It was late at night.
In the apartments at Nuoding Academy, the gentle glow of the Soul Guidance Lamp gilded the room with a warm, golden sheen.
Gu Tian was leaning against the headboard, gazing at the moonlight outside the window. Na'er was curled around his right arm, looking up at him with her delicate little face. Her large purple eyes brimmed with anticipation. "Brother Gu Tian, tomorrow's the weekend. You promised to take us out. Where are we going?"
Xiao Wu sidled closer, her long rabbit ears swaying lightly. "That's right. We've already explored all of Nuoding City. How about going somewhere farther away?"
Gu Tian smiled and reached out to pinch a silver strand of hair on Na'er's cheek. His eyes shifted as he thought it over. "Tomorrow, we'll return to the Star Dou Great Forest. I'll take you to meet Gu Yuena and introduce her to a new friend."
At the mention of returning to the forest, the three girls' expressions brightened. After all, that was their true home.
Gu Tian had originally planned to set out first thing in the morning. But as he lay in bed, looking at the three breathtakingly beautiful girls beside him, he suddenly found the long night difficult to endure. An inexplicable restlessness stirred within him.
"Forget sleeping!" Gu Tian sat up, excitement flashing in his eyes. "There's no time like the present. Let's go now and surprise Gu Yuena!"
"Now?" Xiao Wu blinked. "But the city gates are closed."
"It's fine. Na'er can open a portal, so we don't need to go through the gates."
Na'er nodded emphatically and raised her right hand. She swiped through the air, and a portal shimmering with silver light opened in the center of the room.
Na'er's portal was a little smaller than Gu Yuena's Spatial Teleport, but it worked just fine. Besides, smaller was cozier.
"Let's go!"
Gu Tian stepped through first. Xiao Wu and the other two exchanged glances, then followed him, full of curiosity.
The Star Dou Great Forest, core region.
In the Dragon Palace beneath the Lake of Life, all was quiet save for the faint sound of water.
Gu Yuena had just finished a day of meditation. Under the starlight, her snow-white skin seemed especially luminous. She had taken off her white dress and was bathing in the Private Spirit Spring behind her bedchamber, wearing only a translucent veil.
Steam rose from the water as her silver hair fanned out across its surface.
Just as Gu Yuena was about to get out and change, a violent spatial fluctuation suddenly rippled through the air.
"Wifey! I'm back!"
The next second, Gu Tian barreled into the mist-shrouded private bath with Xiao Wu and the other two girls.
For an instant, time seemed to stand still.
Gu Tian's eyes widened as he stared at the perfect, statue-like figure before him, completely bare. Crystal-clear droplets slid down Gu Yuena's slender swanlike neck, disappearing into the tantalizing depths below.
Gu Yuena stared at Gu Tian, still unable to process what had happened. After the two stared at each other for a moment, she shifted in an instant from shock to stunned silence, then to burning embarrassment and fury.
"Gu—Tian!"
Gu Yuena shrieked. The warm air plummeted below freezing in an instant.
She grabbed the panties beside her and flung them at Gu Tian's face, conveniently covering his eyes. Before he could manage even half an explanation, a gigantic pillar of ice sealed him inside, leaving him frozen in that awkward pose with his eyes still wide.
Gu Yue, Na'er, and Xiao Wu were startled too. They huddled beside the portal, not daring to move.
Gu Yuena swiftly leaped from the water and beckoned with one hand. A set of silver silk pajamas settled over her body. Her face was so red it looked ready to drip blood as she glared at Gu Tian inside the ice pillar and ground out, "Gu Yue, why did you come here now?"
Gu Yue lowered her head awkwardly and answered in a small voice, "Sister, the young master... the young master said he wanted to surprise you, so he insisted on teleporting here tonight."
"A surprise? That was a fright, if anything!" Gu Yuena snorted, but made no move to thaw Gu Tian.
Just then, the unbreakable Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Pillar began to shake violently.
"Crack—!"
A violent, crimson flame erupted from within the pillar.
"Wifey, don't be mad. It really was an accident!"
Gu Tian's hearty voice rang out once more. Nine-Colored Divine Light swirled around him, and the phantom of the Fire Dragon King roared skyward above his right hand. The extreme fire element instantly melted the solid ice into a pool of warm water.
No one noticed Gu Tian quietly slipping the white garment from his face into his pocket.
