The misty Flood Dragon Pool looked mysterious no matter how you looked at it. When Ma Hongjun and his two companions returned to the Flood Dragon Pool,
Ma Hongjun felt the call of the Dragon Soul Spear, just like when he encountered the Dragon Blood Jade last time. There should be some treasure in the Flood Dragon Pool that it could absorb.
"Teacher Zhao, you two wait a moment. This Flood Dragon Pool has been occupied by the Beast King. Could there be some treasure inside?"
Dai Mubai and Zhao Wuji stopped and looked into the deep pool.
"This Flood Dragon Pool is too deep. We can't dive down to the bottom. Besides, this is a treasure land for soul beasts. Even if there are any treasures, they should be useful to soul beasts."
Zhao Wuji said casually.
"I'll give it a try. Anyway, we've killed the Water Flood Dragon now. There's no danger down there. I think there should be some good stuff down there."
"Wait for me. It won't make a difference if we take a little more time."
After Ma Hongjun finished speaking, he took off his clothes, summoned the Flood Dragon Scale Armor and the Dragon Soul Spear. Then, like the Sea King, he plunged headfirst into the pool.
As Ma Hongjun had predicted, the dragon scale armor enhanced his survival ability in the water.
This scale armor wasn't like iron armor; it was a special object with strong water properties.
Golden dragon spirits manifested on the Dragon Soul Spear, pulling Ma Hongjun down to the bottom of the pool.
In an instant, they had descended a hundred meters. The pool was pitch black; Ma Hongjun could only vaguely see things through the golden dragon shadow.
Generally, at this depth, there would be immense water pressure, but Ma Hongjun, wearing the dragon scale armor, felt no pressure at all.
The dragon shadow moved swiftly, the silver Dragon Soul Spear carrying the blue Ma Hongjun like an arrow plunging downwards.
Finally reaching the bottom, Ma Hongjun felt a bone-chilling cold even through the scale armor.
Generally, treasures were found at the bottom of the pool, and sure enough, the golden dragon's head already held a translucent, azure stone.
Using the luster of the golden dragon shadow and the eerie blue light reflected from the bottom of the pool, Ma Hongjun saw that the bottom was entirely composed of these blue stones.
He reached out and picked up a piece; it was surprisingly soft, like a bouncy ball, giving him a peculiar tactile experience.
Although Ma Hongjun didn't know what kind of treasure it was, anything that could be absorbed by the dragon soul was definitely no ordinary object.
This could no longer be just a stone. Ma Hongjun didn't waste any time; the dragon soul needed time to absorb it, and there were too many. So, Ma Hongjun put all the pieces he could hold into his belt space—a total of twenty-seven pieces, the smallest being the size of a human head, but very light.
Only one very large piece remained, embedded in the bottom of the pool, like a mother stone. This must be the pool's treasure, and it couldn't be put into the space's jade stones; he could only wait for the dragon soul to absorb it.
The stone transformed into blue water that flowed into the dragon soul spear. About ten minutes passed before the dragon soul spear finished absorbing it.
Now, looking at the dragon soul spear again, dark blue stripes appeared on the silver shaft.
The dragon soul disappeared, and Ma Hongjun put away the dragon soul spear and began to swim upwards.
"Splash!"
Ma Hongjun burst out of the water, and Zhao Wuji and Dai Mubai finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ma Hongjun had been underwater for far too long, and they had both begun to worry.
"How was it? Did you find anything?" Zhao Wuji asked. Dai Mubai also looked on expectantly.
Ma Hongjun took out a blue stone from his belt. It wasn't very clear at the bottom of the pool, but now, under the sunlight, the shimmering light within the blue stone was clearly visible, like a colloid, with the blue substance faintly visible flowing inside.
"This is it. Do you recognize it?"
Zhao Wuji took it, glanced at it briefly, and then shook his head.
Dai Mubai looked carefully at the blue stone and said, "I think I roughly know what it is."
"If you know, then tell us quickly!"
"This should be... Ten-Thousand-Year Water Crystal, also known as Primordial Water, Ultimate Water."
Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
"Don't look at me. I only know the name; I've never actually seen the real thing. I only saw it by chance in the family's library.
In some special places, rare treasures with extreme attributes are born. Actually, it's somewhat similar to the rutilated quartz you told me about last time. That kind of rutilated quartz should be considered a rare treasure with extreme metal attributes.
You've probably all heard of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow, right? Occasionally, some are said to appear in the far north. That's a rare treasure with extreme ice attributes. Soul masters with ice attribute martial souls can enhance their martial soul's ice attribute abilities after absorbing it.
