Imperial Hall Rewards (Part 1)

The calm, waveless Life Lake suddenly parted.

The emerald lake water surged and retreated to both sides as if pulled by an invisible force, revealing a crystal staircase formed from pure life energy that extended from the shore down to the bottomless depths of the lake.

Mist of life swirled on both sides of the stairs, and every step was engraved with ancient dragon patterns that glowed with a soft golden light in the dark depths of the lake.

"Let's go down and take a look together." Gu Yuan turned his head to look at Qian Renxue beside him, his voice gentle.

Qian Renxue nodded slightly, her fingertips brushing lightly over the Angel Holy Sword at her waist. Holy golden divine power flowed quietly, casting an invisible protective barrier around her.

She lifted her eyes to look at the bottomless staircase, her golden pupils devoid of any fear of the unknown.

She had long since grown accustomed to standing by the side of this Dragon God.

Gu Yuan took the first step onto the stairs, the hem of his black brocade robe sweeping across the crystal steps without picking up a single drop of water.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion hopped along beside his feet, its small, furry tail wagging back and forth, full of curiosity and excitement for this deep part of the lake it rarely set foot in.

Di Tian followed closely behind, with a group of top-tier fierce beasts trailing in his wake.

They were all filled with irrepressible excitement and awe. They had guarded this Life Lake for countless years, yet rarely had the qualifications to step into the Crystal Palace at the bottom.

Because that was the resting place of the Silver Dragon King, the most sacred forbidden ground for the entire soul beast race.

The staircase was not long, barely a hundred steps, yet it felt as if it spanned countless eras.

When everyone stepped onto the final stair, a magnificent Crystal Palace appeared before their eyes.

The palace was carved entirely from the purest life crystals of the Star Dou Core, and every brick and stone of the structure was engraved with lifelike dragon reliefs, each one exquisite.

At the top of the palace was embedded a massive Life Core, radiating a soft, emerald-green light that illuminated the entire space at the bottom of the lake. A life aura so thick it could not be dissolved permeated from the palace; merely breathing it in made one's spirit feel clear and bright.

Just as the group paused, the heavy crystal doors of the palace opened silently inward.

A figure slowly walked out from the depths of the palace.

The woman wore a long, silver-white dress embroidered with intricate dragon patterns, and her silver hair, reaching the ground, cascaded behind her like flowing moonlight.

She possessed a peerless face capable of dimming the heavens and the earth, with skin whiter than snow and brows like a painting. Her pair of purple-gold vertical pupils were like the most brilliant dragon crystals, hiding the stars of the universe within them.

Her entire being was surrounded by an extremely pure aura of life. Merely by standing there, the life crystals at the bottom of the lake lit up in response, and the surrounding water plants grew and bloomed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

She was the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena. The manifestation of the benevolent origin split off when the Dragon God fell, she controlled the laws of creation and life.

Countless years of slumber had not eroded a shred of her majesty; instead, it had imbued her with a sense of serenity and nobility born from the passage of eons.

At this moment, when her gaze passed over the crowd and finally landed on Gu Yuan at the very front, those purple-gold dragon pupils, which had remained calm and waveless, suddenly contracted violently. For the first time, an unconcealable shock appeared on her beautiful face.

Her bloodline resonated and trembled wildly within her body.

It was a call from the deepest part of her soul; it was the origin she had been separated from for countless eras and had waited for through countless years. It was her Master, the entire meaning of her existence.

Gu Yuan looked at the woman before him, his deep eyes flashing with countless complex emotions.

"I have returned."

Gu Yuan spoke slowly, his voice soft yet carrying a tenderness that spanned the ages, clearly reaching Gu Yuena's ears.

These four words instantly shattered the calm Gu Yuena had maintained for countless years.

Her body trembled slightly, and crystal-clear tears slid silently from her purple-gold eyes.

She slowly bent her knees, performing the highest kneeling ritual of the dragon race before Gu Yuan, her voice slightly hoarse and filled with endless grievance:

"Welcome back, Dragon God."

Di Tian and all the fierce beasts behind her knelt down in unison once more, their foreheads pressed tightly against the cold crystal floor, shouting in unison: "Welcome back, Master! Welcome back, Lord Dragon God!"

The sound shook the entire lake bottom, causing ripples to spread through the surrounding lake water.

"Rise." Gu Yuan raised his hand, and a gentle dragon force lifted Gu Yuena up, also causing all the fierce beasts behind her to stand.

"Let us enter the palace to speak."

The group followed Gu Yuan and Gu Yuena into the Crystal Palace.

The interior of the palace was far more magnificent than it appeared from the outside.

In the center of the main hall was a circular altar engraved with the core life formation of the dragon race, the very place Gu Yuena had used to nurture her wounds for countless years.

A trace of imperceptible bitterness flashed in the depths of Gu Yuan's eyes before he withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the fierce beasts standing below, their expressions a mix of excitement and trepidation.

"You are all heroes of the soul beast race."

Gu Yuan's voice sounded slowly, echoing in the vast hall with unquestionable majesty.

"Now that I have returned, I will not let my people suffer grievances again. Today, I shall bestow upon you a stroke of fortune."

As his words fell, Gu Yuan slowly raised his right hand, his fingertips wreathed in golden dragon power of various attributes.

Each strand of dragon power contained a trace of the purest Dragon God origin, along with corresponding fragments of the laws.

For any soul beast, this was a monumental opportunity capable of changing their entire life, or even breaking through the shackles of their species.

"Di Tian."

"This subordinate is here!" Di Tian immediately stepped forward and knelt on one knee, his voice resonant, his eyes filled with anticipation and excitement.

"You are a direct descendant of the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King and a legitimate inheritor of the dragon race; you have rendered great service over these years." A brilliant dark-golden dragon power flew from Gu Yuan's fingertip, landing precisely on Di Tian's forehead.

"Refining your dragon bloodline, mending your missing Black Dragon Laws, and helping you shatter the shackles of your cultivation."

The moment the dragon power entered his body, Di Tian shuddered violently.

That pure essence surged through his limbs and bones like a rushing river, frantically tempering his Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King bloodline.

His cultivation, which had been stagnant at 830,000 years, began to skyrocket: 840,000, 850,000... it did not stop until it reached 990,000 years, just a single step away from the bottleneck of a Divine Beast.

What excited Di Tian even more was that his inherited memories suddenly contained countless complete Black Dragon Laws; supreme dragon secret arts that even his ancestors had never mastered were now clearly imprinted deep within his soul.

He could clearly feel that his bloodline was now infinitely close to that of a pure-blooded Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King from the ancient era, and his strength had surged several times over.

"Thank you, Master, for this blessing! This subordinate would die a thousand deaths without regret!" Di Tian prostrated himself once more, his voice choked with emotion, his forehead pressed tightly against the ground in a display of utter reverence and gratitude.

"Bi Ji."

"This subordinate is here!" The Emerald Swan Bi Ji hurried forward and knelt gracefully.

She was the healer of the Soul Beast clan and the fourth-ranked among the Ten Great Fierce Beasts, having spent her entire life rushing to save injured kin.

"You command the power of life and healing, and with a compassionate heart, you have protected countless Soul Beasts." Gu Yuan flicked his fingertip, and a streak of emerald life force flew out, landing between Bi Ji's brows.

"I bestow upon you a fragment of the Life Essence, allowing your healing power to reverse the soul and restore vitality."

Bi Ji trembled as a gentle life force flooded her body; she could clearly feel her understanding of the Laws of Life rising by countless levels in an instant.

Previously, although her healing power could bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh and bone, she had to endure the backlash of the laws of heaven and earth, which would damage her own cultivation.

But now, with this sliver of the Life Law Essence, her healing power was no longer shackled; she could even use the Laws of Life to forcibly retain the lingering souls of the dying and recast their physical bodies.

Her cultivation also surged from 580,000 years to 650,000 years in one fell swoop.

"Thank you, Dragon God! This subordinate will surely exhaust her life's strength to protect the life and death of our kin!" Bi Ji kowtowed with tears in her eyes, her voice filled with excitement.

Her greatest wish in life had been to save more of the beast clan, and now, thanks to Gu Yuan's gift, her wish could finally be realized.