Chapter 104 - 94: 3rd Body Refinement and Contract with the Star Dragon

Chapter 104: Chapter 94: 3rd Body Refinement and Contract with the Star Dragon

Of course, over these two years, his base stats had also rapidly increased: Constitution 93, Spirit 102, and Magic Power 257. This last number included his Second Magic Spring.

His three primary stats were just one short of all breaking through a hundred—his Constitution. Senior Sister Leia had mentioned that cultivating the Star Force Field Series Witchcraft required all three stats to reach at least a hundred.

Thus, Chen Shang prepared to head to the Giant Dragon Plane for his third Body Refinement.

This time, he brought no one. Surtr, the Golden Crow, and Luna Xiya—none of them tagged along.

The Magma Giant was a Flame Creature by nature. If it soaked in Dragon Blood and turned into a Dragon Blood Magma Giant, it might become much stronger, but its Flame Rune System would have to be completely rebuilt from scratch. The Golden Crow went without saying; coming into contact with Dragon Blood could contaminate it and affect its future modifications. As for Luna Xiya, her attributes didn’t match at all.

The light of the Teleportation Gate faded, and Chen Shang stepped onto the soil of the Giant Dragon World Community. The sea of clouds at the mountaintop palace remained the same.

The boundless layer of clouds spread beneath his feet. Sunlight slanted down from higher up, carving golden bands of light across the sea of clouds. Two dark gold Giant Dragons sprawled on either side of the steps, their tails hanging down into the clouds like two breathing statues.

The one on the left opened a single eye, gave Chen Shang a glance, and then closed it again.

"Sorin?" Chen Shang called out tentatively.

The Giant Dragon on the right lifted its head. Its golden, slitted pupils shrank as it stared at him for several seconds. Then, its body began to shrink and transform. A few breaths later, a humanoid creature over two meters tall stood before him.

Sorin tilted its head and looked Chen Shang up and down.

"Chen? You’re here again." Its voice was still as deep as rolling stones, but it carried a hint of surprise. "You look like you’ve changed a lot."

Chen Shang looked down at himself. He wore plain robes, devoid of any decorations or insignias. Even his rune pen was stored away in his Space Book. However, his aura was indeed different from the little apprentice of a few years ago who had just stepped through the doors of the Wizard World and found everything a novelty.

He nodded. "That’s right, I’m here for my third Body Refinement. After returning this time, I’ll be able to attempt learning our lab’s legacy Witchcraft."

Sorin fell silent for a moment. In its eyes, Chen Shang’s minor increase in strength didn’t really make a difference. A Tier Six Golden Dragon could blow away a dozen of the current Chen Shang with a single sneeze.

Its gaze landed on Chen Shang’s eyes. Around the edges of his pupils was an extremely faint, four-colored halo. They were calm and steady, unhurried and unflustered. This was a specific kind of rationality and composure. Sorin had seen many Wizards and knew exactly what this aura signified.

"Alright, I’ll take you there." Sorin bent down, reverting back to its Giant Dragon form, and lowered its body to let Chen Shang mount it.

"Thanks!"

Chen Shang had a very good impression of this Golden Dragon who had once treated him to a meal. As they took off, he opened his interface. Densely packed extractable attributes lit up over Sorin’s body.

[Extractable Attribute Detected: Dragon’s Might (Purple) — Source: Sorin. Extract?]

[Extractable Attribute Detected: Eternal Scale Armor (Blue) — Source: Sorin. Extract?]

[Extractable Attribute Detected: Dragon Blood Regeneration (Blue) — Source: Sorin. Extract?]

...

After a series of extraction failures, Chen Shang closed the interface and didn’t try again.

The gap was simply too large. He had tried a few years ago and couldn’t extract anything, and he still couldn’t do it now. The foundation of a creature like a Giant Dragon was too profound for a Second Level Apprentice like him to casually mooch off of.

The Giant Dragon pierced through the sea of clouds and landed on the peak of a solitary island. The Dragon Blood Hall remained unchanged: a circular, open-air pool rimmed with solid boulders. Glowing Runes were carved all over the stones.

The dark red liquid inside the pool boiled amidst the steam. The stench of blood and the smell of sulfur mixed together, so thick it wouldn’t dissipate.

Sorin transformed back into its humanoid form and pointed at the stone stele by the pool. "Tier Five Dragon Blood Pool. This is the highest level a Wizard Apprentice can enter. Only an Official Wizard can enter the ones further down."

Chen Shang nodded, took off his robes and boots, and walked to the edge of the pool.

The Dragon Blood in this pool was countless times denser than the Tier Three one he had soaked in previously. Just standing by the edge, he could feel a suffocating pressure washing over him. It wasn’t because of the temperature or the smell, but some deeper, instinctual suppression engraved in his Bloodline. It felt like a prey animal standing at the entrance to a predator’s lair.

Chen Shang didn’t hesitate. He calmly stepped in. The Dragon Blood submerged his ankles and rose all the way to his chest. A burning sensation spread from the surface of his skin deep into his muscles.

He was no longer the First Level Apprentice who had just crossed the threshold. Naturally, he knew that these pools were specially formulated. Otherwise, the sheer aggressive nature of the Dragon Blood alone would cause immense damage. Yet even though the Dragon Blood was formulated, it still felt like countless red-hot iron wires threading through his muscle fibers, burning away the impurities that lacked sufficient tenacity one by one.

Chen Shang gritted his teeth and didn’t make a sound. His consciousness sank into his body as the Water-Fire Internal Refining model began to operate.

A rotating Yin-Yang model lit up in his Sea of Consciousness. The dark gold Samadhi True Flame and the pale blue One-Element Heavy Water surged out from the model, flowing along his meridians to the rest of his body. The flames refined the berserk Energy of the Dragon Blood, turning it into a mild nutrient his body could absorb. The water current washed out the impurities inside his body, expelling them through his pores.

The burning sensation of the Dragon Blood and the cooling sensation of the Water-Fire Internal Refining alternated within his body. Chen Shang sat cross-legged at the bottom of the Dragon Blood Pool, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and even.

Faint golden patterns surfaced on his skin—the physical manifestation of the Water-Fire Internal Refining.