"My lord, why have you defected to the enemy?"
The five Ferocious Beasts looked utterly grim, their bodies battered and disheveled, blood still clinging to the corners of their mouths.
They had taken a savage beating and finally escaped the Mystic Ice Illusion Realm, only to return to their doorstep and discover that their home had been plundered clean.
What they found even harder to accept was that their lord, whom they had risked their lives to protect-
Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena, was leaning beside a human without the slightest guard.
Her long, silvery-white hair spilled over his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his arm, and her face wore a smile they had never seen before, one that bordered on contentment.
Di Tian struggled to prop himself up, still wanting to ask.
But Gu Yuena interrupted him without even turning her head:
"Guixu can heal my injuries."
Yet those words struck Di Tian's ears like a thunderclap.
Their lord's injuries could actually be healed?
How was that possible?
How could the lower realm possibly have a way to heal an attack from a God King?
"From today onward, you will treat Guixu as you would me. You must not resist his orders."
The five Ferocious Beasts instantly looked as though they had swallowed a fly, their faces alternating between green and white, their expressions as ugly as could be.
"My lord, he..."
Di Tian still wanted to say something.
But just then, five figures emerged in the void once again.
Puppet Di Tian, Puppet Zi JI, Puppet Bi Ji, Puppet Myriad Demon King, and Puppet Scarlet King-five figures in all-looked down upon the five bodies still trembling on the ground.
Their scarlet eyes were filled with cold mockery.
The five Ferocious Beasts instantly recalled the terror of being at the mercy of the Mystic Ice Illusion Realm.
Those creatures had been four times stronger than they were at their peak, beating them so badly they could not even fight back.
Di Tian could only lower his head, humiliation and helplessness churning in his golden eyes.
Damn it...
What was going on with that human?
That terrifying space could actually create puppets four times stronger than they were at their peak.
Not even the Dragon God had such an outrageous ability.
Once someone entered, their abilities could be replicated.
Di Tian even felt that this power had already exceeded the bounds of what should exist on the Douluo Continent.
"Yes. We obey your command, my lord."
The five Ferocious Beasts practically gritted their teeth as they spoke.
They glanced again at Xiong Jun's mutilated corpse nearby, which Yan Lingji and Tide Siren had set over a fire to roast.
The bear meat sizzled in the flames, fat dripping from it and releasing an indescribably complex smell.
They could only lower their heads in despondency and accept this absurd reality.
Gu Yuena paid this no mind, still holding the Void Profound Ice and crunching away at it.
From time to time, she even rubbed her cheek against Ye Guixu's shoulder, while he casually raised a hand to stroke the crown of her silvery-white head.
She looked just like a little silvery-white kitten nestled in her owner's arms, refusing to budge.
Yet the five Ferocious Beasts did not even dare raise their heads to look, afraid that the last majestic image of the Silver Dragon King, the sovereign of all Soul Beasts, in their hearts would shatter until not even a scrap remained.
"Good. A wise man knows which way the wind blows."
Ye Guixu looked at the five enormous, battered figures, who could not even crawl to their feet, and casually tossed out five pieces of Void Profound Ice, sending them precisely into their bodies.
The five Ferocious Beasts' hearts tightened, instinctively assuming that this was meant to control them.
But seeing how completely unconcerned the Silver Dragon King was, they could only grit their teeth and allow the ice crystals to merge into their bodies.
Yet in the next instant, something unexpected happened.
The moment the Void Profound Ice entered their bodies, their injuries and depleted power began recovering rapidly at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Surging power poured from within them, erupting outward like a volcano.
Terrifying waves of air swept up the gravel and dust on the ground, bending the vegetation along the lakeshore.
All five Ferocious Beasts felt their strength surge directly to three times what it had been.
Their injuries also healed within a few short breaths, restoring them to their peak condition and even beyond.
Di Tian looked down at his palms in disbelief, unprecedented shock churning in his golden eyes. "How is this possible?!"
He felt the power surging within him, a sensation far beyond anything he had experienced at his peak.
It was as though he had broken through some shackle and stepped into an entirely new realm.
Never in his life had he experienced such a terrifying increase in power.
His thoughts turned to the sight of Puppet Di Tian mercilessly crushing him in the Mystic Ice Illusion Realm earlier.
At the time, he had not understood why those puppets could be so powerful.
And four times as powerful, at that.
But even so, the effects of this Void Profound Ice were far too heaven-defying.
