Looking at the silver dragon on the cliff, hesitating and uncertain, Su Cheng did not seem in any hurry.
Except for the unpredictable timing of its appearance, everything that had transpired since the Silver Dragon King revealed itself had been within his expectations.
Images of his exploration of this valley years ago flashed in his mind.
At that time, Su Cheng's cultivation had already recovered to near the level of a Title Douluo, which was when he decided to venture into the depths of the Dragon Tomb.
While the strength of a Title Douluo was not extraordinarily powerful, it was enough for him to ensure his own safety.
As long as he did not act recklessly and exercised some caution, the risks would remain manageable.
But he had no choice but to take risks.
This small world was inherently unstable, and there was no way to predict how much time he would have for peaceful growth.
He had to use the limited time available to accumulate enough cards to deal with any powerful enemies that might appear at any moment.
This presented him with a dilemma.
Should he focus entirely on improving his strength, or should he begin exploring the Dragon Valley first?
To Su Cheng, the latter had a higher cost-benefit ratio.
At this point, grueling cultivation was not very meaningful to him; the growth of his body and spirit would take time, and there were limits to how much he could increase his efficiency just by absorbing energy.
By comparison, with the True Vision Eyes and the Dragon God's bloodline within him, and with such a treasure trove of a place serving as a testing ground, it would be much more worthwhile to first understand the situation of the Dragon Tribe.
However, even so, understanding the Dragon Tribe's bloodline, this valley, or even the power of the Dragon God would still require a considerable amount of time and effort, so not a second could be wasted.
As he moved forward, a faint, different glow appeared deep within Su Cheng's eyes. He maintained a state of shallow True Vision.
To his eyes, although there were many similarities among the various dragon bones, there were even more differences.
The differences were even greater than those between the White Tiger Spirit of the Star Luo Empire and the Hell Civet Spirit.
"As expected, they're all incomplete remnants..."
With this realization, more doubts arose in Su Cheng's heart.
Was the Dragon Tribe truly a lifeform naturally evolved from the natural world?
If not, then how did this species come to be, and what was the purpose of its existence?
And what exactly did the legendary Dragon God do? What had they experienced?
Perhaps some of these questions might be answered after encountering the Dragon God's soul.
As for the Dragon God's bloodline within himself, Su Cheng had already studied it before but couldn't discern much.
In fact, the Dragon God's bloodline within his body was still being suppressed by his True Power and had not been fully activated.
This does not mean that the power of the Dragon God is inferior to his True Power.
Rather, it's because the True Power is his fundamental strength, and the Dragon God's bloodline, as an external force, has no choice but to occupy a lesser position in the absence of absolute dominance.
Changing this situation is quite simple.
Su Cheng only needs to spend some time and energy to fully integrate this bloodline power into his body to remove the limitations of the Dragon God's bloodline.
With his mastery over his own body and his extensive knowledge of Spirit and bloodline powers, he is fully capable of doing so.
Yet he hesitated for a long time and ultimately decided not to do it.
There were several reasons for this.
The faint repulsion between the power of the Dragon God and the True Power confirmed that his hypothesis before entering the simulation was correct.
The addition of a powerful transcendent bloodline could be both beneficial and detrimental to his current state.
That's the first reason.
If he were to fully absorb the Dragon God's bloodline and inherit its power, Su Cheng could not be certain whether this would cause unknown effects on this unstable small world, perhaps even hastening its emergence.
That's the second reason.
And beyond these, there was one more crucial reason.
The Silver Dragon King.
A complete Dragon God bloodline would certainly be an immense temptation for the Silver Dragon King, one of the Dragon God's split bodies, serving as an ideal resource for its ascension.
If the Silver Dragon King were to detect his condition, it would mean a fundamental conflict of interests between them—a direct clash.
This would add unnecessary variables to his plans and strategies.
Su Cheng did not want to make things more complicated for the Silver Dragon King, so he simply chose not to merge with the bloodline for now.
However, this alone was not enough. He also needed to find a way to conceal the Dragon God's aura.
But hiding the aura of the Dragon God was not easy.
Forget about hiding it—even reverting it to its former diluted state by thinning the bloodline concentration wasn't feasible.
Although both were bloodline powers, this wasn't an ordinary Spirit power; it was the Dragon God's bloodline, which could be called the ancestral bloodline of all Spirits.
