Royal Court Rewards (Part 2)

Gu Yuan flicked his finger, and a heavy, earthy-yellow force tore through the air, landing precisely on the center of Bear Lord's brow.

The ultimate law of strength surged into the depths of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's bloodline along with the dragon power. Bear Lord's entire skeleton erupted in a series of crackling explosions; his already massive frame instantly surged by several feet, and his dark golden fur stood on end, shimmering with the metallic luster of a divine artifact.

Faint dragon patterns coiled around his signature terrorclaws, and merely opening and closing them tore the surrounding space, emitting harsh, piercing sonic booms.

"I grant you the power of Vajra to complete your ultimate law of strength. From this day forth, your physical body can withstand semi-divine artifacts, and your terrorclaws shall rend all defenses in this world," Gu Yuan's voice carried an unquestionable majesty.

"You are the war blade of the soul beast clan. In the future, use your claws to tear apart any enemy who dares to violate our territory."

Feeling the power within him surge several times over—a terrifying might that even made him feel a sense of trepidation—this beast, arrogant his entire life, felt genuine awe for the very first time.

He dropped to his knees with a thud, his massive head striking the crystal floor heavily, and roared in a muffled voice: "Thank you, Lord Dragon God!"

"Ten Thousand Demon King."

"This subordinate is here!" The Demon Eye Demon Tree, Ten Thousand Demon King, hurriedly stepped forward, bowing his hunched body to the ground.

He controlled all plant-type soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest, possessing uncanny spiritual power and wood-type laws, yet he had always been trapped by the shackles of his own race, unable to make further progress.

Gu Yuan flicked his finger, and a verdant green force descended, carrying the breath of endless creation, and merged into the origin of Ten Thousand Demon King's true form.

In an instant, a phantom of a demonic tree that blotted out the sky appeared behind Ten Thousand Demon King. Life patterns lit up across countless roots, and his previously sinister aura faded entirely, replaced by a vast vitality that governed the life and death of all vegetation.

His cultivation broke through the bottleneck of six hundred thousand years from his previous fifty-four, and his mastery over the wood-type laws reached an unprecedented realm.

"I grant you the origin of wood. From now on, within Star Dou, all vegetation shall obey your command. Your vegetation barrier can kill Limit Douluo and block semi-divine beings," Gu Yuan said calmly.

Ten Thousand Demon King wept with joy and kowtowed deeply: "This subordinate will not fail Lord Dragon God's trust; I shall use the woods as a boundary to protect our clan!"

Next, Gu Yuan bestowed corresponding origins and law fragments upon Scarlet King, Zi Ji, Yao Ling, and the other top-tier fierce beasts in turn.

Scarlet King's Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Mastiff bloodline was thoroughly purified, awakening the Fire Dragon origin and evolving into a Scarlet Flame Dragon Mastiff. He gained control over the ultimate fire, and his cultivation broke through the forty-thousand-year mark.

Zi Ji's Hell Demon Dragon bloodline was completed, and her mastery over darkness and spatial laws began to rival that of the ancient True Dragons. Even Yao Ling, a soul beast of the undead type, received a trace of death dragon power, completely shedding the backlash of the Heavenly Dao on undead creatures and advancing his cultivation further.

Every drop of power meant the rise of another fierce beast capable of shaking the Douluo Continent in the future.

Every soul beast in the hall wore an expression of wild joy and absolute reverence for the Dragon God.

At this moment, the future of the soul beast clan was completely illuminated by Gu Yuan's return.

When all the fierce beasts had received their blessings and knelt in unison, their thunderous expressions of gratitude echoing throughout the Crystal Palace, Gu Yuan slowly raised his hand to silence them.

"You may all withdraw," his voice was calm yet carried an unquestionable command.

"Upon returning, restore order and gather the outer clansmen; do not allow humans to hunt at will any longer. Seal off the Star Dou Core area. Without my command, no beast is to step within a hundred miles of the Life Lake."

"We obey!" The fierce beasts responded in unison, kowtowed deeply once more to Gu Yuan and Gu Yuena on the main seat, and then exited the Crystal Palace one by one.

The vast hall soon became empty, leaving only Gu Yuan, Gu Yuena, Qian Renxue, and Di Tian, who remained standing where he was, hesitant to leave.

Gu Yuan did not pay attention to the hesitant Di Tian, instead turning to look at Gu Yuena beside him.

The woman still stood by the altar, her long silver hair cascading down, her purple-gold dragon pupils fixed upon him, filled with the grievances of waiting through countless epochs and a sense of bewilderment toward the future.

Her aura was unmistakably unstable; even after countless years of nurturing, the origin that had been severely damaged by the Five Great God Kings remained scarred with irreparable cracks. This was the root cause of her inability to recover her peak power.

Gu Yuan looked at her, a flash of heartache crossing his eyes. He slowly raised his left hand, and a brilliant nine-colored crystal gradually emerged in his palm.

The crystal was only the size of a fist, yet it seemed to contain the galaxies of the entire universe. Nine dragon laws of different attributes swirled and intertwined within it, and a golden origin at its center radiated a supreme pressure that towered above all living things.

The moment it appeared, the entire Crystal Palace trembled violently, and dazzling golden light lit up the hall, accompanied by a resonant, pious dragon roar.

This was the Dragon God Heart—the core origin crystal stripped away before the Dragon God fell. It sealed his complete laws of creation, as well as all the inheritance and power of the dragon race.

For countless years, it had lain dormant in the Dragon Graveyard according to Gu Yuan's will, until his complete resurrection allowed it to reappear in the world.

