The next morning, Lin Yun woke from his sleep. After gently moving two snow-white jade arms from around his neck, he got up and stretched lazily.
Yesterday's birthday celebration had been nothing short of perfect. If there was one small imperfection, it was that the cake he made didn't taste particularly great.
But that didn't matter — the heart behind it was what counted. Besides, he had never baked a cake before; the fact that it wasn't completely inedible was already a success in his book.
Glancing back at Xue Qingci, still fast asleep with a faint trace of exhaustion on her delicate face, Lin Yun smiled softly. He tucked the blanket around her shoulders and quietly left the residence.
At the Lake of Life, Lin Yun descended from the sky and scooped up a handful of lake water to wash his face.
"Di Tian."
The next second, Di Tian stepped out from the spatial void, bowing slightly behind Lin Yun. "My Lord."
"You know the Star Dou Great Forest best. Starting today, I intend to strengthen my combat experience. I'll need every hundred-thousand-year soul beast in the forest to spar with me." Lin Yun flicked the water droplets from his hand as he spoke.
"Uh…" Di Tian froze for a moment, his tone full of doubt. "My Lord, with your strength, do you truly need those weak hundred-thousand-year soul beasts to spar with you?"
In his memory, the Golden Dragon King had fought the entire God Realm alone, facing multiple God Kings at once without falling behind. For someone of that level to need training partners—it sounded absurd.
To put it bluntly, the first thought that crossed Di Tian's mind was: Those hundred-thousand-year beasts are worthy of sparring with the Lord?
"Perhaps in your eyes, the former me was already strong enough," Lin Yun sighed softly. "But that's far from enough. If I were truly powerful, we wouldn't have fallen to where we are now. Yes, I can easily defeat a God King—but Di Tian, you must understand, the God Realm has more than one God King. And not only God Kings."
"As long as the restrictions of the rules remain unbroken, none of you can ascend to godhood to help me. And after I recover my strength, I won't have the luxury of waiting for you to grow stronger—the God Realm won't give us that time. Sooner or later, I'll have to face the entire God Realm alone."
Di Tian fell silent. Looking at Lin Yun's back, he suddenly realized that the being he had always thought of as invincible carried a burden far too heavy—too lonely, too exhausting.
That back—It was a back that stood against all of time itself.
"But don't underestimate them either," Lin Yun turned and smiled. "A hundred-thousand-year soul beast— even if it hasn't truly lived that long—must possess both talent and luck to survive this forest of predators. They've gone through countless life-and-death battles to reach where they are."
"Yes, their raw strength may seem lacking to you and me, but the battle instincts they've honed over countless years are a treasure. And that—" Lin Yun's golden eyes gleamed faintly— "that is precisely what I lack. The instinctive combat experience of our soul beast race."
"To fight—until death."
"I understand, my Lord. I'll personally see to it that all hundred-thousand-year soul beasts cooperate with you." Di Tian placed his right hand over his chest and bowed deeply.
Lin Yun was right. Even though Di Tian bore the title of Beast God and was unmatched on the continent, he was still not a god—and the difference between a mortal beast and a god was simply too vast.
If even he couldn't aid Lin Yun, then no other soul beast could.
The Silver Dragon King, Lin Yun's other half, was still gravely wounded and in deep slumber—her combat power diminished to almost nothing. She couldn't help him either. The mighty soul beast race, for all its numbers and power, could only leave Lin Yun to face everything alone.
For the first time, Di Tian hated his own weakness. He hated the gods of the God Realm who had shackled their kind. Were it not for those restrictions, he would gladly offer his life to aid Lin Yun—even if it meant dying in battle against the gods themselves.
But he couldn't. Even if he threw his life away, it would change nothing. His death would be meaningless.
Watching Di Tian disappear into the distance, Lin Yun felt a pang of helplessness. He had known that Di Tian would react this way—doubtful, perhaps even questioning whether he truly was the Golden Dragon King reborn.
But Lin Yun had no other choice.
As the Lord of the Soul Beasts, he bore the hope of their entire race. One day, he would have to invade the God Realm and become its enemy. He couldn't afford to rely solely on meditation and power-ups—he needed battle.
Real, instinctual, deadly battle.
And what he had just said wasn't empty talk. Lin Yun genuinely believed it.
He didn't think the original Golden Dragon King was some flawless warrior. The guy wasn't exactly bright—his battle style had basically been "smash it with brute force." Relying purely on raw strength and destructive might, his combat adaptability was probably terrible.
Gu Yuena hadn't inherited the Dragon God's memories, so it was likely the same for the Golden Dragon King. Most of his battle instincts came from muscle memory and lingering fragments of the Dragon God's will.
Otherwise, back in the war, it wouldn't have been just Gu Yuena who escaped—the Golden Dragon King would have too.
Even that old Dragon Chief managed to flee successfully! Someone as powerful as the Golden Dragon King, who could flatten weak gods with a single claw, not escaping? Impossible.
So Lin Yun's conclusion was clear: the Golden Dragon King was just a pure stats monster. His raw power was unmatched, but his actual combat technique was probably mediocre at best.
And Lin Yun's other statement was also grounded in fact: soul beasts of the same level were stronger than human soul masters, largely because they'd survived far more real battles. The Star Dou Great Forest was a land where the weak were devoured by the strong—anyone without skill would have long since become someone else's lunch.
Every hundred-thousand-year soul beast had real combat instincts forged in blood. By challenging all of them, Lin Yun could rapidly build up his own experience.
That was the difference between humans and soul beasts—wisdom.
Soul beasts fought purely by instinct and battle intuition. Lin Yun, however, could learn from every encounter, analyze, adapt, and evolve.
The peaceful days ahead were over.
Before long, Di Tian returned to the Lake of Life. At his side stood a graceful, emerald-green figure—Bi Ji.
"My Lord," Di Tian said, "since you intend to hone your combat skills, take Bi Ji with you. Battles will inevitably lead to injury. With her there, you can fight without restraint."
Bi Ji bowed elegantly, her emerald eyes shining with reverence.
She had already heard from Di Tian about Lin Yun's intentions. For this leader who carried the hopes of the entire soul beast race, Bi Ji felt nothing but pure admiration.
"My Lord," she said softly, "I will ensure your safety so that you may fight without worry."
(End of Chapter)
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