Word Count: 2,890 Words
******
"So it really is destiny..."
Ripples spread across Ling Bai's brilliant golden eyes the moment the answer came from the Emperor Destiny Beast, the one who bore the fate of all spirit beasts upon her shoulders.
"Quick, tell me! Where did you get this Power of Destiny?" Ling Qiuxi pressed impatiently.
In her understanding, destiny was something bestowed by heaven and earth, an innate ability. The Douluo Continent did possess secret techniques involving destiny, such as Elemental Transfusion for sharing it or Destiny Transfer for stripping it away, but Ling Qiuxi knew perfectly well that Ling Bai had never shown interest in such things. How could he suddenly awaken the Power of Destiny?
Ling Bai took a moment to gather his thoughts, then spoke slowly. "Qiuxi, do you believe the Douluo Continent actually possesses its own consciousness? Like a dimly aware child.
The so-called 'Child of Destiny' and 'Beast of Destiny' are the fortunate ones chosen to carry that consciousness. They receive unseen protection, their paths smooth and easy, and even when hardship strikes, they always manage to turn danger into safety."
Ling Qiuxi nodded, half-understanding. In her ten thousand years of life, she had never contemplated such questions.
"Destiny is an illusory, ephemeral thing," Ling Bai continued. "The continent's consciousness can give it to you and take it back at any time. That's why I've never yearned for the Power of Destiny.
Only what is mine is truly mine.
It's just a pity... the previous Child of Destiny proved useless, and the continent's consciousness abandoned him."
"And then it chose you..." Understanding dawned in Ling Qiuxi's eyes.
"Yes. It took the initiative to bestow the Power of Destiny upon me. From now on, I am the one entrusted with humanity's fate... the Child of Destiny."
Ling Bai lifted his gaze toward the deep night sky. A seed planted without intention had grown into a towering willow of shade. He had never expected to replace Huo Yuhao and become the new generation's Child of Destiny.
Looking back now, the signs had been there all along. The Child of Destiny enjoyed the continent's protection, gaining heaven-and-earth treasures others could only dream of, destined to become the brightest star of an era.
Ling Bai's sudden emergence had gradually dimmed Huo Yuhao's halo. How could the light of a firefly compete with the brilliance of a bright moon? His destined opportunities had been slipping away one by one.
The reason the continent had only now abandoned Huo Yuhao was simple.
Skydream Iceworm was the beginning of all his opportunities.
Without the storm Skydream stirred up, Electrolux would never have been drawn in. The Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, the Ice Bear King, Spirit Souls... none of them would have appeared.
The beginning was also the end. As Skydream's million-year origin was finally exhausted, the continent's consciousness judged that Huo Yuhao no longer possessed the qualifications to carry humanity's destiny and turned instead to the embrace of the monstrously talented Ling Bai.
Stripped of destiny's protection, Huo Yuhao became a normal genius with a Body Martial Spirit and Ultimate Twin Martial Spirits.
If he grew steadily and without mishap, he could still reach Titled Douluo in the future, perhaps even become a Limit Douluo with Twin Martial Spirits. But he would never become that Emotion God King who ruled the Great God Circle.
As for the Power of Destiny, Ling Bai's attitude was straightforward: I don't want it, but if you insist on giving it to me...
That works too!
Destiny itself wasn't all that precious, but it was still a layer of protection. Better than nothing.
"Come here."
Ling Qiuxi patted the spot beside her, gesturing for Ling Bai to get on the bed.
"Feeling frisky?"
"...Like hell!"
Ling Qiuxi shot him a playful, withering look. The two of them were still at the stage of kissing, hugging, and being lifted high; they hadn't crossed that final line. Her stunningly beautiful face turned rosy beneath its fairness as she said, half-annoyed:
"When your spirit power entered my body just now, I felt a strange resonance.
Now it all makes sense. You are the Child of Destiny, and I am the Beast of Destiny. There's a special connection between us. Perhaps we should try a Spirit Fusion Skill."
"Mm."
Ling Bai had been deliberately teasing her, but his expression turned serious at once. He climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged. Their remarkably similar faces met eye to eye, palms pressed together as spirit power surged between them like a tide.
Hiss—
Brilliant six-winged splendor unfurled from Ling Bai's back. His entire body radiated dazzling golden light as the room filled with the scorching, vast spirit power fluctuations of three Ultimate attributes: Holy, Light, and Fire.
ROAR—
A passionate dragon's cry rang out. Fine golden scales covered every inch of Ling Qiuxi's snow-white skin save for her face, and the Golden Dragon circled continuously around them both.
The instant the Seraphim and Golden Dragon manifested, light burst from their bodies. The entire room blazed as though set afire. From the outside, Ling Qiuxi's room resembled nothing less than a golden sun.
That radiance was unusually strange, a brilliant glow cycling between bright gold, rose gold, and pure white. A proud, holy aura formed its core, blended with various mysterious spirit power fluctuations.
Gradually, as the sun rose and a sliver of pale white appeared in the east, their auras quietly merged. Their spirit power tangled and fused further, entering each other's bodies to form a cycle that flowed along a brand-new path.
Their posture shifted from four palms pressed together to a close embrace. Ling Qiuxi's body was nothing like the hardness of her Golden Dragon Martial Spirit. She was surprisingly soft, and even through her clothes he could feel the gentle warmth of her fine skin. Holding her was as comfortable as hugging a pillow, and he found himself loath to let go.
Ling Qiuxi held Ling Bai just as tightly. His body carried a faint but unmistakable sanctity, a scent unique to him alone that made her feel incomparably at ease.
However, neither indulged in thoughts of the other's body. They immediately circulated their spirit power and fully activated their Martial Spirits.
A golden illusory figure appeared behind Ling Bai: a breathtakingly beautiful woman bearing six wings and a holy sword, her features seventy percent similar to his own.
Behind Ling Qiuxi materialized a heroic, majestic Golden Dragon. Within its distinctive draconic vertical pupils gleamed brilliant rose gold.
High in the air, the two enormous figures drifted slowly closer. As they drew near, both Martial Spirits began to transform. Every trace of gold faded from the Seraphim, leaving it pale and translucent.
The Golden Dragon burst into flames the moment it neared the Seraphim, burning with rose-gold fire.
At last, after what felt like an eternity, the two Martial Spirits met above their heads.
Their bodies shook violently in that instant. The fused power within erupted like a geyser. The burning Golden Dragon embraced the Seraphim, and then its form vanished entirely. The Seraphim blazed with blinding radiance, and the world before their eyes dissolved into pure white.
BOOM—
White light obliterated everything in the room. A terrifying explosion swept outward, and the Bright Moon Hotel itself seemed to quake. Countless Spirit Masters jolted awake from meditation, looking left and right in alarm, each dazed as if they had been enveloped for a fleeting instant in a sheet of blinding white.
Those who sensed it most clearly were, without question, the members of Angelic Sanctuary. All five shot out like phantoms, charging straight for Ling Qiuxi's room.
What greeted them was tragic devastation: shattered walls, broken beams, and a field of ruins. Amid the rubble, Ling Bai and Ling Qiuxi clung tightly to one another, like a pair of lovers who refused to let go even in the face of catastrophe.
"La la la, I didn't see a thing!"
Nanmen Yun Er hummed a tune and skipped away. The private lives of important people were not to be pried into; this much, the little girl understood perfectly well.
"I'll go guard the door!"
Xie Huanyue invented an excuse on the spot and bolted for the villa entrance to play doorkeeper.
The expressions on the remaining three women's faces were each more spectacular than the last. Ning Tian stammered:
"Bai-ge, e-ethics and propriety must come first!"
"Master, if you really want it that badly, Na Na is willing to offer her body..."
Na Na looked positively eager.
"That's your sister!"
Wu Feng was beside herself with grief.
Every time she was so exhausted she couldn't so much as twitch a pinky. She had to marshal all eighteen martial arts just to earn a proper meal. Yet here was Ling Bai, shamelessly stealing fragrance and snatching jade from Ling Qiuxi, and with such ferocity that they had demolished the room!
"What nonsense are you all spouting?!"
Black lines formed across Ling Bai's face. The pose was admittedly a tiny bit ambiguous, but their clothes were perfectly neat and tidy. Why was everyone choosing to ignore that particular detail!
He launched into a hasty defense. They had been testing a Spirit Fusion Skill, the test had been a resounding success, and the results were remarkable.
The three women left, half-believing and half-doubting. Ling Bai and Ling Qiuxi exchanged a smile, neither the least bit surprised that they had achieved a Spirit Fusion.
The Seraphim's Ultimate Light and Ultimate Fire both originated from Ling Qiuxi's true body, mingled with the light-and-fire bloodline of the Emperor Destiny Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Because of that, the Seraphim carried a natural affinity for Ling Qiuxi.
Both of them now possessed the Power of Destiny, one representing humanity's fate and the other carrying the fate of spirit beasts, so a resonance of destiny between them was only natural.
'Child of Destiny, Beast of Destiny... some things truly are miraculous...'
Savoring that power, Ling Bai let out a quiet sigh.
...
The Continental Youth Elite Spirit Master Grand Tournament raged on in full swing. Four groups, thirty-two teams, all clashing furiously.
Under the round-robin rules, every team had to face each of the other seven in its group once. The schedule was tightly packed, giving the spectators a feast for the eyes.
The tournament was now well past its halfway mark. Among the Yellow, Purple, Black, and Red groups, the Tang Sect held a commanding lead, firmly atop its group. The Body Sect, competing under its Snow Demon Sect disguise with its core members sitting out, was temporarily in second.
The most eye-catching group by far was the chaotic Red. Angelic Sanctuary sat at the summit with four consecutive victories, closely followed by the Holy Spirit Cult, equally undefeated.
Shrek Academy also boasted four wins. They had beaten the four bottom-tier teams in their group, but their point total still trailed Angelic Sanctuary and the Holy Spirit Cult, leaving them in third.
Sun Moon Imperial Academy ranked fourth at three wins and one loss, having voluntarily forfeited their opening match against Angelic Sanctuary.
With the first round of group matches concluded, the full remaining schedule was published. Angelic Sanctuary's final three opponents would be the Holy Spirit Cult, a cannon-fodder team, and Shrek Academy.
Angelic Sanctuary versus the Holy Spirit Cult. A showdown of holy against evil.
Public opinion erupted. Everyone knew by now that the Seraphim was the natural bane of Evil Spirit Masters. The Holy Spirit Cult, meanwhile, had acted with naked arrogance since the tournament began. Whenever opponents refused to surrender, the Evil Spirit Masters sent onto the stage harvested lives without exception.
Their cruelty had stirred deep anger among the vast majority of spectators, and a joint petition was submitted to the tournament committee demanding the Holy Spirit Cult be stripped of their eligibility.
Xu Tianran, however, badly needed their strength. The continental war required Evil Spirit Masters to pin down the three nations' top experts; parting ways with the Holy Spirit Cult ahead of schedule was out of the question. He had even swallowed his fury when Zhongli Wu brazenly demanded military authority, choosing to turn a blind eye and let the Evil Spirit Masters run rampant through the army camps.
His refusal to act only inflamed the spectators' defiance. Even teams that had lost members to the Holy Spirit Cult now pinned their hopes on Ling Bai, praying he would become justice incarnate and punish the Evil Spirit Masters on the tournament stage.
The Holy Spirit Cult were no fools either. Led by Bone Dragon Yan Feng and Blue Silver Saintess Tang Ya, the seven members agonized over whether to forfeit their match against Angelic Sanctuary.
Their remaining three opponents were Angelic Sanctuary, Shrek Academy, and Sun Moon Imperial Academy, with the bitterest challenges all lying at the end.
After carefully studying every team's schedule and point totals, they realized that surrendering to Angelic Sanctuary would leave them at six wins and one loss, a record that by no means guaranteed second place and advancement.
Shrek's final three opponents were Sun Moon Imperial Academy, the Holy Spirit Cult, and Angelic Sanctuary.
