Douluo Continent: The Eternal Dawn

Chapter 53: A World Where Only Tianmeng is Wounded (4k)

"A white lion?" Huo Yuhao reacted quickly, swiftly drawing the White Tiger Dagger from his waist with his right hand, and crouching slightly as if facing a formidable enemy.

The White Tiger Dagger's thin blade seemed almost transparent, making no sound when it was drawn, and the chilling aura it exuded gave him a sense of confidence.

The white lion with golden eyes slowly approached. Compared to the white tiger, the king of beasts, this white lion looked much thinner, lacking the robust muscles of its predecessor. Its long, curly white mane swayed slightly with its movements.

Upon seeing the white lion, Huo Yuhao, for some reason, suddenly thought of the White Tiger Martial Soul, which had been passed down through generations of the White Tiger Duke lineage.

If his martial soul hadn't mutated, he would probably possess a powerful White Tiger martial soul. And if he truly inherited the Dai family's White Tiger martial soul, even the White Tiger Duchess wouldn't dare treat him and his mother that way anymore.

The white lion's majestic golden eyes gleamed with ferocity, and it let out a low roar. With a powerful leap, it pounced towards Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao channeled his soul power into his spiritual eye, and the white lion's movements in his eyes noticeably slowed down. He seized the opportunity and suddenly rolled to the left, then instantly sprang up, stumbling backward a few steps while simultaneously protecting his chest with the White Tiger Dagger.

His breathing quickened, and he could clearly hear his own heart pounding with nervousness. But more than anything, he felt excited.

Although Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eye Martial Soul didn't even have a single spirit ring attached, its basic function was quite good. Moreover, this white lion didn't seem to be as powerful as he had expected, and he wasn't entirely without a chance of defeating it.

In fact, his judgments do have some basis.

Among all lion-type spirit beasts, the white lion is quite an anomaly. They are not particularly adept at close-quarters combat, but rather possess a rare spiritual attribute.

Legend has it that they possess a trace of the Golden Lion King's bloodline, and their golden eyes are a trait of atavism. Unfortunately, this did not make them stronger, and the golden eyes are merely symbolic.

In the Soul Beast Encyclopedia, their official name is Golden-Eyed White Lion. Judging from its size and aura, this Golden-Eyed White Lion appears to have just broken through a hundred years of cultivation.

After a brief probe, the golden-eyed white lion had roughly figured out Huo Yuhao's background. It raised its head high, and its golden eyes suddenly lit up.

An ancient and domineering aura of a king swept out instantly. Even though Huo Yuhao's martial soul possessed spiritual attributes, his cultivation was too weak. His entire body was frozen in place uncontrollably, and his soul power and spiritual power became disordered, making it difficult to mobilize according to his own will.

This is precisely the Golden-Eyed White Lion's innate soul skill: Spiritual Intimidation.

If the Golden Lion King himself were to arrive, then it would truly be the Eye of a King.

Although the Golden-Eyed White Lion only activated a trace of the Golden Lion King's bloodline power within its body, combined with the aura released by its spiritual power, it was enough to render a level 10 Soul Master like Huo Yuhao unable to resist on the spot.

Huo Yuhao's heart was already ice-cold, filled with fear and despair as he watched helplessly as the golden-eyed white lion pounced on him from the sky once more. In this moment of impending death, he even felt regret.

If he had heeded his mother's last wish, let go of his hatred, and lived a peaceful and ordinary life, perhaps he wouldn't have suffered this calamity.

Huo Yuhao is only eleven years old now. Faced with a choice between life and death, even the most determined heart will inevitably waver.

Just at this critical moment, long blue vines swept in from afar, tightly binding the golden-eyed white lion in mid-air. Immediately afterward, a black-haired youth with a composed aura appeared above the golden-eyed white lion's head in an instant, and swung his right elbow down sharply.

"Boom—" The golden-eyed white lion slammed heavily onto the ground, leaving a clearly visible dent in its head. Blood flowed from its seven orifices, and its limbs and body convulsed uncontrollably; it was clear it was going to die.

Huo Yuhao subconsciously looked back along the blue vines and saw a familiar-looking girl absorbing the vines into her body, surrounded by two bright yellow halos.

Those who came to Huo Yuhao's aid were naturally Tang Ya and Ye Xixuan, who had come after him.

Tang Ya patted her full chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily I made it in time, at least I didn't eat all that grilled fish of yours for nothing."

"Sister Tang, Brother Ye." Huo Yuhao, who had survived the ordeal, glanced at Tang Ya, then his gaze fell on Ye Xixuan, who had his back to him, and his vision blurred for a moment. This was the first time in all these years that he had felt concern from a stranger.

