Dozens of light-years away, in the space known as the God Realm, the five great God Kings simultaneously sensed a disturbance. They all turned their gazes in the same direction, their divine consciousness reaching out across the vast distances of the cosmos.
"What a powerful aura! What on earth is that?" one murmured.
"That is a power that does not belong to this world," another observed gravely.
"Could it be a demon from outside the realm?" a third asked with concern.
"Uncertain. Let us hope not."
The gods exchanged troubled glances, but none could provide answers. Unfortunately, the source of that overwhelming presence was too far from the Divine Realm for even their divine senses to reach. Otherwise, they would have immediately investigated the phenomenon personally.
Half an hour later, Victor returned to the Lake of Life with a companion.
The woman who walked beside him possessed an otherworldly beauty. Silver dragon horns crowned her head, and her long silver hair cascaded down her back with a crystalline sheen. Her jawline was elegantly sculpted, her neck graceful as a swan's, and an innate dignity radiated from her very presence.
She pursed her red lips, her eyes holding a melancholic gleam as the silver dress she wore outlined her graceful figure. She looked like a celestial fairy who had descended from the heavens above.
Yet her eyes were red-rimmed, her face showing clear signs of distress as she followed Victor with timid steps, like a bullied young wife trailing after her husband.
"Lord! You've returned!"
Sensing his master's aura, Di Tian rushed back to the Lake of Life at full speed. Then his eyes locked onto the woman walking behind Victor.
Though this was the first time he'd seen his lord in human form, the familiar aura made recognition instant.
This woman was none other than the Silver Dragon King herself.
"My Lord, are you unharmed?" Di Tian asked with genuine concern.
From what he could sense, his lord didn't appear to have suffered any injuries. This brought him considerable relief. If anything had happened to her, he would never be able to face the soul beast clan again.
But why did his lord look so unhappy? And those red eyes, they looked as though she'd been crying.
The Silver Dragon King shook her head gently. "I am fine. Please leave us. I wish to speak with Lord Victor alone."
Her voice was soft and melodious, pleasant to the ear, yet it couldn't entirely conceal the grievance underlying her words.
'Lord Victor?'
Di Tian froze, his gaze shifting to the smiling Victor standing beside her. He'd only been gone for a short while, what could have possibly transpired in that time?
Why was his lord addressing this human as "Lord"?
Could it be that... his lord had been defeated?
As soon as the thought formed, Di Tian forcefully dismissed it.
'No, no, no! That's absolutely impossible!'
His lord was the Silver Dragon King, the supreme ruler of all soul beasts! How could a mere human possibly be her match? Not just humans, even gods might not be her opponent!
Despite his burning curiosity, Di Tian didn't dare ask further questions. After clasping his fists and bowing respectfully, he departed from the Lake of Life.
Victor conjured two plastic chairs from thin air with a casual wave of his hand and sat down in one. "Have a seat."
The Silver Dragon King bit her red lips, endured the soreness in her rear, and carefully lowered herself into the chair opposite him. She looked both adorable and pitiful.
Seeing this, Victor couldn't help but chuckle. "If you'd surrendered earlier, you wouldn't have had to suffer like this."
Hearing those words, the Silver Dragon King felt even more aggrieved. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
'What do you mean if I'd surrendered earlier I wouldn't have had to suffer? You didn't even give me a chance to admit defeat! You just kept hitting me!'
"You need to get along well with everyone in the chat group from now on. Understood?"
"I understand..." the Silver Dragon King answered in a barely audible voice.
"I couldn't hear you."
"I understand!" she said more loudly, her face flushing slightly.
"Good. Also, you need to let go of your prejudice against humans. Can you do that?"
"Yes."
"Excellent."
Victor instinctively reached out and patted the Silver Dragon King's head in approval. By the time he realized what he was doing and tried to stop himself, it was already too late.
However, to his surprise, the Silver Dragon King didn't seem to reject such an intimate gesture. In fact, a fleeting expression of enjoyment flickered through her eyes, though she quickly concealed it.
'Does this woman have masochistic tendencies?'
After clearing his throat twice, Victor withdrew his hand and adopted a more serious demeanor. "Silver Dragon King is just a title, isn't it? Do you have an actual name besides that? What is it?"
The Silver Dragon King shook her head. "I don't have a name. I've been called the Silver Dragon King since the moment I came into existence."
"I see." Victor nodded thoughtfully. "Then tell me about this world. Give me a comprehensive overview."
Though he hadn't expected much, he still wanted to learn more about this world to determine if it might be one of the anime worlds he'd watched but forgotten.
"Very well..."
The Silver Dragon King paused briefly before beginning to introduce the fundamental nature of her world to Victor.
As she spoke, Victor's sense of familiarity with this world grew stronger and stronger.
The Martial Soul System, the Star Dou Forest, the God Realm...
He'd definitely heard of these before.
"Wait a minute! Damn, isn't this Tang Jia San Shao's Soul Land?"
After listening for a while, Victor finally remembered where he'd encountered these concepts before.
This was a fictional world from a novel!
No wonder the fundamental laws of this world felt so weak.
Soul Land, also mockingly known in some circles as the "Hydrogen Continent" due to its explosive plot developments.
This was a world centered around martial souls and soul power cultivation.
The reason it had taken him so long to recall was mainly because he'd read the Soul Land novel ages ago, back in elementary school, if he remembered correctly. He'd felt that manga updates were too slow, so he'd switched to reading novels in middle school.
In the end, he hadn't even finished the entire novel.
The primary reason was that the protagonist had been too hypocritical for his taste. He just couldn't bring himself to like the character, so he'd eventually dropped it.
After that, several more sequels to the novel had been published. Although he hadn't read those, he knew about some of the characters who appeared in them.
Like the Silver Dragon King sitting before him, the supreme leader of the soul beasts.
Oh yes, he vaguely remembered that the "Soul Land" series had been adapted into an animated show a few years ago as well.
No wonder the chat group had invited her to join.
[Stelle: @Victor, Brother Victor, are you still there?]
At that moment, a notification from the chat group pulled Victor from his thoughts.
[Lumine: It's been quite a while and you still haven't responded. Could it be that the battle isn't over yet?]
[Kiana: Damn, is the opponent really that powerful?]
[Shinobu: I hope Victor is alright.]
[Shinoa: I'm getting worried...]
[Silver Dragon King: ...]
'You're all overestimating me far too much!'
[Victor: Don't worry, the battle's over. I'm perfectly fine.]
[Shinobu: That's a relief.]
[Shinoa: By the way, what's the strength level of this newcomer?]
[Victor: Around the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.]
[Stelle: What? That's it? She dared to be so arrogant with such limited strength? Wasn't she afraid of being beaten to death?]
[Silver Dragon King: This dragon has learned her lesson and will behave obediently. Please... please go easy on me when criticizing...]
Though she still didn't fully understand the strength levels of the other members in the group, and she remained unclear about what exactly the "Foundation Establishment Realm" represented, one thing was certain.
Since they dared to speak so dismissively about her cultivation level, their strength must be absolutely terrifying.
Just what kind of monstrous organization had she been invited to join?
There were far too many powerful beings in this group!
The Silver Dragon King felt a shiver run down her spine as the full weight of her situation began to sink in.