First Meeting with Di Tian!

The Sky Azure Bull Python swiftly dove into the lake, swimming toward its depths.

The farther down it went, the heavier the water pressure became, and the denser the vital energy grew.

When it reached an extreme depth, a transparent barrier blocked its path.

The Sky Azure Bull Python stopped, lowered its bovine head, and said with utmost respect, "Lord Di Tian, your subordinate Da Ming has an urgent matter to report."

It waited only a moment.

The water rippled slightly, and the restriction flashed.

A tall, imposing man in black robes stepped across the waves.

He was handsome and dignified, his black hair cascading like a waterfall and his eyes deep and unfathomable. At this moment, there was even a rare hint of rosy contentment on his face.

Recently, the Star Dou Great Forest had captured a peerless tonic with nearly a million years of cultivation—the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

For the Silver Dragon King, who was slumbering while recovering from her injuries, and even for the upper ranks of the Star Dou Ferocious Beasts, this was undoubtedly rain from heaven.

Di Tian deeply believed this was Fortune favoring the Soul Beast race. In high spirits, he did not grow angry at Da Ming's interruption. Instead, he asked gently, "What is it? Has something happened outside?"

The Sky Azure Bull Python did not dare delay and immediately recounted everything about the monkey exactly as it had happened.

"A monkey? Carrying a staff and asking to see our lord?"

Di Tian raised an eyebrow, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.

Even within the Star Dou Great Forest, only the core Ferocious Beasts knew of their lord's existence.

How could an outsider monkey from Sunset Forest know such a top-secret matter?

"What staff? Let me see it."

"This is it."

The Sky Azure Bull Python immediately presented the staff.

Di Tian reached out and grasped it.

Before he could do anything—

Buzz—!

The long staff suddenly trembled.

An ancient, pure dragon's might erupted with a thunderous force.

Red and blue dragon phantoms coiled and intertwined around the staff.

The primordial auras of Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire instantly spread through the water.

"This is—"

Di Tian's pupils constricted sharply, and even his breathing quickened.

He knew this aura, this level of existence, far too well!

"Ice Dragon King... Fire Dragon King..."

Di Tian muttered, his voice filled with shock and excitement.

The Nine Dragon Kings—what towering beings they had been!

After the Dragon God War, all Nine Dragon Kings had fallen, and the Dragon Clan had never recovered.

Di Tian had never imagined that one day, he would once again sense such pure origins of the Twin Dragon Kings in this world!

"Where is that monkey now?!"

Di Tian's tone grew more urgent.

He desperately wanted to know where this token containing the Twin Dragon Kings' origins had come from, and even more so, to understand the monkey's true purpose in seeking an audience with their lord.

"Reporting to my lord, Wukong is currently waiting by the lakeshore."

"Bring him here at once."

"Yes!"

Having received his orders, Da Ming immediately swung his enormous tail and sped toward the surface.

At that moment, Wukong was chatting idly with Xiao Wu and Er Ming on the lake's surface.

Wukong had also released Medusa, who lay obediently to one side, sleeping soundly.

For the two Soul Beasts who had long lived in the Star Dou core region and never set foot outside—

Wukong, this outsider, was practically a walking storybook.

Xiao Wu in particular was exceptionally curious about all kinds of things beyond the forest, since her mother had recently gone to human society.

So the two Soul Beasts took turns asking Wukong all sorts of strange questions.

"Little Monkey, how far is Sunset Forest from here? Which one is bigger, that place or the Star Dou Great Forest?"

"Brother Wukong, did you run into any of those hateful human Soul Masters hunting along the way?"

"Little Monkey, have you seen my mother outside? She's already undergone Transformation and become human. Have you seen her?"

"Hey, Brother Wukong, what kind of monkey are you, anyway? Why do you look so much like a human?"

"..."

Faced with the relentless barrage, Wukong handled it with ease, bluffing the rabbit and ape until they were utterly bewildered.

Just as the three Soul Beasts were chatting animatedly—

Splash—!

The lake surface burst apart, sending water spraying everywhere.

"Brother Wukong!"

Da Ming said urgently, "Come with me quickly! That lord has decided to see you!"

