At the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, three people were searching for a suitable soul beast to hunt.
The trio consisted of two men and one woman. The man and woman flanked the middle-aged man, clearly protecting him. The older man wore glasses; his spirit was the Owlcat, and his name was Flender.
The hot-tempered woman dressed in black leather was Liu Erlong, and the man in the center was a rough-looking, short-haired middle-aged man with stubble and his hands behind his back. This was Yu Xiaogang.
They were here to find a suitable fifth soul ring for Liu Erlong. Flender and Liu Erlong had comparable strength, and as long as they stayed out of the forest's dangerous core, they should be fine—if not for the burden they brought along.
So Liu Erlong was responsible for protecting Yu Xiaogang, while Flender used his flying ability to scout ahead from above.
After a long search, Flender came back with an excited expression. "Erlong, I found a ten-thousand-year fire-type soul beast!"
"That's great! Thank you, Boss Flender!" Liu Erlong said excitedly.
"Let's go check it out," Yu Xiaogang said calmly.
Flender led the way while Liu Erlong protected Yu Xiaogang, and the trio made their way to the beast's location.
A massive lizard with flames on its head sensed their approach and roared in anger.
"Erlong, stay here and protect Xiaogang. I'll handle that Flamehead Lizard," Flender said.
"Be careful, Boss Flender," Liu Erlong responded.
Flender charged in, using his agility-type advantages to kite the fiery lizard.
Meanwhile, Liu Erlong stayed back, unwilling to leave Yu Xiaogang undefended—after all, he was only Rank 29. If she left and another soul beast came along, who knows what could happen?
"Ahem." Yu Xiaogang coughed lightly, hands behind his back. He began calmly explaining:
"This is an eleven-thousand-year-old Flamehead Lizard. Native to the outer areas of the Star Dou Great Forest, it's a fire-attribute beast. It has a trace of sub-dragon bloodline…"
He rattled off all the knowledge he had about the creature.
Liu Erlong's eyes sparkled as she looked at Yu Xiaogang with admiration. "Xiaogang, you're so knowledgeable."
"Not really," Yu Xiaogang coughed modestly. "I've just read more books than most."
"You truly are the Soul Master world's Theory Master, certified by the Spirit Hall," Liu Erlong praised with a thumbs-up.
The praise made Yu Xiaogang beam with pride. He launched into another long-winded explanation, eager to share everything he knew.
Meanwhile, Flender finally defeated the lizard, leaving it barely alive for Liu Erlong to deliver the final blow.
As he turned to call them over, he saw Yu Xiaogang still enthusiastically lecturing and Liu Erlong gazing at him with admiration.
Flender's eyes dimmed.
The three of them could perform a Triangle Martial Spirit Fusion Technique—fate had brought them together. And in that time, Flender had fallen hopelessly in love with Liu Erlong, willing to give everything for her.
But he could tell she was slowly growing closer to Yu Xiaogang.
Despite this, Flender couldn't bring himself to resent Yu Xiaogang.
After Yu Xiaogang finished showing off, Flender called, "Xiaogang, Erlong, I've dealt with the Flamehead Lizard. Come absorb the soul ring."
"Okay, thanks, Boss Flender!" Liu Erlong reluctantly tore herself away from Yu Xiaogang's words and walked over.
Yu Xiaogang followed behind, a gleam of wisdom in his eyes.
After Liu Erlong finished off the lizard, she began absorbing the black ten-thousand-year soul ring, with Flender and Yu Xiaogang protecting her.
Once complete, her aura surged.
With a joyful dragon's roar, Liu Erlong exclaimed, "I feel amazing. I'm a Soul King now! Boss Flender, let's spar when we get back!"
"Haha, sure! But don't expect me to go easy on you!" Flender laughed.
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
Flender, with his superior vision, saw a terrifying sight.
"Not good! Another Flamehead Lizard is charging this way—no time to run!"
A monstrous claw parted the trees. A thirty-meter-long, ten-meter-tall Flamehead Lizard appeared, fire blazing from its head.
Its eyes fell on the dead lizard, filled with a human-like expression of grief and rage.
Soul beasts over ten thousand years old gained intelligence. The three instantly understood: this was the parent of the one they just killed.
"This is a fifty-thousand-year-old Flamehead Lizard… and we killed its child. We're doomed," Yu Xiaogang gulped hard.
"You two run! I'll hold it off!" Flender shouted, summoning his spirit and bravely stepping in front of the beast.
"Erlong, let's go! Don't let Flender's sacrifice be in vain!" Yu Xiaogang said, relieved, grabbing Liu Erlong's hand and running.
But the lizard's massive tail swept around and trapped them, enclosing them in a circle.
