Word Count: 2,965 Words
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Prayer of Despair. The closer one stood to the abyss, the more power erupted from the depths of bloodline and soul. Ling Bai's third, sixth, and seventh spirit rings blazed in succession. The Seraphim's dazzling golden radiance flooded the entire sky, its holy light transforming night into day.
The Light of the Death God arrived in a heartbeat. Born from Avenging Spirits, the Death God Pagoda's power evolved into countless wronged souls as it surged forward. Their shrill, agonized screams carved a corridor of death through the sky, an avenue paved with howling spirits!
Everything ahead turned ghastly white. The Avenging Spirits shed by the Light of the Death God feared nothing, invading the pair's bodies from every direction. In that instant, Han Ruoruo felt those ferocious spirits clawing to tear her apart and devour her soul. And this was merely the prelude to the Light of the Death God's true descent!
Prayer of Despair. Angel Avatar. Great Sun Angel. Holy Heart. Angelic Domain.
Under the augmentation of five abilities, Ling Bai seemed as though the Angel God herself had descended upon the mortal world. His angelic wings burned with translucent golden holy fire. A vast sacred aura surged skyward like a colossal dragon as his eighth spirit ring erupted with light once more!
Beside the silver moon hanging overhead, a sun and another moon materialized. The golden sun illuminated all creation, its power of light burning fierce as wildfire, driving out evil and purifying worldly calamities. The black moon peered into the abyss, its darkness unfathomably deep, containing a vast strength capable of devouring everything. The surrounding world seemed to tremble before it!
Golden sun met black moon. Blazing brilliance and silent shadow melded into one. Light and darkness united to birth chaos!
Chaos Wolf Emperor Eighth Spirit Ring Second Skill, Chaos Reversion!
Light and darkness no longer opposed each other but intermingled and gave birth to one another, weaving chaotic hues together. Within the black-gold born from the fusion of golden sun and black moon, the boundary between reality and illusion blurred. The world seemed drawn into an entirely new dimension, a chaotic realm ruled jointly by light and darkness!
BOOM—
Chaos Reversion collided brutally with the Light of the Death God. A mushroom cloud erupted in the sky as holy, flame, chaos, and death, multiple powerful attributes, ground against one another, followed by an unending chain of explosions.
Chaos Reversion gathered the full might of a God-level Martial Spirit, backed by a million-year Martial Spirit Avatar, an Innate Domain, and three 100,000-year enhancement spirit skills. Now, at the very precipice of death, Prayer of Despair sublimated every last shred of Ling Bai's strength. Chaos Reversion nearly reached the level of a Limit Douluo!
The Light of the Death God was itself a Limit Douluo's attack. Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming's Silver Moon Divine Light Barrier surpassed the Death God Pagoda by a step in realm and offered countless ingenious applications, yet in pure attack power, it couldn't match the Death God Pagoda. The Death God Pagoda stood unchallenged as the world's strongest attack-type Spirit Guidance Device!
Chaos and death refused to yield. An annihilating storm erupted above the Southern Military Camp. Every pursuing Spirit Guidance Master caught in its wake met disaster. They barely had time to register terror on their faces before the shockwaves vaporized them, leaving not even ashes behind. Their deaths couldn't have been more unjust.
Below, the Spirit Guidance Legions formed ranks at maximum speed and deployed a super-large Spirit Barrier, struggling to block the residual power raining from above. High-power, large-area group-attack spirit skills were divine tools for mowing down enemy soldiers, and in this regard, both the Seraphim and the Death God Pagoda excelled beyond all others. Their destructive might ranked among the continent's absolute finest.
Whoosh—
A golden figure burst through the mushroom cloud and shot toward the west. The Class 9 Spirit Guidance Master stationed in the south raised an observation-type Spirit Guidance Device and stared at the intact forms of Ling Bai and Han Ruoruo, his face draining of all color.
"They survived even that? A direct hit from the Death God Pagoda!"
"This Seat truly underestimated him."
At the center of the Southern Military Camp, the Death God Pagoda parted silently. A dark red conical Spirit Guidance Device emerged from within, blood-colored spirit power spreading endlessly outward. Every other Spirit Guidance Device's glow dimmed in response.
