Douluo Continent III Haotian Wulin

The golden figure looked at him, its voice remaining calm.

"Your ability to get here means you already possess the foundation to absorb the first seal. To absorb the Golden Dragon King's essence, firstly, your body must be strong enough. Secondly, you will need some external aids."

It raised its hand and pointed to the huge golden dragon above, which was locked by eighteen blue halos.

"For the first seal, you need to prepare three things. Once you have them all and consume them at the same time, I will naturally help you unlock the power of the first seal."

Tang Wulin clenched his fists instinctively.

"Which three?"

The golden light and shadow said, "A hundred-year-old Ice Crystal Fruit, a hundred-year-old Crimson Flame Fruit, and ten drops of blood from a hundred-year-old soul beast with dragon bloodline."

Tang Wulin's heart sank upon hearing the name.

He had never even heard of the first two kinds of fruit, and the last one made his scalp tingle.

"But..." he couldn't help but look up, "Aren't soul beasts already scarce? Where am I supposed to find these things?"

The golden light and shadow fell silent for a moment, as if deep in thought.

After a moment, it slowly spoke: "I don't know."

"That's all I can tell you. How you find it and how you do it is your problem, not mine."

Its voice suddenly deepened.

"Remember this. The essence of the Golden Dragon King is both an opportunity and a disaster for you. Absorb it and you will become stronger; but if you become stronger too slowly, and the seal cannot suppress its power, you will die."

"Before the age of ten, the first seal must be broken and absorbed. Otherwise, I won't be able to suppress it anymore."

Ten years old.

Tang Wulin's heart tightened.

It seems like there are only about six months left until I turn ten.

Six months to find these three things?

Before he could think any further, the golden light and shadow spoke again.

"When you are ready, visualize the dragon while meditating, and I will guide you here again."

"Now, I'll see you out."

"Wait a minute!" Tang Wulin hurriedly called out.

The golden light and shadow frowned slightly.

"I am but a wisp of divine consciousness, with a limited lifespan; let's not waste it."

Tang Wulin hurriedly asked, "Then when I was cut by Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger, the golden scales that appeared on my body were also because of it?"

"Yes," the golden light said. "That is the power of the Golden Dragon King, which was briefly revealed after being stimulated by a power with the aura of dragon blood. But you have no control over it until the seal is truly broken."

It looked at Tang Wulin and said, word by word:

"So, hurry up and find those three things."

Tang Wulin wanted to ask more questions, but the surroundings suddenly began to distort.

The entire dark world seemed to be stirred up by an invisible hand; in the midst of the dizzying spin, all light and shadow rapidly receded. The enormous golden dragon, the eighteen seals, the golden light and shadow, and the blue-brick palace all blurred in an instant.

The next moment, he suddenly woke up.

I was covered in sweat.

My clothes were soaked through and clung to my body, making me feel incredibly uncomfortable. The burning sensation that had risen from deep within my body was gradually fading away.

Tang Wulin sat on the bed, his chest heaving, still somewhat dazed.

Was it a dream?

Is it still a dream?

He took a few breaths, but his eyes gradually cleared.

Not a dream.

If it weren't for the repeated appearances of golden scales and the strange changes within his body, he might have truly regarded everything that had just happened as an absurd dream.

But now, he can't do it anymore.

If it was just a dream, why did it feel so real?

Why is Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger able to stimulate the golden scales on his body?

Why was my strength not particularly exaggerated when I was young, but only after my martial soul awakened did my body begin to become extraordinary day by day?

But what if this isn't a dream...?

Why is there a dragon inside my body?

Why would that thing put me at risk of death at any moment?

Tang Wulin's mind was in complete turmoil.

The golden light didn't say much, but instead left him with even more questions.

He sat there in a daze for a while before shaking his head forcefully to calm himself down. He quietly got out of bed, ran to the bathroom to wash himself, changed into dry clothes, and climbed back into bed.

This time, he didn't lie down immediately, but sat cross-legged, head down, slowly sorting out his thoughts.

calm.

Must be calm.

This is the only thing he can say to himself right now.

Gradually, he finally managed to sort out two clear lines from his chaotic thoughts.

First, there truly is a dragon's power hidden within his body that threatens his life. If it isn't dealt with, he will die.

Secondly, if one can gradually break the seal and absorb that power, one will become stronger, and extremely strong.

Tang Wulin slowly exhaled.

Therefore, my most important task right now is not to dwell on whether it counts as a dream or not, but to find those three things as soon as possible and try to break the first seal.

Only when you actually do it will you know what it really means.

If we could truly use this to control the power that manifests when the golden scales appear...

Thinking of this, a complex warmth welled up in his heart.

The word "death" is not as heavy for a nine-year-old child as an adult understands it. Tang Wulin was certainly afraid, but this fear was far less intense than the thought that "I must do something right now."

A century-old Ice Crystal Fruit, a century-old Crimson Flame Fruit, plus ten drops of blood from a century-old soul beast with dragon bloodlines.

