Di Tian's colossal golden eyes, which had witnessed the rise and fall of eras, narrowed to slits. A pressure he had not felt in ten thousand years washed over him, an authority that dwarfed his own draconic might. It did not come from the boy's frail, underfed body, but from the soul residing within.
He was confident that he, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, was the strongest being walking the plane. Even a human Limit Douluo was but a troublesome being before him. Yet, this aura… it was something else entirely. It was the pressure of a higher realm, of a law that stood above the world itself.
"Who are you?" Di Tian's voice rumbled, shaking the very air. "And why have you come to my domain?"
The little boy, or rather the being controlling him, offered a faint, cold smile. "I am surprised you aren't attacking me outright, Di Tian. Have you already realized the chasm between our power?"
He let the question hang in the air for a moment. "No matter. Beating you can wait. I have a proposal. For you, and for the future of all Soul Beasts."
Di Tian remained silent, his pride warring with the instinct that screamed at him not to provoke this entity.
"To be clear," Elder Huo continued, his tone devoid of arrogance, merely stating a fact, "I am but a wisp of a Divine Consciousness from a god. The vessel I inhabit is this child, Huo Yuhao. My proposal is simple: I want you, and the other leaders of the Star Dou Great Forest, to protect him."
"You will help him grow. You will assist him in developing a new path for Soul Beasts, something called a 'Soul Spirit'. And you will grant him your own Reverse Scale, to ensure no Soul Beast on this continent dares to harm him, and to allow you to appear by his side should he face a danger he cannot handle."
Di Tian's nostrils flared, releasing two jets of hot air. "You dare?" he roared, his voice laced with incredulity and fury. "You command me, Di Tian, to nanny a human whelp? Even if you are a god, that is an insult I will not bear! I would rather die in battle than submit to such a humiliation!"
Elder Huo let out a long, weary sigh, a sound that seemed to carry the weight of eons. "Is your pride, Dragon King, truly more important than the survival and prosperity of your entire race?"
The question struck Di Tian like a physical blow.
"This boy, with your help, can create Soul Tools for your people, weapons and armor that can level the playing field against humanity. More importantly, the Soul Spirit system he will perfect is a path of symbiosis, not slaughter. A single powerful Soul Spirit can grant a human multiple abilities, meaning one human would only need to bond with a few Soul Beasts in their lifetime, not nine. It would drastically reduce the culling of your kind."
Di Tian's rage subsided slightly, replaced by a flicker of intrigue. "Why? Why would a human god help us? This sounds like a trick. A ploy to use the might of the Star Dou Great Forest for your own gains."
"You are free to believe that," Elder Huo said softly. He turned his gaze towards the distant horizon. "Or you can believe this: This child, Huo Yuhao, carries a destiny that could one day allow the Soul Beasts to break the shackles imposed upon this world. A path to true godhood, something that has been denied to you for a million years."
As the weight of those words settled between them, a blur of brilliant gold flashed through the forest. It streaked across the clearing and came to a halt near the Lake of Life.
It was the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
The moment Elder Huo laid eyes on her, his cold, impassive facade nearly shattered. His divine soul trembled. Qiu'er.
The same proud stance, the same flawless form, the same aura of destiny. A torrent of profound love, crushing guilt, and gentle sadness flooded his being. He wanted nothing more than to reach out, to speak her name, but he held himself back with every ounce of his will. He was a ghost, a memory. He had no right.
Di Tian turned his furious gaze upon the newcomer. "Emperor Beast! Why are you here? This place is dangerous! Get back, now!"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion, however, ignored the dragon king's command. Her three eyes were fixed on Huo Yuhao. Her voice, young and clear, rang out.
"This human… I feel it, Di Tian. He carries the same power of destiny that I do. Our fates… the fate of the Soul Beasts… his is linked to ours."
Di Tian froze. Shock, stark and undeniable, replaced the anger in his eyes. He stared at Huo Yuhao as if seeing him for the first time. He hadn't imagined… Now, he truly could not kill this boy, no matter how much his pride chafed.
Elder Huo wasn't surprised. His Eye of Destiny was born from the fusion of Qiu'er's own destiny-aspected power and his Eye of Life. It was only natural that the original would sense a connection. He did not, however, intend to explain this.
He turned his gaze back to the silent dragon king. "Well, Di Tian? What is your decision?"
