Di Tian Bestows Dragon Scale

Yu Tianlong held the Reverse Scale in both hands, feeling a heavy weight in his palms—not from its physical mass, but from the weight of this sentiment.

"Senior Di Tian... this is too precious, I..."

"Take it." Di Tian cut off his refusal. "I am not doing this to protect you, but to protect your two Luo Sanpao. They carry the bloodline of the Lord; I cannot let anything happen to them."

He spoke with feigned indifference, but Yu Tianlong knew this gift was far heavier than his words suggested.

"And this."

A gentle voice came from the side. Bi Ji walked over gracefully, holding a small jade bottle in her hand. Inside, a crystal-clear liquid shimmered with a faint blue fluorescence under the moonlight.

"This is water from the spring eye of the Lake of Life. I collected some and put it in this bottle." Bi Ji handed the jade bottle to Yu Tianlong. "There are ten bottles in total, with ten drops in each. When you are injured, taking one drop will accelerate your recovery. As long as the wound is not fatal, it will save your life."

Yu Tianlong took the bottle and looked into Bi Ji's gentle eyes, his throat tightening.

"Senior Bi Ji... Senior Di Tian... I..."

He opened his mouth, wanting to say a thousand words of gratitude, but when the words reached his lips, he found he could say nothing at all.

He was merely an orphan abandoned by his clan, a fugitive hunted until he had nowhere left to run. Yet these soul beasts—creatures humans regarded as cruel, savage, and inferior—had given him the most sincere help and the most selfless protection.

He thought of his years in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Those "kin" who smiled at him to his face while plotting how to devour him behind his back.

Those "elders" who would stop at nothing for profit, not even sparing a child.

Then he looked at the soul beasts before him.

Di Tian, who could have ignored him, chose to take him in, protect him, and guide him simply because the two Luo Sanpao carried the bloodline of the Dragon God.

Bi Ji, who had no relation to him, cared for him and looked after him like a gentle elder, even gifting him her own treasured life-water.

Xiong Jun, the King of Ten Thousand Demons, Zi Ji... although they said nothing, Yu Tianlong could feel that they, too, had accepted his existence and tacitly permitted his activities in the core area.

Sometimes, soul beasts were more humane than humans.

"Thank you." Yu Tianlong finally managed only these two words, but he bowed deeply, pouring all his gratitude into that single gesture.

Di Tian did not speak, merely nodding slightly.

Bi Ji smiled and reached out to pat his shoulder gently. "Safe travels."

The next morning, the sky began to brighten.

Yu Tianlong stood by the Lake of Life, taking one last look at the towering ancient tree, the azure lake, and the forest that had given him a new life and hope.

Then, he turned, and with Little Gold and Little Silver in tow, he stepped onto his new journey without looking back.

As the morning light broke, a figure quietly emerged from the edge of the Star Dou Forest.

Yu Tianlong looked back at the endless sea of trees, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. A month of living there had left him with an indescribable attachment to this forest.

Here, there were friends who treated him with sincerity, guidance given without reservation, and helping hands extended in moments of life and death. Yet the human world had offered him only betrayal, pursuit, and slander.

"Once I finish what I must do, I will come back to see you all," he whispered, as if making a promise to someone, before turning and striding toward the Sunset Forest.

He did not go directly to Heaven Dou City.

It was not that he didn't want to see Dugu Bo, but that he couldn't. Since Yu Yuanzhen had already declared him a traitor, he would surely have placed eyes around Dugu Bo, waiting for him to walk into the trap.

Though he trusted Dugu Bo would not harm him, his current strength was not enough to enter or leave Heaven Dou City unnoticed under the nose of a Title Douluo.

Therefore, he chose another path—heading straight for the Sunset Forest.

Since Dugu Bo had already discovered the traces of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, given his personality, he would surely visit it frequently to explore. Rather than risking a trip into the city, it was better to wait for him in the Sunset Forest.

The journey from the Star Dou Forest to the Sunset Forest was not short. Yu Tianlong traveled by day and rested by night, finally arriving at his destination after several days.

At the entrance to the Sunset Forest, the landscape remained the same crimson volcanic rock terrain he remembered. The air was thick with the scent of sulfur and scorched earth, a stark contrast to the moist, fresh atmosphere of the Star Dou Forest.

"Finally here." Yu Tianlong stood on a protruding rock, gazing at the vast forest ahead, and let out a long breath.

He did not rush to head deep inside, but instead found a hidden cave on the edge of the forest to settle down temporarily. He knew that while Dugu Bo would come to the Sunset Forest, he could not stay there every day. He needed to be prepared for a long wait.

However, plans could not keep up with changes.

On the third day of waiting for Dugu Bo, Yu Tianlong discovered a problem: Little Gold was hungry.

It wasn't ordinary hunger, but the kind where its desire to devour was stimulated to the extreme—eyes glowing, drool dripping, seeing everything as food.

Ever since it had absorbed the soul rings of the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear and the Blazing Sun Snake, Little Gold's craving for the flesh and blood of high-quality soul beasts had grown increasingly intense.

Back in the Star Dou Forest, with Di Tian's protection, it could hunt those high-year soul beasts without restraint, eating until its mouth was slick with grease.

But during these past few days on the road, it had only been able to hunt some hundred-year soul beasts to stave off hunger, which, to it, was as bland as thin soup and not even enough to fill the gaps between its teeth.

"Luo!" Little Gold nudged Yu Tianlong's waist with its head, its dark golden eyes filled with longing, then turned to look deep into the Sunset Forest. Its meaning was clear: I want to go in and hunt!

Yu Tianlong rubbed its head, torn between laughter and tears. "Alright, alright, I know you're hungry. Let's go. Since we're idle anyway, we might as well take this opportunity to settle your third soul ring."

His current Soul Power had reached level thirty-five. He was still some distance from becoming a level forty Soul Ancestor, but preparing for his third soul ring in advance was never a bad idea.

One man and two beasts began to head deep into the Sunset Forest.

Although the Sunset Forest was not as large as the Star Dou Forest, it still spanned tens of thousands of square kilometers. Its internal terrain was complex, featuring everything from volcanic rock landscapes to coniferous and broad-leaved forests, with a variety of ecological environments.

While the variety and quantity of soul beasts were not as rich as in the Star Dou Forest, there was no shortage of high-quality specimens.

Yu Tianlong had originally intended to search for a suitable spirit beast at his own pace, but Little Gold clearly couldn't wait.

It lowered its head to sniff the ground thoroughly, then raised it to let out an excited low growl in a certain direction before bolting off, its four hooves kicking up in delight.

"Hey—wait up!" Yu Tianlong was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead with a wry smile. "I almost forgot, your nose is sharper than a dog's..."

He hurriedly signaled Little Silver and chased after Little Gold, sprinting all the way.

Little Gold's speed was immense; its hooves flew as it wove nimbly through the dense forest. It would occasionally stop to sniff the ground or lift its head to discern the direction, leading Yu Tianlong deep into the Sunset Forest.