"Captain of the Imperial Guard, you already know the abilities of our kind," Zhu Wu began cautiously, then revealed useful information to deepen trust:
"After the great war broke out, I actually did not participate but instead went into hiding. This seemed to be the Dragon God's will. From the memories I still retain, after the Dragon God was cleaved by the Asura God, you and the silver dragon's split form managed to escape, while the other split form—the golden dragon—was besieged by the Five Great Divine Kings."
"But they couldn't overcome it even after a prolonged assault."
"In the end, the Asura God proposed a sealing plan."
"During the chaos, I tried to escape. The place where you and the silver dragon split form disappeared was too conspicuous, so I dared not go there. Instead, I headed towards where the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King fell. I've observed, and they too should have perished in this world."
"Captain, if I'm not mistaken, the souls of the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King should still remain."
"Moreover, during my time in the human world, by studying the continent's maps, I have roughly pinpointed their locations."
"Where!?" Emperor Tian quickly pressed.
If they could find and revive these two Dragon Kings, their strength would be greatly boosted.
"The Sunset Forest," Zhu Wu didn't hide it. "From what I know, it's a vast soul beast forest."
With Emperor Tian here, why should I fear Du Gu Bo?
"Because I have only recently come into this body and my strength is still weak, I have yet to search for them," Zhu Wu continued. "But now that you're here, I think we can go have a look. If we get close enough, I should be able to sense their exact locations. However, Captain, we can inspect the place, but absolutely cannot bring them out. I believe you understand what I mean. With our current power, we have no means to revive them, and if we are careless, our presence might be exposed."
"I understand," Emperor Tian nodded, then asked, "Anything else?"
Zhu Wu nodded. "Besides the Water and Fire Dragon Kings, the other Dragon Kings and many true dragon corpses were taken away by the Dragon God's lingering divine consciousness. Their dragon souls remain as well, but have been intentionally concealed by the Dragon God."
"This was likely to prevent the gods from conducting a widespread search afterwards."
As to how they were hidden or taken away—
Sorry, I don't know!
Without delay, he continued: "Captain, if I'm correct, they were brought to this world by the Dragon God. After all, you, the Water Dragon King, the Fire Dragon King, and another split form of the Dragon God all came to this world."
"Perhaps this is why the Dragon God wanted you to hide," Emperor Tian chimed in with a sigh. "The Dragon God hopes that after escaping down to this world, you will find me and my master, and together lead us to those dragon souls to find a way to resurrect them."
"That faint thread of Dragon God's bloodline within you is undoubtedly the best guide to locating that hidden place. This is also why the Dragon God specially instructed you. Only your kind has the chance to evade the gods' searches."
"The seven-colored dragon scale on your forehead is a direct gift from the Dragon God, able to block all divine consciousness probes from Divine Kings and below. It was originally meant to prevent foreign intruders from coveting the celestial materials stored within your body and hunting you down. But…" Emperor Tian's gaze swept Zhu Wu with complexity, then helplessly asked, "How did the Asura God find you then?"
Given Zhu Wu's severely damaged divine consciousness and fragmented memory, he spoke in detail, hoping the other could piece together more from the fragments.
"It was likely the spatial shock caused by the great war. It could have been the spilled blood and energy from the gods injured in battle, or the residual energies left from the clash of divine powers," Zhu Wu sighed. "The battlefield was filled with wild energy. Perhaps I inadvertently touched a trace of it, which allowed the Asura God to detect and lock onto me, releasing that sword light."
"The Asura God's divine mind was too powerful; I had nowhere to evade." His expression darkened, as if blaming himself.
"Ah," Emperor Tian sighed. "You shouldn't blame yourself; this is not your fault."
"If it were me, I doubt I could have done better."
The strongest among the treasure beast branch only reaches level two divine strength. To survive exposure before the Asura God is a miracle. Obviously, that sword strike was to prevent the treasure beast from carrying out the many divine-grade celestial materials stored within it from leaving the divine realm.
After all, if they were brought down and reunited with the Silver Dragon King, his injuries would recover swiftly.
Is that so? Hmm, your imagination is pretty good." Zhu Wu managed a faint smile. "Thanks."
Blocking divine consciousness below the Divine King level—that explains why Tang Hao never discovered me even after two attempts to catch Tang San at night. Of course, maybe I just picked good timing and wasn't noticed. Either way, that's a useful passive skill," he thought inwardly.
"According to Chi Wang, you already have some ideas," Emperor Tian continued. "What are they?"
By now, he fully believed that the treasure beast standing before him was loyal to the Dragon God—
And a key figure to help the soul beast tribe achieve a great revival in the future!
"To become a god," Zhu Wu raised his hand, light flickering as the small white spirit appeared. "My current body's martial soul is a silkworm. I have already merged my divine consciousness with it, making it a detached martial soul. In a sense, this is my true self."
"Six segments… so severely degenerated!" Seeing the seven-colored scale on the martial soul's forehead, Emperor Tian was more convinced Zhu Wu was a treasure beast. But scanning the whole, he frowned. The stronger Zhu Wu's divine consciousness and power, the stronger his sensing ability. The chances of finding the true dragon corpses hidden by the Dragon God should be higher. But the current situation looks grim.
"My remaining divine consciousness is too weak. This is the limit of what I can do," Zhu Wu sighed, retracting the martial soul. "If not for that faint blood essence formed from the Dragon God's bloodline remaining, my current state would be far worse. This body's talent is really poor, but at the time, I had no choice. I had to fuse that essence to strengthen the body and stabilize the martial soul."
Treasure beasts can only survive by bathing in the Dragon God's aura. Without the Dragon God's bloodline, how else could they survive?
That makes perfect sense!
"Of course, this is only temporary." His eyes suddenly hardened.
"Captain, have you forgotten that my kind can evolve by devouring celestial materials?" His tone shifted.
Emperor Tian seemed to realize something: "So, you want to inherit a divine position through a human body, ascend to the divine realm, and release another split form of the Dragon God?"
"Exactly." Zhu Wu nodded. "The Five Great Divine Kings may be able to see through my essence through my martial soul, bypassing the human body, but other gods do not have this ability."
"If I manage to disguise myself properly, I believe I can fool the divine eyes of level one and two Divine Kings."
"And once that split form is freed, the two will reunite, the Dragon God will reappear. With the Dragon God's power, the situation can be reversed."
"As for the Five Great Divine Kings, hehe, Captain, guess what I discovered after entering the human world?"
(End of Chapter)
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