The two dragon cores within Yu Chen's body were trembling in an extremely bizarre manner—not circulating, not erupting, but breaking down all their energy.
Yu Chen was going to detonate his dragon cores, just as Tang Hao had detonated his rings. Though detonated rings could be restored, dragon cores might not be recoverable once destroyed.
He was going to trade his life for Tang San's.
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Tang San's expression changed drastically as he tried to pull out the Asura Sword and retreat.
But it was already too late.
"Boom—!!"
The two dragon cores self-destructed simultaneously.
This was no ordinary explosion. The two great dragon cores detonated while fused together, unleashing destructive energy powerful enough to tear apart the Divine Realm. Golden light burst from every pore of Yu Chen's dragon body, shattering the Asura Demon Sword's blade and blasting a massive crack through the spatial barrier of Sea God's Realm.
The energy spread outward.
At that instant, all of Sea God's Realm was swallowed by golden radiance.
And when the light faded—
Yu Chen was still standing.
No, to be precise, he was still floating.
His dragon body could no longer be called a dragon body. His scales were all gone, and his flesh had nearly burned away, leaving only a golden skeleton barely maintaining the form of a dragon. Cracks covered his dragon bones, and every joint creaked as though a gust of wind could scatter him.
But in his eyes—
There was light.
The boundless energy released by the fused self-destruction of the two dragon cores pushed him to an unprecedented height—
God King-level combat power.
Though it was only temporary, though the price was that he could die at any moment after his dragon cores exploded, at this moment—
He and Tang San stood on the same level.
Tang San stared at the golden giant dragon before him, reduced to nothing but a skeleton, and at those golden dragon eyes still burning within its hollow sockets. The expression on his face could no longer be described as mere shock.
It was fear.
A half-step God King was genuinely experiencing fear at this moment.
"How could you... be this strong?"
His voice trembled slightly. The dark-red glow of the Asura Divine Armor flickered unstably, while the shockwave from the dragon cores' explosion had damaged his divine body. Asura divine power churned chaotically within him.
Yu Chen did not answer.
Because he knew that this state would not last long. The cost of detonating his dragon cores was death; he was merely burning the last of his life force for one final blaze of glory.
But that was enough.
Even if it lasted only an instant, he had to let Tang San know—
The spine of the Dragon Clan could not be broken.
However, Yu Chen did not know that—
At the moment the two dragon cores self-destructed and the power of fate scattered—
Douluo Continent, Star Dou Forest.
An aura that had slumbered for who knew how many years suddenly awakened.
The Silver Dragon King.
From the depths of the lake, she opened her silver vertical pupils, which contracted to their limit in an instant. She had sensed something that made even her soul tremble—the Dragon Clan's fortune was collapsing.
This was no ordinary fluctuation of fortune. It was the demise of the Dragon Clan's supreme fortune. It felt as though a thread connected to the lifelines of all dragons was being violently torn apart.
"Who?!"
The Silver Dragon King's furious roar shattered clouds for a thousand zhang above the lake, and all of Star Dou Forest trembled beneath it.
"Who the hell did this?!"
Her divine consciousness surged forth like a tide, frantically searching for the source of the dispersing fortune.
At the same moment, a golden-red figure within Star Dou Forest abruptly rose to her feet.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Her entire body was shaking, and tears filled all three of her golden eyes. She had sensed it—an aura of her own kind, an Emperor Auspicious Beast aura that shared the same origin as hers, was vanishing.
No, it was not vanishing.
It was falling.
"Woo—"
A mournful cry spilled from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's throat, so desolate that all beasts fell silent and even the grass and trees withered.
Di Tian rushed over at the sound. When he saw the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's state, his dragon pupils abruptly contracted.
"What happened?"
"Uncle Di Tian..." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's voice trembled as golden tears poured from all three of her eyes. "He... he has fallen..."
"What did you say?" Di Tian's voice suddenly rose several times in volume. His dragon might burst forth uncontrollably, crushing a swath of surrounding trees.
"You mean—the Emperor Auspicious Beast that was only just born has fallen?"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded desperately, already sobbing beyond words.
Overwhelming fury flooded Di Tian's dragon eyes in an instant.
He raised his head, opened his dragon jaws, and let out a roar that shot into the heavens—
"Roar—!!"
