Inside the Heavenly Stems God-Sealing Formation, Zhu Ziyang opened his eyes and rose to his feet. Behind him, his spirit rings flared to life—an array so terrifying it left all onlookers shocked and awed.
Black, black, black, black, black… red, red, red, red!
Nine rings in total—five black and four red—floated majestically at his back. A faint smile curved his lips.
Rank 91.
By subduing the Demon Emperor, a spirit soul with eight hundred thousand years of cultivation, his soul power had leapt from rank 86 to 91. In a single bound, he had broken through to the Title Douluo realm, becoming a Titled Douluo at only nineteen years of age. Not only that, he had gained two quasi-god level spirit rings, each bearing eight golden patterns.
Yet, astonishing as this was, it wasn't the greatest reward in his eyes. His true prize was the Demon Emperor herself, now bound as his spirit soul.
At a thought, the newly forged spirit soul manifested before him. She appeared as she always had—long black gown, flowing purple hair, a face of exquisite beauty, eyes alight with curiosity yet tinged with unease.
In spirit soul form, the Demon Emperor was almost unchanged, save that her body was now that of a spirit rather than flesh. Her full strength remained intact—if anything, she was stronger. After all, as a spirit soul, she had become undying and indestructible.
"Ma… Master!" she managed to call out, the words catching awkwardly in her throat.
"Heh. If you find it too difficult to say, you can simply call me by my name—Ziyang. I won't mind," he replied with a smile. "By the way, do you have a name? All my spirit souls do. It wouldn't be right to keep calling you just 'Demon Emperor.'"
"A name?" A flicker of confusion crossed her face, followed by an embarrassed shake of her head. "N-no… I don't."
"In that case, I'll give you one," Ziyang said warmly, unsurprised. "How about… Quan'er?"
"Quan'er?" She looked puzzled, clearly not understanding why he had chosen it.
"Of course. Aren't you the Yellow Springs Witch? Then 'Quan'er' fits perfectly," Ziyang explained with a grin—though in truth, he had simply failed to think of anything better.
"Oh…" Realization dawned on her features. For her, a name was little more than a title, much like "Demon Emperor." She gave a small nod. "Very well. From now on, I'll be Quan'er."
"Good. Let me introduce you to the others." With a wave, Ziyang summoned his other four spirit souls, smiling as he made the introductions. "You already know Xue'er—the Snow Empress, once ruler of the Extreme North, with seven hundred thousand years of cultivation. This is Bing'er, the Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor, four hundred thousand years. This is Shuang'er, the Heavenly Frost Silver Dragon King, seven hundred thousand years. And this is Lu'er, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, one hundred thousand years."
With Ziyang's advance to the Title Douluo realm, all four spirit souls had grown stronger. The Snow Empress and Shuang'er could now unleash their full seven-hundred-thousand-year power without drawing on his strength. Bing'er and Lu'er had both reached Title Douluo level as well. And now, with Quan'er—the Demon Emperor herself, bearing eight hundred thousand years of cultivation—Ziyang alone could easily sweep aside every force on the continent, save for Shrek Academy, the Body Sect, and the Sun Moon Empire.
As Snow, Bing, Shuang, and Lu began acquainting themselves with Quan'er, Ziyang slipped into the Godhood Inheritance Grounds to accept his final trial.
Standing on the eightieth step, he received the reward for completing the Eighth Trial. As he looked higher, the mist that had shrouded the last twenty steps suddenly dispersed, revealing the full staircase and the palace atop it.
His heart quickened with anticipation. Without hesitation, he climbed swiftly to the ninetieth step. But when he tried to ascend further, an invisible wall barred his way. He understood—without a 100% godhood affinity, he could not proceed.
Instead, he turned his gaze to the last pair of God-Locking Pillars flanking the ninetieth step. Words appeared upon them, spelling out the contents of the Death God's Ninth Trial.
Godhood Affinity: 90%
Death God's Ninth Trial: Congratulations, inheritor of the Death God. You stand but one step away from true succession. This final step is also the most critical. Countless prodigies have fallen here. Whether you succeed depends on your talent and will.
Trial Content: Raise your soul power to Rank 99.
Requirement: None.
Reward: Unknown.
The final trial was indeed simple and direct. To reach Rank 99—Limit Douluo.
For most, it was an impossibly arduous task. But for Zhu Ziyang? With his talent and age, even if he advanced but one level every ten years, he would still succeed within eighty. And surely, it would not take him that long.
A confident smile touched his lips. He left the inheritance grounds and returned to the formation. After recalling his spirit souls into his spiritual sea, he stepped out.
"How did it go?" Jiang Nannan and the others crowded around eagerly.
"The Eighth Trial is complete," Ziyang said cheerfully. "Now, all that remains is to raise my soul power to Rank 99. Once I do, I'll fully inherit the Death God's position."
"Really? That's wonderful!" Jiang Nannan exclaimed, her face radiant with joy.
"Yes, it's incredible!" Zhang Lexuan and Qian Lingyi echoed in unison, their smiles shining with excitement.
"With everything finished, it's time to return to the Douluo Continent," Ziyang said decisively. "Weiwei-jie, go gather Kou Marco and the others. We're leaving."
"Understood!" Zhang Weiwei answered, vanishing in a flash.
While she was gone, Ziyang began dismantling the God-Sealing Formation. Compared to its arduous setup, dismantling it was easy. By channeling a thread of soul power into each pillar, the towering columns shrank to the size of silver needles and flew back into his hands.
Before long, all ten pillars had been retrieved. He carefully stored them alongside the other six, keeping them safe.
Soon after, Zhang Weiwei returned with the other light-born warriors. Only Rogier and Bemons looked a bit battered; the rest were unharmed. They reported that Rogier and Bemons had fought the Earth Tyrant Dragon King to a stalemate, and only after Weiwei joined them had they suppressed it. The beast, realizing the odds, had wisely chosen to retreat.
Ziyang chuckled at the tale and thought no more of it. After sending the warriors back to the Holy Law Demi-Plane, he departed the Dead Mountains with his three companions.
A week later, the four boarded the Moon God Shuttle along the continent's coastline. Without anyone the wiser, they sailed away—bringing with them the ruler of the Dead Mountains, the Demon Emperor herself.
By the time the soul masters of the Douluo Continent realized she was gone, centuries would have passed. And as for why it took so long? The soul masters simply weren't vigilant enough.
The soul beasts, however, noticed much sooner. Within a year, they sensed her disappearance. The first to realize was naturally the Earth Tyrant Dragon King. Surviving its clash with Ziyang's group, it had gone to pay respects to the Demon Emperor—only to wait outside her palace for a full year with no response. In that time, it noticed the death aura that had gathered for countless years fading away.
Alarmed, it dared to push open the palace gates… and discovered the truth.
The Demon Emperor was gone.
What came after, how the soul beasts of the Douluo Continent would face this reality, no longer concerned Zhu Ziyang. By then, he and his companions had already sailed far across the seas.
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