Dragon Might Shakes Star Dou

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion bounced along ahead, leading the way. Its golden fur shimmered with flecks of light in the forest's shifting shadows, and it had no idea that a world-shaking upheaval had already begun in the world of Soul Beasts behind it.

Gu Yuan and Qian Renxue followed at an unhurried pace. Neither made any effort to conceal their innate pressure; they simply kept it contained within three feet of themselves so it wouldn't disturb the Soul Beasts in the forest.

The moment they crossed the boundary of the Star Dou Core, a pair of scarlet beast eyes in the shadows had already fixed firmly on them.

The Scarlet King was a Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Mastiff, ranked eighth among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts. A trace of dragon blood flowed through his veins, and Beast God Di Tian had personally assigned him the vital duty of secretly protecting the Emperor Auspicious Beast.

The Scarlet King had already been silently following the Three-Eyed Golden Lion since it sneaked away from Life Lake.

He had followed Di Tian's orders to protect it from the shadows without disturbing the Auspicious Beast's fun, intervening only if it faced danger.

But when he saw the Auspicious Beast approach two unfamiliar humans and even nuzzle the palm of the man in dark robes, the Scarlet King's fur stood on end. All three of his heads opened their mouths, and his immense Soul Power gathered in an instant as he prepared to rush out and shield the Auspicious Beast.

Yet just as he was about to move, an invisible pressure crashed into the depths of his soul like a river of stars pouring down from the highest heavens.

It carried an absolute supremacy that seemed to transcend the laws of heaven and earth. Like an ant facing a dragon, or a stream facing the vast ocean, the dragon blood in his body trembled wildly, sending out the humblest, most devout signal of submission.

The Soul Power he had gathered instantly collapsed. His limbs went weak beyond his control, and he couldn't even stay on his feet. He sprawled face-down among the bushes, without the courage to raise his head.

"H-how... how could this be..."

All three of the Scarlet King's heads trembled uncontrollably. His scarlet beast eyes were filled with utter shock and bewilderment.

He had seen countless powerful beings. Even facing Beast God Di Tian, with over eight hundred thousand years of cultivation, he had felt only reverence. Never before had he been so utterly suppressed that the very thought of resisting couldn't form in the depths of his soul.

This was absolute domination at the level of bloodline, unconditional submission to the progenitor, carved into the dragon race's very genes.

He clenched his teeth and used every ounce of his strength to raise his head. Through a gap in the bushes, he looked again at the man in dark robes.

The man gently rubbed the Auspicious Beast's head. Not a trace of Soul Power stirred around him, yet that bone-deep dragon might clung to the Scarlet King like a maggot burrowing into bone, locking onto his soul and leaving him too afraid to harbor even the slightest malice.

What shook him even more was hearing the Auspicious Beast call out in its babyish voice, "Lord Dragon God."

Dragon God!

Those two words crashed through the Scarlet King's mind like a thunderclap from the heavens, leaving it utterly blank.

The Dragon God was the sovereign of all Soul Beasts, the progenitor of the dragon race, a supreme being said to have fallen countless eras ago! How could he possibly be here? In the Star Dou Forest?

But aside from the Dragon God, who in this world could unleash such terrifying suppression over the dragon bloodline? Who else could make the Emperor Auspicious Beast, who held the fate of Star Dou in its grasp, feel such sincere affection and reverence?

The Scarlet King's heart pounded wildly as reason and shock tore at him.

He wanted to rush forward and find out for himself, but the submission in his bloodline made him dare not approach. He wanted to stay and observe, but this matter was too earth-shattering. He had to report it to Beast God Di Tian immediately.

He kept his eyes fixed on them. Seeing that they meant the Auspicious Beast no harm and were even letting it lead them toward Life Lake, he felt his taut heart ease a little.

He dared not delay any longer. Fighting the tremor in his bloodline, he silently turned and became a streak of crimson light, racing toward Life Lake, deep in the very heart of Star Dou, at the fastest speed of his life.

Life Lake, in the deepest reaches of the Star Dou Forest.

This was the place with the richest life force on the entire Douluo Continent. The emerald waters were like the purest jade, the surface perfectly still. A mist of life drifted above the lake, and all around it grew countless rare treasures that could survive nowhere else.

