Breaking the Shell

During the Great War of the God Realm, the Dragon God was slain and ultimately split into two.

They were the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King.

The Silver Dragon King inherited the Dragon God's creation divinity and the power to control the seven elements of fire, water, earth, wind, light, darkness, and space.

She also inherited the majority of the wisdom the Golden Dragon King failed to claim, as well as the Dragon God's benevolence.

In order to escape the God Realm, the Silver Dragon King's consciousness shattered completely, reforming into the kind of spiritual consciousness found only in the mortal world.

This was the memory of her first day of existence; after that, she remained in a deep slumber on Douluo Planet, recuperating with the help of the Gold of Life within the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Forest.

This lasted until six years ago.

She was jolted awake from her slumber by the aura of the Golden Dragon King, but it was only for a fleeting moment before she fell back into a deep sleep, not fully awakening until recently.

Yet, when she finally awoke, she found that the world had long since changed.

The God Realm was gone, which surprised her, though it brought her little joy; she knew the God Realm would return sooner or later—it was merely a matter of time.

The Golden Dragon King was dead. Based on her understanding of him, he must have died at the hands of the God Realm. Although she had only seen him for a single day, he was, after all, her kin, and their power originated from the same Dragon God; she still felt a measure of sorrow and anger.

But what followed was a sense of confusion that filled her heart. She was the Lord of Soul Beasts, successor to the Dragon God, and the revitalization of soul beasts was her mission and responsibility.

However, compared to the might of the God Realm, the soul beasts of today were far too weak. The path ahead was so long that she could see no hope; perhaps the only hope lay in the resurrection of the Dragon God.

To resurrect the Dragon God, the power of the Golden Dragon King was essential.

Therefore, she followed the aura of the Golden Dragon King and found the human who hosted him.

Her severe injuries had yet to heal; if she were to devour the Golden Dragon King now, it would lead only to death. Thus, she observed from the shadows, while also harboring a desire to understand humanity.

To defeat an enemy, one must first understand them. The gods of the God Realm had all ascended from humanity. Although she had not integrated into the human world, she had been constantly spying on Xu Lanqing.

Yet, watching him fuse with the divinity of the Golden Dragon King left her even more confused. She could not understand why the Golden Dragon King would choose a human.

"What should I do now?"

Ignoring the dust on the ground, she sat beside Xu Lanqing, her legs drawn up, arms wrapped around her shins, chin resting on her knees. She curled up like this, watching Xu Lanqing quietly, her purple eyes filled with an inescapable sense of bewilderment.

Her lonely figure was heartbreaking to behold.

Although she possessed the vast majority of the Dragon God's wisdom—far superior to that foolish Golden Dragon King—wisdom was not the same as emotional intelligence. Having slept since the first day of her birth, her lack of worldly experience left her emotions as pure as a blank sheet of paper.

Thinking of what Xu Lanqing had done and said in the Far North, the Soul Spirit Method he had created, and now the recognition of the Golden Dragon King, she felt more than just confusion. A variety of emotions welled up in her heart. She could not put a name to the feeling, but her perception of Xu Lanqing had undoubtedly changed.

This made her want to escape, to return to the Star Dou Forest and continue her quiet recuperation as before, so that she would not have to think about anything at all.

As for asking others?

Don't be ridiculous. She was the proud and majestic Lord of Soul Beasts; if she were to ask her subordinates such questions, what would they think of her?

No, absolutely not!

A long, long time passed.

"Forget it, I'll see what happens later. He can't run away anyway."

Gu Yuena shook her delicate head and stood up.

"I've been out for too long, and some of my suppression is failing. I must return to heal."

With a casual wave of her hand, a pitch-black crack appeared in the space around her, and she lifted her foot to leave.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she withdrew her step, turned, and crouched down beside Xu Lanqing.

With a flick of her right hand, a silver-white dragon scale appeared in her palm. She glanced at Xu Lanqing, and without hesitation, placed the scale on his chest.

The moment the dragon scale touched Xu Lanqing, it turned into liquid and merged into his body, leaving no trace of anything unusual.

