Along the way, all the elemental clouds and dragon souls they encountered were absorbed by Gu Yuena. None of the ones they found so far met Yun Ze's high standards for quality, so he didn't absorb any himself.
Yun Ze wasn't in a hurry. If fate brought one to him, great—if not, he wouldn't force it. He maintained his usual calm and composed mindset.
Gu Yuena, however, clearly enjoyed special treatment here. The elemental clouds and dragon souls actively converged toward her, merging on their own. Even the more aggressive dragon souls were docile before her, fusing obediently without any resistance.
"My spiritual power has increased by about three hundred points, and my body's strength by roughly ten percent," Gu Yuena said after carefully sensing the changes.
After absorbing nearly a hundred elemental clouds and dragon souls combined, she finally achieved such a result—each one provided only a small improvement on its own.
"There must be countless elemental clouds and dragon souls in here. That should be enough for your spiritual power to rise by several thousand, and your physical strength to double," Yun Ze remarked.
They seemed to be moving closer toward the center of this miniature world—the further they went, the higher the quality of the clouds and souls became.
As the quality rose and the numbers added up, it was inevitable that Gu Yuena's growth would become this remarkable.
"Mhm," Gu Yuena replied softly, a trace of excitement in her tone—not only because of her future improvement, but also because of Yun Ze's simple yet reassuring words.
To absorb the clouds and souls along the way, their pace wasn't particularly fast.
After flying for more than ten hours, they began encountering true dragon souls, and the elemental clouds in the sky had also reached several levels higher in quality—the absorption effects were noticeably stronger.
True dragon souls varied greatly in strength. Some possessed powerful spiritual energy suitable for becoming soul spirits, while others did not.
They encountered ten true dragon souls in total, but none met Yun Ze's expectations.
Gu Yuena absorbed them all, and both her spirit and body underwent considerable enhancement.
A single true dragon soul was equivalent to thirty or forty ordinary dragon souls—ten of them meant three or four hundred. The gains were significant, to say the least.
"Roar!"
In the distance, an earth-shaking dragon's roar echoed, followed by crackling lightning.
Far ahead, the sky flashed with blinding bolts as thick as a man's arm, splitting the heavens with thunderous might.
Both Yun Ze and Gu Yuena turned toward the sound, gazes drawn to the left.
"There's a Thunder Holy Dragon over there. Its energy fluctuation is strong. Does it meet your requirements?" Gu Yuena asked, recognizing the massive dragon soaring through the stormy skies.
They were likely close to the center of the small world now—the atmosphere around them was heavy with sorrow and resentment, growing stronger with each step.
The oppressive emotions weighed on Gu Yuena as well, dulling her usual liveliness. Even the joy from absorbing the souls and clouds couldn't dispel the gloom.
Seeing a dragon soul that might suit Yun Ze, she didn't react with her usual enthusiasm—it was as if she had forgotten how to smile since entering this place.
The Thunder Holy Dragon was a true dragon species, wielding ultimate lightning—its offensive power was overwhelming, ranking among the top ten in pure attack strength among all true dragons.
Any dragon bearing the title of Holy Dragon was extraordinary—be it the Light Holy Dragon, the Dark Holy Dragon, or this Thunder Holy Dragon—they were among the elite of the true dragon race.
Yun Ze looked toward the enormous dragon beating its massive, ten-meter wings, its body wreathed in violet lightning, and quietly gauged its aura.
"Its soul strength has reached the level of a soul spirit. It's suitable for absorption."
Gu Yuena smiled faintly. "Then this one's yours. Absorbing it should grant you a great boost."
Yun Ze didn't refuse. The Thunder Holy Dragon was indeed excellent, and since he could still absorb four soul spirits, there was no need to be overly selective.
"I'll subdue it for you," Gu Yuena said. With her quasi–Dragon God bloodline, taming dragon souls like this was easy.
"Alright. You handle it first. I'll need to inscribe a formation before I can release my martial soul for absorption," Yun Ze replied.
He couldn't freely summon his martial soul within this world—only through a formation could he temporarily bypass that restriction.
"Okay."
Gu Yuena released her quasi–Dragon God martial soul. The divine aura she radiated immediately caught the Thunder Holy Dragon's attention.
On the ground, Yun Ze began engraving the formation of sealing laws while Gu Yuena stood guard.
Soon, the massive Thunder Holy Dragon landed behind her, wings folded, standing quietly and obediently.
Before the bloodline of a quasi–Dragon God, even a proud, temperamental Thunder Holy Dragon had no choice but to submit.
After several hours of careful inscription, Yun Ze activated the array, summoning forth the shadow of his Chaotic Ancient Dragon martial soul.
"Roar!"
A deafening dragon cry shook the heavens, its overwhelming might making even Gu Yuena's bloodline tremble under suppression.
"R–roar…"
The Thunder Holy Dragon whimpered weakly, lowering its head and crouching fearfully on the ground, its body trembling.
The Chaotic Ancient Dragon's phantom loomed behind Yun Ze, radiating chaos energy—its cold, indifferent eyes glowed with ancient dominance.
"What a terrifying martial soul…" Gu Yuena's eyes widened in astonishment. This aura was even stronger than her own quasi–Dragon God form.
That meant Yun Ze's dragon was beyond her level—perhaps even surpassing the Dragon God itself.
The shock lasted only a moment before she composed herself. Remembering Yun Ze's mysterious background and the many impossible things he'd done, she accepted it naturally.
Yun Ze gestured toward the Thunder Holy Dragon. Under the weight of the Chaotic Dragon's aura, it dared not resist, slowly flapping its wings and flying toward him.
When it drew close, Yun Ze began the absorption process—similar to taking in a soul spirit, though slightly different in practice.
After all, this dragon soul only resembled a soul spirit—it wasn't truly one, so the method required certain special adjustments.
The process went smoothly. Under the Chaotic Ancient Dragon's pressure, the Thunder Holy Dragon didn't resist at all.
Without spiritual resistance, everything proceeded quickly. Yun Ze simply sealed the dragon's soul and beast imprint within his martial soul.
More than three hours later, the absorption was complete.
A black-purple soul ring rose from beneath Yun Ze's feet.
His soul power surged, breaking through one level—now he had reached level forty-two.
As before, one soul spirit condensed into one ring. He couldn't condense multiple rings at once; otherwise, how could he absorb the remaining three soul spirits later?
In this small world, there were plenty of high-quality dragon souls. Turning them into soul spirits here was far easier than searching for them outside.
"Why is your soul ring that color?" Gu Yuena asked curiously. It was the first time she'd seen a black-purple ring.
Yun Ze glanced at the ring, smiling faintly. "It's probably because this soul spirit is special."
"The Thunder Holy Dragon's soul differs from normal ones, so it's natural that its ring would be unique."
(End of Chapter)