Di Tian wrestled with himself for a long moment, the fate of his entire race resting on his next words. Finally, he let out a great sigh, his massive head lowering slightly.
"If what the Emperor Beast says is true… I will give this human a chance." His golden eyes then flared with a terrifying light. "But hear my words, God. If this boy, Huo Yuhao, ever betrays the interests of the Soul Beasts, I will hunt him to the ends of the continent. It will not matter if a god stands with him. I will risk my very life to extinguish his."
The answer was exactly what Elder Huo had expected.
"A wise decision," Elder Huo stated. Then, a predatory gleam entered his eyes. "Now then. It is time for our fight."
He stepped forward, the small body of Huo Yuhao radiating an aura that made the air crackle. "If I do not defeat you here and now, in front of your subjects, I will never earn their respect. Let alone yours."
Di Tian did not refuse. A spark of battle-lust ignited in his eyes. He was immensely curious to witness the power of a god, even one channeled through such a pathetically weak mortal shell.
Both figures rose into the air above the Lake of Life.
The cataclysmic fluctuation of power was a beacon in the night. From the depths of the forest, other immense presences stirred. A flash of crimson light, the hulking form of the Scarlet King, appeared. A woman of bewitching beauty cloaked in purple, Zi Ji, materialized from the shadows. Another, radiating an aura of pure life and compassion, the Emerald Swan Bi Ji, flew to the scene.
They and several other Ferocious Beasts arrived, their expressions turning to utter shock as they saw their supreme ruler, Di Tian, facing off against a tiny, malnourished human child in the sky.
The audience had gathered. The fight truly began.
Di Tian wasted no time. With a roar that shook the heavens, he unleashed his ultimate technique. "Dragon King's Claw!"
A colossal claw of pure, condensed darkness tore through the sky, radiating an annihilating power that could shred dimensions and extinguish any life below the level of a true god. In this world, it was an invincible attack.
But Huo Yuhao had long since stepped beyond the limits of this world.
Though he no longer possessed his Divine Power, his Divine Consciousness was that of a First-Class God. The quality of his power was on a completely different plane of existence.
He simply raised a small hand.
The seemingly insignificant hand, glowing with an internal, multi-colored light, met the apocalyptic claw head-on. There was no grand explosion. The Dragon King's Claw simply… dissolved, pierced through as if it were a phantom.
Elder Huo's condensed Divine Consciousness, now in a physical form, continued unimpeded and struck Di Tian squarely in the chest.
The great dragon king let out a strangled roar of pain and shock as he plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground with enough force to shatter a mountain range.
Before the dust could even settle, Elder Huo's form flickered, teleporting directly onto Di Tian's massive, prone body.
Then, to the utter disbelief of the watching Ferocious Beasts, the little boy began to beat the mighty Dragon King with his tiny fists. Each blow seemed insignificant, yet with every impact, Di Tian's colossal form convulsed, and a pained groan escaped his lips. The blows weren't physical; they were pure spiritual attacks, striking his very soul with the authority of a god.
After a few moments that felt like an eternity, Elder Huo stopped. He had vented the frustration of a lifetime, the anger he felt for Skydream's suffering at Di Tian's hand. He was satisfied.
Di Tian was outwardly unharmed, but his spirit had been thoroughly battered and bruised.
"This is enough," Elder Huo's voice echoed, calm once more. "Any more and your authority would be truly weakened. The life energy here, by the lake, is potent. Use it. It will not only heal your spiritual wounds but may even allow you to advance your Spiritual Power."
He then leaned down, his voice dropping to a whisper only Di Tian could hear. "And if you ever dare to harm this child… know that I will be watching. I will show no mercy."
He paused. "Also… this boy will not just help the Soul Beasts. In time, he will be able to help the one sleeping deep within the Lake of Life, the one recovering from the wounds inflicted by the God-King Asura."
Di Tian's golden eyes widened in utter shock and a newfound terror. No one should have known about the Silver Dragon King's existence.
In truth, the future Huo Yuhao hadn't known. But upon arrival, his divine sense had felt the immense, dormant power at the bottom of the lake—a power far exceeding his own peak as a First-Class God. He could feel it was wounded, using the lake's immense life energy to recover.
He didn't care who or what it was; it was in a deep slumber and posed no immediate threat. But the knowledge was a useful tool for intimidation.
And he would set a countermeasure in place.
