A simple village nestled at the foot of the undulating mountains. At the village entrance, a teenager, accompanied by several young people, returned with a considerable amount of prey, drawing a crowd of onlookers.
The leading teenager suddenly felt something and looked up at the sky. However, there was nothing there except the floating clouds and a few birds.
Meanwhile, Wang Nan had quietly landed deep within the forest. The teenager, possessing spirit power, could easily handle ordinary wild beasts, and Wang Nan made sure not to disturb the village's peace.
Entering the thick fog again, Wang Nan felt the Dragon's mental force no longer hindering him. It was now like ordinary mist. Wang Nan quickly arrived at the mountaintop.
Having already mastered spatial power, Wang Nan surveyed the area and immediately detected the spatial rift— a passage connecting to another plane.
Taking a step forward, he entered the Dragon Tomb. In that instant, a massive fist came flying toward his face. The punch didn't use any spirit power, yet the sheer physical strength behind it caused a spatial tremor in the surroundings.
The force of the punch made the hair falling over Wang Nan's forehead flutter slightly, but he showed no panic. With a swift movement, he raised his left arm and, before the fist landed, deflected it with a strike to the wrist, sending it to the side.
Although the power of the Dragon Tomb could suppress a Spirit Master's spirit and spirit power, Wang Nan—who had spent half a year there and condensed a Dragon Soul to obtain his seventh spirit ring—was unaffected by such restrictions.
With a flash of golden light, the Coiling Dragon Staff appeared in his hand. Looking up, Wang Nan saw a powerfully built man before him, his bare arms adorned with solid muscles bulging prominently.
Seeing Wang Nan block his punch, the brawny man's expression brightened. He clapped his fists together twice in front of him, and the next moment, he charged at Wang Nan again with powerful force.
Wang Nan raised his rod to meet the attack, not using any Spirit Ability, but as their fists and rod met, his entire body seemed to shimmer with a glazed color.
"Bang—"
Fist and rod collided with a loud crash, and Wang Nan took half a step back.
The identity of the brawny man before him was easy to guess. He carried a strong Spirit Beast Aura, and based on what Three-Eyed Golden Mou had said about Di Tian bringing Xiong Jun along to prevent him from causing trouble, it was clear this brawny man was Xiong Jun.
Although Wang Nan took half a step back, indicating a disadvantage in raw power, his opponent was a 500,000-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. Despite not revealing its true form, the fact that Wang Nan could withstand its attack with just physical strength showed the remarkable current strength of his body.
After two consecutive punches, Xiong Jun's expression finally grew more serious.
"Again!" Xiong Jun roared, a low growl emanating from his throat, and two visible plumes of white breath shot from his nostrils.
His arms thickened by several inches, and the dense fur on his body grew thicker, covering his original skin after transforming into a human.
Wang Nan was not afraid in the slightest. His second spirit ring and left arm bone lit up simultaneously. With mind and body aligned, the Coiling Dragon Staff thrust forward.
"Xiong Jun!"
Di Tian's voice came from afar. The aura steadily rising from Xiong Jun's body abruptly paused. Immediately after, he saw Wang Nan's Coiling Dragon Staff coming toward him. In a panic, he crossed his arms in front of him to block.
The next moment, a massive force lifted his body high into the air. When he landed, Xiong Jun's body was already enveloped in thick fur. At this point, apart from the difference in size, he was indistinguishable from his true form.
Xiong Jun looked at Wang Nan with lingering fear. If he hadn't instinctively reverted to his original form at that moment, he probably wouldn't have fared well from that rod strike.
Hearing Di Tian's voice approach from a distance, Xiong Jun quickly got up, forcing a few smiles onto his bear-like face.
In the past, Xiong Jun might have been disrespectful to Di Tian, but ever since the Silver Dragon King awakened, he had never defied Di Tian again.
"What were you doing just now?"
"Hehe, I've been here too long, and there's no one to spar with. Now that someone has finally come, I'm just practicing with him. See? I didn't even use my full strength, right?"
"If you had even the slightest killing intent, do you think you'd still be standing here talking to me? Now, scram!"
Watching Xiong Jun's somewhat disheveled retreating figure, Di Tian finally turned to look at Wang Nan, who had already put away his rod and stood aside.
The fluctuations of Wang Nan's Soul Core and the condensed, unscattered aura around him couldn't escape Di Tian's perception. With Wang Nan's figure reflected in his golden eyes, Di Tian nodded slightly.
"As expected of a favored child of heaven and earth. My Lord has always said that humans are favored by heaven and earth, and it seems she was not wrong. Come with me."
With Di Tian leading the way, Wang Nan arrived near Dragon Valley in no time.
It was still that enormous valley, filled with thick, twilight mist, where giant true dragon skeletons lay scattered and intertwined.
Within that valley, a silver-white figure was slowly moving forward, her face etched with unyielding sorrow as she caressed the dragon bones.
"Please, my Lord is in the valley."
Wang Nan glanced at Di Tian. He had originally come to find her, but seeing the situation, he knew it wasn't the right time to speak. So, he stepped into the air and descended into the valley.
Looking at the figure caressing the dragon bones, Wang Nan remained silent. A moment later, the Silver Dragon King recovered from her sorrow.
"You came a bit early."
"I came early because I wanted to ask about some aspects of cultivation."
"Aspects of cultivation?" The Silver Dragon King looked at Wang Nan with some surprise. "The cultivation methods of us Spirit Beasts and humans are different. Even I would probably find it difficult to answer the problems you humans encounter in cultivation."
"No, Di Tian should be able to answer my questions. You should have noticed that I condensed a Soul Core prematurely. I came this time hoping to condense a second Soul Core and break through the bottleneck of rank ninety."
"So that's it." The Silver Dragon King nodded, her gaze turning toward Di Tian in the distance.
The space gently rippled, and Di Tian was already standing beside the Silver Dragon King.
"My Lord."
After speaking, Di Tian re-examined Wang Nan. "You wish to condense a Yin-Yang Complementary Soul Core?"
"Precisely."
Di Tian's golden eyes scanned Wang Nan, back and forth. Suddenly, his right hand shot out without warning, grabbing at Wang Nan.
Wang Nan instinctively raised both arms to meet it.
A tremendous force traveled along his arms, shaking his entire body and carving a large pit in the ground beneath his feet.
Under this attack, Wang Nan's body glowed with a glazed color, yet he remained unharmed.
"Still not enough." Di Tian shook his head. "Your physical strength is indeed rare among human Spirit Masters, even comparable to some 100,000-year-old Spirit Beasts, but it's still a bit short for condensing a Yin-Yang Complementary Soul Core."