Soul Land 3: Legend Of The Dragon King

"The new Golden Dragon King?" Tang Wulin was looking at Old Tang in a surprised manner. This was the first time that he'd heard Old Tang make such a bold declaration.

Old Tang chuckled in response, "Indeed! You will be the new Golden Dragon King. The essence of the Golden Dragon King is contained entirely within your body. This energy can take your life at any moment, but if you can completely absorb and digest it, then you will undoubtedly attain all of its power. However, I must warn you that you aren't absolutely safe even though you've attained a dragon core. The final nine Golden Dragon King seals contain the true power of the Golden Dragon King, and the first nine seals provided nothing more than a process for you to adjust to the Golden Dragon King's power.

"Don't be lured into a false sense of security, thinking that your dragon core will keep you safe from everything. With your current physical constitution, it's still going to be quite dangerous for you to break the 10th seal, but you should be ready by the time you manifest a soul core as well."

Tang Wulin was quite stunned to hear this. He had thought that with the drastic improvements in his physical constitution, it'd be an easy task for him to break the 10th seal. However, Old Tang's words clearly indicated that things weren't as optimistic as he'd imagined.

"But why, Old Tang? I feel like my physical constitution is already very powerful, especially now that I have a dragon core. Can't I just use my dragon core to directly absorb the essence of the Golden Dragon King?"

Old Tang shook his head, and replied in a serious voice, "It's nowhere near as easy as you think. I chose to awaken at this time solely because I wanted to caution you against excessive optimism. Not only do the final nine Golden Dragon King seals contain terrifying power, most importantly, they also contain shreds of the Golden Dragon King's will. No one knows what's contained within those shreds of will, but with how violent and ferocious the Golden Dragon King was, its will is definitely going to impact your psyche. As such, not only do you have to absorb the Golden Dragon King's energy, you also have to constantly make sure that you don't lose yourself to its power. Otherwise, it's quite possible that you could fall under the control of the Golden Dragon King's will."

Tang Wulin drew a sharp breath upon hearing this. He had always known that the Golden Dragon King seals within his body were extremely dangerous, but he didn't think that the final nine seals would be this perilous! 

"What should I do then, Old Tang? If this essence contains the will of the Golden Dragon King, then wouldn't my spiritual power and mind also be impacted? How can such terrifying power..."

Old Tang clasped his hands behind his back, and said in a serious voice, "You have to realize that even in the Divine Realm, the Golden Dragon King was one of the most powerful first-rank gods."

Tang Wulin's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this. "Is it true that the Golden Dragon King was a part of the Dragon God?"

Old Tang turned to him with a rather surprised expression. "You already know about that?"

This was an indirect confirmation to Tang Wulin's question.

"You knew about this as well, didn't you? Also, what are first-rank gods?"

 Old Tang explained, "Generally speaking, all gods are supposed to be equal in the Divine Realm, but in reality, there is a hierarchy, and that hierarchy is based primarily on power. The weakest gods are referred to as godly officials, and above them are the third-rank gods, followed by second-rank gods, then first-rank gods. The most powerful gods are known as godkings, and they are the enforcers of laws in the past Divine Realm. What I'm telling you about now only applies to humans who become gods.

"For beasts, the situation is rather similar, but there's only one beast-type godking, which is the Dragon God! In terms of individual combat prowess, the Dragon God is actually more powerful than all of the five human godkings, but the human godkings still hold the advantage when it comes to overall power. The Dragon God perished during its battle against the human godkings, and that was how it was split into the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King. 

"It could be said that the Golden Dragon King is comparable in power to a human godking, and it's certainly more powerful than all of the first-rank gods. As such, you can imagine how terrifying the power contained within the final nine seals is. How difficult do you think it would be to completely absorb and convert this power?"

"I noticed you referred to the 'past' Divine Realm. I've heard that it's been many years since someone on the Douluo Continent managed to become a god; does the Divine Realm no longer exist?"

A slightly lost expression appeared in Old Tang's eyes, and he sighed, "No, the Divine Realm still exists; it's just that we're no longer able to contact it. However, if you can truly break all of the Golden Dragon King seals and absorb all of the energy they contain, then you'll possess enough power to create your own Divine Realm and dictate the laws within that realm."

