Deep within the Governor's Mansion of Purple Blazing Dragon City, inside a quiet room specially built for the enlightenment and cultivation of family descendants, the atmosphere was not exactly "quiet."
A little boy of about six years old was poking a crystal ball used for testing soul power with his finger, looking bored.
He was carved from jade, with soft, slightly curly silver hair and extremely rare heterochromia; his left eye was ice-blue like ten-thousand-year-old frost, while his right eye was purple-gold, as if concealing dark thunder. His eyes darted around nimbly, revealing a cleverness that belied his age. He was none other than the grandson of Yu Yuanchen, the son of Yu Yunting and the Snow Empress—Yu Tianquan.
"Sigh, so boring..." Yu Tianquan sighed like a little adult, resting his chin in his hands while his two short legs dangled from the chair. "Grandpa said he would awaken my martial soul today, why isn't he here yet? And Dad and Mom, they've been acting all mysterious since early this morning."
The "Grandpa" he spoke of was, naturally, Yu Yuanchen. As for his parents, Yu Yunting and the Snow Empress, they were currently standing on either side behind him.
Yu Yunting remained as heroic and upright as ever. After achieving the Evil-Breaking Thunder Godhead, his aura had become more restrained and profound, yet whenever he looked at his son, his brow always carried a hint of undisguised doting and... well, a tiny, imperceptible bit of "pressure"?
After all, his dear wife, the Snow Empress, had successfully inherited the God Position of the Ice God several years ago, and her strength had steadily surpassed his own as a husband; there was a subtle trend of their family hierarchy being reordered.
The Snow Empress remained as cold and ethereal as ever, but when she looked at her son, her ice-blue eyes would melt into a rare gentleness. Her successful inheritance of the Ice God position had caused quite a stir in the God Realm.
According to the rules of the Douluo Plane, all non-humanoid creatures were classified as "spirit beasts," and the God Realm had long held an iron law—spirit beasts were not permitted to become gods.
This rule originated from the constraints set by the Dragon God after the ancient War of the Dragon God, primarily targeting the beast-type deities and descendants under his command. Although the Dragon God's bizarre maneuvers left everyone in the know feeling like Louis XVI—completely baffled—it was normal for ordinary people to be unable to comprehend the brain circuits of such world-shaking wisdom.
However, the Snow Empress's identity was extremely special. She was not an ordinary spirit beast, but an Ice and Snow Elf born from the heaven and earth origin qi of the Extreme North. She was an elemental spirit, and in terms of life form, she was closer to the innate gods naturally born from the laws of heaven and earth in the God Realm, such as... the Five Great God Kings themselves!
If one were to forcibly classify elemental elves like the Snow Empress as "spirit beasts" and forbid them from becoming gods, then how were those five non-human-born God Kings of the God Realm Committee supposed to conduct themselves? Were they also "spirit beasts"? This would undoubtedly be a slap in their own faces.
(This is not written blindly; the second-generation God of Goodness in the original work was a transformed Heart-of-the-Earth Red Lotus. Although she was hunted in the early stages, she still became a god with the strong support of the Gods of Goodness and Evil, so the gods of the God Realm likely only feared the Dragon God and the dragon race under his command, and the suppression of other races was merely incidental.)
Furthermore, the five God Kings knew the inside story of why spirit beasts could not become gods; the scope of the Dragon God's prohibition was mainly limited to the original God Dragon Domain, and the beasts forbidden from becoming gods were generally only the dragons and beasts belonging to that domain. Elemental elves like the Snow Empress, naturally nurtured by lower planes, were not within the scope of the Dragon God's original prohibition.
It was only because the Douluo Plane was so deeply influenced by the dragon race that the rules lumped all non-human intelligent creatures into the category of "spirit beasts," causing the current awkwardness. If she were an ordinary lower-realm elf, the God Realm Law Enforcement Team might have turned a blind eye, or even wiped her out in the name of "transgression."
But standing behind the Snow Empress was Yu Yuanchen! This newly ascended existence, who had condensed his own God King Rank and was on good terms with the Gods of Destruction and Life, was by no means a soft persimmon that could be squeezed at will.
