"You just said... the Heavenly Emperor?"
He looked at Xiao Bai, his voice trembling with excitement.
"That's right."
Xiao Bai looked at him, her smile fading as her expression turned grave.
"We came here under the Heavenly Emperor's guidance."
"To retrieve an artifact he left behind here long ago."
The Sea Emperor's body trembled at her words.
His gaze shifted from Xiao Bai to the blue-robed young man who had remained silent.
He could sense a powerful aura emanating from this young man.
But it was utterly different from the divine might of the Heavenly Emperor described in the legends.
"Him?"
The Sea Emperor looked at Li Xiaoyu, his eyes full of suspicion.
"Are you certain he is the successor chosen by the Heavenly Emperor, rather than some fraud you found?"
His words were thick with distrust.
"Hmph."
Li Xiaoyu snorted coldly.
"Since that's the case, I'll let you see for yourself."
Li Xiaoyu hesitated no longer and untied the gray Wine Gourd from his waist.
He poured all the Spiritual Energy within his body into the gourd without holding anything back.
"Roar!"
A dragon's roar erupted from the mouth of the gourd, enough to make the entire Abyss of Return tremble.
An ancient dragon's might swept forth from the gourd.
Vast and sacred, that dragon's might seemed like the noblest existence between heaven and earth.
Before it, even the Sea Emperor's kingly aura paled into insignificance.
"What is this?!"
The Sea Emperor stared at the gray Wine Gourd radiating dragon's might, his sea-deep eyes filled with shock.
It was the aura of a dragon soul—the aura of the ancient ancestral dragon that had once followed the Heavenly Emperor into battle across the world.
The once-unruly Sea Emperor actually dropped to one knee, unable to control himself.
His face was