After tearing through layers of black mist and falling for what felt like an eternity, Jiang Xuan finally reached the bottom of the canyon.
Contrary to what one might expect, the depths were not shrouded in darkness. Instead, they glowed like daylight—mysterious strands of dark-golden divine light flowed like rivers, illuminating every corner of the chasm.
Wild, violent, sacred, supreme, ancient... A clash of contradictory auras swirled in the air, blending into a mysterious pressure that blanketed the entire canyon.
Everywhere he looked, towering bronze statues of ferocious beasts stood in lifelike detail—each one grotesque and awe-inspiring.
What made it eerie was that all these statues faced a giant bronze cauldron at the center, their massive bodies bowed slightly, as if... paying homage.
Cautious, Jiang Xuan stepped forward to the cauldron.
It was over thirty feet tall, like a small mountain, exuding an oppressive presence that demanded reverence.
The uneven surface of the cauldron was engraved with countless divine glyphs—depictions of mountains, rivers, birds, and beasts—etched with profound runes that seemed to carry the laws of the universe itself.
Jiang Xuan instinctively reached out and touched the glyphs.
Buzz!
A sharp jolt of ancient light shot from the cauldron and pierced his palm like a needle.
Jiang Xuan flinched but paused—just as a faint, childlike dragon's cry echoed in his mind, as if urging him to stay connected.
"The true dragon... is it about to hatch?" he muttered, tightening his grip on the cauldron.
Blood flowed from his palm, seeping into the engraved runes, as if painting a picture...
Crack—crack—crack!
From within the cauldron came the crisp sound of something breaking open.
A wave of divine pressure erupted like a tsunami, engulfing the entire canyon and rippling outward across the wilderness.
Wherever it passed, savage beasts froze mid-snarl, eyes wide with fear and awe, dropping to the ground in trembling submission.
All across the land, young cultivators were stunned.
They didn't know what caused this, but they weren't about to waste the opportunity—these frozen beasts were free points!
If they struck quickly enough, they might rack up hundreds of kills and land themselves in the top ten, earning the right to enter the Ancestral Tomb and receive legacy inheritances!
But before they could act—
ROAR!
A deafening dragon cry shattered the silence, echoing like a heavenly chorus. The ground quaked, mountains collapsed, and the heavens swirled violently above.
The sky twisted as if stirred by a celestial hand, revealing a colossal vortex.
From beyond the veil, the laws of the world poured forth—divine runes, sacred patterns, radiant symbols—all coalescing into an enormous dragon-shaped shadow.
Its eyes were made of Dao itself, half-lidded and golden, piercing through the sky.
Its scales were thousands of divine symbols, shimmering like blades.
Its claws were formed from countless Dao lines, grasping at the world.
And its horns—massive, proud, glowing with pure rule and law.
Everything—chaos, order, divinity—merged into one perfect form.
ROAR...
With another low growl, the massive shadow condensed into a beam of golden light and shot straight into the cauldron.
The vision vanished.
But across the land, the once-rampaging beasts rose one by one—not in fury, but in reverence. They turned toward the canyon and began charging in near-silent unison.
A tidal wave of beasts—calm, fast, terrifying.
The Beast Tide had begun.
The young cultivators stood frozen, jaws slack.
That... that was a true dragon!
Could there be a dragon inheritance hidden in the trial grounds?
The very idea ignited a frenzy.
If one could obtain a true dragon's legacy, they could build an unshakable foundation, ascend to the Divine Realm—and maybe even beyond!
"No point in hunting beasts anymore! Compared to a true dragon inheritance, even the Ancestral Tomb is worthless!" Jiang Feng laughed wildly.
Boom!
Before the echo faded, he was already flying toward the canyon.
"The inheritance is mine!"
Jiang Bei transformed into a sword light and slashed through the sky.
Jiang Minghao followed with a calm smile, stepping into the air as if strolling into destiny.
"All a bunch of fools..."
Watching them scramble, Jiang Qiankun sneered, "So what if you get there first?"
"Even if you obtain the dragon's power... I'll just take it from you!"
He tapped his fan, trying to summon his three subordinates—Jiang Guang and the others.
But the signal... didn't go through.
"...Hmm?"
His smile froze.
Tried again—nothing.
Only two possibilities: either a realm barrier blocked the signal... or they were dead.
And since they were in the same trial space, the answer was clear.
"They got killed... by some beasts?! Useless trash!"
Qiankun's face turned dark. "Let's hope they at least managed to take Jiang Xuan down first. Otherwise... I'll make their families pay."
In his eyes, Jiang Xuan—a mere Spirit Realm cultivator—couldn't possibly survive his three assassins.
They must've died to some freak beast encounter. Disappointing... but whatever.
He still had bigger fish to fry.
"If Jiang Xuan's alive, I'll deal with him myself."
With a flick of his robe, he too soared toward the canyon.
"This kid actually succeeded?"The Ancient Patriarch's expression was somewhat odd. "What unbelievable luck…"
The Myriad Beast Domain—established by the Second Ancestor to temper the dragon egg and reshape its essence—had existed for nearly ten million years.And in all that time, countless young talents had discovered the secret of the dragon egg, journeyed deep into the canyon with hopes of hatching and claiming the dragon hatchling as their own…
But every last one of them had failed.
Even he and the Mountain Ancestor had tried during their own ancestral trials—only to walk away frustrated after being completely ignored by the silent, slumbering bronze cauldron.
After all, awakening a dragon hatchling required not just time and power, but also fate—a kind of heaven-defying fortune that could not be forced.
"This boy… definitely a lucky anomaly," the Mountain Ancestor said, his eyes dark and reflective."But if he wants to keep that dragon hatchling with so many others watching… he'll need more than just luck."
"Forget the hidden one with the 95% bloodline purity," he added. "Among the Four Respected Sons alone, Jiang Xuan is still the weakest.""To bond with a newborn true dragon? That's no small feat."