"Is this..."
"Could it be that our lord has awakened?"
Feeling the disturbance in the Lake of Life, a middle-aged man by its shore suddenly opened his eyes. He wore a black robe and had a resolute face, with black hair and a single golden lock.
This middle-aged man was the guardian of the Lake of Life, known as the Beast God. He was the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian, whose cultivation had reached over eight hundred thousand years!
At the same time, several figures of varying heights and builds, each with a different appearance, quickly appeared by the lakeshore, their eyes fixed intently on the Lake of Life.
Clearly, like Di Tian, they weren't human. They were the Ferocious Beasts who followed him and guarded the Lake of Life!
Rumble!
As the Ferocious Beasts looked on anxiously, the ground, which had been still moments before, began to shake violently.
As the tremors grew stronger, the earth started to split, jagged cracks appearing across its surface.
And the source of the shaking was none other than the Lake of Life!
It was as if something was about to burst out of the ground!
Soon, the waters of the Lake of Life began to boil as well.
Then, a mass of silver light suddenly surged up from the bottom of the lake and crashed onto the shore with a thunderous boom.
Looking closely, they saw that it was a gigantic silver dragon claw.
Its surface was covered in silver hexagonal scales that shimmered with a strange radiance, giving it an elegant, beautiful appearance.
Before long, a hundred-meter-long dragon, its entire body gleaming silver, appeared before the Ferocious Beasts. Its powerful aura left the Soul Beasts gasping for breath!
Then, amid a dazzling silver radiance, its enormous body began to shrink.
A moment later, the giant dragon had vanished, replaced by a silver-haired young woman who slowly descended from the sky. She wore a palace gown and had a peerless air, a striking figure, and beauty that could topple kingdoms.
There was no need to ask who she was. She was a survivor of the battle that had nearly exterminated the Soul Beasts, the Master of Soul Beasts, and the most beautiful woman in the Douluo World—the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena!
"Your Highness, you've awakened! Your appointed time to revive is still twenty thousand years away. May I ask how well your injuries have healed?"
Upon reaching Gu Yuena, Di Tian bowed his head, his face full of reverence and excitement. He didn't dare look her in the eye as he asked his question respectfully.
"Mm, I've recovered a little."
"I shouldn't have been able to awaken this soon. But just now, I sensed the aura of the Golden Dragon King's Bloodline!"
"The resonance between our bloodlines helped my injuries heal further. At least now I no longer need to remain asleep, and can stay awake!"
As she spoke, Gu Yuena looked toward the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest. Her silver eyes brimmed with anticipation—even longing and desire!
It was as if some peerless treasure awaited her there!
"The aura of His Highness the Golden Dragon King? But wasn't His Highness the Golden Dragon King suppressed by those accursed criminals of the Divine Realm?"
A flicker of curiosity crossed Di Tian's eyes at Gu Yuena's words, and he hurriedly asked her.
"You're right! And that's exactly why I awakened early!"
"As you said, the Golden Dragon King is still being suppressed in the Divine Realm."
"So if that aura didn't come from the Golden Dragon King..."
"The only possibility is that a Soul Beast has undergone a bloodline ancestral awakening and awakened a bloodline similar to his!"
"Though I've awakened, I can't leave just yet. I must stay here at the Lake of Life to recuperate."
"Your task now is to find the Soul Beast that awakened the ancestral Golden Dragon King Bloodline!"
"Because that Soul Beast is the future of our clan!"
Seeing Di Tian's reaction, Gu Yuena nodded solemnly. She looked around at the Ferocious Beasts and gave them her instructions with a grave expression.
A Soul Beast that could awaken a bloodline resembling the Golden Dragon King's on its own!
Though the aura of its bloodline was still far weaker than that of the true Golden Dragon King,
Gu Yuena clearly remembered being awakened a few days ago by an aura that seemed to belong to the Golden Dragon King!
And in just a few days, the strength of that bloodline had increased roughly tenfold compared with when she had awakened before!
It had even been enough to trigger a resonance with her own bloodline!
If it had more time to grow, that Soul Beast might reach a truly terrifying level!
Even if it couldn't match the Golden Dragon King, it would still become a powerful ally to the Soul Beast Clan, whose strongest members had dwindled so badly!
What's more...
Her injuries were still far from healed.
If she relied on rest alone, even with the help of the waters of the Lake of Life,
it might take another hundred years for her strength to return to the god level.
But if she wanted to restore the Soul Beast Clan to its former glory, mere god-level strength wouldn't be nearly enough!
And if she wanted to recover further and regain her full strength,
it might take tens of thousands of years.
After all, that strike from the Asura God had damaged her very essence!
However, if she could find the Soul Beast that had awakened a bloodline resembling the Golden Dragon King's and cultivate with him,
the union of the Golden and Silver Dragon King bloodlines could rapidly help her restore her source power!
That would increase her recovery speed by at least a hundredfold.
Of course...
She couldn't very well say such a thing aloud.
Still, the bloodline-ancestral Soul Beast was crucial both to her and to the Soul Beast Clan. It held the future of their entire clan in its hands!
"Yes, Your Highness! Please focus on your cultivation here. We'll do everything in our power to find that Soul Beast with the ancestral bloodline as soon as possible!"
At her words, Di Tian bowed respectfully and made his promise with utmost conviction.
"I sensed the aura in the southwest. Focus your search there! I'm tired. You may leave."
After speaking for so long, Gu Yuena couldn't help showing a trace of fatigue.
Though the resonance between their bloodlines had helped heal her injuries somewhat,
she had only just awakened, and her body was still extremely weak.
Even leaving the Lake of Life would be a considerable burden.
That was precisely why Gu Yuena was so eager to find that mysterious Soul Beast.
After all, the hope of her recovery rested on its "head"!
"Yes, Your Highness. We bid you farewell!"
Hearing Gu Yuena's words, Di Tian led the Soul Beasts away.
With a long sigh, Gu Yuena lightly stepped onto the lakeshore, folded her arms in front of her chest, and slowly sank beneath the water.
Leaving aside everything that had happened at the Lake of Life,
Yao Xuan had now learned what his body was like after his breakthrough in cultivation, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Then it's time to complete my Shape-Shifting!"
"And after I Shape-Shift, there's also the Men's Gift Pack, a special reward waiting for me to open!"
A flash of excitement crossed Yao Xuan's eyes as he began studying the new system ability, [Shape-Shifting]!
Though it was called [Shape-Shifting], as a system ability, it differed greatly from the Shape-Shifting traditionally practiced by the Soul Beast Clan!
Before you continue