In the underwater world of fire and water, a Silver Colossal Dragon stood on the steps of the majestic ice crystal palace, which stood five hundred meters tall and eight hundred meters wide.
With a body length of eighty meters and a shoulder height of over forty, the dragon held its head slightly aloft. Its spiraled horns pointed to the heavens, its eyes exuded cold indifference, and its entire being radiated an aura of nobility and majesty.
A Nine-headed Serpent, one hundred and fifty meters long, partially rose. Its black heads covered the sky, and the peak level 8 aura emanating from its body caused the surrounding air within a hundred meters to explode.
After its bloodline had been awakened, the Serpent, Ghidorah, not only grew in size but also reached the peak of level 8. Once it fused just a few more innate abilities, it could break through to level 9, becoming a peak creature just below the realm of myths.
On the other side of the Silver Colossal Dragon lay a Deep Sea Dragon Turtle, seventy meters long and over forty meters tall, and a Single-horned Kun, floating in the water like a small island.
Under the gaze of these four formidable level 8 beasts, a Blue Giant Crab stood trembling in the shallow ten-meter-deep water, its six legs weak and its claws clicking nervously.
The Blue Crab hadn’t anticipated just how terrifying this Dragon Palace would be. Apart from the fearsome giant beast that was the king, there were four powerful transcendent colossal beasts, each exuding an aura that instinctively filled it with fear and awe.
The Thunder Fiery Emperor Beast, standing on the ice crystal steps, growled lowly and extended a claw to point at the Silver Dragon. Roar! This is the King of Storms and Frost, the great dragon king of the Dragon Palace, Saixitia.
Gurgle! G-Greetings, Great King Saixitia.
The colossal crab beast nervously blew bubbles from its mouth.
The Silver Dragon nodded arrogantly. Roar! As an ordinary transcendent species, it is your honor to join the Dragon Palace, though I wonder what it is about you that caught Batian’s attention.
Gurgle! I am also very grateful to King Thunder Fiery for noticing me. From now on, I will guard the gate well and protect the Dragon Palace, I will not disappoint the mighty and strong King Thunder Fiery—
Just then, the Thunder Beast growled and introduced another beast. Roar! Alright, this is the Nine-headed Dragon King, Ghidorah.
The Blue Crab, which had been flattering nonstop, suddenly paused and respectfully blew bubbles toward the nine-headed black dragon.
Gurgle! Greetings, King Ghidorah. You look so mighty and strong, your very presence makes my six legs go weak. Truly powerful, worthy of being a dragon king of the Dragon Palace...
The Serpent coiled its heads and let out a chaotic growl. Roar! Roar! Roar! You, very, good, aware of the situation, welcome, Dragon Palace.
Ghidorah, feeling quite pleased with the praise, looked more favorably upon the newcomer.
Gurgle! Thank you, King Ghidorah, you are truly—
The Thunder Beast interrupted it with another growl. Roar! This is the King of Earth and Destruction, Baxia.
After the Dragon Turtle broke through to level 8, it too became a kingly colossal beast of the Dragon Palace. The Thunder Beast was usually the one to handle naming duties, since it was the only one in the palace that had a bit of culture; this was the title it had bestowed upon the Dragon Turtle.
Gurgle! Greetings, King Baxia. You look so mighty and strong, your mere presence makes my six legs tremble.
The Blue Crab kept blowing repetitive compliments from its mouth. These were the only praises it knew, compiled from constantly flattering the Thunder Beast on the way back.
Although every time it had tried to speak, the Thunder Beast abruptly cut it off. At one point, unable to endure any more incessant flattery, it had even sent the Blue Crab flying hundreds of meters with a smack.
However, the repetitive praise greatly satisfied the Dragon Turtle, which let out a low growl. Roar! Kid, you're quite good. From now on, follow me, and I guarantee you'll live a prosperous life.
Gurgle! Thank you, King Baxia. King Baxia, you are so mighty—
Roar! Lastly, this is the King of Black and White, the Single-horned Kun. The Thunder Beast, barely able to restrain itself from swatting the Blue Crab, introduced the Kun.
When it came to giving itself a title, the Kun felt its original name, Big Horn, wasn't imposing enough, so it had the Thunder Beast rename it with a more grandiose title. Despite that new name, however, everyone still habitually called it Big Horn.
The Kun slapped its tail as it swam in the water. Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Little one, celebrate your joining the Dragon Palace. , and you'll feast three times a day, and plunder and defeat all others.
Driven by the violent instincts of a mutated creature, the Blue Crab’s eyes shone brightly.
Gurgle! Plunder, defeat, feast three times a day, King Kun, you are so mighty and strong, your presence—
However, the endless praise was giving the Thunder Beast a headache, and it growled. Roar! General Crab, shut up. Now I have important matters to discuss.
Immediately, the Silver Dragon and other colossal beasts focused their attention.
The Thunder Beast let out another growl. Raor! Since we have established this as our base, we must ensure absolute control over the surrounding area.
Roar! Everyone will head out, spaced twenty kilometers apart, to clear the surrounding thousand-kilometer radius of any mutated creatures above level 7 and gather resources.
Roar! If you encounter any level 8 mutated colossal beasts that are hard to deal with, inform the others and take them down together, or make them submit to the Dragon Palace. Also, eliminate any mutated creatures that are at the peak of their level, level 4 or higher; I need their Life Crystals.
Thanks to the level 9 colossal beast that had previously been ruling this section of the ocean, there wouldn't be another level 9 beast within a thousand kilometers, nor any level 7 and above mutated creatures within a hundred.
This expansive ocean not only contained countless marine creatures, but also numerous resources. Especially the Life Crystals, crucial for its evolution into an emperor-level life form; the Thunder Beast wasn’t going to let those go.
Charge! Charge! Charge!
With the fearsome black and red colossal beast leading the way, the Silver Dragon, the Serpent, the Kun, and the Dragon Turtle caused a massive wave as they surged out of the Dragon Palace.
The sight made the Blue Crab's blood boil. The Dragon Palace was so powerful, and these Dragon Kings were so formidable that their mere presence made its six legs weak...
On a distant island, inside a dimly lit cave with flames burning along the walls, a young man with long hair sat silently on a throne made of countless mutated beast bones.
His gaze was cold as he looked down on the dozens of Blood Cultists standing below him; most of them emitted the aura of the Fourth or Fifth Heavenly Realms, with the strongest among them at the beginning stage of the Seventh, and the weakest still in the Third.
After over a decade of development, the Blood Cult had grown significantly in secret on the Blue Planet, with several Seventh Heavenly Realm experts, but they had all been lost in the battle at Kyrola. Now, only a few dozen capable members remained.
The only Seventh Heavenly Realm Bishop stepped forward and respectfully said, "My God, as per your instructions, we have filled the pool below with the blood of mutated creatures."
Akunus nodded slightly. "Well done."
Immediately, the Blood Cultists’ faces lit up with fervor. Although it was just a simple acknowledgment, it still meant that their efforts had been recognized by their deity.
To fulfill Akunus's command, they had spent a month nearly exterminating all level 6 and below mutated creatures within a few hundred kilometers. This had consumed a large amount of the Divine Lure Liquid, a substance highly attractive to mutated creatures and sourced from the mythical world.
Akunus's voice resonated deeply. "Apart from filling the blood pool, have the runes been inscribed?"
The bishop bowed his head respectfully. "My God, according to your designs, we have inscribed the sacrificial runes all around the walls of the pool."
"Very well, follow me."