Shockingly, Guo Ran was floating on the magma in the distance, and he looked so relaxed as if he was simply soaking in a hot spring.

Looking at Long Chen’s shocked expression, Guo Ran seemed very pleased. Scales had appeared on top of his skin, all of them giving off a frightening divine luster.

“What the— Initial mastery over the Dragon Soul Body Forging Art?!?!”

Long Chen’s eyes widened in astonishment, nearly popping out of their sockets as he saw Guo Ran’s transformation. Guo Ran’s scales now had divine runes within them. Long Chen almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Back then, with the dragon expert’s guidance, Long Chen had risked his life, enduring pain and torment to reach this level in the Dragon Soul Body Forging Art. On the other hand, Guo Ran had reached this level without putting any effort. How could Long Chen believe his eyes?

“This fellow’s luck is really good,” remarked the Earth Cauldron. “This nest contains the pure blood and dragon will of the many branches of the true dragon race. Among these branches, there exists one particularly disliked lineage known as the hidden dragon. These dragons are characterized by their cowardice and laziness. They like to find a place to hide, and as long as it’s safe and comfortable, they’ll just hide there for millions of years without moving a muscle.”

The Earth Cauldron continued, “There’s an expression: ‘a hidden dragon can’t be used.’ In your human context, it means to hide like a hidden dragon until your power reaches the necessary level to come out. However, within the dragon race, it holds a different connotation. For them, the hidden dragon is simply worthless. Despite being part of the true dragon race, they rarely appear in the outside world. Most people have never even heard of them because they are so lazy and cowardly. Even within the dragon race, they are virtually invisible.”

“Are you saying that Guo Ran…” Long Chen’s jaw dropped.

“Yes, his will and character are extremely similar to the hidden dragon race. The hidden dragon race’s dragon will already locked onto him the moment he entered, and it took the initiative to merge with him, helping him develop his Dragon Soul Body Forging Art. Two birds of a feather meeting each other like this… I suppose you could call it destiny?” commented the Earth Cauldron. It seemed somewhat speechless as well.

Since Long Chen had only transmitted the framework of the Dragon Soul Body Forging Art, each individual had the freedom to cultivate and evolve according to their unique characteristics. With countless choices available to them, Long Chen had hoped that the dragon souls within this nest would aid them in honing their distinctive styles.

However, Long Chen never anticipated that the one with the weakest willpower and talent would be the first to forge their own path. Long Chen felt like he was going crazy. How was this fellow’s luck so heaven-defying?

“Hehe, boss, with my unrivaled divine mastery, I will definitely sweep through the world and pave a path for you to become king!” declared Guo Ran.

“Yes, I’ll remember that. Make sure you don’t go and find some hole to hide in,” Long Chen sighed.

Hopefully, this fellow wouldn’t be affected too badly by the hidden dragon’s characteristics. Otherwise, he might just go into hiding and never appear again.

Just then, Guo Ran’s scales started to crack, causing Long Chen to jump. Just what was going on? Guo Ran was also taken aback.

“What’s going on?! My dragon blood armor is breaking!”

However, they quickly saw a shocking scene. After breaking apart, a new set of scales appeared on top of the old ones.

The new set of scales had even more concentrated runes within them. Their power was even greater, and they were also more lustrous.

Guo Ran took out a saber and stabbed his own scales, only for sparks to fly alongside the tip of his saber.

“Damn!”

Long Chen and Guo Ran both gasped. The defensive power of these scales was practically unmatched. Guo Ran would be unbeatable in combat like this.

“Boss, I’m going to soar!” exclaimed Guo Ran.

Just then, more cracking sounds rang out. These new scales cracked again, and a new set grew on top of them as well. Even Guo Ran was stunned by this.

Long Chen shouted, “Don’t let it concentrate all of your power on defense! You won’t have any offensive ability if this continues!”

Long Chen instantly thought of the crux. If the hidden dragon race’s dragon soul was controlling the path of Guo Ran’s Dragon Soul Body Forging Art, then with their cowardly nature, they would definitely go all out on defense.

With this reminder, Guo Ran had a bad feeling. However, he couldn’t stop it even when he tried. From the moment the hidden dragon race’s dragon soul found him, Guo Ran had freely let it within him.

There had never been a master between them, so Guo Ran couldn’t control it. It also couldn’t control Guo Ran, but Guo Ran had already given it control over the development of the Dragon Soul Body Forging Art.

Guo Ran now exhibited the characteristics of the hidden dragon, focusing all his power on defense. After all, defense was paramount to the hidden dragon race.

“Boss, I can’t control it!” shouted Guo Ran. He panicked, not knowing what to do.

This fellow was extremely lazy. Although Long Chen had given Guo Ran the framework for the Dragon Soul Body Forging Art, the latter had not thought about comprehending it himself or how to develop it in the future.

Since he hadn’t bothered doing so, the hidden dragon’s soul was making his choices for him. Guo Ran’s scales once more broke open, producing more scales.

“A triple layer armor!”

Eyeing the three-fold scale armor on Guo Ran, Long Chen was speechless. If the mysterious dragon expert were to learn that someone like Guo Ran had cultivated the Dragon Soul Body Forging Art like this, perhaps it would die of rage.

“Boss…”

Guo Ran resembled a guilty child, waiting silently to be reprimanded. However, Long Chen couldn’t be bothered to even say anything to him. Once the wood had been carved into a boat, there was no turning it back.

“Well, at least, your life shouldn’t be in any danger… ever…” Long Chen could only muster this comment, feeling a sense of powerlessness as he gazed upon the triple layer armor. The defensive capabilities of such armor were beyond comprehension.

“Boss, don’t get angry. I’ll go ask that fellow if it has any amazing moves!” Guo Ran then dove into the magma, pretending to go into seclusion.

Long Chen was speechless. When it came to Guo Ran, Long Chen had to force himself not to care. If he did care, he’d definitely have a mental breakdown.

Continuing his journey across the magma, Long Chen eventually reached the heart of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest. A blood-colored ancestral scale hovered above, with a towering figure resembling an iron tower standing directly beneath it.

When Long Chen saw that figure, his divine ring and starry sea quivered. His aura instantly reached his peak.

Stepping on the magma, Long Chen shot toward that middle-aged man like a shooting star, his voice resounded throughout the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest.

“Today, I’ll beat you until you cry!”