Therefore, through Yu Yuanchen's reasoned arguments and the support of the Gods of Destruction and Life, the Gods of Goodness, Evil, and Asura, even if they were unhappy in their hearts and unwilling to see another first-level deity added to Yu Yuanchen's faction, had to grit their teeth and acknowledge the Snow Empress's identity as an "innate elemental spirit," recognizing the legitimacy of her god position.
This turmoil ended with the Snow Empress being officially recorded in the divine registry, which once again highlighted Yu Yuanchen's growing influence in the God Realm.
"Quan'er, be patient." The Snow Empress spoke softly, her voice as cold as jade. "Your grandfather must have important matters; he will be here in a moment."
Yu Yunting also rubbed his son's head and laughed: "You little brat, are you nervous? Your mother is the Ice God, and I am a Thunder God; today I want to see what kind of powerful martial soul you can awaken!" His tone carried pride, but also a hint of curiosity. Both his and the Snow Empress's bloodlines were extremely powerful, so no one could say for sure what their son's martial soul would be.
Yu Tianquan curled his lips: "I'm not nervous at all! Grandpa said I'm a genius! I was born one!" He wasn't entirely bragging. As the direct descendant of two spirit-level experts, Yu Tianquan's life level was naturally extremely high, and he possessed a life rank close to that of a god from birth.
If not restricted, attacks from below the level of a Soul Sage wouldn't even scratch his skin, and non-divine curses or poisons would be ineffective against him. If his innate soul power were awakened naturally, he would start at at least level thirty!
But Yu Yuanchen had high hopes for his grandson, believing that a starting point that was too smooth would be detrimental to the tempering of his character and his perception of the essence of power. Not long after Yu Tianquan was born, he personally took action, using his supreme divine ability to seal most of the overly vast origin power within his grandson's body.
In Yu Yuanchen's words: "Jade must be carved to become a vessel. Only by rising from the bottom and experiencing the hardships of cultivation can one's foundation be solid, and only then can one truly possess the potential to rival or even surpass us in the future, unafraid of any adversity."
However, even with most of his origin power sealed, the Thunder Sacred Dragon and Heavenly Snow Woman bloodlines flowing in Yu Tianquan's body were still like two unruly giant dragons, and as he grew older, they began to show signs of mutual repulsion.
Occasionally, when he was emotionally agitated, frost would appear on the left side of his body, while tiny arcs of electricity would jump on the right. Although it didn't affect his health, if left unchecked, it would inevitably affect his martial soul awakening and future cultivation.
To this end, Yu Yuanchen took out the dragon pill left behind by the silver dragon that had occupied the Sun Moon Continent and possessed strength approaching the limit level, which he had slain when he unified the continent and campaigned in all directions.
This dragon pill contained the power of the silver dragon, and silver dragons were naturally highly inclusive and had strong control over various elements. Yu Yuanchen asked his wife, Ye Zhilan (the Plant God), to take action personally, and with the help of various heavenly materials and earthly treasures, she refined the dragon pill into a "Fusion Spirit Pill" for Yu Tianquan to take.
Once the pill entered his stomach, the gentle yet powerful silver dragon energy acted like the best harmonizer, slowly merging into the depths of his bloodline. It not only successfully appeased and fused the mutually repulsive ice and thunder forces but also further improved the quality of his bloodline, faintly taking on the silver dragon's powerful affinity for elements. This made his family even more expectant of the martial soul he was about to awaken.
"Creak—"
The door to the quiet room was pushed open, and Yu Yuanchen walked in slowly. He was still wearing a simple robe, his aura peaceful, as if he had merged with the surrounding heaven and earth, but when those deep eyes opened and closed, they possessed a supreme majesty that governed all things and created new heavens.
His cultivation level was now unfathomable, and even Yu Yunting and the Snow Empress could not see through it at all, knowing only that he had certainly made unimaginable progress compared to ten years ago.
"Grandpa!" Yu Tianquan's eyes lit up, and he jumped off the chair and rushed over.
