Absolutely Cannot Let Anyone Disturb Him

Dragging his grievously wounded body, he looked back at the Human Gods with eyes full of fury. Then, one massive hand swept up several True Dragon Eggs whose shells were covered in shattered cracks, and he sped away after a glittering flash of silver light.

Sigh...

That silent sigh came from the present-day Di Tian.

True pure-blooded dragons found it extremely difficult to reproduce. Every True Dragon Egg was incomparably precious, so the Dragon God gathered all the clan's eggs at his side, allowing them to be touched by the divine radiance of a God King in hope of their future.

As the captain of the personal guards and a close minister of the Son of Heaven, Di Tian naturally bore the duty of protecting the True Dragon Eggs.

But that world-shaking battle between the divine beasts and the Human Gods had been far too brutal. Even the aftershocks of battle, passing through Di Tian's divine power defenses, had cracked the True Dragon Eggs.

After fleeing to the Douluo Plane, even though he poured all his heart and effort into nurturing the eggs with the essence of his own True Dragon Blood, it was useless. One True Dragon Egg after another gradually lost its vital aura.

At the time, he had been far too weak, and his strength had plummeted. His godhood had been shattered in the great battle, while the planar laws had stripped away his divine beast body, causing him to completely fall to the life level of a soul beast.

After Di Tian's nurturing over endless years, the contribution of the True Dragon Blood essence, and the energy left behind by each prematurely deceased True Dragon Egg, the last—and only—True Dragon Egg finally survived its death tribulation and hatched perfectly.

That dragon was Zi Ji, the only true dragon today whose bloodline could rival Di Tian's: a rising star of the dragon clan with the Yin Water attribute and formidable devouring abilities, ranked ninth among the continent's Ten Great Savage Beasts—the Hell Demon Dragon King.

As the Seven-Colored Dragon Soul replayed the Dragon God's great battle and death tribulation from years ago, the process of the dragon soul merging into his body continued simultaneously.

At this moment, Di Tian had already revealed his true form. With his current cultivation nearing a million years, his Dragon Body stretched over a hundred zhang in length!

The seven-colored currents poured into his body, yet Di Tian felt no pressure at all. He did not resist in the slightest; his reaction was even milder than it had been to the ordinary dragon souls brimming with savage energy.

It seemed that although the Dragon God was full of majesty, he was quite gentle toward his own kind.

Di Tian's dragon scales, which gleamed like black gemstones, were veiled beneath a hazy layer of seven-colored mist that shone with translucent radiance.

As the aura flowed into his body, the Dragon God's dragon soul gradually became illusory.

At its center, a spherical crystal appeared. Gold and silver flowed within it, while a ring of nine-colored light drifted around its surface. It carried an unfathomable, mysterious aura. It was unmistakably the Dragon God's former divine core—the Dragon God Core!

The illusory Seven-Colored Dragon Soul was completely absorbed by Di Tian, and the nine-colored Dragon God Core, guided by Di Tian, also entered his body.

Of course, this did not mean that Di Tian had absorbed the Dragon God Core. He had merely taken it into his possession.

The Dragon God Core contained an enormous amount of energy. It was necessary for the Dragon God's return, and was itself a Super Divine Artifact. The current Di Tian was simply incapable of absorbing it.

His enormous dragon eyes opened, and his seven-colored pupils reflected a terrifying gleam.

Di Tian forcibly suppressed the excited dragon roar rising in his throat. Instead, he transformed into human form, sat cross-legged where he stood, and remained motionless like an old monk in meditation.

A layer of seven-colored radiance gradually formed over the surface of his body, as though a thick coat of glossy colored paint had been brushed over him.

Once he entered meditation, many days passed.

Outside.

The Spiritual Power the Demon Empress had spread throughout the area suddenly reacted. An unfamiliar aura had intruded upon the web-like network of Spiritual Power.

"So many days have passed, and he still hasn't come out... Is he planning to undergo his tribulation inside? Or did something unexpected happen?" the Demon Empress murmured, a trace of worry in her voice.

She could sense that Di Tian had not fallen. For someone as powerful as Di Tian, even if he had died within the small world, there was no way there would be no disturbance at all.

By her estimation, Di Tian was either preparing to undergo his tribulation or already on the verge of undergoing it.

Whether he was preparing for the tribulation or currently facing it, this was his weakest time. He could not tolerate even the slightest interference from anyone.

Because even the faintest shift in one's state of mind could lead to complete failure, much less for Di Tian, who was facing the Million Year Soul Beast Tribulation—a heavenly tribulation that, to soul beasts, was practically no different from a death tribulation!

"In any case... I absolutely cannot let anyone disturb him."

The Demon Empress's beautiful eyes turned sharp, and her figure suddenly vanished from the concealment of the forest.

At that moment, atop a distant mountain peak.

"Wu Lao."

The door of a small stone-built house was pushed open, and a tall but somewhat stooped old man emerged, leaning on an ebony walking stick.

He nodded at the Black-Ranked Dou Zhe before him, then looked past him at the thirty White-Ranked Dou Zhes behind him.

"The quality of this batch of young people is fairly good. Are you ready? If you are, then follow me."

"We are ready," the Black-Ranked Dou Zhe replied respectfully.

The thirty masked White-Ranked Dou Zhes could not help feeling secretly astonished. Their leader was a Black-Ranked Dou Zhe, yet he was so deferential before this old man, who appeared to be at death's door.

Was he a Titled Douluo? Or was he simply of senior standing?

After all, under the Tang Sect's Douhun Hall's stringent requirements, White-Ranked Dou Zhes like them had to possess at least four rings of cultivation and at least one piece of battle armor. Yellow-Ranked Dou Zhes were One-Word Battle Armor Masters with five rings or more, while Purple-Ranked Dou Zhes were Two-Word Battle Armor Masters with six rings or more.

As for Black-Ranked Dou Zhes, they were Three-Word Battle Armor Masters with at least seven rings, fully capable of unleashing the combat power of Nine Rings.

Just as they were marveling, the Black-Ranked Dou Zhe turned around and said sternly:

"You have already been briefed on this mission. What you need to do is simple: remain in the Dragon Valley Small World for as long as possible."

"This is the best opportunity and training for you, as well as a benefit exclusive to our Douhun Hall."

"Any disciple who remains inside for three full months can bypass the Douhun Hall's requirements and be directly promoted to a Yellow-Ranked Dou Zhe after coming out."

"Anyone who fails to remain inside for even one month will have their Dou Zhe status revoked."

"Yes!"

As they answered in unison, Wu Lao had already walked to the cliff's edge atop the mountain.

"Thud, thud, thud..." The ebony cane in his hand struck the ground repeatedly.

A surging wave of Soul Power suddenly erupted from his body.

Two yellow, two purple, and five black soul rings—nine in total—appeared around him and rose into the air.

Upon seeing the nine soul rings, every White-Ranked Dou Zhe instinctively straightened up.

A Titled Douluo! At the very least, a Three-Word Battle Armor Master—perhaps even a Four-Word Battle Armor Master!

A Four-Word Battle Armor Master paired with a Titled Douluo was a powerhouse equivalent to the Limit realm!

What was the Limit? In the eyes of this group of Four-Ringed Soul Elders, it was synonymous with invincibility!

After all, at their current level, it was impossible for them to understand the distinctions within the Limit Douluo realm. They had only heard that the Limit was the strongest.

At that moment, lines of light had already spread beneath Wu Lao's feet, intricate and magnificent.

Before long, an ancient, simple Soul Guidance Array took shape.