Within the Holy Law Demiplane, Zhu Ziyang sat cross-legged in meditation, his five hearts facing the heavens as he focused on refining the golden soul ring floating above his palm.
Not far from him, Ma Xiaotao, Jiang Nannan, Qian Lingyi, and Diwu Huan'er were gathered around the corpse of the Azure Heavenly Dragon, busy processing the remains of the divine beast.
A dragon's body was a treasure trove—the scales, horns, and bones were the rarest and finest soul tool materials; the blood, flesh, and tendons were superb medicinal and culinary ingredients. But for the four women, those were secondary. The true prize was the soul bone produced by the Azure Heavenly Dragon—this was a God Rank soul bone!
When Zhu Ziyang successfully refined the Azure Heavenly Dragon's golden soul ring and awakened from his cultivation, the first thing he saw was the four girls chattering excitedly around a piece of cyan-gold soul bone.
"What are you all chatting about? So lively," Zhu Ziyang asked with a smile as he approached them.
"Ah! Big Brother, you finished absorbing the soul ring!" Jiang Nannan said joyfully. She then pointed to the cyan-gold soul bone in front of them. "Look, this is the Azure Heavenly Dragon's soul bone!"
"Oh?" Zhu Ziyang's interest was instantly piqued. He took the cyan-gold soul bone and examined it carefully. It was a right arm bone, extremely complete—forearm, upper arm, and elbow joint all present. This was a top-quality right arm soul bone. Its surface gleamed with golden light amidst a cyan hue, crackling arcs of lightning occasionally flickering around it, though its aura remained unusually gentle.
"What a work of art," Zhu Ziyang sighed in admiration. This right arm bone of the Azure Heavenly Dragon was truly exquisite, as if carved from jade.
"Right? We all think it's beautiful too," Qian Lingyi agreed.
"Ziyang, why was Niu Tian able to produce both a soul ring and a soul bone?" Ma Xiaotao voiced her confusion. She had just raised this question with the others, but none could give her an answer.
"Well..." Zhu Ziyang rubbed his chin, recalling some records he had read. "I think it's because Niu Tian was originally a soul beast."
"A soul beast?!" The four girls were stunned—especially Diwu Huan'er, who exclaimed, "Impossible! How could a soul beast become a god?"
"Don't be so hasty. Let me explain," Zhu Ziyang said, casting a meaningful glance at Diwu Huan'er. "This Azure Heavenly Dragon has quite the remarkable origin. You all know about the Sea God Tang San from ten thousand years ago, right?"
"The Azure Heavenly Dragon was one of the Sea God's followers!" Ma Xiaotao's tone sharpened. The mention of the Sea God brought out her second and more pressing question. "Why would the Sea God want to kill us?"
"That's a more complicated matter—I'll explain that in a bit," Zhu Ziyang said, gently holding her clenched jade-like hand to soothe her. "Let's talk about the Azure Heavenly Dragon first."
"I know." Diwu Huan'er spoke up, her expression complex. "I believe the Azure Heavenly Dragon was once the overlord of the Star Dou Great Forest ten thousand years ago—the Azure Bull Python! He offered himself in sacrifice to Tang San before the latter became a god. Supposedly, he was also the brother of the Sea God's wife. After Tang San ascended, he resurrected the Azure Bull Python in the God Realm and turned him into a divine beast. It's not impossible!"
"Exactly!" Zhu Ziyang nodded in agreement. "That's the reason."
"Then what about his soul ring?" Ma Xiaotao still looked puzzled.
"Well, as a divine beast, mimicking a soul ring as a disguise is no difficult feat," Zhu Ziyang said with a chuckle.
"Oh! That makes sense!" The girls all nodded in realization.
"Now for this soul bone... I don't need it anymore," Zhu Ziyang said, weighing the Azure Heavenly Dragon's right arm bone in his hand. "One of you four can have it."
"I don't need it," Ma Xiaotao replied immediately.
"I already have a right arm bone," Qian Lingyi followed up.
"This soul bone doesn't suit me," Jiang Nannan said, shaking her head.
"I…" Diwu Huan'er was just about to speak when Zhu Ziyang cut her off.
"In that case, let's give it to Huan'er," he said, tossing her the soul bone.
