Gu Yuena's words made Di Tian's heart sink.
Gu Yuena was an incarnation of the Dragon God. If even she spoke with such certainty, the chance of a mistake was virtually zero.
Suddenly, Di Tian noticed that Zeng Tian looked calm, completely unaffected by the issue of his lifespan.
"Zeng Tian, judging by your expression, you seem to have expected this," Di Tian said gravely.
Zeng Tian nodded calmly. "Of course I know how long my own lifespan is."
"Aren't you afraid?"
Xiong Jun pressed curiously.
Zeng Tian smiled faintly. "Afraid of what? If I only have a thousand years unless I become a god, then I'll just become a god! Humans have become gods within a few decades before. Why can't I do it?"
Hearing Zeng Tian's confident declaration, the Soul Beasts present could not help looking at him differently.
To think Zeng Tian had such ambition.
The Auspicious Beast's eyes immediately lit up.
That's right! Wouldn't everything be fine as long as Zeng Tian became a god?
With his talent, becoming a god shouldn't be hard, right?
Xiong Jun burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Well said! 'Then I'll just become a god!' What a line!"
At that moment, Xiong Jun's opinion of Zeng Tian underwent a change that overturned heaven and earth. Perhaps Zeng Tian really was better suited than Di Tian to lead the Soul Beast Clan.
Di Tian's gaze grew complicated. Once, he too had been as spirited and confident as Zeng Tian.
But sadly...
Di Tian sighed inwardly. Had this been long ago, Zeng Tian would indeed have been qualified to say such a thing. After all, he was less than ten years old and already possessed the combat strength of a Ferocious Beast.
With talent like that, becoming a god was hardly the limit. Even becoming a First-Level God, or a God King, was not out of the question.
But now...
Di Tian shook his head slightly. It was utterly impossible!
Clap, clap, clap!
Gu Yuena clapped her hands, looking at Zeng Tian with appreciation. "Good. You have ambition. You're very special. Other Soul Beasts cannot become gods, but you might truly have a sliver of a chance to ascend to godhood."
After the Dragon God's death, a Soul Beast's tenth Heavenly Tribulation was essentially ten chances of death and none of survival.
But she had never heard of a case like Zeng Tian's. It was difficult to say whether he even still counted as a Soul Beast, so the rules governing Soul Beasts might not apply to him.
"Besides, a short lifespan isn't necessarily a bad thing. Your rapid growth, reaching the level of a Ferocious Beast in less than ten years, is due in some measure to that very factor."
Hearing this, Di Tian frowned. "Master, you mean that although Zeng Tian's mutation shortened his lifespan, it also granted him an extremely rapid growth rate?"
"Precisely!"
Gu Yuena nodded slightly and smiled. "That is why I said this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Zeng Tian's mutation is very valuable. If we make good use of it, perhaps our Soul Beast Clan could gain a new race capable of rapid growth."
"All right, I must return to my slumber. Unless something unexpected happens, I should awaken again in ten thousand years. Zeng Tian, I hope I can still see you when I next wake."
With that, Gu Yuena's figure flashed, and she vanished.
Seeing Gu Yuena leave, Zeng Tian also bade farewell to Di Tian and the other Ferocious Beasts. "I've gained a great deal today. I'll be leaving now."
With those words, Zeng Tian launched himself into the air, becoming a streak of red light that vanished into the horizon.
"Zeng Tian, wait for me!"
Seeing this, the Auspicious Beast hurried after him.
After Zeng Tian and the Auspicious Beast disappeared, two streaks of light, one dark red and one emerald green, rushed over from afar. They were the Scarlet King and Bi Ji.
Taking in the somewhat somber atmosphere, the Scarlet King scratched his head and asked in confusion, "What happened here? And have Zeng Tian and the others left?"
Meanwhile, Zeng Tian streaked across the sky like a fiery red meteor, speeding toward the Blazing Flame Valley.
After everything that just happened, my speed has increased quite a bit.
As he flew, Zeng Tian reflected inwardly.
Perhaps because of the bloodline enhancement brought about by Mega Evolution, his current base speed had increased by roughly fifteen percent compared to when he fought Xiong Jun.
That was no small improvement. Normally, he would probably have needed to gain two or three levels to achieve it.
Of course, that was not his greatest gain. That was triggering his evolution into Mega Charizard X in a desperate situation.
Although he still did not know how he had achieved Mega Evolution, that did nothing to dampen his delight.
After all, once an evolution had occurred, there would always be traces to follow.
Besides, he still had the flames of Mega Charizard X that he had retrieved from Xiong Jun inside his body. Studying them after returning might reveal some clues to evolving into Mega Charizard X.
At that thought, Zeng Tian grew even more eager, and his flight speed increased a little more.
"Zeng Tian! Zeng Tian, wait for me!"
Behind him, the young Auspicious Beast watched Zeng Tian draw farther and farther away until he finally vanished from sight. She stopped, puffing up in indignation. "Hmph! Stupid Zeng! You actually left me behind. Don't come begging me for anything later!"
But a moment later, a trace of worry flashed through the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's eyes.
Although Zeng Tian had appeared full of confidence earlier, how could becoming a god be so easy?
It was simply too difficult for Soul Beasts to become gods. Even with her help, many Soul Beasts still failed to survive their Heavenly Tribulations despite preparing thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years in advance.
The tenth Heavenly Tribulation required to become a god was said to offer ten chances of death and none of survival. Even a Soul Beast as powerful as Di Tian had no confidence whatsoever that he could survive it.
Otherwise, with everything Di Tian had accumulated, he would have long since been able to become a god. Why would he still be an eight-hundred-and-ninety-thousand-year-old Ferocious Beast?
Even with Zeng Tian's extraordinary talent, the difficulty of overcoming ten Heavenly Tribulations within a few hundred years made her shudder at the mere thought.
"Zeng Tian..."
Looking in the direction Zeng Tian had gone, the young Auspicious Beast's eyes shone with golden light as she made a certain resolution in her heart.
A short while later, Zeng Tian returned to the Blazing Flame Valley, reached its center, and lay down.
Zeng Tian opened his mouth and exhaled a wisp of deep blue flame, holding it under his control in his palm.
It was precisely the residual flame of Mega Charizard X that Zeng Tian had extracted from Xiong Jun.
The black-and-blue flame flickered constantly. Waves of heat swept out around it, stirring ripples as though it would burn even space to nothing.
With just one glance, Zeng Tian exclaimed in surprise, "The quality of this flame is incredible!"
His current flames had already reached the ultimate tier, as it was termed on the Douluo Continent.
But even within the ultimate tier, there were differences in strength. Mega Charizard X's flames had clearly reached the pinnacle of Ultimate Fire and had even begun to touch upon the domain of the Fire Law.
"No, this isn't just fire!"
Suddenly, Zeng Tian's expression grew solemn. He had discovered that these flames contained not only fire-type energy, but also exceptionally pure dragon-type energy.
In fact, this black-and-blue flame could be said to have been produced by burning dragon-type energy as fuel.
This is Dragon Flame!