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*****
"The fifth trial of the Nine Divine Trials is complete."
As the voice announcing his success echoed in Su Wen's mind, he concluded his task, allowing the Abyssal Sovereign to retreat without further hindrance.
He even stopped his taunting and rapidly pulled back to create some distance.
Just moments ago, constantly maintaining a distance that made the Abyssal Sovereign believe he could catch up was like dancing on a tightrope.
The innate properties of the Heaven-Splitting Abyssal Halberd were far too terrifying, completely ignoring all forms of defense.
Even though Su Wen's Law-Prohibiting Domain had fused with his Miniature World to distort a portion of its properties--preventing it from directly striking his true body--it was still dangerously close to doing so.
It was a razor-thin margin.
Fortunately, Su Wen was able to seize that tiny window to narrowly evade several fatal strikes, or he would have lost his life multiple times just now.
A Super Divine Tool was a Super Divine Tool precisely because of its absolute dominance within its respective domain.
To a certain extent, the Heaven-Splitting Abyssal Halberd represented the absolute pinnacle of melee Super Divine Tools, not lacking in the slightest compared to the Asura God's Shura Sword.
The Shura Sword derived its immense strength from its eternal bond with the Asura God's divine seat, possessing unparalleled killing potential. When paired with the divine power of the Asura God, its might ranked among the absolute best of the Super Divine Tools.
On the other hand, the Heaven-Splitting Abyssal Halberd relied entirely on its defiance of natural laws.
It was hard to say what kind of absurd stroke of luck the Abyssal Sovereign had stumbled upon to be able to nurture a Super Divine Tool with such heaven-defying properties.
The Abyssal Sovereign had already retreated past the borders of the Douluo Domain, yet an inexplicable surge of panic welled up from the depths of his heart.
What was going on?
Even when he was inside the Douluo Domain just now, he hadn't felt such overwhelming dread!
His expression changed drastically as he scanned his surroundings.
Finally, his gaze locked onto the space above Su Wen's head. The space there rippled violently, and a figure holding a trident, radiating a brilliant blue-gold light, emerged.
A God!
A God from the Douluo Divine Realm.
This deity was... the Sea God!
As the strongest First-Class God second only to the Five Great Divine Kings in the Douluo Divine Realm, the Sea God's prestigious reputation echoed throughout the neighboring universes.
The moment he saw the Sea God, the Abyssal Sovereign's only thought was to flee.
Although he possessed the confidence to trade a few blows with a Divine King, that was merely holding his ground, not matching a Divine King in every single aspect.
Moreover, the Sea God's Thirteen Forms of the Sea God consisted mostly of crowd-control divine skills, granting him an overwhelming advantage in battles of the same rank. Once caught by his control, one could essentially do nothing but wait for death.
If it were any other Divine King, or even the Asura God himself coming in person, the Abyssal Sovereign would at least brace himself to endure a strike before considering whether to retreat. But the moment the Sea God appeared, he chose to withdraw immediately.
He had no desire to be locked down and stripped entirely of his chances to escape.
"Watch closely."
The Sea God's voice echoed directly inside Su Wen's mind.
A surge of power manifested at the center of Su Wen's brow, drawing out his consciousness.
This was not the Sea God's personal power, but rather a far more grand and majestic force.
Was this... the core energy belonging to the Divine Realm?
"I can only accomplish this by borrowing the power of the Divine Realm Core--drawing your consciousness out and fusing it into my body, allowing you to fully experience the entire process of me executing the Thirteen Forms of the Sea God."
The Sea God offered an explanation to clear Su Wen's doubts.
"I do not possess control over the Divine Realm Core, but the very act of a deity setting up a trial inherently involves the core's power. Since I have designated this as a trial reward, the Divine Realm Core will provide me with this segment of energy to help me achieve this step."
Su Wen understood immediately.
He was a research-oriented cultivator who preferred to thoroughly investigate and understand the mechanics behind everything.
Knowing Su Wen's personality, the Sea God took the initiative to explain it to him beforehand, lest Su Wen lose focus and miss out on some insights during the trance.