Ignoring the stunned dragon, Elder Huo raised a hand. He drew upon the rich, ambient life energy in the air, even pulling a minuscule thread of the potent Life Gold from the lake's depths. He channeled this torrent of life force into his own Spiritual Sea, directly into the faint, grey wisp of his teacher's remnant soul.
The grey light of Elder Yi's soul pulsed, absorbing the energy, stabilizing and strengthening. The excess energy condensed within the Eye of Destiny, forming a small, elegant blade that hummed with life force—the Life Guardian Blade. With this, Elder Yi would awaken far sooner, a powerful and knowledgeable guardian for his younger self.
His final tasks were complete.
With a last look at the world, Elder Huo relinquished control. He returned to the shimmering space within the Eye of Destiny, where his younger self waited.
"It is done," he told the boy. "With Di Tian's backing, no Soul Beast will harm you. No human on this continent can truly threaten you. The only exceptions are Niu Tian and Tai Tan at the Clear Sky Sect, but you have no reason to provoke them."
He looked at his younger self, his form beginning to flicker. "This is all I can do. The rest… is up to you. Live a happy life. Cherish your comrades."
Tears streamed down the young Huo Yuhao's face. "Don't go, Elder Huo! Please, stay! I… I still need you! I need your guidance!"
The future Huo Yuhao gave him a kind, tragic smile. "This was my plan from the start. I destroyed an entire reality to get here. I erased my friends, my family… Every moment my consciousness lingers is an agony of guilt I can no longer bear. It is time for me to rest."
He raised a fading hand. "Before I go… I will give this Eye of Destiny one last boost with what remains of my Divine Consciousness. It will strengthen the veil over your fate. For a time, not even the Sea God will be able to spy on your destiny."
"No!" the young Huo Yuhao cried, reaching out for the dissipating figure. "I will avenge you! I swear it! I will find that selfish Sea God, and I will kill him!"
Elder Huo just smiled gently as his form dissolved into motes of light. "Living well, my younger self… living a life that is truly your own… that is the best revenge."
His divine consciousness dispersed into nothingness, its final energy surging into the Eye of Destiny, shrouding it in an impenetrable mystery.
In the real world, Huo Yuhao's small body slumped to the ground, unconscious.
The Ferocious Beasts, seeing their chance, surged forward, their eyes filled with killing intent. How dare this human attack their king!
The Scarlet King was the first to move, his crimson claws ready to tear the boy to shreds.
"STOP!" a voice of pure compassion rang out. It was Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan. She flew between the boy and the other beasts, her form radiating a protective green light. She looked at his small, malnourished body and felt a pang of pity, not anger. She moved towards Di Tian, ready to heal him.
"She is right! Do not touch him!" Di Tian's voice boomed. He struggled to his feet, his body aching but his eyes clear. "That child is under my personal protection."
The beasts were stunned into silence. The Scarlet King snarled, "Why, my lord? He dared to attack you!"
"He is a great opportunity for our entire race," Di Tian declared, his voice leaving no room for argument. "The fight… was merely a spar to test his potential."
They were clearly not satisfied, but Di Tian's aura flared with immense pressure. "Do my words no longer carry weight? Must I use force to ensure my orders are followed?!"
That was enough. The Ferocious Beasts bowed their heads in submission, their killing intent receding, replaced by a deep and profound confusion.
The silence that followed Elder Huo's departure was heavier than any mountain. It was a void where a god's presence had just been, leaving behind only the oppressive weight of the Ferocious Beasts' stares.
As consciousness slowly seeped back into the young Huo Yuhao, the first thing he registered was pain. His body, frail and unused to channeling such immense power, ached in every fiber. The second thing was fear. A primal, gut-wrenching terror that chilled him to the bone.
His eyes fluttered open.
He was surrounded.
Looming over him like a living mountain range of shadow and scale was Di Tian, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King. His golden eyes, though no longer filled with killing intent, were scrutinizing him with an intensity that felt like a physical weight.
To his right stood a monstrous three-headed hound, each head the size of a carriage. Flames licked from its jowls, and a low, continuous growl emanated from its three throats. The Scarlet King. Its six crimson eyes were filled with undisguised hatred for him, a human.
On his other side was a bear of impossible size, forged from what looked like dark gold. Its claws, each longer than Huo Yuhao was tall, seemed to hum with the power to tear through anything. This was the Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear, Xiong Jun, and his gaze was one of open contempt and challenge, directed not just at Huo Yuhao, but at Di Tian's decision to spare him.
