Douluo Dalu - The Story of Sheng Feilong

Sheng Feilong was taken aback by his own newfound powers, while the lion king was still completely calm. "This is one of the most rudimentary powers of our brethrens that have awakened their bloodline. You might be able to use this power already, but you haven't truly opened the third eye yet."

Sucking in a deep breath, Sheng Feilong forced himself to calm down again. He stopped using his eyes' special powers as he could feel it tiring him out even after using it just for a short amount of time and focused on the lion king. "If I haven't opened the third eye yet, how do I do that, Senior?"

"...That you will have to find out for yourself. I haven't opened the third eye in my life, thus I can only help you this far. Everything else depends on you." The lion king replied after a moment of silence. Sheng Feilong frowned slightly and focused on the changes in his body again.

However, not matter how much he tried to find any changes that could be attributed to the third eye, he was unable to find anything other than the changes that allowed him to use the strange energy vision.

The lion king watched for some time before speaking up again. "There is no need for you to try any further. Give it some time. Among the few of our brethren that had opened the third eye, there was one thing that they always had in common; There has always been an incredible, suppressive aura surrounding them, even if they consciously left their eye closed – a type of aura that you simply lack, still."

Sheng Feilong was listening closely, frowning slightly as he was lost in thought. "What kind of aura? Can you describe it a bit, Senior?"The first thing that came to Sheng Feilong's mind was a difference in bloodline purity when he was compared to Three-Eyed Golden Lions that had awakened their bloodline, but the lion king's words quickly changed his mind.

The latter seemed to see through Sheng Feilong's train of thought, his words rather decisively. "It wasn't a bloodline suppression. While they usually have rather pure bloodlines, it isn't a deciding factor, just another boon. The aura I'm talking of was different; It was like just looking at them was sending a shudder through my body, down to my very core and soul. A dangerous feeling as if they could see right through me, not just my strength, but even my thoughts."

Sheng Feilong remained silent for a while even after the lion king stopped, a frown still sitting on his face. "...Could it be... a matter of Spirit Power?" An idea suddenly popped into his head, causing him to mutter a few words while losing himself to the thought; Sheng Feilong always has a high Spirit Power and he usually had a rather easy time trying to figure other people out if he really tried to, especially those with weak Spirit Powers.

Still, he was already at the Spirit Abyss Realm, with a Spirit Power way past 10.000 points, according to the usual testing methods. To think that every Three-Eyed Golden Lion who ever awakened their third eye would have a Spirit Power surpassing his own so far that even the old lion king felt pressured by it, was far fetched at the very least.

Above the Spirit Abyss Realm were only two higher levels of Spirit Power; The Spirit Domain Realm and the Divine Origin Realm. Both of those were legendary realms of Spirit Power that only the most powerful of the top Soul Masters of this world could reach; Even his own Master, Song Weihan, who focused on his Spirit Power and was widely renown for his prowess in this aspect, was only in the middle to upper levels of the Spirit Domain Realm.

Yet, if this idea of Sheng Feilong's was true, it would imply that every single Three-Eyed Golden Lion that opened their third eye would be comparable to Song Weihan, if not superior. Considering that most of them awakened their third eye before their became 100.000-years-old Soul Beasts, and some even before they reached 10.000 years of age, made this truly hard to believe.

'I'll have to ask Master for his opinion once we return...' Sheng Feilong made a mental note to himself and stopped his attempts to find out anything else. He focused his attention back to the lion king, smiling excitedly as he remembered something else. "Senior, now that you've become my Spirit Soul and I've reached rank 70-"

"You wish for me to bestow you with a Soul Ring? I had already been wondering when you would ask." The lion kings reply came before Sheng Feilong could even finish his sentence, its voice still calm and collected, though with a clear, bemused undertone.

"Senior, before that, I would like to ask something else; I know you're a 100.000-years-old Soul Beast, but just how powerful are you, really?" Scratching his cheek in embarrassment, Sheng Feilong asked this question. Before, he had completely regarded this due to his excitement of being able to obtain a 100.000-years-old Spirit Soul, as well as awakening his bloodline and cultivating to reach rank 70.