A figure stepped out of the blood light and appeared before the gathered Spirit Guidance Masters. The air visibly warped around her while the blood light flowed toward her like worshippers paying homage, as though ushering her arrival into this world.
It was a woman. Her voice was husky and magnetic, carrying a peculiar kind of allure.
Death God Douluo, Ye Xishui.
"Your Excellency, Death God!"
The Class 9 Spirit Guidance Master hurriedly bowed. Death God Douluo's name resounded like thunder in one's ears. Her reputation rested not only on her fearsome Limit Douluo cultivation and the top-tier Death God Pagoda but also on the fact that Sun Moon Crown Prince Xu Tianran had acknowledged her as his foster mother. Her status stood exalted beyond measure.
Ye Xishui didn't spare him a single glance. Her blood-red eyes fixed on where Ling Bai had vanished, and she murmured:
"A Spirit Douluo unleashing a strike rivaling a Limit Douluo's. Xiao Feng dying at his hands wasn't unjust."
The Seraphim innately countered Evil Spirit Masters. That Chaos Reversion had been powerful enough that Holy Spirit Cult Master Zhongli Wu, without releasing the Bone Dragon King and relying solely on his own strength, would likely face grave danger against it.
A golden opportunity lost meant endless future troubles. Ye Xishui let out a wistful sigh, then turned and stepped back into the Death God Pagoda.
…
Eastern Military Camp.
"Who?!
Who the hell did this!!!
I'll skin them alive, strip their bones, refine their corpse, and scatter their soul!"
Zhongli Wu roared at the sky. His bellow drowned out the entire Spirit Guidance emplacement!
Myriad Soul Douluo and Abomination Douluo looked as though they'd been struck by lightning, standing there dumbly like wooden posts.
"Cult Leader, Headquarters is gone! Our home is gone!
Vice-Cult Leader Death Abyss was heavily injured by the Seraphim and his whereabouts are unknown!
Worship Scorpion Tiger, Worship Black Demon, Worship Malevolent Ghost—all missing!
Second Elder, Seventh Elder, Worship Vengeance… there's not even a whole corpse left!
Cult Leader! Cult Leader! Cult Leader!"
Dark Cloud Douluo Wu Yun dropped to his knees and sobbed. He had followed Zhongli Wu's orders to act as a decoy and scout west of Mingdu. The moment he confirmed the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and Shrek Academy had taken the bait, he grabbed his things and fled.
Wu Yun had first returned to the Holy Spirit Cult Headquarters, only to find the underground complex blown to ruins. Shocked to his core, he rushed to the Duskwater Alliance in Mingdu to await orders from Vice-Cult Leader Death Abyss Douluo, only to find it had collapsed as well.
He ran in circles with nowhere to turn until he finally heard an earth-shattering piece of news from the Alto Chamber of Commerce.
In the finals of the Spirit Guidance Tournament, Linglong Pavilion had brought out the Seraphim and Holy Angel, two natural daddies of Evil Spirit Masters. Death Abyss Douluo had been defeated and forced to flee. The three great Evil Douluo and the Duskwater Alliance's elite had all been wiped out.
The news struck Wu Yun like a bolt from the blue. He staggered to the Eastern Military Camp in a daze and reported everything to Zhongli Wu, who had still been completely in the dark.
Zhongli Wu's vision went black with rage. A thousand years of the Holy Spirit Cult's foundation, destroyed overnight. The last hope he'd been clinging to finally died!
"Impossible... all gone in a single night..."
The Holy Spirit Cult now had only two Limit Douluo, a pitifully small number of Elders and Worships, one Death Abyss Douluo whose fate remained unknown, and a smattering of scattered subordinate Evil Spirit Masters.
How was he, this Holy Spirit Cult Leader, any different from a commander without an army?!
Fight for military power with this? Fight for jack shit!
"Trash! A whole bunch of trash!
Scorpion Tiger! That damned Old Second! Trash!
Death Abyss is the fucking trash among trash!"
