'They've become stronger as well..!' Sheng Feilong looked them up and down for a short moment, inspecting their progress since he last saw them. Yuanen Yehui was already close to reaching rank 60, while Huang Jialong was already at rank 69, on the very edge of breaking into the Soul Saint level.

"Jialong, Yehui... It's good to see you again." He grabbed Yuanen Yehui's hands, pulling them off from his face with a smile. While Yuanen Yehui still seemed genuinely happy, Huang Jialong's expression was somewhat complicated. "Rank 68..?"

He only mumbled a few words, but Sheng Feilong understood that Huang Jialong was speaking about his cultivation base and nodded his head. The latter seemed a bit confused and couldn't help but speak up again. "That's all..? I mean, it's a good increase, but... only a few ranks after all this time?"

Sheng Feilong frowned slightly, confused that Huang Jialong seemed to have expected more, but also remembered to ask something else. "Right, how much time did I spent inside the cavern? Senior lion king said it should have been a few months."

"Un. A bit more than five months. We've already informed Master and Senior Song, though, so there's no problem. Senior lion king told us a bit about your Ancestor, Sheng Wuyong. What you obtained was a Hyper Douluo levelled inheritance at the very least, right?" Huang Jialong looked at Sheng Feilong with an inquisitive expression, still confused why the latter's improvements were so little.

Before Sheng Feilong could answer, a low growl came from their side. The crimson-maned lion was staring down at them, clearly displeased, while the other lions also intense looked at them. Sheng Feilong flinched and turned towards the lion king before bowing. "I apologize, Senior. We've been swept off by our emotions and been insolent."

After that, he walked to the side, signalling for Huang Jialong and Yuanen Yehui to continue. They were part of the hunting party, thus they should have some prey with them. As expected, the two of them understood his meaning and Yuanen Yehui stepped forward, pulling a few Soul Beast's corpses out of her s.p.a.cial Ring before bowing to the lion king. "Yuanen Yehui and Huang Jialong present their prey to you, Senior."

The lion king looked at the six corpses that laid in front of Yuanen Yehui with a pleased expression. All of them were of beats of at least 1.000 years of age, a great harvest, even for the strongest among the 1.000-years-old Golden Lions among them, yet Huang Jialong and Yuanen Yehui were barely over a dozen years old.

They stepped to the side, letting the Golden Lions of the hunting party present their prey. Most of them had a corpse with them, but that was about it, as they didn't possess s.p.a.cial Treasures. The hunting party had brought a total of 17 1.000-years-old Soul Beasts corpses back to the pride today, including the ones Huang Jialong and Yuanen Yehui brought.

The lion king distributed the yield, complementing the young Golden Lions on their successful hunt before they started dispersing a few minutes later. The plateau soon returned to its usual quiet before the lion king stood up, looking at Sheng Feilong and the others. "Sheng Feilong, humans, come with me." Sheng Feilong noticed that its voice was more solemn than usual and quickly stood up to follow it.

The four of them walked towards the cave and, before entering, the lion king looked at the crimson-maned lion. "You come with me as well." The crimson-maned lion lowered its head, following the lion king inside the cave. Sheng Feilong and the others tactfully walked behind the two ma.s.sive Soul Beasts.

Huang Jialong and Yuanen Yehui were vigilant, as this was the first time for them to enter the lion king's cavern, much less with the stoic, prideful crimson-maned lion walking in front of them as well. Sheng Feilong, on the other hand, was completely relaxed; He knew the lion king wouldn't do anything to them, but he was slightly concerned about the lion king's solemn voice and knew that something was up.

The entered the chamber where Sheng Feilong first met the king and the latter laid down in its usual place, blocking the pathway deeper into the cavern. The crimson-maned lion respectfully stood in front of its king, a few metres away from the elevated platform the king laid on. Sheng Feilong and the others lined up next to the crimson-maned lion.

"Senior, is something the matter?" A few seconds later, Sheng Feilong asked as neither the lion king nor the crimson-maned lion had said anything yet. The crimson-maned lion didn't react to his question, but the lion king focused on him and Sheng Feilong felt its Spirit Power was.h.i.+ng over him, inspecting his body.

He frowned ever so slightly, but didn't resist, waiting for the lion king to finish. A few moments later, its Spirit Power retracted and the king laid lifted its head high, staring at the ceiling before sighing. "Sheng Feilong, you have truly made marvellous progress, much more so than my dear brother could have expected."

Huang Jialong and Yuanen Yehui frowned upon the mention of the lion king's brother, not sure what it was talking about; They evidently didn't know that the king and Sheng Wuyong were siblings by blood. Sheng Feilong remained silent, waiting for the king to continue with a calm, but serious expression.

"Your blood... is already nearly as pure as my own; In this pride, other than me, there is no one who surpa.s.ses you in terms of purity. However, your blood hasn't truly awakened." The lion king spoke slowly, its voice heavy and filled with a solemn conviction. Sheng Feilong frowned, still confused by what it was talking about, but he had a weird feeling about this. "Then, Senior, how do I truly awaken my bloodline?"

The lion king sighed again, the spoke in an emotional tone. "6.000 years ago, I promised my dear brother to guard his inheritance until a suitable descendant of his came to claim it. However, that wasn't the only promise I made him."

It paused for a moment, then looked back at Sheng Feilong. "To truly awaken your bloodline, simply bathing in a Three-Eyed Golden Lion's blood or fusing with a Soul Bone isn't enough. You need a more direct stimulus, something that can truly affect the origin of your bloodline and you soul."

The bad feeling Sheng Feilong had become more and more distinct, so much so that he didn't dare make any guesses, but the lion king beating around the bush wasn't helping him. "What is that stimulus, then, Senior?" The lion king looked at him, its face expressionless. "That is the second promise I made to my dear brother."

It stopped again, slowly sitting up looking down on Sheng Feilong and the others in all of its majestic height. "If ever the descendant that came to claim his inheritance surpa.s.sed all others of our brethren in terms of bloodline purity, I would personally help them to truly awaken their bloodline. Back then, I was just as confused as you were, for truly awakening our bloodline meant for us to open the third eye."

Sheng Feilong's eyes widened. He stared directly at the lion king, eager to hear more; Huang Jialong and Yuanen Yehui being in the same position as him. The crimson-maned lion still didn't react, only calmly looking at its king, while the latter continued. "The method my dear brother told me about is something that had been found out by your kin, the humans. To be more precise, by the same human that my dear daughter gave her life to."

"Something that was found out by the Spirit Ice Douluo..? Senior, are you talking about Spirit Souls?" Sheng Feilong was genuinely shocked at this point. The bad feeling he had finally resolved itself and he understood what the lion king was implying.

"For you bloodline to truly awaken, you, as a human, need to become one with a pure blooded Three-Eyed Golden Lion that is powerful enough to incite such an awakening. And for that to happen is for that Three-Eyed Golden Lion to become your Spirit Soul and for you to draw out its essence to undergo a transformation." The lion king spoke, still completely calm, but with its voice heavier than ever before.

Sheng Feilong was completely shocked, stammering to find the right words, but before he could, the lion king's voice resounded inside the cave once more. "So I ask you, Sheng Feilong, descendant of my dear brother, Sheng Wuyong; Are you willing to let me become your Spirit Soul? To let me help you truly awaken our brethren's bloodline? And to become a protector of our kin?"