As they stepped out of the starry spatial tunnel, everyone's eyes suddenly lit up. Before them lay a sky-inverted azure lake.
The surface of the lake rippled gently under the soft breeze, its waters clear like a mirror. Dense flows of worldly and life energy even swirled into mist above the lake. The natural aura washing over them seemed capable of cleansing fatigue from body to soul.
If one were to describe the scene in four characters, "paradise on earth" would fit perfectly.
"Welcome to the Lake of Life!" Lin Yun turned to smile at Xiao Xiao and Zhang Lexuan.
Though the lake was indeed beautiful, neither Xiao Xiao nor Zhang Lexuan focused on the scenery. Their attention was fixed on Lin Yun and the figures standing behind him.
"Souls beasts… no, Fierce Beasts!" Zhang Lexuan's throat went dry. She instinctively stepped back, extremely tense.
The aura gap between a Soul Master and a Soul Beast was huge. Perhaps because of different cultivation systems, Soul Masters' energy tended to be calmer, while Soul Beasts exuded wild, uncontrollable ferocity.
This was the advantage of Soul Beasts, and why most Soul Masters of the same level could not defeat their Beast counterparts.
Experienced as she was, Zhang Lexuan was the first to identify Di Tian and the others. They did not deliberately release their pressure, but neither did they conceal it. Each emanated a suffocating, terrifying aura that made her scalp tingle.
The more one knew, the greater the fear. The aura of a hundred-thousand-year Fierce Beast was unforgettable—Zhang Lexuan had once felt absolute despair against such a beast, only managing to kill one after losing several inner academy disciples.
Now, facing a hundred-thousand-year Fierce Beast again—and one clearly beyond her comprehension—Zhang Lexuan even felt an urge to run.
It wasn't her fault.
Even a Douluo with a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring was only comparable to weaker titled Douluos. Against a Fierce Beast capable of taking humanoid form and over two hundred thousand years old, she was utterly fragile.
Lake of Life?
She thought bitterly, this is clearly a place of great danger!
Looking at Lin Yun, her expression became complicated. She had never imagined that in her desperate choice, she would end up facing a soul beast-level BOSS. No wonder Lin Yun had said that joining his faction meant there was no way out except through death.
The blood feud between Soul Masters and Soul Beasts…
Was her choice really correct?
But soon, the confusion and fear in her eyes vanished.
Right? Wrong?Did it matter?
Not anymore. To her, nothing mattered. She was already at a dead end. Soul Beasts or humans—joining the beast side didn't seem worse than being trapped in the whirlpool of human conspiracies for life.
A death in battle was preferable, far better than being a puppet for an entire lifetime.
Already resigned, Zhang Lexuan accepted it. Xiao Xiao, however, was utterly stunned.
"Yun… Yun Ge, you're a Soul Beast?" Xiao Xiao's eyes were complicated as she looked at Lin Yun. Why did he feel so unfamiliar, even though she had shared the closest moments with him more than once?
So this is why you never told me your true identity…This is why you never revealed your forces behind you…
"Compared to a Soul Beast, I think the term 'God' suits me better," Lin Yun said, revealing the truth.
But calling himself a "Soul Beast" felt odd. He was indeed human, only in work mode did Di Tian and the others address him in that role.
So Lin Yun clarified: "I am the Lord of Soul Beasts, but I am not a Soul Beast. My true form is the Golden Dragon King, a manifestation of the Dragon God—a god."
God…
Xiao Xiao and Zhang Lexuan exchanged glances, pupils trembling in shock.
Okay, that makes sense.
Even Xiao Xiao thought Lin Yun's life was almost unreal. From the start, he had been the strongest among new students. His spirit ring ratio was absurd: two purple, one black. After one summer, he went from three rings to five, with three black and two red rings.
Is this even possible for a human?
Zhang Lexuan, the strongest senior of Shrek Academy's inner court, had normal spirit rings for her first seven, with only the eighth being a hundred-thousand-year ring. She was already hailed as the academy's top prodigy.
And this was without knowing that Lin Yun's spirit rings were all red and at level sixty-nine—otherwise, her mind might have overheated trying to comprehend it all.