Just from the names, he knew these things wouldn't be cheap.

But he had no idea exactly how expensive it was.

With these complex and heavy feelings, Tang Wulin closed his eyes again and began to meditate.

This time, he quickly became engrossed in it.

……

The next morning, all four of them in the dormitory woke up.

After a night of meditation, everyone was in good spirits.

Xie Xie rolled over and jumped off the bed.

"Come on, Wu Lin, let's go eat."

Tang Wulin glanced at him and couldn't help but say, "You haven't washed up yet."

"Uh..." Xie Xie paused for a moment, then touched his nose. "I'm so hungry. Then hurry up and go wash up!"

Tang Wulin did not get up immediately, but looked at him and asked:

"Xie Xie, I have a question for you. Have you ever heard of the Ice Crystal Fruit and the Crimson Flame Fruit?"

Xie Xie was taken aback.

"Ice Crystal Fruit? Crimson Flame Fruit? Of course I've heard of them."

He looked at Tang Wulin with some surprise.

"These two kinds of spiritual fruits are quite common; they're sold in stores. They're generally used by fire or ice attribute soul masters to nourish their bodies and meridians. Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

Tang Wulin's previously anxious heart immediately felt relieved.

What he feared most was not even knowing what the thing was or where to find it.

"Well..." He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are these two kinds of fruit very expensive?"

Xie Xie casually replied, "Those from ordinary years aren't too expensive, maybe ten or twenty thousand Federal Credits each, depending on the quality."

Tens or twenty thousand!

Tang Wulin was immediately overjoyed.

The price isn't low, but at least it's not entirely hopeless.

But he was still uneasy and asked again, "What about the better quality ones? Like... the century-old kind?"

Xie Xie rolled his eyes.

"Do you have no idea what a spirit fruit is?"

"Spiritual fruits that are ten years or older are already considered quite good. Those that are over a hundred years old are no longer ordinary tonics; they are already at the level of spiritual treasures. If they are truly a hundred years old, they will not be sold in ordinary stores; they will only appear at auctions."

Tang Wulin's heart skipped a beat.

"So... how much would a hundred-year-old Ice Crystal Fruit and Crimson Flame Fruit cost?"

Xie Xie thought for a moment and said, "These two items aren't the rarest, and there's always demand. A 100-year-old item would probably fetch between 800,000 and 1 million Federal Credits at auction. Exceptionally high quality ones could be even more."

Tang Wulin froze for a moment.

Between 800,000 and 1 million.

It's still one.

There were two of them.

Not to mention that ten drops of blood from a hundred-year-old soul beast with dragon bloodline will be added later.

He had initially thought that the 100,000 Federal Credits he had saved through forging over the past few months was a considerable sum. But now it seemed that his savings were barely enough to even reach the threshold.

"Wu Lin?" Xie Xie noticed that his expression was off and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you suddenly asking about this? You don't need it, do you? You're not a dual-attribute ice and fire soul master."

Tang Wulin forced a smile.

"Just asking casually."

Xie Xie, however, was not so easily fooled and continued, "Spiritual fruits are not something that many people eat casually. They are very potent, especially the older they are, the more overpowering they become. If the body cannot handle them, they can damage the foundation. Unless it is a special situation, no one would easily touch something of this level."

He added another sentence after saying that.

"Of course, those over a thousand years old are another matter. But those are no longer ordinary spiritual fruits; they are true rare treasures. At that level, you can't just buy them with money."

Tang Wulin nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

But his heart had already sunk completely.

Six months.

So much money.

And then there's the last, most difficult one: the century-old dragon blood.

This is not something he could easily do with his current abilities.

But the more he did this, the faster he calmed down.

Panic won't help.

The most important thing now is not to despair, but to find a solution.

He raised his head and looked at Xie Xie, speaking as naturally as possible.

"Xie Xie, could you take me to an auction this week during your day off? I've never been before."

"Sure," Xie Xie agreed readily. "What's so difficult about that?"

After saying that, he turned around and went to wash up.

Tang Wulin sat on the bed, remained silent for a moment, and then took out the soul communication device that he didn't usually use from his storage ring and dialed a number.

"Beep...beep..."

The communication was established very quickly.

Mang Tian’s familiar voice came from the other side.

"Wu Lin? What's wrong?"

Tang Wulin gripped the communicator and whispered, "Teacher, will you come to Donghai City this weekend?"

There was a pause on the other end.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem with the forging?"

"No." Tang Wulin shook his head, then quickly added, remembering that the other person couldn't see him, "I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

Mang Tian remained silent for a moment.

"Perfect timing, I also have something to tell you. I'll be there this afternoon."

Tang Wulin felt a sense of relief.

"Okay. I'll wait for you at the studio."

"Um."

The call was disconnected.

Tang Wulin slowly put down the soul-guided communicator in his hand, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The seal is there.

I only have six months.

What we need most right now, in the final analysis, is money.

To earn more money.

Relying on my current slow pace of accepting level-two forging tasks is clearly not enough. I have to find a way, a faster way.