Correspondingly, this Ten-Thousand-Year Water Milk Crystal is recorded together with the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow, so it should have the same effect.
Even if it's not a Ten-Thousand-Year Water Milk Crystal, it should still be a very precious water attribute treasure, and it should fetch a good price. This should be very useful for soul masters with water attribute martial souls."
Dai Mubai had only seen it occasionally and hadn't studied it at all. It was only because the royal family had a large library and a long history that they had these records. Dai Mubai himself didn't like studying, so knowing the name was already quite good.
Based on what Dai Mubai said, Ma Hongjun felt it was most likely a ten-thousand-year-old Water Crystal, an invaluable treasure for water-attribute soul masters.
Ma Hongjun decided to keep it for now; the Dragon Soul Spear had absorbed such a large piece, it should be enough.
Time had run out, so the three left the forest.
They visited Ma Ping in Musu Town, had a meal with him, and then returned to Soto City.
The three moved quickly, arriving in Soto City just as darkness fell. Zhao Wuji went straight back to Shrek Academy, leaving Ma Hongjun to deliver a message of peace to his parents. Then he and Dai Mubai entered the city. At
the Rose Hotel,
Ma Hongjun was surprised to see familiar faces in the lobby.
"Dalang, Jinlian, the Ghost Axe Duo!" Ma Hongjun exclaimed in surprise.
In the lobby, Xiang Chengxian, Oscar, and the Ghost Axe Duo were having dinner.
"Perfect timing! I'm starving! Chengxian, add two more dishes!"
Dai Mubai excitedly ran over and sat down next to Xiang Chengxian.
"What's going on? How did you all end up together?"
Ma Hongjun sat down next to Oscar. After some conversation, he learned that the Ghost Axe Duo were named Huang Qing and Jinlian. After their soul-fighting session with Ma Hongjun, their relationship had progressed further. They had checked into the Rose Hotel a couple of days ago and were recognized by Xiang Chengxian.
Xiang Chengxian is currently preparing for the family's Soul Battle, but he doesn't have any better partners yet. The family Soul Battle allows for external assistance; it's a seven-person battle. Besides ensuring at least one member is from the family, the others can be hired from outside, but they must be under twenty years old.
None of the people the Xiang family has found have satisfied Xiang Chengxian; either their martial souls are too weak, or they haven't reached the Soul Master realm.
The Ghost Axe Duo has recently obtained their third soul ring, becoming Soul Masters, which is considered very strong among Soul Masters under twenty, considering they were a ten-game winning streak in the Soul Battle arena.
The Ghost Axe Duo remembers Ma Hongjun's leniency last time, so they readily agreed.
After Xiang Chengxian explained the situation, for the sake of the clothing market, Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai, the two behind-the-scenes bosses, naturally had to contribute to the clothing store.
At this point, the seven members of the Xiang family team have been secured:
Xiang Chengxian, Xiang Chengwang, Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and the Ghost Axe Duo.
This team isn't perfectly balanced: three tigers, one spearman, one axeman, five offensive-type Soul Masters, plus one Ghost Vine control-type and one Sausage food-type.
However, it's still acceptable. The three tigers aren't slow, and Ma Hongjun can also function as an agility-type Soul Master, plus his third Soul Skill, making him practically a control-type Soul Master.
Six Soul Masters and one Grand Soul Master. Xiang Chengxian is quite confident with this lineup.
Looking at the Gan and Bei families, the five we saw last time—Gan Shuang's bow, Bei Han's shield, the Flaming Lion and Long-Armed Ape combination, and Zheng Jie's dual swords—each is formidable.
Zheng Jie is already a Soul Master, and it's estimated that the other four have also obtained their third Soul Rings and become Soul Masters.
Information on the other two is still unknown, but these five have already fought before, and although everyone has gained a Soul Ring, they are confident of victory.
The uncertainty lies with the other two Soul Masters on the opposing side.
The Xiang family's Soul Battle team is now officially formed. With seven days until the year-end Soul Battle, they need to quickly refine their teamwork.
The opposing team had started training together much earlier, while the Xiang family's team, due to various reasons, was only recently formed and needed seven days to get to know each other.
After finishing their meal, it was already past midnight. The details of the Fighting Soul team were basically finalized, and they were just waiting to begin training tomorrow.
The Shuang'er sisters had been busy with the clothing store and had moved to Fairy Clothing Pavilion. They would only return to the Red Ocean at the Rose Hotel to sleep when Ma Hongjun came.
Just now, while they were eating, Ma Hongjun had already asked a waiter to inform the Shuang'er sisters to return. Red
Ocean.
A familiar place, three familiar people.
The young master continued to spend the long night entangled with his two pieces of clothing. (End of Chapter)