"Here." Jiang Lan took out a jade box and handed it to Wang Dong.
This development was clearly beyond his expectations. Wang Dong's eyes widened, and for a moment he looked a bit dazed.
It wasn't until Jiang Lan nudged the jade box forward again that joy finally appeared on his face.
"Thank you, Senior Sister!" He took the jade box happily, smiling as he spoke.
Wang Dong's smile was truly beautiful: a pair of bright pink-blue eyes, eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. He was still young, his features soft, with a slightly androgynous look. When he smiled, his gentle face showed a pair of sweet dimples—Jiang Lan couldn't resist reaching out and poking one with her finger.
Ma Xiaotao, watching from the side, felt a pang in her stomach. Since when do we start spending money on men? Is she going to get conned out of her pants next time?
An Wen stared at Wang Dong with a look of betrayal all over her face.
Damn it, this brat doesn't fight fair.
Wang Dong grinned at her and couldn't help boasting a little: "Didn't I say before we came here that the treasure auction would have something good for me? Looks like my intuition was right!"
"I think that was nothing more than a blind cat bumping into a dead rat," Huo Yuqing said bluntly.
But suddenly, Jiang Lan reached out and pressed down on the jade box that held the soul bone. Her eyes carried obvious worry as she looked at Wang Dong: "A sudden premonition?"
Wang Dong froze. It took him a long while before he blinked awkwardly and said with some unease, "Senior Sister, are you overthinking…?"
He knew Jiang Lan was worried—worried that this "sudden thought that appeared in his mind" might be like what had happened before: like when he was facing Zhou Yi, he was obviously unwilling, yet some voice in his head told him to respect the teacher; like his illogical, inexplicable aversion to soul tools… but…
"But this is just a soul bone. There's nothing wrong with it, and it really does suit me… it should be fine, right?" Wang Dong muttered softly, as if trying to convince himself.
Most importantly, no matter what, this was a gift from Jiang Lan.
"What are they whispering about?" Bai Chenxiang leaned toward Ma Xiaotao and asked quietly. The latter shook her head, equally puzzled.
Yet Jiang Lan kept her hand on the jade box.
Suddenly, Wang Dong felt a bit lost—he couldn't clearly tell which thoughts were his own anymore, and which were being inserted into his mind by something else—is there really something in my head influencing me?
"Wang Dong, your martial soul is insect-type, and it's not like you absolutely need this soul bone." An Wen interrupted his confusion. "This soul bone is just attribute-compatible for you. The age is average at best, right? There are tons of attribute-matching soul bones out there. If you're willing to give it to me, I can trade you a higher-age, better-soul-skill light-attribute soul bone."
She exchanged a look with Wang Rui.
Fifteen thousand years of mutual understanding told Wang Rui immediately what An Wen meant.
She was determined to get this soul bone.
Wang Rui could faintly sense from beyond the jade box that this soul bone carried a bloodline far stronger than the Bright Dragon bloodline described in the original story, but for An Wen to want it so desperately… it could only mean that what was contained within this soul bone was activated Bright Dragon King bloodline.
The first generation Bright Dragon King and Dark Dragon King had birthed the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian.
As the child of both the Bright Dragon King and the Dark Dragon King, Di Tian should have naturally carried both light and darkness, becoming a dual-attribute dragon—a dragon of unprecedented light and darkness combined, with power surpassing that of his parents.
However, perhaps influenced more by the mother during gestation, or absorbing more dark attribute power during incubation, when Di Tian hatched, the darkness was dominant. His dark attribute suppressed the light completely—so much so that the Bright Dragon King's bloodline could not manifest at all.
The only feature that showed his father's traits was his pair of golden eyes.
An Wen too had inherited both Dark Dragon King and Bright Dragon King bloodlines. As a sub-dragon, her birth strength wasn't as overwhelming as Di Tian's, and her maternal bloodline was weaker than that of full dragons—but her Bright Dragon King bloodline had more potential to awaken.
—Provided there was the right guide to awaken the Bright Dragon King bloodline within her.
But the Bright Dragon King and Dark Dragon King had perished in the God Realm, and most of their kin had fallen in the great disasters, buried in the Dragon Tomb. In today's Douluo world, there simply were no other soul beasts carrying the Bright Dragon King bloodline.
Even among the light-attribute sub-dragons of Star Dou Forest, the highest lineage merely inherited from the Holy Bright Dragon. That piece of soul bone containing active Bright Dragon King bloodline might be her only chance.
