Chương 1: Wolfsoul City, Lang clan.

The Demon's Dawn universe, it exists as one of the major universes that serves as a pillar to support the existence of an ever-growing multiverse where countless lives and planets are born every day. Being such an important pillar, it is vast beyond belief and houses so many lives that numbers fail to count them. The universe is split into six grand dominions that live in a delicate state, neither willing to fight against another in fear that a third party will come to claim all the prizes.

Within these dominions, and the rest of the universe, live countless cultivators, people who can absorb the natural energy, the Qi, around them. By utilizing this Qi, cultivators can unleash astonishing feats and devastating attacks, even the elements and something as ethereal as concepts have to bend the knees to cultivators, the mightiest among them said to be able to shatter planets with a mere flick of their finger.

Located within the southmost dominion, the Floodlight Dominion, lies the Waveborn planet, the third-largest planet within the entire Dominion. The planet doesn't have a single ruler, it is instead split into 18 different provinces that are further split into several smaller different territories. The villages are subservient to the cities, which in turn are subservient to the territory lords, who are then in turn subservient to the province emperors.

The Sunsong Province is the easternmost province, and located at the eastern end of the province is the Wolfsoul city that has been ruled by the Lang clan for several megannums. The Lang clan once ruled the surrounding three provinces, but the passage of time has slowly worn the clan down, all the way until now, where they are no more than the lords of a single city and four villages.

The grand, nearly half a million kilometers wide, Wolfsoul city didn't look as exquisite as one would expect of the main city of a clan that once spanned three provinces, it favored simplicity and practicality over needless flair. The buildings were all neatly placed in a spiderweb pattern that made the nearly half a kilometer wide roads easy to follow, the signs placed on nearly every corner making it even easier to find one's way around.

To the north of the city stood four tall and sharp mountains that had snow-capped tips, to the south and east was a gargantuan forest, and to the west stood a great marsh, all of which were homes to countless Demonic beasts, animals that could absorb the abundant Qi within the air to grow ever stronger while also acquiring the ability to control the various elements. With such beasts living outside the metal walls surrounding the city, it had to favor practicality over flair, otherwise, it would be hard to rebuild should a catastrophe arrive.

The buildings were made out of either wood or simple stone, materials that would be easily replaceable should something break. Only the large rectangular mansion with a circular centerpiece at the very center of the city was made out of a different material, a type of lightly yellow stone that looked slightly similar to marble. This nearly 15-kilometer long mansion, as well as the 5-kilometer wide forest and orchard that surrounded it, served as the home of the core Lang clan members.

The only buildings in the city that come close to rivaling the size of the Lang clan mansion are the four embassies of the villages under the control of the Lang clan, each embassy spanning nearly 10 kilometers. The Lang clan has spatial arrays, diagrams drawn up using Demonic beast blood and various materials that have absorbed a large amount of Qi, that can transport them directly to the various villages, but the embassies cut down on the time needed to conduct meetings. They also cut down on the number of Spirit Stones, gems made from crystallized Qi, that the Lang clan has to waste on activating the arrays.

The current leaders of the Lang clan were a couple, husband Lang Meng and wife Lang Hua, who had already ruled the clan for nearly 3000 years. Both of them had reached the middle stages of the Earth's Heart realm and thus had a lifespan of nearly 4000 years, a lifespan that was starting to creep towards its end.

The couple had lived long and loving lives and could pass on the mantle of clan leaders at any time, but they carried one regret with them, they were unable to have children. No matter how many times they tried, no matter how many doctors they talked with, each child that grew in Lang Hua's womb died before it could be born.

But then one day as the couple returned from a journey that had undertaken as a vacation, they returned with another couple in tow. They had encountered the couple on their journey and hit it off, they had even saved the other couple from danger on more than one occasion. The other couple, husband Bai Xiang and wife Wei Ru swore that they would repay this debt, and seeing no harm in it, the Lang couple invited them to return to the clan with them.

