In an age beyond reckoning, a mid-tier world was born in the middle void.
This was the precursor to the Nine Heavens and Nine Earths Great World—the Primordial World.
The Primordial World kept no count of years, for its distant past held too many unsolved mysteries.
But of one thing there was no doubt: this world’s earliest era belonged to the Primordial Beasts.
The term "Beast" did not refer to a specific race, but rather to all the myriad tribes within the Primordial World.
The greatest characteristic of these Beasts was their extreme cultivation of physical strength.
The pinnacle of this pursuit was the Desolate Beasts, who stood at the apex of all Beasts.
Born from the Beasts, the Desolate Beasts had utterly transcended them.
Desolate Beasts possessed formidable physiques, long lifespans, and unique innate divine abilities, making them the undisputed overlords of the entire Primordial land.
However, these immensely powerful individuals were brimming with ferocity but lacking in wisdom.
For tens of thousands of years after the emergence of the Desolate Beasts, the entire Primordial World saw no development.
Eventually, powerful Desolate Beasts occupied the oceans, continents, and skies, reducing all weaker Beasts to mere playthings and potential sustenance for their amusement.
Even the Great Origins of that era, influenced by the boundless Primordial World, lacked proper sentience.
Had events followed their normal course, this world might have continued on, forever a member of the countless worlds within the mid-tier void, until its ultimate demise.
But the Beasts were unwilling to remain forever as the playthings and food of the Desolate Beasts.
Though they cultivated their physical bodies relentlessly, the gap between them and the Desolate Beasts was as vast as heaven and earth, their hearts yearned for freedom.
Fortunately, the Desolate Beasts acted solely on instinct, paying no heed to the thoughts or minor actions of the weaker Beasts.
This allowed the weaker Beasts a sliver of opportunity to accumulate strength. Since individual might could never rival that of the Desolate Beasts, they would develop collective strength.
Since the strength of one generation could not match the Desolate Beasts, they would pass down the achievements of generation after generation.
Beneath the skies dominated by the Desolate Beasts, the sentient Beasts, under the very noses of these cataclysmic monsters, gradually developed a force not to be underestimated.
"The methods used by the Beasts at that time were similar to the current Thousand Mechanisms Sect, following the path of investigating things to understand principles."
"However, at that time, the Beasts were researching the bloodlines of the myriad Beasts in the world."
"And the race that led the unified Beasts of the world was called the Ape. They were not the most numerous among all the Beasts, but their sentience was the strongest."
"Under their leadership, the Beasts of the world formed an entity called the 'Beast Court'."
Qin Shang recounted this ancient history, which was not even recorded in the River of Time, to Chen Luo with a nostalgic expression.
Chen Luo’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing this, but he remained silent, patiently listening to Qin Shang continue.
"After the formation of the Beast Court, the entire Beast race had a guiding core to connect them, and the progress of bloodline research greatly accelerated. At its peak, the Beast Court even developed technology to artificially induce the birth of Desolate Beasts!"
"Initially, the Beast Court was ecstatic. They believed that if they could raise them from birth, they might be able to possess their own Desolate Beasts."
"But alas, even a newly awakened Desolate Beast was not something the Beast Court could restrain or contend with."
"Any Desolate Beast would follow its instincts and devour Beasts indiscriminately. The Beast Court's plan to control the Desolate Beasts ultimately failed completely."
"Moreover, even if the Beast Court did not actively induce their birth, the number of Desolate Beasts in the world was slowly increasing, making the Beasts' situation increasingly perilous."
"At its most dangerous, the Beast Court was destroyed several times, leaving only scattered embers to continue the lineage."
"Fortunately, when the number of Desolate Beasts exceeded a certain limit, their conflicts with each other truly intensified. After all, such powerful monsters required immense energy to survive!"
"And at that time, there was no convenient energy source like spiritual energy in the world," Qin Shang said, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.
But moments later, this Great Zenith Lord, who was telling the story, continued:
"Ultimately, after a large number of Desolate Beasts perished in internal strife, the balance of the world gradually restored."
"The protagonists of this primordial war were merely the Desolate Beasts; the Beasts, as food, did not even have the right to roar at this world."
"The so-called Beast Court, the bloodline technology, the inherited legacy—none of it held any meaning before those terrifying Desolate Beasts."
"These Desolate Beasts would calmly devour every Beast within their sight when they were hungry."
"They did not care what their food thought."
"But fortune and misfortune are intertwined; the surge in Desolate Beast numbers and the resulting war provided the Beasts with a new path."
"It is known that Desolate Beasts rarely fought when food was abundant. Even if fights and killings occurred, the defeated would be completely devoured."
"But during the Desolate Beast war, the world was in chaos, and countless powerful Desolate Beasts bled across the primordial land. This gave the Beasts a genuine opportunity to understand the Desolate Beasts."
"Through the study of countless Desolate Beast carcasses, the Beast Court discovered that the Desolate Beasts' power lay in their immense vital energy and blood. This power truly made them extraordinary!"
"This discovery initially brought great joy to the Beast Court. They once believed that as long as they possessed the same power as the Desolate Beasts, they might be able to defeat them."
"The Beasts could naturally cultivate this vital energy and blood, as they were, after all, beings of the Primordial land, and the Desolate Beasts had originally originated from the Beasts."
"But later, a battle between the pinnacle of Beast vital energy cultivation and a juvenile Desolate Beast artificially induced by the Beast Court awakened all the Beasts."
"The vital energy that the white-haired Beast had cultivated with all his might was perhaps merely a drop compared to the ocean before the juvenile Desolate Beast."
"No matter how the Beasts honed their vital energy, it was merely a joke compared to the Desolate Beasts, who were as colossal as mountains."
"At this point, the Beast Court was on the verge of despair."
"The concept that Desolate Beasts were invincible once again deeply ingrained itself in the hearts of every Beast."
"But at this moment, a Beast who had once led the bloodline research proposed a completely new idea."
"If Desolate Beasts are invincible, and if the vital energy we cultivate our entire lives cannot match those monsters, then why don't we proactively create stronger Beasts?!"
"Create the strongest Beast! A Beast that can contend with Desolate Beasts and possesses wisdom!"
The old Dragon King beside them, hearing this, touched his dragon horns, his gaze unfathomably deep, and took over Qin Shang’s words, continuing:
"Using the essence of countless Desolate Beasts as material, the vital energy of endless Beasts as a foundation, and a drop of extraterrestrial blood as the core, after countless generations of refinement and creation."
"The strongest Beast, named Dragon, was born!"