The Sea God, along with the God of Time and several other deities, held immense expectations for Su Wen.
It wasn't a matter of jumping ship to a new master.
That would sound too unseemly.
It was simply that if the Sea God wished to break through to become a Divine King, remaining in the Douluo Divine Realm offered very little hope.
If Su Wen were to forge a brand-new Divine Realm, it might provide the Sea God with his absolute best opportunity to attain the position of a Divine King. Even if he didn't rely on the colossal energy generated during the creation of a new realm, he could still acquire a new set of Sea God authorities under Su Wen's jurisdiction. By combining the Sea God authorities of both Divine Realms, he could elevate the Sea God's divine seat to the Divine King level in one fell swoop.
Regardless of the specifics, as long as Su Wen successfully established a new Divine Realm, the benefits to the Sea God would be boundless, making his ascension to a Divine King practically guaranteed.
This was precisely why he spared no effort in aiding Su Wen.
Just like the reasoning he used to convince the other deities to support Su Wen, helping Su Wen was ultimately a means to further his own path.
In truth, even if Su Wen had never appeared in this world, the Sea God had already intended to find a successor in the near future. After passing down his divine seat, he would have traveled into the vast universe to seek his own opportunity for a breakthrough.
The Sea God brandished the trident in his hand.
Holding the trident, he thrust it forward into the empty air. The tip of the trident seemed to spin a few times, and golden halos rapidly condensed into shape one after another, flying straight toward the Abyssal Sovereign.
The Abyssal Sovereign's face contorted. He instantly accelerated, steering the Abyss further away while simultaneously doing his utmost to dodge the golden halos.
Indefinite Storm. This was the Sea God's most powerful crowd-control soul skill, and it was also the only pure control skill within his Thirteen Forms of the Sea God.
As long as an enemy was ensnared by these golden rings, they would be immobilized for at least three seconds. For powerhouses above the God rank, a three-second interval was an incredibly critical window of time.
The Abyssal Sovereign manipulated the Abyss to withdraw further, occasionally sacrificing abyssal creatures to intercept and take the hit from the golden halos.
"Oh? I have long heard that the Abyssal Sovereign is ruthless and cruel, but I didn't expect him to resort to such a method just to evade the Indefinite Storm," the Sea God sighed.
The greatest flaw of the Indefinite Storm at present was exactly this.
It wasn't a guaranteed hit.
Only when the golden rings truly enveloped the target's body would the control effect be locked in.
He was currently still perfecting this form, even attempting to fuse spatial power into it, but he had yet to achieve the ability to instantly bind an enemy the moment the rings were drawn.
The rings themselves contained too many profound mysteries to withstand the additional strain of spatial translation; otherwise, the intrinsic insights within would collapse, causing the rings to lose their effect entirely.
"White Clouds Flow Idly for a Thousand Years--"
Gripping the trident, the Sea God unleashed another technique from the Thirteen Forms of the Sea God, an area-of-effect attack.
Su Wen remained fully focused throughout the entire process, meticulously absorbing the profound insights embedded within the Thirteen Forms of the Sea God.
These were all divine skills formed by the combination of various insights. Any single form, if handed down to another First-Class God, would be more than enough to serve as their ultimate trump card. Yet, the Sea God had created thirteen such forms entirely on his own.
His talent was undeniable.
To be capable of forging his own divine seat, ascending directly to the absolute peak of the First-Class Gods, and nurturing his Sea God Trident to the threshold of a Super Divine Tool--his aptitude was beyond any doubt.
These techniques were composed entirely of intricate combinations of insights. Many of them involved minor, seemingly insignificant authorities within the Sea God's divine seat, yet he had thoroughly developed and trained them to such an advanced degree. On one hand, this enriched the versatility of the Thirteen Forms of the Sea God, while on the other, it conversely accelerated the elevation of his divine seat.
It could only be said that there was a solid reason behind the Sea God's overwhelming strength.
Su Wen did not waste time marveling further, keeping his attention fixed on observing the Sea God's ultimate techniques.