Tang Ya stepped forward and took Ye Xixuan's arm, looking at the golden-eyed white lion who was barely breathing, and said with a smile.

"A golden-eyed white lion with a spiritual attribute, its cultivation is around a hundred years old. Would it be suitable as your first spirit ring? If there is an attribute conflict, you can come with us to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt spirit beasts later, and we'll find you a suitable spirit ring while we're at it. Consider it payment for the grilled fish you treated us to before."

"Do you know that I came to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts and obtain soul rings?" Huo Yuhao finally realized that Ye Xixuan and Tang Ya must have seen through him long ago, so he stopped trying to hide anything.

"Actually, my martial soul is also of the spiritual attribute."

"A spirit-attribute martial soul? That's rare." Tang Ya blinked in surprise. Now that Ye Xixuan was by her side, she had no intention of recruiting Huo Yuhao into the Tang Sect, unlike in the original story.

"So, this golden-eyed white lion would be perfect as your spirit ring?"

"Yes." Huo Yuhao nodded, unable to hide his joy. This was a genuine hundred-year soul ring. Although the children of the servants in the White Tiger Duke's mansion had awakened their martial souls and cultivated to level ten soul power earlier than him, most of them only fused with ten-year soul rings.

"Sister Tang, Brother Ye, thank you."

"No need for thanks, after all, we ate your grilled fish." Tang Ya waved her hand casually.

Ye Xixuan couldn't help but complain, "Sister Xiaoya, you ate almost all of those grilled fish by yourself."

"Then let me ask you, if I eat more to grow stronger, who will benefit in the future?" Tang Ya gave a charming snort, this sentence practically becoming her legitimate and righteous motto for being greedy. "Alright, Xiao Yuhao. You should deal with that golden-eyed white lion first, otherwise the spirit ring will be wasted if it dies."

Listening to their conversation, Huo Yuhao blushed slightly again, then Tang Ya's urging voice reached his ears once more. He quickly responded and excitedly gripped the White Tiger Dagger in his hand as he stepped forward.

Ye Xixuan did not interfere with Huo Yuhao's actions, but watched as Huo Yuhao plunged the White Tiger Dagger into the neck of the Golden-Eyed White Lion, and a faint yellow soul ring gradually condensed and rose.

At that very moment, a terrifying mental force instantly enveloped most of the southern part of the Star Dou Great Forest. This mental shock did not possess great destructive power, but it was able to render all living beings incapable of thought for a short period of time.

Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao immediately froze, while Ye Xixuan seemed unaffected. He looked at the ground two meters in front of him with a sense of something, and golden-white light shone from the cracks in the ground. A creature that looked like a silkworm crawled out from the ground.

Its entire body was a translucent, luminous white, over seven meters long and more than a meter in diameter. Although it had emerged from the soil, its shimmering skin was free of any dirt. Ten strange golden patterns encircled its body, and a pair of small, golden eyes stared directly at Ye Xixuan.

"You're the first human to remain calm after seeing my true form. Hehe, are you captivated by my beautiful body?"

"What do you want to do?"

Ye Xixuan's heart stirred. The fact that Tianmeng Ice Silkworm took the initiative to find him was both unexpected and reasonable, so he didn't feel too surprised.

"Aren't you even a little curious about my identity?" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's round head came close to Ye Xixuan's face, while also turning its head to look warily towards the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Alright, time is of the essence now. I'll tell you about my legendary experiences in detail later. For now, let me briefly introduce myself. I am the embodiment of heroism and chivalry, the king of soul beasts who possesses both wisdom and beauty, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm who has cultivated for a million years and set the record for the longest lifespan in the Douluo Continent. Um, you can call me Brother Heavenly Dream. Now, I'm going to merge with you and become your Wisdom Soul Ring when you break through your bottleneck in the future."

"Then let's begin, brother." Tianmeng Ice Silkworm didn't care whether Ye Xixuan agreed or not, and pressed its round head against Ye Xixuan's forehead.

"Don't worry, merging with me will only benefit you, not harm you. Although your martial soul's ultimate dark attribute talent is strong, it will still take at least several decades for you to grow up normally. But with my help, it'll be different. I guarantee you'll soar to the top and become the strongest in the world within twenty years. Have you heard of the Beast God Emperor Tian? Its true form is the last remaining Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King of the Black Dragon Clan. With me around, maybe I can help you turn it into your soul ring and soul bone in the future." Tianmeng Ice Silkworm shamelessly painted a rosy picture, but its hatred for the Beast God Emperor Tian was indeed genuine.