The lion king sat up inside Sheng Feilong's spiritual consciousness, its eyes filled with an discernable pride as its majestic mane fluttered in the breeze. "Before becoming your Spirit Soul, I had lived for a total of 177.000 years. In my prime, I was able to easily match the strength of even the greatest of beasts below 200.000 years of age and reigned as the king of our brethren for 45.000 years. While my body had already weakened, my cultivation still remained; The Soul Rings I can bestow you will be the most powerful you can imagine below those of the Great Beasts."

"177.000-years-old..." Sheng Feilong muttered lightly, taken aback as he didn't expected the lion king's strength to be this extreme. Once Soul beasts became 100.000-years-old and went through their first lighting tribulation, their strength would soar crazily. Usually, a 110.000-years-old Soul beast could match 10 100.000-years-old ones in strength, yet the old lion king was able to match even those close to 200.000 years of age.

Beasts of this magnitude should, theoretically, be dozens of times stronger than the lion king itself, moreover, from its words, that was during its prime, not close to the end of its life when Sheng Feilong met it. 'It could possibly... have been a a match for 200.000-years-old beasts while itself was about 150.000-years-old, or even younger.'

Sheng Feilong returned to his spiritual consciousness, appearing before the towering lion king and stared at it for a few moments. He swallowed his saliva, fiercely trying to suppress his excitement and remain calm, but his voice still came out somewhat shaky. "Then, Senior, will kind of Soul Ring will you give me..?"

The lion king looked back at him, then glanced to the side where the other parts of Sheng Feilong's strength resided, in this case, namely the Artificial Soul Bone created for another 100.000-years-old Three-Eyed Golden Lion's Skull Soul Bone. "...Let me bestow upon you a Soul Ring in commemoration of my dear sister."

"Your sister...?" Sheng Feilong turned to the side, following the lion king's gaze and saw the Soul Bone. He remembered what the lion king told him when they first met. 'That I was only able to partially awaken my bloodline thanks to the Soul Bone created from... his sister's...'

He didn't know what to answer to those words, and thankfully didn't have to, as the lion king started talking again. "My sister has always prided herself with her spiritual powers that surpassed my own and my dear brothers. While this weird Soul Bone you have doesn't inherit her full strength, it still contains a part of her will and strength."

The lion king turned back to Sheng Feilong, looking him directly into the eyes. Sheng Feilong met the lion king's gaze and felt a familiar sensation shortly after, as the lion king's energy started to rise. "Brace yourself, and accept the strength I bestow upon you, Sheng Feilong."

Sheng Feilong, in reality and inside his spiritual consciousness, started meditating, purely concentrating on the creating of this new Soul Ring. He had already perfectly assimilated with the lion king's Spirit Soul and was familiar with the process of creating Soul Rings, but it was different this time; The times he fused with his old Soul Rings couldn't possibly compare to the strength the lion king demanded of him.

An hour later, an incredible pressure radiated off of Sheng Feilong, his Soul Power bursting forth into all directions and along the pathway of the cavern, startling Yuanen Yehui and Huang Jialong who were meditating inside the lion king's old chamber together with the crimson-maned lion. All three of them stared into the cave, surprised by the sheer force that radiated out of it.

A few moments later, the power subsided, vanishing without a trace within seconds, and the three of them averted their eyes after a few more moments as nothing else happened.

Within the depths of the cave, Sheng Feilong had finished creating his new Soul Ring, the deep red, giant circle calmly floating around him as he slowly reigned its power in. He managed to control its power quickly with the lion king's help and forced it back into his body. Then, calmly opened his eyes, stood up and stretched his body.

Within his spiritual consciousness, the lion king's voice sounded out again, sounding pleased with what Sheng Feilong achieved. "The Golden Lion's Sovereign Territory and the Emperor's Verdict; Two Soul Skills that perfectly represent my dear sister's strength. They perfectly work together with my dear sister's Soul Bone; Sheng Feilong, I hope you'll use them well."

"A Domain Ability...? And a wide ranged, powerful control ability... Senior, this is incredible!" Sheng Feilong shouted out in glee. Eager to test those abilities out, he ran towards the pathway to exit the cave as he knew both abilities' range was greater than the small chamber he was in.

He had just put on some clothes after jumping out of the pool of blood and was about to exit the cave, when the lion king stopped him. "Sheng Feilong, haven't you forgotten something?" Sheng Feilong stopped in his tracks, confused by the lion king's words; His eyes widening as the lion king spoke up again. "Next to you lays the corpse of a powerful, 100.000-years-old Soul Beast; One of which I know for a fact to posses a Soul Bone..."