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The Silver Dragon King held the several-thousand-meter-wide orb of Finality, looking down at the resolute golden figure of Qian Renxue, the sprawling ten-thousand-meter wall behind her, and the millions of living souls within Spirit City.
A blurred golden silhouette flashed through her mind. For reasons she couldn't comprehend, a flicker of emotion rippled through her heart. She realized that if Finality were to wipe everything before her out of existence, she might feel an overwhelming sense of regret.
Why...?
The Silver Dragon King's slender wrist trembled ever so slightly. She realized she was wavering.
Why am I hesitating? Why...
At that moment, Qian Renxue, standing before the gray chaos of Finality, erupted in a blinding, sacred radiance. The holy flames erupting from her Angelic Sacred Sword stretched for thousands of meters. Yet, even that towering pillar of fire seemed insignificant compared to the orb of chaos.
Qian Renxue's golden eyes locked onto the indifferent silver-haired figure thousands of meters away. She let out a defiant roar: "Angelic Judgment!!!!"
Seeing that the Silver Dragon King still made no move to defend, Di Tian shouted in panic, "My Lord!!!"
The golden blade-light slashed toward the silver-haired figure in an instant, swallowing her and everything behind her in a flash of gold. The gray sky, reflected in the light of Finality, was split in two by the golden arc.
"Did it work?!" Hope flickered in the hearts of the Heaven Dou soldiers and the Spirit Hall masters.
However, as the golden light faded, the sun-blotting gray energy ball remained suspended in the sky, untouched.
THOOM!!!
Just as everyone wondered why Angelic Judgment had failed, the very continental shelf they stood upon shuddered violently, as if a massive earthquake had struck. At the furthest limit of the horizon, at the very edge of the sky, a golden explosion bloomed. Several mountain peaks in the distance collapsed into rubble.
Qian Renxue watched the spatial ripples around the Silver Dragon King, her pupils trembling. Her attack had been completely redirected by Gu Yuena. Has her mastery of space reached such a terrifying level?
Beside the Silver Dragon King, Di Tian breathed a sigh of relief. Facing a divine skill powered by a Divine Tool, even his Lord would be in danger if she took it head-on. He had even briefly considered the offense of forcibly whisking her away. He looked up at the gray chaos orb, confused as to why his Lord had not yet struck.
Just as the Heaven Dou soldiers fell back into despair, the Silver Dragon King spoke indifferently.
"I give you three days. After three days, the Emperor of Heaven Dou and the Pope of Spirit Hall must travel to the Myriad Beast Empire to pledge their submission."
"Within these three days, every Heaven Dou city must establish a Myriad Beast Terrace."
"After three days, there shall be no more 'two empires.' There will only be the Myriad Beast Empire."
"If you fail to do this, I shall no longer show mercy."
With those words, the Silver Dragon King hurled Finality tens of thousands of meters into the high atmosphere.
In an instant, the world turned black. Violent atmospheric turbulence surged into the upper sky. The resulting shockwave leveled forests, sent debris flying, and knocked out countless civilians and clergy members within Spirit City.
Gradually, the world returned to normal from the darkness. By then, the forces of the Myriad Beast Empire had vanished, leaving behind only a trail of wreckage.
The soldiers of Heaven Dou looked on with eyes full of exhaustion and terror. The despair brought by that silver-haired figure was deeply etched into their souls. Is there really any hope of defeating Gu Yuena? Though no one said it aloud, the thought of surrender began to take root. If the continent merged into one nation, perhaps that was better than being annihilated by Finality.
Qian Daoliu walked up to Qian Renxue, whose shoulders were trembling slightly, and patted her back. Xiao Xue had truly grown up. In his heart, the moment she decided to sacrifice herself to save everyone, she had become worthy of being the true Angelic God.
Qian Daoliu's eyes flashed with a golden light as he made a decision. "Xiao Xue, though I don't know why Gu Yuena stopped her attack, it has given us a chance to breathe. Come with me. I will open the Ninth Trial of the Angel for you!"
Qian Renxue looked back at him and shook her head silently. "Grandpa, I refuse. Ye Lan warned me never to open the Ninth Trial, or I would surely regret it."