A kind smile appeared on Yu Yuanchen's face as he bent down to pick up his grandson: "Sorry to keep little Quan'er waiting. Come, let Grandpa see what kind of world-shaking martial soul our Yu Family's Little Qilin can awaken today."
He carried Yu Tianquan to the awakening array in the center of the quiet room. The array was outlined with precious soul-guiding metal, and a large, transparent crystal was embedded in the center.
Yu Yunting and the Snow Empress also straightened their expressions, watching intently.
Yu Yuanchen set Yu Tianquan down and said gently: "Quan'er, calm your mind, place your hands on the crystal, and use your heart to feel the power in the deepest part of your body."
Yu Tianquan nodded obediently and took a deep breath. Although he was young, he knew the importance of this matter from the atmosphere in the family. He stretched out his small hand and solemnly pressed it onto the surface of the cold crystal ball.
Hum—!
The moment his small hand touched the crystal, a sudden change occurred!
The awakening array suddenly erupted with dazzling light! It was not a single color, but seven colors flowing, as if countless types of elemental energy were cheering and joyful within it! The heaven and earth origin qi in the entire quiet room boiled instantly!
Yu Tianquan's small body began to tremble slightly. From his left side, bone-chilling cold air was visibly permeating, and ice crystals condensed in the air; from his right side, dense purple-gold electric arcs erupted, crackling! The powers of ice and thunder appeared again, but this time, it was not a simple confrontation!
Within the silver-white awakening light, a more noble and inclusive power emerged, like a mother's arms, gently surrounding and smoothing out the ice-blue and purple-gold energy. Gradually, the ice and thunder no longer conflicted, but began to intertwine and fuse along a mysterious trajectory!
"Roar—!"
A clear and majestic dragon roar seemed to come from ancient times, or perhaps it resonated from the depths of his soul! Behind Yu Tianquan, a huge phantom rapidly condensed and solidified!
It was a dragon! A divine dragon covered from head to toe in crystalline silver diamond-shaped scales! Its body was slender and elegant, yet contained an explosive sense of power. And within that brilliant silver light, there were dots of purple-gold scales, like stars dotted among them, especially on key parts such as its forehead, spine, and dragon claws, where the purple-gold scales were denser, adding a touch of nobility and dominance.
The most peculiar thing was its eyes; the left eye was ice-blue and the right eye was purple-gold, exactly the same as Yu Tianquan's own heterochromia. As they opened and closed, scenes of ice sealing ten thousand miles and thunder destroying the world seemed to flow!
This silver dragon phantom emitted a vast dragon might, but this dragon might was not a pure bloodline suppression; rather, it carried a vast artistic conception of governing all laws and encompassing heaven and earth.
In particular, its control over the ice element and thunder element reached an astonishing degree. Although its power was still immature due to his young age, the height of its essence had already surpassed the category of ordinary super beast martial souls!
Mutated martial soul—Silver Dragon! And it was a god-tier martial soul that had fused the origins of the Thunder Sacred Dragon and the Heavenly Snow Woman, sublimated by the power of the silver dragon!
"Good! What a magnificent Silver Dragon!" Yu Yunting could not help but cheer, his eyes filled with pleasant surprise. The quality of this Martial Soul had absolutely reached the level of a God-Tier Martial Soul; its potential was boundless!
A look of astonishment also appeared on the Snow Empress's cold, elegant face, and she nodded slightly. She could feel that her son's Silver Dragon Martial Soul possessed an affinity for the ice element that was not even inferior to her own before she attained godhood!
A glimmer of satisfaction flashed in Yu Yuanchen's eyes; everything was within his expectations and control. He reached out and tapped the air lightly, injecting a gentle stream of Chaos energy into the Awakening Array to help Yu Tianquan stabilize the phantom of his newly awakened Martial Soul.
"Test the Innate Soul Power," Yu Yuanchen signaled.
Yu Tianquan followed his instructions and continued to channel his soul power into the crystal ball. Suddenly, the crystal ball erupted with a dazzling white light, steady and full, only stopping once it reached a certain mark.
Innate Full Soul Power!
