That indomitable spirit deeply moved Di Tian.
Where did he, Di Tian, fall short? When it came to confidence, he should have been the most confident of all.
Di Tian dispelled his human form and returned to his true form as the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, standing alone at the forefront.
"I, Di Tian, shall leap through the Dragon Gate today!"
With that, Di Tian launched himself from the towering waves, joining the countless aquatic creatures leaping toward the Dragon Gate.
Unfortunately, leaping through the Dragon Gate was nowhere near as easy as Di Tian had imagined.
The closer he came to the Dragon Gate, the stronger the pressure he felt. More importantly, its edges were nowhere in sight.
If he could not even see the destination, how could he leap past it?
Di Tian sensed that the enormous wave beneath him was already losing momentum. Even the full might of the West Sea could not carry him straight through the Dragon Gate.
He would have to rely entirely on himself for the latter half.
Crack!
The sound of aquatic creatures bursting apart reached Di Tian's ears. Without the protection of the West Sea's waves, countless creatures racing ahead exploded at that moment, leaving neither bodies nor bones.
Their blood spilled into the enormous wave, actually driving it higher once more.
The remaining aquatic creatures still charged headlong through the blood-tinged seawater.
In their eyes, only just awakened to spiritual intelligence, there was nothing but the resolve to succeed or die trying.
The sight not only shook Di Tian but also filled the viewers on the Douluo Continent with profound respect.
The chance to defy heaven and rewrite their fate had come. Every aquatic creature was staking its life on it.
The people of Douluo could not help wondering: were these merely aquatic creatures? No, these were all living beings. Faced with a chance to soar into the heavens, everyone struggled to cross.
Di Tian roared. The Dragon Gate's suppression left him almost unable to move.
"Even these little fish and shrimp are risking their lives. All the more reason for me, Di Tian, to risk mine!"
Di Tian launched himself upward again, rising even higher. The pressure from the Dragon Gate intensified, instantly bearing down on his true body.
Riiip!
The sound of tearing muscle traveled through his bones into his mind.
"Aah!"
Di Tian's true body split inch by inch, blood spilling across the sky. His blood also fell into the enormous wave, pushing the aquatic creatures another fraction higher.
Already gravely wounded, Di Tian looked down at the West Sea, now far below him. Yet when he looked up at the Dragon Gate, he still could not see its threshold.
Could I really succeed?
At that moment, Di Tian could not help doubting himself. With his current injuries, he could make at most three more leaps. If all three failed, he would be left without even a corpse, just like those aquatic creatures that had failed.
Whoosh!
Just then, Di Tian heard rushing water again. The number of aquatic creatures struggling to cross had already fallen by seventy percent. Their blood had forcibly raised the enormous wave to a height it could never otherwise have reached.
Yet those aquatic creatures still had not given up.
"They haven't given up. How could I?"
"It's only death. I, Di Tian, am not afraid."
Di Tian's draconic eyes surveyed the four seas. Ao Run's figure was smaller than a sesame seed, but his admonition echoed in Di Tian's ears.
"You are of the Dragon Clan, the Dragon Clan that once contended for supremacy over the Primordial World!"
The imposing figures of the Dragon Clan surfaced in Di Tian's mind. He immediately roared and leaped again.
"I am of the Dragon Clan! The Dragon Gate? It's merely my own front door!"
Even Di Tian himself did not realize that, at this moment, he had already gained a measure of the Dragon Clan's domineering spirit. It was precisely this spirit that sustained him as he climbed another step.
Riiip!
This time, half of Di Tian's body shattered, leaving only stark white dragon bones.
"I am of the Dragon Clan! I will never admit defeat!"
"I will become a true dragon!"
"No one can stop me from becoming a true dragon!"
At that moment, what surfaced in Di Tian's mind was no longer the Dragon Clan's glory that Ao Cunxin had described.
Instead, it was every scene from his time on the Douluo Continent as the captain of the Dragon Clan's personal guard.
He had obeyed the Dragon God, then later the Silver Dragon King, hiding on the Douluo Continent, not daring to show himself.
Looking back on his life, he had never displayed the nobility and dominance a dragon should possess.
Di Tian understood.
