"So that's why it took so long!"
Jiang Qingtong said with a smile to Infernal Delicate Apricot.
Infernal Delicate Apricot's eyes were filled with shock. Suddenly realizing something, she exclaimed,
"You just now… where did that ten-thousand-year soul ring come from?!"
"Secret."
Jiang Qingtong didn't bother explaining. Instead, she communed silently with Destiny, asking how she could extract the power of the two Dragon Kings—so that she herself could gain draconic traits and properly wield her Golden Dragon Martial Soul.
Destiny quickly responded.
After listening to its instructions, Jiang Qingtong and Jiang Shengyu nodded in unison and clasped each other's hands.
Seeing them hold hands again, Infernal Delicate Apricot—already traumatized by their previous display—instantly grew wary, taking a large step back while keeping her eyes fixed on the two.
But this time, Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong did not unleash their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Where their hands met, brilliant light erupted, forming a glowing halo. From within that radiance, threads of light extended outward, reaching toward the massive remains of the two Dragon Kings.
The threads touched the dragon bones and burrowed within. At once, their color shifted from pure white to alternating hues of icy blue and fiery red—they were drawing out the dragons' residual power.
As the energy was extracted, it became visible to the naked eye: the two Dragon Kings' bones gradually lost their divine luster, their golden flow of light dimming, as if something called divinity was being stripped away.
Meanwhile, the aura radiating from Jiang Qingtong and Jiang Shengyu grew heavier, more profound.
Since Jiang Shengyu had no need for draconic energy to strengthen himself, the majority of that vast power surged into Jiang Qingtong's body.
Her five soul rings appeared uncontrollably once again, each resonating as immense energy poured into them. The last and newest ring—the ten-thousand-year one—began to shift in color, deepening rapidly into a blood-red hue.
A hundred-thousand-year soul ring!
Under the overwhelming might of the dragon bones, Jiang Qingtong's ten-thousand-year ring had directly advanced to the hundred-thousand-year level!
This sight left Infernal Delicate Apricot and all the other plant-type beasts utterly dumbfounded.
Impossible—how could this be?!
Not only could her soul rings be attached at will, but their quality could even be upgraded?!
And yet, it didn't stop there.
Even after the last ring evolved to the hundred-thousand-year stage, the dragon bones still contained boundless power. That energy continued to pour into her other soul rings, and in an instant, the two purple ones transformed into ten-thousand-year soul rings as well!
By the time the fourth ring turned black with faint streaks of dark red, the flow finally settled.
Before the stunned beasts stood an unprecedented configuration: four black rings and one red.
For the plant-type beasts who had lived their entire lives within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—isolated from the outside world—this was a terrifying sight. Apart from Tang San ten thousand years ago, they had never seen a human with such a soul ring combination!
"You… who exactly… are you?"
Infernal Delicate Apricot's trembling voice broke the silence.
But Jiang Qingtong had no interest in answering.
The Mirror Lotus floated before her, and the golden dragon pattern engraved upon it began to shine. Each vein of the pattern shimmered with flowing golden light until the silver, crystalline lotus gradually transformed into a radiant Golden Lotus!
A clear, resonant dragon's roar echoed from within her body as waves of draconic might rolled outward.
Before their eyes, the two Dragon Kings' skeletal remains crumbled apart, disintegrating into pale dust. From within that white mist, countless golden filaments weaved together, forming a single weapon—a long spear.
Its surface gleamed like flawless jade, its body smooth and pure.
The white-jade-like spear descended into Jiang Qingtong's hand. As she lightly swung it, the waters of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well surged in response, rippling violently.
The entire valley filled with the oppressive pressure of dragon might.
This was the Icefire Dragon Spear—a weapon crafted by Destiny for Jiang Qingtong, meant to complement her Golden Dragon Martial Soul. Though not as powerful as the original Golden Dragon Spear, it could still fully bear the divine might of her golden dragon soul.
A counterfeit, perhaps—but functional enough.
The Mirror Lotus slowly closed as Jiang Qingtong withdrew the Icefire Dragon Spear. The golden light faded, and with it, the dragon aura dissipated.
Infernal Delicate Apricot stared at the crater left where the dragon bones had vanished. After a long silence, she turned to Jiang Qingtong and said softly,
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well… it's completely ruined now. For us plants who've lived here… there's nothing left for us anymore…"
She paused, glancing at Jiang Qingtong and Jiang Shengyu, then continued in a pitiful tone,
"We've lived here for over ten thousand years! Now, our home is gone!"
Both Jiang Qingtong and Jiang Shengyu immediately understood her implication.
They smiled. Jiang Qingtong cleared her throat and said lightly,
"As long as you swear allegiance to me—"
She hadn't even finished when Infernal Delicate Apricot cried out in protest,
"What? Swear allegiance? That's not what you said to that Earth Dragon Gourd earlier!"
"Sorry, big sis!" Jiang Shengyu replied with a smirk. "Timing matters when you switch sides. Starting a rebellion at the beginning and surrendering only when you're surrounded and dying—those aren't the same thing, are they?"
Infernal Delicate Apricot's expression shifted constantly. After a long hesitation, she muttered,
"But… as fierce beasts, we will never submit to humans…"
"Then what's there to talk about?"
Jiang Shengyu shrugged, turning to the Earth Dragon Gourd. "Brother Gourd, let's go. We'll send you to the Lake of Life."
"Eh! Okay!" The Earth Dragon Gourd nodded eagerly, his face full of excitement.
Though plants needed to take root in the earth, those like the Earth Dragon Gourd—who had already achieved the cultivation of a fierce beast—could temporarily leave the ground without issue.
As they watched him carefully wrap his main body and pull free from the soil to rest in Jiang Shengyu's hand, the other sentient immortal herbs looked on with envy.
Sometimes, choice mattered more than effort.
The first to speak up was the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.
"If we swear allegiance to you, can you also send us to the Lake of Life?"
The extreme ice-type beast, ever fond of gambling, fixed its eyes on Jiang Shengyu.
"Of course," Jiang Shengyu nodded. "I swear it."
Though his tone was calm, the beasts could all sense the power behind that oath—and were astonished by how perfectly his energy harmonized with the will of Heaven and Earth.
Once the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass had sworn allegiance and was taken in by Jiang Shengyu, the rest soon followed.
It was only because these beasts had lived isolated within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well that they were so naïve. Any soul beast on the wider Douluo Continent would never swear allegiance so easily over a simple promise.
Before long, every sentient plant-type beast except for Infernal Delicate Apricot had chosen to submit.
Her fiery red figure now stood alone, looking desolate amidst the fading glow of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
The dragon bones beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well were something the protagonist was fated to take.
And once taken, the Well was doomed to lose its mystical properties.
For the soul beasts who lived there, that meant the loss of their accelerated cultivation—a reality beyond dispute.
The protagonist didn't force them to leave. But since they wanted his help relocating to the Lake of Life, well—sorry.
Submission was the price.
The protagonist wasn't a saint.
As he himself had said—timing matters when you surrender.
The Earth Dragon Gourd had chosen his side from the beginning, and did the protagonist demand his submission? No.
But for those who only bowed their heads after he'd taken the dragon bones and their future had crumbled, expecting the same treatment?
How could such a thing exist?
The protagonist wasn't running a charity.
This was about his own cultivation, his path forward.
No matter how much he believed humans and soul beasts should coexist peacefully, he could never give up the power of the Golden Dragon he had carved into his destiny.
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