Soul Emperor Awakening

Smashed to the ground by the brutal blow, Hei Zhenxuan collapsed in a heap. His body twitched, but he couldn’t get back up. A huge section of his chest was caved in. No matter how tough a Black Dragon Race physique was, his was now utterly shattered.

"HUFF... HUFF..." Lin Xuan gasped for air, his turbulent aura gradually calming.

In that instant, Lin Xuan felt his soul merge perfectly with the Golden Dragon King’s. His Cultivation seemed to skyrocket, his Dragon Scales were strengthened countless times over, and his power surged to match.

Perhaps the Golden Dragon King’s soul, sensing its hated foe, had achieved an even more perfect fusion, fully unleashing the power of the Ten Thousand Year Golden Dragon Bone within him. Normally, it would take a great deal of time and strength to draw upon the power of an absorbed Dragon Bone.

But now, thanks to the perfect fusion with the Golden Dragon King’s soul, its power had erupted forth. The glory of the Ten Thousand Year Golden Dragon Race was inviolable!

In a pure contest of strength, a head-on clash with the power-worshipping Black Dragon Race, the final victor was not Hei Zhenxuan, but Lin Xuan!

"What... what’s going on? Why am I sensing so many complex auras? Phoenix? Demon Fox? And Golden Dragon Race? What in the world is he?"

"What on earth is mixed inside his body to produce such a complex aura? Isn’t he from the Demon Fox Race?"

"That power is just too brutal. He’s even stronger than a Black Dragon... Is he really from the Demon Fox Race?"

...

As the demons stared, dumbfounded, Lin Xuan descended from the air and completely retracted his aura. All that remained was the purest human presence, containing not a single trace of the Demon Race.

Now the members of the Demon Race were truly floored. They were utterly dumbfounded. Even though they weren’t physically present, they could sense the auras from the battlefield. They could feel that the one standing before them was not of the Demon Fox Race, nor the Phoenix Race, and certainly not the Golden Dragon Race. He was human!

"A human? H-He’s human?"

"How can a human be here? I thought he was from the Demon Fox Race!"

"He defeated Hei Zhenxuan... Doesn’t that mean the new City Lord is human?"

...

The members of the Demon Race were stunned. In the end, the one ruling over them wasn’t a fellow demon, but a human! It was a shocking, unbelievable answer. The figure who had dominated the Ice and Snow Tower for so long was actually a human.

How could they not be shocked? All the demons on the Ninth Layer fell silent, unable to utter a single word. They had thought this was a moment of triumph for the Demon Fox Race. Who could have known it was a human who would rise up, reaching a height none of them ever could?

"You... you’re human..." Hei Zhenxuan was barely breathing. His gaze was unfocused as he stared at Lin Xuan, unable to move. He could clearly sense Lin Xuan’s aura; it was that of a true human, through and through.

With the Demon Fox transformation gone, all that remained was the easily identifiable aura of a human. As members of the Demon Race, their senses were sharp; there was no mistaking it.

"That’s right. I’m human, not from the Demon Fox Race," Lin Xuan sneered. "I’m the ’trash of all trash’ you’re always talking about. But there’s no such thing as trash in this world. The only real trash here is you!"

Lin Xuan’s own admission was the final confirmation for the Demon Race. The winner of this contest was a human, not one of their own.

"You... you..." Hei Zhenxuan’s eyes shot open in fury, and then he breathed his last. With injuries so severe, it was a miracle he had even survived this long.

He might have clung to life for a few moments longer, but Lin Xuan’s words sent a surge of fury through him, choking the last breath from his body and ending his life prematurely.

Following Hei Zhenxuan’s death, the Ice and Snow Energy within his body floated out and drilled into Lin Xuan’s arm. His nine Ice and Snow Badges increased by one, then stopped. This was the limit. All that was left was to truly walk the Path of the King. No, it would be more accurate to say he had already passed it. By defeating Hei Zhenxuan, he would become the City Lord.

"Y-Young Master!" Hei Feng watched in utter horror. He wanted to rush in and help, but he was completely unable to enter the arena. All he could do was watch helplessly from the outside as Hei Zhenxuan’s life faded.

The members of the Black Dragon Race were stunned. Their Young Master was dead. Utterly and completely dead, with no sign of life. If this news reached the Black Dragon Race, their Dragon King would surely go mad. How could he not, knowing his own son was dead?

’Could they get revenge? Theoretically, yes, but only if Lin Xuan ever came out. Now that Lin Xuan had become the City Lord, they had no idea what sort of authority he would wield. At the very least, they knew there was no longer a place for them in the Ice and Snow Tower. It was impossible for them to remain here.’

Lin Xuan walked over to Hei Zhenxuan’s body and snatched the Storage Ring from his hand. ’There must be plenty of treasures inside,’ he thought, ’I can’t just leave it.’ He gave the corpse one last look, his eyes devoid of any pity, then turned and walked back to the Mysterious Blue Holy Stele. As his hand touched it, his soul once again entered the separate space.

He had only just entered when he saw the Youlan Emperor staring at him. The intense gaze made his hair stand on end, and he couldn’t help but ask, "Senior, is there something wrong with this junior?"

"How do you have Phoenix Essence Blood? And... it feels somewhat familiar," the Youlan Emperor said, his brow furrowed.

"This Phoenix Essence Blood was a gift from a friend," Lin Xuan answered truthfully; there was nothing to hide. "It came from an Ice and Fire Dual-Attribute Phoenix Bird..."

’*Feng* is male, *Huang* is female, so Bingxin is a female Phoenix Bird. Though she looks completely human, not like a Phoenix Bird at all.’

"What is her name?" the Youlan Emperor asked, his brow furrowed. For some reason, he had taken an interest in this.

"Her name is Bingxin," Lin Xuan replied.

"Bingxin!" The Youlan Emperor’s eyes shot wide. "Could she be... my daughter?"

"Now that you mention it, she does resemble you a bit, Senior..." Lin Xuan took another look at the Youlan Emperor, then asked, "Could it be... that your surname is Bing?"

"That’s right. My surname is Bing, and my wife’s name included the character ’Xin.’ Taking one character from each of our names for our daughter wouldn’t be strange at all. But... when I left, she wasn’t pregnant..." The Youlan Emperor frowned, then asked, "Can you describe for me what she looks like?"

Instead of describing her, Lin Xuan took out a Primordial Stone and began to carve. He quickly sculpted a statue of Bingxin. For him, this was a simple task.

As the Youlan Emperor held the statue, a look of paternal love filled his eyes. "The resemblance is uncanny... This child looks so much like her mother..."

"You have a wife in the Phoenix Race?!"

Lin Xuan almost spat. ’This Youlan Emperor is quite the Casanova, isn’t he? Does he only go for women of the Demon Race? First a Demon Fox, now one from the Phoenix Race... I wonder if a woman from the Dragon Race will pop up next!’