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Early the next morning, as Xiao Wu and the others headed back to train under the Sea God's Light, Chu Chengzhou wasted no time. Summoning Xiao Yin and Xiao Guang, he temporarily left the Sea God Island.
Once clear of the island, Chu Chengzhou sat cross-legged atop the spine of Xiao Yin, his Space Holy Dragon spirit. Using himself as the core and his spirit as an auxiliary, he fused with Xiao Guang, his Light Holy Dragon spirit, entering the Humanized Spirit State. He then unleashed his True Spirit Domain.
Domain Skill: Sovereign of Heaven and Earth activated—his entire domain warped like a miniature black hole, drawing in the ambient water-elemental energy from the surrounding sea at an astonishing rate.
Simultaneously, Nine Breaths Qi Absorption surged within him. Acting as a conduit, he rapidly refined the incoming water-elemental energy and channeled it directly into Xiao Guang, now fused within his body, accelerating the spirit's growth.
While upgrading his own spirit, Chu Chengzhou also split his focus—extending his spiritual perception to scan the nearby ocean for apex sea soul beasts suitable for Ning Rongrong's eighth soul ring.
For him, these two tasks weren't mutually exclusive.
Xiao Wu's soul rings weren't a concern—The Sea God Poseidon, who viewed her as his divine heir, was likely even more invested than he was.
Hu Liena's needs were also covered: her eighth and ninth soul rings would come from Evil Emperor (Evil Eye Tyrant Emperor) and the million-year Ice Silkworm, respectively. Chu Chengzhou planned to hunt them only after completing his Nine Heavens Chaos Battle Armor and bonding with a million-year spirit.
As for Zhu Zhuqing—though the vast ocean teemed with apex beasts, finding one compatible with her Nether Spirit Cat was near impossible. She'd likely have to rely on Divine Bestowed rings.
Along his journey, Chu Chengzhou traveled with brazen confidence—his True Spirit Domain blanketing a full kilometer in every direction, greedily siphoning elemental energy. Every sentient sea soul beast in the region sensed the disturbance and wisely kept their distance.
And for good reason. Anyone foolish enough to challenge him would first have to reckon with his mount: a hundred-thousand-year Space Holy Dragon.
True, the ocean harbored apex beasts capable of overpowering Xiao Yin—but Chu Chengzhou's spiritual senses were so acute that he'd always detect them long before they spotted him.
And whether they survived that encounter? That depended entirely on Lord Chu's mood.
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Time flew. Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
That afternoon, a silver dragon silhouette streaked across the azure sky above the open sea.
Atop Xiao Yin's back, Chu Chengzhou radiated nine soul rings, his True Spirit Domain voraciously consuming water-elemental energy. His aura had grown dramatically stronger compared to two weeks prior.
Though he hadn't yet found a suitable high-year-count sea apex beast for Ning Rongrong's eighth soul ring, his own gains were substantial.
After days of devouring elemental energy, the ninth soul ring—now the outermost ring around him—displayed nine golden patterns. This confirmed that Xiao Guang's corresponding ninth soul ring had reached over 900,000 years, teetering on the million-year threshold.
As his spirit's foundation strengthened, so did Chu Chengzhou's power in the Humanized Spirit State. Though his strength couldn't be calculated by simple addition (e.g., "99 + 9 = 108"), his temporary combat level now exceeded Level 100.
Notably, since spirit summons might not qualify as true lifeforms, Xiao Guang—despite nearing a million years—had never faced a heavenly tribulation, unlike natural soul beasts who endured one every 100,000 years.
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Half an hour later, a surge of power erupted from Chu Chengzhou atop Xiao Yin.
Xiao Guang had officially ascended to million-year status.
"Million-year soul ring—complete!"
Chu Chengzhou roared in triumph as the nine golden patterns on his outermost ring fused into one, transforming the crimson-gold ring into a pure, radiant gold.
In the next instant, a beam of holy light shot from his body, materializing beside him over the ocean as Xiao Guang's draconic form.
"ROAR—!"
A thunderous dragon's cry shook the skies. From Xiao Guang's colossal body erupted a dazzling golden holy radiance, bathing the entire seascape in shimmering light.
This sudden brilliance blocked Chu Chengzhou's vision—and even nullified his spiritual perception.
All he could discern was Xiao Guang's silhouette writhing within the luminous aura, undergoing a profound bloodline transformation.
"I wonder what form it'll take…"
Chu Chengzhou mused, having already dismissed Xiao Yin. He watched intently as the Light Holy Dragon spirit remained engulfed in holy light.
When a soul beast surpasses 100,000 years, any sub-par bloodline ascends to top-tier status. Thus, all 100,000-year soul beasts are top-tier by definition.
By the same logic, million-year soul beasts—equivalent to Beast Gods—must possess at least divine-grade bloodlines.
Though Xiao Guang descended from the Light Dragon King, one of the Nine Great Dragon Kings, countless generations of dilution had long degraded his bloodline to merely "peak sub-divine."
Now, at million-year status, his bloodline was undergoing ascension and refinement.
As Chu Chengzhou pondered what new form Xiao Guang would take, a ripple of Time Law energy suddenly pulsed from within the holy light.
"Time…?"
Chu Chengzhou's brow arched in surprise.
The emergence of a Law wasn't shocking—after all, a million-year spirit matched a Level 100 god-ranked soul master, who naturally commanded Laws.
But Time and Light Law was a Fusion Law, born from the union of Time and Light.
So where did the Time attribute come from?
Could it be that the Light Holy Dragon lineage connected not only to the Light Dragon King, but also to the Time Dragon King?
Well… dragons were famously… amorous. Purebloods were rare; hybrids, the norm. If even the Light and Dark Dragon Kings could become mates, then in ancient times, a union between a Light-aligned dragon and a Time-aligned dragon wasn't impossible.
Was the Light Holy Dragon's origin precisely such a fusion?
Perhaps the Time attribute was simply too "high-tier"—as the bloodline diluted over eons, only the Light aspect remained visibly dominant, while Time lay dormant… until now.
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The transformation continued. Gradually, the blinding holy light dimmed, condensing into a massive white-gold cocoon.
Crack… crack… crack…
Fine fissures spiderwebbed across its surface.
"ROOOOOAR—!"
With a final, earth-shaking roar, the cocoon shattered explosively.
From the fragments rose a hundred-meter-long dragon, its form majestic and mythical: horns like a stag, head like a camel, eyes like a hare, Neck like a serpent, clam-like patterned belly, scales like a fish, talons like an eagle, paws like a tiger and ears like an ox—
Its entire body sheathed in lustrous white-gold scales, radiating an aura both ancient and divine.
The Dragon of Time had awakened.
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