Time flies, spring departs and autumn arrives. In the blink of an eye, three years have quietly passed since the Seven Sects Selection Conference that shook the continent.
Three years of time, for the long lifespan of a soul master, might be but a fleeting moment. Yet, in these three years, the entire soul master world of the Douluo Continent has undergone profound changes, quietly brought about by the spread of the Method of Soul Cores.
The soul core condensation methods publicly taught by Yu Yuanchen, Qian Daoliu, and Tang Chen were like boulders cast into a calm lake, stirring up layers of ripples. From the foundation-building soul power vortex at the Soul Sage level to the liquid soul power and stabilized foundation at the Soul Douluo level, and finally the complete system for condensing a true soul core at the Titled Douluo level, they pointed out a more solid path to the heavens for countless soul masters.
Across the continent, soul masters at the Soul Sage level and above generally experienced a small but tangible increase in strength. Their soul power became more refined, their recovery speed accelerated, and their endurance ability strengthened. This gradually manifested as an advantage in hunting soul beasts, sect sparring, and even border conflicts.
There were even rumors that several veteran Soul Douluos, who had been stuck at the peak of Level 89 for many years, had successfully condensed the prototype of a soul core through sheer perseverance and exquisite control of their soul power. Taking advantage of the influx of heaven and earth origin qi during their breakthrough, they stepped into the long-coveted realm of Titled Douluo in one go! Although the specifics were kept secret, the spread of such news undoubtedly further ignited the enthusiasm of soul masters for practicing the Method of Soul Cores.
Of course, the threshold for the Method of Soul Cores is not low; it has strict requirements for soul power control and spatial perception, and not everyone can succeed. However, its existence itself is like a lighthouse, illuminating the path forward for many. The overall strength of the soul master world is quietly improving at a steady pace.
Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, forbidden area behind the mountain.
Yu Yuanchen sat cross-legged on a Thunder-Attracting Platform. There was no soul power fluctuation around him, and his aura was restrained to the extreme. He had been in seclusion for over a year, his cultivation level still remaining at the peak of Level 98, not rushing to challenge the bottleneck of a Level 99 Titled Douluo.
At his level, simple accumulation of soul power is no longer the key. Understanding the laws, sorting out his own path, and exploring the essence of power are more important. He devoted most of his energy to perfecting his own "martial way" system and exploring the "ultimate form soul core" that belonged uniquely to him.
His Thunder Sacred Dragon Martial Soul had perfectly fused with him, his "human-dragon unity" realm was stable, and his use of the "Martial Soul True Body Possession" state had become increasingly proficient. Yet, he could feel that the potential of his soul core was far from exhausted. At Level 90, he had fused his Ultimate Thunder with his own soul power, qi and blood, and spiritual power to directly condense an advanced soul core; its potential was extraordinary and still required further excavation.
Now, to move toward Level 99, he needed his soul core to undergo another essential transformation, making it completely the carrier of his "dao," which was much more difficult. This required opportunity and enlightenment; it could not be rushed.
However, these three years of quiet cultivation were not without gains. His spiritual power had become increasingly profound and refined on the basis of the Spirit Domain Realm, and he had successfully constructed his own "spirit domain." Once deployed, its power would be unfathomable.
Clear Sky Sect, Fire-Forging Hall.
The sound of hammering rang out incessantly, and the heat was intense. Tang Chen was shirtless, his bronze muscles bulging. He was not wielding the massive Clear Sky Hammer, but instead held a uniquely shaped forging hammer, concentrating fully on hammering a piece of red-hot metal embryo.
He was not forging ordinary weapons, but tempering a peculiar piece of metal. Under the repeated strikes of his Clear Sky Hammer, which contained his soul power and unique force application technique, the metal faintly emitted a weak energy fluctuation, and its texture was undergoing strange changes.
After the Method of Soul Cores spread, he did not slacken his own cultivation, and his level had steadily risen to Level 97. But he also invested a lot of energy into "forging." After discussing with Yu Yuanchen and Qian Daoliu, he became increasingly firm in the possibility of becoming a god through "forging."
In these three years, besides cultivation, he poured most of his heart into this "new forging method." Combining the characteristics of the Clear Sky Hammer, his own control over power, and the endurance brought by the soul core, he attempted to integrate soul power into the forging process at a special frequency. It actually made the metal undergo a kind of "activation," making its hardness and energy conductivity far exceed ordinary metal! This was undoubtedly a brand-new path! He named it the "Hundred Forging Essence Gold Technique."
However, compared to the dedicated Yu Yuanchen and the forging-obsessed Tang Chen, the experience of another prodigy, Qian Daoliu, over these three years was much more tortuous.
The Angel God Trial is by no means an easy task.
After leaving Martial Soul City, Qian Daoliu officially began his journey of the god trial. The first few trials were not difficult for him, as he now possessed a soul power as high as the peak of Level 97 and carried the Six-winged Angel Martial Soul.
