"Well, there's no point in dwelling on the past."
The Silver Dragon closed her eyes slightly. When she opened them again, her expression had returned to calm indifference.
"Phoenix God, whether you accept your identity or not, you are just like the Dragon God—an original, innate god of the God Realm. Now, the world that once belonged to us has been seized by a group of hypocritical imposters."
"I ask you to set aside past grievances for now and cultivate with me here. Once your body is able to withstand it, I will return the power of creation to you."
"At that point, you and I will rule the soul beasts together, revive them, and when the time is right—attack the God Realm and reclaim what is ours!"
As she spoke, her voice grew more passionate. Her amethyst-like eyes gazed at the red-haired boy with hope and anticipation.
"After that, you and I can settle our personal matters. Is that alright?"
All the ferocious beasts looked at the excited Silver Dragon King in shock, not daring to make a sound.
In ten thousand years, they had never seen their dignified Lord express herself with such sincerity and intensity.
This boy… is actually a Phoenix God on the same level as the Dragon God?!
The Titan Giant Ape and the Azure Bull Python shrank their necks and nervously tried to remember if they had accidentally bumped into him when they brought him here.
Wait a second!
Does that mean Xiao Wu is actually with the Phoenix God?
Are the two of us… relatives of the Phoenix God?
"This..."
The red-haired boy frowned.
There was too much information to process all at once.
Resisting the God Realm was necessary. If he didn't want to be a pawn, this was the only path forward.
Teaming up with Gu Yuena—probably his strongest ally—was also essential.
But staying here wasn't an option.
Without him guiding the main storyline, Tang San, the future God King, would continue growing along his original path—eventually becoming a huge problem.
More importantly, the system required him to stay active in the outside world.
While staying here might yield a decent number of evolution points, it wouldn't come close to what he could earn out there.
And if he cultivated step by step here, wouldn't he miss countless opportunities?
The Ice and Fire Eyes were still waiting for him.
After a brief moment of thought, Ma Hongjun shook his head.
"No, I think it's better for me to cultivate outside."
Above all, he couldn't bear to leave behind the girls he was so deeply connected with.
Clearly not expecting his rejection, the Silver Dragon King was stunned for a moment. A bit confused, she said, "Phoenix God, the spiritual energy here is abundant, and I possess the power of creation. Training together would benefit us both. Wait..."
Her dragon eyes flickered with realization, and then turned cold.
"You're doing this because of the humans looking for you, aren't you?"
Hearing the sudden chill in her tone, the red-haired boy's heart sank.
"What do you plan to do?" he asked seriously.
"Hmph. As the ancestor of the soul beasts, as an innate divine being, you would abandon your own kind for a few insignificant humans?"
The Silver Dragon King snorted, her eyes cold as frost. "Then today, I'll help you cut off this worldly attachment!"
"Mr. Bear! Red King!"
"Here!"
"Find the human who was traveling with him and then—"
BOOM!!!!!!
Blazing red-gold flames exploded into the sky, lighting it up like fire. The overwhelming heat spread instantly, and a giant, lifelike phoenix silhouette soared across the heavens, its flames so intense they seemed to burn the very sunlight!
"If you dare to touch them—"
In the middle of the inferno, the young man wore a robe of red-gold feathers, wings blazing toward the sky. Flaming feathers flew everywhere, and fire danced in his eyes like a storm. A faint afterimage trailed his every movement.
Between his brows, a mysterious symbol glowed softly, radiating a pressure that made hearts tremble.
He stared directly at the Silver Dragon, his voice firm and cold: "I will fight you to the death!"
The phoenix sensed its master's fury and spread its wings, letting out a thunderous cry toward the heavens.
Ferocious.
In that instant, whether it was Di Tian or Da Ming and Er Ming, all the beast kings involuntarily stepped back, horrified by the power emanating from the boy cloaked in flame.
Though his strength was still far from theirs, the divine pressure he released made their very souls tremble.
This was fear carved into their instincts.
The Phoenix God truly deserved to be the Dragon God's equal.
Xiong Jun and the Red King swallowed hard, cautiously retreating while wiping cold sweat from their backs.
Thankfully, they hadn't moved too fast.
"You..."
Looking into the boy's furious eyes, Silver Dragon opened her mouth but couldn't speak.
A moment later, she lowered her head, visibly discouraged.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Please leave."
At that moment, the mighty Silver Dragon King—ruler of all soul beasts and a powerful demigod despite her injuries—looked helpless and lonely in front of the boy.
She actually apologized?
Ma Hongjun was taken aback, and his anger eased somewhat.
Still, that didn't mean he would show her any warmth.
Without another word, the red-haired boy turned toward the Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape.
Let's take Xiao Wu back first. The Dean must be worried.
As for the Silver Dragon King… that could wait.
"Phoenix God."
Ma Hongjun had only taken two steps when a calm voice came from behind.
He instinctively turned to see the Silver Dragon King's amethyst eyes looking straight at him.
"I'm seriously injured and recovering slowly. I was forced to awaken this time. If anything happens to the tribe while I sleep again… I hope that, for the sake of our shared origin, you'll protect them."
Then, she swept her gaze over the crowd of beasts.
"From this moment on, the Phoenix God is a ruler of the soul beasts, equal to me. His orders are my orders."
With that, her body slowly sank into the water—as if she'd used the last of her strength.
But no one noticed the flash of cunning that briefly passed through her eyes.
"Obey the Lord's command! We greet the new Lord!"
"No—wait!"
The red-haired boy stared blankly at the many ferocious beasts bowing to him, completely at a loss.
What is going on here?!
How did I suddenly become the leader? I'm only level 30! What can I even do for them?!
And Di Tian, seriously?
You just accepted a level 30 human as your equal? Where's your pride? Where's your dignity?
What no one realized was that after witnessing the Phoenix God's divine might, Di Tian had no objections at all.
Because no matter how powerful he was now, in the past he had only been a minor guard of the Dragon God.
And this man… had once nearly killed the Dragon God.
If he hadn't lost back then, who knows what the outcome would've been?
"Wait!!"
Seeing he couldn't stop any of this, Ma Hongjun finally shouted.
The Silver Dragon King halted her descent.
"I'm saying—"
Ma Hongjun took a deep breath and declared, "If there's no better option, then you and I will leave together!!"