The first bloodline Tang Changsheng had awakened, Hongdong, was powerful enough, but it did not rank among the mightiest desolate beasts.
Those who awakened the bloodlines of powerful desolate beasts could gain abilities—aptitudes, even—that went beyond the ordinary, such as an inborn command of flame, wind, or thunder...
And because the Shaman Barbarians had worshipped so many Ancestral Spirits and Ancestral Gods over their long history, more than one bloodline lay dormant within them.
But whichever explanation one followed, the second bloodline to awaken was always stronger than the first.
And so it proved. The moment his Bloodline awakened, Tang Changsheng knew exactly what his second Bloodline was: Heavy Python.
Crack! His feet sank into the soil, and boundless strength seemed to pour into him from the earth without end.
Heavy Python was a desolate beast, and no desolate beast was weaker than a Yang Spirit True Person.
Heavy Python was said to be a child of the earth. Legend held that as long as its feet stayed on the ground, its strength was inexhaustible, and no one could defeat it.
Tang Changsheng felt that now. Endless strength surged up from deep within the earth. He felt as though he could pull down the heavens themselves—if only they had a ring to grab.
It was easy to lose oneself in that feeling and never break free. Such power felt far too wonderful.
But Tang Changsheng frowned slightly, sealed his Northern Pole Secret Aperture for the time being, and drew the Heavy Python Bloodline's power back in.
Power he could not control was dangerous. He intended to take his time adapting to it and learning to master it.
About halfway through his journey, a great river appeared before him, blocking his path.
It was hundreds of meters wide and rushed between