The Uncharted Wilderness. ???????????????

The chilling winter winds howled through the lonely nights of the Uncharted Wilderness. Void of any human settlements, only wild Spirit Beasts scattered about, hiding inside of their favoured comfort zones. Snowy gerbils fell deep into their burrows while colossal bears found refuge in nice warm caves. It was the harshest weather in years. Any buildings that were built would ultimately be destroyed through the avalanches and blizzards that plagued the area.

Yet, in the centre of the harshest winter ever recorded in the area, a tall castle remained standing upright, untouched by the ravaging winds. A giant purple barrier covered its outer layer, giving it tremendous protection from the outside. The snow that piled up were instantly vapourised, not even giving time for steam to rise. The castle was well-protected and camouflaged so no intruders could possibly hope to infiltrate it.

The castle has many sections. A living quarters, a communication room, a training facility, a dungeon… The list was endless. However, the residents of the aforementioned castle mainly populated one area. And that was the warm and opulent space, designated for their own personal use. Seated in front of a campfire, a suave blue-haired man flipped a page on his book, unmoved by the turbulent weather outside. He took one sip of his fancy wine and continued to turn down the pages.

“Hmmm?” All of a sudden, both his eyebrows perked up. The man didn’t read something thrilling or anything. It was just a boring autobiography of someone long past. No… It wasn’t startled by the contents of the book, but the strange undulations in the atmosphere.

The blue-haired man took a second or two to analyse the strange change. However, ten seconds later…

BOOM!!!

The man smashed the book he had on the wooden floor, breaking it through five levels. He flew straight to the window and shattered it with a kick. His body glowed blue, and his human features were now abandoned. A gigantic serpentine figure took his place as it broke through the barrier around the castle in an instant. It flew up high in the air and jolted its head westwards. Every single atom in its body was screaming. Something primal… Something ancient… There was something that’s tingling every drop of blood that it had.

“That is!!!” It took giant serpent a full minute to diagnose the origin of its fear. It couldn’t be…

At the same time, a dark mist escaped out from the broken hole in the barrier. The fog coagulated, transforming itself into a hooded figure that was dressed in pure black. The serpent couldn’t see its face, but even it could tell that the person within wasn’t amused.

“Ao, did you feel it?” The shadowy figure asked.

“I did...” The World Serpent answered. “It’s the birth of a new dragon… A Primordial Dragon perhaps...” Serpents shared many similarities with dragons. They had the same body shape, they possessed superior elemental powers and, they were far more deadly than any other creature for their size. Legend has it that serpents were basically descendants of the original dragon. Thus, it wasn’t a stretch for Ao to sense the birth of Shin’s Celestial Dragon. The Allfather sensing it was a different story altogether.

“I’m surprised that you could sense it as well...”

“It’s really powerful… I don’t share dragon’s blood, but even I could feel the underlying change that the world has gone through… I believe that all Spirit Saints and Primordial Beasts would be able to pick up on its arrival…”

“That makes sense...” Ao agreed with his supreme leader. “Would that make a dent in our plans? We don’t know the Primordial Dragon’s affiliation and as we all know...” The World Serpent gulped as it recalled the dreadful early days of the Black Masks. Back when the Allfather was recruiting the Nine Coloured Noble Beasts, he had attempted to solicit the help of an ancient Primordial Dragon that lived in the Uncharted Wilderness. Let’s just say… Things didn’t go that well for the nascent organisation.

“Not to worry… I’ve checked… It isn’t a new Primordial Beast that can match us Spirit Saints.”

“Huh?” Ao was surprised. If it wasn’t a Primordial Beast, then how could it trigger such a menacing change in the atmosphere?

“Someone has conquered the Trial of the Celestial Dragon… If I’m not wrong, what we’re feeling is the spiritual energy of the Celestial River bestowing a Spirit Evolution upon the conqueror.” The Allfather added.

“So this is the original Celestial Dragon’s aura? The mana of the Lady of Water?” Ao theorised, looking straight at the Allfather.

“Yes, it is,” the hooded shadow agreed. “However… Most likely it’s the birth of a Spirit User that possesses the Celestial Dragon.”

That sentence rang alarm bells in Ao’s head. The Black Masks had the most comprehensive information network in the entire world, due to the Allfather’s abilities and their expansive spy infrastructure. So, they knew how many people had the Mark of the Celestial Dragon. Striking off Bingying and Taiyi, there was only one person in the entire world that could possibly fit those criteria. And it was someone that Ao knew all too well…

“... Shin?”

“That’s right,” though the hooded man couldn’t show his expression, Ao was confident that the Allfather was smiling. “Shin Iofiel, Junius’ brother, has conquered the Trial that could never be passed.”

“My god...” The World Serpent felt faint. Its head dropped by a few metres only to be picked up by the Allfather’s dark fog. “Junius… Oh, Junius… I’d thought that you were talented enough, but your brother is a monster! The Celestial Dragon… Oh my god, the Celestial Dragon...”

