Chapter 200: The Changing Era
"A few more decades before I can break through to Supreme Godhood."
Hearing Ye LingLing's seemingly casual remark in the video, the five Divine Kings in the God Realm couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths. They exchanged glances, momentarily speechless.
From the birth of the God Realm until now, the rank of Divine King had always represented the absolute pinnacle of power. That level was also known as Supreme Godhood. Over the years, countless geniuses had emerged from lower worlds, some even breaking through their limits to ascend as gods.
But at most, they became first class gods like the Sea God. In all these countless years, only the Dragon God had ever been an exception, ascending beyond first class godhood and reaching the level of a Divine King. That alone was proof of just how difficult it was to reach such heights.
Even the five current Divine Kings of the God Realm had not achieved their power through cultivation alone. They were not self made gods; they were born from the primordial forces of the universe itself, manifestations of the five fundamental elements that formed the God Realm. They were innately divine.
But now, in the lower realm, there was a mere mortal who, in less than two centuries, could go from nothing to reaching their level.
If they hadn't seen the evidence with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed it even under threat of death.
"If this Ye LingLing ever becomes an enemy of the God Realm, he will be a dire threat," the God of Destruction stated grimly.
"Indeed. Let's just hope we're not looking at another Dragon God in the making…" the Asura God sighed.
"But perhaps we don't need to worry so much," the Evil God said. "His future success is undeniably tied to his talent, but more importantly, it was the Abyssal invasion that changed the environment of the Douluo Continent. The rise in energy levels brought that world closer to the standard of the God Realm."
"In other words, this is a case of circumstances creating a hero. If the environment had remained peaceful, he might not have achieved such heights."
"And if the Abyss truly emerges as shown in the video, then our greatest enemy isn't Ye LingLing it's the Abyss. Conversely, if the Abyss never arrives, then Ye LingLing's ultimate limit might just be becoming a first class god, like the Sea God. He wouldn't pose any real threat to us."
The Evil God's words made the other four Divine Kings nod in agreement.
Ye LingLing was not necessarily an enemy. The Abyssal forces foretold in the video whenever they arrived were the true danger to the God Realm.
In the video, after purging the Abyssal Zone, Ye LingLing and Qian Renxue did not linger. They left together.
The video then fast forwarded again, showing brief glimpses of history unfolding on the Douluo Continent.
More divine ranked demons descended upon the world, only to be hunted down and slain. Their corpses were thrown into the planetary core, where they were consumed. This process continuously raised the energy concentration of the world.
And so, another century passed in the blink of an eye.
As the world's energy levels increased, not only did cultivation become easier, but even the very constitution of humanity changed. The entire planet underwent a slow, yet undeniable transformation.
After more than two hundred years of Abyssal invasion, the people of Douluo Continent were no longer the same as before.
There were no drastic physical changes, but now, every single person was born with innate soul power. In other words, as long as someone awakened a martial soul, they could cultivate and become a soul master. The only difference was the varying levels of innate soul power.
But no matter how low one's soul power was, they had it. And as long as they had it, they could walk the path of a soul master.
As a result, the Douluo Continent had transformed into a true world of soul masters.
Everyone was a soul master!
[Oh my god!!]
[Did I just see that right?!]
[Everyone has innate soul power?!]
[So increasing the world's energy concentration led to this?!]
[If everyone has soul power, then everyone can become a soul master?!]
[Unbelievable!]
[I can't even imagine what that world would be like.]
[If everyone is a soul master, are soul masters still considered elite?]
[You're overthinking it. Hierarchies will always exist. Even if everyone becomes a soul master, low ranked ones will still bow before high ranked ones!]
[It's just a shift from soul masters vs. ordinary people to high level vs. low level soul masters.]
The livestream erupted into heated discussions.
Many struggled to imagine such a future.
For those who had long enjoyed the privileges of being soul masters, this was unsettling. If everyone became a soul master, then how would they assert their superiority? If there were no ordinary mortals left to dominate, where would their sense of prestige come from?
On the other hand, for the countless ordinary people watching who couldn't send messages in the livestream but could still see the video this future was a dream come true.
A world where everyone had innate soul power, where everyone could cultivate and become a soul master…
That was a utopia.
Some even found themselves secretly hoping for the Abyss to arrive sooner. Even if they couldn't become soul masters now, at least their descendants would have that chance. To them, such a future was beyond their wildest imagination.
The emotions of the privileged and the powerless were worlds apart. These ordinary people's desires and hopes were something soul masters could never understand.
In the video, the consequences of universal soul power were clear since everyone could cultivate, every person could become a soul master.
By the time two hundred years had passed, the entire societal structure of the Douluo Continent had undergone a fundamental transformation.
Soul master abilities were no longer just tools for battle; they had been integrated into daily life.
Everyone had a role to play.
Even those with non combat martial souls found purpose. Some became farmers, using plant based martial souls to accelerate crop growth. Blacksmiths with hammer type martial souls refined stronger metals. Every martial soul had a use.
As a result, hunger and poverty were eradicated. Freed from the burdens of survival, people began to truly enjoy life.
The video presented a society that bore striking similarities to a modern Earth civilization, where people used their soul skills in various professions.
With the ability to cultivate their own soul rings and develop abilities best suited to their martial soul, the concept of "waste martial souls" had vanished. People no longer fixated on using martial souls for combat.
[Martial souls… can be used like this?]
[I never imagined that if everyone became a soul master, things would turn out this way…]
[A peaceful, thriving society with no hunger, no oppression…]
[So soul master abilities aren't just for battle they have so many other uses.]
[Everyone has soul power. Everyone can become a soul master. And through hard work, everyone can achieve what they desire.]
[If there were no Abyssal threat, this would be a perfect world!]
[No way! Those filthy commoners can't be put on the same level as noble soul masters!]
[This is madness! It disrupts the natural order!]
[I refuse to accept such a future!]
[What a laughable system!]
[…]
A flood of messages filled the screen.
Every viewer spoke their true thoughts. Some longed for this future, while others scoffed at it, even outright rejecting it.
In the anonymity of the chat, soul masters freely voiced their raw, unfiltered opinions.
(End of Chapter)
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