The first trial, "Breakthrough the Sky," required him to endure thin air and immense pressure at an altitude of 30,000 meters while absorbing the sun's bright energy. The time limit was one year, as the Angel God Position has an affinity with the sun, laying a foundation for his future. The reward was a five percent increase in god position affinity.
The second trial, "Angel Holy Light Baptism," involved tempering his body with sacred light in front of the Angel statue in the Worship Hall. It tested his physical endurance, which he passed easily in less than a day. The reward was a five percent increase in god position affinity.
But the third trial, "Exterminate Demons and Slay Evil," truly and firmly blocked his progress.
Trial content: Independently kill twenty fallen soul masters of Soul Sage level or above, or evil soul beasts with over ten thousand years of cultivation. Time limit: two years.
From the perspective of his strength, it seemed simple, but it was actually extremely tricky!
The reason was simple: Martial Soul Hall had held the continent's order for thousands of years, and its crackdown on fallen soul masters and evil soul beasts had always been relentless. Under the continuous high-pressure clearing of Martial Soul Hall, the overt and large-scale fallen soul master forces on the continent had long since vanished. Evil soul beasts were also mostly attacked and killed by other soul beast groups in their infancy, or if they managed to grow up and show their heads, they might be killed by stronger high-level soul beasts or surrounded and suppressed by people from Martial Soul Hall who arrived upon hearing the news.
Occasionally, there were survivors, but they were all hidden very deep, their movements mysterious, and they dared not show themselves easily. Fallen soul masters at the Soul Sage level? They were absolutely the rarest of the rare. Evil soul beasts over ten thousand years old? Not only were they extremely rare, but each one was hidden deeper than the last.
Although Qian Daoliu was the young master of Martial Soul Hall and had convenient access to resources, he felt a headache when facing such scarce "stock" targets. He couldn't just go to a place like the City of Slaughter to "pick people" to complete the mission, could he? In his heart, the god trial was a sacred test, a tempering of his own will and ability. If he used such a "cheating" method, it would undoubtedly be somewhat wrong. But he was not a pedantic person either; he secretly decided to find them himself first, and if it wasn't enough, he would go to the City of Slaughter. After all, this couldn't be blamed on him; the process might not be important, but the attitude must be correct.
Thus, he began a year and a half of searching, like looking for a needle in a haystack. Relying on the vast intelligence network of Martial Soul Hall and his own keen perception of evil auras, he traveled to many remote and dangerous places on the continent.
Hard work pays off, and he really managed to ferret out seven deeply hidden "big fish"—seven fallen soul masters with strengths ranging from Soul Sage to Soul Douluo. These guys were either practicing evil arts or had gone into hiding after committing heinous crimes. Each was exceptionally cunning, but in the face of Qian Daoliu's absolute strength, they could not escape the fate of being purified by sacred flames.
"Damn Martial Soul Hall! Damn Angel soul master! We've hidden in such a godforsaken place, and you still won't let us go!" This was the most common wail of those fallen soul masters before they died. They probably couldn't understand until their deaths why a Level 97 Six-winged Angel Super Douluo would personally chase them, these "small characters," across the continent.
After dealing with the seven fallen soul masters, he was still thirteen targets short. Qian Daoliu turned his attention to evil soul beasts. Compared to cunning humans, the tracks of evil soul beasts were relatively easier to find, but still extremely limited. He spent another year going deep into various ancient forests, dark swamps, and desolate Gobi deserts where few people set foot. Relying on the sensing of his Angel Martial Soul, he arduously found three evil soul beasts over ten thousand years old and slew them. If they could speak, they would surely curse just like the fallen soul masters.
At this point, only half a year remained of the three-year time limit. And his mission was still ten targets short!
Helpless, Qian Daoliu finally cast his gaze toward the place he was most unwilling to choose—the City of Slaughter. Although he was unwilling in his heart, the time limit for the god trial was approaching, and he could not fail. I hope the God Ancestor does not blame me; it is truly not that your descendant is not working hard, but that your descendant is working too hard.
On this day, Qian Daoliu passed through a range of rolling mountains—the Savage Beast Hills. There were many soul beasts here, but their cultivation levels were generally not high, with the highest being no more than a thousand years. Few experts usually set foot here.
Looking at the slightly familiar scene before him, a ripple stirred in Qian Daoliu's cold heart. He remembered many years ago, when he, Yu Yuanchen, and Tang Chen were not yet famous, they had trained together here and fought against a beast tide. Although their strength was low then, their blood was hot and their friendship was sincere.
"I wonder how Brother Yuanchen and that guy Tang Chen are doing now." A faint smile, which even he himself did not notice, curled at the corner of his mouth. He shook his head, dispelling this trace of nostalgia. The path to godhood is accompanied by loneliness; for now, completing the mission is what matters.
