Mythical Era: My Evolution into a Celestial Beast

No one knew how much time passed. When the turbulent powers of heaven and earth finally began to subside, the area where the rift world had once been had completely changed.

A circular inland sea over seven thousand kilometers in diameter had formed on the surface of the ocean. Compared to the raging waves beyond, the waters within the inner sea were calm and crystal-clear.

Countless massive Ancient Clams resided there, each many times, even ten times larger than ordinary colossal beasts of the same level. The largest clam measured over seven thousand meters long and more than four thousand meters high, resembling a small mountain.

Even the Destructive Dragon Emperor had once been surprised by their size, yet now, standing next to titan-level ray-beasts over ten or twenty thousand meters long, these clams no longer appeared quite so exaggerated.

At the center of this sapphire inner sea lay a vast landmass stretching over two thousand kilometers. Along the coastline rose a ring of mountains that formed a massive three-floored hollowed platform. Resembling a colossal half-circle altar, it was eight hundred kilometers in diameter and three hundred kilometers high.

Atop the highest level rested the Silver Colossal Dragon, 1,400 meters in length, its expression stern as it gazed down from on high and radiated the majestic presence of the great dragon king of the Dragon Palace.

Ten kilometers away to its left stood an even more massive golden-black beast, seven thousand meters in length with a shoulder height of over two thousand meters. Its body exuded a terrifying pressure.

Another ten kilometers to the left of the Dragon Emperor sat the Golden-Blue Colossal Dragon, its forelegs straight and hind legs curled as it rested gracefully, posture dignified and serene.

Continuing left, the lineup proceeded with the Ancient Ray-Beast over 60,000 meters in length, followed by the Longjia King, nearly 2,700 meters long, then finally the Single-Horned Kunpeng and the crimson Zhulong.

To the right of the Silver Dragon, thirty kilometers away, sat the Black Qilin, as massive as a mountain, followed by the Midgard Serpent, over ten thousand meters in length. Past the serpent were Ghidorah the Nine-Headed Dragon Serpent and the Deep Sea Dragon Turtle, Baxia.

In total, eleven dragon kings sat in a ring formation. On the second level, one hundred kilometers below them, gathered the second division: titan-level ray-beasts, Qiongqi, the draconic horse, and other beings of mythical or titan level.

On the lowest level floated the members of the third division: the female orca, the Blue Giant Crab, and others. Yet compared to the dragon kings on the top level and the mythical and titan-level beasts on the second, the number of third-division members appeared pitifully small. Even counting those still on duty, like the flame orcas, the third division barely had any generals to speak of.

At the very bottom of the Dragon King Meeting Platform, hundreds of thousands of Longjia and foreign races floated excitedly on the sea. Tens of thousands of level 7 and above colossal beasts stared skyward in awe, excitement, and reverence.

Among them were many who had been brought under the fold after the Dragon Emperor's departure, conquered by the Longjia King during her sweeping campaigns across the surrounding seas.

The Dragon Palace was simply too powerful. Not only did it boast an abundance of mythical and titan-level beasts, but even ancient-titan-level colossal beasts capable of dominating entire worlds were present. There were four of them, in fact.

As the roaring crowds of followers gazed upward in excitement, the colossal beasts seated across the three-leveled Dragon King Meeting Platform all turned toward the golden-black beast in the center, including the Silver Dragon. Though they all shared the same platform, a symbol of equal status, every single dragon king knew who the true master of the empire was.

As the Dragon Emperor looked around at the colossal dragons, Longjia King, Black Qilin, crimson divine dragons, and other colossal beasts surrounded by drifting clouds and mist—creatures that resembled beings from myths and legends—even it felt its heart stir with emotion.

In terms of overall strength, the Dragon Palace was now not far behind the human race. Its peak-tier power had even surpassed the Federation. However, the mid and lower tiers of the empire still lagged significantly behind their human counterparts.

The Dragon Emperor slowly said,Today marks the first Dragon King Meeting of the Dragon Palace. The main purpose is to discuss the upcoming suppression of the Chaotic Region, but before we begin the meeting, there is one matter I must address.

As it spoke, the Dragon Emperor looked toward the Dragon Turtle, the Nine-Headed Serpent, and Zhulong. A flash of light shimmered beneath the scales on its throat, and six gray crystals, each over ten meters in diameter, emerged and hovered in the air.

Within each crystal swirled murky gray energy, radiating an unusual fluctuation that instantly made the countless colossal beasts below tighten their breath, as their eyes burned with desire. Even the Longjia King stared at the crystals with rapid breath and unconcealed longing.

The Dragon Emperor growled,These crystal cores come from a rather special origin. They are law-level divine objects capable of purifying and enhancing bloodlines. Take them.