To ensure Su Wen could better grasp the essence of the techniques, the Sea God practically gave a hands-on demonstration, executing all Thirteen Forms of the Sea God from start to finish.
Even when the opposing Abyssal Sovereign was on the verge of escaping completely, he continued to display the forms.
"Can you leave a tracking coordinate?" the Sea God's voice echoed within Su Wen's consciousness.
"I can."
"Good. Then I shall leave the Abyss to you in the future." The Sea God had no intention of driving his opponent into an absolute corner today.
When all was said and done, the Abyssal Sovereign possessed the strength of a peak First-Class God and wielded a Super Divine Tool. Had he not been wary of the Five Great Divine Kings of the Douluo Divine Realm, he could have fought head-on just now. He simply feared that if the battle dragged on for too long and the Five Great Divine Kings arrived, he wouldn't be able to leave at all.
Furthermore, if pushed into a truly desperate situation where his life was on the line, the Abyssal Sovereign could detonate the entire Abyssal plane, which would inflict a massive shockwave upon the Douluo Divine Realm.
Thus, the Sea God never planned to finish off the Abyssal Sovereign today.
Even if they managed to restrain the Abyssal Sovereign today and prevent him from self-detonating, the vast majority of the Abyss's energy would ultimately be claimed by the Douluo Divine Realm.
That rigid, honest guy, the God of Destruction, would never allow resources capable of strengthening their own Divine Realm to flow outward to an external party.
Establishing a new Divine Realm?
He would absolutely forbid it!
If you possess that kind of strength, why not join the big family of the Douluo Divine Realm and work together to make it bigger and stronger?
The Sea God demonstrated the complete set of the Thirteen Forms of the Sea God a total of two times for Su Wen.
Once the Abyssal Sovereign had completely vanished from sight, the two of them returned to the territory of the Douluo Divine Realm.
The Sea God returned to the Divine Realm, while Su Wen returned to the starry sky near the Douluo Planet.
He found a secluded planet and began practicing the Thirteen Forms of the Sea God based on his recent realizations.
It wasn't that he absolutely had to master these specific techniques; rather, Su Wen wanted to absorb the underlying insights and learn the methodology behind combining them.
The combination of different insights represented the expansion and extension of one's capability to bend the fundamental laws of the universe. This would be immensely beneficial to the evolution of his Miniature World.
Vaguely, Su Wen managed to grasp the direction for his Miniature World to take its next step forward.
Time trickled away, and two months passed silently while Su Wen was immersed in researching the Thirteen Forms of the Sea God.
Over these two months, Su Wen's soul power broke through the threshold of a Hyper Douluo, reaching Rank 95.
"Oh?"
Su Wen halted his research progress and returned to the Douluo Planet.
At this moment, he materialized deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, gazing at a small, exquisite young beast.
Di Tian and the other Great Beasts stood protectively in front of it, staring at Su Wen with intense wariness.
"The fortune of the soul beast clan has converged, allowing the Auspicious Beast to be born at this precise moment," Su Wen remarked with emotion.
He waved his hand casually and addressed Di Tian and the other beasts. "I have no interest in the fortune of the soul beast clan. The Douluo Planet will inevitably progress in the future, expanding and developing out into the vast universe. Once the Douluo Planet eventually ascends to a God-level planet, its laws will be capable of spreading across the cosmos. When that day comes, you soul beasts can look for a life planet that perfectly suits your survival."
Ordinary life planets were essentially individual planes, each possessing their own unique sets of laws.
Take soul masters, for example. It was impossible for a soul master to be born naturally elsewhere in the universe unless they were born on the Douluo Continent, awakened their martial soul, and then traveled into space to cultivate. While they could continue to grow using the soul master system, their speed would be severely hindered, and their efficiency in refining external energy would drop drastically--to the point where they might not be able to refine it at all, halting their cultivation entirely.
This was because the laws of the Douluo Planet had not yet extended into the wider universe.