The reason it chose Ye Xixuan was partly due to Ye Xixuan's talent. If it were to successfully bestow upon Ye Xixuan a second martial soul with the ultimate ice attribute in the future, it would create an unprecedented dual-attribute martial soul, greatly increasing the possibility of achieving godhood.

Another reason is that they hope Ye Xixuan can one day avenge them. Once a Soul Master with dual extreme attribute Martial Souls has mastered their cultivation, they will be fully capable of contending with the Beast God Emperor Tianxiang.

Ye Xixuan did not resist, or rather, even if he had resisted, he could not have stopped the fusion of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm with him.

Although the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm itself is not strong in combat, its million-year cultivation is genuine. If it were to forcibly remain in his spiritual sea, no one could do anything about it.

Before long, the ten golden halos on the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm quickly enveloped Ye Xixuan's body, representing its most fundamental power accumulated over millions of years of cultivation.

For it to merge with Ye Xixuan, it first had to seal its own source power within Ye Xixuan's spiritual sea; otherwise, this power would be enough to overwhelm most Title Douluo-level experts. There was once an unfortunate Title Douluo who became its test subject.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm has made thorough preparations for this.

The next moment, the clear sky above the southern part of the Star Dou Great Forest suddenly darkened, and a thunderous roar exploded in the sky. In that instant, the sunlight was completely blocked by the boundless darkness, and a terrifying pressure that made it hard to breathe descended from the sky.

The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, which had just sealed its spiritual essence within Ye Xixuan's spiritual sea, trembled uncontrollably upon hearing the thunderous roar. Its two small golden eyes rolled back, revealing a look of shock and bewilderment.

The oppressive strange phenomena in the sky were clearly unrelated to it, and were completely beyond its comprehension.

At the same time, a strange black current descended from the sky and landed on the back of Ye Xixuan's head.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was horrified to discover that its spiritual essence seemed to be isolated by an invisible force, making it impossible to continue merging with Ye Xixuan. It was only this final step away, yet it was blocked by an insurmountable chasm.

Having lost its original power accumulated over millions of years, and with its original position being usurped, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was both shocked and furious.

"What the hell do you think you are?! How dare you try to steal my man?!"

A blurry figure emerged behind Ye Xixuan, its aged voice carrying a dignified air that transcended the world.

"Holding the sun and moon in my hands and plucking stars from the sky, there is no one like me in this world. I never expected that my remaining wisp of soul would encounter this nostalgic physique upon arriving in this plane. Although I have forgotten many things, I can at least confirm that this little guy's physique is not compatible with your abilities. Go, big worm, there are other suitable candidates here."

"Then at least give back my original power, you bastard!" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was on the verge of tears. Its entire spiritual power relied on the original power accumulated over millions of years. Without that, its spiritual power alone was no threat to this mysterious figure.

"As for the other candidates, you can't expect me to choose this useless level 10 soul power guy, can you?"

The blurry, illusory figure ignored Tianmeng Ice Silkworm and, under the angry gaze of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, burrowed into the back of Ye Xixuan's head.

"Damn it! Damn it! Why am I so unlucky!" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm rolled around on the ground in a fit of rage, but without the support of its source power, its physical form could not last much longer. Soon, its body turned into a dense ball of white light. After trying to inject itself into Ye Xixuan's body again without success, it decisively flew off in another direction.

Now, all that remains of it is its original spiritual and ice attributes, as well as the remains left by millions of years of cultivation.

Despite losing its original power, the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm was unwilling to choose Huo Yuhao, whose talent was extremely poor, as its host. Instead, it decided to settle for another predetermined target.

"My life is so miserable! Without my original power, even if I successfully merge with that girl with twin martial souls, I don't know when I'll wake up, or maybe I'll never wake up at all. That bastard has really ruined my life!"

　Let's eliminate the problematic aspects first. It's impossible to let Tianmeng be annoying in Vina's Sea of ​​Spirit. Also, I think giving Bingdi to Tianmeng would be purely malicious; Tianmeng really doesn't deserve it. Reviving it and granting it its wish for immortality is the best way to treat it right. As for why the protagonist doesn't want an ice-attribute second martial soul, it's because the protagonist already possesses both light and dark attributes, essentially a unique type of twin martial soul, already at the pinnacle of both. Giving him an ice-attribute one would disrupt the balance; absorbing Tianmeng's million-year-old source power would solve the problem. Go for it, kids! Give me some monthly tickets to support me!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)