Ao was still stunned by the news and honestly, who could blame him? The World Serpent had lived of aeons, and few things could scare him. Dragons were one of them. Not to mention, the Celestial Dragon sat at the apex of their entire race. Ao had once heard from his grandfather that the Celestial Dragon, alongside the Terrestial Dragon, were two beings that fought against the Titans of old. People labelled the two dragons as a Primordial Beast, but the reality was, their powers far surpassed anything that ordinary Primordial Beasts could do.

They had the power to change the stars and destroy continents. In fact, the whole reason why there was only one colossal continent remaining was due to a territorial dispute between the two dragons. In the end, it was decided that half the world would be covered in earth, while the other half would be covered in ocean. Thus, when the Lady of Water somehow managed to contract with such a being, every single Primordial Beast was shaken. It was the reckoning of the age of humans, and most ancient bloodlines were forced into the Uncharted Wilderness, where no humans could ever hope to invade.

Alas, the Allfather hardly cared about the ancient lore. He raised both his hands out and cried, “It really was the right call to leave him in that environment...” The Allfather’s tone turned rather jovial, which was odd for the criminal syndicate’s ringleader. “We have now one more talent that could reach the Spirit Saint realm and assist in my plans! Though I’d never thought he would grow this quickly...”

“Allfather… If he really possesses the Celestial Dragon as a Spirit… When he becomes a Spirit Saint...” There was no need for Ao to complete his sentence. Although her age happened five hundred thousand years ago, people still revere the Lady of Water to this very day. That was how dominant the Spirit Saint was.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Unexpectedly, the Allfather replied once again with tremendous joy. “We need him to become stronger… The faster, the better… I’m sick of the current status quo...” Maybe it was due to the humanoid form that the Allfather took. Now, the exalted figure, the one that led eight Tier 9 Spirit Beasts and one Primordial Beast… Seemed so human… He was spouting his desires with great fervour, and it was showing.

“However, I see your point. The boy will become too strong for any of you to handle. In the end, all of the Payircis would fall to the youth, and in a few dozen years, he’ll become a Spirit Emperor capable of fighting against you.” The scary thing about humans was how fast they grew. Shin was only twenty-years-old, and he was already in the Spirit Spectre realm. Now that he had the Celestial Dragon, he would most likely speed through the ranks once more, and by his forties or fifties, he should become a Spirit Emperor.

Furthermore, the generation that Shin was part of was scary as well. Kanari was an absolute beast at cultivation. Lukman, the Prince of Sand, had already reached the Spirit Lord realm. And frighteningly enough, the Luminaries of the Lantis Republic were the most exceptional talents in a thousand years. If they were given enough time, they would all become Spirit Emperors that were capable of taking down the Black Masks’ strongest assets the Nine Coloured Noble Beasts.

“So… I guess it’s time to move on to the next phase...” The Allfather raised his hand and declared.

“Are you going to personally act?!” Ao cried, his voice shivering somewhat.

“Yes...” The shadowy man replied. “Even if my lifespan continues to wane, the world needs to become stronger… For my sake...”

❖❖❖

The Lantis Republic. Celestial Island. The Celestial River.

Shin’s transformed Celestial Dragon spun around the youth a dozen times. Occasionally, it would nudge the youth using its snout lovingly, as if asking ‘Did I do alright?’ like a toddler looking for its mother’s approval. It really was quite surreal. The Celestial Dragon was a legendary beast, and yet, it was still behaving like it was a little fish.

‘You really transformed into something outrageous, huh?’ Shin looked at the Celestial Dragon with a little apprehension. Although Shin wanted to trigger a Spirit Evolution, he didn’t expect the Sovereign Koi to morph into a fucking dragon.

“S-Shin! W-What d-d-did y-you… WHAT?!” Longyu Tian was the first to greet Shin. Unlike the High Elders and Spirit Saints around, Shin didn’t know how a Celestial Dragon looked like. He assumed that the Sovereign Koi had transformed into a lesser dragon, which meant that he was still a little nonchalant about the whole situation.

“Ermmm… I passed the test?” Shin innocently replied to the Spirit Saint’s question.

“Mmmm… I did have my suspicions, but to think that it’s really true...” The Azure Dragon took over the babbling Spirit Saint, its face going closer to Shin, or to be more precise, the Celestial Dragon that was coiled around it.

“Honoured one!” Shin hurriedly arched his torso forward, showing respect to the beast that was thousands of years old. However, before his waist could extend even further, a mystical force held him back. Using its spiritual energy, the Azure Dragon was gently pushing Shin’s entire body upright.

“No, child… From this day forth, you don’t bow to anyone. Not a living soul in the Lantis Republic,” the Azure Dragon announced. Its massive head went all the way down until its snout was touching the surface of the basin. Immediately, the dozens of men and women surrounding the Celestial River did the same. The Spirit Saints, the High Elders, even Meijing Bingying, whom Shin would consider his friend, had to kneel in front of Shin’s majesty.

“Lady of Water… Our race has fulfilled its oath to you...” The Azure Dragon spoke, enunciating each syllable. “Your successor has finally been born...”

“...” At this point, Shin finally comprehended what was going on. For the Azure Dragon and the rest of the Lantis Republic seniors to act this way, there could only be one reason…

“The Lantis Republic is yours… Prince of Water!”