Four of the Chaotic Crystal Cores separated and flew toward the Longjia King, the Dragon Turtle, the Nine-Headed Serpent, and Zhulong. Naturally, the Dragon Emperor would reserve something good for the latter three. The Longjia King, on the other hand, had earned it through her recent efforts guarding the empire.

Due to their relatively weak strength, however, the pieces given to the Dragon Turtle and the Nine-Headed Serpent were smaller. They were only half the size of those consumed by the Silver Dragon and the others.

The remaining two Chaotic Crystal Cores shattered into eight smaller fragments. The two largest, each five meters wide, twisted space as they floated toward the female orca and the Blue Crab, while the Dragon Emperor explained,You two are relatively weak. If the crystals were too large, you wouldn't be able to digest them.

Even so, the female orca was clearly moved.Thank you, my king.

The Blue Crab, on the other hand, was so ecstatic it blew a huge stream of bubbles. All eight of its legs collapsed beneath it, scraping frantically at the ground while spouting words that made the Dragon Emperor's scales crawl.Thank you for the gift, my king! You're invincible! Absolutely epic! In my heart, you're like a divine red tree holding up the world. Your greatness can't be described with words!

A divine red tree holding up the world? Indescribable greatness?The Dragon Emperor immediately thought of that ice statue it had seen earlier—the one with the pillar standing proudly beneath it.So that's where that came from...

Thankfully, when it shattered the rift world's barrier earlier, those statues had been conveniently destroyed during the merge with the mythical world.

Whoosh!

The Dragon Emperor let out a deep breath. A sudden gust swept through the sky as it forcefully suppressed the urge to squash the Blue Crab flat, then split the remaining five crystal fragments with a thought.

Three of the Chaotic Crystal Core fragments floated to the Kunpeng. Seeing its confused expression, the Dragon Emperor growled,These three are for Hu Yi, Hu Er, and Hu San, when they return.

The Dragon Emperor had already learned about the flame orcas. It had also been somewhat surprised that, after being slain by invading creatures on the Blue Planet, they had transformed into flame-elemental beings.

The remaining smaller fragments flew to Qiongqi, Kerla, and the draconic horse. The three of them were visibly stirred.

Thank you, my king.

Thank you, great king!

These mythical beasts served as elite enforcers of the Dragon Palace and naturally had to be rewarded as well. However, these Chaotic Crystal Cores were only the appetizers; the real gift was yet to come.

The Dragon Emperor's gaze returned to the Dragon Turtle and Ghidorah. It slowly growled,Through my recent breakthrough, I've awakened an ability that allows me to trigger evolution in your bloodlines. Now, once you've consumed these crystal cores, I can help you activate your bloodline potential, elevate you fully into the mythical level, and push your bloodline stage into the advanced king level.

The moment those words fell, every colossal beast present jerked their heads up or turned in stunned disbelief.An ability that could forcibly elevate bloodline level? That's impossible!

The Dragon Turtle began trembling in all four limbs, overwhelmed with excitement.Thunder Fiery! I want it! I want to break through to the mythical level! I want to evolve!

Afraid the Dragon Emperor was joking, it immediately swallowed the crystal in front of it without hesitation. On the other side, Ghidorah's nine heads went wild. Its tail spun like a helicopter rotor, and it let out a barrage of chaotic howls.Evolution! Super evolution! Ao Ba, hurry up and do me!

Damn it, what kind of chaotic nonsense are you all yelling?The Dragon Turtle's words were tolerable, but Ghidorah's outburst nearly made the Dragon Emperor choke. Back in the day, things like "epic" or "badass" could still be blamed on it.

At the time, it hadn't expected that Ghidorah's casual slang would be picked up by these beasts, which went around shouting "badass" and "epic" every day. However, it could swear that none of them had ever said anything like "hurry up and do me."

Whoosh!

The Dragon Emperor drew in a deep breath, suppressing its rising blood pressure. Under the watchful eyes of the Midgard Serpent and the others, it slowly extended its right claw and pressed it down toward the Dragon Turtle.

On the surface of the Dragon Emperor's claw, mysterious golden-azure markings emerged, emitting an immensely profound aura that seemed to embody some cosmic truth.

Boom!

In an instant, a formless force shook the heavens and earth. The space within several kilometers around the Dragon Turtle collapsed, forming a projected illusion of another world, a bubble carved out of space by the Dragon Emperor's overwhelming power.

From a distance, it looked as though the Dragon Emperor was clutching a miniature world in its claw. Circles of shockwaves spread out in every direction, stirring powerful winds.

As the Silver Dragon and the others watched wide-eyed, the golden-azure markings on the Dragon Emperor's claw began to flow like living things. They slowly fused into the illusionary world, enveloping the Dragon Turtle.

