"Senior, what do you mean?"
Chen Ming didn't expect the existence of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to go unnoticed by the God of Arrogance. After all, the changes in the Sunset Forest were known across the entire continent.
The methods Chen Ming had set up outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had already revealed to many that Dugu Bo had a secluded area in the Sunset Forest. It was merely a means to prevent outsiders from entering.
Although the God of Arrogance had suppressed his abilities to the limits of the Douluo Plane, with a strength equivalent to level ninety-nine, his actual combat power far exceeded this boundary. As an ancient first-class deity who had lived for an immeasurable amount of time, it was almost inevitable that the God of Arrogance would discover the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—unless he was affected by a debuff like an intelligence-reducing curse.
"What do I mean?" The God of Arrogance glanced at Chen Ming with a peculiar expression.
"That Dugu Bo couldn't see through the secrets of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is understandable. After all, from my interactions with him, I can tell that while he has some talent in cultivation, he's a bit too simple-minded and not very clever. Normally, he doesn't understand."
"But you, Xiao Ming, should have at least come into contact with the core of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well or speculated about what lies beneath it, right?"
"Two fallen god-level dragons, one of ice and one of fire. If it weren't for the senior God of Destruction explicitly stating that there are only five God Kings in the God Realm, I might have suspected that these two dragons were God King-level beings in their lifetimes."
"These two dragons were indeed God Kings in their lifetimes. It relates to a major event in the history of the God Realm," the God of Arrogance said bluntly, staring into Chen Ming's eyes.
"Could it be related to that so-called Dragon God?" Chen Ming asked in return.
"I've also wondered why the Douluo Continent has so many traces of god-level dragons, why soul beasts cannot become gods, yet the legends of the continent mention divine beasts."
"That's why I explored the information on dragons. I learned vaguely that the dragons of the Douluo Continent once had a racial deity called the Dragon God, who was incredibly powerful but ultimately fell."
"Senior, is there a problem with this?"
The God of Arrogance organized his thoughts and realized that this seemed to make sense. After all, the Douluo Continent was indeed home to an overwhelming number of dragons. If one were to investigate carefully, it wouldn't be hard to discover that the Dragon God existed within the dragon race.
However, the details of how powerful the Dragon God was or what position it held in the God Realm were beyond the knowledge of the Douluo Continent.
The God of Arrogance had assumed that Chen Ming already knew about the Dragon God and the chaos that had occurred in the God Realm. But on second thought, it seemed unlikely that Chen Ming would have access to such secrets.
After all, who could know such classified information except for those involved at the time?
"I'm just reminding you. Be cautious not to be influenced by the path of the dragon race, or it could lead to problems with your divine position."
"…"
Sensing Chen Ming's calm gaze, the God of Arrogance finally fell silent.
"Forget it. I'll explain more when you enter the divine trial secret realm. Don't worry; I won't harm you. With your talent, you're at least capable of creating your first-class divine position. According to the Lord, you can become a new God King someday. This is something you'll be able to learn in the future. For now…"
"For now, consider this an early warning."
The God of Arrogance waved his hand dismissively and gestured to Chen Ming. After a moment of thought, Chen Ming nodded, opened the secret realm, and the two stepped inside.
At the base of the Mountain of Strength, the God of Arrogance sat casually on a rock, gazing at the Mountain of Thunder across from him with a look of nostalgia. Without waiting for Chen Ming to ask, he began sharing the story of the God Realm.
The God of Arrogance didn't hold back, telling two versions of the story. The first was the version known by most deities in the current God Realm.
In this version, the Dragon God was an ascended deity who became a God King after entering the God Realm. Immensely powerful, even surpassing the strength of a single God King, the Dragon God's ambition drove him to lead a rebellion with the dragon race. Ultimately, the Dragon God was slain by the Sword of Three Realms Judgment, and his remains were sealed in the Divine Beast Forest. From that point on, soul beasts were forbidden from becoming gods.
This version was used to pacify the younger generation of deities, so the God of Arrogance only briefly mentioned it before revealing the truth.
The truth aligned with Chen Ming's understanding from reading Soul Land IV before his reincarnation. The Dragon God was the supreme being of the God Realm. In fact, the God Realm itself was created by the Dragon God as the domain of the dragon race. Over time, other races and their deities joined, forming the powerful Dragon God Domain.
When the Dragon God attempted to elevate the Dragon God Domain from an energy plane to a physical plane, transforming it into a divine star, something went wrong. The Dragon God lost control. Part of the dragon race perished fighting to protect the Dragon God, while others were killed by the rampaging Dragon God.
Originally, the God Realm had eighteen God Kings in addition to the supreme Dragon God. After the conflict, only five God Kings remained, and the God Realm shrank to a tenth of its former size, never recovering its former glory.
The Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction—manifestations of universal rules—died temporarily due to severe injuries but were later revived.
Even though Chen Ming already knew these details, he remained silent for a long time after hearing the God of Arrogance's recounting. Only after calming his emotions did he ask the question he had always wanted to know.
"At its peak, the Dragon God's God Realm had the supreme Dragon God as its God King and eighteen other God Kings. What's the difference between a supreme God King and a regular God King? Aside from the current five God Kings, who were the other thirteen?"
"The supreme God King… I wouldn't know. Although I've been in the God Realm since the era of the Dragon God as a first-class deity, I was never a God King, so how could I describe the supreme God King's level?" the God of Arrogance explained before addressing Chen Ming's second question.
"Among the eighteen God Kings, there were nine Dragon Kings: the Water Dragon King, Fire Dragon King, Mountain Dragon King, Earth Dragon King, Black Dragon King, White Dragon King, Time Dragon King, Space Dragon King, and Wind Dragon King. The Water Dragon King also governed ice, so it could be called the Ice Dragon King. The Mountain and Earth Dragon Kings may sound similar, but they were distinct entities."
"The Mountain Dragon's attribute was stability, and its physique and strength were the greatest among the dragon races. Since its birth, it has carried the responsibility of being the land for the dragons to thrive upon. Because of this, the Mountain Dragon was always crowned as a king. Every adult Mountain Dragon bore the title of Dragon King."
"However, its strength can't be judged purely by this. The Mountain Dragon lineage has changed kings several times. By the time of the Dragon God's fall, the Mountain Dragon King was already a successor several generations removed from the first generation, unlike the other original Dragon Kings."