No one could stand above a true dragon. If he lacked even that much boldness, he had no right to leap through the Dragon Gate.
Almost the instant he understood, the Dragon Gate whose edges he could not see seemed to lower before his eyes.
The threshold that had seemed forever beyond sight now appeared plainly before him.
Even the lofty Dragon Gate had to submit before a true dragon. It was the threshold to becoming a true dragon, but it could not bar a true dragon's way.
"Hahaha! So that's how it is. The Dragon Gate can help me transform my body into that of a true dragon, but I have to forge a dragon's conviction myself?"
"I, Di Tian, shall be the lord of Douluo's Soul Beasts! I shall become a true dragon!"
This was Di Tian's final leap. Success would mean a complete rebirth; failure would leave neither body nor bones.
Without hesitation, Di Tian mustered every last ounce of strength and hurled his entire body toward the Dragon Gate.
The sound of flesh shattering never stopped. By the time Di Tian reached the space directly above the Dragon Gate, nothing remained of him but white bones. Strangely, his soul remained, as did his consciousness.
At that moment, Di Tian had leaped through the Dragon Gate.
All his flesh had fallen away into the surging waves below. Countless exhausted aquatic creatures swarmed forward to tear into it, replenishing their strength before leaping upward.
The number of aquatic creatures dwindled, but two koi followed Di Tian through the Dragon Gate.
The two koi, likewise reduced to skeletons, expressed their affection toward Di Tian. It was his flesh and blood that had given them the strength for that final leap. Every other aquatic creature had failed.
The enormous wave had already dispersed when the Dragon Gate flashed with golden light.
A mass of golden light as thick as clay enveloped Di Tian and the other two fortunate creatures.
Then, in just a few breaths, the mass of light stretched to a thousand meters before slowly dissipating.
The Di Tian from moments before was gone.
In his place was a massive black dragon stretching a thousand meters, with three claws and antlers on his head.
Beneath the sunlight, every scale on his body gave off a dark gleam.
"Just like that... I did it?"
As though waking from a long dream, Di Tian opened his golden eyes, radiating nobility.
Looking down, he saw the Dragon Gate, whose height had seemed boundless, beneath him.
"So this is a true dragon?"
Paying no attention to the two golden dragons behind him that had likewise transformed, Di Tian roamed the sky on his own.
His wings were gone, yet he felt even freer. His physical strength, especially, made him feel that he needed to do nothing but pass by to smash countless versions of his former self to pieces.
But that was far from all. Di Tian discovered that a great many things had appeared in his mind.
This was the Dragon Clan's bloodline inheritance. It contained so much that it left him dizzy.
But he already knew the most basic abilities, such as Wind Summoning and Rain Commanding.
Di Tian swayed his draconic body. With just a small test of his skill, fierce winds howled and rain poured down.
"Hahaha!"
"What incredible power! A true dragon! I, Di Tian, have become a true dragon!"
For a time, dragon roars rang through the sky.
"Mas... Silver Dragon King, I know you're watching me. I will lead the Soul Beasts down a new path!"
Di Tian proclaimed to the Douluo Continent through the live broadcast.
"Spirit Hall, I, Di Tian, hereby declare that the Soul Beasts will forever be your staunchest allies!"
Di Tian believed that he now had the right to say such things.
But before he could finish-
A low rumble of thunder suddenly came from the sky. An enormous thundercloud had arrived at some unknown point.
"What wicked dragon dares run wild here?"
The thundercloud parted, revealing the Thunder God and Lightning Mother, along with the Thunder Department's Heavenly Soldiers and Generals.
"You there, wicked dragon! You have brought rain without the Heavenly Court's approval. Surrender at once!"
As those words fell, peals of thunder rang out again.
The thunder carried divine might, bringing pressure far greater than the Dragon Gate's and instantly clearing Di Tian's gaze.
Looking back, he discovered that the two little golden dragons that had leaped through the Dragon Gate with him had long since vanished.
I seemed to have gotten myself into trouble.
Even Di Tian could not help feeling his face burn. He had only just finished showing off through the Light Screen, and now he was about to be arrested?
At least let me finish showing off!
Before you continue