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*****
"I've lived for hundreds of thousands of years. Most of that time, I remained in the Star Dou Forest. I know every speck of dust here. I'm familiar with every soul beast in this forest. And frankly, I'm tired of it. I want to leave. I want to pursue the things I've always longed to explore. But the burden on my shoulders keeps me trapped here—it has shackled me to this place."
"Human, what is your name?" Di Tian asked, his gaze turning solemn.
"Qian Renhan."
"Qian Renhan, Angel Martial Soul, surname Qian… So, you truly are from the Angel Clan of the Spirit Hall," Di Tian said, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the dark red sword-shaped mark on Qian Renhan's forehead. A trace of hatred flashed across his eyes as he let out a long howl. "Qian Renhan, it's a pleasure to meet you. This will be the most meaningful—and final—battle of my life as a dragon. Either I will kill you, or you will kill me and take my soul ring and soul bone."
"As long as I can defeat you, my life as a dragon won't have been in vain. Then I'll be free to chase what I never had the chance to pursue, even if only as a soul—if that's possible."
Di Tian muttered the last few lines to himself. He knew all too well: even if he killed Qian Renhan, the inheritor of the Asura God's legacy, he wouldn't survive. His fate was already sealed. Not even his soul would remain. But for the sake of the Dragon Clan, for the sake of his Lord, Di Tian was willing to sacrifice everything—his very life.
"Come then. I will make sure this final battle has meaning."
Di Tian's massive dragon body trembled as a black sun rose behind him. This sun was entirely black, ringed with a violet glow.
Qian Renhan's body trembled as well, and another black sun rose behind him. This one was enveloped in a layer of crimson light, with icy blue hues swirling at its edges.
The two black suns faced off in the sky. The once peaceful and calm heavens turned pitch-black in an instant. What had been above them now sank beneath their feet.
They were initially separated by only about a hundred meters, but after the collision, Di Tian was pushed back as if struck by a powerful force, while Qian Renhan remained in place.
From the center point where they had clashed, a blinding light erupted downward. Immediately after, a terrifying energy storm rocked the entire space with violent tremors.
A massive black hole appeared at the impact site, devouring everything around it. Even the clouds below were pulled upward, spiraling into the void.
Di Tian's heart sank. On the surface, it appeared the two black suns had neutralized each other, but in truth, Qian Renhan's black sun had swallowed his entirely.
Possessing the bloodline of the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King was Di Tian's greatest pride. This powerful lineage gave him not only mastery over the dark element but also control over space. Yet the darkness he took pride in was defeated—just like Ziji's had been before—by Qian Renhan's superior dark energy.
"You also possess dual soul cores—darkness and ice," Di Tian remarked.
Qian Renhan nodded slightly. "I have to thank Snow Empress for the knowledge she provided. Without it, I couldn't have formed both soul cores."
The Fallen Angel and Qian Renhan had become one. Its blood flowed through his entire body. Naturally, his soul cores were chosen from the Fallen Angel's attributes. With Snow Empress paving the way for ice, and with darkness and evil as options, darkness was clearly the better choice.
"Snow Empress?" Di Tian recalled the ice-based power that had felt so familiar earlier and roared in anger, "You killed Snow Empress and took her soul ring and soul bone!"
Qian Renhan replied indifferently, "In a way, she's not completely dead. She became one with my martial soul. But yes, Snow Empress no longer exists in this world."
"Black Dragon Sword!"
Di Tian extended his dragon claw and summoned the massive black sword that had once made Qian Renhan suffer greatly.
Di Tian's black-element energy had to be made tangible to harm Qian Renhan, just like how Snow Empress once froze him—energy of the same element below his level couldn't hurt him. It had to be materialized, given real substance and mass.
Qian Renhan raised his left hand, and seven crimson soul rings surged forth as he gripped the Shura Sword.
"Those two gatekeeping soul beasts, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, the Demon Sovereign, the Ice Empress… you bastard, just how many soul beasts have you killed?!"
Di Tian stared at the seven glaring crimson soul rings, filled with the resentment of soul beasts, and was driven into a furious rage. The deaths of seven 100,000-year soul beasts were a catastrophic loss to their kind. And Qian Renhan's sword still held several more ferocious soul beast rings!
"If I want something, I take it. If I need something, I kill for it. What's the problem?" Qian Renhan responded coldly.
Di Tian's heart surged with fury and hatred—but also helplessness. If not for the rules of the Divine Realm, soul beasts would never explode into soul rings and bones to be hunted by humans. That's what was leading them toward extinction.
If not for the hope of giving soul beasts a future, Di Tian wouldn't have guarded the Star Dou Forest all this time, waiting for his Lord to return and save them from this fate.
"You must die!"
Di Tian let out a thunderous roar and unleashed a mouthful of pitch-black dragon flame. With a swing of his massive Black Dragon Sword, he slashed downward.
"Asura True Form!"
Qian Renhan's left hand surged with chilling soul power, forming an icy shield that blocked Di Tian's dragon flame.
At the same time, the seventh soul ring on his Asura Demon Sword lit up, transforming the weapon into a massive greatsword several dozen meters long. Though still much smaller than the Black Dragon Sword in sheer size, this wasn't a battle of hammers. In a sword fight, it wasn't about whose blade was larger, heavier, or who swung harder. Technique reigned supreme.
When the Black Dragon Sword clashed with the Asura Sword, the sky split into two colors—pitch black and blood red.
The space around them cracked and tore apart at the point of impact, leaving rifts in the sky itself that even the power of Douluo Star couldn't mend in time. Countless space fissures spread across the sky, painting a scene that felt like the end of the world.
Beneath the Lake of Life, the injuries on Xiong Jun and the Red King had already been healed by Bi Ji, the healer.
Bi Ji emerged from the lake in her human form—a stunning woman in a long emerald-green dress, radiating gentleness and grace. Her face full of worry, she looked up at the torn sky and murmured, "Di Tian…"
Still submerged in the lake was the Myriad Demon King, grumbling in dissatisfaction, "Damn it! That show-off Di Tian just had to fight way up there! I'm the strongest plant-type soul beast in the entire Star Dou Forest—how am I supposed to join a battle at that height? What if that human gets away?!"
Among the fierce beasts of the Star Dou Forest, Xiong Jun and the Myriad Demon King both harbored discontent toward Di Tian. It wasn't because they didn't care about the outcome—they were crystal clear on where they stood when it came to the conflict between humans and soul beasts. But Di Tian's overwhelming power made it impossible for them to challenge him directly.
Ten thousand meters high in the sky, another earth-shattering collision erupted. The surrounding clouds, stretching for a kilometer in every direction, were blown away completely, revealing the figures of Qian Renhan and Di Tian once more. Both bore signs of injury, though Di Tian's were more severe. Cracks had even formed on his Black Dragon Sword.
Qian Renhan's eyes burned with excitement—this was the most exhilarating battle he had ever experienced. Di Tian, fighting with his full strength, was even stronger than Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi when they used divine power. He wasn't some so-called demigod—he was far beyond that.
(End of Chapter)