Once all of the bloodline patterns had separated from the Dragon Emperor's claw, the world bubble suddenly trembled. Inside the bubble, the Dragon Turtle roared skyward in pain. A brutal aura exploded from its body, piercing through the clouds.

Its mighty bloodline aura churned the sky, forming a vortex hundreds of kilometers wide. As its bloodline awakened, a faint phantom of a dark-red Dragon Turtle, hundreds of kilometers in diameter, appeared in the sky above. Unlike the Dragon Turtle, this phantom was covered in crimson spikes, looking far more savage and ferocious.

What truly shocked all of the colossal beasts, however, was the rapid rise in the Dragon Turtle's bloodline. It grew more ancient, more powerful, and even its body began to shift and change. Amid the burning gazes of all present, the Dragon Emperor reached out its left claw, where the same golden-azure markings had surfaced once more.

Boom!

The space around the Nine-Headed Serpent, which had swallowed its crystal core, shattered and detonated. Under the crushing force of principle power, a temporary world bubble formed around it.

Roar!

As the golden-azure bloodline patterns enveloped the world bubble, the Nine-Headed Serpent let out a howl of pain. A savage aura burst from its body. In the next instant, the sky above it cracked, the ground trembled, and countless blood-red flames erupted from nowhere, blazing wildly.

Amid the sea of bloodfire, a colossal phantom that was larger than a mountain range emerged. It had ten dragon heads towering like pillars, radiating an overwhelming bloodthirsty aura.

Their bloodlines really advanced!The Ancient Ray-Beast was both stunned and exhilarated. Its eyes blazed as it stared at the Dragon Emperor.

The Silver Dragon lunged forward and wrapped itself around one of the Dragon Emperor's legs, roaring with excitement.Ao Tian! The great Saixitia wants to evolve too, wants to grow stronger!

The Golden-Blue Dragon, though more reserved, also flickered into place in front of the Dragon Emperor. Its golden-blue gemstone-like pupils locked onto it with intensity.

Seeing this, the Ancient Ray-Beast spread its wings and stirred up tsunami-like waves, growling with anticipation.My king, don't forget us. We want to purify our bloodlines too.

Me too. Me, great king!

In that instant, all dignity of being a noble titan or ancient titan vanished completely. All three ancient titans, as well as the elegant and composed Longjia King, had eyes glowing with intense desire as they fixed their gaze on the awe-inspiring golden-black Dragon Emperor.

The Dragon Emperor reached out its right claw and peeled the Silver Dragon off its leg, growling in exasperation,You all will have to wait your turn. This ability may be powerful, but it also consumes a great deal of my bloodline strength.

Only then did the gathered beasts notice that the Dragon Emperor's aura had weakened considerably, as if it had suffered a serious injury. This time, it wasn't faking; the ability to elevate bloodlines truly came with a hefty cost. Even it had been somewhat surprised.

Merely enhancing the quasi-mythical Dragon Turtle and Nine-Headed Serpent had consumed a full tenth of its bloodline strength. On top of that, this depletion was akin to damaging its principle origin. It would take time to fully recover, and if it continued recklessly, it could even harm its heavenly-tier bloodline.

Still, the results had exceeded its expectations. Feeling the burning gazes of the surrounding colossal beasts, the Dragon Emperor inwardly nodded with satisfaction.

This ability to elevate one's bloodline level wasn't guaranteed to succeed every time. If it were, then any beast at the peak of the ancient titan level could simply evolve their bloodline and mass-produce king-level or emperor-level bloodlines.

Whether it was cultivation or growth, the higher the level, the more difficult progress became. The Dragon Emperor's bloodline-evolving ability was no exception. To ensure a successful breakthrough, it had deliberately selected the two quasi-mythical colossal beasts with the highest probability of success and had even made them consume Chaotic Crystal Cores beforehand.

Only after glancing at the two beasts now in deep slumber, undergoing their bloodline evolution and breakthrough, did the Dragon Emperor let out a low growl.Though this bloodline-elevating ability consumes a great deal of my strength, I have always rewarded merit and punished failure as the master of the Dragon King Palace. I am never stingy toward those who contribute greatly to the empire.

Though the Dragon Emperor didn't spell it out, every colossal beast present understood its message clearly. In simple terms, if they wanted their bloodline strengthened, then they had to earn it. If they did their part and performed well, they would be rewarded with enhancement.

None of the beasts took issue with this condition. After all, reward had to come through effort.

Alright. Now begins the first official Dragon King Meeting of the empire. From this point forward, the empire will advance in four directions, each led by one of the four ancient titans. All beings at mythical level and above who are willing to join the empire shall be granted the rank of cavalry general. Titan-level beings will be made great generals, and those of ancient-titan-level shall be conferred the title of dragon king. Within a single day-cycle, I want the empire's influence to blanket the entire Chaotic Region. Any who refuse to submit shall be crushed.