Volume One: Awakening of the Dragon Soul Chapter Eight: The Ancient Gods

“Mm...” Mo Xing slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying in a pitch-black space where he couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face.

“Mortal, you are finally awake.”

An ancient and powerful voice echoed, resounding through the entire space.

“Who... who are you? And... where am I?” Mo Xing asked, his voice reverberating around him.

“This is your mental realm.”

At that moment, a dazzling blue light shone from the distant horizon, bathing the entire space in a cerulean hue.

Mo Xing looked around, searching for the source of the voice, but found no one.

“You have stolen my power. Are you aware of your crime?”

“What the heck? Can you stop speaking in archaic language?” Mo Xing retorted. “It’s making my skin crawl!”

There was a long silence.

“Hello? Where are you?”

Just as Mo Xing was wondering, a blue spectral form appeared before him, startling him so much he jumped.

“Damn! Don’t scare me by pretending to be a ghost!”

“I have no choice. Because of that war, my body was reduced to dust, and only my soul remains,” said the spirit.

“What war?” Mo Xing asked, calming down.

“The ancient war of the gods!” the spirit replied. “To use your own words.”

“So which god are you?” Mo Xing continued.

“Even your so-called immortals cannot compare to me,” the spirit declared. “I am Kashin, the Water Dragon God—one of the Five Creator Dragons!”

“Water Dragon God Kashin? Never heard of you,” Mo Xing said.

“Does your generation not study history?”

“It’s my first day of class,” Mo Xing replied. “Why don’t you give me a brief rundown?”

“We Five Dragon Gods created this world. Unfortunately, the peace was short-lived. The ambitious Black Dragon God, Karentis, started a war against the other four Dragon Gods in his quest to dominate the world.

“In the end, we joined forces to defeat and seal away Black Dragon God Karentis. But our bodies were torn asunder, and our powers scattered across the world.

“One day, as I slumbered, I was jolted awake to find that Karentis’s power was slowly recovering. It turned out that greedy humans had tampered with the seal.”

“Who would do something so outrageous?” Mo Xing asked.

“A group of heretics who worship Karentis—the Dark Order. They will stop at nothing for power. Thanks to my regenerative abilities, I could have completed my rebirth. But that day, they invaded the place of my reincarnation, destroyed my new body, and stole my power.”

“Yet earlier you said I was the thief?” Mo Xing scratched his head. “I have nothing to do with those cultists. In fact, I’ve never even met them!”

“No, you have met them,” Kashin replied. “Someone betrayed the Dark Order, secretly took one of their experimental products—which contained my power—and, at an opportune moment, let you, completely unaware, absorb my strength.”

“That actually happened?” Mo Xing exclaimed. “How do you know this?”

“Dragons have powerful senses,” Kashin replied.

“That incredible?” Mo Xing asked.

“Each Dragon God has unique talents. My regeneration and perception are the strongest,” Kashin said. “But due to my weakened state, I can only sense these fragments.”

“I see.” Mo Xing felt a pang of regret, wishing he could know who had infused him with this power—and for what purpose.

“By the way—”

“Since I gained your power, why did my Dragon God Power assessment show my level as zero?” Mo Xing suddenly remembered the test he took the previous day.

“That’s quite simple,” Kashin replied. “As I just said, I have the strongest regenerative power as the Water Dragon God. When you took the test, the crystal orb didn’t shatter.”

“Huh?” Mo Xing was even more confused, about to press for more details, when the entire space suddenly shook and blue shards began to rain down around him.

“What’s happening?” Mo Xing shouted in alarm.

“You’re waking up,” Kashin answered. “I don’t know when we’ll next meet, so remember three things.”

“What? Tell me!” Mo Xing yelled.

The space trembled, the blue light rapidly dimming; darkness was closing in again.

“First, don’t lose control of your emotions,” Kashin said. “Otherwise, the power will consume you and you’ll lose consciousness.”

“Second, find the other Dragon Gods. Only united can you defeat the Black Dragon God again.”

“And the third...” Kashin suddenly stopped.

“What’s the third? What is it?” Mo Xing shouted. “Hurry, this place is about to collapse!”

At that moment, the entire mental realm shattered, and Kashin’s figure faded into the darkness.

A moment later, Mo Xing vaguely heard an echo:

“Be wary of those around you. I sense there is a Dark Order infiltrator hidden in your school!”