Holding Lin Xiao's hand, Gu Yuena slowly emerged from the spatial rift.
At the hint of a smile in Gu Yuena's eyes,
the ferocious beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest were all startled.
Di Tian hurried forward. "My Lord, why have you come out?"
Gu Yuena raised Lin Xiao's hand slightly, and the Silver Dragon King's majesty surged forth in an instant.
"From this day forward, seeing Lin Xiao is the same as seeing me. Whatever he wishes to do, you must all cooperate."
Surprise flashed in Di Tian's eyes, but as the Silver Dragon King's most loyal dragon subordinate, he quickly accepted it, believing this was another part of his Lord's world-shaking plan.
"Yes, Young Master Lin Xiao."
Zi JI and Bi Ji stood in a corner, with Zi JI reaching her dragon claw toward Bi Ji's waist.
"Hey, do you know what's going on? How did Lin Xiao become another lord of the Star Dou Great Forest the moment he went in?"
Bi Ji shook her goose head, indicating that she had no idea.
Their ever-stern Lord had always been cold toward them, the ferocious beasts.
The Scarlet King and the others were scolded practically every day.
This was her first time seeing Gu Yuena smile, too. She had Lin Xiao to thank for that.
The Snow Empress kept staring at Gu Yuena.
She was astonished by her beauty and figure, and equally surprised by how unexpectedly well she treated Lin Xiao.
It seemed she could only ask him about it in detail once they returned...
"Why?! What gives a damned human like him the right to command us?"
Among the ferocious beasts, most of whom either agreed or watched the spectacle, Xiong Jun was undoubtedly an exception.
He roared, his powerful aura crashing straight toward Lin Xiao with his bellow.
The Snow Empress's expression turned cold, and the Emperor Sword condensed in her hand.
There was a loud bang.
Xiong Jun's enormous bear head was slammed deep into the ground.
Three of his ribs were crushed in an instant.
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Hmph, Xiong Jun, know your place. Who gave you the courage to speak to me in that tone?"
The trace of gentleness Gu Yuena had shown upon emerging was gone.
She looked at Xiong Jun, her face filled with fury.
She had spared him out of consideration for the hardships of his cultivation and because he was an indispensable high-level combatant among the soul beasts.
He was not even a member of the Dragon Race, merely an ordinary dark gold terrorclaw bear.
Did he really think she would not kill him?
After sleeping in the Lake of Life for so many years, Gu Yuena had finally sensed the aura of a fellow dragon even stronger than herself.
Then she had discovered that this senior, after beginning his cultivation anew as a human, had already gained a God King's trust and inheritance.
For the entire Dragon Race, this was an opportunity that came only once in a thousand years.
It was the perfect chance for the Dragon Race to return to the Divine Realm and unite it once more.
If she missed it, she had no idea how many years she would have to wait for another chance.
Yet not only had Xiong Jun refused to submit, he had even insulted her senior right in front of her.
What would she do if his roar made her senior unwilling to help the Dragon Race, and he went off alone to enjoy a carefree life in the Divine Realm?
What if her senior grew disappointed in the Dragon Race and sided with the humans outright?
If they finally found a chance to counterattack the Divine Realm, would they not have to face her senior as an enemy?
Could he not see that her senior's dragon bloodline was countless ranks above even hers?
The more Gu Yuena thought about it, the angrier she became. She cautiously glanced at Lin Xiao out of the corner of her eye.
Only when she saw that he had not reacted much did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Once again, she lifted Xiong Jun bodily with her spiritual power and hurled him away, leaving his fate unknown.
"Bi Ji, heal him. Just leave him with a breath of life.
If he dares show even a trace of defiance or disrespect toward my senior again,
I won't mind slaughtering him myself to make him my senior's seventh soul ring."
Bi Ji's expression stiffened. How had watching the spectacle suddenly dragged her into it?
She hastily gave a slight bow.
"Yes."
Then she pulled Zi JI away with her.
"Senior?"
Every ferocious beast present stared at Lin Xiao in disbelief.
"Could this Child of Nature be some mighty figure of the Dragon Race cultivating anew?"
Just then,
Lin Xiao suddenly felt a dark aura circling within his heart.
He opened his mind and gently guided it.
The phantom of an enormous black dragon coiled behind him.
The overwhelming might of its dragon bloodline forced Di Tian down onto one knee.
"This is..."
Di Tian was too excited to speak.
Gu Yuena silently stood behind him, her beautiful eyes fixed on Nidhogg's enormous phantom.
Ding. Your level-sixty rewards, three choices out of five, are being distributed.
The system, which had failed to display his rewards for so long after he obtained his sixth soul ring, spoke up again.
1. Twilight of the Gods 2. Taste of the Sea 3. Love Is a Curse 4. Fish in Troubled Waters 5. Enemy from the Heavens.
"?"
Lin Xiao was utterly bewildered.
What was wrong with this system? Had it bugged out?
What was it trying to do, throwing all these four-character phrases at him?
But he was in the middle of showing off, so he could hardly dwell on it.
Twilight of the Gods definitely had something to do with Nidhogg. That was a must-pick.
As for the other four, he could not make any sense of them.
So he randomly chose three and four.
Ding. Rewards have been distributed. The system will soon upgrade to version 2.0. Upgrade maintenance will last forty-eight hours.
Well, damn. This system could actually upgrade.
Twilight of the Gods. Second martial soul, Nidhogg, unlocked. Soul rings: black gold, black gold, black gold, black gold, black gold, black gold. Love Is a Curse. Coordinate position transmitted. Fish in Troubled Waters Permanent passive buff obtained: evasion increased by 50%. All probing skills will be ineffective against you.
Seeing the unpleasant expressions of the surrounding ferocious beasts, who were being crushed beneath Nidhogg's powerful dragon bloodline and might,
Lin Xiao gave a light cough and drew the leaking aura back into his body, allowing everything to settle.
At that moment, apart from Xiong Jun, who was still asleep, all the ferocious beasts bowed their heads in submission.
Only the Snow Empress remained bewildered.
They were practically an old married couple who knew each other inside out. How had she never known Lin Xiao possessed something like this?
Gu Yuena withdrew her gaze. That enormous black dragon phantom had stirred a different kind of thought deep within her heart.
Then she looked with satisfaction at the ferocious beasts with their heads lowered.
With a single teleportation, she appeared beside the Snow Empress.
"You must be the Snow Empress, Lord of the Far North. Congratulations on setting foot on this path."
Gu Yuena was quite fond of the Snow Empress as well.
Not only was she her senior's wife, but she was also the only one among the many soul beasts to have embarked on the path to godhood.
Compared with Xiong Jun, the more Gu Yuena looked at the Snow Empress, the more she liked her.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shook her head.
She trotted up to Lin Xiao and rubbed her entire broad face against his.
He felt a warm fragrance of autumn and the soft touch of fluffy fur.
"Sister Gu Yuena, can I play with him? He smells so nice!"
Gu Yuena looked at Lin Xiao, who was rubbing the big golden-furred head.
Seeing him nod, she softened her tone.
"All right. It should be afternoon outside, and the weather is nice. Take Lin Xiao for a stroll.
Remember not to offend him."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion nodded, then nudged Lin Xiao onto her back with her head.
She dashed off in high spirits.
"Now that this is settled, let me see just how far you've come."
Di Tian also left the depths of the Lake of Life.
He shot toward the sky.
The Snow Empress said nothing. The aura within her merely continued to gather and grow denser.
Before you continue