Qian Daoliu was stunned. Does Xiao Lan know something?
Seeing his solemn expression, Qian Renxue gave a small, weary smile. "Don't worry, Grandpa. Ye Lan and I still have a trump card. Even if we lose, the worst we do is surrender. We can't let hundreds of millions of people die for our pride."
Qian Daoliu gave a bitter laugh. "That assumes the Myriad Beast Empire is a human one. After fighting Di Tian's true form, you must have realized he is a soul beast. Likely, Medusa, the Crocodile King, and the others are too. As for Gu Yuena... she looks human, but the identity of someone who can make Di Tian kneel cannot be simple."
"Everything about them is a mystery—the Spirit Souls, the Terrace, the sudden appearance of Limit Douluos. It is all too unknown."
"Grandpa," Qian Renxue said firmly, "we haven't lost yet."
"Go and help your mother back to the hall," Qian Daoliu said, nodding toward the ground where Bibi Dong lay unconscious. "No one else dares to go near her in that state."
"She is NOT my mother!" Qian Renxue pouted in protest, but she immediately flew down toward the purple figure nonetheless. Qian Daoliu shook his head; the sins of the past were still a heavy burden.
Half a day earlier. Sunset Forest, Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
A beam of emerald light and a beam of dark purple light suddenly pierced through space-time, surging into the body of the blue-gold-haired young man.
Ye Lan's pupils shrank as he felt his life force explode. At the same time, a terrifying energy—one that felt as though it could annihilate everything—began to brew within him.
In his mind, an elf-like girl appeared. She had green hair and emerald eyes, looking like a little fairy from a celestial palace.
"Xiao Lan! For our first meeting, you can call me Xiao Lü!"
"By the time you see this message, Xiao Zi and I are likely dead!!"
"Oh, right! Xiao Zi is the God of Destruction, and I am the Goddess of Life." She blushed slightly before continuing. "Please forgive our sudden intrusion! I noticed you eight years ago! I also noticed the schemes of Asura and the Sea God on Douluo Continent. To prevent accidents, I masked the God Realm's perception of you, which is why you haven't encountered any divine messages until now. I'm sorry for that."
"Ah—I'm drifting off topic! Back to the point! The God Realm has suffered a catastrophe. The Fire Dragon King might have explained it to you: the space-time turbulence arrived early. Asura, the Sea God, and Rakshasa unsealed the Golden Dragon King, and the four of them tore open the God Realm's membrane, exposing us completely."
"Xiao Zi and I are likely fighting the turbulence right now. We will try to protect the realm... hopefully."
"We have stripped the God Seat of Life and the God Seat of Destruction from our bodies and sent them into you. A God Seat is essentially a spatial coordinate and a vessel for comprehending Laws. With it, you can wield divine power even without full comprehension."
"However, the situation is grim. If you inherit these seats, you will be marked by the Universal Consciousness—the culprit that destroyed the God Realm's ascension eons ago. Its primary weapon is the space-time turbulence. To survive it, a god needs the God Realm as a sanctuary. So, if you inherit these, you will ascend to our God Realm."
"But the future there will be desperate. You might face a future of eternal darkness. With no God Kings left, I hope you can protect it! There is a sliver of hope: in ten thousand years, Xiao Zi and I will be reborn. If you can hold out until then, we can unite with the God Kings of Good and Evil to save the realm!"
"Xiao Lan, I believe we will be best friends in ten thousand years!! Also, besides the seats, there are some little surprises! Don't feel burdened to use them even if you don't take the seats! Bye-bye! See you in ten thousand years!!"
As the message ended, Ye Lan was stunned. The God Realm fell? This wasn't in the original story!
So the reason Asura and Poseidon never bothered him was because the Goddess of Life had been hiding his aura. Even the awakening of the Water and Fire Dragon Kings must have been masked by her.
Suddenly, two voices—one familiar and warm, one cold and indifferent—rang in his head:
Trial of the Life God initiated: First Trial, absorb the Heart of Life. Trial of the Destruction God initiated: First Trial, absorb the Lungs of Destruction.
Heart of Life? Lungs of Destruction? What are those?
His body flared with emerald and midnight light. He felt his healing factor skyrocket, while an annihilating energy filled his veins. He soon realized what the "surprises" were.
