Golden Dragon King

Hei Lin stared at the pair of eyes identical to his own, yet now burning with entirely different flames, and fell silent for a moment.

The corners of his cold lips seemed to lift ever so slightly, so quickly it could have been an illusion.

He gently released the embrace, took a step back, and put distance between them once more.

Yet his icy voice carried an unprecedented promise, as steadfast as stone:

"Alright."

"Remember your words."

"And..."

"I'm here for you."

"You... don't need to be so lost."

Outside, the living room lights remained dim and yellow.

Tang Ziran watched his son lower his head, clench his fists, and tremble faintly in the shoulders. He was just about to offer some comfort.

The next second, Bai Lin suddenly raised his head!

The pallor and disappointment on his face vanished without a trace!

In their place was a nearly blazing determination!

Those brown eyes were clear and bright, like stars washed clean by a violent storm, gleaming with an unyielding resolve!

He straightened his small back and looked intensely at his father. His voice was clear and steady, even carrying an unquestionable strength:

"Dad!"

"What can I do?"

"What can I do to help share your burden?"

Tang Ziran froze.

He looked at the entirely different expression on his son's face, at the resilience and sense of responsibility erupting from that tiny body—qualities that hardly seemed possible for a six-year-old child. An indescribable ache and immense relief surged through his heart!

His eyes grew slightly warm. Unable to contain his excitement, he placed his broad palm heavily on Bai Lin's soft hair and rubbed it vigorously.

"Good boy..."

"Such a good boy..."

There was a faint, barely perceptible catch in Tang Ziran's voice.

He took a deep breath and calmed his turbulent emotions. A smile appeared on his face, carrying the ease of a great burden being lifted.

"Son, do you still remember..."

"Your Uncle Mang Tian?"

"Uncle Mang Tian?" Bai Lin nodded hard. The image of a tall, taciturn middle-aged man with thick calluses covering his palms surfaced in his mind.

"I remember!"

"He came to our house a few times!"

"That's right!" Tang Ziran's eyes lit up.

"Your Uncle Mang Tian is an outstanding blacksmith!"

"Even here in Aolai City, he's one of the best!"

He took Bai Lin's little hand, his rough yet warm fingers lightly stroking his son's tender palm.

"Dad..."

"Told your Uncle Mang Tian about you and Na'er, as well as the difficulties our family is facing."

Tang Ziran looked into his son's focused eyes, his tone carrying a trace of expectation.

"He said..."

"He happens to be short an apprentice to help out."

"He can give you a chance!"

"For the first three months, you'll mainly be learning, getting familiar with the tools, and helping out. There might not be any pay."

Tang Ziran explained in detail.

"But Uncle Mang Tian said that as long as you're willing to learn diligently and endure hardship..."

"After three months, as long as you can independently forge some of the simplest, most basic metal components and meet his standards..."

"He'll pay you by the piece!"

"It won't be much at first, but little by little, you can save up some money to buy your own soul spirit!"

After finishing, Tang Ziran looked seriously into Bai Lin's eyes.

"Son, blacksmithing..."

"Is hard and exhausting work."

"You'll have to swing a heavy hammer, endure high temperatures, and stay focused. Getting blood blisters and burn blisters on your hands is commonplace."

"Are you really willing to give it a try?"

Without the slightest hesitation!

Bai Lin stood ramrod straight, his small chest held high. A firm flame burned in his clear eyes, and his crisp, ringing voice sounded like clashing steel:

"Dad!"

"I'm willing!"

Tang Ziran saw the unquestionable resolve in his son's eyes, and the last trace of worry in his heart turned into a warm current of relief.

He patted his son forcefully on the shoulder.

"Good! That's the spirit!"

"That's my son!"

"But." Tang Ziran's smile faded as he emphasized solemnly once more.

"Let me ask you one last time. It'll be very hard—ten, even a hundred times harder than attending classes at the academy!"

"Are you really not afraid?"

Bai Lin met his father's gaze. One word at a time, each landing with resounding force:

"I! Am! Not! Afraid! Of! Hardship!"

Every word was like a stone dropped into a lake, sending ripples surging through the depths of his spiritual sea.

In the corner, Hei Lin's cold gaze pierced through the spiritual barrier, "watching" the small figure swear before his father, watching those flame-filled eyes identical to his own.

Slowly and silently, he closed his own eyes.

After returning to his room, Bai Lin carefully took the thick, dark-brown book with no title on its cover from deep within his bedding.

The cold cover felt as though it carried the dust of history, weighing heavily in his hands.

He sat cross-legged on his small bed. By the dim yellow light of the wall lamp beside it, he held his breath, focused his mind, and opened the first page.

The yellowed, brittle paper made a faint rustling sound.

There was no table of contents, no preface. The book opened directly with a giant beast totem outlined in heavy ink, overflowing with a primordial aura!

The giant beast was coiled amid the stars, its form majestic yet indistinct. It radiated a terrifying pressure that looked down upon the entire cosmos. Beneath it, two weighty words were inscribed in an ancient script—Dragon God!

Bai Lin's heart suddenly began pounding!

He eagerly turned the page.

One ancient illustration after another, their strokes brimming with power, accompanied by obscure written descriptions, unfolded like a dust-covered scroll. They told an epic of gods, long buried by the river of time!

The golden and silver dragons tore apart the heavens, their roars shaking the starfields!

They were the two supreme beings born after the Dragon God split apart—the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King!

The book described the Golden Dragon King's unparalleled physical strength, terrifying enough to shatter stars, as well as its utterly pure will for destruction.

The Silver Dragon King, meanwhile, controlled the origin of the elements, possessing both wisdom and strength...

Within the spiritual sea, both Bai Lin and Hei Lin's consciousnesses were plunged into immense shock.

The form of the Golden Dragon King in those illustrations, that domineering aura piercing through heaven and earth, was so similar to the colossal shadow they had sensed deep within the golden heavens above that bizarre Blue Silver Grass plain last night...

So similar!

The trembling and resonance originating from the depths of their bloodline now became incomparably clear!

"A god..."

Hei Lin's cold voice rang through the spiritual sea, carrying an unprecedented hoarseness and gravity, as though the shocking secret had scorched his throat.

"The secret..."

"...within our bodies is actually connected to a god!"

Bai Lin's consciousness churned violently, filled with immense confusion and unease.

"A god!"

"Why?"

"Dad and Mom are clearly humans!"

"How could we possibly be..."

"Connected to..."

"To a soul beast god?"

"This..."

"How is that possible?"