Dragon Valley Small World.
Thick dust filled the air, obscuring all vision and making it impossible to discern what was happening. Only the occasional rumbling sounds indicated that something significant was taking place.
As the dust gradually settled and the space cleared, the area once shrouded in dense smoke was finally revealed. Jing Shaoyu clapped his hands in delight, surveying the leveled ground and the endless expanse of open wilderness before him. A sense of accomplishment welled up in his heart.
After a year of effort, he had finally succeeded in burying all the dragon bones in the Dragon Tomb.
"Old Dragon! Old Dragon!" Shaoyu hurried to the edge of the deep pit at the center of the Dragon Tomb and called out to the massive dragon spirit lying within. "I've done what you asked!"
The enormous dragon spirit in the pit slowly raised its head. With a graceful motion, it floated out of the pit, its massive draconic pupils scanning the once chaotic and desolate, now serene and peaceful valley floor of the Dragon Tomb. Unable to contain itself, the dragon lifted its head to the sky and let out a series of resonant roars—perhaps mourning its wrongfully fallen kin, or perhaps repenting for its own mistakes.
In any case, the ancient dragon's roars echoed throughout the entire Dragon Valley Small World for a full hour. Shaoyu could only stand patiently on the ground, watching as the dragon vented its emotions.
"Young man, thank you!" the ancient dragon finally said, its voice steady as it lowered its head to look at Shaoyu.
Shaoyu waved his hand with a smile. "No need for thanks. I didn't do this for free—don't forget to hand over the Soul Bone you promised."
"Hahaha!" The ancient dragon let out a deep, hearty laugh, its voice weathered yet warm. "Good, good. Since you're so eager to leave, I won't keep you any longer."
With that, the dragon raised one of its ethereal claws and traced a circle in the air. Instantly, a mix of black and white light radiated from its claw, and an aura blending gloom and warmth quietly spread through the space.
Under Shaoyu's slightly surprised and expectant gaze, the dragon extended its claw toward him and slowly opened it. Floating in its palm was an exquisitely crafted dragon bone, now presented before Shaoyu.
It was a Torso bone—structurally complete, with a spine stretching from the neck down to the tailbone like a sinuous dragon. The ribs and sternum resembled armor. The main body of the Torso bone was golden, including the spine, but the ribs and sternum bore starkly contrasting black and white patterns, making the bone appear incongruous yet strangely harmonious.
At the same time, it emitted a faint draconic pressure. Though subtle, Shaoyu could sense that this aura undoubtedly originated from a True Dragon of immense power. Beyond the faint pressure, he also detected an even more terrifying presence.
"Whose Soul Bone is this?" Shaoyu asked, hesitating to take it immediately as he looked up.
A trace of reminiscence flickered in the ancient dragon's eyes. "This isn't the Soul Bone of a single dragon. It's a Torso bone fused from two Dragon Kings."
Shaoyu's mind reeled as he stared at the dragon in shock. "Two Dragon Kings?"
"Indeed." The old dragon nodded, his voice deep and solemn. "The Dark Dragon King and the Light Dragon King—they were once the Dragon God's most capable lieutenants. Alas, they both perished in that great calamity. Sigh!"
Hearing the old dragon's explanation, Jing Shaoyu was utterly shocked. The Soul Bones of the Dark Dragon King and the Light Dragon King, who had fallen in the Divine War—didn't that mean this was a divine-grade Soul Bone?
The Dark Dragon King and the Light Dragon King had been two of the nine great Dragon Kings of the dragon race. According to the old dragon, they had been quasi-Divine King-level powerhouses during the Divine War. Yet, in the end, they met such a tragic fate, their bodies lost without a trace. It was truly lamentable!
Over the past year, through his persistent probing, Shaoyu had pieced together most of the details about the so-called Divine War.
As the mastermind behind the Divine War and the one who personally destroyed two divine realms, the Dragon God was undoubtedly the strongest among the deities. Following closely were the two Divine Kings of Kindness and Evil, along with the former God of Slaughter. Then came the Divine Kings of Life and Destruction, and finally, the Dragon Prince mentioned by the old dragon. These seven were the most powerful among the gods and kings of the divine realms before the war.
The cause of the Divine War was not, as Gu Yue had claimed, due to escalating conflicts between human gods and beast gods.
In reality, the divine realm of the human gods and that of the Dragon God had initially been two separate realms. The divine realm created by the Creator God was known as the Douluo Divine Realm, governed jointly by the three Divine Kings of Kindness, Evil, and Slaughter, along with the Divine Kings of Life and Destruction, who were manifestations of the Creator God's divine spark. The divine realm established by the Dragon God was called the Dragon God's Domain, ruled solely by the Dragon God.
At first, the two divine realms developed independently. However, due to their proximity, they gradually united under the proposal of the Dragon God and the five Divine Kings, forming a single, unified divine realm to oversee the numerous star systems under their respective jurisdictions.
The united divine realm flourished, with the potential to ascend to the higher level of a Divine Star. Yet, due to a mistake by the Dragon God, this bright future was utterly destroyed.
The old dragon did not elaborate on the specifics, but Shaoyu could more or less guess the subsequent events, given the reality before them. What surprised Shaoyu, however, was that the God of Life and the God of Destruction had actually been born from the divine spark of the Creator God.
Though he didn't know what tier of deity this Creator God was, the old dragon's solemn tone when mentioning Him made it clear that the Creator God was at least on par with the Dragon God.
But enough digression—let's return our focus to the Soul Bone before us. As divine-level powerhouses, the Light Dragon King and the Dark Dragon King, despite their tragic ends, had left behind Soul Bones that were undoubtedly treasures among treasures. Shaoyu never expected the old dragon to be so generous as to give him a relic of a Dragon King.
"Old dragon, I'm curious—why give me a Dragon King's Soul Bone? Even if you'd given me an ordinary True Dragon's Soul Bone, I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it," Shaoyu asked.
"I know," the old dragon chuckled. "Consider it a bribe. I only hope that when you reopen the divine realm in the future, you'll leave a place for my descendants. Think of it as honoring the bond we share today."
"Reopen the Divine Realm?" Jing Shaoyu looked at the old dragon speechlessly and said, "Why are you so certain that I can reopen the Divine Realm? I don't even have a hundred percent certainty of becoming a god, let alone reopening the Divine Realm. You really think too highly of me!"
"Hahaha!" The old dragon burst into laughter upon hearing this. "You're the one underestimating yourself. If nothing else, your identity alone is enough to convince me that you can reopen the Divine Realm just like the old Creator God!"
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"My identity?" Jing Shaoyu was utterly confused. He felt as though he had grasped something crucial, yet it always slipped away. Frustrated, he pressed, "Are you talking about my identity as the Planet's Will?"
The old dragon smiled without answering.
"Riddlers deserve a bad end!" Jing Shaoyu fumed.
"Hahaha, you're right—I do deserve a bad end!" The old dragon laughed heartily. "Alright, hurry up and absorb this Soul Bone, then get going. The Dragon Valley Small World is about to separate from Douluo Star."
"Fine!" Jing Shaoyu sighed, knowing that no matter how much he pressed, the old dragon wouldn't budge. After spending a year together, he had come to understand the old coot's stubborn, playful nature.
However, he didn't immediately start fusing with the Soul Bone. Instead, he grinned and said, "Old Dragon, how about we make a deal? Could you spare a few more Soul Bones? I'd like to bring some souvenirs for Gu Yue."
"Scram!" The old dragon huffed in mock anger, his beard bristling. "Don't think just because I've been staying down here that I don't know—you've been pocketing quite a few bones while burying the remains! And now you have the nerve to ask for more? Isn't that going too far? I've already let you keep those dragon bones you secretly stashed away out of respect for an old friend. Don't push your luck, kid!"
Hearing this, Jing Shaoyu obediently sat down and stopped pressing the issue, though inwardly he was overjoyed. Well, now he didn't have to worry about smuggling the dragon bones in his storage ring out of here.
Perfect. As expected of the Dragon God—always generous!
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