Time, within the Black Dragon Citadel, was no longer measured in days or months, but in the rhythmic, devastating cadence of births. The Eternal Goblin Ancestor's grand design was yielding its harvest, and each new scion was a testament to his terrifying will. The Citadel thrummed with a power that was both magnificent and abominable, a symphony of nascent evil that made the very heavens tremble.
The births came not as isolated events, but in a relentless, orchestrated wave.
Su Wan, the Phoenix Empress, was the first to bear again. From her womb, awash with Yin Phoenix energy and Netherworld Qi, came a daughter. The child did not cry; she emitted a silent, psychic wail that shattered glass for miles and left lesser cultivators clutching their heads in agony. She was named Lu Zhi (陆智 - Lu Intelligence), and her physique was the Soul-Devouring Oracle Mind. Her eyes, pools of swirling obsidian, could perceive the flow of fate and the weaknesses in any soul, a living weapon of psychological warfare.
Chu Ling, the Sadistic Minister, gave birth to twin boys. They did not share a womb peacefully; they fought, and the stronger consumed the weaker in utero, absorbing its essence. The survivor, Lu Bao (陆暴 - Lu Violence), was born encased in a shell of crystallized blood, which he consumed moments after birth. His physique was the Crimson Berserker Body. His rage was not a emotion, but a cultivatable force that multiplied his power exponentially with every injury he received or inflicted.
Wang Xia, the Sovereign of Silent Ends, delivered a girl who seemed to suck the light and sound from the room. Lu An (陆黯 - Lu Darkness) possessed the Ten-Thousand Venoms Divine Veins. Her very blood was a primordial toxin, and her breath could wither spirit fields. She was immune to all known poisons, for she was their source and apex.
Niu, the Hucow, birthed another son. Unlike his robust, steadfast elder brother, this child, Lu Gen (陆根 - Lu Root), was unnervingly still. His physique was the World-Axis Immovable Body. He seemed to weigh more than a mountain range mere moments after birth, his connection to the earth so profound that attempting to move him against his will was like trying to lift the continent itself. He was the ultimate shield.
One after another, the other wives and concubines added their contributions to the growing legion:
· A son from a lesser concubine with the Spectral Phase-Shifter Bones, allowing him to become intangible at will. Named Lu You (陆幽 - Lu Spectral).
· A daughter with the Heart-String Puppeteer Physique, capable of bending the will of those with weaker minds by playing an invisible lute of soul energy. Named Lu Se (陆瑟 - Lu Lute).
· A son whose tears were liquid sorrow that could erode the strongest resolve and whose laughter was a euphoric poison. Lu Le (陆乐 - Lu Joy) with the Paradoxical Spirit.
· A pair of twins from another concubine, Lu Ming (陆鸣 - Lu Cry) and Lu Chao (陆吵 - Lu Noise), who shared the Thunderous Duet Meridians. When together, their combined sonic attacks could shatter fortresses.
With each birth, the System's chime was a clarion call of triumph. The rewards were not just the children, but the cascading boons bestowed upon the Ancestor.
[Cultivation Base Boost!] [Host's comprehension of the 'Dao of Sword Intent' enhanced through offspring Lu Bao's violent nature.] [Host's mastery of Alchemy significantly increased through understanding of Lu An's toxic essence.] [Host's proficiency in Array Making amplified by Lu Zhi's fate-perception.] [Cultivation Base Boost!] [Host's knowledge of Soul Arts deepened by Lu Se's puppeteering.]
His power, already at the Mid Ascendant Soul Realm, began to climb at a preposterous rate. His mind, a fusion of Lin Mo's cunning and the old Ancestor's knowledge, now became a boundless repository of mastered arts. He was no longer just a cultivator; he was becoming a personification of multifaceted, absolute mastery.
Then came the fifth child of this new wave. The air in the Citadel grew thick, the System's energy coalescing into a tangible storm.
[Ding! Cumulative offspring count has reached Strike 5!] [Reward: 'Symbiotic Growth-Type Divine Beast' unlocked.]
A golden light, so intense it blinded all but the Ancestor, erupted in the throne room. It condensed into a magnificent, terrifying form. It was an eagle, but unlike any other. It stood on four powerful, leonine legs tipped with talons that could shred space itself. Its feathers were not mere plumage, but overlapping plates of solidified celestial gold, and its eyes held the same ancient, glowing green light as the Ancestor's.
It was a Four-Legged Golden Eclipse Eagle, a beast of legend. It let out a cry that was the sound of a star being torn in half, and its aura bloomed—an aura that was a perfect, mirror-image match of the Ancestor's own Mid Ascendant Soul power.
The System's message was clear. The eagle's strength was symbiotically tied to his own. As he grew, it would grow. It would always be his equal, an eternal companion and guardian, a weapon that could never be outgrown.
The Ancestor named it Jin Zhao (金兆 - Golden Omen). It bowed its head, and a perfect mental link snapped into place between them. He now had a presence that could be in two places at once, a hunter whose eyes could see what his could not.
The births continued. The eighth, ninth, tenth…
The tenth child, a girl born from a concubine who was a descendant of a frost giant, had a Glacial Absolute Zero Heart. She was named Lu Han (陆寒 - Lu Cold), and her touch could freeze time in a localized area.
The moment she drew her first breath, the System chimed again, its voice deeper, more profound than before.
[Ding! Cumulative offspring count has reached Strike 10!] [Reward: 'Primordial Inner World Seed' granted.]
A sphere of chaotic, swirling energy the size of a pearl appeared in the Ancestor's palm. It contained the essence of unformed chaos, the potential of a universe. With a thought, he guided it into his dantian.
Within him, a cataclysm of creation occurred. The sphere expanded, not in physical space, but in a dimension solely his own. Mountains of black jade thrust towards a sky of swirling nebula. Rivers of liquid starlight carved valleys through earth that pulsed with primordial qi. The laws of this world were his to write. The air thrummed with potential, a blank canvas waiting for the brush of a god.
This was his Inner World. A perfect, private realm.
His gaze swept over his twelve children, this gathering storm of terrifying potential. His eyes lingered on Lu Feng, the first Tyrant, who watched his siblings with a calculating, possessive hunger. Lu Feng was destined for the outer world, to be its conqueror.
The others… they were weapons. Precious, but needing to be honed away from prying eyes and heavenly tribulations. They needed a playground. A training ground.
He opened a gateway of his will. A shimmering tear in reality, leading into the heart of his new world.
"Come," he commanded the eleven younger children.
They obeyed, their various physiques flaring as they stepped into their father's soul. Lu Gen's weight settled the new earth. Lu Han's breath created a permanent glacier at one pole. Lu An's presence formed a toxic jungle. Lu Bao's rage carved a volcano that erupted with endless violence.
The Ancestor watched his inner world take shape, molded by the innate natures of his children. Here, they would fight, learn, and grow, their powers interacting and evolving without constraint. Here, he would raise an army of world-ending gods, safe from the scrutiny of heaven itself.
Jin Zhao, the Golden Eclipse Eagle, let out a cry that echoed in both the real world and the inner one, a symbol of the Ancestor's doubled dominion.
The Eternal Dynasty was no longer just a nation. It was a pantheon in the making, and the Ancestor was no longer just a ruler. He was a creator, a breeder of divinities, and his path to ultimate power was paved with the terrifying potential of his own children. The harvest was beyond his wildest dreams.