The Birth of Dragon Kings

That afternoon, Xiao Chen and the others decided to leave this world of ice and snow and return to the lush, vibrant green forests. At this moment, Xiao Chen remembered the three dragon eggs buried here. He had already refined the Lion King Dragon egg. But the Storm Dragon egg, the Sword Dragon egg, and the Thunder Dragon egg remained intact, hidden away here.

When Xiao Chen briefly mentioned this, Liu Ruyan was not the only one shocked and excited. Even Liu Mu and Yizhen were moved. They had heard about the fierce battle in the snow mountains over the dragon eggs, but they had never imagined Xiao Chen had actually obtained so many.

As they approached the area, all of them stopped at once. They could sense fluctuations of life energy, seemingly coming from the very peak where Xiao Chen had said the eggs were buried. The same thought occurred to them all.

They rushed forward. Following Xiao Chen's directions, Liu Mu and Yizhen shattered the thick ice and snow, digging out an ice cave.

As the ice and snow were cleared from the mouth of the cave, brilliant light streamed out. The three mystical dragon eggs were as beautiful as jade. The cyan Storm Dragon egg shimmered with divine radiance, crystalline and translucent, as striking as a cyan moon. The Sword Dragon egg, with its emerald-like shell, radiated a heart-stirring light, resembling a piece of translucent green jade. The Thunder Dragon egg was wreathed in purple light, exquisite and magnificent, as if carved from amethyst.

At that moment, the life fluctuations grew even stronger, originating from the Storm Dragon egg and the Sword Dragon egg. Xiao Chen and the others' speculation proved true: baby dragons were about to break through their shells.

"This... the temperature is so low here, yet they can still hatch. It's truly incredible," Liu Mu marveled.

Yizhen explained, "It has nothing to do with temperature. Dragon eggs absorb the essence of heaven and earth on their own. Once they accumulate enough spiritual energy, the young dragons will break out by themselves."

Xiao Chen had not expected this either.

"Crack."

The sound of a shell breaking rang out. The Storm Dragon egg split open, and a cyan divine light streamed out.

Xiao Chen quickly called the others out of the cave. Outside the ice cave, he said to Liu Mu and Yizhen, "I have a feeling that this Storm Dragon egg might give birth to a little Dragon King. I think the first person it sees after breaking out will leave a deep impression on it. Which of you wants to go in and claim this fortune?"

The implications were obvious—it could mean taming a Dragon King. Anyone would be tempted! Liu Ruyan, standing nearby, felt both envy and jealousy, but she knew the Dragon King was too precious; this opportunity could not fall to her.

"Brother Xiao, you should go in yourself," Liu Mu and Yizhen said in unison.

"No," Xiao Chen replied. "You've all seen that Keke is no worse than a Dragon King. Make your decision quickly, or the chance will be lost." Everyone had witnessed Keke's divine nature; Xiao Chen was telling the truth.

Yizhen said, "Brother Liu, you go. You are a Space Spiritist. Your only weakness is that your physique is not as strong as a martial artist's. If you have a Dragon King by your side, you will be invincible in the future—a true combat king."

"No," Liu Mu countered. "I've long heard that Buddhism has divine beast protectors. If you have a Dragon King by your side, your great Buddhist divine abilities will come quickly."

The two began to defer to each other. Xiao Chen smiled and said, "Don't argue. It seems there are two life fluctuations, roughly equal in strength, but one is about to hatch. Liu Mu, you go in first. The other one goes to Yizhen."

At this moment, Liu Mu and the others also sensed that another life fluctuation was growing intense, as if it too was about to break out. Liu Mu no longer declined; he strode into the ancient cave, and the sound of cracking shells grew faster.

A startled cry came from inside as Liu Mu witnessed the birth of the little Storm Dragon.

"Roar!"

The sound of a dragon's roar emerged. Liu Mu walked out holding a half-meter-long cyan infant dragon. The little dragon seemed slightly bewildered but did not attack Liu Mu.

"It's a Dragon King!" Yizhen and Liu Ruyan exclaimed simultaneously.

A Companion Dragon King, even at birth, already bore the features of a true dragon. This cyan infant dragon did not much resemble a Storm Dragon. Its head was nearly identical to that of an Ancestral Dragon, with a pair of cyan dragon horns gleaming brightly. Its body resembled that of a Storm Dragon, shimmering with azure light. From the moment it was born, it began to madly absorb the essence of heaven and earth, drawing spiritual energy from all directions.

Liu Mu quickly channeled his own spiritual energy to "feed" it, letting the young Dragon King draw as much as it needed. It was a scene both joyful and astonishing.

"From now on, I will call you Azure Dragon King," Liu Mu said happily.