Diwu Huan'er reflexively caught it, but then frowned. "Can I not take this soul bone?" she said with difficulty. To be honest, she didn't want to absorb it—no other reason than sheer distaste.
"Why?" the others asked, confused.
"No reason. I just don't like it." Diwu Huan'er shook her head and pushed the soul bone back into Zhu Ziyang's hands.
"You're so willful!" Ma Xiaotao sighed, poking Diwu Huan'er's forehead with a slender finger, half reproachful, half doting.
"Nannan…" Zhu Ziyang turned to Jiang Nannan—she was the only other one who might need a right arm bone.
"Nope!" Jiang Nannan flatly refused, her expression filled with distaste, as if what Zhu Ziyang held wasn't a God Rank soul bone, but a mere ten-year one.
"Well, if no one wants it, I'll just hang on to it. Maybe it'll be useful later," Zhu Ziyang said helplessly, stashing the soul bone into his Starflame Ring.
"Now can you tell us why the Sea God wants to kill us?" Ma Xiaotao pressed, clearly unable to let go of the matter. If she didn't get an answer, it would gnaw at her endlessly.
"It's actually not that complicated," Zhu Ziyang said, shaking his hand with exasperation. "It's simply because we inherited divine legacies."
"Just because of that?" Ma Xiaotao stared at him in disbelief—but seeing the helplessness in his eyes, she realized he wasn't joking. "Why? Why would receiving a divine inheritance make him want to kill us? Does he not want us to become gods?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Zhu Ziyang said thoughtfully, "but that's likely the case. Niu Tian mentioned we're interfering with the Sea God's grand plan. So let's make a bold hypothesis."
"It's not that he doesn't want us to become gods. He just doesn't want us ascending outside of his plan. In other words, we might not fall within the Sea God's list of 'approved candidates for godhood.' He wants control over every god ascending from the Douluo Continent. In fact, what he really wants... is to control the entire Douluo Continent!"
The four girls were stunned, then visibly troubled.
"It's hard to believe the Sea God is so ambitious," Jiang Nannan said discontentedly.
Ma Xiaotao frowned in disgust. "What gives him the right? Who is he to decide the fate of Douluo Continent? Just because he's the Sea God?"
Diwu Huan'er sneered. "I knew it. That Tang San was never a good person!"
Qian Lingyi asked worriedly, "Then what should we do, Brother?"
"There's no other way—we just have to keep going forward," Zhu Ziyang said solemnly. "Compared to the Sea God, we're far too weak. Our only hope is to become gods ourselves. Only then will we have a chance to stand against him. Luckily, as a god, he can't attack us personally for now. That gives us the opportunity to grow stronger!"
"We understand!" Jiang Nannan, Qian Lingyi, and Ma Xiaotao all had a heavy but determined look in their eyes. Just as Zhu Ziyang said—they had no way back, only forward.
It took some time for their turbulent hearts to calm.
"Ziyang, when did you realize this?" Ma Xiaotao asked curiously.
"When Teacher fell," Zhu Ziyang replied. Though his tone was calm, the words hit like thunder in the hearts of the girls.
"D-Don't tell me... Elder Mu… was…" Ma Xiaotao's voice trembled, her eyes wide with fear and disbelief.
"That's right," Zhu Ziyang said coldly. "Teacher died because he refused the Sea God's command to kill me. His soul was damaged and he ultimately perished."
"Ah!" Ma Xiaotao let out a heart-wrenching cry of grief. In that instant, whatever lingering reverence she had for the Sea God vanished.
A few hours later, Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao exited the Holy Law Demiplane and descended to the ground. The divine miracle over the Sun Moon Mountains had faded, and neither of them intended to investigate further. They resumed their journey north, heading toward Anyang City in the Heaven Soul Empire.
Along the way, Zhu Ziyang sorted through the gains from the Azure Heavenly Dragon's soul ring, pleasantly surprised. After absorbing the soul ring, his soul power had broken through level 94, 95, and 96—reaching level 97 in one stroke.
Moreover, the soul ring granted his Heavenly Frost White Dragon King martial soul three new soul skills, giving it a truly heaven-defying configuration of seven red and two gold soul rings—absolutely unprecedented in history.
(End of Chapter)
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