Nine-colored starry skies!
The sky was completely engulfed by nine-colored light. As the galaxy churned, billions of enormous dragon silhouettes wheeled through the heavens, their scales reflecting the starlight. Dragon roars shook the universe, and every swish of their tails stirred the nebulae. Their majesty was as overwhelming as the dawn of creation.
Among the countless dragons, nine especially colossal Dragon Kings stood in all directions. Nine unique hues—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple among them—flowed across their bodies. Their horns were like jade pillars supporting the heavens, their eyes like undying divine flames. Each ruled over a star domain, their imposing presence striking awe into all. They were the Nine Dragon Kings, rulers of the myriad dragons.
Above the Nine Dragon Kings, two figures who transcended all life presided over the center of the star sea.
One was a supreme giant dragon, its entire body interwoven with nine colors. Its enormous form obscured half the starry sky, and its dragon might swept forth like the arrival of the Heavenly Dao. Nine-colored scales layered across its body, and its whiskers hung like vast waterfalls of stars. With its eyes closed and head held high, it made every dragon bow.
At its side nestled another nine-colored dragon silhouette. It was somewhat smaller, its outline still bearing a hint of youthful softness, yet it shimmered with radiant light and brimmed with spiritual energy. Its nine-colored brilliance was pure and crystalline. Though not yet fully grown, it already exuded a noble aura no less than that of the supreme dragon. Standing shoulder to shoulder with the giant, it ruled alongside it over the countless dragons and the dazzling star sea.
Everything was peaceful and well.
The scene suddenly trembled!
A flash of white light, and everything changed.
Mountains and rivers crumbled. The nine-colored radiance shattered, and the heavens and earth wailed as gray and bloody hues gradually enveloped the entire scene. The circling dragons let out mournful cries. Their hard scales shattered piece by piece beneath an invisible pressure, and their thick sinews snapped one after another. Their once-mighty bodies, which had soared through the star sea, fell from the sky in succession like rag dolls stripped of all strength.
Dragon blood stained the shattered nebulae red, and the stench of blood drove away every trace of starlight. Each enormous dragon that fell brought a star domain crashing down with it. Billions of dragon silhouettes slammed into the fractured earth, kicking up clouds of dust and waves of blood. The once-vibrant dragon star domains became a living hell in an instant.
Even the Nine Great Dragon Kings, rulers of the myriad dragons and peerless in majesty, could not escape this calamity. Their nine-colored blood mingled and became a torrential rain of blood. One after another, the colossal Dragon Kings lost their lives and crashed to the ground, fallen for good, with not a trace of their former divine might remaining.
Amid the countless falling dragon silhouettes, the two supreme nine-colored figures who had once occupied the very center of the star sea had already taken human form.
The young nine-colored figure knelt on the ground, a nine-colored spear run through his chest.
The man standing before him wore a nine-colored robe and possessed an even more powerful aura. His eyes revealed madness, along with a small measure of repressed pain.
The young man's aura grew ever weaker, like a guttering candle that could be snuffed out by the slightest breeze.
"Father, I owe you nothing anymore..."
The divine realm crumbled, and the heavens and earth wailed!
The black-haired, black-eyed boy sat by the window. Light streaming inside illuminated half of his handsome profile as he gazed into the distance, lost in thought.
"Shen Nanxun, what are you thinking about?"
Na'er had appeared in the doorway at some point and asked in a quiet voice.
"Nothing." Shen Nanxun came back to himself and shook his head, casting those jumbled thoughts aside.
"What is it?"
Na'er pointed toward the living room outside. "Mom sent me to call you for dinner."
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Shen Nanxun answered and tidied up the things on his desk a little. As he headed out, he couldn't help asking Qian Renxue in the Sea of Consciousness, "Sis Xue, what do you think is going on? Logically, I awakened a new Soul Spirit, but why is he in this state?"
In the Sea of Consciousness, Qian Renxue was examining the nine-colored ball of light before her.
Calling it a ball of light wasn't quite right. It looked more like a mass of nine-colored nebulae frozen in place. The nine colors revolved, each carrying a completely different aura of power, yet they coexisted harmoniously within the glow, as though they had always belonged together and had never been apart.