Although most of his origin had been sealed, relying on his heaven-defying aptitude and Martial Soul, it was still the top-tier talent among those with Innate Full Soul Power!
"Haha! Good kid! You truly are my son, Yu Yunting!" Yu Yunting was overjoyed and clapped his hands vigorously.
The Snow Empress also walked forward and gently stroked her son's hair, her eyes filled with gentleness and pride.
Yu Tianquan withdrew his small hand, and the Silver Dragon phantom behind him slowly dissipated. Feeling the soul power flowing within his body, perfectly fused with his Martial Soul, he asked with an excited face, "Grandfather, Father, Mother! Is my Martial Soul powerful?"
"Powerful! Of course it's powerful!" Yu Yunting scooped up his son and lifted him high. "You'll definitely be even more powerful than your father in the future!"
Yu Yuanchen smiled and said, "Your foundation is deep, and your potential is infinite. Quan'er, remember, no matter how strong a Martial Soul is, you must study diligently, clear your mind, and see your true nature to step onto the True path. From today on, you have officially embarked on the path of a Soul Master."
"Yes! Grandfather! Quan'er will remember!" Yu Tianquan nodded vigorously, his heterochromia sparkling with infinite longing for the future.
Just as the Yu Family was immersed in the joy of a genius's birth, in a small city called Nuoding on the southwestern edge of the Douluo Continent, it was a completely different scene.
In a simple courtyard on the west side of the city, a four-year-old boy wearing patched clothes was squatting on the ground, earnestly drawing strange patterns with a twig. His face was delicate, but his eyes were not as innocent or ignorant as those of an ordinary child; instead, they carried a trace of precocity and calmness.
His name was Tang San. Nominally, he was the son of an ordinary commoner woman in Nuoding City, with an unknown father. Only a very few people knew that his biological father was the current head of the Tuoba Family, a force to be reckoned with on the Douluo Continent—Tuoba Xi.
Because his mother's status was low, merely an object of a one-night stand for Tuoba Xi, he, an illegitimate child, was not recognized by the family. He could not even bear the surname "Tuoba" and had to take his mother's surname, Tang. Because his mother's Innate Soul Power was level three (which was also the thing she was most proud of in her life), he was named Tang San. However, after Tang San was born, Tuoba Xi would occasionally come to visit this widowed mother and fatherless child.
The neighbors all thought this child was a bit strange; he didn't like to talk and always preferred to stay by himself, fiddling with things they couldn't understand.
But what they didn't know was that deep within the soul of this seemingly ordinary child, there lay memories from another world. Tang San himself believed that after an accidental death, he had luckily transmigrated into this world of magical Martial Souls, and it was a second chance given to him by the heavens.
He was full of ambition, relying on the memories and techniques of the Tang Sect from his previous life to secretly train his body and hone his Hidden Weapons, looking forward to his Martial Soul awakening at age six so he could soar into the sky.
However, he did not know that his so-called "transmigration" was not an accident. His soul was a "chess piece" carefully selected by the Asura God King and cast into this world.
And that "Golden Sacred Dragon Bloodline Crystal," nourished by the flesh and soul of Yu Xiaogang, had long since quietly fused with his soul origin under the supreme divine power of the Asura God King.
On the surface, he would be the successor chosen by the Asura God King, the key to balancing and even overthrowing the lineage of Yu Yuanchen in the future.
The divine sense of Asura was like an invisible pair of eyes, coldly watching this ignorant child in Nuoding City, while also looking far away at the radiant son of the Silver Dragon in Purple Blazing Dragon City.
"Yu Yuanchen... your Silver Dragon grandson is indeed gifted and a variable. However, my successor will also carry the blood of the Golden Dragon, and he is no mere pond fish. Heh, the battle between the Golden and Silver Dragons, is this fate? Oh, Dragon God..."
Yu Tianquan and Tang San, these two children whose destinies were on completely different trajectories, did not yet know that from the moment they were born, they had already been drawn into a massive vortex concerning the direction of the world.
Their growth and their choices would profoundly influence the future of the Douluo Continent and even the God Realm.
A storm was quietly gathering strength beneath the calm surface.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan