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Chapter 7: Slaying the Blood-Scaled Dragon — Gaining the First Soul Ring
🕑 Added 2025-07-11 04:16:31 +0000 UTC“Little Iggy, thank you for the heads-up. I nearly let greed cloud my judgment and walked straight into a death trap,” Director Lu said, his eyes now sharp and clear as he looked at Ignaz, genuinely grateful.
It was midday, and the sun scorched the earth. For the snake-type soul beasts that lived in the area, the cool, shadowed caves made for the perfect refuge from the heat. Among them, the Blood-Scaled Dragon reigned supreme. Countless century-old snakes gathered here under its dominance.
If he had rushed in recklessly, facing the swarm of dozens—maybe even hundreds—of snake-type soul beasts and the Blood-Scaled Dragon leading them, he would’ve been killed in an instant.
“Director, here—take this.”
Before Director Lu could react, Ignaz had already pulled out a small vial of snake blood and a bundle of herbs from inside his robes.
“Rub this on your clothes. The blood and the herbs will mask our scent. Once that’s done, we can head into the cave. As long as we’re careful, we should be fine.”
“You carry snake blood around?”
Director Lu looked down at the small vial in front of him, confused. But after a moment’s thought, it made a strange sort of sense. Hunters often carried odd concoctions—items to mask scent or deter beasts.
“Little Iggy, I have to say, I didn’t expect you to be this well-prepared. Not bad at all.”
They quickly applied the mixture to their clothes and stepped cautiously into the cave. Inside, it was pitch black—so dark they couldn’t see the end of the tunnel.
Hissss—
The sound of countless snakes flicking their tongues echoed off the walls, creating a terrifying, almost maddening chorus. Fortunately, Director Lu’s martial spirit was the Sea Viper, which gave him enhanced vision even in total darkness, allowing them to find a safe path forward.
After a while, they reached a bend in the tunnel. A sudden flash of gold glinted from around the corner. Both men dropped low behind a boulder, eyes locked greedily on the source.
A mound of gold soul coins—easily thousands—lay stacked like a miniature mountain. To either side of it were broken weapons and gleaming ores, scattered like offerings.
“There is treasure here. Just those coins alone must number over ten thousand... and those minerals—I don’t even recognize half of them.”
Director Lu’s gaze locked onto the soul coins. He hardly glanced at the weapons or ores. But Ignaz was different—his eyes lit up at the sight of the broken weapons. If his guess was right, at least one or two of them had to be soul tools.
As for the shiny ores used by the Blood-Scaled Dragon to decorate its lair, Iggy recognized just two: Deep Sea Silver and Coldheart Iron—both extremely rare.
“So the stories were true… the ocean is one enormous treasure trove.”
Just as Iggy murmured those words, the Blood-Scaled Dragon—coiled atop the golden heap—suddenly opened its eyes. It lifted its head and began scanning the cave intently.
Then its gaze locked directly onto the boulder they were hiding behind.
ROAR—!
A thunderous, guttural roar shook the cave. Instantly, all the snakes responded to the call, slithering toward them en masse. The Blood-Scaled Dragon slowly began to rise to its full height.
“It’s seen us,” Ignaz whispered. “Director, we need to go for the kill—take down the leader, and the rest will scatter. If we wait, we’ll never get out of here alive.”
Whoosh—
A jet of blood-red venom shot straight at the boulder. Director Lu grabbed Iggy and leaped out of the way just in time.
“Here—antidote!” Lu tossed Iggy a small green pill, then rushed toward the Blood-Scaled Dragon.
“Second Soul Skill—Sea Viper’s Violet Mist!”
In an instant, a deep violet poison mist spread outward in a 200-meter radius from where Lu stood. With the narrow, complex terrain of the cave, the mist quickly thickened, becoming nearly impenetrable.
Any soul beast under 100 years of age that touched the mist immediately slowed or collapsed outright.
Inside the dense fog, the Blood-Scaled Dragon couldn’t see, but its nose worked just fine. Flicking its tongue, it tried to locate its enemy by scent.
“Third Soul Skill—Viper Scale Thorns!”
Director Lu’s purple soul ring flared beneath him. The scales on his back exploded outward, transforming into dozens of deadly spikes that launched straight at the Blood-Scaled Dragon.
Whoosh—
The creature’s hearing was razor-sharp. It twisted and swung its tail to deflect the attack. But just as it did, Director Lu saw his chance—he leaped and landed squarely on the Scaled Dragon’s back.
“They say strike a snake at its seven-inch mark,*,” Lu said coldly. “Even a mutated beast like you can’t escape that rule.”
(*Note: “Hit a snake at seven inches” is a Chinese idiom referring to hitting a target’s vital weakness.)
“First Soul Skill—Serpent’s Needle!”
His viper tail transformed into a deadly black stinger, shrouded in thick black mist. With a single thrust, it pierced through the Scaled Dragon’s scales and drove straight into its weak point.
ROARRR—!
The anguished roar of the beast echoed through the cave. Ignaz’s eyes lit up.
“So this is what happens when your martial spirit aligns with your target—and you fully master your soul skills.”
Because the Blood-Scaled Dragon was exactly the soul beast Iggy needed, Director Lu had deliberately stopped short of piercing its heart completely. Dragging the dying creature behind him, he emerged slowly from the purple mist and stood before Iggy.
Thud—
He tossed the beast’s tail aside, shook the sticky slime off his hands, and smiled casually.
“Little Iggy, this mutated snake is yours. Drive your weapon into its seven-inch mark and the soul ring will appear.”
“Thank you, Director.”
Iggy pulled the Blood Spear from his back, stepped onto the Scaled Dragon’s body, and gripped the spear tightly with both hands. With one powerful thrust, he drove it down.
The Blood-Scaled Dragon’s pupils contracted as its heart stopped. A deep yellow soul ring rose slowly from its corpse.
Director Lu scanned the cave. No other powerful soul beasts appeared to be approaching.
“Little Iggy, you can start absorbing the soul ring. I’ll stand guard. With the violet mist still lingering, we’ve got a perfect natural barrier. But are you sure you want to absorb this soul ring? It’s nearly 630 years old.”
“Director, I never do anything I’m not ready for. This soul ring is exactly what I need.”
Iggy sat cross-legged, adjusting his breathing and focusing his soul power. The soul ring slowly descended and encircled his body. A wave of immense, overwhelming energy surged into him—wild and unrelenting.
“So this… this is the tidal surge of power from a mutated beast with a trace of dragon blood?”
Even though soul rings under a thousand years usually didn’t cause soul shock, the raw energy had to be absorbed by the body. The older the ring, the more intense the energy—and that’s why most people couldn’t handle a thousand-year ring for their first.
“Hold on. No matter what, you’ve got to hold on!”
His will to endure grew stronger by the second. Director Lu, watching from the side, couldn’t help but worry as Iggy grimaced in pain.
Fortunately, half a day later, just as the sky began to fade into dusk, Iggy’s expression gradually softened. The soul ring is fully fused with the Blood Spear.
The spear had changed—its blood mist had deepened, and the entire weapon now looked like it had been reborn. The metal was denser, harder. Even the engravings along the shaft had become clearer, and the rust on the tip had turned crimson and spread slightly wider.
Iggy slowly opened his eyes, excitement shining in them as he felt the changes in his body.
“Little Iggy, how many levels did your soul power go up? And what’s your first soul skill?” Director Lu asked eagerly.