And then, a mere two years after the Lang couple returned to the clan, the miracle they had prayed to for thousands of years arrived, they gave birth to a healthy daughter. They had gone so many years without giving birth, yet were suddenly able to birth a healthy child a mere two years after bringing over Bai Xiang and Wei Ru, they would be fools if they weren't able to realize that they certainly had something to do with that.

As such, they rushed out of the building the moment their daughter was born, heading over to the fog-covered part of the forest where the other couple had taken up residence. The fog surrounding this part of the forest had only appeared once the couple settled there, and so far not a single person had been able to pass through this fog unless the couple allowed them to.

Several clan members had pointed out what the Lang couple already knew, if the other couple could do this then they were clearly stronger than any of them realized, meaning that there should be no way that the Lang couple could rescue them from danger. But the Lang couple had disregarded and silenced all these voices, it didn't matter how strong Bai Xiang and his wife were, what mattered was that they were friends of the Lang couple. And right now, the Lang couple wanted to thank their friends and give them the honor of naming their first child as thanks for helping them finally birth a child.

The couple made their way through the fog and arrived at the center of it, a 500-meter wide lake surrounded by bamboo, a small wooden hut located within the bamboo. The black-haired and red-eyed Bai Xiang, as well as the brown-haired and black-eyed Wei Ru, were already sitting at the small table placed outside the hut, clearly awaiting the arrival of the Lang couple.

The golden-haired and brown-eyed Lang Meng stepped forward and dropped to his knees, lowering his head so much that his forehead was just about to hit the ground.

"Benefactors! I thank you, I thank you with all my heart for blessing us with this gift! Please, I would be honored if you could name our daughter!"

The black-haired and green-eyed Lang Hua also lowered her body, but as she was holding their newborn daughter she only got down on her knees and dipped her upper body down slightly. Bai Xiang smiled faintly at the couple, giving a soft shake of his head while beckoning for them to come closer. Bai Xiang looked like a middle-aged man, as did the Lang couple, but each of Bai Xiang's actions exuded a slight sense of age, looking at him was like looking at an old tree.

"Come now, don't act like that. Destiny brought us together so there's no point in acting so formal. I also won't take from you the joy of naming your first child, maybe your second or third, but not this one. But bring her over, let me give her a little gift. She's probably too young to understand my words, so I'll just imprint the meaning directly into her mind, that way she'll never forget them."

Lang Meng and Lang Hua stood up from their kneeling positions, both bubbling with slight excitement as they walked over to Bai Xiang. From his words, could it be that they could get even more children if they wanted? If that was the truth, then they had never gotten more joyous news. As the couple got closer, Bai Xiang stretched out both arms, his left hand reached out and touched the young girl's forehead as a small pill appeared in the palm of his right hand. The pill was a mixture of black and white, the two colors swirling around each other and making the entire pill look like a tiny vortex. As his finger landed on the girl's forehead, Bai Xiang spoke slowly and carefully, his every word imprinting itself even in the mind of such a small baby.

"This pill is my gift for you, it's a pretty paltry one since it can only do two things, but it's the best gift for you. It can either give a wolf an extended lifespan, or it can give a dragon a new life so that it can soar. Which one of these things the pill does will be up to you to decide, so make sure you follow your heart when choosing."

The pill flew out from Bai Xiang's palm and sank into the girl's chest, merging with her and vanishing. The Lang couple had already realized that the couple in front of them likely belonged to an entirely different world, but seeing it laid out so clearly in front of them was still rather shocking. The couple took a step back after Bai Xiang pulled back his own arms, giving him and his wife another bow.

"We thank you for your gift. And while you have rejected the honor of naming her, at least allow us to name her in your honor, dubbing her as Lang Ru."

Bai Xiang and his wife shook their heads with a chuckle, Bai Xiang waving them away and telling them to return so that they could take care of their new child. The Lang couple bowed once more and then returned to the mansion, giddy with joy and excitement and what the future might hold.

And the words of Bai Xiang and his wife were proven correct a mere four years later when Lang Hua gave birth once more. And it wasn't just a normal birth, this time she gave birth to special twins. One was a young girl who already had a tuft of crimson hair growing on her head, her sapphire-blue eyes flickering with faint flames. The boy didn't look as special as the girl, his crystal clear and pitch-black eyes certainly weren't flickering with flames, but he too had a small tuft of hair already growing on his head, but his was a beautiful silver rather than crimson.