Almost all Soul Skills on the Douluo Continent would fail or lose much of their effectiveness at the divine level.
Even those that still worked would be greatly weakened.
Yet he had merely swallowed a piece of ice, and his strength had tripled, bringing him directly to the level of a Divine Official.
It was not as though he did not know about humanity's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, universally acknowledged as the world's greatest support Martial Soul.
But for an existence at his Quasi-God level, its meager Soul Power could not sustain an enhancement for even an instant.
After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had a fatal flaw.
It could only have seven Soul Rings attached to it.
How could that tiny amount of Soul Power possibly enhance him?
Yet the Void Profound Ice had not only accomplished this, but far exceeded his imagination.
Myriad Demon King, Scarlet King, Bi Ji, and Zi JI likewise examined themselves in disbelief.
If not for the disheveled traces of their beating in the Mystic Ice Illusion Realm that still remained on their bodies, they would almost have thought they had merely suffered a nightmare.
"What a fuss over nothing."
Gu Yuena glanced at them, disdain in her tone.
"This thing can even enhance me, let alone you."
The five Ferocious Beasts were shaken.
Di Tian was even more astonished. "It can even enhance you, my lord?"
Then it truly had surpassed the mortal realm and was genuine divine-level power.
As the Dragon God's half, their lord had possessed the combat strength of a First-Level God from birth.
The very essence of her soul was at the God King level.
It was only because of the grievous injuries inflicted by the Three Realms Judgment Sword, the continued suppression of the Asura Divine Power, and the restrictions imposed by the laws of the Douluo Plane that she had remained unable to unleash her true power.
If the Void Profound Ice could heal their lord's injuries and enhance her combat strength, did that not mean she would soon return to her peak?
"Fortunately, the Divine Realm is no longer there. Otherwise, those fellows up above would come down to cause trouble again."
Only now did Di Tian finally breathe a sigh of relief, much of the gloom that had long weighed on his heart dispersing.
Hearing this, Ye Guixu's heart suddenly stirred. "The Divine Realm is gone?"
Gu Yuena nodded, a trace of bewilderment and relief flashing through her purple eyes:
"That's right. About two months ago, I suddenly stopped sensing any connection to the Divine Realm."
Any existence that reached the Quasi-God level could sense the aura of the Divine Realm.
Around that time, the auras of those gods had suddenly all vanished.
Only then had she been able to heal her injuries and wear away the divine power within her at hundreds or thousands of times the speed.
Two months ago?
Ye Guixu's expression turned somewhat strange.
Why did that sound like the very day he awakened his Martial Soul?
Could there be such a coincidence?
The Divine Realm had actually been swept away ahead of time?
He thought it over and over, but could not figure out why.
But on second thought, this was clearly a good thing.
With that fellow Asura God no longer watching the lower realm and stirring up wind and waves, this was simply an unexpected delight for him.
"What's wrong?"
Gu Yuena tilted her head as she looked at him, a trace of confusion in her purple eyes.
"The level of your power is terrifying. Could you be the reincarnation of some Supreme God King?"
She reached out and touched Ye Guixu's face.
Even she felt an instinctive terror at that abyss-like devouring sensation.
Yet there were only so many Supreme God Kings, and his power resembled none of theirs.
The five Ferocious Beasts were even more profoundly shaken.
A Supreme God King?
Wasn't that the same level as the Dragon God?
"No."
Ye Guixu shook his head.
How could he possibly be the reincarnation of some Supreme God King?
In terms of Void Star God Sauron's standing, that was a black hole.
A black hole that even the Divine Realm could not resist.
Even Supreme God Kings could not escape once swept inside.
Later, seven Divine Realms had detonated their respective Divine Realm Centers and merged into the Great God Realm, barely escaping with the aid of that power of chaos.
He gathered his thoughts and asked instead, "Are there any fire-attribute or Mental Attribute Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest? Preferably ones with decent bloodlines, too. Arrange some for me. I'll raise them and have them all break through to a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand years, then sacrifice themselves to Yan Lingji and Tide Siren."
He had originally considered catching the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape to make up the numbers.
But then he had reconsidered. With Void Profound Ice and the Mystic Ice Illusion Realm, there was no need to keep fixating on those Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.
He could find some younger Soul Beasts with decent bloodlines and compatible attributes.
By creating puppets and having energy of the same origin poured between them and fused together, he could more quickly raise a large batch of hundred-thousand-year and two-hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts.
Wouldn't ones with compatible attributes be better?
Before you continue