Gu Tian emerged from the mist and awkwardly scratched his head. "Wifey, I really didn't do it on purpose. But you've already seen everything, so there's no point getting mad now. Let's talk business first. I brought you an older sister."
With that, Gu Tian focused his thoughts and connected with Chiyan in his Sea of Consciousness.
"Big Sis Chiyan, come out and meet everyone."
Space warped, and a scarlet fireball shot out from Gu Tian's chest. It then took human form inside the main hall of the Dragon Palace.
It was the Fire Dragon King, Chiyan.
Chiyan seemed to have just finished bathing in the villa inside the Sea of Consciousness. She wore a crimson silk slip, her stunning cleavage and impossibly long legs gleaming in the light with a translucent whiteness. Her blazing red hair hung loose, and her gaze held the alluring charm unique to a mature, confident beauty.
"So you're little sister Gu Yuena?" Chiyan brushed the hair from her face behind her ear and looked Gu Yuena over. Then she strode forward without a care in the world and draped an arm around Gu Yuena's shoulders. "You're quite pretty, but you're a little too shy."
Xiao Wu, Gu Yue, and Na'er were all astonished by the sudden appearance of this bold, fiery older sister.
Gu Yuena was utterly stunned. She stared at Chiyan, feeling the Dragon King aura that shared her own origin yet burned with fierce intensity. Her voice trembled slightly. "Chiyan, Fire Dragon King? You... you really came back to life?"
Gu Tian stepped forward and explained solemnly, "This is my reward for completing the First Trial of the Dragon God. Chiyan's soul and spirit are now fused with mine, and she can manifest anytime to protect me."
Gu Yuena drew a deep breath and steadied her turbulent emotions. As the Silver Dragon King, she had inherited the Dragon God's wisdom. The moment she saw Chiyan return, she had already pieced many things together.
"The Dragon God's nine trials..." Gu Yuena looked at Gu Tian with her purple eyes, her gaze filled with a gravity and anticipation she had never shown before. "If I'm not mistaken, each trial corresponds to the return of one Dragon King. Gu Tian, if you complete them all, you won't just regain your divine position—you'll awaken every one of our compatriots who fell in battle back then."
With her hands clasped behind her back, Gu Yuena paced through the cold Dragon Palace and softly recited the names buried deep in her memories:
"Besides Chiyan, the Fire Dragon King, you should next awaken Tide, the Water Dragon King; Aria, the Light Dragon King; Lumia, the Dark Dragon King; Ilulu, the Wind Dragon King; Elma, the Earth Dragon King; Lucoa, the Mountain Dragon King; Milim, the Space Dragon King; and Krona, the Time Dragon King who commands the laws of time..."
At the end, a flame kindled in Gu Yuena's eyes. It was more than a fire for the revival of Soul Beasts—it was hope that the dragon race might return to its former glory.
"All right. Since you're back, you can stay in the Dragon Palace tonight," Gu Yuena said, her cheeks flushing as she glared at Gu Tian. "If you ever sneak in like that again, I'll throw you straight into a latrine in the Star Dou Great Forest!"
It was late, and after all the excitement, everyone was getting tired.
After Gu Yuena had arranged the rooms, another awkward situation arose.
Chiyan, the older sister who was the Fire Dragon King, clearly had no notion of keeping her distance from men. She looped an arm around Gu Tian's neck and sat down with him on the enormous crystal bed.
"This is my first time coming out properly. It's too quiet in the Sea of Consciousness, so I'm sleeping with Xiao Tian tonight." As she spoke, Chiyan deliberately shot a provocative glance at Xiao Wu and the other two.
Xiao Wu, Gu Yue, and Na'er gathered in a corner of the room, huddling close and whispering among themselves.
"Xiao Wu, have you noticed? Big Sis Chiyan... she's so bold." Na'er muttered softly, a hint of hostility in her eyes. "The way she looks at Brother Gu Tian, it's like she's going to swallow him whole."
"Mm." Xiao Wu nodded repeatedly in agreement. She tugged at the hem of her pink skirt, sounding a little wary. "That older sister is really aggressive. We have to stick together, or she'll definitely lead Brother Gu Tian astray!"
Gu Yue watched calmly. She said nothing, but her dark green eyes held a wariness she had never felt before.
Meanwhile, Gu Tian lay amid soft warmth and fragrant softness, feeling Chiyan's fiery body heat as he marveled inwardly:
These Dragon God trials... the rewards really are something else.