Meanwhile, Yizhen had already entered the ice cave without waiting for Xiao Chen's urging, awaiting the birth of the little Sword Dragon. There was no doubt it would be a Dragon King, for its life fluctuation was no weaker than that of the Azure Dragon King.

If this news were to spread, it would certainly shock everyone. Xiao Chen had obtained a few dragon eggs, and just as people had rumored, he had successfully executed a "Dragon King Rearing Plan"—but it was entirely unintentional.

"Crack, crack."

From within the ice cave came the sound of eggshell shattering, followed by a dragon roar. Another little Dragon King had been born. Yizhen emerged holding the infant dragon, also about half a meter long, its body wreathed in green light. Its head too resembled an Ancestral Dragon's, with a pair of emerald dragon horns. Its body was like a Sword Dragon's, covered in sharp bone spikes, forcing Yizhen to be careful not to be pierced.

"Then I will call you Emerald Dragon King," Yizhen said, delighted. He also began to "feed" the little Dragon King with his own true essence, letting it absorb wildly.

"Xiao Chen, that remaining little dragon—can I have it? Since you all have your own powerful Dragon Kings," Liu Ruyan said with bewitching charm, casting an enchanting smile at Xiao Chen.

"If it can actually hatch, I'll give it to you," Xiao Chen answered. In truth, he knew this was unlikely, for he had not sensed any life fluctuation from the Thunder Dragon egg.

But Liu Ruyan had already rushed into the ice cave in delight. It was some time before they heard her exclaim, "How can this be?!"

Xiao Chen went in and saw Liu Ruyan holding the huge purple Thunder Dragon egg with one hand, seemingly with little effort.

"Why is it so light?" she asked, full of doubt.

Xiao Chen took the Thunder Dragon egg and frowned. It was indeed too light. Moreover, the life essence inside was not abundant, and there was no life fluctuation at all.

"Could it be that the life essence inside was competed for by the two little Dragon Kings?" Xiao Chen speculated. After all, ordinary dragons could not compare to Dragon Kings; when Dragon Kings are born, they need to absorb vast amounts of essence from heaven and earth. In the presence of two Dragon Kings, this egg would naturally have been drained.

Hearing this, Liu Ruyan's face fell, her disappointment evident.

Outside the ice cave, the Azure Dragon King and the Emerald Dragon King had already absorbed enough spiritual energy and could now walk on their own.

Keke came running over from a distance, curiously examining the two Dragon Kings. The Azure Dragon King and the Emerald Dragon King seemed hostile to each other, facing off, ready to break into a fierce battle at any moment. Liu Mu and Yizhen quickly separated them.

Dragon Kings and Ancestral Dragons must fight to the death, and Dragon Kings would also fight among themselves. They could not be allowed to become hostile now; if they started fighting, regardless of who won or lost, the damage would be severe.

Liu Mu and Yizhen were well aware of the legends concerning Ancestral Dragons and Companion Dragon Kings. Shortly after birth, when the little Dragon Kings could fend for themselves, they would leave the nest and grow through constant battle in harsh environments.

Although the two infant Dragon Kings were now well disposed toward them, there was no telling if they might leave soon. Therefore, both men decided they must build a true, stable bond with them, just as the mysterious woman had done with the Purple Dragon King.

"Truly incredible. To witness the birth of two Dragon Kings in a single day—it's beyond imagination," Liu Mu marveled.

"Indeed, it is astonishing," Yizhen agreed.

"I retrieved these dragon eggs from the Sacred Mountain region. The dragons and ferocious beasts that roam that area are the top predators on Dragon Island. How could their offspring be ordinary dragons?" Xiao Chen had long suspected that if his plundered dragon eggs were to hatch, they would likely produce Dragon Kings.

The two infant Dragon Kings could already run like the wind, truly worthy of their legendary status. Although only half a meter long, they were much larger than Keke.

"Ya-ya, ya-ya." Keke hopped and bounded over the two dragons, full of curiosity, seemingly overjoyed to have playmates.

But the two proud Dragon Kings were not pleased. They were annoyed that the little creature was stepping on their heads, and even more irritated that Keke was treating them as mounts. But they found themselves unable to do anything to the snow-white beast; it was much faster than they were.

"Roar!"

The dragons' roar shook the heavens, nearly triggering an avalanche. Though the Companion Dragon Kings were still very young, they were already supremely powerful.

As the group left the snowy mountains, they stood on the highest peak and gazed toward the Bone Sea. That region was still shrouded in bloody light, as if the great battle had not yet ceased—a truly earth-shattering, bitter conflict.

Why had it rained blood that night? Why had the dragons, which had lost their divine powers on Dragon Island, suddenly regained their abilities and simultaneously attacked that terrifying City of the Dead? What was the Divine Stele suppressing? So many questions filled their minds. They had been lucky to escape this time.