The True Power could suppress or fuse with it, but it could not erase it.
Of course, even if he could, he wouldn't want to do such a wasteful thing. Otherwise, he would not have chosen this talent bloodline when entering the simulation in the first place.
After all, there was still time.
After witnessing the power of the Dragon God, he would likely find a way to modify the Dragon God's bloodline within himself.
He didn't know how long he had been walking when a massive dragon skeleton, as towering as a mountain, appeared in front of him.
This skeleton was over a thousand meters tall, its entirety brownish in color, looking quite different from the other dragon bones.
The most striking difference was the absence of wing bones on its back, and its body was exceptionally sturdy, especially its four limbs, which were as thick and strong as towering pillars.
The dragon bone emitted an unparalleled, heavy aura, causing the gravitational fluctuations on the ground for several kilometers around to be noticeably stronger than in other places.
"Hmm?"
Su Cheng's heart stirred as he suddenly realized something.
The enormous dragon skeleton before him appeared to be the remains of the Earth Dragon King.
But what surprised him was that the aura of this Earth Dragon King's bones was somewhat similar to Ah Yin's soul power fluctuations in reality.
Gazing at the gigantic, mountain-like skeleton in front of him, a light flashed in Su Cheng's eyes.
Compared to the other dragon bones, the aura of this Earth Dragon King's remains was much stronger, and the will contained within them was several times more intense, even verging on emotional fluctuations.
There were feelings that had not dissipated over countless years—anger, resentment, unwillingness...
In the center of its skeleton, there was a huge crack that extended from its head to its tail.
Clearly, it had been cleaved in half by a sharp weapon in life.
However, no energy fluctuations remained on the crack, making it impossible to discern who had done it.
After a long time, Su Cheng set off again, bypassing the remains of the Mountain Dragon King.
Behind it, the ground once again sank down, revealing a gigantic pit over ten thousand meters in diameter.
Boom, boom, boom…
As he reached the edge of the pit, the blood throughout his body seemed to boil.
His heart pounded heavily in his chest, thick blood rushing through his veins, and Su Cheng's complexion flushed slightly red.
The Dragon God's bloodline, which had been suppressed by his True Power, suddenly went berserk, and an intense Dragon God's aura erupted from him.
At the same time, a strong summoning voice echoed continuously from the depths of his heart, though the specific content could not be heard.
In the next instant, it was as if all the dragon bones in the valley came back to life, unleashing deafening roars and wails.
These were sounds unheard by outsiders.
They were roars, cries, the voices of dead true dragons, pouring their endless grievances and resentments into him!
Su Cheng frowned slightly, "As expected..."
He immediately closed his eyes and quickly operated his True Power with full force.
Only after the violent Dragon God's bloodline was suppressed again did the sounds fade away.
When he reopened his eyes, everything had calmed down once more; the dragon bones remained as they were, with no abnormalities.
What had just happened seemed like an illusion, as if nothing had transpired.
But Su Cheng knew it was no illusion.
If his own strength wasn't sufficient, if the level of his inner force wasn't enough to suppress the turmoil of his bloodline, this small world would definitely be in big trouble.
The bones of those dead dragons could certainly not truly come back to life, but he himself might very well transform into a true dragon.
From the perspective of bloodline alone, the human bloodline was clearly incomparable to that of the dragon race.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of relief in his heart. Fortunately, he hadn't blindly explored this dragon tomb earlier. Instead, he had chosen to improve his strength first; otherwise, he would have surely met with disaster.
The bloodline of the Dragon God was far more powerful than he had imagined.
Only after the boiling power of his bloodline finally settled down did Su Cheng look down into the depths of the pit.
The massive pit, over a thousand meters deep, was filled with a huge, seven-colored mist of light that obscured his vision, making it difficult to see what lay within.
Yet, he had a strong feeling that if he were to step into it, the mist would not obstruct him in the slightest. On the contrary, it would welcome his arrival.
However, he clearly had no intention of going down.
His eyes glowed with a fierce golden light, and he fully activated his True Vision.
The mist, formed by the gathering of energy within the pit, could not block his sight. The scene behind it was immediately revealed in his true vision.
It was a colossal dragon soul.
Larger than the skeletal remains of the Earth Dragon King, its entire body radiated seven-colored brilliance. The dragon scales on its surface were dazzling and seemed like countless gems embedded in its skin.
