Prime Originator

After hearing his name being called out, Goldenstride shifted his gaze down to the other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni that spoke.

"Lord Wildfire, huh? It's nothing much. I'm just pondering the future prospects of the clan, nothing more. Don't worry about it," Goldenstride said.

However, Wildfire was rather interested in the topic.

"Oh? But I am rather curious. Why don't you talk about it? Maybe I can offer some of my opinions on the matter, Lord Goldenstride," Wildfire said.

"Well, if you insist, Lord Wildfire," Goldenstride replied with a nod before suggesting, "Why don't you come up here and join me in my view of Gran Crevasse first?"

"Sure," Wildfire agreed.

Shortly after, Wildfire nimbly scaled the thick jungle tree and landed on the same tree branch as Goldenstride.

Surprisingly, the tree branch only budged slightly before regaining its sturdiness and supporting the weight of both Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis.

Perhaps due to the overwhelming wood energy within the tree, it was far more tenacious and firm than ordinary trees of its kind.

In fact, all the plants in the Central Western Jungle were more or less around this level of tenacity and firmness.

The concentration of wood energy found within the plants of the Central Western Jungle was on a whole different level.

"Well, I'm here now. What do you want me to see, Lord Goldenstride?" Wildfire inquired.

"Our clan members in Gran Crevasse. What do you think when you look at them, Lord Wildfire?" Goldenstride casually asked.

On the vast concaved land of Gran Crevasse, the main lair of the Golden Suanni Clan, Wildfire could see more than twenty thousand golden suannis widely spread out into smaller groups and lazing about.

On top of that, one-tenth of them were at least Paragons.

"I see a prosperous clan, strong and mighty rulers of the jungles, both current and future ones," Wildfire stated before suddenly adding, "Well, at least that is what it looks like on the surface. However, we lack something very critical, purpose."

"Exactly," Goldenstride nodded.

"Although the number of Paragons in the clan grows over time, our overall population remains the same. Even though we are the kings of the jungle, we can't hunt as we please, eat as we please, or breed as we please."

"We have to strictly control both our population and the population of other beasts within our animal kingdom. Otherwise, we will eventually destroy the ecosystem and run out of food. The way we are now cannot be considered living; we are simply surviving."

"I don't want to stay in this cage for the rest of my life; I want to break free from this cycle," Goldenstride stated.

After listening to Goldenstride, Wildfire smiled wryly.

Even though the Golden Suanni Clan was prosperous and other beast races would die to be in their shoes, Goldenstride saw their life as being pathetic.

However, Wildfire couldn't refute it.

It was true that their current way of life wasn't one by choice but one forced by circumstances. The idea of freedom was an illusion.

Even when their Paragons were many, not a single golden suanni could reach the Half-step Divine Beast, let alone evolve into a Divine Beast.

It came as no surprise to Wildfire that Goldenstride felt trapped.

"But even if you say that, there isn't much we can do to change our fate, Lord Goldenstride," Wildfire stated.

"To the west, we have the Boundless Sea. Although it contains an equally boundless food source, our kind wasn't born for the sea. We are like stones in water, sinking to the bottom. As such, we are restricted from venturing west."

"On the other hand, the Infertile Plains is a vast open land to the east. Our kin could freely traverse this land if we wanted to. However, it's too barren and desolate. The food source there won't be able to support our clan unless we make all the humans our enemies."

"Although they aren't as strong, they are many in numbers. This might have been a good thing for us if not for the fact that they pollute their bodies with dark energies and don't have much meat anyway. A single wild boar is much more satisfying to eat than twenty polluted humans."

"Let's not even mention the cold north. That place is just an ice land full of snow and blizzards. All the creatures that could live in that land are the polar opposite of our Golden Suanni Clan, creatures of the sun. Our people will only suffer in that place."

"And finally, we have the demon territories in the south. Although the south has the vastest lands, there are too many powerful demons there, not to mention the overwhelming density of dark energy in that place. If we lead our clan down south, there will be nothing but war and death."

"If we look at the circumstances, our Golden Suanni Clan has it easy compared to other races. We should be satisfied with our situation, Lord Goldenstride," Wildfire stated.

"I know all that. But even so, I am not content. I cannot be content," Goldenstride said defiantly.

"You mentioned the four directions, Lord Wildfire. However, you forgot to mention the last two; the sky above and the earth below. There must be much better worlds out there among the stars that we cannot see in this land."

"Of course, there are," Wildfire asserted.

Having opened their Gate of Wisdom and inherited portions of their ancestral memories, all Paragon-level Golden Suannis knew that countless other worlds exist among the stars.

"However, ignoring the fact that we can even leave this world, only a Divine Beast can survive in outer space," Wildfire stated.

"That's right," Goldenstride didn't deny it.

"In order to go up, we must first go down. There must be countless secrets buried under Gran Crevasse. If we can just unearth them, we might just learn the secret to break free from our shackles and ascend to the Divine Beast Realm."

Swoosh~!

Shortly after Goldenstride finished speaking, a dozen other Peak Paragon-level Golden Suannis suddenly appeared, led by another Peak Paragon-level Golden Suanni that seemed to be the leader.

"I cannot ignore what you just said, Lord Goldenstride. You know the abyss is forbidden territory," the leading golden suanni said sternly.