The Divine Light gradually faded, and that immense will vanished with it.
Qian Daoliu, left standing where he was, remained frozen in place.
His mouth hung open, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. His mind had been shaken more violently than ever before.
"Ancestor... That legendary being who stood alongside the Angel God is actually still alive?"
The worry that had weighed on Qian Daoliu's heart vanished in an instant.
The Sea God? Soul Beasts that were hundreds of thousands of years old?
In front of their Qian Clan ancestor, they were nothing!
"Since the Divine Oracle has been issued, I must give it everything I've got."
Qian Daoliu rose to his feet. His somewhat aged eyes once again shone with startling brilliance.
"I just wonder where this all-powerful ancestor is living in seclusion now."
His gaze pierced through layer upon layer of space and settled beside the tranquil Pool of Life at Rainbow Academy.
High above, golden light wrapped around a surging force of life energy and formed a massive pillar of light, completely enveloping Xiao Bai in the pool.
Under the transformation wrought by this power, the enormous body of the Demon Soul Great White Shark began to condense and shrink.
The water boiled furiously, while vast swathes of rainbow-colored mist veiled the surroundings in a haze.
Long Yun sat quietly on a stone chair nearby, holding a cup of fragrant tea as he watched the scene at his leisure.
Before long, a faint rustling came from within the rainbow mist.
A breathtaking figure slowly emerged from the pool.
She was a woman.
Her pure white hair, as pristine as snow, fell to her waist and swayed gently in the breeze.
Her flawless, delicate face was adorned with a pair of sky-blue eyes like the purest gemstones.
Her long, slender legs gleamed in the sunlight. Her waist was so slim it could be encircled with one arm, and her entire being radiated an irresistible allure, blending wildness with purity.
Most striking of all, a necklace of scales shimmering with seven-colored light sparkled between her collarbones, making her look like a celestial maiden descended from the Divine Realm.
At the same time, a torso Soul Bone radiating a deep blue glow flashed across her chest and merged into her body.
This was a divine-grade, supreme-quality Soul Bone belonging exclusively to Sea Soul Beasts.
It not only gave Xiao Bai an almost inexhaustible source of Soul Power in the ocean, but also granted her near-immortal regenerative abilities and divine-level protection.
Xiao Bai looked down at her newly reborn hands and hopped excitedly.
"My lord!"
"I really succeeded in taking human form!"
"This feels so amazing. I can switch perfectly between my human and Soul Beast forms, and my cultivation has broken through to six hundred and ninety thousand years!"
Xiao Bai trotted happily across the fine sand and ran to Long Yun in just a few steps.
Without the slightest hesitation, she hooked her arm around his, pressing almost her entire body against him.
Her fair, tender arms clung tightly to him, and her ample breasts brushed lightly against his arm. She made no effort to hide her admiration and affection.
"My lord, do I look pretty like this?"
She tilted her head, her bright eyes fixed on Long Yun as her long eyelashes fluttered.
Long Yun smiled helplessly and flicked her fair forehead without a hint of gentleness.
"Have some dignity. You've only just taken human form, and you're already acting like this."
Xiao Bai gave a soft huff and covered her slightly reddened forehead, but her smile only grew brighter.
"No matter what I look like, I'll always be your Xiao Bai."
"If you hadn't saved me back then and helped erase that hateful Sea God Mark, I'd have died in the depths of the sea long ago."
She gently rested her head against Long Yun's shoulder, savoring this brief moment of warmth.
At that moment, the Sky Screen broadcast the entire scene of her transformation and Soul Bone fusion to the whole Douluo Continent.
The entire continent erupted.
"My heavens, is that really the Great White Shark from earlier?"
"She's so beautiful! That white hair, those legs—she's a true beauty!"
"The most incredible thing is that perfect transformation. She doesn't even have a period of weakness, and she can switch freely between her Soul Beast and human forms!"
Countless Soul Masters stared, dumbfounded.
To the Soul Beasts, this was nothing short of a miracle.
"A perfect transformation... How is that possible?"
"Those hypocritical gods in the Divine Realm would never give Soul Beasts something like this."
"This reward has made up for the Soul Beasts' greatest weakness!"
Star Dou Great Forest.
At the bottom of the Lake of Life, Gu Yuena stared at the Sky Screen, her breathing growing uneven.
She gazed at the seven-colored scale around Xiao Bai's neck, her beautiful eyes brimming with excitement and longing.
"It's definitely the Queen."
"Besides the Queen, there's no one else in this world who could possess such a divine treasure."
"The Queen must still be alive... But where is she living in seclusion? Why hasn't she come to find me?"
Gu Yuena's thoughts were in turmoil. She wanted to scour the entire Douluo Continent for her at once.
In the square at Rainbow Academy,
Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, Huo Wu, and Feng Xiaotian stood rooted to the spot, dumbstruck.
They had seen the dean feeding that Great White Shark at the academy with their own eyes.
"S-Sis, am I seeing things?"
Shui Yue'er pointed at the sky with a trembling finger.
"Isn't that girl who transformed perfectly the same Xiao Bai from the dean's pool?"
Shui Bing'er drew a deep breath, forcing down the shock in her heart.
"You're not seeing things. That's Xiao Bai."
"So the ninth-ranked one on the Sky Screen really is here at our academy!"
Huo Wu clenched both fists, her face full of disbelief.
"Just what kind of terrifying background does our dean have?"
"Could the Colored Light Mighty One who beat up the Sea God twice and killed the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King actually be our dean's ancestor?"
Feng Xiaotian nodded frantically beside her, clearly agreeing with Huo Wu's guess.
"It has to be!"
"Some reclusive ancient clans are said to have foundations on par with the gods. The dean's ancestor must be an all-powerful, supreme-level expert."
"If only this Sky Screen ranking could reveal the dean's ancestor, too. That would be amazing."
For a while, all sorts of outrageous guesses about Long Yun's background began to spread quietly among the students of Rainbow Academy.
As for Long Yun himself, he heard the speculation and merely shook his head with amusement, not bothering to pay it any mind.
High above, the comments continued to flood in.
"Xiong Jun: Um, Colored Light Mighty One, do you need another sidekick? I may be a bear, but I'm a natural swimmer. I'm great in the water!"
"Haha, Xiong Jun, what's a land-dwelling Soul Beast like you butting in for? Don't go bothering the big shot!"
Before you continue