Across the entire Star Dou Forest, all the beasts bowed their heads. Heaven and earth fell silent as they worshipped the aura of their ancestor.
Di Tian's whole body shook. He froze in place, tears instantly welling in his dark golden eyes.
He couldn't mistake it!
This aura, this dragon might, this aura of their origin—it was exactly the same as the Dragon God's aura in his inherited memories!
It was even more vivid, more vast, stirring in him a desire to kneel that came from the depths of his soul!
This wasn't an illusion! It was real! It was Lord Dragon God! Their ancestor had truly returned!
At that very moment, deep beneath Life Lake, inside the Crystal Palace that had lain dormant for countless eras,
the woman who had been lying quietly on the Ice Crystal Jade Bed, lost in an endless slumber, suddenly opened her violet-gold dragon eyes, closed for countless years!
The woman had peerless beauty. Her long silver hair spilled around her, and an aura of ultimate life and creation surrounded her. She was none other than the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena.
For countless years, her consciousness had remained dormant. Only on rare occasions, when her divine soul stirred, could she make the faintest contact with Di Tian in the outside world.
But the instant the Dragon God's aura swept over her, the consciousness that had lain dormant for countless years fully awakened!
The Dragon God Origin inside her surged wildly, resonating with it. It was a call from another soul—a member of her kind, whom she had awaited for countless eras!
Gu Yuena's body trembled slightly. Utmost shock and complicated emotions flashed through her violet-gold eyes. She raised a hand and pressed her fingertips to her chest, feeling her dragon heart pounding wildly. Her gaze pierced through the lake water toward the surface, in the direction from which the aura came.
Di Tian could no longer spare a thought for anything else—not etiquette, not even notifying the Lord beneath the lake. There simply wasn't time.
He became a streak of pure black light. With Bi Ji, Ten Thousand Demon King, Xiong Jun, and all the other top Ferocious Beasts who had rushed over at the news following behind him, he raced toward the source of the dragon might as fast as he had ever moved in his life.
They passed through layers of ancient trees and billowing mists of life. At last, the entirety of Life Lake came into view.
Three figures stood by the emerald lake.
A man in a dark, embroidered robe stood at the front. Black hair fell around him, and golden dragon patterns flowed slowly across his body. Behind him, the faint silhouette of a nine-colored dragon stretched across heaven and earth—the suppressed phantom of the Dragon God.
Even a mere wisp of its image was enough to change the colors of heaven and earth. Vast dragon might slowly spread around him, yet precisely avoided the person and beast at his side, harming neither of them in the slightest.
Qian Renxue stood quietly beside Gu Yuan, watching the sight of the myriad beasts bowing their heads, a trace of understanding in her eyes.
At Gu Yuan's feet, the little golden ball of fur nuzzled affectionately against his trouser leg.
Di Tian and the other Ferocious Beasts came to an abrupt halt a hundred meters from the lakeshore.
When his gaze fell on Gu Yuan, when he sensed the Dragon God Origin—more vivid, more vast—and when he saw the phantom of the nine-colored dragon, this Beast God, an eighty-three-thousand-year-old Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King who had never bowed to anyone in his life, trembled violently from head to toe. He could no longer control his emotions.
With a thud,
Di Tian fell to his knees and performed the most devout and supreme bow of the dragon race, pressing his forehead firmly to the ground. His voice trembled, brimming with boundless reverence and excitement, as it rang across all of Life Lake:
"Di Tian, descendant of the dragon race, welcomes Lord Dragon God's return!"
Behind him, Bi Ji, Ten Thousand Demon King, Xiong Jun, Scarlet King, all the hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beasts who had come, and countless Soul Beasts crouching nearby all bowed their heads in unison and cried out. Their voices shook the skies and echoed for a long time throughout the Star Dou Forest:
"We welcome our ancestor's return!"
The myriad beasts worshipped, and heaven and earth rang in response. Ripples spread across all of Life Lake at their cries.
Gu Yuan looked at Di Tian prostrate before him, at his slightly trembling back, and at the countless Soul Beasts bowing devoutly behind him. A trace of guilt, so subtle it was almost imperceptible, flashed through his deep eyes.
He slowly raised a hand. Gentle, mighty golden dragon power swept over them like a spring breeze, lifting Di Tian to his feet and raising every Soul Beast bowing behind him as well.
"Rise."
Gu Yuan's voice rang out, unraised yet clear in the ears of every Soul Beast, carrying the power to soothe their hearts.
"Di Tian, look up. Let me see you."
Di Tian trembled once more and slowly lifted his head.
His dark golden eyes were already brimming with tears. There was not a trace of the Beast God's usual authority on his face—only bottomless hurt, like a child who had finally found his way home.
He looked at Gu Yuan, at that gentle yet supremely dignified face, and felt the bloodline they shared, running deep into his very bones. Bowing again, he choked out, "Lord Dragon God... it really is you... You've finally returned... We... I've waited for you for countless years..."
Gu Yuan walked slowly up to him. His gaze settled on Di Tian, taking in the weariness buried deep in his eyes. His voice softened, weighted with feeling.
"Di Tian, you've worked hard all these years."
"You've guarded the entire Soul Beast Clan well."
Those few words instantly shattered everything Di Tian had left of his composure.
The string he had kept taut for countless years finally snapped.
The Beast God, eighty-three thousand years old, had slain countless foes. Even when facing humanity's Limit Douluo or standing at death's door, he had never shed a single tear.
But now, hearing Gu Yuan tell him, "You've worked hard," he could no longer hold back. His tears burst forth like a floodgate giving way, streamed down his cheeks, and splashed onto the ground.
With another thud, he dropped to his knees. His shoulders shook violently as he sobbed out his endless hurt and guilt:
"When you fell and the dragon race was wiped out, I failed to preserve its glory. Countless years have passed. The once-glorious dragon race is now reduced to me and a few descendants with only a trace of dragon blood. Now even our legacy is on the verge of being lost..."
His voice was filled with heart-rending guilt.
The dragon race had once been the mightiest species on this continent, a glorious legacy forged by the Dragon God himself. But now, it had been brought to the brink of extinction. As a direct descendant of the dragon race, Di Tian had been burdened by guilt and self-reproach for countless years.
"I failed to protect the Soul Beast Clan." Di Tian lifted his head, tears streaming down his face, helplessness filling his dark golden eyes.
"Humans have hunted us more and more relentlessly over the years. For Soul Rings and Soul Bones, they barge into our home without restraint and slaughter our people."
"There are too many humans, and their Soul Tools keep growing more powerful. Even humans at the Soul King level can use Soul Tools to hunt Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. I've fought with all my strength just to barely defend the Star Dou Core. I've watched our people outside die one after another, and I couldn't do a thing..."
His voice grew more and more choked. All his helplessness poured out in that moment.
"What frightens me most is the Lord." Deep unease colored Di Tian's voice.
"The Lord was gravely wounded all those years ago and has slept beneath the lake ever since. I've tried everything and searched the whole continent for rare treasures, but I've only been able to keep her injuries barely stable. I'm afraid... afraid I can't protect the Lord, can't protect the Soul Beast Clan's last hope. I'm afraid that when I die, I won't have the face to meet you..."
By the end, he could barely sob out a word. He lowered his head, pressing his forehead to the ground like a child who had done wrong, waiting for his ancestor to punish him.
Behind him, Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan who ranked fourth among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts and served as the Soul Beast Clan's healer, had reddened eyes as well. Tears slipped down her cheeks.
She understood Di Tian's suffering better than anyone. Over the years, he had seemed stern and imposing, but behind closed doors he had spent sleepless nights grieving for his people and worrying over the Soul Beasts' future.
Xiong Jun, Ten Thousand Demon King, Scarlet King, and the other Ferocious Beasts all lowered their heads, bitterness and helplessness filling their eyes.
Di Tian's suffering was the suffering of every Soul Beast. They had endured too much humiliation and despair over the years.
Gu Yuan listened quietly. A chill gradually rose in his deep eyes, but whenever he looked at Di Tian, it softened into boundless warmth.
He raised a hand again and slowly infused Di Tian with the Dragon God's Power.
The power was as gentle as could be. In an instant, it soothed all the hidden injuries left by years of relentless fighting and exhaustion, restored his depleted origin, and made his eighty-three-thousand-year cultivation even more solid.
"Rise."
Gu Yuan's voice rang in every Soul Beast's ears, firm and resolute in its affirmation:
"This isn't your fault. You've done well—better than I could have imagined."
"The dragon race's fall and the Soul Beasts' decline aren't your fault. The ones to blame are the aloof God Kings of the Divine Realm, humanity's bottomless greed, and the laws of heaven and earth, long since thrown out of balance. You've guarded them for countless years. You haven't failed anyone."
His gaze swept over all the Soul Beasts present, and his voice carried an unquestionable force. "I have returned."
"Those who owe us, who killed our people, who destroyed our home—I'll make them pay every last debt, with interest."
The instant his words fell, a cheer mingled with sobs erupted across Life Lake, shaking heaven and earth.
Countless Soul Beasts wept with joy, prostrating themselves before Gu Yuan and bowing once more.
They had waited countless years to hear those words.
Deep beneath the lake, Gu Yuena listened quietly to the voices rising from the surface. Tears silently slipped from her violet-gold dragon eyes.
She slowly raised a hand. A wisp of silver dragon power gathered at her fingertips, and she gently pushed open the palace doors.
At last, the moment she had awaited for countless eras had come.
Before you continue