"Yuena." Gu Yuan held the Dragon God Heart, walked slowly to Gu Yuena, and gently placed this origin crystal—enough to drive the entire God Realm into a frenzy—into her hands.

"When my soul split back then, you fled to the Douluo Continent with your heavy injuries. This Dragon God Heart seals my complete laws of life and creation. It is of the same origin and root as yours; let it heal your source."

The moment her fingertips touched the Dragon God Heart, her entire body trembled violently.

The homologous Dragon God origin surged into her limbs and bones like a rushing river. Those damaged meridians and shattered origins that had been silent for countless years began to repair and heal at a visible rate under the nourishment of this power.

Her Silver Dragon King origin fully awakened, resonating perfectly with the Dragon God Heart. A massive silver dragon phantom slowly emerged behind her, reflecting the nine-colored Dragon God phantom behind Gu Yuan, and the life force at the bottom of the lake surged dozens of times over in that instant.

"Master..." Gu Yuena's voice trembled slightly, her purple-gold eyes brimming with tears.

She had waited for this day for countless epochs. From the moment her soul split, she had been like a rootless duckweed, carrying the burden of the dragon race's revival alone, walking in the darkness for far too long.

Now, her Master had returned, and he had brought her the origin core capable of mending all her deficiencies.

"Say no more." Gu Yuan gently patted her shoulder, his tone gentle.

"Heal your injuries and recast your origin. I need you for the revival of the dragon race and the future of the soul beast clan. No one will disturb you. Go."

Gu Yuena looked at him deeply, bowed solemnly, and then, clutching the Dragon God Heart, turned and walked into the innermost chamber of the palace.

The crystal palace doors slowly closed, isolating the inside from the outside, with only an increasingly rich aura of life permeating from the inner chamber.

Di Tian stood in the hall, his body straight, yet his hands were tightly clenched, and countless complex emotions surged within his dark golden eyes.

He wanted to speak several times, but the words died on his lips. In the end, he simply lowered his head to look at the crystal floor beneath his feet, his shoulders slightly tense.

He had a question—a question that had plagued him for eighty-three thousand years.

A question he had asked himself countless times, and asked his slumbering Master countless times, yet never received an answer. This question was like a thorn buried deep in his soul, festering for countless years.

"If you have something to ask, speak."

Gu Yuan slowly turned around and sat upon the dragon throne at the center of the great hall, his gaze falling upon Di Tian, his deep eyes seemingly piercing through all of his thoughts.

"I know you harbor doubts in your heart; from the moment you saw me, this question has been weighing on you. There are no outsiders here now, so you may ask."

Di Tian's entire body trembled, and he abruptly raised his head to meet Gu Yuan's gaze.

The next second, he fell to his knees with a thud, prostrating himself completely. His voice carried a tremor and resentment suppressed for countless years as he finally asked that question which felt like a challenge to the heavens:

"Lord Dragon God! This subordinate wishes to know, why?!"

"Why is it that we soul beasts cannot become gods?!"

As this sentence was shouted, the emotions Di Tian had accumulated for countless years instantly burst forth like a dam.

He raised his head, his dark golden eyes brimming with tears, his voice choked with sobs, every word dripping with blood:

"Lord Dragon God, we soul beasts are born between heaven and earth, absorbing the spiritual energy of the world to cultivate, step by step evolving from ignorant beasts to gaining intelligence—ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years... We must put in a hundred or a thousand times more effort than humans, surviving countless near-death heavenly tribulations, just to cultivate to a hundred thousand years and possess power comparable to a human Titled Douluo."

"Yet, even if we survive to a hundred thousand years, only two paths await us! Either we transform into human form, abandoning our true bodies and discarding our ten thousand years of cultivation to start over from zero, all while constantly fearing discovery by humans and ending up hunted for our spirit rings!"

"Or, we are trapped on the Douluo Continent, facing increasingly terrifying heavenly tribulations, eventually either being obliterated by the lightning or surrounded and slaughtered by human spirit masters to have our spirit rings and spirit bones taken!"

"What exactly did we do wrong?!" Di Tian's voice grew increasingly agitated, his fists slamming hard into the ground, causing the hard crystal floor to instantly crack with countless fine lines.

"Humans can cultivate to become gods, ascend to the God Realm, and enjoy endless lifespans, yet we soul beasts don't even have a single path to godhood! Even if we cultivate to a million years, even if we possess power no weaker than a deity, we simply cannot break through the barriers of the God Realm and are forced to remain trapped on this continent, waiting to be hunted by humans!"

"For countless years, I have watched countless kin, clearly possessing world-shaking talent and having paid the price of a lifetime of effort, only to end up dead and extinguished. I have watched our race be completely wiped out one by one under human hunting. I am unwilling! I am truly unwilling!"

"Master, you are the co-lord of all soul beasts, the ancestor of all beasts between heaven and earth. I want to ask you, why is it like this? Are we soul beasts inherently inferior? Are we born to be fodder for human spirit masters, born unworthy of the qualifications to become gods?"

By the end, Di Tian was sobbing uncontrollably, bowing his head deeply until his forehead pressed tightly against the ground, waiting for an answer.

He had asked himself this question for eight hundred and thirty thousand years. He had seen too many tragedies and endured too much helplessness.

He wanted to know why his race of soul beasts had to end up in such a plight.

Gu Yuan listened quietly without interrupting him.

Looking at the sobbing beast god before him, a flash of cold chill passed through his eyes, along with a trace of compassion that could not be dissolved.