Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

"To guide you into the dream, I first had to make you forget what was on your mind, which is why I didn't add this particular memory," Ao Qian said with a smile.

Ling Fei had been so focused on obtaining the True Dragon Inheritance that it had become an obsession. This memory could have easily interfered with him entering the dream.

So, Ao Qian had blocked it out.

The next moment, with a wave of his hand, Ao Qian sent ripples through the Void.

A vast Dragon's Might swept forth.

An Ancient Hall materialized before Ling Fei's eyes.

The hall had nine pillars outside, each carved with True Dragons. It was none other than the True Dragon Ancient Hall.

"The True Dragon Ancient Hall!" Seeing it again, waves of emotion crashed through Ling Fei as the memories from the Marsh King flooded his mind.

The might of the Ancient Hall was so palpable.

The True Dragons carved on the pillars were so lifelike; everything was so familiar.

'So that really was a dream. I'm still in the Falling Star Mountain Range, and Wan'Er and I haven't seen each other since I came to the Southern Wilderness!' Ling Fei murmured.

Once Ao Qian removed the Dao Pattern that had clouded Ling Fei's Heart Spirit, his mind immediately cleared.

He now had some understanding of what had happened.

But everything had felt so real.

So real that Ling Fei had believed it was all true.

His adoptive father had seemed to truly perish. Thinking of it now, sorrow once again bloomed in his heart.

He found it impossible to forget that feeling.

'Adoptive Father, how are you now?' Ling Fei's gaze flickered. As he looked up into the Void, his eyes filled with worry.

He was afraid—afraid that his adoptive father would be harmed by his enemies.

He was afraid the events of his dream would become reality.

If that happened, it would become his life's greatest regret.

That was something he could never allow to happen!

'I must train harder. I absolutely cannot let the dream become reality,' Ling Fei muttered, clenching his fists with a determined glint in his eyes.

Nearby, Ao Qian smiled.

A righteous heart was important for the successor he was choosing, but the will of a true powerhouse was even more crucial.

If one wasn't strong enough, they would easily perish. And what use was a dead successor?

Therefore, upon seeing Ling Fei's resolute expression, Ao Qian felt quite satisfied.

After silently setting a goal for himself, a thought suddenly struck Ling Fei, and his gaze shifted to the man before him. 'Senior, you are...?'

He had vaguely heard the word "successor" just moments ago.

'Could he be the master of the True Dragon Ancient Hall?' An inexplicable excitement surged through Ling Fei, and his blood began to boil.

The True Dragon Ancient Hall…

The True Dragon's Eye and a single drop of Essence Blood that had emerged from it were enough to create the Marsh King, making him the ruler of the Southern Wilderness.

Even so, the Marsh King hadn't truly obtained the True Dragon Inheritance from the hall.

In fact, the Marsh King had never come this close to the True Dragon Ancient Hall, let alone met the man named Ao Qian.

"I am Ao Qian, a king of the Dragon Race. My strength and Divine Techniques rank among the top three in my entire race!" Ao Qian stated with immense pride.

'A king of the Dragon Race? His Divine Techniques rank among the top three of his race?' Ling Fei was inwardly stunned.

Although he didn't know how powerful the Dragon Race was, the people of this world revered dragons, viewing them as totems. To them, dragons were true gods, supreme beings.

After coming into contact with the Dragon Bone, Ling Fei had begun to understand the True Dragon's Might and just how extraordinary they were.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to come to the Falling Star Mountain Range in search of the True Dragon Inheritance.

Yet now, this man was claiming to be a king of the Dragon Race, with Divine Techniques that ranked in the top three. How could Ling Fei not be shaken to his core?

This was a truly peerless expert!

As he looked at the man named Ao Qian, Ling Fei's heart pounded wildly in his chest.

"I wield two Divine Techniques. My left eye commands the Path of Destiny... and my right eye, the Path of Destruction. Destruction carries death, while destiny carries life."

"With these two Divine Gazes, I had few rivals."

The Ao Qian Dragon King's face was filled with pride.

"Unfortunately, during the war against the Divine Demons, it all happened too suddenly. It all happened too suddenly... There were even traitors within my own Dragon Race. I was ambushed and grievously wounded... In the end, my body was destroyed and my Dao extinguished. Unwilling to accept my fate and fearing my Divine Techniques would be stolen, I used a wisp of my remnant soul to carry my Divine Gaze, tear through the heavens, and come to this mortal realm to find someone with destiny." As he spoke, an expression of deep sorrow crossed Ao Qian's face.

His features now held a hint of ancient sorrow and exhaustion.

It seemed he, too, felt weary.

Ambushed by his closest brother, grievously wounded, and then attacked by the gods, only to perish.

This great expert had truly endured far, far too much.

'Destruction... Destiny!' Ling Fei's gaze sharpened as he focused his consciousness inward.

At that moment, the True Dragon's Eye was radiating a dense Dragon's Might. The Power of Destruction that permeated the air carried a terrifying aura of death.

'So this True Dragon's Eye of mine is the Divine Gaze that holds the Path of Destruction?' Ling Fei thought.

He could feel a dense Aura of Destruction within the True Dragon's Eye.

That Aura of Destruction contained an air of death.

"Correct. The eye you have obtained is indeed the Eye of Destruction," Ao Qian said, his gaze flashing.

