The geographical location of the Battle Spirit Empire was somewhat advantageous, yet awkward.
Looking at the overall situation, it bordered the Heavenly Soul Empire to the west and the Star Net Empire to the south. However, the distance across the Star Constellation Great Forest was roughly equivalent to traveling from the center of the Heavenly Soul Empire to its southernmost tip. It was simply too far...
Thus, seven-year-old Lan Xuanyu had no choice but to abandon the idea of hunting soul rings in the Star Constellation Great Forest. Instead, he followed the Xuanming Sect's hunting team to the Panlong Forest within the Battle Spirit Empire.
Because the Battle Spirit Empire had the weakest overall national strength and the least developed soul guidance device technology among the original three nations of the Douluo Continent, it had inadvertently preserved this soul beast gathering place, which had been quite famous since the era of the Martial Soul Hall. Although far less renowned than the Star Constellation Great Forest, one could find soul beasts ranging from ten and hundred-year levels to thousand and ten-thousand-year levels in the Panlong Forest. There were even legends of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts deep within its heart.
The primary goal of the Xuanming Sect's expedition was to obtain a second soul ring for the sect's second young master, Xu Sanshi, and then "incidentally" help Lan Xuanyu hunt for his.
Lan Xuanyu particularly disliked the word "incidentally"...
After Xu Sanshi obtained an eight-hundred-year Qinshui Turtle soul ring, it was finally Lan Xuanyu's turn.
As for what kind of soul beast he needed for his first soul ring, Lan Xuanyu had made up his mind long ago.
Leading the Xuanming Sect team was a seven-ring Soul Saint in his forties. He looked sturdy and burly; he was also the Head Steward of the Xuanming Sect, in charge of this hunting operation.
At a deep pool of water, Lan Xuanyu and the others came to a halt. Seeing a faint blue, elongated shadow shimmering in the water, Lan Xuanyu's eyes immediately lit up.
Found it—his target!
Lan Xuanyu pointed at the light blue shadow with great excitement: "Steward Chen, I choose this Clear Water Spiritual Dragon for my first soul ring."
The Clear Water Spiritual Dragon was a sub-dragon species. Rumor had it that it possessed a sliver of Water Dragon bloodline. Although it was a hundred-year soul beast, its water control was not inferior to thousand or even ten-thousand-year soul beasts. For a soul master with a dragon martial soul, it was an exceptionally rare, high-quality soul ring.
This was the highest quality sub-dragon soul beast of suitable age they had found in the Panlong Forest during this period.
Steward Chen's face stiffened. He patted Lan Xuanyu on the shoulder: "Young Lan, according to the cultivation methods left by Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang in the history books, plant-type martial souls like your Blue Silver Grass should head toward poison and control, just like the ancestor Sea God Tang San ten thousand years ago."
"Although this Clear Water Spiritual Dragon has sub-dragon blood, its talent is water control. You should listen to me and choose a Datura Snake instead."
Lan Xuanyu shook his head and gave a confident smile: "Thank you, Steward Chen. I know all of that, but I want to forge a path completely different from Ancestor Tang San! Please trust me, I am certain!"
Steward Chen instinctively frowned. Lan Xuanyu's speech and mannerisms didn't seem like those of a seven-year-old, yet he appeared exceptionally naive in certain aspects; otherwise, one might truly doubt his age...
After thinking it over, he decided that geniuses often have their own ideas, and it wasn't his place to say more.
"Fine. Be careful yourself. If there are any problems, I will interrupt your absorption process. Remember, your life is always the most important thing."
A Clear Water Spiritual Dragon of around three hundred years was naturally no match for a Soul Saint. It was dealt with in short order by Steward Chen, who left it with a final breath and tossed it in front of Lan Xuanyu.
Looking at the Clear Water Spiritual Dragon lying on the ground, breathing its last, a cold glint flashed in Lan Xuanyu's eyes.
This Clear Water Spiritual Dragon was called a dragon, but in appearance, it looked more like a hybrid of a dragon and a snake. It was about five meters long with a snake-like head, no dragon wings or horns, though fine dragon scales grew across its body.
