Imagine a giant dragon at your doorstep, playing with your child. Any ordinary mother seeing this would likely be so scared her heart might stop.
But An Yun merely raised an eyebrow and said, "Alright, Zi Ji, stop playing with my daughter."
"Hehe, Ah Yun, you're back? I just broke out of seclusion," said the purple dragon, opening its massive mouth and letting out a somewhat silly laugh.
Its four claws were bright purple, growing darker as they moved upward until its back appeared a near-black deep purple. The curved horns on its head resembled smooth, polished jade, and a piece of beautiful obsidian-like black scale gleamed on its forehead under the sunlight.
This was one of the few pure-blood dragons from the Star Dou Forest, the Pure-Blood Hell Dragon Zi Ji, with 180,000 years of cultivation.
At the moment, she hadn't yet passed her second Heavenly Tribulation, so she couldn't transform into human form and wasn't classified as a fierce beast either.
Compared to the more serious and cold Di Tian of the dragon race, she was closer to the Tiger King of the dark attributes and treated An Yun almost like an elder sister.
Though she had 180,000 years of cultivation, her innate talent was extraordinary, making her actual age much younger. Having spent a lot of time in cultivation, she was still quite innocent in nature, and An Yun often treated her like her own daughter.
"Ah Yun, look," Zi Ji said as she extended a massive claw and gently knocked over the little black tiger, who was trying to get up unsteadily.
The little tiger cub let out a soft roar and pounced on Zi Ji's claw, scratching and clawing fiercely.
"That's not how you play it," An Yun said, extending a long hand to pin the little tiger cub's paws to the ground.
The little cub immediately grabbed her hand with both front paws, biting it while kicking at it with its back paws.
Finally, after tiring out, the little black tiger collapsed with a dramatic twist of its head, playing dead on the ground. An Yun chuckled as she moved her hand away.
Yep… this really is her biological mother.
Next, An Yun took out a golden little lion from her chest, gently placed it beside her cub, and then transformed back into a giant tiger, tucking both cubs under her belly.
"Ah, as expected, born beasts are far more beautiful than those I gave birth to," An Yun, the biological mother, sighed.
The black little tiger didn't understand her mother's complaint and curiously nudged the little lion, sniffed it for a while, and then lay on it, starting the social activity common among cats—licking its fur.
Wang Rui, who was fast asleep, had no idea he was about to get a nurturing yet mischievous mother and an active older sister.
But his future days were bound to be very, very exciting.
"Is this the Sacred Beast I can sense the flow of power speeding up," Zi Ji said, stretching her head to sniff the Sacred Beast. "I felt the birth of the Sacred Beast when I came out of seclusion, though it seemed a bit late, so I didn't go."
"Mm." An Yun nodded.
"The Sacred Beast carries a very pure dragon scent! Does it have dragon blood?" Zi Ji carefully sensed again, indeed feeling a resonance in the bloodlines. The feeling coming from the golden little lion seemed even stronger than her own. "I feel that this bloodline seems even more noble than mine!"
"I'm not too familiar with your dragon race," An Yun replied, shaking her head with a bit of fatigue. After the recent battle with Bear King, she was quite drained. "Di Tian flew off earlier. You can ask him when he returns."
"Alright," Zi Ji said with some dissatisfaction but let it go. She, a recently emerged dragon, was brimming with energy and unwilling to let her tired friend rest.
"By the way, Ah Yun, who is this cub's father? Why does it also have a bit of a dragon scent?" Zi Ji, who had a close relationship with An Yun, couldn't help but ask.
"Really?" The huge black tiger's eyelids drooped lazily. "It was with a weaker dragon of the same race. Does it really have a dragon scent? Maybe Emperor Tian secretly had something to do with it."
Purple Princess didn't seem entirely convinced but decided to drop the issue. "Speaking of which, Ah Yun, why did you decide to have cubs?"
"You want to hear my personal reason, or the publicly stated one?"
"The public one?"
"Because my end is near, I wanted to leave a mark of my existence in the world, so I decided to have a cub to inherit everything of mine," An Yun lazily explained.
"…And your personal reason?"
"Never had cubs before, thought I'd have one to play with."
Purple Princess was choked by her straightforwardness.
"Indeed, it's fun," she flicked her tail. "Can I play with it for a couple of days?"
"Nope, you should have your own," An Yun swiped her large head away. "I'm going to sleep."
As they joked, a massive black dragon soared above the Star Dou Forest and landed in the Forbidden Zone at the forest's center.
Di Tian knelt on one knee by the Lake of Life.
A faint silver halo rose from the lake's surface.
"A moment ago, there were divine beings from the God Realm probing the Douluo Continent," a faint ethereal voice rang out.
"Yes, my lord," the Beast God of the Star Dou Forest lowered his head obediently. "Just now, the Emperor Auspicious Beast was born, and it seems to have pure dragon blood." He hesitated slightly. "The bloodline of the Sacred Beast... seems even stronger than that of the Hell Dragon King and me."
"So it's the naturally born Sacred Beast? No wonder... No wonder," the mysterious voice murmured. "Your senses are correct. The Sacred Beast's bloodline comes from the Golden Dragon King... If not for the Golden Dragon King, it would never be this weak. I almost thought my other half had returned to the Douluo Continent."
The mysterious voice paused, then continued with strong disgust, "Hmph, those damn gods in the God Realm probably sensed something too, which is why they're going through so much trouble to investigate the lower realms... I can feel the repulsive power of the Shura God."
"What?!" Di Tian was shocked. "Then—"
"Don't worry, I haven't exposed myself, and the Sacred Beast should not have been discovered."
"Sorry, my lord. I lost composure." Emperor Tian bowed his head.
"My wounds are far from healed. At this rate, it will take at least five thousand years," the mysterious voice said indifferently. "Di Tian, remember, as long as the Shura God is in power, the soul beasts must remain low-key."
"Yes," Di Tian replied. "But, my lord, the God Realm can't interfere in the lower realms. Why...?"
"Hmph, the righteous and upright Shura God..." the mysterious voice let out a bitter, cold laugh. "You really think he'll uphold the law? The Shura God, who split the Dragon God in half with his own hands, is the one most afraid of the beast race regaining power. He'll go to any lengths to suppress the beasts."
"From the Star Dou Forest to the north lies the inheritance site of the Shura God," the mysterious voice said with gritted teeth. "If he wishes, he can always interfere in the matters of the continent under the guise of divine trials."
"Yes, I understand," Emperor Tian nodded, his golden eyes flashing with deep resentment.
"Alright, I will once again enter into slumber… I won't wake for ten thousand years," the silver light flickered. "And one last thing, Di Tian, remember: the Sacred Beast... must not be harmed!"
"If there is no turning point, the Sacred Beast may be the only opportunity for the Dragon God to revive," the mysterious voice said coldly. "Even if the Sacred Beast dies, you must ensure its body is returned intact to the Star Dou Forest."
Di Tian's heart surged with turbulent waves.
The only chance for the Dragon God's revival… Could it be that the lord intends…?
The Sacred Beast indeed gathers the fortune of all soul beasts, but compared to the supreme Dragon King…
Doubt surged in the Beast God's heart for a moment, but then it quickly disappeared.
"I will do everything in my power to ensure the Sacred Beast's safety," he said solemnly.
End of Chapter
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Omake
On a certain day, Bi Ji heard An Yun calling her loudly, thinking something was wrong, so she rushed over.
She found the giant tiger pointing at a dark, messy pile on the ground: "Bi Ji, it's bad, I pooped and it's moving! Am I going to die???"
And so, that day, all the fierce beasts witnessed the sight of an emerald swan beating up a tiger.