Whether for the purpose of helping An Wen grow stronger, or to stop Wang Dong from obtaining a dragon-blood soul bone that might begin his Dragon God Butterfly evolution path, or simply fulfilling his duty as a descendant of the Golden Dragon King to reclaim dragon remains—Wang Rui had to find a way to get that Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone out of Wang Dong's hands.
Moreover, this was also a chance to test Tang San, and possibly to resolve the hidden dangers within Wang Dong.
"This soul bone indeed carries a trace of precious dragon blood. We suspect it belonged to an ancient Dragon King. I won't lie to you—this soul bone is extremely important to An Wen," Wang Rui said.
Wang Dong was still someone he intended to win over, so he spoke frankly, avoiding future grudges. "Since you got to it first, I don't want to sour relations between classmates. We can offer an eighty-thousand-year Bright Unicorn left leg bone in exchange."
(Of course, taken from a human killed in Star Dou Forest.)
"Hisss." Ma Xiaotao sucked in a breath. "That's a massive offer."
Even Jiang Lan's usually calm eyes widened slightly.
"Hehe, Wang Rui's offer is big," Tianmeng Iceworm muttered in Huo Yuqing's spiritual sea, "but compared to the true value of that soul bone, it's still short. Bet this isn't his final price. Damn, a unicorn. I've been in Star Dou all these years and barely seen any unicorns."
The recently awakened Ice Emperor shot him coldly: "And weren't you sleeping?"
Tianmeng Iceworm went silent.
Bai Chenxiang glanced at Wang Dong, who didn't seem to react much, uncertain whether he even knew the value of a Bright Unicorn soul bone. So she blinked innocently and asked curiously, "Xiao Tao, is a Bright Unicorn soul bone really that precious?"
"Super precious!" Ma Xiaotao sounded sour. "Unicorns are legendary soul beasts—favored by the elements, symbols of purity, wielding elemental power rivaling that of pure-blood dragons. They may not individually match Dragon Kings, but among all hoofed soul beasts like horses, the most valuable soul bones they produce are leg bones!"
"And the key is the age! This Golden Radiance can't even compare! An eighty-thousand-year soul bone—if the skill on it is good, it could even surpass some hundred-thousand-year soul bones… I'm so jealous I could scream!"
Her foster father was Yan Shaozhe. She herself had good soul bones and knew how deep Shrek's resources ran, yet even she couldn't help envying Beast Sect's extravagance.
Jiang Lan tilted her head toward Wang Dong. "It's suitable."
Wang Dong didn't react.
It wasn't that he thought the unicorn soul bone didn't suit him—Wang Dong's cultivation path focused more on elemental attributes than physical strength. Obviously, the physical strength of a butterfly could only go so high. Compared to Earth Dragon soul bones, a Bright Unicorn soul bone—element-oriented—was clearly a better fit.
Yet no matter how rationally he analyzed, some stubborn voice in his heart kept insisting: A dragon-blood soul bone is the best—you must obtain the one with even a wisp of dragon bloodline.
Wang Dong instinctively tried to argue with that voice, but the more he tried, the more those faint headaches—gone since arriving at Shrek Academy—began to creep back. He couldn't help frowning.
Wang Rui watched his reaction and sighed inwardly. As expected, that Golden Radiance was indeed Tang San's arrangement.
Yet outwardly, he acted as if unaware of Wang Dong's pain, showing slight hesitation: "If you won't accept that… how about a Jade Swan wing bone? The age is lower—only a hundred years—but external soul bones excel in growth potential. And the Jade Swan clan is blessed by the Goddess of Life. If you won't accept that either, we truly have nothing more precious to offer."
"Holy crap, Godfather." Ma Xiaotao looked at Wang Rui with shining eyes. "Do you have any spare soul bones? Sell me two. I'll pay a fortune."
External soul bones! Even teachers couldn't just casually take those out! And from a Jade Swan, no less!
"These are the sect's accumulations," Huo Yuqing said sweetly, "Sister Xiaotao, you could always join Beast Sect after graduation~"
"Ugh." Ma Xiaotao sighed deeply in pain.
Meanwhile, Wang Rui watched Wang Dong closely. Seeing him still frowning and uncomfortable, but now with more inner struggle on his face, Wang Rui knew instantly—his guess had been confirmed.
Tang San's divine sense within Wang Dong wasn't actively monitoring the mortal world; that wisp of divine sense would constantly influence Wang Dong according to Tang San's preferences, but it wasn't truly intelligent.
"Junior Brother Wang Dong doesn't look so good," Bai Chenxiang suddenly said, her face serious.
Wang Dong lifted his head—his face had turned deathly pale.
An Wen, alarmed, stared at his pained expression. "What, you that unwilling to part with this soul bone? You're making me feel like some heinous villain here!"
"I… it's not that… headache," Wang Dong waved a hand weakly, pressing his temples.
Wang Dong's headache wasn't caused by Tang San's divine sense lodged in his spiritual sea.
If he'd had broader knowledge, he'd have realized the foreign voice in his mind behaved like those controlling, overbearing parents—
When a child acted out, they didn't beat him directly; instead, at every moment, they'd jump out to criticize and lecture. While he played, while he studied, while he cultivated, while he ate… they'd constantly pierce him with guilt, like a haunting ghost, scolding, persuading, correcting—until he conformed to the parent's wishes, never stopping otherwise.
Wang Dong's headache was simply the flare of an old soul-deep wound, his body warning him, urging him to remember what he'd suffered once because of that imposed will.
Everyone else was confused, but Jiang Lan's expression at this moment had turned almost dark.
She realized it was that alien voice in Wang Dong's mind torturing him.
A rare pain flickered in those glass-like violet eyes—Jiang Lan had experienced it herself. She understood how terrifying that sense of having even one's own thoughts stripped away truly was.
She had to find a way to help him.
Jiang Lan thought for half a second, then directly pulled the jade box out of Wang Dong's hands and shoved it into Wang Rui's arms: "Forget it. Swap it for that external soul bone and give him that instead."
Even Wang Rui was stunned by how abrupt her move was.
"A man must keep his word." She stared hard at Wang Rui, who was sure he read a threat in those violet eyes.
"Of course." Wang Rui nodded.
The effect of Jiang Lan's move was immediate. Since Wang Dong no longer had to make the decision himself, that insistent voice in his consciousness instantly weakened, the tearing sensation subsided, and even his complexion improved.
"Hey, you okay now?" An Wen asked cautiously. Sometimes in the dorm Wang Dong would say he had headaches, then skip cultivation and sleep early. At first An Wen thought he was just making excuses for his lazy-dog ways; even after learning Wang Dong truly had headaches, this was her first time seeing him suffer so badly.
"I think that soul bone had a problem," Wang Dong rasped, his voice hoarse. "Just now it felt like someone was trying to control my mind, forcing me to choose that Golden Radiance soul bone… Something's wrong. Could you all… not mention this soul bone swap outside?"
"Of course we won't," Huo Yuqing promised.
Ma Xiaotao instinctively glanced at Bai Chenxiang, who nodded. "Neither Xiang nor I will say a word. And Xiao Lan is clearly on your side too."
"Thanks, everyone. Then I'll… head back first." Wang Dong frowned, looking troubled, drifting off like a wandering soul.
"Eh, I'll go back to the dorm with him." An Wen followed.
"Then we'll head back to the inner court." Ma Xiaotao nodded. "We'll talk another day."
The room emptied quickly.
Wang Rui took out a sheet of paper and began writing a letter in haste.
"Jade Swan's external soul bone…" Huo Yuqing walked up beside him and asked softly, "Was a Jade Swan killed?"
"That chick was Bi Ji's blood kin," Wang Rui said calmly as he sealed the letter. "Tens of thousands of years ago, it was eaten by a primitive soul beast. A soul beast without intelligence is no different from a wild animal. To them, a Jade Swan was just a great tonic."
Huo Yuqing sensed Wang Rui's mood wasn't great.
"Soul beasts clearly can possess intelligence equal to humans, but during their primitive stage they are indeed driven by instinct," Tianmeng Iceworm said. "Beast Sect has been working on it, but this kind of change is slow."
"But that soul bone must've been important to Bi Ji, right?" Huo Yuqing asked, puzzled. "And in terms of value—even if that Golden Radiance soul bone truly has Dragon King bloodline—using an external soul bone to trade for it is still a huge loss, isn't it?"
"Actually, from what I know, that soul bone had been offered to the Goddess of Life," Tianmeng Iceworm said hesitantly. "When Emerald City was established, the fierce beasts gathered many soul bones to offer to the Golden Tree's master, the Goddess of Life… I thought back then it was to help nurture the Golden Tree, but now it seems that wasn't the reason. I don't really know the details—maybe you should ask Wang Rui?"
The girl didn't reply. She simply reached up and gently brushed aside a lock of Wang Rui's hair.
A bat fluttered in through the window. Wang Rui tied the soul power-sealed letter to its leg, fed it a spirit fruit, then tossed it back out.
"By the way," Huo Yuqing smiled, shifting the mood, "I found something good at the treasure auction. Want to guess what it is?"
(As for why I had to take the loss to trade the soul bone—I'll explain later, though I feel I've already left some heavy hints. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧)
(End of Chapter)