Holding his two new children, while his first daughter was standing at his side and curiously peering at the newcomers to the family, Lang Meng couldn't help but weep tears of joy. He had led the clan properly for years and now he had brought forth multiple heirs to the clan, he had done his ancestors proud and could face them with his head held high when he passed on to the Celestial Realm.

The husband and wife immediately rushed to the fog-filled section of the forest, with their cultivation there was no need to rest after the ordeal, nor was there a need to have anyone else in the room. They quickly passed through the fog and arrived in front of the wooden hut, Bai Xiang and Wei Ru already sitting there and waiting for them with soft smiles. Wei Ru was the one who beckoned them closer this time, not even intending on letting them kneel down like they had done last time.

"Come now, let us take a look at the little wonders."

The Lang couple walked over, each one holding one of the newborn children while Lang Ru was walking between them. Contrary to what Bai Xiang had done when they came over with Lang Ru, Wei Ru stretched out her hands towards the newborn girl, Lang Hua carefully handing her over. Wei Ru tickled the little girl's nose a little, the fire in her eyes receding while Wei Ru let out gentle laughter.

"Cute little girl blessed by flame, your name will be Lang Huo and my gift to you will be the heart of fire, as blazing as the cruel sun yet as gentle as the rays it casts down to the earth."

As Wei Ru spoke, her words imprinting themselves into the mind of the girl, a bronze flame flickered into existence next to her shoulder, gathering together to form a metallic scroll. Looking at this scroll, the Lang couple could faintly guess what it was, a cultivation method.

Absorbing the surrounding Qi was easy for cultivators, but knowing exactly how to move this Qi to produce the best effect was not. As such, cultivators had produced countless different cultivation methods over the years, each one following different principles and teaching different ways on how to reach the next cultivation level. Depending on the strength of those who made the cultivation technique, there were those that could only bring you to the Immortal's Heart realm while there were others that could bring you all the way to the fabled Sovereign God Realm.

There was a saying that there was no man incapable of cultivating, only men who had yet to find the cultivation method most suited to them. If you could find a cultivation method well-suited to you, or even just one of incredibly high rank, you would be able to unleash strength far above those of your own realm, you would also be able to cultivate faster and absorb Qi at a faster rate. As such, the value of a good cultivation method went without saying, even province emperors would fight tooth and nail if they got news of an excellent technique.

The Lang couple couldn't see the rank of the cultivation technique that was merging with Lang Huo, but they were certain that it was far from shabby. The Lang couple was momentarily taken aback as they looked at the scroll slowly merging with their daughter so Lang Meng was a bit late in seeing Bai Xiang looking at them with a smile. He hurriedly excused himself while handing over the other child.

"Sorry, I was so entranced that I forgot to hand him over so that you could imprint your words."

Bai Xiang had touched the forehead of their first daughter and his wife was cradling their second daughter right now as she imprinted her words directly into the child's mind. This had naturally lead Lang Meng to believe that contact was necessary to imprint the words, it was only reasonable after all. But contrary to his expectations, Bai Xiang gave a slight shake of his head as he accepted the newborn son.

"Contact isn't really necessary, doing so just makes it more personal and makes me feel like our families have gotten a bit closer. And your son's a special case, he was born with a special soul so there is no need for me to imprint the words in him, he's already perfectly conscious and able to remember the words."

Bai Xiang's words caught the Lang couple completely off-guard, their son had been born with a special soul? Coupling this with the flames that his twin sister seemed to be born with, could it be that two of their three children had been blessed from birth? Bai Xiang didn't explain much more straight away, his voice loud and clear as he spoke, the Lang couple realizing that he was also talking to them.

"Little child born for the blade, to your family you will be Yin Long, but until the day of your death, you will be Lang Yin to the world. As for my gift to you, it will be my teachings. Our time isn't endless, so come see me from the day you learn how to walk, I will show you the path to your soul."