In the small world of the Dragon Valley, a young figure sat cross-legged on the ground.
Around him, several dragon-shaped light shadows were continuously spiraling and circling in mid-air. Every once in a while, one of these shadows would merge into his body.
Each time this happened, Su Cheng's aura would suddenly rise by a notch, only to gradually decline again.
These dragon-shaped light shadows, of varying sizes, were special energy forms condensed from the numerous dragon bones within the valley.
Unlike the soul power found in the outside world, this type of energy was infused not only with a rich essence of heaven and earth but also mixed with bloodline powers of different attributes.
The composition of this energy was extremely complex. Even with Su Cheng's knowledge, he couldn't understand the principles behind its formation in a short time.
All he could see was that the strong dragon energy remnants within these bones naturally attracted the heaven and earth energy in the small world, causing it to converge towards them.
Then, in a very short time, a new dragon soul shadow would be born.
What was even more bizarre was that he could sense a faint consciousness within these dragon souls.
However, Su Cheng was certain that the dragon remains before him were all genuine dragons that had died. There was no such thing as feigned death or any possibility of resurrection.
Even if they were somehow revived in the future, they would not return to their original state but become entirely new beings.
Perhaps only when he ventured deep into the Dragon Tomb and finally confronted the dragon god bloodline that continually called to him, would he be able to understand the fundamental reason behind all this.
Although he couldn't figure out the principle behind the existence of these dragon souls, it didn't prevent Su Cheng from using their powerful energy to enhance himself.
There were a vast number of remains in this cemetery — a rough estimate suggested at least a thousand.
The dragon souls formed from different bones also had different attributes.
But for Su Cheng, the attributes didn't really matter.
The energy and diluted bloodlines weren't potent enough to affect his foundation; his unique constitution would naturally purify them and smoothly convert them into true power.
Under the nourishment of dragon soul energy, Su Cheng's cultivation advanced rapidly.
By the standards of the Spirit Master system, he quickly advanced through ranks like Spirit Elder, Spirit King, and Spirit Emperor, completing them within a month.
It was only at the level above Spirit Saint that his advancement slowed down.
The reason was simple: he had hit a real bottleneck.
His body was still too immature and would need considerable time to fully grow.
Even though the energy in this Dragon Tomb Valley was abundant and the mysterious fluctuations left behind by countless dragon remains could efficiently condense a large number of dragon souls for him to absorb at will, Su Cheng's path to cultivation was not just about simple energy accumulation.
True power had a unique nature, and the growth of both the body and soul was closely tied to his overall strength.
However, the latter would require time for gradual accumulation and sedimentation.
Unless he chose to sacrifice his foundation and adopt a shortcut, it would take him at least another decade to reach his peak strength comparable to his current self.
Clearly, Su Cheng wasn't going to compromise his body's potential for short-term power growth by forcibly accelerating his physical maturity.
Even disregarding the ultimate mission of this simulation, he intended to push his strength to its utmost limit within this world, paving the way for reality.
Since that was the case, he wouldn't act recklessly.
As for the Silver Dragon King...
If even the first step of the mission required brute force, then he might as well give up altogether. Why exhaust all his efforts at the start of the simulation to activate all the energy in his original power source?
Still, the current situation wasn't without its advantages.
Su Cheng found that due to his body's immaturity, both his physical form and soul remained underdeveloped, even appearing weak to himself.
Yet, this weakness actually helped him better control the various forces within his body during cultivation.
Compared to his slow progress in the real world, where he constantly tried to merge his soul with his body, this step became easier to achieve here.
So, from a purely conceptual perspective, the true power he had fully mastered here had already surpassed that of his reality.
Just like that, half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Though Su Cheng had not yet reached the level of surviving solely on natural energy, life in the Dragon Valley did not require him to rely on food for physical growth.
The abundant heaven and earth energy within the dragon souls, when regulated by his true power, was enough to nourish all the cells in his body, far more effectively than regular food.
During this period, Su Cheng's strength steadily increased, and his study and modification of the valley progressed in an orderly manner.
Although his current strength still lagged far behind his real-world self, he had already achieved enough capability for self-defense in this world.
More importantly, he had made significant progress in his research on dragon bloodlines.
Su Cheng gazed at the huge remains of a fire-element dragon before him. A golden light was projected from his brow, and an unusual gleam flashed in his eyes.
Eye of True Vision.
Since his body had been replicated, this external spirit bone had also come along.
Not only did it come along, but it had also been significantly enhanced.
While he wasn't certain about the nature of the "Track Eye" ability among his initial talents, the real vision he now possessed had noticeably improved compared to the past.
The essence hadn't changed, but the micro-world he could observe was infinitely more detailed.
If there was a difference, it would be like upgrading from a high-powered magnifying glass to a microscope...
The world before him was minuscule yet intricate, countless reactions taking place silently in this realm.
If someone else were to look at this, they would surely be utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend what it all meant or decipher the vast amounts of information it contained.
But Su Cheng's eyes remained exceptionally focused, and his expression was somewhat solemn.
The dragon bloodline was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
Yes, terrifying.
The numerous tiny particles in his vision were shockingly active.
This was practically a massive radiation source, continuously disturbing everything around it!
Su Cheng could hardly believe it.
Could there really be living creatures with constituent elements containing such vast amounts of radioactive materials?
With his enhanced True Vision, Su Cheng saw numerous particles appearing to self-split continuously, scattering countless newborn particles while releasing massive amounts of energy.
Simultaneously, faint red dots of light were scattered all around, as tiny electrons moved rapidly in straight lines, radiating outward.
Yet, everything happening in the micro-world was almost imperceptible to the outside world.
