I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 50 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
...Douluo Star, the summit of the Spirit Pagoda.
That multicolored divine light from the God Realm Core did not, as Mortals imagined, directly lead Huo Yuhao to Ascension, turning him into a star and disappearing into the horizon.
Instead, it was more like a key—a key that opened the door to a higher dimension.
Shrouded in the pillar of light, Huo Yuhao "saw" the essence of this World clearly for the first time.
Those spatial barriers that once seemed indestructible in his eyes now turned into countless intricately interwoven lines; the elements flowing between heaven and earth were no longer simple energy, but the manifestation of some will.
"Is this... the Law?"
Huo Yuhao reached out, trying to touch those lines, but found his fingers passing right through.
"Don't be silly, Yuhao."
The voice of the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm rang in his mind, carrying a hint of seriousness. "This isn't a pie falling from the sky for you to eat; it's a wordless heavenly book. Although that woman Bibi Dong gave you an opportunity, she also gave you a difficult problem."
"In the current God Realm, there is no ready-made God Position for you to sit in. If you want to go up, you have to build a chair yourself."
"And this chair has to be sturdy enough to withstand the weight of the Law."
Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged within the pillar of light. The confusion in his eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by an unprecedented focus.
"Self-creating a God Position..."
"A few hundred years?"
He murmured softly, but a relieved smile curled at the corners of his mouth. "That's fine. Compared to handling those trivial documents down here, this problem... though difficult, is at least much more interesting."
"Brother Tianmeng, let's begin."
"Whether it's emotions, the Spirit Eyes, or even that faint trace of fate... I will crush them all and recast them into my own Dao."
As Huo Yuhao closed his eyes, the entire top floor of the Spirit Pagoda was covered by a profound Domain.
He entered a deep Death Seclusion.
To the outside World, the legendary 'Spirit Ice Douluo' might have disappeared, or perhaps he had achieved Ascension.
But for Huo Yuhao himself, a century-long period of tedious cultivation had only just begun... Just as Huo Yuhao sealed his six senses and began his difficult trek through that vast ocean of Laws.
Tang Sect, underground secret workshop.
This place still looked the same as it did sixty years ago, only the defensive formations were more sophisticated, and the spirit tool parts placed around were even more filled with a sense of technology.
Beneath a massive, repeatedly improved and maintained "dark blood demon" mecha, a woman who appeared to be only in her thirties was holding a wrench, focused on tuning a hydraulic transmission device on the mecha's leg.
Tang Ya.
Time didn't seem to have left many marks on her face; her cultivation as a rank ninety-nine Limit Douluo allowed her to maintain her youthful appearance. However, there was an added sense of settled tranquility in her eyes—the composure of someone who had experienced Life and death and seen through the vanities of the World.
"Click."
As the last screw was tightened, Tang Ya wiped the grease from her forehead and patted the mecha's cold armor with satisfaction.
"Old partner, although the World outside is now dominated by civilian spirit tools, in my heart, you are still the most perfect work of art."
Tang Ya spoke softly to herself, a trace of loneliness in her eyes.
Huo Yuhao had entered seclusion.
In the entire Tang Sect, and even the entire Douluo Federation, there was no one left who truly understood these "big toys" of hers.
It's lonely at the top.
In this Mortal Realm, her spirit tool technology had reached the pinnacle, with no further possibility of advancement. That kind of loneliness from having no rivals was sometimes scarier than death.
"Since you like it so much, why not try to take it to a higher place?"
A familiar and calm voice sounded without warning in the empty workshop.
The wrench in Tang Ya's hand fell to the ground with a "clang."
She snapped her head around. There, on the shoulder of the mecha, sat the black-clad man who had given her the deep sea crystal sixty years ago and pointed out the secrets of the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus with a single finger. He sat there leisurely, as if he had always been there.
"Tian?"
Tang Ya cried out in surprise, instinctively wanting to bow, but was held up by a gentle force.
"No need for formalities."
Xuan Ming's figure flashed and appeared in front of Tang Ya.
Sixty years had passed, and many people had changed. Some were obsessed with power, while others were greedy for pleasure.
Only she still guarded this dim basement, her mecha, and that original passion.
"Sect Leader Tang, long time no see."
Xuan Ming smiled. "I saw you staring blankly at this pile of scrap metal just now. You seemed to... want more?"
Tang Ya gave a bitter smile and lowered her eyes. "You're joking. It's just... in this World, no matter how I improve it, limited by the Laws of Materials and energy levels, the performance of this mecha has reached its limit. Just like my own cultivation, rank ninety-nine... that's the ceiling for Mortals."
"Ceiling?"
Xuan Ming looked up at the not-so-high ceiling and said nonchalantly, "If you don't like the ceiling, then tear it down."
"I've come this time to ask you only one question."
Xuan Ming looked into Tang Ya's eyes and asked seriously:
"Tang Ya, are you willing to become a god?"
"Become... a god?"
Tang Ya was stunned, her heart almost stopping for a moment.
How many Spirit Masters dreamed of this ultimate goal? How many people spent their entire lives chasing this phantom?
But... "Me?" Tang Ya pointed at herself, her eyes filled with disbelief, which then quickly dimmed. "I have self-awareness. Although I luckily reached Limit Douluo, it was by relying on all the Heaven And Earth Treasures Yuhao brought back. Compared to a genius like Yuhao, I... I don't have that talent."
"I understand nothing of Laws, and my comprehension of heaven and earth is a complete mess."
"I'm just a... blacksmith who likes to build things."
Tang Ya shook her head self-deprecatingly. She knew very well that a god needed to comprehend rules. And her head was full of blueprints, gears, and energy circuits.
"Blacksmith?"
Xuan Ming laughed. "What a coincidence. What the God Realm lacks most right now are blacksmiths."
"Tang Ya, you've got one thing wrong."
"A so-called god is merely a leap in the level of Life, a lifeform that has mastered a higher way of using energy. Since it's about energy usage, what's the fundamental difference between that and your research on spirit tools?"
"You think you have no talent?"
Xuan Ming pointed at the dark blood demon behind him. "To be able to design a vessel capable of carrying Divine Rank energy with a Mortal body, and to grope your way toward the prototype of a Law weapon without any reference... In my opinion, your talent is much stronger than those fellows who only know how to sit there in meditation."
"That kid Yuhao needs to comprehend things on his own because he is the child of destiny; his path must be walked by himself."
"But you are different."
Xuan Ming reached out his hand, and a ball of gentle yet vast white light condensed in his palm.
"I don't need you to comprehend any bullshit principles of heaven and earth, nor do I need you to understand any Universe Origin."
"I just need you to continue doing what you love."
"If the Materials of the Mortal Realm limit you, then I will give you God Realm Materials. If the energy of the Mortal Realm limits you, then I will give you divine force."
"I ask you, if you had the chance to use Star Meteorite Iron to build a mecha, use a Stellar Core as a power source, and even engrave the Law of Destruction onto the cannon barrel..."
"Would you be interested?"
Tang Ya's breathing instantly became rapid.
Star Meteorite Iron? Stellar Core? Law of Destruction?
To someone obsessed with mechanical manufacturing, this was ten thousand times more enticing than any sweet words!