The beast hissed ominously, eyes playing with its prey.
"What do we do? We're trapped!" Yu Xiaogang's legs trembled.
"No, we still have our trump card—our fusion technique!" Liu Erlong exclaimed.
"Right! We've never used it before, but maybe it can handle this thing," Yu Xiaogang steadied himself.
"Boss Flender—" Liu Erlong called.
"Coming!" Flender flew to them. The three formed a triangle, unleashing their spirit power.
Flender and Liu Erlong's powerful soul energy surged, forming thick beams. Yu Xiaogang's… not so much. But together, the beams formed an equilateral triangle.
"Sun and Moon Shine, Golden Rotation!" Flender and Liu Erlong summoned their five soul rings and infused them into the array.
At the center, Yu Xiaogang summoned his martial spirit: Luo Sanpao.
With the massive infusion of soul power, Luo Sanpao transformed—into a Golden Holy Dragon.
Yu Xiaogang had finally acquired the Golden Holy Dragon Experience Card via martial spirit fusion!
All three stared in awe at the golden dragon.
Its body and power came from Liu Erlong's Fire Dragon spirit, flight from Flender's Owlcat, and wisdom—from Yu Xiaogang.
Flender murmured, "So this is our fusion technique…"
Liu Erlong asked, puzzled, "What kind of dragon is this? It feels even stronger than my Fire Dragon."
"This is the Golden Holy Dragon," Yu Xiaogang whispered, gazing at the beast in awe. "My martial spirit was supposed to evolve into it but instead mutated into Luo Sanpao…"
"To think… through this fusion, I finally attained my dream—my ultimate desire…"
The enemy roared, fire spewing from its mouth.
Yu Xiaogang realized he was the dragon's controller. He smirked.
"Dodge, Golden Holy Dragon!"
The dragon easily avoided the fire.
Yu Xiaogang remembered the Golden Holy Dragon's fearsome techniques as shown by his old clan.
"Strike back! Use Soul Skill One!"
Instinctively, he chanted,
"Fart like thunder, shake the heavens—Luo Sanpao!"
Then immediately regretted it.
What dragon claw? What divine tail whip? What dragon breath?
WHY IS IT STILL FARTING?!
The dragon hovered, angled its rear at the enemy, and—PFFFT!
A disgusting yellow gas blasted the Flamehead Lizard in the face, extinguishing the fire on its head.
To be fair, the Golden Holy Dragon's fart was like a typhoon—vastly more destructive than Luo Sanpao's.
Dazed by the smell, the enemy staggered.
Yu Xiaogang sighed. "Fine, fart it is. Use Soul Skill Two—
'Fart like smoke, induce slumber—Luo Sanpao!'"
Another foul-smelling blast. The Flamehead Lizard passed out. The Golden Dragon finished it off.
Hovering triumphantly, the Golden Holy Dragon roared in victory.
"So strong—Subarashii!" Yu Xiaogang shouted, eyes wild. Compared to Luo Sanpao, this was god-tier.
He suddenly recalled his cousin's boasting and broke into a manic fit:
"This is MY dragon! The ultimate dragon in history—Golden Holy Dragon! Tough! Invincible! Supreme! Smash! Destroy! Applaud! AHAHAHA!"
Just as he finished his outburst, the fusion ended. The dragon disintegrated. Energy flowed back to Flender and Liu Erlong. Luo Sanpao reappeared, chirping and dragging Yu Xiaogang back to reality.
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened.
He remembered: the Golden Holy Dragon could only appear through fusion, not his own spirit.
Luo Sanpao, you useless piece of garbage, bring back my Holy Dragon!! he screamed internally.
If not for Flender and Liu Erlong being nearby, he'd have kicked the thing.
Yu Xiaogang resentfully put Luo Sanpao away.
Flender said excitedly, "Xiaogang, that fusion technique—if fully powered—could rival a Soul Sage or even a Contra! If Erlong and I reach Soul Sage rank, we might even fight a Title Douluo!"
Yu Xiaogang, hands behind his back, smugly replied,
"Of course. It's the Golden Holy Dragon—stronger than even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon."
But inside, he felt a pang.
He wished the dragon was his, not something shared via fusion.
Liu Erlong suddenly suggested,
"Since our technique is called the Golden Holy Dragon, let's give ourselves a powerful name too."
"Great idea!" Flender said. "Any suggestions, Erlong?"
Liu Erlong turned to Yu Xiaogang.
"How about… the Golden Iron Triangle?"
Yu Xiaogang responded, calmly:
"Approved."
And thus, after unleashing their ultimate fusion technique, the name Golden Iron Triangle was born.