The most powerful Ferocious Beasts in the Star Dou Forest gathered here. And deep beneath the lake's surface slept the hope and future of the entire Soul Beast Clan—the Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena.

A man in a black robe sat quietly on a dark stone by the lake.

He had handsome features and a cool, hard bronze complexion. Long black hair fell over his shoulders, and a golden dragon-shaped mark adorned his forehead. His eyes were pure dark gold. Even sitting still, he radiated a terrifying pressure that made heaven and earth tremble.

He was the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian, the foremost of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts on the Douluo Continent and its acknowledged Beast God. With eight hundred and thirty thousand years of cultivation, he was a direct descendant of the dragon race and the highest-ranking ruler of the Soul Beast Clan in the open.

At that moment, Di Tian showed none of his usual ironclad authority. His dark golden eyes were filled with exhaustion and heaviness he could barely hide.

He had guarded this place for countless years.

Ever since his lord, the Silver Dragon King, had fallen asleep beneath Life Lake, he had become the pillar of the Soul Beast Clan.

He had watched human Soul Masters grow stronger and stronger, seen Soul Tools develop at an ever more terrifying pace, and witnessed humans hunt Soul Beasts with increasing frenzy. The vast habitats that once belonged to Soul Beasts had been steadily devoured by humanity.

In the end, only a handful of their last homes remained.

Ten thousand years ago, thousand-year Soul Beasts had been everywhere on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest. Ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts had roamed freely through the middle reaches, and the core region had held countless hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beasts.

But now, human Soul Hunting teams could venture into the middle reaches without a care, and human Soul Masters often slipped into the edges of the core region to hunt.

Every year, countless Soul Beasts died at human hands. Every year, new Soul Beast species teetered on the brink of extinction.

It wasn't as if he had never fought back.

He had personally slain countless human Titled Douluo who trespassed into the Star Dou Core. He had led the Ferocious Beasts in crippling human Soul Hunting armies time and again, and with his strength alone, he had deterred the three great empires from launching a large-scale invasion of Star Dou for decades.

But no matter how many he killed, he couldn't stop human greed.

Humans bred too quickly. The number of Soul Masters kept growing, and so did the demand for Soul Rings and Soul Bones.

A Soul Beast needed a hundred thousand years of cultivation to become a Ferocious Beast, yet it took only an instant for one to die at human hands.

What wore him down even more was his lord's injuries.

Countless years had passed, yet his lord still slumbered. The origin that the Five Great God Kings had gravely wounded back then had never been fully restored.

He had exhausted every method and searched the entire continent for rare treasures, yet could only keep his lord's injuries from worsening. He could not wake her.

He knew well that his lord was the Soul Beast Clan's only hope. If anything happened to her, the Soul Beast Clan truly would have no future.

All these years, he had been like a string pulled taut, holding up the sky above the entire Soul Beast Clan.

Bi Ji and Ten Thousand Demon King helped him, along with the others, but the true burden had always rested on his shoulders alone.

He was the Beast God, a descendant of the dragon race. He could not retreat, could not lose, and most of all, could not fall.

Though his heart had long been weary, in front of his people he was always the same iron-willed, imposing, all-powerful Beast God.

"Lord Di Tian! Lord Di Tian! This is bad! Something terrible has happened!"

An urgent cry drew closer. A streak of crimson light suddenly landed by the lake, and the Scarlet King stumbled as he came down. Shock and panic filled all three of his heads; he had no time even for the most basic courtesies.

Di Tian furrowed his brow, a cold glint flashing in his dark golden eyes. His pressure burst forth at once. "Did something happen to the Auspicious Beast?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was the first thing that came to mind. The Auspicious Beast was the heart of Star Dou's fate. If anything happened to it, it would be a calamity for the entire Soul Beast Clan.

"The Auspicious Beast... the Auspicious Beast is fine!" the Scarlet King panted out hurriedly.

"But I saw something even more terrifying! The Auspicious Beast... it's coming this way with two humans, toward Life Lake!"

"Humans?" Di Tian's gaze turned sharp in an instant, and killing intent surged around him.

"Two humans made it through the defenses of the Star Dou Core and all the way here? They even got close to the Auspicious Beast? What have you all been doing?!"

"No, Lord Di Tian!" The Scarlet King shook his heads quickly, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"That man was terrifying! I was just about to attack when the aura around him pressed me down so completely that I couldn't move! It was absolute suppression from the dragon bloodline, countless times more terrifying than your pressure! And... and the Auspicious Beast called that man... Lord Dragon God!"

"What did you say?!"

Di Tian sprang to his feet. The dark stones beneath him cracked apart, and his immense dragon might erupted uncontrollably. Towering waves swept across the entire surface of Life Lake.

He stared fixedly at the Scarlet King, his dark golden pupils contracting violently. His voice rang with shock and disbelief unlike anything he had ever shown. "Say that again. What did it call him?"

"L-Lord Dragon God..." The Scarlet King was pressed face-down by Di Tian's pressure, his voice trembling as he repeated the words.

"I couldn't have heard wrong! And the bloodline pressure from that man was absolutely at the level of the dragon race's progenitor! I couldn't muster even the slightest strength to resist in his presence. It was like... like facing the true progenitor!"

Di Tian stood motionless, his whole body trembling as his mind went blank.

The Dragon God.

Those two words were the faith carved into the depths of his soul, the supreme being in his inherited memories. He was the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, a direct descendant of the Dragon God. From the moment his mind had awakened, he had seen the Dragon God's glory and tragic fall in the dragon race's inherited memories.

In those memories, he had felt the dragon might that stood above all life in the universe. Countless times, he had dreamed that if the Dragon God were still alive, the Soul Beast Clan would never have fallen into its present state, left at humanity's mercy.

But the Dragon God had been slain by the Five Great God Kings of the Divine Realm countless eras ago, his divine soul split into the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King. He had long since fallen!

How could he possibly be here? In the Star Dou Forest?

"Impossible... absolutely impossible..." Di Tian murmured, his dark golden eyes filled with utter shock—and a wild hope he himself had yet to notice.

"Lord Dragon God fell countless years ago. How could he return to the mortal world? Could someone be impersonating him?"

"That's impossible, Lord Di Tian!" the Scarlet King said urgently.

"Bloodline suppression can't be faked! That was absolutely the purest Dragon God Origin! And the Auspicious Beast's Eye of Destiny can see through every falsehood. If he were an impostor, how could the Auspicious Beast be so close to him? Why would it call him Lord Dragon God?"

Di Tian's breathing quickened at once.

That was right. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's Eye of Destiny could see through all disguises and falsehoods, and sense the most fundamental goodness, evil, and fate.

If the other party were an impostor, the Auspicious Beast would never have grown so close to him.

Besides, who else in this world but the Dragon God could possess such pure ancestral pressure, enough to make every dragon bloodline submit completely?

His heart pounded wildly. After countless years of holding on and countless years of waiting, he seemed to glimpse a ray of light at last.

But he soon regained his composure. This matter was far too important. It concerned not only the entire Soul Beast Clan, but also his lord sleeping beneath the lake.

His lord was a fragment of the Dragon God's origin. If the one outside really was Lord Dragon God, his lord would surely sense it.

But if it was a fake, rashly disturbing his lord would interrupt her slumber and might even put her in danger.

He paced back and forth, thoughts racing through his dark golden eyes as he weighed the risks.

Should he take someone to investigate, or wake his lord first and ask for her judgment?

Just as Di Tian was lost in thought, unable to decide—

BOOM!!!

An immense, boundless, ancient, supreme golden dragon might swept over from the direction of the Star Dou Core, like the first ray of light at the birth of the universe!

This dragon might was no longer restrained within three feet of its source. It was being deliberately released.

It carried an absolute majesty that stood above the laws of heaven and earth, above all living beings. It was as though the Dragon God himself had arrived, gazing down upon his own subjects.

Everywhere the dragon might passed, absolute silence fell.

Whether they were ten- or hundred-year Soul Beasts wandering the outskirts, thousand- or ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts in the middle reaches, or hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beasts living in seclusion in the core region, every one of them fell to the ground beyond their control. They trembled, pressed their heads firmly to the earth, and whimpered in the humblest of voices, expressing the most devout submission.

Even Bi Ji, Ten Thousand Demon King, Xiong Jun, and the other top Ferocious Beasts by the lake had their expressions change drastically. The moment the dragon might descended, they bent at the waist against their will, their very souls filled with an irresistible awe.