She finally answered a question in her mind:
What a ridiculous "God Exam"! He was already a god!
The terms "Dragon God" and "Golden Dragon King" didn't mean much to them—they simply assumed he was extremely powerful. They couldn't comprehend just how strong the Dragon God really was.
"So, Yun Ge… the ones behind you… are your subordinates?" Xiao Xiao finally asked after organizing her words.
The presence of Di Tian and the others was intimidating. Not knowing the meaning of Lin Yun being the Lord of Soul Beasts, Xiao Xiao dared not speak carelessly, afraid of offending them and ending up "crunched like a cookie."
"They're not subordinates. They're my left and right arms—my brothers and sisters!" Lin Yun laughed, recalling how a childhood director had once evaluated his childhood idol.
Di Tian and the others remained silent but their pride and joy were obvious.
I, Di Tian (Ice Emperor, Snow Emperor, Ten-Thousand-Demons King, Biji, Bear Lord, Red King, Purple Princess…), am the brother/sister of my Lord!
In truth, Lin Yun never considered them subordinates. Initially, he saw them as partners: he borrowed their strength and resources as the Lord of Soul Beasts, promised equivalent returns, and would lead them to counterattack the Divine Realm, breaking the limit that Soul Beasts could not become gods.
It was even profitable for Di Tian and the others. Investing in Lin Yun, a transmigrator, might restore the glory of the beast race. If hope was pinned on Gu Yue Na, it would be futile.
Thus, Lin Yun had never hesitated to command them, fully aware of what he was using and owed.
Eventually, Di Tian and the others truly respected and adored him, and Lin Yun came to regard the Star Beasts as home.
Transmigrators are lonely. In a strange world, barriers exist. It was Di Tian and the others who gave Lin Yun warmth.
He could abandon the scruples of a "Lord" but not basic human decency.
Even later, as Lord of Soul Beasts, Lin Yun's commands were necessary leadership measures. To maintain absolute control over the beast mess, he couldn't give defectors like A Yin, Xiao Wu, or Gu Yue Na any chance to run wild.
Excluding his leadership title, Lin Yun never treated Di Tian and the others as mere subordinates. He always thought of them as equals, and so he could say it confidently.
"Now, let me introduce my brothers and sisters!" Lin Yun smiled at Xiao Xiao and Zhang Lexuan, patting Di Tian's shoulder.
"This is Di Tian, Beast God of the Star Forest, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King—first on your human ten Fierce Beasts ranking, with 820,000 years of cultivation!"
"This is the Arctic Ruler Snow Emperor, third on the Fierce Beast ranking, Ice and Snow Woman, 700,000 years of cultivation!"
"Biji, fourth on the ranking, Emerald Swan, 560,000 years!"
"Ten-Thousand-Demons King, fifth, Demon-Eye Magic Tree, 540,000 years!"
"Bear Lord, sixth, Dark-Gold Fear Claw Bear, 470,000 years!"
"Ice Emperor, seventh, Ice-Blue Emperor Scorpion, 400,000 years!"
"Red King, eighth, Three-Headed Red Demon Mastiff, 320,000 years!"
"Purple Princess, ninth, Hell Demon Dragon King, 290,000 years!"
Aside from the second-ranked Evil-Eye Tyrant and the tenth-ranked Demon Spirit, the top ten Fierce Beasts were almost fully assembled!
Together with Lin Yun himself, this made eight top-tier Fierce Beasts—a star-studded Soul Beast team!
After introducing the beasts, Lin Yun embraced Xiao Xiao's slender waist and winked at the Ice and Snow Emperors: "This is Xiao Xiao, my queen, also your little sister—take good care of her!"
The Ice and Snow Emperors nodded politely, smiling.
Xiao Xiao, still dizzy, bowed lightly and timidly greeted them as sisters.
She had only just reached level fifty, without a fifth spirit ring, and now she was being treated like a sister by two of the Arctic Three Heavenly Kings?
As for Zhang Lexuan…
She stepped forward, held her skirt elegantly, and bowed gracefully to the beasts: "Greetings, Beast Kings. I am Zhang Lexuan, the human maid of the Lord."
End of Chapter)
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