That roar was not a dragon's cry. It was the Dragon Clan's death knell.
Sound waves spread outward from Star Dou Forest in every direction, reaching all of Douluo Continent. Countless cracks split the sky, the earth shook, and every Soul Beast—from ten-year beasts to hundred-thousand-year beasts—knelt on the ground, trembling beneath that roar.
"All of Star Dou—heed my command!!"
Di Tian's voice rumbled like heavenly thunder, echoing throughout Star Dou Forest.
"Launch a beast tide!!"
At a single command, countless beasts answered.
From the deepest reaches of Star Dou Forest, the roars of innumerable Soul Beasts erupted at once. The ground shook beneath the stampede of ten thousand beasts, while the sky was obscured by the wings of flying Soul Beasts.
The Myriad Demon King responded first. His enormous body burst from underground, radiating the terrifying aura of a five-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-year fierce beast as he charged toward the forest's outskirts.
Scarlet King followed close behind. Crimson flames carried devastating heat, reducing the trees along his path to ash, while the killing intent in his eyes nearly solidified.
Zi JI transformed into a massive purple dragon. Wherever she passed, an unknown energy permeated the air, leaving not even a blade of grass alive.
Bear Lord—the fierce beast who usually defied Di Tian more than anyone else—raised no objections this time. His massive bear body rose to its full height, thick killing intent pouring from him like a flash flood. His blood-red bear eyes remained fixed on the direction of the human cities.
Even Bi Ji, the gentlest among them, had reddened eyes. She was not skilled in battle, but for the first time, fury burned in her gaze.
"Humans..."
Di Tian's voice came from the heavens, cold enough to sound inhuman.
"I will never let this go."
The other side.
Dragon Valley.
The Dragon God held the Ascension Dragon Pillar he had just retrieved, preparing to leave.
The Ascension Dragon Pillar was entirely golden, dragon patterns flowing across its surface as it exuded an ancient and majestic aura. This was a supreme treasure of the Dragon Clan, once a token passed down when the Dragon Clan's crown prince inherited the Dragon God's position. He had intended to personally give it to his grandson.
However, just as he took his first step—
He stopped.
A faint aura, one that was nearly fading away, came from a distant place.
It was the resonance of bloodlines.
It was a signal transmitted through the invisible bond between the bloodline in his grandson and the bloodline within himself.
And that bond—was breaking.
The Dragon God's hand suddenly clenched, and the dragon patterns on the Ascension Dragon Pillar flickered wildly within his palm.
"This is..."
His ancient dragon eyes, which had nearly lost their luster, suddenly lit up at that moment, shining like two suns.
"Something happened to Yu Chen?!"
The Ascension Dragon Pillar creaked beneath his grip. Its golden dragon patterns grew brighter amid the violent trembling, as though they too sensed their master's fury.
The Dragon God's aura erupted completely at that moment.
It was the pressure of the Dragon God, the supreme power that had once ruled over all dragons and commanded heaven and earth. Dragon Valley shook violently beneath this pressure, and countless slumbering descendants of the Dragon Clan awoke from their nests, trembling as they lay prone on the ground.
"Who was it?!"
The Dragon God's furious roar shattered the sky above Dragon Valley, exposing a chaotic void. His divine consciousness became like a sharp sword, tearing through space, crossing planes, and shooting directly toward Douluo Continent.
He saw it.
He saw everything.
He saw the battlefield within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. He saw the golden giant dragon reduced to a skeleton. He saw the figure holding the Asura Demon Sword and wearing the Asura Divine Armor.
His divine consciousness lingered on that figure for an instant.
Then—
He recognized that aura.
The Asura God.
The newly appointed Asura God.
An ancient, deep fury capable of destroying everything erupted completely from the Dragon God's dragon eyes.
"What a fine Asura God."
The five words were spoken lightly, yet they caused the temperature throughout Dragon Valley to plummet by dozens of degrees.
The Ascension Dragon Pillar hummed and trembled in his palm, as though answering its master's fury and calling out to its young master, who was about to fall.
The Dragon God slowly raised his head. His gaze passed through the shattered sky and endless void, falling upon the direction of Douluo Continent.
Within those ancient dragon eyes were fury and killing intent, but even more than that—
"You dared lay a hand on my grandson!"
"Die."
Before you continue