The Three-Eyed Golden Lion crossed the Mixed Zone, heading toward the Core Zone. The closer they got to Lake of Life, the denser the surrounding nature energy became. Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky, and only scattered flecks of light filtered through the layers of leaves.
The Scarlet King led the way, his three heads glancing around from time to time, all six eyes full of caution. The safety of those two little ancestors was of vital importance to the entire Star Dou Great Forest.
Six years earlier, when Di Tian had brought Lin Shuo before the Ferocious Beasts and declared him their young master, the news had caused quite a stir among them.
Xiong Jun had been the first to bristle. His bell-sized bear eyes had brimmed with disbelief. "Di Tian, did the Scarlet King kick your brains in? You're making a human baby the young master of the Star Dou Great Forest?"
At that, all the Ferocious Beasts around them had turned to look at Xiong Jun in unison.
But Di Tian had said he was acting on his master's orders. And when the Ferocious Beasts sensed the powerful Dragon Clan bloodline within Lin Shuo, his status as their young master was settled.
When they reached Lake of Life, the Ferocious Beasts had already gathered there.
Seeing Lin Shuo arrive, Di Tian, Bi Ji, King of Ten Thousand Monsters, Xiong Jun, Zi JI, and the others knelt on one knee in unison. "Young Master."
Lin Shuo leapt down from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's back, landing lightly. His gaze swept over the Ferocious Beasts one by one.
"You may all rise." Lin Shuo's voice was steady, unlike that of a six-year-old. This scene had played out countless times before.
Di Tian stepped forward. "Young Master, to prevent your Martial Soul Awakening from attracting prying eyes from the outside world, my master will protect you from the shadows."
Lin Shuo nodded. "Di Tian, then let's begin."
Lin Shuo sat cross-legged within the formation and began his Martial Soul Awakening.
"Young Master, relax your mind and sense the changes within you. Don't resist it," Di Tian said solemnly from one side.
Lin Shuo slowly closed his eyes. All he saw was darkness, boundless darkness.
Then he saw a youth radiating seven-colored light pour the power of his bloodline and his life force into the body of a middle-aged man glowing with nine-colored light.
As time passed, the youth's body gradually withered.
At last, the seven-colored youth's body crumbled to dust, leaving not a trace behind.
At the end of the scene, Lin Shuo saw the frenzied Dragon God roar as he charged at the Nine Great Dragon Kings.
Outside, as Lin Shuo's Martial Soul Awakening began, seven-colored light first surrounded him. Then a deep dragon's roar came from within his body. The sound seemed to cross both time and space, echoing without end throughout the Star Dou Great Forest.
"This aura..."
The instant the dragon's roar sounded, Di Tian and Zi JI's legs gave way, and they fell to their knees, their kneecaps striking the ground hard. They hadn't knelt of their own accord. Their Dragon Clan bloodlines had instinctively chosen to submit before that voice. When faced with the suppression of a higher-ranking dragon, the body always reacted faster than the mind.
Within the awakening formation, the deep dragon's roar still reverberated between heaven and earth.
Then the seven-colored light around Lin Shuo suddenly blazed brighter, transforming into a pillar that shot straight into the sky. The surface of Lake of Life shuddered violently, its waters churning as if boiling. Ring after ring of emerald ripples spread in every direction.
Within the pillar of light, a dragon's shadow slowly took shape.
The dragon's entire body was covered in translucent, glasslike seven-colored scales. Each scale reflected a different sheen, their hues intertwining and shifting in a dazzling brilliance beneath the sun, too radiant to look at directly.
When the seven-colored dragon's shadow fully appeared, Di Tian and Zi JI, who had just managed to raise their heads, bowed them deeply once more.
At that moment, another figure appeared: a youth whose entire being brimmed with youthful vitality, his body glowing with a faint seven-colored light.
"Your Highness, is it really you?" Seeing the figure, Di Tian confirmed his earlier guess and cried out, overcome with emotion.
The instant the Silver Dragon King appeared, she burst through the lake's surface and transformed into human form, hovering in midair. She gazed at the seven-colored dragon's shadow and the youth beside it. In her usually indifferent violet eyes, time seemed to have stood still for tens of thousands of years. Though Gu Yuena had never seen the Dragon Prince, as the other half of the Dragon God, she understood everything the instant he appeared. The stir in her bloodline was unmistakable.
The moment Gu Yuena appeared, the youth's phantom slowly turned his head.
He looked toward the silver figure.
An expression surfaced between his brows on that handsome face, making Gu Yuena tremble all over—an anguish so deep it could not be dispelled. It wasn't for himself, but for the Dragon God. He had failed to help his father create a God Star, and he had failed to protect him.
Then the youth transformed into a streak of seven-colored light and surged into the seven-colored dragon's shadow.
Lin Shuo slowly opened his eyes. As someone who had crossed worlds and watched the Douluo series before transmigrating, he had understood everything as soon as he saw the youth. His Martial Soul and bloodline came from the Dragon Prince—the Seven-Colored Dragon King. He was the sole rightful heir of the Dragon Clan.
The Ferocious Beasts, including Di Tian, were still prostrate on the ground. Even this Beast God, whose cultivation had reached eight hundred and ninety thousand years, was so overcome with emotion that he could barely contain himself. He raised his head, his usually composed face filled with uncontrollable shock and reverence.
"Your Highness..." Di Tian's voice trembled. "It really is you. You're still alive."
The surrounding Ferocious Beasts had already fallen to their knees. Xiong Jun in particular, usually afraid of nothing under heaven, had his head buried deep in the ground and didn't dare so much as breathe. Remembering his words from six years ago—"Di Tian, did the Scarlet King kick your brains in?"—he wanted to slap himself across the face. He had dared to question them. That was the Dragon Prince, the Dragon God's only biological child.
Gu Yuena hovered in the air, her long silver hair drifting gently in the wind. Her usually cool expression was still unsettled. When the youth appeared, that sorrow had instantly washed over her. Something deep within her was surging violently, and a wave of grief rose from the depths of her bloodline.
Lin Shuo looked down at his hands. Seven-colored light flowed through his palms, gentle and warm, yet carrying a supreme pressure powerful enough to make all dragons bow. He could feel Soul Power surging through his meridians.
"Young Master." Di Tian rose, his voice more respectful than ever. "Please forgive my presumption, but may I examine your current Soul Power Level?"
Lin Shuo nodded.
Di Tian stepped forward and placed a hand on Lin Shuo.
"Just as expected. Innate Full Soul Power."
All the Ferocious Beasts looked unsurprised. Some even thought it was a little low.
If even the young master didn't have Innate Full Soul Power, then no one in this world deserved to have it.
"Xiao Shuo, come with me."
Gu Yuena descended from the air and spoke to Lin Shuo gently.