And hovering silently behind them was a creature of pure nightmare. A purple-black dragon, sleeker than Di Tian but radiating an aura of abyssal destruction that made Huo Yuhao's soul feel like it was being corroded. Zi Ji, the Abyssal Demon Dragon, simply watched, her silence more terrifying than any roar.
Huo Yuhao's breath caught in his throat. He felt like a mouse trapped in a den of dragons. Every instinct screamed at him to run, to hide, but his legs were frozen, useless. He was going to die. Despite everything Elder Huo had done, he was going to be torn apart and devoured.
Just as the panic threatened to consume him whole, a gentle, soothing light enveloped him.
A woman of breathtaking beauty, with hair the color of emeralds and eyes filled with a boundless compassion, descended from the sky. She had transformed from the majestic swan he had glimpsed earlier. The oppressive pressure in the air lessened slightly around her. This was Bi Ji.
She knelt beside him, her presence a stark contrast to the monstrous beings around them. "Do not be afraid, little one," she said, her voice like a gentle stream. "No one will harm you." She looked at the boy's trembling form, his tattered clothes, and the visible malnutrition. Her heart ached with pity. The being who fought Di Tian was clearly not this terrified child.
Xiong Jun let out a disgusted snort. "Bi Ji, why do you coddle this human vermin? Lord Di Tian, I do not understand. You allow this… thing… to live after it dared to strike you? You call it an opportunity? I call it an infestation! Let me crush it and be done with it!"
The Bear Lord took a thunderous step forward, his immense shadow falling over Huo Yuhao.
"Enough, Xiong Jun!" Di Tian's voice boomed, stopping the bear in his tracks. "My decision is final. Your opinion is not required."
Xiong Jun growled in defiance but did not move closer. His respect for Di Tian's power was the only thing holding him back.
At that moment, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion padded forward. Her form was the epitome of grace and power, but her three golden eyes were fixed on Huo Yuhao with a cold hostility.
"You," she said, her voice sharp and clear. "You attacked Lord Di Tian. You humiliated the leader of our Soul Beasts. And you carry a power that feels like my own. Explain yourself, human."
Summoning a strength he didn't know he possessed, Huo Yuhao pushed himself into a sitting position. He bowed his head deeply, his voice shaking but sincere. "I… I apologize," he stammered. "It… it was necessary to show my sincerity and strength. I promise, as I said… as was said… I am here to help. I can make… make things for you. Soul Tools. To make you stronger."
The Scarlet King let out a derisive bark of laughter from one of his heads. "Soul Tools? What use does a Ferocious Beast have for human trinkets? Your promises are worthless!"
Huo Yuhao flinched but held his ground. The hostility was a suffocating wave, and he felt utterly alone. Elder Huo was gone. It was just him now.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was not satisfied. She stepped closer, her golden fur shimmering. "That does not answer my other question. Why do you possess the power of destiny? It is the inherent power of the Emperor Auspicious Beast. It is my power. Why do you have it?"
Huo Yuhao looked up, his face a mask of confusion, which was entirely genuine. He truly didn't know the full story. He recalled the book, and what Elder Huo had told him. "I… I don't know for sure," he said shyly. "I think… I think it is because of this."
He squeezed his eyes shut and focused his Soul Power on his forehead, just as Elder Huo had instructed. The vertical slit opened, revealing the shimmering, multi-colored pupil within—the Eye of Destiny.
The moment it appeared, the atmosphere in the clearing changed.
Every single Ferocious Beast, even the belligerent Xiong Jun, took an involuntary step back. Their eyes widened in disbelief.
"A… A Divine Tool!" Zi Ji, the Abyssal Demon Dragon, spoke for the first time, her voice a low, melodious hiss filled with shock.
"Impossible," Di Tian whispered, his own golden eyes locked onto the ethereal eye on Huo Yuhao's forehead. "Other than our Silver Dragon Spear and Golden Dragon Spear, all other divine artifacts were haven't appeared in this world for nearly tens of thousands of years…"
The presence of a Divine Tool on a mere human boy was something that defied all logic. It lent a heavy, undeniable weight to the claims made earlier.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was the most affected. She felt an irresistible pull from the Eye of Destiny, a sense of familiarity, of kinship. Without conscious thought, she was drawn forward, her muzzle coming to rest just inches from Huo Yuhao's forehead.