If the Douluo Planet broke through to the God rank, cultivating as a soul master would become significantly easier, and the capacity to refine external energy would be further elevated. As long as the energy didn't belong to a plane with a deeply stamped origin like the Abyss, it could be refined, though the efficiency would vary.
Within the regions covered by the laws of a God-level plane, a soul master's cultivation would receive the blessing of their home plane.
At the very least, changing planets wouldn't negatively impact their cultivation.
The only difference between the mother planet and the newly colonized planets would be that the mother planet, as a God-level planet, possessed a richer concentration of energy and served as the birthplace of the laws, allowing for faster cultivation.
However, the colonized planets would be no different from the mother planet prior to its ascension. In fact, with the ceiling of the laws expanded, the upper limit for a soul master's cultivation would also rise, making the journey through the Hyper Douluo and Limit Douluo ranks much smoother.
Su Wen's proposition of letting the soul beasts select an entire planet to inhabit and multiply their race was exceptionally fitting for them.
It was also an excellent method to alleviate the tense relationship between human soul masters and soul beasts.
By physically separating the two sides while maintaining the Myriad Beast Realm within the academic world, both parties could interact across a network, hunting each other within a virtual world to fulfill their respective needs.
Di Tian's expression genuinely shifted; he was incredibly drawn to Su Wen's arrangement.
He looked back at the Auspicious Beast behind him, contemplating the feasibility of this entire vision.
If the Auspicious Beast remained alive to ensure the flourishing fortune of the soul beast clan, coupled with an entire life planet serving as their breeding ground, the soul beast race might truly march toward a much stronger future.
However, how long would it take for the Douluo Planet to break through to the God rank?
Di Tian had cultivated for countless eons. Back when he was still weak, the Douluo Planet was already at the absolute peak below the God rank. After so much time had passed, there hadn't been the slightest sign of a breakthrough.
He looked squarely at Su Wen.
"The Douluo Planet's breakthrough will happen within these next two years. You can verify this point with the Silver Dragon King," Su Wen explained briefly, his gaze shifting past Di Tian to rest upon the tiny Auspicious Beast.
"I have no designs on the Auspicious Beast. I am simply curious about the power of fortune. Would you mind letting me take a look?"
Di Tian grew wary once more.
He wasn't about to be deceived by Su Wen's smooth talk from just a moment ago.
In the end, Su Wen had still revealed his true colors.
You are simply coveting the Auspicious Beast!
"Don't look at me like that. I am purely studying the concept of fortune."
Su Wen glanced toward a certain direction.
"I am showing a great deal of sincerity here; otherwise, I would have just taken action directly."
From the direction Su Wen was looking, a young girl with long silver hair and violet eyes slowly stepped out.
"Very well, but you may only observe from a distance. You are not permitted to tamper with the Auspicious Beast's fortune in any way."
The Silver Dragon King's voice was crisp but carried a distinct cold detachment.
Her human transformation was not the standard transformation of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast; she merely used the framework of that rule to suppress and bypass her heavy injuries.
She was capable of breaking through many restrictions of the laws, such as transforming fully into a human being.
Deep down, she still viewed herself as a soul beast--the co-ruler of all soul beasts. It was impossible for her to ever truly turn her heart toward humanity.
"That works for me. After all, I am genuinely only interested in the manifestation of fortune as a force."
And it wasn't strictly limited to the fortune of soul beasts.
After emphasizing his point multiple times, Su Wen began to observe the unique marvels of the tiny Auspicious Beast from a distance.
As it had only recently been conceived and born, the ripples of destiny surrounding the Auspicious Beast's body were exceptionally violent, allowing Su Wen to perceive them with absolute clarity.
"Is this a force formed under the influence of acquired existence?"
Su Wen's eyes shimmered.
After studying it for just a brief moment, he discovered that it shared similarities with the nature of laws.
Originally, there were no concrete laws in the world, only the fundamental operations of the universe. However, alongside the cognitive understanding developed by intelligent lifeforms through their acquired cultivation, the convergence of countless wills eventually crystallized into defined laws.
Fortune appeared to operate on the exact same principle.