After reaching the early rank 1 of the Dao King realm, Shun Long's aura finally stopped rising and slowly started to stabilize.
And yet, Shun Long still didn't open his eyes, as he kept lying on the floor of the King's Palace with his entire body drenched in sweat.
''Eh? How is this possible? That kid's soul doesn't seem to be injured even after he went through that Heavenly Tribulation?'' The Northern Sovereign spoke to herself in a surprised voice as her soul sense completely enveloped Shun Long's body.
No matter how she probed him, the Northern Sovereign was unable to find any injuries in Shun Long's soul or his spiritual sea, which surprised her even further.
Of course, the Northern Sovereign was the only one who dared to inspect Shun Long with her soul sense, while the surrounding experts simply waited for him to open his eyes.
Shun Long could feel that a powerful expert was curiously inspecting his body, but his entire attention was now placed on his Dao of Time.
After breaking through to become a true Dao King, Shun Long could feel the changes in his Dao of Time and could sense how much stronger he had become.
He could feel that his comprehension and his control over the Dao of Time had reached a completely new level.
''So that's why most peak rank 9 Nascent Soul cultivators can rarely fight against Dao Kings...
The difference between a Dao King and a Nascent Soul cultivator is truly incomparable!''
Although Shun Long wasn't certain exactly how strong he was right now, he was certain that fighting against the top 10 in the Martial Roll of Honor wasn't an issue. Even if he couldn't defeat them, the chances of him losing were extremely low, and he could definitely fight them to a standstill, at the very least.
If Dong Ai's elder brother, Dong Cheng attacked him once again, it would be uncertain if the genius who was ranked 6th among the outer court disciples of the Holy sect would be able to come out unscathed.
Of course, Shun Long wasn't aware of what treasures Dong Cheng had in his possession, but he knew that the chances of him having another protective artifact that could block the attack of a Dao Emperor were practically zero.
''Most likely, after condensing 2 more golden balls of qi, aside from that Zhang Jing who is ranked 3rd in the Martial Roll of Honor and has yet to show his full strength, nobody else aside from Yang Hui and Qiao Min should be able to fight me head-on...''
Shun Long could also sense that his biggest gain after breaking through to the Dao King realm wasn't the increase in his strength, but the surge of information that had engraved itself in his soul, as well as the new ability that he had come to comprehend.
Shun Long knew that the memories he had unlocked regarding formations -although they couldn't be compared to the knowledge he had absorbed from the golden book, neither in quantity nor quality- were still enough to place him among the strongest formation masters throughout the entire central region.
Shun Long was certain that even the weakest of the formations in his mind was at least at the level of a 1-star formation.
And yet, even those memories regarding those formations paled slightly in front of the ability that Shun Long had comprehended after he broke through to the Dao King realm.
Shun Long's spiritual sea trembled momentarily as the thought of activating this skill appeared in his mind, before a feeling of intense pain filled his head, forcing him to stop.
However, not only was he not disappointed, but a bright smile covered his face soon after.
''Master, this... how can such a skill even exist in this world?'' At the same time, inside the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time', Little Black whose soul was directly connected to Shun Long's seemed to have realized what had just happened, as a shocked look flashed through the black dragon's eyes.
Shun Long wasn't surprised by Little Black's reaction since even he was having a hard time accepting what was going on.
But since he knew that he was still in a dangerous situation, he knew that he could only put those matters to the back of his mind for now.
A few moments later, after sorting out his thoughts, Shun Long finally opened his eyes and took a look around him.
Inside the core region of the King's Palace, the Northern Sovereign, the Grand Elder, Senior Feng, and the other high-level experts were all staring at him with serious looks in their eyes, while Shun Long could also feel that a powerful soul sense had completely enveloped his body.
Naturally, this soul sense belonged to the Northern Sovereign who smiled brightly when she saw Shun Long opening his eyes, before her warm voice entered Shun Long's ears
''Kid, how are you feeling?'' The Northern Sovereign's voice lacked her usual coldness, and instead, it was gentle and warm as a breeze, completely stunning the high-level experts around her.
Those experts had never seen the cold and aloof Northern Sovereign speak to a junior in such a warm tone. Even when she faced the personal disciple of 'old freak Gao', young lady Niu, the Northern Sovereign had been just as cold as ever.
But of course, after a moment of thinking, those experts realized that it made sense.
Since the Northern Sovereign valued Shun Long's talent and had even expressed her desire to take him to the Northern Sovereign's city, it was only natural that she would treat him differently than most others.
However, just as he was about to respond to the Northern Sovereign, Shun Long suddenly felt a piercing stare on his back, before the cold voice of a young woman entered his ears
''Your name is Shun Long, right? Let's not waste any time. Hand over the golden skeleton!''