Zhongli Wu vented his fury without restraint. Death Abyss Douluo had been in charge of Headquarters; naturally, he could hardly escape the blame. All past appreciation and trust vanished like smoke. He wished he could flay alive the sinner Death Abyss who had ruined the Holy Spirit Cult!
"Crow, Myriad Soul, Abomination..." Zhongli Wu ground out between clenched teeth. "The Holy Cult has suffered massive losses. It's time we collected some interest.
The Seraphim and Shrek have fallen for the trap and entered the Western Mountains. You three will seek aid from the Supreme Leader, Worship Dragon Emperor, and Xu Tianran respectively.
We must eradicate them!"
"As you command!"
The three Evil Douluo vanished. Zhongli Wu calculated silently:
'To reach the Limit Douluo realm, I still lack one final ingredient...
Devour their souls, and the great task can be accomplished.
One sect with three Limits... even if the Holy Cult is completely destroyed, Xu Tianran absolutely won't dare kill the donkey once it's done grinding...'
...
High above the horizon, two figures shot toward the Western Mountains.
"Are you alright?"
Han Ruoruo's face was tight with worry. Even just the Death God Pagoda's aura had been more than she could withstand; she didn't dare imagine what taking it head-on had done to Ling Bai.
"Nothing serious. Seven or eight days of rest and I'll be fine." Ling Bai smiled to reassure her.
As he had suspected, the key to upgrading the Death God Pagoda into a Class 10 Spirit Guidance Device lay in the great Mingdu explosion. Countless wronged souls had forged a true Death God. For now, the Pagoda remained one step shy of that final threshold, sitting at the very peak of Class 9, or what one might call a Quasi-Class 10 Spirit Guidance Device.
When Ling Qiuxi had infiltrated the Sun Moon Treasury, Ling Bai had given her specific instructions: this time, they were only there for wealth. There was no need to detonate the underground warehouse.
Armies and civilians were two entirely different concepts. On the battlefield, crushing an enemy through the most despicable and cruel methods was beyond reproach. But in any world, civilians were innocent. Those who slaughtered them indiscriminately would be nailed to the pillar of shame for all history.
Brilliant golden light flared in the night sky. Holy power extinguished the Avenging Spirits rampaging through his body, but a peak Class 9 Spirit Guidance Device was not easily defied. Ling Bai's body began to crumble and disintegrate beneath the eerie, terrifying power of the Death God Pagoda. Life Gold and Undying Body stitched him back together like tireless goblin tinkers, working in concert with his two Martial Spirits to steadily suppress the lingering remnants of the Light of the Death God.
As the pair neared the western edge of Mingdu, a flash of gold swept across their vision, and in an instant they stood once more within the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley, upon a vast golden plaza that stretched beyond sight.
Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Ling Qiuxi, Zhang Lexuan, Jiang Nannan, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong Er, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi. One by one, nine figures appeared in succession.
Wang Dong Er had failed the second round and fallen into Deep Adventure, and Huo Yuhao had chosen to follow her in. Their mission had been to rescue Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi from the heavy siege within Mingdu. The four of them had endured hardship upon hardship before finally breaking through the encirclement and passing the assessment.
"Congratulations on clearing the second round. Next comes the third, the True Heart Adventure.
By passing the True Heart Adventure, you will not only be permitted to leave, but will also receive a reward of my choosing."
Pillars of golden light descended upon all ten of them, then withdrew, leaving only Ling Bai behind. The endless golden plaza still stretched out around him, but now another stood opposite him: a man shrouded in a blue-gold halo.
"You've finally come."
Ling Bai exhaled slowly, a faint, sinister smile creeping across his face.
"You recognize me?" the blue-gold man asked.
"Even if I didn't, the blood flowing through my veins would. Sea God. Tang San."
The man fell silent for a long moment. Then the blue-gold halo dispersed all at once, revealing the handsome face of a young man beneath.
"In that case, let me lay all my cards on the table as well," Tang San said slowly. "Newly born Son of Destiny, Ling Bai.
Your True Heart Adventure consists of two parts.
First, leave the other women behind and accept Xiao Qi. Then strip the Emperor Destiny Beast of its Power of Destiny and transfer it to her."