Its head was held high, and its entire body exuded an aura of immense majesty and strength.
The moment he saw this dragon soul, the blood in Su Cheng's body once again showed signs of restless agitation.
"The Dragon God's dragon soul," he murmured in a low, certain voice.
So powerful.
The energy fluctuations of this dragon soul entity, condensed in the dragon tomb, were absolutely comparable to a god-level being.
Fortunately, this entity had no consciousness; otherwise, Su Cheng had no confidence he could defeat something like this.
He didn't dare get too close either.
If this thing decided to approach him because of the Dragon God bloodline in his body, he knew his small frame wouldn't be able to bear it.
At that point, his bloodline might go completely out of control, and not even his inner force would be able to suppress it.
So, Su Cheng sat cross-legged right at the edge of the pit and silently observed the enormous seven-colored dragon soul before him using his True Vision, analyzing it bit by bit—from the whole to its parts, down to its very core…
During this process, he continuously leveraged the power of his own bloodline, comparing and cross-verifying with it, trying to grasp the unique qualities of the Dragon God's bloodline.
Thus, he sat in front of the Dragon God's dragon soul for over three years.
Apart from occasionally leaving to conduct further research or to test the effects of his bloodline on other dragon bones, he did nothing extraneous.
He spent more time here than he did on cultivation.
It was also during this time that he finally formulated and perfected his subsequent plans, thinking about how he should confront the Silver Dragon King and others in the future.
He considered all factors, including strength, environment, and the balance of benefits and losses, and devised different strategies to handle various scenarios.
With such preparation, he naturally felt confident…
"Human, have you decided to become my enemy?"
At this moment, the deep voice of the Silver Dragon King pulled Su Cheng out of his reverie.
He lifted his head to look at her. "You speak without reason. I don't want to be enemies with anyone, but you attacked me first—how do you explain that?"
"…"
The Silver Dragon King paused at his words.
Indeed, it was her misjudgment, and she was secretly regretting it.
Seeing her at a loss for words, Su Cheng felt that the timing was just right. He took the initiative to change the subject, asking, "You just called me 'human'? Does that mean there are beings similar to me in your world as well?"
"?"
The Silver Dragon King was momentarily stunned, a flash of realization appearing in her eyes.
That's right.
From the moment they first met, she had always felt that there was something strangely off about the way he spoke, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
Could it be that he wasn't a creature of this world?
Indeed, the power he used earlier was completely different from that of the human warriors she knew.
It wasn't Spirit Power or Divine Power, but rather some other mysterious force.
Moreover, he didn't seem to possess a Spirit.
"You—"
She was about to ask, but Su Cheng interrupted her first.
"Agree to one condition, and I will directly teach you the method I used earlier. Even if you don't understand the principles behind it, you will still be able to use it with ease. And I can assure you, once you master it, you'll no longer have to worry about any potential threat it poses to your race."
"…What condition?"
The Silver Dragon King's eyelids lowered slightly, her voice turning unusually cold.
Dragons do not yield to threats.
If this human thinks he can coerce her with such underhanded means, he has badly miscalculated!
"Show me the respect I deserve."
"Respect?"
Hearing this, the beast's eyes widened again, a hint of obvious surprise flashing in her purple pupils.
This mysterious and unpredictable human, who wielded such a significant bargaining chip, wanted nothing more than this one simple request?
"You said there was only one condition, right?"
"That's correct, that is my condition."
Su Cheng's voice was calm, as if he hadn't noticed her astonishment.
The Silver Dragon King, however, felt suspicious and asked, "What kind of respect do you want?"
"Step one, land on the ground. Don't speak to me from a lofty height."
"…I understand."
The beast moved her dragon claws.
After hesitating for a moment, she muttered in a low voice and then spread her enormous wings, flying down from the cliff's edge and landing before Su Cheng.
"Is this sufficient?"
"Lower."
Su Cheng closely examined the massive silver dragon in front of him, increasingly sensing her beauty and majesty.
This being, born at the pinnacle of all life, possessed a beauty that transcended species.
A slender dragon body, sharp claws, broad wings, and a powerful tail…
Perfect, flowing body lines, and scales that gleamed with a pure silver sheen, all embodying the ultimate expressions of power and beauty.
"Do you think looking down on me like this can be considered respect?"