Even with Su Cheng's power, he wouldn't have been able to detect these things without the Eye of True Sight.
"Is this thing even a normal species?!"
Su Cheng's face was grim, and he even blurted out an expletive.
This kind of existence was already beyond his understanding. It now seemed that the so-called "Dragon God" who created the dragon race couldn't be a normal living entity; its origins must have been highly questionable.
The existence of radioactive elements wasn't strange in itself.
Many strong beings in this world were, in fact, powerful radiation sources, filled with intense life force fields.
What was bizarre was that the radiation from these bones was just too strong.
And more importantly, this wasn't radiation formed from internal energy.
The dragon bones before him were all dead.
Which meant that the dragons had been in this state from birth.
"And judging by its activity, it will continue to affect the world for at least another million years…"
Su Cheng looked up at the dragon remains scattered across the valley.
This place must have existed for around a million years.
Despite such a lengthy period, the dragon remains still contained such high levels of activity. From this, one could infer that the radioactive elements comprising the dragon bodies had terrifyingly long half-lives.
"No wonder…"
After a long time, Su Cheng put away his True Vision and silently began to ponder.
He finally understood why, even after being dead for such a long time, many dragons whose strength had not been particularly powerful during their lives still retained a faint consciousness within their bones.
Or perhaps "will" is a more fitting word—a will akin to the instinct of a living creature.
That kind of will, which even moved Su Cheng, expressed a deep attachment to their kin and their world.
But for any other living being, their instincts should completely dissipate upon death.
The fundamental reason for this phenomenon lay in the special structure of these bodies.
"Is this an innate power of their bloodline, or is there some other factor at play...?"
Su Cheng's eyes flickered as he stood still, pondering for a long time before regaining his composure.
He took a deep breath and gazed toward the deeper part of the valley.
"It's time..."
There, the Dragon God's energy resided.
With his current strength, he could now attempt to explore this mysterious place.
He couldn't afford to delay this matter for too long.
His growth in power had slowed significantly.
Su Cheng, uncertain when this place might be discovered, didn't have much time to hesitate or waste.
He needed to gain a deeper understanding of the Dragon God's power, and the power within the dragon bloodline.
If possible, he hoped to find its flaws.
Su Cheng was fully aware that he couldn't discern much from a complete Dragon God bloodline.
What he needed were clues and inspiration. If he could find them, they could serve as a great asset in the future.
At the very least, Su Cheng was certain that there were inconsistencies in the existence of the Dragon God—areas ripe for optimization.
Otherwise, with the Dragon God's original power, it should not have gone mad, split apart, or fallen.
But with his current strength, he clearly couldn't uncover the fundamental reasons behind it.
Nor did he need to. He only needed to find something related to the Silver Dragon King.
In this regard, Su Cheng was confident.
The birth of any living creature in the world is the work of nature.
There might be flaws that require mending, but crude division would only magnify the original defects.
Just like Qian Renxue's soul splitting.
If not for Su Cheng's help, stabilizing her two souls, self-destruction would have been inevitable.
Five years passed swiftly.
On this day, the peaceful Dragon Valley micro-world suddenly began to tremble violently.
Huge boulders rolled down from the high cliffs, accompanied by a strong spatial disturbance.
In just a few moments, a massive spatial rift abruptly tore open above Dragon Valley.
"Who are you...who are you...who are you..."
A deep, imposing voice, so low it was hard to distinguish its gender, echoed continuously through the valley.
Within the calmness, there was also a hint of obvious anger and killing intent.
Bang—
With a loud boom, a mass of silver light suddenly surged out from the gigantic spatial rift, slamming heavily against the cliffside.
It was a giant dragon claw, gleaming in a brilliant silver color.
The claw was covered in hexagonal silver scales, each reflecting dazzling light.
The loud impact, with unparalleled might, descended from the high heavens.
Soon, the complete body of the giant beast squeezed out from the spatial rift, standing proudly on the cliff at the edge of Dragon Valley.
A silver dragon, over a thousand meters long!
Its body was covered in a radiant silver sheen, so bright that Su Cheng instinctively squinted slightly.
He carefully examined the powerful creature before him, one that stood at the pinnacle of the Douluo Continent, exuding a sense of power and majestic beauty.
A Third-Class God.
Su Cheng instantly discerned the creature's current power level.
It was barely maintaining the threshold of a Third-Class God, giving him a sense of something strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
Of course, it was still much stronger than his current level, which had just reached the peak Douluo level.
But if it wanted to kill him, it was still far from sufficient.
Not to mention other factors, just in terms of vitality and survival capability, the true force within Su Cheng's body was definitely above the divine level.
The next moment, the giant silver form slowly lowered its head.
Its enormous dragon eyes, filled with intense killing intent, glared icily at the tiny human boy below.
"Answer my question. Who are you, and why have you come to the resting place of my clan..."
Just as the words fell, it seemed to sense something, turning its huge head toward another direction.
There, a truly enticing aura was present.
"Forget it..."
It muttered softly, seemingly no longer interested in hearing the answer.
A hundred-meter-long silver spear instantly formed in mid-air.
It then shot straight toward Su Cheng, who stood in Dragon Valley, with an unmatched, powerful aura.
The strength of the attack caused the entire valley to tremble slightly.
The power of this strike was already nearing the divine level!
Clearly, it had also recognized the other party's strength and knew that ordinary attacks wouldn't be effective.
It simply chose to expend some of its source power to attempt a one-shot kill.
Although it was puzzled as to why such a young human could possess power almost on par with Di Tian.
But that didn't matter.
Just a mere human.
Since he had entered the dragons' resting place, he had already found his path to death!