"Sister Xiao Wu, Brother Er Ming, I need to take care of something first. We'll talk again later!"

Wukong cupped his hands toward the two Soul Beasts. Without any hesitation, he leaped up and followed the Sky Azure Bull Python into the lake.

Watching Wukong's rapidly vanishing back, Xiao Wu pouted unhappily. "What's that supposed to mean? We weren't done talking, and he just left. And Da Ming, too—did he even ask about what I wanted him to ask...?"

Wukong followed behind the Sky Azure Bull Python, diving ever deeper.

Although sunlight could not penetrate this far down, many strange glowing water plants grew along the lake walls, illuminating the underwater world in a dreamlike glow.

After an unknown amount of time, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

The Sky Azure Bull Python stopped and respectfully retreated to one side.

Wukong looked ahead and saw a slender figure standing quietly in the water not far away.

He was a man dressed in black robes. Though he merely stood there casually, he radiated incomparable power.

"You are Sun Wukong?"

Di Tian gave Wukong a once-over while extending his senses to thoroughly inspect him.

However, the result of that inspection made Di Tian frown slightly, disappointment rising in his heart.

His cultivation was below a hundred thousand years, and there was not the slightest trace of Dragon Clan bloodline within him...

With such ordinary roots, how could he have gained the recognition of the two Dragon Kings?

Wukong cupped his hands in greeting, pretending not to know his identity. "This junior is Wukong. Greetings, my lord."

"I am not our lord."

Di Tian said indifferently, "I am our lord's subject. You may call me Di Tian."

"So it is Lord Di Tian!"

Wukong smoothly changed his form of address at once.

Di Tian did not waste words and went straight to the point. "Where did you get this staff?"

Wukong grinned. Without circulating Soul Power, he merely stretched out his right hand and made a grasping motion through the air.

"Come!"

The moment he spoke, the Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Staff in Di Tian's hand seemed to hear the summons. It instantly broke free from Di Tian's control and landed in Wukong's palm.

"Smaller, smaller, smaller!"

Wukong chanted at the Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Staff.

Immediately afterward, the long staff, heavier than a thousand jun, rapidly shrank in Wukong's hand. In the blink of an eye, it had turned into an embroidery needle.

Holding the needle-sized Twin Dragon Staff, Wukong raised his hand and inserted it into his ear. The tiny staff instantly vanished into his body without a trace.

Of course, the Ice-Fire Twin Dragon Staff was not truly stored in his ear. It had directly merged into his origin.

Wukong had gone through that unnecessary performance not to show off, but to tell Di Tian that he had not stolen or seized this item. The Icefire Dragon Kings had personally forged it specifically for him.

"A Companion Spirit Artifact?!"

A flash of astonishment crossed Di Tian's eyes.

As a Beast God who had lived for countless ages, Di Tian knew all too well the difference between an ordinary weapon and a Companion Spirit Artifact.

No matter how powerful a weapon was, it remained an external object. So long as one was strong enough, anyone could forcibly seize and use it.

A Companion Spirit Artifact, however, was different. It completely acknowledged its master and was bound to the soul.

Unless its master died and vanished, outsiders simply could not wield it.

What did that mean?

It meant this supreme treasure containing the Dragon Kings' origins had not been taken by this monkey through trickery or force. The Icefire Dragon Kings had actively bestowed it upon him!

"My lord has sharp eyes."

Wukong smiled faintly and said calmly, "The two Dragon King seniors gave this item to Old Sun because they took a liking to me."

Wukong then told him, half truthfully and half falsely, how he had been born at the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, how he had absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, and how he had received the blessings of the Twin Dragon Kings.

As for how he knew of "our lord," he naturally attributed all of it to the two Dragon Kings.

After hearing this, Di Tian was secretly startled.

This monkey had been born for less than a hundred years, yet he already possessed nearly ninety thousand years of cultivation.

He may have benefited from a blessed land, but this level of Fortune and talent was still among the rarest in the entire Soul Beast world.

In Di Tian's eyes, Fortune itself was part of one's talent.

Of those who cultivated into Ferocious Beasts, which one had not been blessed by Fortune?

Therefore, it was no coincidence that this monkey had earned the favor of the Twin Dragon Kings.