"Boom!" Eighteen golden rings of soul intent slowly rotated beneath Muria's feet, sending a massive column of light shooting upward from the rings, which exuded an ancient and profound aura. The column burst through the roof of the hall where the Pool of Life was located, creating a large hole.
The golden column broke through the roof of the stone hall and shot straight up into the azure sky, piercing the clouds.
"Thunder!" The sound of thunder echoed through the heavens, and the skies changed color. Centered around the golden column, a vast cyclone several kilometers in diameter slowly formed, with blue and white arcs of electricity flashing within it.
"Roar!" A long and soaring dragon roar filled the sky as a nearly hundred-meter-long golden dragon emerged from the column, perched atop a majestic mountainous structure. Enveloped in dragon flames, it roared skyward, and with its roar, a pale golden dragon's majesty spread far into the distance.
As the dragon's presence swept over the mountain where Muria's courtyard was located, nearly a hundred dragons of various colors, already startled by Muria's earlier activities, emerged to watch. They cried out in a mix of awe and fear, then bowed their heads in submission upon seeing the golden dragon's silhouette atop the mountain.
Even the strongest trio of red dragons were no exception. Muria's presence had become an indelible mark within their souls. Although they could withstand the dragon's majesty, they chose not to resist forcefully.
As the long dragon roar sounded, thunderbolts slashed down through the immense cyclone above the golden dragon, with deafening sounds of thunder echoing continuously, as if announcing to the titan lands and its mighty beings that he had awakened.
Perched on the mountain peak, the majestic golden dragon appeared like a small sun fallen to the earth, radiating endless golden light. Above in the sky, the cloud vortex slowly spun, with lightning dancing wildly.
...
"Is that Muria?" As the golden pillar surged into the sky, stirring up a massive cloud vortex, a vibrant female titan on a nearby mountain peak looked up at the immense cloud formation, "Has he awakened from his slumber? It seems he has advanced to soul intent, making quite the entrance! I wonder how many rings of soul intent he has formed?"
"You've advanced to soul intent, Muria!" In a courtyard atop another mountain, a titan enveloped in wind and thunder looked up at the stormy vortex in the sky.
A flicker of loneliness crossed his face, but it vanished in an instant, replaced by a determined look as he gripped his spear, his fighting spirit high, "I need to redouble my efforts, I can't let him get too far ahead."
...
After his breakthrough, Muria's unrestrained release of his aura allowed many titans and mythical beasts living in the tribal lands to sense him. Anyone who had interacted with him could tell that this disturbance was caused by Muria.
The golden-level titans had various reactions to the sight of the massive vortex and storm clouds: admiration, aspiration, enthusiasm, and respect. There were no negative emotions like envy or hatred.
This was typical of titans; even upon seeing someone stronger or more excellent than themselves, they only thought of striving to catch up, without harboring any messy negative emotions.
For some soul intent-level titans, the sight of the vortex cloud stirred up excitement and enthusiasm. Every titan was intrigued by Muria.
However, the vast gap between soul intent and golden level made many soul intent-level titans reluctant to challenge Muria.
Now that Muria had advanced to soul intent, it was anticipated that he would receive a slew of challenges. Surely, some higher-level soul intent titans would swallow their pride and invite Muria to battle, seeking to test his new strength.
...
At the mountain peak, the thick column of light that had enveloped the golden dragon dissipated, and the swirling storm cloud in the sky ceased its rotation, gradually dispersing and slowly returning to a serene blue sky with white clouds.
In his dragon form, Muria looked up at the sky, then stretched out a claw and clenched it, causing a minor sonic boom that rippled out from his dragon claw.
"Power, it has grown stronger!" Muria shook his thorn-like scaled tail, which was nearly half his body length and shaped like a spear blade, creating a sound almost as thunderous as the storms above.
"Muria." Just as Muria settled atop the stone hall, a voice filled with joy called out from below. Lowering his head adorned with six sinuous horns, his golden eyes glowing brightly, Muria looked downward with such intensity that the air seemed to warp under his gaze.
There sat three nearly forty-meter-long dragons with bright red scales, looking disheveled and groggy as if they had just woken up—Cynthia, Jessica, and Renata, the trio of red dragon sisters
.
Having consumed the flesh of a legendary sea creature, they had prematurely gained the size of adolescent dragons, though they were nowhere near Muria's league.
"Renata." Muria addressed the visibly excited red dragon gently. As for the other two "little" female dragons, he wasn't inclined to deal with them right now, given their somewhat odd expressions.
"Muria, you've finally awakened!" Cynthia, sniffing the air, her excitement visible as she shook off her previous lethargy. Her golden-red eyes emitted a faint red light. "You've entered the adolescent dragon stage now, haven't you?"
"Definitely at our stage now," Jessica added, her eyes shining as she looked at Muria. The female red dragons seemed even more excited than Renata at Muria's awakening.
Seeing the two excited dragons and sensing a certain aroma in the air, Muria knew exactly what they were thinking.
His massive and slender dragon body also began to stir, a primal urge surfacing within him. The three female red dragons suddenly seemed different to him, strangely alluring, provoking an almost irresistible urge to dominate one of them.
"Damn it!" Muria shook his head vigorously, cursing softly. As someone with human memories, he truly couldn't accept getting physically close to a reptilian creature, though in his human form, he might have been more tolerant.
But with a low growl and a flash of golden light in his eyes, Muria moved away from the stone hall roof and descended to the ground. As he did, his form rapidly changed.
His dragon scales receded, and his horns, wings, and tail began to shrink. When Muria landed, the majestic golden dragon was gone, replaced by a titan wreathed in wind and thunder, with black hair and golden eyes.
"Don't be impulsive, control yourself, I already have someone I like, and I must remain honorable!" Muria thought to himself as he suppressed the urges within his body by shifting forms. Then, looking sternly at the three red dragons, he began to interrogate them:
"Have you completed the tasks I assigned?
Have you learned the spells from those books?
Have you successfully constructed the spell models you understood?
How are the spells you've constructed being executed?
Are the spells you previously mastered still being performed proficiently?"
Hearing Muria's series of questions, the excitement in the two female dragons' eyes quickly faded, and Renata involuntarily shrank back a bit.