"Yes. Not only are gods simply beings who have cultivated to a certain realm, but a divine position is also merely a name for that attainment. Of course, if you can inherit the fruits of a god's lifetime of cultivation, you can reach that realm in a very short time. People call those fruits of a god's cultivation a divine position," Gu Yue explained in detail.
"So every time I pass a trial, I can obtain a portion of the Dragon God's power. Is that right?" Su Chen asked.
"Yes. That was also an important reason why I stopped you from obtaining the Golden Python's Soul Ring just now. The number of Soul Rings a person can absorb is limited, as is the number of Soul Skills each Soul Ring contains. If you obtained the Golden Python's Soul Ring, you would only receive the fixed Soul Skills it bestowed on you. Besides, its age wasn't the most suitable for you," Gu Yue said.
Su Chen understood. Everything that had happened just now had been Gu Yue helping him. She had stopped him from obtaining that Soul Ring so he could acquire one of a greater age that suited him better.
"I can remain here a little longer. If there's anything you want to ask, feel free!" Gu Yue said warmly.
"You're a dragon too. Why don't you keep the Dragon God's divine position for yourself?" Su Chen voiced the question troubling him.
"Because I'm not yet qualified to obtain it!" Gu Yue answered.
"I don't quite understand!" Su Chen knew that Gu Yue, the Silver Dragon King before him, had once been a part of the Dragon God.
"Divine positions are very peculiar. You can think of them as possessing their own consciousness. In fact, after the Dragon God fell, he split into three parts. One part became me, another became the Golden Dragon King, and the third condensed into a divine position."
"When the Dragon God split into three, the Golden Dragon King stubbornly remained in the Divine Realm to fight the gods. In the end, he was forced to seal himself away. I, on the other hand, escaped the Divine Realm with the divine position. If the Golden Dragon King and I fused into one, we would indeed qualify to obtain the Dragon God's divine position and become the Dragon God of old. But after that painful ordeal, the God Realm Committee imposed the harshest divine punishment in history. From then on, to prevent the Golden Dragon King and me from merging, no beast in the mortal world was permitted to enter the Divine Realm through cultivation. They completely sealed off the path by which beasts could ascend to the Divine Realm, and abolished every divine position belonging to beasts."
"Since then, no matter how powerful any beast under the Divine Realm's jurisdiction becomes through cultivation, it will ultimately be held below the Divine Realm, with absolutely no path into it. It can only remain at the pinnacle of beastkind until death. That was tantamount to sentencing me to life imprisonment, forever unable to achieve Ascension to the Divine Realm. Since I cannot ascend, I cannot merge with the Golden Dragon King. In other words, I can never qualify to become the Dragon God again."
At last, Su Chen understood. A divine position was a mysterious existence, something like a divine artifact with a consciousness of its own that chose its own master. Because Gu Yue could not achieve Ascension to the Divine Realm, she had placed all her hopes on Su Chen.
"Is there really no other way for you to achieve Ascension to the Divine Realm?" Su Chen felt deep sympathy for Gu Yue's plight. She had been on the side of justice, yet had suffered so much unequal treatment.
"There is," Gu Yue answered.
"What is it?" Su Chen asked with concern.
"Integrate into the human world, take human form, and achieve Ascension to the Divine Realm in a human body!" Gu Yue answered.
"Take human form?" Su Chen murmured to himself. With the path for beasts to ascend to the Divine Realm completely blocked, this truly was the Silver Dragon King's only remaining option.
"But I cannot predict what I might experience after taking human form. Besides, deep down, I have a vague intuition that some unforeseen complication will arise. It is something I cannot accept as I am now." Gu Yue's delicate brows drew together slightly. Looking at Su Chen, she continued, "Fortunately, you've appeared now. I cannot predict your life either. Moreover, you've awakened the noblest Martial Soul of our Dragon Tribe, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon. You can achieve Ascension to the Divine Realm in a human body."
According to the storyline, Gu Yue had sealed herself to integrate into the human world and, for a time, lost her memories. She had met Tang Wulin, who possessed the Golden Dragon King bloodline, and developed a secondary personality, "Na'er." Perhaps this was the unforeseen complication Gu Yue found so difficult to put into words.
"After I achieve Ascension to the Divine Realm, am I supposed to reopen the blocked path for beasts to ascend?" Su Chen asked.
"Yes. That is the only hope I have placed in you. Divine beasts made an indelible contribution to stabilizing the Divine Realm's expansion. They are living beings too, and deserve to be treated equally by the Divine Realm! Of course, after achieving Ascension to the Divine Realm, you will be free. Even if you refuse, I won't resent you." Gu Yue nodded.
"Do I also need to help Soul Beasts end humanity's dominance?" Su Chen asked again.
"People eat fish, and fish drink water. That is simply the natural order of things. Your Martial Soul is the noble Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, so I cannot demand anything of you. If possible, though, I truly hope you can help these pitiful Soul Beasts. If humans keep slaughtering Soul Beasts so recklessly, the day will come when Soul Masters have no beasts left to kill and no rings left to use," Gu Yue said calmly. After their long conversation, her body was becoming increasingly transparent.
"Mm." Su Chen nodded.
Gu Yue's worries were not unfounded. Tens of thousands of years later, Soul Beasts had vanished from the Star Dou Great Forest. Soul Beasts and Soul Masters truly ought to coexist in harmony and follow a path of sustainable development.
The greater a person's abilities, the greater their responsibilities. Having become a god right from the outset, Su Chen also felt that he should do something meaningful for this world.
"Su Chen, my time is up. Once you pass the Dragon God's Nine Trials, come find me at the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest." As Gu Yue finished speaking, her graceful figure had become as translucent as a cicada's wings.
"Don't worry. I'll definitely pass the Dragon God's Nine Trials!"
Su Chen's voice echoed through his sea of consciousness, but Gu Yue's voice never sounded again. The black energy that had been kept outside by the silver energy surged wildly toward him.
This black energy came from the Golden Python's forty-three-thousand-year Soul Ring. With Gu Yue's guidance, Su Chen no longer absorbed the energy that any Soul Master would have coveted.
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