Chapter 23: The Ice and Fire Dragon Kings’ Gift

"We'd really like to help you, but the soul bones you mentioned... we don't seem to have any."

Deep beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the remnant soul of the Ice Dragon King let out a sigh, shaking its head as it spoke to Qian Xunji, whose words were filled with sincerity and hope.

"We don't have any."

Qian Xunji froze for a moment, unable to believe it.

'That's not right...'

Truthfully, the Ice Dragon King did want to help him. Helping Qian Xunji ascend to godhood and enter the Divine Realm could allow him to gain power, secretly aiding both the Dragon Clan and the soul beast race from within, and perhaps even revive the Dragon Clan's former glory.

Unfortunately, after their deaths, neither the Ice Dragon King nor the Fire Dragon King had produced any soul bones.

The Ice Dragon King's remnant soul had some guesses about this and began to explain.

"Do you remember what you said before?"

"That it was only after Lord Silver Dragon King tore space and escaped back from the Divine Realm, bringing our corpses with her, that your soul beast race was born."

"Back in the age of our Dragon Clan, humans didn't even exist."

"So perhaps at the time, the Divine Realm only imposed this rule after wiping out our Dragon Clan and other powerful divine beasts and exotic species: when a soul beast reaches 100,000 years, every further increment of 100,000 years brings a tribulation with a near-certain chance of death."

"Later on, when humans were born, the Divine Realm again altered the rules of the world, adding this: when a soul beast dies, it produces a soul ring, and there's a slim chance it might produce a soul bone."

"But by then, the Fire Dragon King and I had already been dead for many years."

"And for a soul beast to produce a soul ring or soul bone, it needs to be killed. But we were already long dead—how could soul bones still be born from our remains?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Xunji suddenly understood.

'Right!'

When the Divine Realm changed the rules of the Douluo Continent—adding that soul beasts could produce soul rings and soul bones after death—the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings had already perished countless years ago.

And soul rings and soul bones only appear after death through battle.

If the rule change had happened before Gu Yuena brought their corpses back to the Douluo Continent, perhaps their remains could have still produced soul rings and bones upon contact with the continent.

But since the rule was changed long after their deaths, how could they possibly produce any soul bones?

At that thought, Qian Xunji couldn't help but let out a bitter smile, feeling deeply disappointed.

'So I came here all for nothing?'

Even though there weren't any soul bones, the words he had spoken earlier about restoring the Dragon Clan had moved both the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' remnant souls.

The two exchanged a look, and in their dragon eyes, a firm determination surfaced.

"Young one, we're truly sorry that we don't have any soul bones to offer you," said the Ice Dragon King's remnant soul, its voice deep and steady.

"But while we have no soul bones, and our powers and essence have mostly dissipated after all these years, the little that remains may still be useful to someone who has yet to become a god. We're willing to give this remaining essence to you."

"This may help you grow much stronger."

Qian Xunji was overjoyed at first, but then his expression grew anxious.

"Seniors, if you give me your remaining essence, what will happen to you?"

Just from the name essence, he could tell how important it was.

The two Dragon Kings had already fallen. Only their remnant souls remained. If they gave up the last of their essence—wouldn't they vanish completely?

Though Qian Xunji had come here for the legacy of the Dragon Kings, and most of what he said earlier was to persuade them, that was all meant to get their soul bones.

Soul bones weren't that significant to the remnant souls, but their essence was completely different.

And for someone who had helped him—even if it was just in spirit—he couldn't just accept such a sacrifice without guilt. His past life's teachings had instilled in him a strong sense of gratitude. He couldn't simply take someone's self-sacrifice as something to be expected.

"Haha!"

The Fire Dragon King's remnant soul suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

"Young one, don't worry about trivial things like that!"

"We're already long dead. These remnants are only lingering out of habit."

"Though our corpses are nearly indestructible due to our divine beast lineage, our essence has already nearly faded."

"Even if we don't give it to you, in another ten thousand years or so, the essence will disappear entirely, and our remnant souls will vanish along with it."

"Rather than dragging out our existence, we'd rather give what remains to you. Use it to become a god as soon as possible—and help our Dragon Clan rise once more!"

"Don't feel guilty. This is our own choice!"

"That's right! Young one, don't feel guilty, and don't even think about refusing!"

"If you truly want to thank us, then work hard, become a god, and restore the glory of the Dragon Clan!"

The Ice Dragon King's remnant soul also joined in, smiling as it spoke.

"By the way, young one, we still don't know your name."

"I'm Qian Xunji. May I ask your names, seniors?" Qian Xunji asked, bowing slightly with a solemn expression.

"My name is Chi Yan!"

"My name is Bing Lan!"

The remnant souls of the Fire and Ice Dragon Kings answered in unison, their voices grave.

"Qian Xunji, accept our essence!"

"The future of the Dragon Clan rests on your shoulders!"

In that moment, blinding red and ice-blue light suddenly burst from the corpses of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings.

As deafening dragon roars echoed through the spiritual plane, streams of scarlet and azure light were drawn from their immense remains.

These lights gathered in mid-air, forming two brilliant orbs—one burning red with life energy, the other icy blue.

Then—

"Whoosh!"

The two glowing orbs instantly turned into streaks of light and shot into Qian Xunji's body.

As the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' essence entered him, Qian Xunji immediately felt surging, opposing forces flood into his body—one cold to the extreme, the other blazing hot.

But rather than spreading through his limbs or merging with his soul power, the energies both surged toward his arms.

In an instant, his arms erupted with dazzling blue and red light, swelling, elongating—

"What the—?! Why does it hurt so much?!"

Qian Xunji gritted his teeth, his face twisted in pain.

His arms felt like one was plunged into glacial ice, the other tossed into molten lava.

Eventually, the transformation ended.

His arms were now massive and elongated. One was covered in icy blue dragon scales, radiating a freezing aura; the other was wrapped in crimson scales, exuding blistering heat. Both were armed with ferocious, razor-sharp dragon claws.

At the same time, a surge of immense soul power burst forth from the soul bones now embedded in his arms, fusing into his soul power.

In the blink of an eye, Qian Xunji's soul power broke through the bottleneck of Level 92.

He reached Level 93.

Then surged straight to Level 94.

Finally stabilizing at the high tier of Level 94.

___

Translator's Note: Have any of you read the original novel of Soul Land? I've only read a lot of soul land fanfics and most seem to agree with this conspiracy theory: "Soul rings and soul bones are generated due to the human gods using the power of the god realm to target the soul beasts. The one who did this is God King of Destruction in order to reduce the population of the soul beasts and prevent them from becoming a god."

I don't know how true that is, but that's how it is. Anyway, I'll only translate, so I won't make any changes to the fanfic.