"Xiao Qi... Wang Dong Er?" Ling Bai's face turned to sealed ice. "I knew something had been off about her lately. Compared to before, she's practically a different person.
To be honest, I preferred the Wang Dong Er who wore her dislike plainly on her face for anyone to see.
You make quite the heartless father. Your daughter already has a partner, and yet you insist on meddling, forcing her into another man's arms, and a man she once couldn't stand at that.
Is the Power of Destiny really worth all this?"
"You don't understand. I am doing this for the sake of the entire Douluo Continent."
Tang San spoke as though discussing the weather. "The spirit beast race are descendants of the Dragon God. Their destiny should rest in human hands. The Emperor Destiny Beast must surrender the Power of Destiny.
Only then can humanity completely eradicate future threats and forever stand above the spirit beasts. Every struggle they make will be rendered futile, or even be twisted into contributions for humankind.
The human Son of Destiny is the continent's own unconscious choice. I control the Divine Realm Hub, and I can faintly sense the currents of destiny.
I left a brand within Xiao Qi's Spiritual Sea. She will be naturally drawn to the Son of Destiny and form a bond with him. Her mission is to become his wife, bearing the destiny of the spirit beasts while sharing in the destiny of humankind."
"Wonderful. Truly wonderful!"
Crisp applause echoed across the space as Ling Bai's hands came together once, twice, three times.
"Sea God, then what is my second True Heart trial?"
Tang San smiled faintly. "Abandon the evil Rakshasa God Trial and inherit...
The Sea God position."
Ling Bai laughed. The same familiar trick, using a daughter to bind the Son of Destiny. Before, it had been Huo Yuhao. Now, it was him.
Had it not been for the Great God Circle, Huo Yuhao would have spent his entire life in the old Divine Realm as Tang San's subordinate, addressing him as 'dear Father-in-law' with every breath.
A million-year spirit beast sacrifice, seven Spirit Souls, and the sacrifice of the Emperor Destiny Beast itself… all of that, and they had managed to produce nothing more than a 1st Class God. Simply laughable!
"I've already mapped out your future for you." Tang San's faint smile never wavered. "Originally, the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley was meant to drive the women at your side to retreat of their own accord. They refused, so I issued the 'forget you' task in the third round instead. Either way, the outcome is the same.
Under my influence, Xiao Qi will leave Huo Yuhao and fall irreversibly in love with you. You will bear humanity's destiny and accept my Sea God position.
Xiao Qi, however, will carry the spirit beasts' destiny. Her God Position should not be too strong. A 2nd Class God will be just right."
"Sorry. Not interested."
Ling Bai shook his head, slowly and firmly.
"What?"
Tang San's brows knit together slightly. He had not expected Ling Bai to dare refuse him in a situation like this.
"The girls at my side are all extraordinary. I have no interest in being with your daughter.
The two God Positions of Angel and Rakshasa suit me perfectly. I have no interest in inheriting that paltry 1st Class position of yours, either."
The words flowed straight from the heart. Beneath Ling Bai's bangs, Tang San caught sight of a pair of brilliant golden eyes locked in frost. What churned within them was not compromise, nor a dying man's last struggle, but a surging, bone-chilling vortex that seemed poised to swallow everything whole.
"Greed is a sin. Xiao Qi is the daughter of a God King, the highest peak you could ever hope to touch.
Angel and Rakshasa are both Evil Gods, whereas the Sea God stands for the ocean and the light!
For Xiao Qi to marry you, for you to inherit the Sea God position… that is your glory!"
"Yearning Heartbroken Red, can you still endure this?"
Ling Bai murmured the words quietly.
"Not for one second more!"
A furious feminine voice snapped back.
The bracelet at his wrist took flight, transforming into the true form of the Yearning Heartbroken Red. The small white flower detached itself from the Unyielding Stone, drawing upon the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley's power of true love. High above the clouds, the nine-colored woman cried out in alarm:
"Third Brother, the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley is out of control!"
"Filthy bastard who defiles love, die for this old lady!"
Yearning Heartbroken Red, erupts!