Ever since that day, this ball of light had appeared in his Sea of Consciousness. But aside from the scene he'd witnessed when he awakened his Soul Spirit that day, nothing else had happened.
It hadn't appeared as a Soul Spirit the way Qian Renxue had, and he couldn't communicate with it.
Qian Renxue folded her arms, a scrutinizing look in her purple eyes.
"I'm not sure, but it's certain that you awakened a Soul Spirit. After all, he gave you a Soul Ring. But his current state is indeed unusual. Still, there's no need to worry. As long as he can still grant you Soul Rings normally, you can leave everything else alone for now."
After speaking, she leaned back lazily, and the Sky-Light Rabbit immediately came over to massage her shoulders and back, eager to please.
"I'd be more than happy if no one came to fight me for control of the Sea of Consciousness. Relax..."
At the dinner table, Ye Li had already prepared a feast. This time, she hadn't done anything weird—it was a genuine, proper feast.
Na'er had already taken her seat, sitting primly. Shen Xing had also returned from Ming Capital. She sat beside Na'er, sneaking a rib into her mouth with her chopsticks, her cheeks puffed out.
Even the ever-busy Shen Yue was seated at the table. She hadn't had time to change out of her military uniform, but the corners of her mouth were turned up. Aside from Father Shen, who was working in Ming Capital, the whole family had gathered.
Shen Nanxun had just turned into the dining room from the corridor. He hadn't even had time to see what dishes were on the table when Shen Xing sprang up from her chair. Holding his bowl in one hand, she plucked the biggest, fattiest rib from the braised ribs with lightning speed and dropped it into his bowl.
"Come on, let's give our great hero some extra meat!"
Shen Nanxun rubbed his forehead helplessly and pulled out a chair. "Second Sis, I think I'd prefer it if you treated me like you usually do."
At that moment, another pair of chopsticks reached over and placed a large shrimp in his bowl.
It was Na'er!
The girl used to be the first to snatch food from his bowl. Now she was serving him instead.
Shen Nanxun wasn't surprised, though. Na'er had changed a lot since that day. She didn't pick fights with him as much as she used to, and her tone had softened considerably.
She was starting to seem like a well-behaved young lady.
By now, he had a good idea why Na'er had come to North Sea City. It all came down to him. According to Qian Renxue, his Soul Spirit would bring him divinity, and Na'er had definitely been drawn here by the aura of his second Soul Spirit.
He wasn't sure yet who this second Soul Spirit was, but he had a rough guess.
Ye Li gazed fondly at the younger ones and asked Shen Yue, "How are things coming along in the legion?"
"Just as Xing said, we owe it all to Nanxun this time." Shen Yue's expression turned grave as she spoke. "Besides Chen He, we caught two more people in the legion. They were in the same squad as him. They'd been selling off some of our Soul Cannon shells, with the highest grade reaching level five. Fortunately, we caught them in time, so our losses weren't too great."
"But it's still outrageous. I can't believe the Evil Soul Masters dared to reach their hands into the legion."
Shen Nanxun said nothing, but he was thinking about the matter. There was no doubt that the Holy Spirit Cult was making preparations for the devastating disaster that would come many years later.
But if the Evil Soul Masters could infiltrate the North Sea Legion, then the other legions couldn't be safe either. And it wasn't out of the question that certain people in the military, working behind the scenes, had turned a blind eye.
After all, plenty of sides stood to benefit from what happened. This wasn't something the Spirit Pagoda alone had brought about behind the scenes.
"Na'er, why are you spacing out?"
Shen Xing poked Na'er's cheek, puzzled.
Na'er snapped out of it and quickly lowered her head, pushing food around in her bowl.
These past few days, Na'er had been spacing out while looking at Shen Nanxun more and more often. Sometimes, she even drooled.
Shen Nanxun deliberately leaned close and lightly tapped the girl's forehead. "From now on, you can bite me once for every time I bite you."
A glint of amusement flashed in his eyes. Who ended up eating whom was still anyone's guess.
Before you continue