The Legend of the Dragon King

“Dragon God Transformation?” The referee cracked a bitter smile. “Fine. You win.”

Tang Wulin grinned. He waved at the silent audience, who were too stunned to make a peep. Then with a smirk, he moved a finger to his lips and shushed them.

Xie Xie nudged Tang Wulin as he supported his captain, urging him to make their getaway. If not, then they would soon be drenched in a rain of spit. He paused to readjust his grip on Tang Wulin. “You really are a glutton.”

Tang Wulin looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

Rolling his eyes, Xie Xie said, “You’re so heavy. Isn’t it obvious?”

Silent, Tang Wulin brought a hand to his belly, patting and prodding the flesh. Xie Xie rolled his eyes again at the sight.

Finished with his inspection, Tang Wulin glanced at Gu Yue. Her eyes were closed, and she was only standing thanks to Xu Xiaoyan’s support.

He leaned toward Gu Yue, speaking softly into her ear. “Is the skill really called the Dragon God Transformation? Or did you just come up with that name?”

Her eyes burst open. She stared into his own, whispering, “Dragon God Transformation. The first transformation is Dragon God Awakens.”

“Is there a second transformation?” Tang Wulin asked, eyes wide.

“Yes. Dragon God’s Nine Transformations.” Though weak, her voice carried a forceful edge.

A shiver ran down Tang Wulin’s spine. But he was too exhausted to pursue the topic any further.

Imperial Sun Moon Academy’s staff and students alike watched as the six left the premises, faces pinched in conflict. No matter how prideful they might be, they couldn’t deny the strength of the Shrek Academy students. In a six versus six battle, despite having three Soul Ancestors and two soul fusion skills, their team still suffered a total defeat.

The words from the megaphone rang true: today they were shown the gap in strength between Shrek Academy and themselves.

☀

Tang Wulin and his friends stumbled out of the elevator, arms flailing and elbows jutting into each other. They were in a hurry to leave the Imperial Sun Moon Academy.

The moment they crossed the gates, they were startled by an impenetrable crowd. They knew Bright City was highly populated, but this went beyond their imagination.

The match had been broadcasted to every household and public television in all of Bright City. Countless people had watched the entire match with bated breath, on the edge of their seats. Now many of them were coming to see the victors with their own eyes.

Tang Wulin stuffed a pork bun into his mouth and took a deep breath. He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t fall unconscious now. Gu Yue, on the other hand, didn’t seem to carry that same goal, eyes shut tight. Whether she was awake or not was anyone’s guess.

It’d be great if we had a car right now! Tang Wulin rubbed his forehead. Unfortunately for them, they had abandoned their car on the highway.

As he was drowning in self-pity, a car dove from the sky and landed right in front of them. The door swung open to reveal Wu Zhangkong in the driver’s seat. “Get in.”

Teacher Wu! Tang Wulin burst into a smile.

The six young men and women dashed into the car. Once they were strapped in, the doors closed and Wu Zhangkong took off. They sat nervously in their seats as the vehicle soared, accelerating through the sky.

☀

In a conference room tucked within the Imperial Sun Moon Academy, elderly and middle-aged men sat at a round table, their faces grim.

“Well, speak up. What do you all think of the match?” All eyes moved to the speaker, an elderly man sitting at the head of the table.

“I don’t know what I should say,” said a middle-aged man seated next to the first speaker. “Be it in terms of martial soul or battle prowess, we should have been superior. But they still managed to beat us in the end. Although there were six of them, one of the Shrek Academy students was a food-type. As such, they basically had five combatants.” Shaking his head, he said “The one we should pay the most attention to is that Tang Wulin. He was able to tip the scales in their favor by defeating Long Chen in an instant. I still can’t understand how he did it. Just how was Long Chen eliminated so quickly? From what we saw of his strength afterward, Tang Wulin shouldn’t have been able to overwhelm Long Chen like that.”

“I asked Long Chen about that earlier,” said another man. “Apparently, his martial soul and soul power were struck with fear when he faced Tang Wulin. It made it impossible to bring out his full strength. Just think about their seven-colored soul fusion skill. It was outrageously oppressive. It was the aura of a tyrant.”

