The reason Chen Ming referred to his Martial Soul as the Sacred Earth Dragon was because it carried both the bloodline of the Mountain Dragon and that of the Earth Dragon. The fusion of these two lineages elevated his Martial Soul beyond that of ordinary dragons, yet it still fell short of the true Mountain Dragon King Martial Soul.
But this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
The Mountain Dragon's primary attribute was stability, though its command over the earth element was by no means weak. The Earth Dragon, on the other hand, specialized in earth itself, while also embodying the heaviness and steadfastness of the land.
When these two were combined, although they lost the overwhelming dominance of a pure Mountain Dragon, they gained something else in return—a heightened stability and a certain sense of balance that approached perfection. Compared to a pure Mountain Dragon or a pure Earth Dragon, this hybrid Martial Soul possessed an indescribable harmony.
After all, the Mountain Dragon King Martial Soul was simply too powerful. Even as a Martial Soul, it placed an immense burden on its wielder. In Douluo Dalu III, Long Yue had been driven nearly insane by the torment of the Mountain Dragon King Martial Soul—an undeniable reality.
Even with the assistance of AI-like cognition to filter out much of the pain and negative emotions, Chen Ming had no desire to push his body to such extremes.
By contrast, the Sacred Earth Dragon Martial Soul—formed from the fusion of Mountain and Earth Dragon bloodlines—might be slightly weaker, but it was far more stable. It placed almost no strain on the body, while still providing substantial enhancements to physical attributes and overall performance.
When the Dragon God split into the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King, both halves retained the potential to devour the other and become whole again. Among all dragon-kind, the Mountain Dragon was the closest in nature to the Golden Dragon King. The combination of mountain and earth bloodlines further stabilized Chen Ming's Martial Soul.
Thus, Chen Ming conceived a bold plan.
Using his current Martial Soul as a foundation, he intended to center his development around the Mountain Dragon's stability and physical strength, gradually integrating the powers of other dragon clans and Dragon Kings into himself, allowing his Martial Soul to undergo a complete transformation.
The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot did not directly inherit the power of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings. However, because they grew within the spring itself, they had indirectly absorbed traces of power closely related to those two Dragon Kings.
If he could absorb these two immortal herbs into his origin, Chen Ming would then have the confidence to attempt assimilating the powers of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings into his Martial Soul.
Such a feat would likely be impossible for other dragon bloodlines. But the Mountain Dragon's inherent stability—and the enhanced equilibrium resulting from Chen Ming's fusion of mountain and earth—gave him a genuine chance.
Even so, the risks were undeniable.
For now, Chen Ming could only place this plan further down the line, waiting until he possessed sufficient methods and strength before attempting to use his Martial Soul origin as a medium to integrate the powers of multiple dragon clans.
At the very least, he would wait until he could use the Land Dragon Golden Melon to help him form a Spirit Core first…
With these thoughts constantly running through his mind, Chen Ming continued to cultivate diligently within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. As the medicinal effects within his body were gradually refined and his repeated training deepened, both his Spirit Power and physical condition steadily improved.
Ordinarily, Spirit Masters could enhance their physical strength by consuming whale rubber. However, for Chen Ming, this was merely an optional choice—and not even a particularly efficient one.
There were many medicinal treasures capable of strengthening the body. Whale rubber was simply the most famous due to its relatively stable supply and its noticeable effects.
But Chen Ming was currently living within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well itself, a place abundant with such rare treasures. Combined with his mastery of medicinal techniques and his precise awareness of his own body, he had no need to rely on whale glue for additional enhancement.
The cost-to-benefit ratio was simply too low.
That said, if he ever wanted to sell pills or build connections in the future, Chen Ming could consider using whale rubber as a primary ingredient to refine certain body-enhancing pills.
It was simply that Chen Ming's cultivation was advancing too quickly—so quickly that his body's growth was beginning to lag behind. In order to better withstand higher-level, higher-quality Spirit Rings, he had no choice but to set aside extra time for intense physical training.
Yet the more he trained, the more he found himself missing Ye Renxin—or rather, the healing power of the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul.
If he had the support of the Nine Heart Begonia, Chen Ming could push himself to an almost absurd extreme: resting only eight hours every three days, spending another eight hours on basic necessities like eating and sleeping, and devoting the remaining fifty-six hours entirely to relentless training.
For ordinary people, even if their bodies could endure such a regimen, their minds would inevitably collapse under the strain. High-intensity training of that level could easily shatter one's mental state.
But Chen Ming was different.
He could enter a state akin to deep automation, completely ignoring psychological pressure. He could train his body, cultivate his Spirit Power, deduce techniques, and even browse through the novels and dramas stored in his mind—all at the same time, effortlessly.
...
About a week later, Dugu Bo finally returned to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. The moment he arrived, he saw Chen Ming walking upside down on just two fingers. His expression turned slightly strange, and he quickly stepped forward, flipping Chen Ming upright before launching into an eager report of what had been happening outside.
"Do you have any idea? Your name is spreading like wildfire out there!"
"What happened?" Chen Ming waved a hand casually, using his Spirit Power to soothe his slightly fatigued fingers as he removed the dozens of pounds of weights strapped to his body one by one.
"That book you gave to the Crown Prince—it's already spread to every corner of the continent."
"No one knows who leaked the news, but now everyone's saying you've gained both my and Ye Renxin's recognition—that you've inherited our expertise in medicine and poison, and even surpassed us as a prodigy."
"Even though you've never stepped out into the world, your legend is already everywhere. The Heaven Dou Empire has officially announced your appointment to the Crown Prince's residence as his study companion."
"The Star Luo Empire has even issued a bounty for information about you. They've declared that if you're willing to join them, they'll grant you a hereditary marquis title and thousands of acres of land."
"Right now, Spirit Master families of all sizes are talking about you. They say you first created a military innovation and gained royal favor, then caught my attention, and now you've mastered both medicine and poison."
"In the future, even if you don't become a top-tier Spirit Master, you'll still stand among the most powerful figures on the Douluo Continent."
"Even the Spirit Hall—damn that old Chrysanthemum…" Dugu Bo's teeth clenched at the mention, his expression sour, but he continued anyway. Given their current relationship, there was no need to hide anything.
"There's a Titled Douluo in Spirit Hall known as the Chrysanthemum Douluo. His Martial Soul is the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. He's… well, an old rival of mine. Half friend, half enemy, you could say."
"After your medical book spread, it caught Spirit Hall's attention. That old chrysanthemum is an expert in medicine himself, so he personally came to the Heaven Dou Empire to find you—and ran straight into me."
Dugu Bo paused, his expression turning even more peculiar.
"And the first thing he asked me was whether my poison techniques had improved—whether I'd managed to restrain the toxins in my body, going from looking like I was on the verge of dropping dead from poison to appearing completely normal."
Thinking back on it, Dugu Bo couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
"So after all these years, everyone could see that poison had invaded my body. And yet, because I'm the only poison-type Titled Douluo on the continent—the first in history—no one thought they had the right to question it."
"They all assumed I must've cultivated some secret method to break through to Titled Douluo, making myself look like I was being corroded by poison on purpose. Not a single person dared to consider that I might actually be poisoned!"
He snorted angrily.
"It's infuriating! Was I just a joke to them all these years?"