However, the Blazing Fire Dragon up above refused to let them escape. It blasted one scorching fireball after another out of its mouth, and as scorching heatwaves swept relentlessly through the air, Tang Wulin could already smell an acrid charred odor coming from his clothes. Thankfully, his dragon scales protected him for sustaining any severe injuries.

"Yun'er, Yun'er!" Tang Wulin called in a low voice.

"Huh?" Dai Yun'er raised her head in a timid manner.

Tang Wulin continued, "We can't keep running like this. I'm going to hurl you in another direction and take on this thing on my own. Make sure to look after yourself."

"What? Will you be alright on your own? That thing is really powerful." Dai Yun'er was rather concerned for his safety.

Tang Wulin was silent for a moment before continuing, "Yun'er, what would you do if you discovered that I'm not as good a person as you think. Even worse, what would you think if I were your enemy?"

Dai Yun'er was rather perplexed by this question. "What do you mean?"

Another scorching heatwave swept forth, and Tang Wulin abruptly sprang forward again as he heaved an internal sigh. This dragon soul was immensely powerful, but he didn't want to leave the Dragon Valley yet.

All of a sudden, a determined look appeared in Tang Wulin's eyes, and he hurled Dai Yun'er toward a patch of empty ground in the distance. In the instant that he landed on the ground, he abruptly turned around and sprang back the way he'd come.

He looked up at the menacing Blazing Fire Dragon soul up above, and let loose an explosive roar. "That's enough!"

Three golden soul rings suddenly emerged beneath his feet as he spoke, and immediately thereafter, the third soul ring flashed as powerful blood essence aura erupted from within his body.

Bright golden light instantly radiated in all directions as a massive golden dragon head appeared before letting loose an enraged roar straight up into the heavens.

Compared to the golden dragon head that Tang Wulin had been able to conjure up during the Continental Young Elites Tournaments, this was clearly more substantial and menacing.

The thunderous roar shook the entire heavens, and the Blazing Fire Dragon, which was just about to blast another fireball out of its mouth, suddenly stiffened before plummeting straight out of the sky as if its wings had been snapped.

The roar of the golden dragon was far too fearsome for it to withstand!

If another soul beast had been in the place of this dragon soul, perhaps the effect of this golden dragon roar wouldn't have been so severe. However, this was the Dragon Valley, and the purer the bloodline of a true dragon, the more they were able to experience just how fearsome the aura of the Golden Dragon King was. This was pure bloodline intimidation.

As the Blazing Fire Dragon plummeted from up above, Tang Wulin stomped a foot onto a nearby tree, and his body was propelled into the air toward the massive dragon soul. He swiped his right hand over his glabella, and a burst of golden light instantly erupted forth as his Golden Dragon Spear appeared in his grasp.

After landing on the ground in the distance, Dai Yun'er had also been somewhat affected by that thunderous roar. After absorbing so many dragon souls, her bloodline had also taken on a faint dragon type aura, which was why she was also impacted by the bloodline of the Golden Dragon King.

After steadying herself, she looked up to discover a giant golden dragon head projection roaring into the heavens.

A golden dragon head and three golden soul rings?

At first glance, Dai Yun'er was only struck by a sense of astonishment and familiarity. However, in the next instant, she suddenly realized something.

....

"Yun'er, what would you do if you discovered that I'm not as good a person as you think. Even worse, what would you think if I were your enemy?"

....

She finally understood what that meant. Could it be him? How was that possible? The one who had accompanied her this entire time was that guy? Why was he here participating in the trial held by the Tang Sect headquarters in Star Luo City? Why was it him?

Dai Yun'er was completely flabbergasted, and her heart was filled with a myriad of emotions as she stared at Tang Wulin, who was charging directly toward the Blazing Fire Dragon.

There was once a time when her heart had been swayed by this man, who had almost been stomped to death by Long Yue.

There was once a time where she'd witnessed this man and his companions defeating the invincible Crazy Long and her teammates.

He was stubborn, powerful and resilient, and he'd left a permanent impression on her heart.

She didn't want to admit it, but deep down in her heart, she knew that if he'd never appeared, she would've perhaps already submitted to her father's will and chosen a husband for herself. However, for some reason, she simply couldn't get over his rejection and move on.