As she drew near, a faint thread of golden light, her own power of destiny, drifted from her and touched the vertical eye.
The world went white for her.
It wasn't a vision of the future. It was a torrent of the past. His past.
She saw a small boy, no older than four, being kicked into a woodshed by a woman in fine silks. She felt the cold, the hunger, the constant fear. She saw him watching other children, children of the Duke, playing with their parents, receiving hugs and gifts, while he was treated worse than a dog.
She saw his mother, a gentle, frail woman, coughing blood into a handkerchief as she secretly brought him scraps of food, her eyes filled with a love so fierce it was heartbreaking. She heard the woman's last words, her pleas for him to live, to grow strong, to one day leave that terrible place.
She felt his searing grief as he held his mother's cold hand. She felt his desperate escape, his journey through the wilderness, his small body driven by a will forged in suffering and a thirst for vengeance so profound it stained his very soul.
The vision ended.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stumbled back, her body trembling not with anger at him, but for him. The hostility in her eyes was gone, replaced by a roaring inferno of protective fury.
"Those… those despicable humans!" she roared, her voice shaking with rage. "How could they?! To a child… their own blood… they treated him like this!"
She turned to the other beasts, her eyes blazing. "I saw it! I saw his life! This boy… his entire existence has been one of suffering at the hands of those he should have called family!"
The other Ferocious Beasts were stunned by her outburst. "Emperor Beast, what do you mean? What did you see?" Bi Ji asked, her gentle face filled with concern.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion explained everything she had witnessed, her voice conveying the raw pain and injustice of it all. As they listened, the expressions on the faces of the mighty beasts began to change.
The Scarlet King's hateful growls quieted, replaced by a confused anger. Xiong Jun's contemptuous sneer faded, a flicker of something akin to grudging respect for the boy's resilience appearing in his eyes. They were apex predators; they understood the harshness of life, but this systematic, cruel torment of a helpless child by its own kin… it was a brand of evil that even they found revolting.
"The White Tiger Duke's Mansion…" Zi Ji hissed. "I have never heard of this insignificant human family. But...I will go now and burn it to the ground. I will turn their entire lineage to ash."
"I will join you!" the Scarlet King barked. "I will burn their souls!"
"Wait!"
A small but firm voice cut through their murderous rage. Huo Yuhao, his eyes now filled not with fear but with a cold, unyielding conviction, stood on shaky legs.
"Thank you," he said, his voice quiet but steady. "But that revenge… is mine. I will take it with my own hands, one day."
This declaration, coming from the small, frail boy, stunned them into silence. It was an act of profound audacity and strength of will.
But the Three-Eyed Golden Lion wasn't finished. She looked at Huo Yuhao, then at the others. "There is more. The vision showed me. The promise of a 'Soul Spirit'… it is true. He has already succeeded."
She stared at Di Tian. "That Million-Year Iceworm you all fed upon for millennia… he is now this boy's Soul Spirit."
This was a bombshell that dwarfed everything else. Di Tian's eyes widened, his mind reeling. Proof. Tangible proof that the god's plan was not just a flight of fancy.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion turned back to Huo Yuhao, her tone now a command, but a protective one. "Show them. Call out your Iceworm."
Huo Yuhao nodded. He looked into his Spiritual Sea and sent a reassuring thought to his new, terrified comrade. 'It's okay, Brother Skydream. Come out. I'm here. They won't hurt you.'
He then looked directly at Di Tian, his gaze challenging, demanding. 'You will not harm my friend.'
Di Tian met the boy's gaze. For a moment, he was taken aback by the audacity. Then, a low chuckle rumbled in his chest. This child, chosen by a god and holder of a Divine Tool, certainly had the courage to match. He gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod.
Reassured, Skydream Iceworm emerged.
A being of pure, crystalline light, shimmering like a diamond, floated out from Huo Yuhao's body. He was no longer a massive worm, but a smaller, more compact spiritual form, circling protectively around the boy. He trembled as he felt the gazes of the beings who had been his tormentors for ages, but he held his ground beside his new partner.
The Ferocious Beasts stared, mouths agape.
They saw the connection. They saw how the Iceworm's power was seamlessly integrated with the boy's own soul, how he existed as a separate, conscious entity, yet was undeniably part of the boy's power.
It was real. The Soul Spirit system was real.
A new path for the Soul Beasts… it was truly possible.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Blood Silver Emperor", "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon