One hundred units of rare metal per session—Xu Yuan had struck a profitable deal, but Dai Yun'er didn't lose out either.
"Hey! Hurry up and give me a few more sessions!" Dai Yun'er urged impatiently.
Xu Yuan shook his head, looking at her.
Dai Yun'er gave an awkward laugh.
Her true nature had accidentally slipped out.
"Um… good brother, can you give me a few more sessions?"
Xu Yuan felt goosebumps rise on his skin.
He had only meant to remind her to be polite, not encourage this kind of behavior. He thought it was a bit uncomfortable when she suddenly switched from calling him "good brother" to "hey," but he hadn't intended for her to go back to this state.
He merely wanted her to show some basic manners.
As for her attitude…
Xu Yuan didn't bother correcting her.
He summoned a dragon cloud.
The dragon cloud entered Dai Yun'er's body, causing her to tremble all over.
This was her third experience, and her reaction was even more intense. The previous two sessions had awakened her body, and now with a full supply of energy, her physical condition rapidly improved.
Xu Yuan and Dai Yun'er continued walking while enjoying the benefits. With a wave of his hand, Xu Yuan summoned large amounts of dragon clouds. He would then give one to Dai Yun'er and keep the rest for himself.
Essentially, Xu Yuan experienced six sessions of dragon cloud tempering every hour, while Dai Yun'er enjoyed one session every two hours.
In this way, the two spent two days in the Dragon Valley.
"It's so vast."
Dai Yun'er sighed.
They had been walking in a straight line for two days. With the dragon clouds continuously nourishing their bodies and replenishing their stamina, they had been traveling at full strength except for resting and sleeping. Yet, despite this, they still hadn't left this plain.
They hadn't even encountered any other fighters.
"Hmm?" Xu Yuan looked toward the side.
"What is it, Brother Yuan?" Dai Yun'er curiously followed his gaze.
Unfortunately, her Spiritual Eye martial soul was sealed here, so she couldn't see anything. Even though her passive vision enhancement from the Spiritual Eye and her cultivation of the Purple Extreme Demon Eye were extraordinary, her perception still couldn't match Xu Yuan's.
"Big game."
There was a slight fluctuation in Xu Yuan's tone.
"Big game?" Dai Yun'er was startled. She knew exactly what Xu Yuan meant.
In the Dragon Valley, dragon clouds were the purest form of energy, capable of directly integrating into a soul master's body to enhance their blood essence, fully nourish their physique, and even improve their soul power to some extent. Besides dragon clouds, there were also "soul beasts" formed from dragon souls—energy constructs with basic instincts and considerable strength. Killing these "soul beasts" allowed one to absorb the energy of their components. Unlike dragon clouds, the energy from dragon soul-formed "soul beasts" was more aggressive.
If the energy of dragon clouds was like gentle rain nurturing the body, the energy of dragon souls was like violent forging, tempering the soul master's body from the outside in.
Combining both was the greatest benefit of the Dragon Valley.
Unfortunately, very few fighters—almost none—could enjoy both simultaneously.
Dai Yun'er considered herself lucky. Following Xu Yuan, she had already enjoyed countless experiences with dragon clouds and dragon souls, including simultaneous internal and external tempering, which had left her utterly ecstatic.
When Xu Yuan mentioned "big game," Dai Yun'er knew there was a powerful dragon soul-formed soul beast ahead.
Dragon souls had limited power. Their strength corresponded to the blood essence system and lacked soul power or soul skills. Compared to soul masters, ordinary dragon souls were only slightly stronger than Great Soul Masters but weaker than Soul Honors.
Thus, many fighters who entered the valley had the opportunity to defeat dragon souls using pure physical strength.
After all, as Soul Sages willing to risk their lives, they stood a chance against unintelligent dragon souls.
Of course, while ordinary dragon souls were relatively weak, there were also powerful ones that could rival Soul Sages or even Soul Kings!
As they pondered, a massive figure slowly came into view on the distant horizon.
"Earth Dragon Soul!" Dai Yun'er exclaimed.
The dragon soul in the distance was enormous, towering over ten meters high and stretching fifteen meters long. Its presence was deeply connected to the earth, exuding a violent and overwhelming aura.
Dai Yun'er instinctively took a step back, retreating behind Xu Yuan.
---
"Master, we've found it!"
On the other side of the forest where Xu Yuan and the others had entered the Dragon Valley, Gu Yue and her group stood atop a small mountain peak.
A golden-eyed, black-haired man transformed his hands into pitch-black dragon claws, tearing open the space before him.
The space wasn't chaotic; instead, it faintly formed a passageway.
"Not enough—the Dragon Valley's space can't handle us entering." Di Tian infused his soul power through the channel into the Dragon Valley's spatial structure and reached this conclusion.
He turned to look at Gu Yue.
Gu Yue frowned, stepping forward to examine the spatial structure of the Dragon Valley's small world.
Her eyes turned silver, and a burst of silvery light erupted around her body.
---
The dragon soul entered Xu Yuan's body, its energy coursing through his limbs and washing over every corner of his being.
Dai Yun'er watched enviously from the side.
The effects of this dragon soul were undoubtedly exceptional, but she couldn't handle it, and Xu Yuan certainly wouldn't yield it to her.
Her gaze shifted to Xu Yuan's spear.
Xu Yuan still stood holding his spear, accepting the tempering effects of the dragon soul while seemingly reflecting on something.
Looking at Xu Yuan's Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear, Dai Yun'er couldn't help but envy him. He could still use it in the Dragon Valley, making hunting dragon souls much easier.
It was strange how his martial soul could function here when others couldn't.
"Brother Yuan, what are you reflecting on?"
Dai Yun'er had asked this question countless times already.
Unfortunately, Xu Yuan didn't answer her. He was still sensing the changes in his martial soul.
He was feeling the discord in his Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear.
Yes, discord.
The Dragon Valley suppressed soul power and martial souls. Any soul master who entered here couldn't use their martial soul's power, and Xu Yuan was no exception.
However, blood essence could still be used.
Strictly speaking, the origin of Xu Yuan's Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear belonged to blood essence, so it could still function.
Unlike its usage in the outside world, here in the Dragon Valley, the spear was entirely powered by blood essence.
Not only was the force it mobilized derived from blood essence, but the martial soul itself was now completely constructed from blood essence. Any soul power characteristics it possessed were entirely sealed under the Dragon Valley's rules.
This was a suppression at the level of fundamental rules, affecting the very essence of martial souls.
Sensing the changes in his martial soul was part of Xu Yuan's cultivation. He intended to use his time in the Dragon Valley to understand the transformation of his Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear after its soul power characteristics were stripped away, preparing for the future purification of his three martial souls.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed from the sky.
Xu Yuan snapped out of his reflection, looking up at the sky with a slight frown.
If it were just an ordinary thunderclap, it wouldn't have mattered. But Xu Yuan clearly sensed violent fluctuations in spatial power, even a sense of collapse.
Though it lasted only for a brief moment.
Lost in thought, Xu Yuan withdrew his gaze.
His consciousness delved into the dreamscape.
"Your Highness, I have a question. What do you think of the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King?"
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