Just as he was about to leave and continue toward the City of Slaughter, a commotion suddenly came from the depths of the hills. A small-scale beast tide surged out—about several hundred ten-year and hundred-year low-level soul beasts, fleeing in panic as if they had been frightened by something.
For the current Qian Daoliu, this kind of beast tide could be wiped out with a wave of his hand. He raised his hand casually, and a sword aura swept across, killing the dozens of soul beasts at the front. The remaining soul beasts fled in terror.
However, just as he was about to leave, his brow suddenly furrowed!
No!
He keenly felt that the blood qi and soul power remaining on the corpses of the soul beasts he had just killed were flowing away toward a certain direction in the depths of the hills at an extremely subtle and slow speed! If he did not possess the Six-winged Angel Martial Soul and his perception of energy flow, especially negative energy, had not reached the extreme, he would probably not have been able to detect it at all!
This way of absorbing power was cold, filthy, and carried a nauseating evil aura, which was by no means comparable to normal consumption by soul beasts! It was more like a kind of... conscious plunder!
"There's something strange!" Qian Daoliu's eyes narrowed. He instantly restrained all his momentum and slightly changed his own aura fluctuation, making himself closer to the surrounding environment. He wanted to see what kind of thing dared to perform such ghostly tricks in broad daylight!
His figure was like a pale golden stream of light, silently sneaking into the depths of the Savage Beast Hills, tracing the source of that imperceptible evil aura.
The deeper he went, the heavier the feeling of evil and dead silence in the air became. The surrounding vegetation began to become sparse and withered, as if its life force had been drained. Occasionally, he could see some shriveled corpses of soul beasts, their deaths miserable, their essence seemingly sucked dry. Even the earth became cracked and barren as Qian Daoliu went deeper.
Qian Daoliu's heart gradually sank. This was definitely not something an ordinary evil soul beast could do! It didn't even resemble the methods of any soul beast or fallen soul master he knew!
Finally, after passing through a thick, black mist that carried the scent of sulfur, the scene before him made even the well-informed and firm-willed Qian Daoliu's pupils shrink instantly. He gasped, and his blood almost froze!
He saw that in a valley basin ahead, the earth was cracked, revealing dark red rocks underneath that looked like congealed blood. In the center of the basin, space was extremely distorted, forming an irregular vortex about ten zhang in diameter! At the edge of the vortex, viscous, ink-like dark energy churned, and countless twisted, painful, and resentful soul phantoms struggled and wailed within it!
In the center of the vortex, one could vaguely see the phantom of a huge portal condensed from countless skeletons and dark energy! The portal had only opened a tiny crack, but the aura leaking from it was filled with the purest, most ancient evil, chaos, and destruction will! It was as if it were connected to the Nine Netherworlds!
Wisps of dark red energy were seeping out from the cracks in the portal, like tentacles, greedily draining all the life force and energy in the surroundings! The blood essence of those soul beasts was being sucked away by these very things!
What alarmed Qian Daoliu even more was that this phantom of a portal seemed... to be gradually becoming solidified at a slow but firm pace! It was as if some terrifying existence was attempting to forcibly descend into this world from the other side of the gate!
"Is this... a Planar Passage? A Hell Gate?!" Qian Daoliu whispered in a lost voice, his golden eyes filled with unprecedented shock and gravity!
As the inheritor of the Angel God, his perception of evil auras far exceeded that of ordinary people, and he could sense from this portal a terrifying pressure from a higher-level plane that made even his soul tremble! This was definitely not an evil that could be produced within Douluo Continent! This was... an invasion from another plane!
Just as his mind was shaken, the blood-colored vortex within the crack suddenly accelerated its rotation! The phantom of the stone gate jolted violently, and a condensed beam of dark red light, like a viper, suddenly shot out from the crack, lunging straight at Qian Daoliu's hiding spot! At the same time, an evil will filled with tyranny, slaughter, and chaos surged toward him like a tide, attempting to erode his mind!
I've been discovered! Alarm bells rang out in Qian Daoliu's heart! With no time to think, the Soul Core within his body spun frantically, and his Six-winged Angel Martial Soul instantly possessed him! A brilliant Holy Light erupted, dispersing the gray mist in the surroundings!
"Angel's Protection!"
A sacred shield of light protected his entire body, colliding fiercely with that dark red beam!
Boom!
The Holy Light and Fel Energy clashed intensely, emitting a harsh hissing sound. Qian Daoliu let out a cold snort and retreated several steps to neutralize the impact, his complexion turning slightly grave.
The power contained within that beam was extremely condensed and bizarre; if not for the fact that Angel Divine Power naturally countered evil, he likely would have been injured by that strike just now! The fellow who launched that attack likely possessed strength not inferior to a Titled Douluo.
───────────────
Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan