{Yaaaawn}
Inside a dark underwater cave, a giant serpent-like beast let out a long, echoing yawn as its massive jaws opened wide. The surrounding water rushed into its mouth, creating a violent current that slammed into the hard stone walls, sending tremors rippling through the land.
Above, the vast lake on the surface was thrown into turmoil. Waves surged and crashed against the shore, while the surrounding forest seemed to awaken in alarm—animals scattered, and flocks of birds fled screeching into the sky.
'Hmmm?'
In the darkness, a giant eye opened. Its golden vertical pupil illuminated the surrounding water, shining like molten light in the shadows.
'How long have I been sleeping?' the creature thought. The narrow rock walls pressed against its massive frame, a cage too small for its growing body.
The beast stirred, its movement shaking the cave violently. Stone cracked and collapsed, thousands of tons of rock crashing onto its body. Yet the weight meant nothing. It slithered forward, unhindered, its colossal form blending into the blackness of the cave. The only signs of its passage were trembling walls and roaring water.
And then—
Light.
Radiance burst into the abyss as the creature's body emerged from the depths of the lake. Its scales gleamed dark as obsidian, reflecting cold brilliance beneath the sun. Flowing down its back was a mane of pure white fur, shimmering like strands of silver in the light. Its eyes blazed, twin golden suns glaring down at the world.
Four powerful legs sprouted from its serpentine body, ending in claws that seemed to gleam with an edge sharp enough to tear through the fabric of reality itself.
{ROOAARRR!}
The creature unleashed a deafening roar, its cry shaking the earth and sky alike. The sound traveled for miles, a tide of raw power reverberating through the air.
"Ugh, finally…"
A deep, ancient voice rumbled from the beast as it inhaled deeply, savoring the crisp air. Its dark scales shimmered beneath the sunlight as it stretched its body.
"I'm finally free! Hahahaha!"
Its laughter rolled like thunder as its body surged upward, twisting gracefully through the sky as though swimming in invisible waters.
"Two hundred years—two hundred fucking years trapped in the cycle of forced sleep!" Its voice echoed across the lake, a mix of anger and relief.
"Now I'm free…"
It let out a sigh, heavy and content.
Memories stirred, flashing before its mind.
---
This creature, known as Xuan Ye, was once just a human. Only eighteen years old when he died, he had been an ordinary boy: a lover of cultivation novels, webcomics, and games. His life had been unremarkable, save for one tragedy—he had recently become an orphan. His family had perished in a car crash a few years before, leaving him adrift.
Once cheerful and outgoing, Xuan Ye had become reclusive. The bright boy who once laughed freely grew quiet and withdrawn. Just as he was beginning to open up again, fate struck once more.
He had gone out with friends, a rare moment of warmth in the cold shadow of his loss. But then disaster struck. His best friend tripped and nearly stumbled into oncoming traffic. Without hesitation, Xuan Ye pulled him back.
But momentum carried him forward.
He took his friend's place.
In his final moments, he felt no regret. His family was gone, but giving his life for one of the few who had never abandoned him was a worthy end. His last sight was the horrified expression on his friend's face as metal and pain engulfed him—then darkness.
Or so it should have been.
Instead, his consciousness floated in a void. Pulled by some unseen force, he collided with a seemingly invisible object, and a mechanical, incomprehensible voice filled the emptiness. Then—light. When he opened his eyes again, he was clawing his way out of a giant egg.
Confused and afraid, Xuan Ye slowly came to terms with his new reality. Reincarnation had come, but not at all in the way he had imagined.
---
'Status,' Xuan Ye thought as he dove back into the water.
A faint blue holographic panel flickered into existence before his eyes. Through experimentation, he had long ago realized that only he could see it.
---
[Imperial Conquest System – Activating…]
…
[System has recognized host – Xuan Ye]
…
[Welcome back, host.]
…
—STATUS—
Name: Xuan Ye
Race: Flood Dragon (Evolvable)
Bloodline: None
Growth Stage: Sub-Adult (Fresh)
Age: 200 Years
Cultivation: Golden Core Realm
Tier: Sacred Tier Beast
Energy Points: 0
Mates: 0
—ABILITIES—
Flood Dragon Scales
Flood Dragon Breath
Flood Dragon Gaze
Flood Dragon Fear
Flood Dragon Arts
Dragon Language (Minor)
Transformation
—SYSTEM FUNCTIONS—
Shop
Quests
---
'Finally, Sub-Adult.' Relief washed over him, a sigh escaping from deep within his chest.
When he had first crossed into this world, he had dreamed of greatness, of living the life of the protagonists from his favorite novels. But instead, he was born a mere beast—not even a noble one.
His mother, though fiercely protective, was no mighty dragon. She was a mixed blood Black-Scaled Python, a low-tier Earth Realm beast with little intelligence. Though large in size, she had only brute strength to show for.
Still, she had fought to the death when their nest was attacked.
The memory fresh in his mind. The invader: a Green Poisonous Scorpion, monstrous and deadly. It was a valiant foe, but his mother's desperate coils crushed it, and its poison ensured their mutual destruction. Both perished, locked in their final struggle.
Left alone, he and his siblings could not hunt. Hunger drove them mad, and instinct took over; they fought savagely over their mother's corpse, drawn to the power of her core.
Xuan Ye, though still a hatchling, had the mind of a human. He held back, barely fighting the raw, primal instincts ingrained into him, watching his siblings tear each other apart. When only one survivor remained, exhausted and bleeding, he struck mercilessly.
He devoured both his sibling and the core. The temptation was unbearable, and the strength it promised was the only path to survival.
And then—the System awoke.
It had offered him a choice.
Devour the core like a normal beast and strengthen his mixed bloodline.
Or—use the energy to filter and purify it. Evolve into something far greater.
The options appeared before him:
---
[Evolution Options Available]
Poisonous Black Python
Twin-Headed Python
Winged Python
Water Python
…
Flood Dragon
---
The choice was obvious.
Rebirth.
And thus he evolved, shedding his python blood and body, becoming a Flood Dragon hatchling.
But with fortune came hardship.
Flood Dragons were not like other beasts. As ancient beasts bordering on the divine, their growth was slow, centuries-long. Without the protection of parents or a clan, they were vulnerable. From hatchling to sub-adult could take anywhere between 150 and 400 years. And during that time, newborns fell into a forced cycle of hibernation, slowly absorbing Qi from the surroundings to refine their bodies to the absolute peak their talent would allow, unable to awaken until their growth advanced.
So he searched for a place to rest, knowing sleep would take him soon. His only protection was the natural aura that radiated from his body, a natural deterrent that kept beasts with weaker bloodlines at bay.
Soon, he found the place he would call home, a vast inland lake, at its depths a large cavern. There he coiled his body, the darkness engulfing him as if sleeping in the belly of a beast, he closed his eyes, and surrendered to sleep.
For two hundred years, he had been trapped in that helpless slumber.
Now he's free.