Oakes's pupils abruptly contracted, and towering waves of shock surged through his heart. A bone-chilling cold spread through his entire body along his dragon-scaled bloodline, while endless doubts and unease gripped his divine soul.
Ten thousand years ago, when the Four Divine Beasts' clans began their great retreat from the planes across the heavens, his uncle had been the commander overseeing the retreat and rear guard in the Life God Realm.
As the Azure Dragon Sovereign's emissary and only son-in-law, his uncle had volunteered to remain in the Life God Realm and cover the retreat, buying time for all the fleeing Divine Beast clansmen.
Oakes held the rank of elder, and although he had been in the Water Element Plane, he had known about it. But just after completing his transfer mission, he had been ambushed and forcibly imprisoned for ten thousand years.
Ten thousand full years in a lightless cage had cut him off completely from all news of the outside world.
As far as Oakes knew-his uncle, who had remained behind in the Life God Realm to cover the retreat, had been alive all along, stationed in this God Realm the entire time.
For ten thousand years, the thought that his uncle might have fallen had never once crossed his mind. That was the sole reason he had rushed to the Life God Realm immediately after escaping: to find his uncle, who had stayed behind to cover the retreat and remained here.
But the sight before him shattered all his certainty in an instant.
This top-tier defensive Sovereign Artifact, engraved with authentic ancient Azure Dragon patterns and radiating the intense aura unique to the Azure Dragon Sovereign, was one of a kind, without equal-the personal, life-bound treasure belonging exclusively to his uncle!
This Sovereign Artifact should have been