Dragon's Might Shines on the Star Dou

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion skipped along, leading the way. Its golden fur caught the dappled light filtering through the canopy, creating tiny, shimmering spots of brilliance. It remained entirely oblivious to the fact that a world-shaking upheaval had already begun to brew in the realm of soul beasts behind it.

Gu Yuan and Qian Renxue followed at a leisurely pace. Neither of them made any effort to restrain their innate pressure, yet they kept it confined within a three-foot radius of their bodies, careful not to disturb the soul beasts of the forest.

The moment they crossed the boundary into the Star Dou Core, a pair of scarlet beast eyes hidden in the shadows locked firmly onto their figures.

The Scarlet King, a three-headed Scarlet Demon Mastiff and the eighth-ranked among the Ten Great Fierce Beasts, possessed a thin trace of dragon bloodline. He was the primary guardian tasked by the Beast God Di Tian himself to watch over the Emperor Auspicious Beast in secret.

Ever since the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had snuck out of the Life Lake, the Scarlet King had been tailing it silently.

He strictly followed Di Tian's orders: guard from the shadows, do not interfere with the beast's play, and only intervene if it encountered danger.

However, when he saw the beast approach two strange humans and even rub its head affectionately against the palm of the man in black, the Scarlet King's fur stood on end. All three heads snapped open, and his massive soul power surged, ready to charge out and shield the beast.

But just as he prepared to move, an invisible pressure—like a galaxy crashing down from the nine heavens—slammed into the depths of his soul.

It carried an absolute supremacy that transcended the laws of heaven and earth. Like an ant facing a dragon or a stream facing the vast ocean, the dragon bloodline within him trembled violently, emitting the most humble and devout signal of submission.

His gathered soul power dissipated instantly. His limbs went limp, beyond his control; unable to even stand, he collapsed into the bushes, lacking even the courage to lift his head.

"Ho... how is this possible..."

All three of the Scarlet King's heads shook uncontrollably. His scarlet eyes were filled with extreme horror and bewilderment.

He had seen countless powerhouses. Even when facing the Beast God Di Tian, who possessed over eight hundred thousand years of cultivation, he had only felt awe. He had never experienced this kind of absolute suppression, born from the very origin of his soul, which made even the thought of resistance impossible.

This was an absolute crushing at the level of bloodline—an unconditional submission to the progenitor etched into the genes of the dragon race.

He gritted his teeth, using every ounce of his strength to barely lift his head, peering through the gaps in the bushes at the man in black.

The man was gently stroking the beast's head. He radiated no soul power fluctuations, yet that bone-deep dragon might clung to him like a maggot on a bone, locking his soul so tightly that he dared not harbor even a shred of malice.

What shocked him even more was the childish, milky voice of the beast: "Lord Dragon God."

Dragon God!

These two words struck like a thunderbolt from the heavens, leaving the Scarlet King's mind a blank slate.

The Dragon God was the common master of all soul beasts, the progenitor of the dragon race, a supreme existence rumored to have fallen countless epochs ago! How could he appear here? In the Star Dou Forest?

Yet, besides the Dragon God, who else in this world could emit such terrifying dragon bloodline suppression? Who else could make the Emperor Auspicious Beast, which held the destiny of Star Dou, feel such heartfelt intimacy and reverence?

The Scarlet King's heart hammered wildly, reason and terror warring in his mind.

He wanted to rush out to confirm, but the sense of submission in his blood kept him from moving closer. He wanted to stay and observe, but this matter was too earth-shattering; he had to report it to the Beast God Di Tian immediately.

He stared fixedly at the scene. Seeing that they held no malice toward the beast and were instead letting it lead them toward the Life Lake, his heart eased slightly.

Daring not to delay further, he endured the trembling in his blood, turned silently, and transformed into a streak of red light, racing toward the Life Lake at the heart of Star Dou with the greatest speed of his life.

Deep within the Star Dou Forest lay the Life Lake.

This was the place with the densest life energy on the entire Douluo Continent. The lake water was like pure emerald, the surface undisturbed by a single ripple. Mists of life swirled above the water, and countless rare treasures that could only survive here grew along its banks.

The most powerful fierce beasts of the Star Dou Forest made their home here, and deep beneath the lake slept the hope and future of the entire soul beast race—the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena.

