The Shell Cracks

The great war in the Divine Realm ended with the Dragon God being slain and split in two.

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

The Silver Dragon King inherited the Dragon God's Creation Godhead and his control over the seven elements: fire, water, earth, wind, light, darkness, and space.

She also inherited most of the Dragon God's remaining wisdom, which the Golden Dragon King hadn't fully inherited, as well as the Dragon God's benevolence.

To escape the Divine Realm, the Silver Dragon King's consciousness shattered completely, and she was reduced to a spirit like those found in the mortal world.

These were her memories from the first day of her existence. After that, she had remained asleep on Douluo Planet, recovering with the help of Gold of Life from the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Forest.

That continued until six years ago.

The aura of the Golden Dragon King had abruptly jolted her awake, but only for an instant. She had fallen asleep again, and only fully awakened not long ago.

But when she woke, she found that the world had changed beyond recognition.

The Divine Realm was gone. This surprised her, but it didn't make her happy. She knew the Divine Realm would return sooner or later; it was only a matter of time.

The Golden Dragon King was dead. Knowing him, she was sure he had died at the hands of the Divine Realm. They had only spent a day together, but he was still her kin, and they shared the Dragon God's power. She felt some grief and anger.

But then came a confusion that filled her heart. As the Soul Beast who had inherited the Dragon God's legacy, she was responsible for restoring the Soul Beasts to glory.

Yet compared with the might of the Divine Realm, the Soul Beasts were now far too weak. The road ahead was so long that she couldn't see any hope. Perhaps the only hope was to revive the Dragon God.

To revive the Dragon God, she needed the Golden Dragon King's power.

So she followed his aura and found the human who was hosting the Golden Dragon King.

Her injuries hadn't healed. If she tried to devour the Golden Dragon King now, she would die for certain. So she observed them in secret, while also hoping to understand humanity.

To defeat an enemy, one must first understand them. The gods of the Divine Realm had all ascended from humanity. Though she hadn't integrated herself into human society, she had been watching Xu Lanqing all along.

But when she saw him merge with the Golden Dragon King's Godhead, she became even more confused. She couldn't understand why the Golden Dragon King had chosen a human.

"What should I do now?"

Ignoring the dust on the ground, she sat beside Xu Lanqing, drew her knees up, and wrapped her arms around her legs. Resting her chin on her knees, she curled up and gazed silently at him, her violet eyes full of unshakable confusion.

Her lonely figure was heartrending.

She possessed most of the Dragon God's wisdom, making her far wiser than that foolish dragon, the Golden Dragon King.

But wisdom was not the same as emotional intelligence. She had been asleep ever since the first day of her existence, and her feelings were as pure as a blank sheet of paper.

She thought about what Xu Lanqing had done and said in the Far North, the Soul Spirit Method he had created, and the Golden Dragon King's approval of him.

More than confusion, all sorts of emotions welled up inside her. She couldn't name what she was feeling, but she knew she saw Xu Lanqing differently now.

She wanted to run away, to return to the Star Dou Forest and quietly recover as she had before. Then she wouldn't have to think about any of this.

As for asking someone else...

As if! She was the proud and dignified Lord of Soul Beasts. What would her subordinates think if she asked them about something like this?

No. Absolutely not!

After a long, long while,

"Forget it. I'll see how things go later. It's not like he can run away."

Gu Yuena shook her head and stood up.

"I've been out too long. Some of my suppressions are wearing off. I need to go back and heal."

With a casual sweep of her hand, she opened a pitch-black rift in the space around her and started to leave.

Then, as if she'd remembered something, she stopped, turned around, and crouched beside Xu Lanqing.

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

The instant it touched him, the dragon scale turned to liquid and seeped into his body. He couldn't feel the slightest change.

Then, after a moment's thought, she swept her right hand again. A long blade appeared out of thin air. She set it beside Xu Lanqing and finally turned to leave.

As the spatial rift closed, the place fell silent once more.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Xu Lanqing's fingers twitched. His eyelids fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes.

He looked up at the sky. There was no light, only a vast expanse of darkness.

Mm. He was still in the Ancestral Land.

Then he stood and surveyed his surroundings. The Golden Dragon King had told him that Gu Yuena was still outside. How could he not be nervous?

As expected, he found nothing. After all, she was the Silver Dragon King, who controlled space. How could he possibly notice her?

He didn't know whether Gu Yuena had left or was still watching him from the shadows. But her injuries weren't healed, so she probably couldn't stay out there for long.

Whatever. What good would it do to think about it? He'd just carry on as usual. If she wanted to watch, she could. It wasn't like he had anything to hide, and being a man, he wouldn't lose anything over it.

Only after putting his mind at ease did Xu Lanqing have the presence of mind to examine his condition.

"This..."

A purple-gold Soul Ring appeared before him. Xu Lanqing's expression was a complicated mix of shock, bewilderment, and delight.

And it wasn't just the Soul Ring. He could also sense a Soul Bone inside his body, one that covered his entire left arm.

"Holy crap, what's going on? How did I suddenly get another Soul Ring and Soul Bone? And they're both a million years old!"

All he'd done was take a nap, and he'd woken up to such an incredible surprise.

Once he'd finally calmed down, he thought it over and decided Gu Yuena must have done it. There was no one else here besides him and her. Who else could it have been?

But why had she done it? They'd only just met. Was she really being this generous to him?

Xu Lanqing scratched his head, his young face full of confusion. He was completely baffled.

He shook his head. If he couldn't figure it out, he'd stop trying. It was a good thing, after all. He was thrilled.

Then he picked up the long blade he'd noticed earlier. It resembled the Tang sword he'd seen in his previous life.

"A divine weapon..."

Xu Lanqing couldn't stop admiring the unremarkable-looking Dragon Slaying Blade. Having inherited the Dragon God's memories, he'd understood what it was the moment he saw it.

"Hiss—"

A flash of sword energy suddenly burst from the snow-white blade, slicing Xu Lanqing's palm. Blood welled up and dripped onto the Dragon Slaying Blade.

"Buzz, buzz~~"

The bloodstained Dragon Slaying Blade trembled, sending him a rush of excitement and joy, as if it had found family after being separated from home for a long time.

"Does that mean it's recognized me as its master?"

Xu Lanqing stared at it in amazement. It was his first time seeing a divine weapon.

He held the hilt and swung the blade a few times. It felt as natural as moving his own arm, as if the weapon were connected to his blood.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but he felt more excited than usual while holding the Dragon Slaying Blade.

What was this?

Was it true that holding a sharp weapon made one eager to kill?

He stared at the Dragon Slaying Blade for a while, a trace of wariness rising in his heart. Then he put it into his Storage Ring.

Still, something puzzled him. Giving him a Soul Ring and Soul Bone was one thing, but why had she also given him the Dragon Slaying Blade? He simply couldn't make sense of it.

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

Gu Yuena had done this too, right? What exactly had she done? Why had she even brought Snow Empress into this?

What shocked him was that Gu Yuena had been able to take Snow Empress out without his consent. It had shown him just how terrifying her power was.

He leaned closer and stroked the ice-blue crystal. It still felt cool to the touch, just like before.

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

Still, he couldn't help worrying. Who knew what Gu Yuena had done to Snow Empress? But they were both Soul Beasts, so Gu Yuena probably wouldn't deliberately harm her, would she?

"Crack—"

A faint sound rang out. Xu Lanqing froze, then looked toward it.