Douluo below rank ninety-five shouldn't have been his final level. In the end, he should also have reached the same realm as Second Worship."

Jin Huang listened to Elder Ma's muttering and snorted heavily.

For a moment, his heart raced.

He had been ordered to come here partly to pick up the genius on whom their Yellow Golden Crocodile lineage had spent a vast amount of resources, and partly because his father, Jin Yuan, had ordered him to see what earth-shattering theories Elder Ma, whom they had not seen for many years, had come up with.

And now...

Sure enough, they were earth-shattering.

A Peak Douluo was actually his father's limit.

Then perhaps he, Jin Huang, could also approach that realm.

When that time came, their Golden Crocodile lineage would have three Titled Douluo in one family, all of them Peak Douluo. Jin Huang hardly dared imagine how much their clan's power would expand.

It was also then that Elder Ma Chengyuan, whose voice had already drowned out that of his old friend Bishop Xiunuo, remembered that the junior Jin Huang was still following behind them.

"Oh, right, Lord Jin Huang, may I ask what your Martial Soul is?"

Seeing the old man who had single-handedly shaped their Primal Crocodile lineage turn his gaze on him, Jin Huang instinctively straightened up. "Primal Crocodile. It's just that my Martial Soul is much less mature than my father's."

As he spoke, Jin Huang also revealed part of his Martial Soul.

Elder Ma Chengyuan narrowed his eyes after a single look.

He saw something else in Jin Huang's Martial Soul, but without a detailed examination, he could only make a vague assessment.

"Mm, your father put a great deal of thought into this. He actually considered diluting the golden blood in the bloodline further, then increasing the Primal Crocodile portion of yours."

"You may go further than your father. Of course, that also depends on whether you can walk the whole path your father walked."

Only then did a wry smile appear on Jin Huang's face.

His father's path?

Jin Huang knew just how extraordinarily arduous his father's path had been.

Among the so-called paths of advancement preserved in the Worship Hall, it ranked near the top in difficulty.

But before Jin Huang could consult Elder Ma and try to simplify the so-called cultivation path of the Primal Crocodile further, the Martial Soul he had just revealed seemed to be provoked by something. Without Jin Huang's control, it instinctively began roaring toward the door they had come to.

"How is that possible!" Jin Huang's eyes narrowed. "My Martial Soul has never had any consciousness."

"It's precisely because it has no consciousness that this is frightening." Only after seeing Jin Huang suppress his Martial Soul's rampage did Old Master Ma's gaze turn profound as he looked at the door. "The little fellow's Martial Soul may be even more terrifyingly powerful than we imagined."

A whale's cry rang out...

All three people present could hear it.

But in contrast to the calm face of Elder Ma Chengyuan, whose Martial Soul was a Tool Martial Soul, the expressions of Jin Huang and Xiunuo, who both possessed Beast Martial Souls, changed in an instant.

Their Martial Souls were submitting to the owner of that voice.

"Little Tian'en, stop reading in there. The envoy has arrived, and it's time to go hunt for your First Soul Ring." Ma Chengyuan paid no attention to what the other two were doing and simply called toward the library.

After that call came a creak...

The library door opened.

Mu Tian'en carefully poked his head out of the doorway and cautiously looked at the middle-aged man standing with Grandpa Xiunuo and Grandpa Ma.

Mu Tian'en's voice trembled. "Grandpa, my Martial Soul just cried out on its own. It seems someone extraordinary has come."

Old Master Xiunuo glanced at Jin Huang, who had completely concealed the change in his expression, and could not help remarking, "He certainly is extraordinary."

At the same time, Old Master Xiunuo stepped forward, took Mu Tian'en's little hand, and pulled him out from behind the library door. "Little fellow, this is the Spirit Hall envoy. He was ordered to take you to Spirit City."

"And help you hunt for your First Soul Ring while he's at it." Old Master Ma seized the opening to speak of his plan for Mu Tian'en's First Soul Ring.

Of course, Old Master Ma also wanted to test him a little.

He did not immediately reveal his own thoughts.

"Little Tian'en, although you've only just finished adapting to Soul Power, the effects of modifying your Soul Power cultivation method have already appeared in you. Next, you'll need to gradually expand your Soul Power cultivation method."

"Your Martial Soul is the Black Hole Whale. Although I don't know what a black hole is, I'm sure that since it's a whale Martial Soul, it can't escape having the attributes of strength and water."

"The path of a Power Attack System Soul Master is also the one you are bound to take."

"So, Grandpa Ma will test you. If you could choose a Soul Skill, what kind of effect would you want your First Soul Ring to have?"

"And if you wanted to achieve that effect, what kind of Martial Soul would you need?"

But...

He had also forgotten that only a few days ago, Mu Tian'en had been illiterate.

An illiterate couldn't recognize Soul Beasts.

An illiterate couldn't read or understand the things in this library, either.

Mu Tian'en's store of knowledge was utterly insufficient at this moment.

Mu Tian'en looked at Old Master Ma, who had asked him what seemed to be an extraordinary question, with a clear, foolish gaze.

With just that one look, Mu Tian'en pulled the old man, who had just been so happy that he had lost himself, back into a world surrounded by idiots.

Old Master Xiunuo looked at Old Master Ma's stiffened body, puffed out his cheeks, and turned away to avoid the strange look Mu Tian'en gave him.

But...

"Grandpa Xiunuo, Grandpa Ma seems to be saying something Tian'en doesn't understand. Is Grandpa Ma broken?"

When Old Master Xiunuo heard Mu Tian'en's words, the solemn expression he had been struggling to maintain finally cracked in front of Jin Huang's bewildered face, which showed he had no idea what had happened.

"Pfft..." Old Master Xiunuo's body shook, more and more violently.

"Grandpa Xiunuo?" Mu Tian'en leaned his head over, his gaze showing some anxiety and concern. "Grandpa Ma, is Grandpa Xiunuo broken too?"

In little Mu Tian'en's eyes, Grandpa Xiunuo's body had suddenly started shaking, so something must have gone wrong with him.

"Little Tian'en, Grandpa Xiunuo is fine." Xiunuo suppressed his laughter.

But in the end...

"Pfft..."

Ma Chengyuan also realized he had gotten carried away with happiness, and stared with a deeply awkward expression at his old friend, whose whole body was shaking.

"Your Grandpa Xiunuo is fine. He's just come down with a disease that will kill him if he laughs out loud."

Old Ma's voice drifted out, tinged with killing intent.