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

His features were handsome, his skin a cold, hard bronze. Long black hair cascaded down, and a golden dragon-shaped mark adorned his forehead. His eyes were a pure, dark gold. Even sitting still, he radiated a terrifying pressure that made the world itself tremble.

He was the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian, the leader of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts of the Douluo Continent, the recognized Beast God, a being with eight hundred and thirty thousand years of cultivation, a direct descendant of the dragon race, and the supreme ruler of the soul beast race in the eyes of the world.

At this moment, Di Tian lacked his usual iron-blooded majesty. His dark golden eyes were filled with unconcealable fatigue and heaviness.

He had guarded this place for countless years.

Ever since his master, the Silver Dragon King, fell into a slumber at the bottom of this Life Lake, he had become the pillar of the soul beast race.

He had watched as human soul masters grew stronger, watched the terrifying development of Soul Tools, watched the increasingly frantic hunting of soul beasts, and watched the once-vast habitats of his kin be nibbled away by humans bit by bit.

In the end, only these few final sanctuaries remained.

Ten thousand years ago, thousand-year soul beasts were common on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, ten-thousand-year beasts roamed the middle areas, and countless hundred-thousand-year fierce beasts hid in the core.

But now, human hunting teams could penetrate the middle areas without restraint, and even the edges of the core were frequently infiltrated by human soul masters.

Every year, countless soul beasts died at the hands of humans, and every year, new species of soul beasts teetered on the brink of extinction.

It was not that he had never resisted.

He had personally slain countless human Title Douluo who trespassed into the Star Dou Core and led the fierce beasts to deal heavy blows to human hunting armies multiple times, using his own strength to deter the three great empires from invading Star Dou on a large scale for decades.

But no matter how many he killed, he could not stop human greed.

Humans reproduced too quickly, the number of soul masters continued to grow, and the demand for soul rings and soul bones only increased.

A soul beast required ten thousand years of cultivation to become a fierce beast, yet it took only a single moment to die at the hands of a human.

What exhausted him even more was his master's injuries.

Countless years had passed, and his master remained in a deep sleep. The origin damage inflicted by the Five Great God Kings had never been fully repaired.

He had exhausted every method, searching the entire continent for rare treasures, yet he could only barely keep her condition from worsening; he could not wake her.

He knew clearly that his master was the only hope for the soul beast race. If anything were to happen to her, the soul beast race would truly have no future.

All these years, he had been like a string pulled taut, holding up the sky for the entire soul beast race.

He had Bi Ji, the Ten Thousand Demon King, and others to assist him, but the true pressure had always been his alone to bear.

He is the Beast God, a descendant of the Dragon race; he cannot retreat, he cannot lose, and he certainly cannot fall.

Even if his heart is already weary to the point of collapse, before his kin, he remains the iron-blooded, majestic, and omnipotent Beast God.

"Lord Di Tian! Lord Di Tian! It's bad! Something terrible has happened!"

A frantic cry rang out from afar, drawing rapidly closer. A streak of crimson light suddenly descended by the lake, and Scarlet King stumbled as he landed. All three of his heads were etched with shock and panic, leaving him no room to care for even the most basic etiquette.

Di Tian frowned, a flash of coldness crossing his dark golden eyes as he released his aura: "Has something happened to the Auspicious Beast?"

His first thought was of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. The Auspicious Beast is the core of Star Dou Forest's destiny; if it were to meet with an accident, it would be a catastrophic disaster for the entire soul beast race.

"The Auspicious Beast... the Auspicious Beast is fine!" Scarlet King panted, speaking in a hurried voice.

"But I saw something even more terrifying! The Auspicious Beast... it is following two humans and is heading toward the Life Lake right now!"

"Humans?" Di Tian's gaze turned sharp, and killing intent instantly permeated the air around him.

"Two humans managed to cross the defenses of the Star Dou Core and reach this place? And they got close to the Auspicious Beast? What have you all been doing?!"

"It's not like that, Lord Di Tian!" Scarlet King shook his head frantically, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"That man is too terrifying! I wanted to strike, but I was suppressed by the aura on his body to the point where I couldn't even move! It was an absolute suppression of the Dragon race bloodline, countless times more terrifying than your own aura! And... and the Auspicious Beast called that man... Lord Dragon God!"

"What did you say?!"

Di Tian stood up abruptly, the black stone beneath him shattering instantly. A majestic dragon might erupted uncontrollably, whipping the surface of the Life Lake into towering waves.

He stared fixedly at Scarlet King, his dark golden pupils contracting violently, his voice filled with unprecedented shock and disbelief: "Say it again? What did it call him?"

"Lord... Lord Dragon God..." Scarlet King lay prostrate on the ground, crushed by Di Tian's aura, repeating the words with a trembling voice.

"I definitely did not hear wrong! And the bloodline pressure on that man is absolutely at the level of the Dragon race progenitor! I didn't have the strength to resist him at all, it was like... like facing the true progenitor!"

Di Tian stood rooted to the spot, his entire body shaking, his mind a complete blank.

Dragon God.

These two words were the faith carved into the depths of his soul, the most supreme existence in his inherited memories. He is the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, a direct descendant of the Dragon God. From the moment he awakened his intelligence, he had seen the glory of the Dragon God in the inherited memories of the Dragon race, as well as the tragic song of the Dragon God's fall.

In those memories, he felt that dragon might which stood above all beings in the universe, dreaming countless times that if the Dragon God were still alive, the soul beast race would never have fallen into such a state of being slaughtered at will.

But the Dragon God had been slain by the Five Great God Kings in the God Realm countless epochs ago, his soul split into the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King—he had already fallen!

How could he possibly appear here? Appear in the Star Dou Forest?

"Impossible... absolutely impossible..." Di Tian muttered to himself, his dark golden eyes filled with extreme shock, and a trace of frantic hope he hadn't even noticed himself.

"Lord Dragon God has been dead for countless years, how could he reappear in the world? Could it be someone in disguise?"

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

"Bloodline suppression cannot be faked! That is absolutely the purest origin of the Dragon God! And the Auspicious Beast's Eye of Destiny can see through all illusions in the world; if it were a fake, how could the Auspicious Beast be so close to him? And call him Lord Dragon God?"

Di Tian's breathing became rapid.

Indeed, the Eye of Destiny of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion could see through all disguises and illusions, sensing the most fundamental nature of good, evil, and destiny.

If the other party were a fake, the Auspicious Beast would never be so intimate.

Moreover, in this world, besides the Dragon God himself, who else could possess such pure progenitor pressure that forces the Dragon race bloodline to completely submit?

His heart beat wildly. After countless years of guarding and waiting, he felt as if he had caught a glimpse of light.

Yet, he quickly calmed down. This matter was too significant; it concerned not only the entire soul beast race but also the Lord sleeping at the bottom of the lake.

The Lord is the split origin of the Dragon God; if the person outside really is Lord Dragon God, the Lord would surely sense it.

But if it were a fake, rashly disturbing the Lord would only interrupt her slumber and might even bring her danger.

He paced back and forth, his thoughts racing in his dark golden eyes as he weighed the pros and cons.

Should he go to investigate the truth first, or wake the Lord to ask for a decision?

Just as Di Tian was lost in thought, unable to make a choice.

BOOM!!!

A vast, boundless, and ancient golden dragon might, like the first ray of light at the dawn of the universe, suddenly swept over from the direction of the Star Dou Core!

This dragon might was no longer restrained within three feet as before; it was released with purpose.

It carried an absolute majesty that stood above the laws of heaven and earth and all living things, as if the Dragon God himself had arrived to look down upon his subjects.

Wherever the dragon might passed, the world fell into absolute silence.

Whether it was the ten-year or hundred-year soul beasts wandering the outer perimeter, the thousand-year or ten-thousand-year soul beasts in the middle, or the hundred-thousand-year fierce beasts hiding in the core area, all of them prostrated themselves uncontrollably at this moment. They trembled, pressing their heads tightly against the ground, emitting the most humble whimpers to express their most pious submission.

Even Bi Ji, Ten Thousand Demon King, and Bear Lord by the lake—these top-tier fierce beasts—had their expressions change drastically the moment this dragon might descended. They bent their waists uncontrollably, an irresistible awe rising from the depths of their souls.