If Shrek lost to the Holy Spirit Cult but erupted to defeat Sun Moon Imperial Academy, and if Angelic Sanctuary then went easy on Shrek in the final match, Shrek's point total could potentially overtake the Holy Spirit Cult's. Angelic Sanctuary and Shrek would advance to the quarterfinals hand in hand, leaving the Holy Spirit Cult looking like fools.
Given the Evil Spirit Masters' abysmal reputation, Angelic Sanctuary would be more than happy to spite the Holy Spirit Cult in exactly that fashion.
Moreover, the Holy Spirit Cult had entered the tournament precisely to showcase their strength and build a name, so that their eventual appointment as the Sun Moon Empire's Guardian Sect would not seem abrupt and the empire's people would accept them.
As long as the Holy Spirit Cult coveted the tournament championship, they would have to face Angelic Sanctuary sooner or later. Dodging the first of the month didn't mean escaping the fifteenth. Constantly avoiding the Seraphim was no solution. Voices in Mingdu were already predicting the Holy Spirit Cult's downfall, which ran entirely counter to their original plans.
Yan Feng, Tang Ya, and the others agonized for hours without reaching a decision. With Zhongli Wu busy seizing power within the Sun Moon military and sparing no attention for the tournament, the seven resolved to seek the opinion of the strongest person currently at headquarters: Deputy Leader Death Abyss Douluo.
They headed straight for his residence. Zhongli Wu valued this Super Evil Douluo highly and had spared no expense on his comfort, even arranging the room right next to his own.
"What are you youngsters doing here instead of preparing for your matches?"
Ling Bai raised an eyebrow in mild surprise as his gaze swept over the seven Evil Spirit Master prodigies, all under twenty.
Yan Feng stepped forward with a long, bitter sigh. "Deputy Leader, the Seraphim walks the world, and we Evil Spirit Masters tread on thin ice with every step. Do you think we can ever make it safely to the other shore?"
"Put your mind at ease," Ling Bai replied evenly. "I've crossed swords with the Seraphim before. Nothing but a clay chicken and a pottery dog. If Bright Phoenix Douluo Yan Shaozhe hadn't thrown himself in the way as a human shield, that angel would have died long ago beneath my Bone Dragon's claws."
Awe filled all seven faces in an instant. Death Abyss Douluo was the continent's only Super Douluo with an Ultimate attribute. The Seraphim's restraint over him was nowhere near as severe, an ability every Evil Spirit Master envied.
Yan Feng, himself a fellow Bone Dragon Spirit Master, practically had stars in his eyes. "The Deputy Leader's evil might shrouds the world! I only regret that my Bone Dragon's attribute is Evil Ice and gets completely suppressed by the Seraphim... I burn to slay the enemy for the Holy Cult, yet my strength simply falls short!"
"Deputy Leader, we face Angelic Sanctuary tomorrow," Tang Ya said softly. "We can't decide whether to forfeit. Surrendering goes against the Holy Cult's plans, but if we fight... we truly are no match for the Seraphim."
"What does individual life and death amount to? We must take the Holy Cult's mission as our own!" Ling Bai's voice was iron.
All seven lowered their heads in shame. Tang Ya murmured weakly, "Forgive us, Deputy Leader. We wavered. But throwing our lives away for nothing..."
A smile that sent chills down the spine curved across Ling Bai's lips. "Who said anything about throwing your lives away? As the Deputy Leader, it's my duty to help you all become more entici... ahem, more evil!
I possess a secret technique called Evil Bone Dragon Transformation. It will let you channel my power from a distance. Especially you, Yan Feng..."
"Truly, Deputy Leader?!" Yan Feng was overjoyed.
"Evil Spirit Masters don't lie to Evil Spirit Masters. Would I ever lead you astray?!
Follow my instructions and I guarantee you'll kill the Seraphim. You'll be the Holy Cult's number one heroes, heaven-grade meritorious servants! I'll be waiting to throw you a grand celebration banquet!"
"This junior thanks the Deputy Leader for his guidance!!!"