Never would she have thought that he would also be participating in this mission, and that they would bump into each other in this small world. Never did she think that the masked man who'd been protecting her and helping her absorb dragon souls this entire time would be him.

It was no wonder he'd been so surprised after discovering that she was a princess, yet he didn't abandon her, nor did he target her. Instead, he was like a nurturing older brother who was constantly protecting her.

Prior to today, it had never even occurred to her that White Three could be Tang Wulin.

In her heart, Tang Wulin was a slightly proud yet extremely outstanding man. He had power and resilience in equal measures, and he was an unforgettable figure in her heart.

In contrast, White Three was a gentle and thoughtful big brother, a man whom she could rely on.

When those two figures suddenly overlapped, Dai Yun'er was struck by a smorgasbord of emotions.

"Boom!" The Blazing Fire Dragon plummeted into the forest and crashed into a large tree, having been completely disoriented by the impact.

Tang Wulin swooped down from above with his Golden Dragon Spear pointing forward, and he instantly appeared in the air above the Blazing Fire Dragon.

The dragon soul flapped its wings and desperately tried to get up, but the horror in its eyes was very apparent.

In the face of the intimidating aura of the Golden Dragon King, even a powerful dragon soul such as itself was completely unable to muster up the courage to resist.

"Thump!" Golden light flashed from the Golden Dragon Spear, and it punctured into the dragon soul's head. Tang Wulin could immediately sense a burst of scorching energy flowing into his body in a frenzy through the Golden Dragon Spear before rapidly fusing with his body.

The power imbued within this dragon soul was far superior to that contained in the dragon clouds he'd absorbed before.

The Blazing Fire Dragon's body gradually turned transparent, and the patterns on the Golden Dragon Spear slowly became more pronounced. At the same time, it had taken on a faint red hue from the influx of scorching energy.

The dragon soul only completely disappeared after an entire minute had passed, and Tang Wulin's entire body was filled with an overwhelming sense of satiation. The blood essence aura within his body became extremely violent, and the Golden Dragon King bloodline surged through his veins, rapidly absorbing the energy of the dragon soul.

Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King bloodline didn't reject the dragon soul of a true dragon. During the absorption process, the golden scales all over his body began to radiate a fiery red light.

As he absorbed the soul of the Blazing Fire Dragon, he could sense that his resistance to fire had been enhanced.

He had derived a similar feeling of enhanced elemental resistance when absorbing the dragon clouds in the past, but the feeling wasn't as pronounced.

As expected, the soul of a true dragon was truly extraordinary!

Tang Wulin looked down at the Golden Dragon Spear in his hand, and it seemed to have read his mind as it immediately began to emit a faint buzzing sound.

Tang Wulin waved his right hand, and the Golden Dragon Spear vanished into his glabella as a streak of golden light. He clenched his fists, and he could feel that both his strength and his physical constitution seemed to have been enhanced.

At this moment, it suddenly dawned on him that Dai Yun'er had most likely identified him.

After a brief hesitation, he slowly turned around. He couldn't just run away, so he had to face his problems.

Dai Yun'er was already making her way toward him in an expressionless manner.

Tang Wulin heaved a faint sigh, and said, "Yun'er, I..."

"Take off your mask," Dai Yun'er suddenly interjected.

"Alright." Tang Wulin removed his mask to reveal his handsome face.

Dai Yun'er found herself slightly entranced by his clear and bright eyes, his long eyelashes, his chiseled nose, his attractive lips, and the near-perfect contours of his face.

This was the first time that she'd been able to inspect him this close up.

"You're pretty handsome, Brother Three. Let's go." After that, she continued through the forest as if nothing had ever happened.

Tang Wulin faltered slightly upon seeing this.

At this moment, Dai Yun'er's voice drifted back to him. "All I know is that you're my Brother Three; I don't know anything else."

Tang Wulin chuckled upon hearing this. She sure managed to adjust quickly!

He hurriedly caught up to her before ruffling her hair. "You've grown up."

"Hey, don't ruin my hairdo!" Dai Yun'er also smiled as she swatted his hand away.

Just then, she'd suddenly reached an epiphany; there was no vendetta between the two of them, and perhaps the rivalry only existed because her attraction to him made her want to surpass him. However, did a woman like her really have to prove a point by being more powerful than the man she loved? Perhaps that wasn't necessary.