In the eyes of Lan Xuanyu, the orthodox second-generation Dragon God, this was a desecration of the noble bloodline of the Dragon Clan!
'You naturally evil sub-dragon, I shall personally execute you, this rebel of the Dragon Clan!'
Lan Xuanyu slowly crouched down and opened his hand. Vines of the Blue Silver King drilled out from his palm, coiling around the Clear Water Spiritual Dragon like snakes around a pillar. They emitted a faint blue-silver glow, and thread-like strands bored into the dragon's body through its wounds.
As if parasites were crawling inside its body, the half-dead Clear Water Spiritual Dragon suddenly twitched violently. However, the Blue Silver King vines held it firmly. A shimmering blue light flowed through the vines into Lan Xuanyu's body, as if... stealing something.
Yes, Lan Xuanyu was emulating the cultivation method Tang San once used on Planet Falan, using the Mysterious Heaven Skill to devour that meager sliver of dragon bloodline within the Clear Water Spiritual Dragon to grant himself the ability of water control!
Following the old path of his grandfather Tang San? What a joke! Didn't these fools know that his strength in his previous life was even above that of his grandfather, the Sea God Tang San?
The power of the Dragon God was so immense that the Sea God could not possibly rival it!
Whether it was the Blue Silver King or the Blue Silver Emperor, in Lan Xuanyu's eyes, they were far inferior to the power of the Dragon God. This was the direction he excelled in most, so he chose his first soul skill to be exactly like his previous life: Water Element Control.
The Blue Silver King martial soul was of the wood attribute and lacked water control abilities, but that didn't mean Lan Xuanyu had no solution.
Drawing on the improvements to his grandfather's Mysterious Heaven Skill and the "Dragon Hunting and Body Tempering" operations of his generation's Shrek Seven Devils on Planet Draco, Lan Xuanyu had found his own path to the Dragon God.
That path was the fusion and sublimation of bloodlines!
In the early stages, he would choose soul rings primarily for elemental control. Once he grew strong enough, he would enter the Core Area of the Star Constellation Great Forest to find his mother, obtain her Silver Dragon King bloodline, and completely master the power of the elements.
Then, he would enter the Dragon Valley and the God Realm, and with his grandfather's help, obtain the Gold Dragon King bloodline and the Dragon God's remains to become the Dragon God!
This was a harder and longer path than in his previous life. Without Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena to protect his path now, he could only compromise in this weak state, using the bloodlines of sub-dragons or dragon-like soul beasts as substitutes.
An hour later, the Dragon Hiding Divine Technique passed down by the Dragon God and the Tang family's exclusive Mysterious Heaven Skill circulated frantically within Lan Xuanyu's body. He finally completely absorbed that sliver of dragon bloodline from the Clear Water Spiritual Dragon.
The Clear Water Spiritual Dragon was now as dead as could be. Its dragon scales had dulled, and its long body had shriveled as if its essence had been sucked dry.
A yellow hundred-year soul ring appeared simultaneously on the Blue Silver King vines in Lan Xuanyu's hand. Droplets of water appeared on the grass leaves, shining brilliantly, as the aura of life appeared alongside the fresh fragrance of plants.
Lan Xuanyu slowly opened his eyes. Looking at this yellow hundred-year soul ring, he shifted his focus.
The water droplets on the leaves seemed to come to life; under his control, they gathered into a stream, forming a small vortex of water about one foot in diameter.
Just like his soul skill in his previous life, it was Water Element Control, though because it was a hundred-year soul ring, it was much stronger than when he first started in his past life.
Lan Xuanyu finally smiled, a very happy smile.
His bitter cultivation over the past year had not been in vain. Although he had only absorbed one soul ring, his soul power had leaped forward to Level 16!
The Dragon God path exclusive to him had begun!
...
Steward Chen looked at the joyfully smiling Lan Xuanyu, then at the shriveled Clear Water Spiritual Dragon. For some reason, he felt a chill in his heart.