For his third Spirit Ring, Chen Ming had set his sights on a dragonblood hybrid—a mixed-blood offspring born from a hundred-thousand-year White Armored Holy Dragon and a Hell Demon Dragon over fifty thousand years old.
This hybrid currently possessed only 6,400 years of cultivation, yet its combat strength was already comparable to most ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts.
However, ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts generally possessed intelligence comparable to humans and could understand concepts such as familial affection. Furthermore, to true dragons, it was still considered immature, so it continued living beside its mother within the core region of the Star Dou Forest.
Although the hundred-thousand-year White Armored Holy Dragon had been slain over two thousand years ago by Spirit Hall Spirit Masters and turned into a Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone, the fifty-thousand-year Hell Demon Dragon was still no weak existence.
The Hell Demon Dragon clan is currently the only confirmed true dragon tribe in the world. Although the average bloodline and strength of a Hell Demon Dragon are inferior to the traditional Nine Great Dragon Kings, they are indeed a species of True Dragon.
Moreover, because of their special dual attributes of darkness and water, powerful members of the race could fuse the two into a unique Yin Water attribute. Certain exceptional individuals could even awaken the power of Devouring.
Its leader, the Hell Demon Dragon King Zi Ji, was considered to possess a bloodline no weaker than the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian, and was one of the surviving Dragon Kings of the dragon race.
However, the origins of Hell Demon Dragons were rather unusual. These Spirit Beasts were also known as Abyss Demon Dragons and possessed certain traits that did not belong to the dragon race.
This species appeared to have originated from another world before later being assimilated into the dragon race, and they were suspected of not sharing the same ancestor as the traditional dragons.
As a result, some regarded them as true dragons, while others believed Hell Demon Dragons were not pure enough and thus classified them as sub-dragons approaching the level of true dragons.
(Note: Other world-settings also feature Abyss Demon Dragons and Hell Demon Dragons playing minor roles. Just as the Saint Magic Continent has Titan Giant Apes, and the Evil Eyes of the Douluo Continent are the same species as those on the Saint Magic Continent—similar to the setting of various Behemoths—other works have beings with the same name but slightly different settings. However, there is no doubt that this race should be True Dragons, though they do not seem to share a common ancestor with the Douluo-lineage dragons. Because the Great DivineCircle unified various previously unconnected worldviews, it can only be set here that Hell Demon Dragons are True Dragons distributed across different worlds.)
Regardless, a fifty-thousand-year Hell Demon Dragon was still an existence capable of matching a Titled Douluo. Any Spirit Master wishing to hunt the hybrid in front of such a Spirit Beast would first need to face the mother.
Incidentally, over the years, Chen Ming had seen many dragon-type Martial Souls—both true dragon Martial Souls and sub-dragon Martial Souls.
Yet the one that left the deepest impression on him was not the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, which was considered the strongest beast Martial Soul during this era, but rather the Yazi Martial Soul possessed by Ge Long, the grand marshal of the Heaven Dou Empire, known as the Nine-Lives Divine Dragon.
That was a true super-grade dragon Martial Soul. Its quality surpassed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and, among dragons, it belonged to the level of dragon elders above Holy Dragons and approaching the Nine Great Dragon Kings.
Even Xuan Zi's Taotie Divine Ox from Soul Land 2 was inferior in quality due to its impurity. Only after Mu En's soul temporarily purified it into a true Taotie was it able to suppress Di Tian through bloodline pressure alone—which was enough to demonstrate just how terrifying the Yazi Martial Soul truly was.
Unfortunately, Ge Long's personal talent was somewhat lacking. Despite possessing such a Martial Soul, he was only a Level 89 Spirit Douluo at fifty years old.
Far stronger than ordinary people, certainly—but for a Martial Soul of that caliber, it was still somewhat of a waste.
Moreover, because Ge Long's Yazi Martial Soul had mutated from a lower lifeform carrying dragon blood, it most likely could not be stably passed down through generations, making it difficult for its true brilliance to ever fully manifest.
But it was precisely because dragon Spirit Beasts were so powerful, and because dragon-type and sub-dragon Martial Soul Spirit Masters continued to reproduce, that dragon-type Spirit Rings became increasingly precious and highly sought after.