The elder at the head of the table frowned. “It’s not just tyrannical might. No, it must have been martial soul and attribute suppression as well.” His eyes flashed with a solemn light. “A higher being dominating those below it.”

“How can that be?” blurted out one of the academy executives. The rest broke into speculative murmurs.

They could not comprehend such a situation. Long Chen’s martial soul was the Holy Radiant Dragon! It was one of the martial souls that stood at the very apex of the world. In fact, his was a stronger variant. They had nearly spent their entire annual budget just to lure him away from joining Shrek Academy.

Furthermore, among draconic martial souls, the Holy Radiant Dragon was among the cream of the crop. It was hard for them to believe that there was a dragon higher up on the hierarchy.

“The facts are facts, even if we struggle to believe them. That Tang Wulin must have a dragon martial soul as well, and one that outclasses every other dragon. Out of the countless dragon martial souls, only a few like the Beast God of the Great Star Dou Forest can overwhelm the Holy Radiant Dragon,” said the elder, deep in thought.

As the Headmaster of the Imperial Sun Moon Academy, it was true that he couldn’t tolerate their shameful defeat. But that was just it. Shame. What truly sank his heart, the elephant in the room, was the disparity in strength between Shrek Academy and themselves.

He had placed his hopes on this generation’s representative team. In fact, the full team numbered seven, not six. They were the Imperial Sun Moon Academy’s Seven Shining Stars. They were the champions that were supposed to defeat Shrek Academy’s team. Yet in their debut match, they themselves were defeated.

This has to be one of their schemes! The headmaster gritted his teeth I bet Shrek already knew about our Seven Stars. They specially targeted them. There’s no way we would have lost otherwise!

A senior executive interrupted his internal agony. “Is the Beast God you’re talking about the Gold-eyed Black Dragon King, Beast God Di Tian?”

The Headmaster nodded. “Yes, him. He’s the reason why the Great Star Dou Forest still exists. His cultivation level is already over eight hundred thousand years, the true lord of the soul beasts. I’m not sure how many four-word battle armor masters it would take just to stall him in his human form. He had escaped with a several other soul beasts years ago when we attempted to neutralize them, and now they hide in the heart of the Great Star Dou Forest. With them occupying the forest, it’s become a forbidden area.

“That Tang Wulin’s martial soul’s aura was really bright, nothing like the Gold-eyed Black Dragon King’s. It must be another supreme dragon that Shrek Academy dug up. He only has three rings at the moment, but he already possesses a piece of one-word battle armor. His future is unimaginable. We have to investigate him.” Bringing a hand to his chin, the Headmaster continued, “Investigate that Gu Yue girl as well. Her three blue fireballs consumed over half of the Skytiger soul fusion skill’s power. Despite acting only once throughout the battle, she had done so at a crucial moment. We can’t underestimate her.

“There’s also that Ye Xinglan.” He started counting on his fingers. “She’s even stronger than Liushuang. Her Stargod Sword Arts are simply at a higher level. And that girl who summoned the gold light. Her control skills are unbelievable. She was even able to restrain the Ice Goddess for a split second.

“I’m afraid that even in a one-on-one scenario, each of their members outclass ours. Examine the match thoroughly. I want data and an analysis of every second.”

“Understood!”

☀

Moments after the car had taken to the air, a wave of dizziness crashed upon Tang Wulin. Darkness encroached on his vision from the sides. His body felt heavy and limp, and he could barely sit up straight in his seat. The pressure of the match and the Dragon God Transformation had drained him of energy. Not only did it consume his soul power, but his blood essence and mental strength as well. A second later, he gave in to the call of slumber.

In his dreams, the Golden Dragon King’s fourth seal bulged and bent to some unseen force, on the verge of cracking entirely.

“Wake up,” someone whispered into his ear.

He opened his eyes and found himself in the palace in the depths of his mind. Standing before him, a shimmering golden figure.

“Old Tang,” Tang Wulin said. It had been a while since they last met.

“Boy, you really know how to make people worry!” Old Tang sighed.

Tang Wulin stared at Old Tang, concern clouding his eyes. “Old Tang, what happened?”