Evan Chu stared in shock at the massive lion head inside the six-pointed star overhead, and cautiously asked, "Are you speaking to me?"
Honestly, that was a pretty dumb question—most people would’ve been scared out of their wits by a scene like this. But Evan was different; after everything he’d been through with Luna, weird stuff like this barely fazed him anymore.
"That's right. What you're seeing is a remnant of my divine sense. Ten thousand years—I've waited ten thousand years for you to appear. For the sake of my child, I exhausted all my energy to seal them until now."
Back during the War of the Gods, my child should've died alongside me. But I couldn't accept that. They're the only Bloodshadow Berserker Lion in my clan to inherit an ancient sacred-beast bloodline. I couldn't let them die for nothing, so I sealed them away.
Many have tried to hatch my child, but all failed—they lacked the one condition needed to break the seal: dragon blood.
That left Evan confused, so he asked right away, "Dragon blood? Sure, I'm a descendant of the Divine Dragon Clan, but anyone from the Divine Dragon Clan could do it, right? Why me? I'm not the only person in the world with dragon blood, am I?"
After a long pause, the massive lion head finally replied, "There are indeed descendants of dragons and humans, but they're as rare as phoenix feathers. Only a dragon-blooded descendant who also possesses Chaos Qi can truly hatch my child."
Dragons are an extremely proud race—they look down on my Bloodshadow Berserker Lion Clan. Even if a dragon found my child, they wouldn’t bother hatching them. Do you understand now?
"Evan, I didn’t expect this lion to be even older than me—a monster from ten thousand years ago! Be careful what you say." Luna reminded him.
"Little girl, don’t worry, I won’t hurt him. The fact that you’ve formed a soul bond with him proves how extraordinary he is. Take good care of my child for me. This bit of soul power is my gift to you."
As soon as the words fell, a yellow beam of light shot out from the six-pointed star, striking Evan right in the center of his forehead.
After a moment, Luna said, "Thank you, Senior Berserker Lion. I promise I'll take good care of it!"
"Alright, my time is almost up. Kid, I'm leaving my child in your hands. Remember this: until you reach the Saint Martial Realm, never bring my child into the Divine Battlefield—otherwise, you’ll both die without a doubt."
"Saint Martial Realm?" Evan heard another cultivation level and couldn't help but ask, "What realm were you at back then?"
"I was at the seventh layer of the Saint Martial Realm. Even then, in the War of the Gods, I was only considered mid-tier. Your talent is good, and you’re a dragon descendant—maybe in a hundred years, you’ll break through to the Saint Martial Realm."
This time Evan was truly stunned. All those so-called peerless experts Luna had mentioned before seemed like nothing compared to this guy. And what about those 'Seven Prime Relics' she talked about? Was she lying to me, or did she deliberately downplay their level?
"I understand. You can count on me, Senior. Also, I want to ask you a few things, if you have time." Evan figured a true powerhouse like this would know way more than Luna.
"Go ahead, but make it quick—my time is running out!" The lion's voice sounded noticeably weaker.
"Where can I find Iceflame Crystal? Sacred Snow Lotus? Heavenward Spirit Water? And what about the seven Spirit Pearls?"
"Kid, you really are something. I bet that little girl with you told you about these, huh? Iceflame Crystal is a kind of crystal used to remove the Vermilion Bird Mark. You can find it in the Azure Tide Ruins."
Sacred Snow Lotus appeared in the Netherghost Domain, as far as I recall. As for Heavenward Spirit Water, you can only find it in the Divine Battlefield. Spirit Pearls are scattered in many places—anywhere with strong elemental attributes. Why do you need all these things?"
Evan’s head started to ache just hearing about where these things were found. Those places were only for ultimate experts to roam.
"My fiancée has the Vermilion Bird Mark—I want to help her forcibly remove it. As for Sacred Snow Lotus and Heavenward Spirit Water, I need them to unseal my sword!" Evan explained, pulling out the Frostbane Sword.
"Frostbane Sword? You actually got your hands on Frostbane? Kid, your luck is off the charts. Frostbane is an ancient divine weapon. Back in the War of the Gods, it ranked third among the Seven Prime Relics, but in terms of true power, it's even stronger than the top-ranked Demonscourge Blade."
That's because Frostbane contains an ancient battle skill. Too bad the Lord of Frostbane only mastered eight forms—if the final form had been learned, your human race wouldn't have lost so badly."
Even Evan, thick-skinned as he was, felt a bit overwhelmed. There was actually an ancient battle skill hidden in Frostbane, and even Luna didn’t know about it. If he mastered Ninefold Stellar Transformation, trained his Starforge Body to the ninth layer, and learned this ancient skill—what would that even mean?
"Don’t get cocky! Even learning one of those would be amazing. You really think you can handle all three? Evan, are you showing off or just delusional?" Luna shot back, unimpressed.
Just as Evan was about to respond, the lion head said, "I'm leaving you a reserve of Saint Power, and a unique martial art from my clan and humans—Lion Spirit Fist. I’ll transmit both to you now!
My child is still too young to help you use Lion Spirit Fist, but the Saint Power I’m giving you will let you unleash it three times in danger. At your current realm, each strike will be a full-force blow three levels above your own.
But after each use, you’ll need at least a month before you can use it again. Remember, don’t waste it—save it for when your life is truly on the line. You only get three shots. If you want my child to help you use it, that'll be at least ten years from now.
Suddenly, Evan felt new characters appear in his mind—they were the incantations for how to use Lion Spirit Fist.
Gifted as he was, Evan quickly grasped the essence. At the same time, he sensed a hazy, static mass of Saint Power condense in a corner of his dantian—it was unlike anything he'd felt before.
"Kid, my task is done. Remember what I said—don’t enter the Divine Battlefield without Saint Martial Realm strength. Even if you need Heavenward Spirit Water, wait until you reach Saint Martial Realm before you go."
My child has unique talents that will be a huge benefit to you. Treat him well. Tell him that his parents were heroes of the War of the Gods, heroes of the Bloodshadow Berserker Lion Clan…"
The voice suddenly cut off, and the six-pointed star in the Stellar Cultivation Chamber vanished, leaving Evan standing there, staring blankly at the nearly-hatched Bloodshadow Berserker Lion cub.
At that moment, Evan felt a massive pressure descend on him. "Crap!" he reacted instantly, shooting forward like lightning.
He barely managed a few steps before—bang!—he slammed into the ground. "Damn! So this is what gravity feels like?"