"Hm?"
Di Tian frowned, puzzled.
But before he could investigate further, a pair of utterly cold, dark purple eyes opened behind the strange beast.
The eyes were as vast as the entire valley.
Under their gaze, Di Tian felt his breath seize, as though invisible hands had gripped his heart in a deathly squeeze.
He... saw it!
By the faint light, Di Tian saw it.
Behind this strange "lizard" beast stood an enormous phantom.
Its four limbs bore dragon claws, its dragon tail swayed, and its wings blotted out the sky. Diamond-shaped scales covered its body, and its twelve dragon heads radiated overwhelming pressure.
"ROAR!!!"
The phantom threw back its heads and roared, its cry resounding through the heavens and shaking the entire continent.
Almost simultaneously, the soul beasts in every major soul beast forest felt a crushing pressure descend upon them. They all prostrated themselves, trembling.
Even hundred-thousand-year soul beasts felt their hearts shudder, gripped by unrelenting terror.
Besides the soul beasts, the peerless powerhouses among humanity also sensed something and raised their heads, unusual expressions crossing their faces.
Shrek Academy, Sea God Pavilion.
An old man lying in a reclining chair involuntarily rose to his feet, staring toward the distant Star Dou Great Forest.
He could no longer suppress his martial soul. It burst forth instinctively, releasing waves of dragon cries as the power of light spilled down.
"Was that the Beast God?"
The old man frowned, then shook his head, murmuring, "I've never encountered this aura before. It certainly isn't the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King."
"Mu En!"
Just then, a disheveled old man approached Mu En, his face full of confusion.
"Xuan Zi, something may have changed deep within the Star Dou Great Forest. Perhaps a Dragon Clan member with a bloodline no less powerful than Di Tian's has been born."
"Investigate when you have time, but do not venture deep inside."
Mu En spoke slowly, then lay back down in his reclining chair.
"A Dragon Clan member no less powerful than Di Tian!" Xuan Zi looked startled and hurriedly cupped his hands. "Mu En, I'll investigate as circumstances permit."
Then Xuan Zi vanished.
Mu En continued rocking in his chair, his cloudy eyes slowly closing.
An unknown space within the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Has he awakened already?"
In the darkness, a pair of mysterious, regal purple eyes slowly opened, accompanied by a soft murmur.
Then an image appeared before her eyes.
In it, a boy with black hair and purple eyes was undergoing his martial soul awakening.
Di Tian stood guard beside him, his gaze growing increasingly reverent.
Finally, the aura surrounding Gu Yunxiao spread out completely, carrying a trace of the Dragon God's aura.
Thud!
Di Tian lost all composure and fell straight to his knees before that trace of aura.
His expression was excited, his eyes fanatical.
At the same time, the twelve-headed dragon phantom behind Gu Yunxiao disappeared, leaving only a strange lizard beast with azure eyes.
"My soul power seems..."
Gu Yunxiao suddenly felt that he could barely suppress his soul power, and it erupted from within him.
Under Di Tian's gaze, the soul power within Gu Yunxiao gathered before him, finally condensing into an azure soul ring.
"A soul ring?"
Di Tian froze for a moment.
It was indeed a soul ring, but why was it blue?
Moreover, this soul ring seemed to have condensed from water elements. Ripples flowed across its surface, making it more beautiful than an ordinary soul ring.
"So that's how it is!"
By then, Gu Yunxiao had finished digesting the information in his mind.
His martial soul was the Nine-Headed Chimera, known as "Heavenly Tribulation."
The difference was that it had also devoured the Dragon God's power, causing the Nine-Headed Chimera to mutate into the Twelve-Headed Chimera.
Thus, he was both the God of Heavenly Tribulation and the Dragon God.
As his strength increased, the twelve dragon heads would grow one after another, allowing him to command more elements.
The first dragon head possessed the water attribute-ultimate water!
Once all twelve dragon heads had grown, Gu Yunxiao would be able to inherit the dual godhood of the God of Heavenly Tribulation and the Dragon God.
No wonder the Silver Dragon King took a liking to me. Turns out I'm the next Dragon God, and I even possess the power of heavenly tribulation, which is stronger than the Dragon God's power.
This sky-flooding wealth has finally landed on my head.
Everything suddenly clicked for Gu Yunxiao.
Only then did he notice Di Tian kneeling beside him.
Gu Yunxiao had a fairly good impression of "Old Di."
"Uncle Tian, get up."
Gu Yunxiao quickly stepped forward and helped Di Tian up, feigning ignorance as he asked, "Uncle Tian, do you know what's going on?"
"..."
Di Tian remained silent for a long while, then nodded before shaking his head. "I do, but someone else will give you that answer."
"When the time is right, you'll learn everything."
"As for now... Yunxiao, remember this: from this moment onward, you bear not only the mission of reviving the Soul Beast Clan, but also that of reviving the Dragon Clan!"
As the public leader of the Star Dou Great Forest, he naturally knew everything.
But he was not the one who should tell Gu Yunxiao these things.
"All right."
Gu Yunxiao nodded and did not press further.
He had actually already guessed a few things, but he was not yet certain.
"If not for..."
Di Tian glanced at the sky, swallowing the words on the tip of his tongue before sighing. "Your innate soul power shouldn't be only rank ten."
"Still, your identity is unique, and the power within you is something I've never seen in my life."
"It condensed a soul ring for you, so you're now a rank-eleven soul master."
"If I'm not mistaken, this blue soul ring has granted you the ability to command water elements-and ultimate water, at that."
Di Tian's perception was astonishingly sharp.
Although Gu Yunxiao possessed the bloodlines of both the God of Heavenly Tribulation and the Dragon God, his strength was still low. None of his abilities could escape Di Tian's eyes.
"Uncle Tian, it's just as you said."
Gu Yunxiao activated his martial soul. His right arm underwent Dragon Transformation, becoming covered in a layer of dark purple dragon scales, while a mass of water elements condensed in his palm.
The blue soul ring descended from above his head, its light shimmering.
"My first soul ring... rather than a soul ring, it's more like an ability of my own."
"I can command water elements, and they're ultimate water."
"It's different from ordinary control. My control is stronger and more comprehensive. I can use it both to attack and to defend."
As he spoke, Gu Yunxiao manipulated the water elements, condensing them into various shapes before him.
He could form water swords for offense, water shields for defense, and even soul beasts to assist him in battle.
Moreover, Gu Yunxiao could now control water elements even without using his martial soul.
"Such powerful control. It's far stronger than an ordinary elemental martial soul."
More than his ability to control water elements, Di Tian was astonished by Gu Yunxiao's mastery over them.
Most people could never achieve that degree of control.
Yet Gu Yunxiao could condense water elements into all manner of shapes with such casual ease. He truly deserved to be the next Dragon God.
"Uncle Tian, do you know what martial soul I awakened?"
Gu Yunxiao withdrew his martial soul and looked at Di Tian. "All I know is that the power within me that helped condense my soul ring is called the power of heavenly tribulation."
"The power of heavenly tribulation..."
Di Tian murmured the words and nodded, still shaken. "An apt name."
When he had met the gaze of those eyes behind Gu Yunxiao earlier, he had indeed felt an immensely powerful pressure. Calling it "heavenly tribulation descending" would be no exaggeration.
Before you continue