Next, a mighty ochre force burst from Gu Yuan's fingertip and struck Xiong Jun precisely between the brows.
The ultimate power law surged along with the dragon force into the depths of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's bloodline. Xiong Jun's bones crackled throughout his body, and his already hulking frame instantly grew several feet taller. His dark golden fur stood on end, each strand gleaming with a metallic sheen like a divine artifact.
Faint dragon patterns wound around his signature Terrorclaws. The slightest opening and closing of them tore through the surrounding space, unleashing a piercing sonic boom.
"I grant you the power of adamantine and complete the ultimate power law. From this day on, your body can withstand attacks from demigod-level divine artifacts, and your claws can break through every defense in the world." Gu Yuan's voice carried unquestionable authority.
"You are the battle blade of the Soul Beast Clan. In the days to come, use your sharp claws to tear apart every enemy who dares invade our territory."
Xiong Jun felt the power within him surge severalfold. The terrifying might even made his own heart quail, and for the first time in his life, this ferocious beast, who had always been fiercely proud, felt genuine awe.
He dropped to his knees with a thud, his massive head striking the crystal floor. In a deep, rumbling voice, he roared, "Thank you, Dragon God!"
"Ten Thousand Demon King."
"Your subordinate is here!" The Demon Eye Demon Tree, Ten Thousand Demon King, hurried forward and knelt, his body stooped.
He controlled all the Plant-type Soul Beasts in Star Dou Forest. His strange spiritual power and wood laws were formidable, yet he had always been trapped by the limits of his species, unable to make much progress.
A verdant force descended from Gu Yuan's fingertip, carrying an aura of ceaseless creation as it fused with the Ten Thousand Demon King's origin.
In an instant, the shadow of a demonic tree blotted out the sky behind him. Life patterns lit up along countless roots, and his formerly sinister aura faded away, replaced by a surging vitality that commanded the growth and death of all trees.
His cultivation broke through the bottleneck of 540,000 years and surged past 600,000. His mastery of the wood laws reached unprecedented heights.
"I grant you the origin of wood. From this day on, every tree in Star Dou will heed your command. Your verdant barrier can slay Limit Douluos and withstand demigods," Gu Yuan said calmly.
With tears streaming down his face, Ten Thousand Demon King bowed deeply. "Your subordinate will not fail you, Dragon God! I will use all the trees as a boundary to protect our clan!"
Next, Gu Yuan bestowed the corresponding origins and fragments of laws upon the Scarlet King, Zi JI, Yao Ling, and the other top Ferocious Beasts.
The Scarlet King's Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Mastiff bloodline was completely purified, awakening the origin of the fire dragon. He evolved into a Scarlet Flame Dragon Mastiff, gained control of Ultimate Fire, and broke through the 400,000-year threshold in one bound.
Zi JI's Hell Demon Dragon bloodline was made whole, bringing her mastery of the laws of darkness and space close to that of an ancient true dragon. Even Yao Ling, a Soul Beast of the undead type, gained a trace of deathly dragon force. She completely escaped the Heavenly Dao's backlash against undead creatures, and her cultivation advanced further.
Every force that descended meant that another Ferocious Beast capable of shaking the continent had risen once more.
Every Soul Beast in the hall wore an expression of unrestrained joy and utmost reverence for the Dragon God.
In that moment, Gu Yuan's return had utterly brightened the future of the Soul Beast Clan.
Once all the Ferocious Beasts had received their blessings, they knelt as one. Their cries of gratitude, loud as crashing waves, filled the entire Crystal Palace. Only then did Gu Yuan slowly raise a hand and silence them.
"You may all withdraw." His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable command.
"Once you return, restore order and gather the clansfolk from the outer regions. Do not allow humans to hunt us at will any longer. Seal off the Star Dou Core. No beast may enter within a hundred li of Life Lake without my command."
"We obey!" the Ferocious Beasts answered in unison. They bowed deeply once more to Gu Yuan and Gu Yuena, who sat in the seat of honor, then filed out of the Crystal Palace.
The vast hall soon stood empty, leaving only Gu Yuan, Gu Yuena, Qian Renxue, and Di Tian, who still stood in place, reluctant to leave.
Gu Yuan did not first address Di Tian, who seemed to want to speak but held back. Instead, he turned to Gu Yuena at his side.
The woman still stood beside the altar, her silver hair cascading down. Her purple-gold dragon eyes remained fixed on him, filled with the grievances of countless eras spent waiting, as well as uncertainty about the future.
Her aura was unmistakably unsteady. Even after countless years of recovery, the origin grievously damaged when the Five Great God Kings joined forces against her still bore irreparable fractures. That was why she had never been able to regain her full strength.
Gu Yuan looked at her, pain flashing through his eyes. He slowly raised his left hand, and a dazzling nine-colored crystal gradually appeared in his palm.
The crystal was only the size of a fist, yet seemed to contain the starry rivers of the entire universe. Nine different dragon laws flowed and interwove within it, while a golden core at its center radiated supreme majesty, towering above all living beings.
The instant it appeared, the entire Crystal Palace shook violently. Brilliant golden light illuminated the hall, and a reverent chorus of dragon roars rang out in resonance.
This was the Dragon God Heart—the core origin crystal that had been separated from the Dragon God before his fall. It contained his complete laws of creation, as well as all the Dragon Clan's inheritance and power.
For countless years, it had lain dormant in the Dragon Graveyard, guided by Gu Yuan's will. Only after he had fully awakened did it finally reappear in the world.