In ancient times, true dragon Spirit Beasts were actually not that rare. After all, many creatures that did not appear dragon-like were still true dragons. Some Spirit Beasts that were not dragons at all even possessed pure dragon bloodlines.
However, as Spirit Masters continued hunting them over generations, true dragon Spirit Beasts were gradually slaughtered to near extinction, and even high-quality sub-dragon Spirit Beasts became increasingly scarce.
If not for an exchange of interests, a Spirit Ring this precious to any dragon-type Spirit Master would never have ended up in Chen Ming's hands.
Even if he had known about it, before developing modern heavy weaponry like tanks, it would have been impossible for him to obtain such a Spirit Ring through his own strength alone.
But now, under Golden Crocodile Douluo's guidance, Chen Ming quickly entered the core region of the Star Dou Forest.
If a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast dared approach, Golden Crocodile Douluo could scare it away with nothing more than a glare and the release of his aura. And if some blind fool still dared charge forward, Golden Crocodile Douluo could usually end the fight with a single punch.
What actually delayed the two of them was the cleanup afterward. Golden Crocodile Douluo would dissect the corpses to preserve valuable parts and check for Spirit Bones, while Chen Ming recorded data and collected samples nearby.
Unfortunately, because the probability of Spirit Beasts dropping Spirit Bones was low, not one of these brainless unlucky creatures produced a valuable ten-thousand-year Spirit Bone.
Led by Golden Crocodile Douluo, the two advanced straight through the Star Dou Great Forest without detouring, directly entering the core region. Golden Crocodile Douluo then took Chen Ming straight to the territory of the Hell Demon Dragon.
It was a mountain rich with exposed high-grade mineral veins, where dense gold and earth elemental energy filled the surroundings.
For Hell Demon Dragons, this environment was actually not ideal. But for dragon species with gold and earth attributes, it was an exceptionally valuable land.
Thousands of years ago, this had once been the territory of the hundred-thousand-year White Armored Holy Dragon. Even after the White Armored Holy Dragon had been slain, its wife and child had continued living here.
Just standing in this place, Chen Ming could feel his Spirit Power surging rapidly, while his Martial Soul felt indescribably comfortable. Although the elemental density here could not compare to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, for ordinary Spirit Masters it was still an extremely rare cultivation paradise.
After climbing halfway up the mountain, the two finally saw a large and small purple dragon tearing apart prey.
The larger one was the Hell Demon Dragon, with a slender body. Its appearance resembled a traditional western dragon—lizard-like in form, with a long neck and tail, wings spread across its back, and a dark purple body that glimmered like violet gemstones beneath the sunlight.
The smaller one was also purple, though its shade was even darker. If its mother's scales reflected light under the sun, then its own scales resembled a deep blackness capable of swallowing light itself.
In terms of appearance, the little dragon looked quite similar to its mother, though its proportions were thicker and sturdier. Sharp bone spikes protruded from its joints, giving it the appearance of being more suited for close combat.
The greatest difference, however, was its back—it was empty, completely lacking wings.
And because of this defect, the little dragon's bloodline only reached the level of a mutant sub-dragon comparable to a true dragon, rather than a genuine true dragon itself.
"ROAR!"
The moment it saw Golden Crocodile Douluo and Chen Ming, the Hell Demon Dragon let out a furious roar. It spread its massive wings to shield its child, while dark purple energy surged across its body. The powers of darkness and water fused together into a thick, almost tangible mass of energy that blasted toward Golden Crocodile Douluo.
"Hmph!"
A fierce light flashed through Golden Crocodile Douluo's eyes as nine Spirit Rings emerged around him one after another. After activating his Martial Soul, his body seemed clad in golden armor radiating dazzling light, while his hands transformed into razor-sharp claws.
He did not even need to use a Spirit Ability. With a casual tearing motion, the skill unleashed by the fifty-thousand-year Hell Demon Dragon was instantly destroyed.
Then, like a cannonball, Golden Crocodile Douluo shot forward and slammed a punch directly into the Hell Demon Dragon's chest.