First: The Blessing of the Goddess of Life (healing increased by 100%) and the Gaze of the God of Destruction (final damage increased by 100%).
Second: The "Heart" and "Lungs." The Heart was the Super Divine Tool, the Ancient Tree of Life, and the Lungs were the Super Divine Tool, the Staff of Destruction. Since he couldn't wield them as weapons yet, they had been transformed into External Soul Bones.
Ye Lan didn't hesitate and began the absorption. The pain was astronomical. The destruction energy incinerated every cell in his body, while the life energy instantly rebuilt them. In less than a second, he was drenched in sweat, his body twisting in agony.
Live! Live! Live!
After what felt like an eternity, a cool breeze brought him back to consciousness. He checked his body and gasped. The transformation was terrifying. His physical stats were now no weaker than Di Tian's!
He summoned his soul rings: Deep Yellow, Purple, Black-Purple, Blood Red, Gold-Red, Blood Red.
His fifth soul ring—his innate ring—was now glowing with a golden tint. It had evolved to the 990,000-year level based on his physical strength. Interestingly, the skill effect didn't change, confirming that his innate skills weren't tied to age, but his soul power consumption for it was now nearly zero.
His other external soul bones had evolved too:
990,000-year Ancient Beast's Touch: External brains increased to 16; Water-Flame evolved into a Shockwave; Soul Power boost increased from 50% to 100%.
Water Dragon King Claw & Right Arm Bone: Now 990,000 years. "Dragon God's Claw" now grants a 2x time-slow effect on hit. "Vast Ocean" speed boost increased to 50%. Strength and attack boosts increased to 100%.
Golden Dragon Pupils: Now 990,000 years. "Consciousness Acceleration" increased to 200x. "Death Ray" now deals 20x Ultimate Fire damage. Mental strength boost increased to 200%.
Heart of Life Effects:
500% Final HP boost.
Growth speed of nearby life increased by 10x.
Natural Domain evolved into Life Domain: 100% life boost; 10x growth for all life within; Life Sovereign ability allows communication with all life and the ability to resurrect through other organisms.
Destruction Lungs Effects:
300% Final Damage boost.
300% Soul Power recovery speed.
Ultimate Conversion—Destruction: Converts any energy into the destruction attribute.
Havoc Domain: 30% Final Damage boost when active.
Ye Lan felt his scalp go numb. This "little surprise" was a complete overhaul of his power.
First Trials Complete. Reward: 5% Affinity for Life and Destruction. Second Trial of Life: Unify the Douluo Continent. Second Trial of Destruction: Defeat the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena.
Ye Lan frowned. Did the Goddess of Life know Gu Yuena was here? Did she allow it? Are Life and Destruction part of the Dragon God's faction?
Before he could think further, a sacred aura tore through space. Qian Daoliu appeared, looking grim. "Xiao Lan, is something wrong?" He couldn't sense Ye Lan's depth; it was like looking into a thick mist.
Qian Daoliu quickly explained the crisis at Spirit City and Gu Yuena's three-day ultimatum.
"Xiao Lan... that is the situation. Xiao Xue wants me to bring you back for a final battle. She is betting everything on your Martial Soul Fusion Skill. What do you think?"
Ye Lan sighed. "Grandpa, Gu Yuena is more terrifying than she imagines. Betting everything on a fusion skill is too reckless."
"Grandpa, bring Lingling here to me. I need her help. Three days... it might be enough."
"Understood!" Qian Daoliu turned to leave, but stopped. "Xiao Lan... do you know something about the Angelic Trials?"
Ye Lan nodded. He had originally stopped Renxue to prevent the sacrifice of her grandfather and to stop the Sea God's interference. But now, with the God Realm in chaos, she definitely couldn't take the seat.
"Grandpa, tell Xiao Xue and the Teacher again: no matter what, do not take the Ninth Trial. The God Realm has changed. The 'God Seat' is no longer eternal life—it is an eternal prison."
Qian Daoliu was surprised by how much Ye Lan knew, but he trusted him implicitly. "I will tell them. I'll go get Lingling now. See you soon!"
(End of Chapter)