Tang Wulin drew a sharp breath upon hearing this. He had thought that he'd already held an extremely high opinion of the Golden Dragon King seals within his body, but at the very most, he had thought that he'd perhaps be able to reach the Limit Douluo level after absorbing all of the energy contained within the seals. However, Old Tang was telling him that he'd become a godking instead! That was insane!

Tang Wulin was no longer the ignorant little boy who couldn't even sense the presence of the Golden Dragon King seals within his body.

These seals contained enough power to elevate him to the godking level, but they also posed an unfathomably extreme threat to his life! Even at the rate that he was currently progressing, the probability that he'd be able to absorb all of the energy within the seals was infinitely approaching zero.

Tang Wulin gulped nervously before turning to Old Tang with a wry smile on his face. "I'm not far from death, am I?"

Old Tang was silent for a moment. "Perhaps."

Tang Wulin's expression fell slightly, and he asked, "Old Tang, can you give me an accurate estimation of how long I'll be able to last with my current bodily condition, and how many seals I'll be able to break during that time?"

 Old Tang shook his head in response. "There's no way for me to make that estimation as your bodily condition has already exceeded my original projections. You're only 21 years old this year, yet the power you currently possess is at a level that I'd projected for you to attain at 25 years of age. The 12th seal is the human limit; every successive seal that you break after that takes you up one godly rank. Judging from the current level of stability of these seals, I can only tell you that you'll most likely break the 12th seal within 10 years, and that the 13th seal will most definitely be broken within 15 years. When that time comes, not only will you have to face the issues plaguing your body, you'll also have to oppose the power of laws of this world."

Tang Wulin faltered slightly upon hearing this. "The power of laws? What's that?"

Old Tang explained, "There are invisible laws in all worlds; the Divine Realm has a set of laws, as does the human world. The laws of the human world stipulate that godly beings cannot exist here. Countless Limit Douluos have appeared in the human race during these past years, so why have they been unable to break through their limits and become gods? It's not because they lack the aptitude to do so. Instead, it's because there are no godly berths available to accept them, so they have to be subjected to the oppression of the power of laws, and they're unable to overcome that final hurdle. You'll also be facing the same problem. There will be no godly berths available to accept you, so if your 13th seal is broken, not only will you have to withstand the power contained within that seal, you'll also be oppressed by the power of laws of the entire Douluo Continent."

Old Tang's voice trailed off there, but Tang Wulin could imagine the tragic fate that awaited him if that were to happen.

A wry smile appeared on his face, and he sighed, "Looks like there are no other possibilities then. Does this mean I'll only get to live for a maximum of 15 more years?"

His Golden Dragon King bloodline had given him enormous power, but it had also significantly shortened his lifespan.

Old Tang nodded, and said, "However, nothing is absolute. If you can take that step and make the final breakthrough, perhaps you'll have a bright future ahead. If you can reach the godly tier, perhaps you'll be able to establish your own Divine Realm. The chances of that are extremely slim, but I exist solely to help you overcome that final hurdle."

Tang Wulin turned to Old Tang, and he suddenly said, "Don't tell me what my chances are."

Old Tang faltered slightly upon hearing this before a smile appeared on his face for the first time since their reunion.

"You've grown up!"

 Tang Wulin also smiled in response. "I have! At the very least, I'll have more courage if I don't know just how slim my chances are. I'll do everything in my power to fight no matter what, so what does it matter even if I can't make that final breakthrough? All I can do is make sure that I have no regrets, regardless of what the outcome turns out to be. Old Tang, I want you to tell me one thing; when should I break my 10th seal? Should I try to delay it for as long as possible or do it as early as possible?"

Old Tang immediately replied without any hesitation, "As early as possible!"

Tang Wulin was rather taken aback to hear this. "You didn't say this about the first nine seals."

Old Tang explained, "That's different. For the first nine seals, I was afraid that your body wouldn't be able to handle the influxes of energy. However, seeing as your body has become more powerful than I projected, you have to begin to absorb the power of the remaining seals as quickly as possible. This is because in a sense, the final nine seals are part of one unified entity. In other words, the energy of the Golden Dragon King is one whole entity. If you can absorb a portion of this power, then the overall pressure that the seals would have to withstand would be lessened, and that would allow the seals to hold themselves together for longer, thereby buying you more time. Do you understand what I'm saying?"