"Thunder Sky Split"—they say it can tear through the air itself.
But with a hint of destruction in its nature, Xiao Lin thought that if he became strong enough, it might even be able to pierce through space—perhaps even time.
After all, strength decides everything.
Time and space—two grand and lofty concepts—instantly reminded Xiao Lin of what happened when the Thunder Emperor Dragon had sacrificed itself to him.
Didn't the two Dragon Kings mention back then that the Thunder Emperor Dragon possessed some kind of time attribute?
So why didn't he get any soul skill related to time?
With that doubt in mind, Xiao Lin immediately asked within his spiritual sea.
"Lord Xiao Lin, I do not actually possess the time attribute. What the two Dragon Kings mentioned should belong to my father."
In the vast ocean of ultimate ice and fire within his consciousness, the Thunder Emperor Dragon had taken human form—a young man respectfully bowing as he spoke.
He had no choice but to be respectful; the two Dragon Kings themselves had demanded it.
Even when the Thunder Emperor Dragon himself appeared again, he would still have to address Xiao Lin as "Lord Xiao Lin," and the two Dragon Kings as "Grandfather."
"Lei Lei, you mean your father?"
Xiao Lin recalled the image of that giant azure dragon with wings soaring across the sky—a being whose size wasn't any smaller than the two Dragon Kings.
Of course, that was partly because the Dragon Kings' spiritual power hadn't fully recovered—or perhaps they'd intentionally kept their forms small.
"Yes, my father," Lei Lei nodded, his face showing a trace of nostalgia.
"My father's bloodline is incomparably powerful. Even I only inherited a portion—the lightning attribute. I did not inherit the time attribute, nor the Yinglong bloodline."
"I don't really know all of his other abilities. To me, he was simply invincible."
"The only time my father was ever injured was when he met a being who called himself the Beast God—Di Tian. I believe that's the current Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King."
"At that time, even though my father used time acceleration, he was still defeated by Di Tian's single strike—'Dragon God's Claw.'"
Lei Lei, secretly hoping to bring his father into Xiao Lin's future divine circle, unknowingly spilled nearly all of Lei Huang's secrets.
But that wasn't unexpected—after all, he'd already seen Xiao Lin's own patrons (the two Dragon Kings). It would only make sense for his own father to join in as well.
He even harbored another small wish—that his father's seniority could become equal to his own.
Xiao Lin, however, just stared strangely at Lei Lei for a long moment.
He understood Lei Lei's intentions perfectly.
Still, he didn't refuse—it wasn't a bad thing.
Then Xiao Lin began calculating the attributes of his future soul rings:
Sixth ring — Fire
Seventh ring — True Form of the Spirit Tool
Eighth ring — Ice
Ninth ring — Lightning
That ninth one would be Lei Huang's.
Honestly, if Xiao Lin didn't need extreme lightning or that rare time attribute, he wouldn't even bother with Lei Huang's mere 300,000-year soul ring.
The two Dragon Kings' soul rings, after all, were easily over a million years.
At his level, he no longer needed to pick soul rings for compatibility—only for power and potential.
If he could obtain a soul ring with the time attribute, the gains would be far greater.
Lei Huang just happened to have what Xiao Lin wanted.
Besides, when he awakened his second martial soul—the Evil God Tiger—its rings might also hold time or space attributes.
After thinking for less than three seconds, Xiao Lin suddenly recalled the name Beast God Di Tian.
"Lei Lei, did you just say… 'Dragon God's Claw'?"
He knew Di Tian was powerful—but he never imagined that he could actually use the Dragon God's Claw!
Hadn't the two Dragon Kings told him that the Dragon God was the most powerful of all?
So if Di Tian could use one of the Dragon God's own skills… just how strong was he? Could he even fight gods?
With his limited knowledge of Douluo Continent, Xiao Lin had always considered Di Tian to be at least a god-level being. But one who could wield the Dragon God's Claw… just how high did his power rank?
"Yes, Di Tian really can use it. He even shouted the name of the move when he attacked," Lei Lei confirmed.
At that moment, the Ice Dragon King—who'd been listening to their conversation—suddenly interrupted.
"Ah, so it was him! Isn't he Old Hei's son?"
The Fire Dragon King blinked, surprised.
"Old Hei's son? Wasn't he the personal guard captain of the Dragon God? He's still alive?"
"If he's alive, maybe he went to protect the other dragons," the Ice Dragon King muttered, eyes gleaming coldly as he analyzed.
"Wait," she continued, "could it be that little girl beside you, Xiao Lin—the one with the Golden Dragon King's bloodline?"
The Fire Dragon King's eyes lit up.
"No, no. The Golden Dragon King was never that bright—it's probably the Silver Dragon King!"
The Ice Dragon King shook his head, rejecting the idea of the Golden Dragon King.
But the moment the words "Silver Dragon King" left their mouths, both Dragon Kings spoke in unison:
"Xiao Lin, we want you to protect the Silver Dragon King."
"Huh? Me?"
Xiao Lin froze. Did he look that strong already?
Protecting the Silver Dragon King—that sounded like protecting someone on the level of a god!
"Don't worry," said the Fire Dragon King. "We'll train you. You'll become much stronger."
"Indeed," added the Ice Dragon King. "And don't fret—there are plenty of treasures by the Silver Dragon King's side that'll benefit you. With us around, she'll definitely share some with you."
"Ah, come on," Xiao Lin said, feigning exasperation though his eyes lit up at the mention of rewards. "You think I'd refuse to help you after becoming stronger?"
He had originally planned to grow stronger first, then maybe protect the Silver Dragon King—or revive the two Dragon Kings and let them do it.
But now that they'd said it outright, he had no choice but to train harder.
Sigh…
After accepting the Dragon Kings' new mission, Xiao Lin returned to reality and reflected on what he'd gained.
Even without a time-based soul skill, he was satisfied.
The strongest gain wasn't just the new ability—it was the understanding of how to fight.
He remembered how, in the original timeline, Tang San had gained the Titan Giant Ape's sacrifice, and his Clear Sky Hammer's first soul skill gave him terrifying attack power.
But Xiao Lin also remembered clearly that the cost of using that skill was enormous.
Even Tang San—who had near-infinite soul power—barely used it afterward.
For anyone else, a hundred-thousand-year soul skill would've drained their energy dry in seconds.
Xiao Lin was no exception.
His Innate Spirit Tool True Form reduced consumption only when his soul power stayed within the Qiu Long Staff. As long as it didn't leave the staff, it wouldn't drain much power.
If he tried to channel the skills directly through his body, even with compressed energy and hidden reserves, he could only use a few before exhausting himself.
Now, however, he finally knew how to use them properly.
That meant he could unleash even a hundred-thousand-year soul skill without massive loss.
His overall combat power soared.
In fact, he could even consider fighting a Contra-level expert.
He even wanted to spar with Dugu Bo to test his limits.
With his power growing so fast, his thoughts naturally drifted to the gang that had once hunted him down—and its leader.
That man deserved to die.
Also, if he absorbed his left leg bone, he could break through to Level 60 and obtain another soul ring.
However, the two Dragon Kings forbade it.
They told him to stabilize first—to strengthen his spirit power and life force before absorbing the bone.
They also instructed him to get used to his new strength and stop burying himself in research all the time.
That suited Xiao Lin perfectly.
He wanted to spar with Dugu Bo anyway—to let the old poison master "feed him moves."
After all, once he reached Level 70, he'd be going after the Evil God Tiger… and that thing's space domain was too dangerous to face without battle experience.
Better to be prepared.
(End of Chapter)