"Yuena." Cradling the Dragon God Heart, Gu Yuan walked slowly up to Gu Yuena and gently placed the origin crystal—one that could drive the entire Divine Realm mad—in her hands.
"When my divine soul split apart, you fled to Douluo Continent with severe injuries. The Dragon God Heart holds my complete laws of life and creation. They share the same origin as yours, so let it repair your origin."
The moment Gu Yuena's fingertips touched the Dragon God Heart, her entire body shuddered violently.
The kindred origin of the Dragon God surged into her limbs like a great river in full flood. The damaged meridians and shattered origin that had lain dormant for countless years began to heal at a visible rate, nourished by this power.
The Silver Dragon King's origin within her fully awakened and resonated with the Dragon God Heart. A gigantic Silver Dragon slowly appeared behind her, its shadow shining alongside the nine-colored Dragon God behind Gu Yuan. The vitality throughout the lakebed surged dozens of times over.
"My lord..." Gu Yuena's voice trembled. Tears filled her purple-gold eyes.
She had waited countless eras for this day. From the moment her divine soul split apart, she had been like a rootless duckweed, bearing the burden of restoring the Dragon Clan alone and wandering through the darkness for far, far too long.
Now her lord had returned, bringing her the core origin she needed to mend every last fragment within her.
"There's no need to say more." Gu Yuan gently patted her shoulder, his voice warm.
"Heal your injuries and rebuild your origin. I need you for the restoration of the Dragon Clan and the future of the Soul Beast Clan. No one will disturb you. Go."
Gu Yuena gave him a long look and bowed solemnly. Then, cradling the Dragon God Heart, she turned and walked into the innermost chamber of the palace.
The crystal doors slowly closed, sealing off everything inside from the outside world. Only the increasingly rich aura of life continued to pour from the inner chamber.
Di Tian stood in the hall, his posture straight, but his hands clenched tight. Countless complicated emotions roiled in his dark golden eyes.
He tried several times to speak, but each time the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back down. In the end, he only lowered his head to stare at the crystal floor, his shoulders held taut.
He had a question, one that had troubled him for a full 830,000 years.
A question he had asked himself countless times, and had asked his sleeping lord countless times, yet never received an answer. It was like a thorn buried deep in his soul, lodged there for countless years.
"If there's something you want to ask, go ahead."
Gu Yuan slowly turned and took the dragon throne in the seat of honor. His eyes settled on Di Tian, deep and perceptive, as though they could see through every thought in his heart.
"I know you're troubled by something. Ever since the moment you saw me, this question has been on your mind. There's no one else here now. You can ask."
Di Tian shuddered and abruptly raised his head to meet Gu Yuan's gaze.
The next second, he dropped to his knees with a thump and prostrated himself. His voice trembled with years of suppressed anguish and indignation as he finally asked the question that had haunted him like a heavenly mystery:
"Dragon God! Your subordinate wants to know—why?!"
"Why can't Soul Beasts become gods?!"
The instant he cried out those words, the emotions Di Tian had accumulated over countless years burst like a dam.
He raised his head, tears filling his dark golden eyes. His voice choked, every word dripping with blood:
"Dragon God, we Soul Beasts are born between heaven and earth and cultivate by absorbing the spiritual energy of the world. We awaken our intelligence step by step, from ignorant beasts, over ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years... We must work hundreds or thousands of times harder than humans and survive countless calamities where death is only a hair's breadth away before we can reach 100,000 years and gain the power to rival a human Titled Douluo."
"But even if we endure until we reach 100,000 years, only two roads await us! Either we take human form, abandon our bodies and millennia of cultivation, and start over from nothing—while constantly fearing discovery by humans, only to end up hunted for our Soul Rings!"
"Or we can only be trapped on Douluo Continent, facing tribulations more terrifying than the last, until we're either struck dead and our souls destroyed or hunted down by human Soul Masters for our Soul Rings and Soul Bones!"
"What did we do wrong?!" Di Tian's voice grew more and more agitated. His fist slammed into the ground, and countless fine cracks instantly spread across the hard crystal floor.
"Humans can cultivate into gods and ascend to the Divine Realm. They can enjoy endless lifespans, but we Soul Beasts don't even have a path to godhood! Even if we cultivate for a million years, even if our power rivals that of the gods, we still can't break through the Divine Realm's barrier. We can only be trapped on this continent and wait to be hunted by humans!"
"For countless years, I've watched so many of our clansfolk, each with astonishing talent and a lifetime of hard work behind them, end up dead and gone. I've watched our kind go extinct, one after another, at the hands of human hunters. I won't accept it! I truly won't!"
"My lord, you are the sovereign of the Soul Beasts and the ancestor of every beast under heaven. I want to ask you: why must we Soul Beasts suffer such a fate? Are we born inferior? Born to be nothing but nourishment for human Soul Masters? Born unworthy of the chance to become gods?"
By the end, Di Tian could no longer hold back his sobs. He lowered his head deeply, his forehead pressed to the floor as he waited for an answer.
He had asked himself this question for 830,000 years. He had witnessed far too many tragedies and endured far too much helplessness.
He wanted to know why the Soul Beast Clan had been condemned to such a fate.
Gu Yuan listened quietly without interrupting him.
Looking at the weeping Beast God before him, a cold glint flashed through Gu Yuan's eyes, along with a compassion that would not fade.
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