He had somehow heard Ling Fei's unspoken thoughts.

'He... he actually heard my thoughts?' Ling Fei couldn't help but shudder.

Didn't that mean all his secrets were laid bare before this Dragon King?

"Heh, right now, I am but a wisp of a remnant soul that will soon dissipate. What could I possibly do to you? Besides, that Dragon Bone of yours is not something an ordinary person can control. It also chooses its master." The Ao Qian Dragon King smiled. "If you receive my inheritance, what's to stop you from dominating the world in the future?"

'Dominate the world!' Ling Fei was inwardly shaken.

But he quickly relaxed.

Ao Qian was incredibly powerful, so his inheritance was bound to be astonishing.

If he received the inheritance, forget dominating the world—he could at least become a king in the Southern Wilderness.

"You possess the bloodline of the Dragon Race and have even acquired our race's supreme inheritance. Now, you are to receive my inheritance as well. It seems this is all destiny." Suddenly, Ao Qian's gaze flashed. The light was like a blade that seemed to pierce through Ling Fei, seeing his very core. He then spoke with a solemn expression.

The meaning behind his words was clear: he had discovered that Ling Fei possessed the Dragon Bone.

This made Ling Fei frown.

After all, it was his greatest secret.

"Senior, can other experts see that I possess the Dragon Bone?" Ling Fei asked, deeply concerned.

"Your Dragon Bone is incredibly profound. The Dao Patterns covering it can naturally conceal it from others. However, if you encounter a powerful member of the Dragon Race, they will still be able to sense something. To truly conceal it, you need the corresponding strength to continuously master the Dao Patterns within the Dragon Bone. Once you do that, you won't have to worry about being discovered," Ao Qian explained.

'Strength!' Ling Fei grew pensive upon hearing this.

"The people you interact with now are not very powerful, so you don't need to worry about being exposed. But as your own strength grows, so will the risk of being discovered," Ao Qian said. "Don't worry too much about it; just take things as they come. For now, your priority should be to increase your strength."

'Increase my strength!' Ling Fei's gaze hardened. As if he didn't want to get stronger.

If he were strong enough, would the Beiming Sword Sect still dare to hunt him down?

Who would dare to look down on Ling Fei?

Immediately, Ling Fei raised his head and looked at Ao Qian.

He knew this was his chance.

"You have passed my Xin Meng trial, so you may receive my inheritance. But first, you must make an oath," Ao Qian said solemnly.

"Please instruct me, Senior," Ling Fei said.

"You must swear an oath: that for the rest of your life, you will take it as your duty to uphold the Righteous Dao and expel all Evil Demons, to restore a world of clarity and justice for all living creatures." A majestic aura emanated from Ao Qian as he stared at Ling Fei, speaking one word at a time. This was the requirement for becoming his successor, and it was precisely for this reason that he had guided Ling Fei into the dream.

The events that unfolded in the dream had been a test of this very principle.

At that time, when the Evil Demons invaded, Ling Fei could have remained uninvolved, especially with a wife and child to tie him down.

Logically, most people would have acted out of self-interest and focused only on their own survival.

But Ling Fei had abandoned such thoughts. He not only stood up to fight but ultimately sacrificed his life to drive out the demons, with no regrets.

This was the Xin Meng.

The scenarios and events were arranged by Ao Qian, but Ling Fei's actions came from his own heart.

And that was how Ling Fei passed the trial and came to meet the Ao Qian Dragon King.

"Uphold the Righteous Dao and expel Evil Demons?" Ling Fei's gaze sharpened, and he answered without hesitation, "I have no problem with that."

Ever since he was a child, his adoptive father had taught him to cultivate a noble spirit and be an upstanding man of integrity.

He himself adhered to the Righteous Dao and abhorred evil, so making this oath did not go against his conscience.

"Good. In that case, repeat this oath after me!" said Ao Qian.

Then, Ling Fei repeated after Ao Qian, making a life-bound oath.

His Essence Blood and Heart Spirit merged, transforming into an oath that condensed into a contract seal.

As the seal formed, the Void rippled, as if chaos itself had manifested to swallow the sigil.

Inexplicably, Ling Fei felt his soul become bound by something; it seemed the life-bound oath had already taken effect.

But he was unafraid.

Ling Fei did not consider himself some great hero, but he had his principles.

Namely: he would not strike unless struck first.

As for the ways of Evil Demons, those were something he despised.

"Good. The oath is made. If you violate it, you will perish in body and soul. Though I am dead, my remnant soul is not yet extinguished. I will one day be reborn. Therefore, you must not slacken. You must train diligently. If you fail to become a great expert, I will reclaim the True Dragon's Eye," Ao Qian said.

"Reborn?" Ling Fei was slightly taken aback.

"My inheritance will not be given to a weakling." His final words were cold and merciless.

"I will certainly not disappoint your expectations, Senior," Ling Fei declared.

He wanted to become stronger, too. With such an opportunity before him, how could he possibly slack off?

"Good. I have two True Dragon's Eyes: one is the Eye of Destruction, the other is the Eye of Destiny. You have already obtained the Eye of Destruction. The Eye of Destiny, however, was acquired by another person by a stroke of fate. But without my Essence Blood, one cannot truly master the Divine Gaze, so it will not be easy for that person to control it."

Ao Qian said.