Then, after a moment of thought, she gestured with her right hand again, and a long blade appeared out of thin air. She placed it beside Xu Lanqing before turning to leave.

As the spatial rift healed, the area returned to silence.

It is unknown how much time had passed.

Xu Lanqing's fingers twitched slightly, and then his eyelids fluttered a few times before he slowly opened his eyes.

He looked up at the sky; there was no light, only a dark, heavy void.

Hm, still in the Ancestral Land.

He stood up and scanned his surroundings. The Golden Dragon King had said that Gu Yuena was still outside, so how could he not be nervous?

As he expected, he found nothing. After all, the other party was the Silver Dragon King who controlled space; how could he possibly discover her?

He didn't know if Gu Yuena had left or was continuing to observe from the shadows, but her injuries were not yet healed, so she shouldn't be able to stay outside for long.

Whatever. Thinking about it so much was useless; things were as they were. If she wanted to watch, let her watch. There was nothing shameful about it, and as a man, he wouldn't lose a piece of himself.

Xu Lanqing calmed his mind, finally finding the composure to check his own condition.

"This..."

Looking at the purple-gold Soul Ring that had emerged, the expression on Xu Lanqing's face was quite spectacular: shock, confusion, and pleasant surprise.

It wasn't just the Soul Ring; he could also sense a Soul Bone within his body, one that encompassed his entire left arm.

"Holy crap, what is going on? How did I suddenly end up with an extra Soul Ring and a Soul Bone? And it's actually a million-year one!"

He had only taken a nap, yet he was given such a massive surprise.

After finally calming down, he thought it over and decided it must have been Gu Yuena's doing. Aside from himself, she was the only other person here; if it wasn't her, then who could it be?

But what was her purpose in doing this? Was she really being this good to him just because they had met for the first time?

Xu Lanqing scratched his head, his young face full of confusion; he truly couldn't make heads or tails of it.

He shook his head, deciding that if he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't bother; it was a good thing anyway, and he was too happy to complain.

Next, he picked up the long blade he had seen earlier; this blade resembled the Tang Dao he had seen in his previous life.

"A divine artifact..."

Looking at the plain-looking Dragon Slaying Blade, Xu Lanqing toyed with it affectionately. Having read the memories of the Dragon God, he had understood what it was the moment he saw the Dragon Slaying Blade.

"Hiss~"

The snow-white blade suddenly released a wisp of blade aura, cutting Xu Lanqing's palm. Blood flowed out, dripping onto the Dragon Slaying Blade.

"Hum hum~~"

Stained by his blood, the Dragon Slaying Blade trembled incessantly, conveying a message of excitement and joy to Xu Lanqing, as if it had found a family member who had been away from home for a long time.

"Does this count as it recognizing its master?"

Xu Lanqing looked at it in amazement; it was his first time seeing a divine artifact.

He gripped the hilt and swung it a few times at random, feeling as if he were moving his own arm; there was a sense of blood connection.

He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt more excited than usual while holding the Dragon Slaying Blade.

What was this?

Does carrying a sharp weapon naturally incite a desire to kill?

He stared at the Dragon Slaying Blade for a while, a trace of vigilance rising in his heart, before he tucked it away into his storage ring.

It was just strange; giving him a Soul Ring and a Soul Bone was one thing, but why give him this Dragon Slaying Blade as well? He truly couldn't fathom it.

Finally, he looked at the ice-blue crystal that the Ice Empress had turned into.

This must have been Gu Yuena's doing as well. Honestly, what exactly had she done? How did she even manage to drag the Ice Empress into this?

Moreover, what shocked him was that Gu Yuena could take the Ice Empress out without his consent; it really gave him a glimpse of her terrifying strength.

He leaned in closer and brushed his palm against the ice-blue crystal; the touch was still as cool as before.

Aside from being brighter, it didn't seem any different from before.

However, he was still a bit worried. Who knew what Gu Yuena had done to the Ice Empress? But then again, they were both Soul Beasts, so Gu Yuena shouldn't intentionally do anything harmful to the Ice Empress, right?

"Crack--"

A faint, barely audible sound suddenly rang out. Xu Lanqing froze for a moment, his eyes snapping toward the source.