......
"The burial ground of the Thunder Dragon King..." Greed flickered in Luo Nan's eyes.
"I currently hold the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's supreme treasure—the Nine Crowns of the True Dragon."
Luo Nan strongly suspected that hidden deep within the thunderclouds overhead lay some peerless treasure!
At this thought, Luo Nan's heart began to race.
What in this world could be more thrilling than exploring the ruins of an ancient Dragon King?
"Since I'm already here, it would be a waste of my Rank 97 cultivation to enter a treasure trove and return empty-handed."
"Boom!"
Luo Nan kicked off the ground with explosive force, shooting straight up into the sky like a black rocket soaring in reverse.
He plunged headlong—without a second thought—into that churning, roaring expanse of endless thunderclouds that seemed poised to destroy everything in their path!
The moment he burst into the clouds, the world before his eyes transformed completely.
There was no sky, no earth, and not even a clear sense of direction; the surroundings were filled with lightning elements so viscous they seemed almost tangible.
The violent thunderbolts—rarely seen in the outside world—were ubiquitous here, permeating every nook and cranny like the waters of a boiling ocean.
*Crackle, snap!*
Myriads of fine electric arcs gnawed frantically at Luo Nan's protective soul power, clinging to it like an inescapable curse.
An ordinary Titled Douluo—even one who had activated their Martial Soul Avatar—
...would fail to last even the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn in this terrifying sea of lightning; they would be assimilated by the violent, free-floating lightning energy and ultimately explode and perish.
Even a Titled Douluo specializing in the lightning element could hold out for no more than the time it takes for two sticks of incense to burn!
Of course, were a Titled Douluo of level 95 or higher to enter this place, it would be a veritable paradise for them!
But Luo Nan was different.
His physical body, tempered repeatedly by top-tier spirit rings and supreme-quality spirit bones, had long since reached an unfathomable realm.
He even voluntarily lowered some of his defenses, allowing the lightning to strike his skin—which was as tough as obsidian.
He used this most domineering force in the world to further hone his physique.
The radiance of the 100,000-year-old Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone shimmered faintly amidst the sea of lightning, providing him with a ceaseless flow of vitality and the thrust needed for flight.
Luo Nan flew upward and deeper into this surging sea of lightning for a full two hours.
The deeper he ventured, the more harrowing the scenery became.
The originally purple thunder shifted gradually to a deep, dark blue, and occasionally, streaks of bone-chilling, pitch-black lightning flashed by.
The lightning energy in the air grew increasingly heavy; every breath felt like inhaling scalding-hot blades, and a pungent, acrid smell of burning filled his nostrils.
Even more terrifying was that, as he delved deeper, a dreadful pressure emanating from the depths of the bloodline began to permeate the surroundings.
It was Dragon Might! A pure, domineering ancient dragon aura that had transcended eons of time!
"Whew... the spatial structure here has been completely warped by the power of lightning."
Luo Nan hovered in mid-air, wiping the sweat from his brow, yet his eyes grew increasingly bright.
He could clearly sense that he had crossed the outer thunderstorm zone and was now officially on the fringe of the core lightning region of the Nine-Dragon Mountain Range.
For beyond the acrid stench that threatened to roast a person alive, he could faintly hear a series of low, reverberating tremors.
That sound was not thunder; it was the spatial resonance triggered by an ancient dragon's roar from the deepest recesses of the clouds!
Just as Luo Nan prepared to push further forward...
"ROAAAR—!!!"
Without warning, from the extreme depths of the sky—ten thousand meters up—
...came a sudden ancient dragon roar that was a hundred times clearer, more domineering, and more resounding than the last!
It carried no emotional fluctuations—no anger, no murderous intent—yet it exuded a majestic, lofty authority.
Accompanying this roar, a dragon aura of savage, extreme intensity descended like an invisible, colossal hammer forged by heaven and earth.
It crashed down from the highest heavens, slamming directly onto Luo Nan's shoulders!
This was not a provocation aimed specifically at Luo Nan; it was an instinctive declaration.
It was the Ancient Thunder Dragon King—fallen for untold eons—asserting its absolute, inviolable sovereignty to any living being daring enough to trespass upon its resting place!
Under the pressure of this god-like dragon aura, even Luo Nan—who had just broken through to the peak of Rank 97—
...felt a tightness in his chest as his body plummeted dozens of meters through the air.
Yet, the very next second!
Without Luo Nan needing to actively channel any power, the two dormant, top-tier Martial Souls within his body... Provoked by this external draconic might—and without the slightest warning—something akin to a peerless, ferocious beast whose "reverse scale" had been touched was instantly and fully awakened!
"Aooo—!"
"Roar—!"
One golden and one black—two distinct yet equally noble dragon roars erupted simultaneously from within Luo Nan's body!
The Golden Holy Dragon!
The Dark Demon Dragon!
Though their elemental attributes were diametrically opposed, in this moment—facing the overbearing pressure of the Ancient Thunder Dragon King—these two supreme draconic Martial Souls displayed astonishing synergy and unyielding pride.
The pride of the dragon race forbade them from bowing before any pressure, even if the adversary was one of the nine great Ancient Dragon Kings!
The two unyielding roars instantly tore through the thick, lightning-filled sky.
Transforming into massive, tangible sound waves—one gold and one black—they slammed violently against the invisible, descending giant hammer.
"Rumble—!!!"
Violent purple-cyan thunder and ancient lightning clashed explosively in mid-air; three streams of supremely masculine, unmatchable draconic might collided and tore at one another!
For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
Then, the sky—previously shrouded in endless darkness and thunderclouds—suddenly erupted with a blinding, ghastly white radiance unlike anything seen before!
The brilliance surpassed even the sun, illuminating the sea of lightning for hundreds of miles around in minute detail; even the tiniest spatial rifts were laid bare, unable to hide from the intense glare.
In that fleeting instant of blinding light!
Luo Nan narrowed his eyes; peering through the dazzling white glow, his pupils suddenly contracted.
He saw it with absolute clarity: jutting diagonally from the scorched earth below—blackened by the thunder—was a massive fragment of bone!
The bone fragment was immensely thick, resembling an ancient tree that held up the heavens, its surface etched with pulsating lightning patterns that sent a shiver down one's spine. At this moment, Luo Nan felt the blood in his veins boiling, and his heart pounded wildly within his chest like a war drum.
He was in a state of extreme exhilaration.
For, barring any surprises, that massive bone radiating boundless thunderous might was none other than the legendary remains of the Ancient Thunder Dragon King!
Those were the remains of a god-level being! A supreme treasure that no Spirit Master on the Douluo Continent would even dare to dream of possessing!
However, before Luo Nan could widen his eyes to examine the full extent of the skeleton...
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