Beside the burly man stood a slender, feminine-looking man. He wore a dark green robe, and his dark green hair fell to his waist.
His eyes were vertical slits, gleaming with the cold light unique to serpents. The faint smile at the corner of his mouth made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
On the right stood two women.
One wore green. Her beauty was peerless, her temperament as gentle as water, and between her brows lay a compassionate air, as if she mourned the suffering of all living things. She smiled at Yu Tianlong, her clear eyes seeming to hold a gentle power capable of healing every wound.
The other woman was her complete opposite. Her tight-fitting purple outfit accentuated her voluptuous figure, and her strikingly beautiful face carried a fierce, murderous edge. She was like a rose bristling with thorns—beautiful and dangerous.
With her arms folded across her chest, she looked Yu Tianlong up and down with a critical eye, as if assessing his worth.
Yu Tianlong's pupils contracted sharply.
He recognized these people—no, he recognized these "soul beasts."
Di Tian, Xiong Jun, King of Ten Thousand Demons, Bi Ji, and Zi JI.
They were among the highest-ranked members of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts. Every one of them had cultivated for over a hundred thousand years, some even for several hundred thousand. They were terrifying beings.
And the black-robed man at their head was none other than the legendary Beast God Di Tian—the true ruler of the Star Dou Forest. His cultivation was unfathomable, and it was said he was already nearing the nine-hundred-thousand-year mark!
What were they doing here? Why had they saved him?
"Was it... you who saved me?" Yu Tianlong's voice was a little hoarse. He struggled to stay calm as he rose from the lake. The water parted on its own, leaving his clothes untouched.
"Why?"
Di Tian did not answer at once. Instead, he watched Yu Tianlong with a deep gaze, as if trying to see right through him. After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice like the tolling of an ancient bell:
"Because of those two strange creatures of yours."
Yu Tianlong's heart stirred.
So it really was because of Little Gold and Little Silver.
"Those two Luo Sanpao of yours carry an aura familiar to us," Di Tian continued, a faint ripple in his voice,
"the aura of the Dragon God."
"The Dragon God?" Yu Tianlong's heart jolted.
"You should know that the origins of soul beasts are closely tied to the dragon race." Di Tian stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance as if recalling the distant past.
"And among the dragons, there was one supreme being—the Dragon God. It was the progenitor of all dragon-type soul beasts, the embodiment of strength and the incarnation of the laws. It once ruled over all beasts and dominated heaven and earth. Even the gods had to give it a wide berth."
He drew his gaze back and fixed it on Yu Tianlong. "Your two pets may look comical, but the blood flowing through their veins is closely connected to the Dragon God.
"Especially the golden one. Its aura is identical to that of the Golden Dragon King, the strongest warrior under the Dragon God. As for the silver one, it seems more like the Silver Dragon King, who commanded the elements."
Yu Tianlong's heart raced as he listened.
He had long suspected that his two Luo Sanpao might be connected to the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King, but hearing it confirmed by Di Tian was an entirely different matter.
This was Beast God Di Tian, one of the oldest and most powerful beings in the Soul Beast Realm. His words were practically an authoritative verdict.
"Can you summon them?" Di Tian asked, with a rare hint of anticipation in his voice.
After Yu Tianlong and the two Luo Sanpao had been brought here, the two of them had vanished as soon as Yu Tianlong lost consciousness.
Yu Tianlong nodded and focused his mind.
Golden and silver light flashed at the same time, and Little Gold and Little Silver appeared beside him.
The moment the two Luo Sanpao appeared, they warily surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings and strangers. Little Gold stepped in front of Yu Tianlong and let out a low, warning growl at Di Tian and the others.
Little Silver crouched on Yu Tianlong's shoulder, its glassy eyes shining with vigilance as its silvery-white fur bristled slightly.
Yet the moment Di Tian's gaze fell upon them, Little Gold and Little Silver suddenly grew quiet.
They tilted their heads and stared at Di Tian in confusion, as if sensing some familiar, comforting aura from him.
Di Tian slowly crouched and reached out toward Little Gold.
Little Gold hesitated, then actually walked up to him of its own accord and lowered its head, allowing Di Tian to rest his palm on it.
Di Tian closed his eyes and quietly sensed it for a moment. When he opened them again, his expression was exceedingly complicated—filled with excitement and relief, but also a trace of disbelief and confusion.
"It truly is our master's aura... Though it's extremely faint, there's no mistaking it." He stood and looked at his companions.
"The golden one carries the Golden Dragon King's aura, and the silver one carries the Silver Dragon King's. They're still very weak, but the essence of their bloodlines is genuine."
Xiong Jun—the brawny, scar-faced man—scratched his head and spoke in a booming voice:
"But Di Tian, isn't the Silver Dragon King still asleep? How could the auras of both our masters appear at once? And on two little things that... well... look like pig beasts?"
His blunt words made Little Silver grumble, "Luo," in displeasure and bare its teeth at him.
"That's what confuses me as well." Di Tian furrowed his brow slightly.
"The Golden Dragon King fell in ancient times, while the Silver Dragon King has remained asleep deep beneath the Lake of Life and has never awakened. By all logic, their auras shouldn't appear in the same individual at the same time, let alone in this form."
He looked at Yu Tianlong. "Young man, how did you acquire these two little fellows?"
Yu Tianlong was silent for a moment, then answered honestly, "They appeared naturally when my Martial Soul awakened. I have Twin Martial Souls, and they were there from the moment I awakened. I call them Luo Sanpao. One is gold and the other is silver. At first, everyone thought they were Trash Martial Souls, but later I discovered they could devour soul beasts and elemental energy to evolve and grow stronger."
"Devour and evolve..." A look of understanding flashed through Di Tian's eyes. "No wonder they've grown so quickly. This ability is indeed unique to the Dragon God's lineage."
Di Tian was still puzzled about why the two Luo Sanpao were connected to the Dragon God. Perhaps they were a contingency the Dragon God had left behind.
And as the master of the two Luo Sanpao, Yu Tianlong was now viewed much more favorably by Di Tian.
"By the way, I noticed earlier that someone seemed to be hunting you. What happened?"
Di Tian voiced the question that had been troubling him. The aura of the two Luo Sanpao had awakened him, and then he had sensed someone approaching the Star Dou Forest Core Area.
He had issued a warning.
That person must have possessed the strength of what humans called a Titled Douluo!
At Di Tian's question, Yu Tianlong's expression instantly darkened.