Douluo Continent, Martial Soul City.
When the shocking news of the expedition to the Demon Plane—the slaying of the four great Demon Kings and the successful establishment of the human outpost, Demon Quelling City—was brought back by the high-ranking officials of the triumphant coalition, the entire continent erupted!
The news spread like wildfire, quickly reaching every corner of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, and entering the ears of every major sect, family, and Soul Master Academy. At first, it was met with disbelief, then shock, and finally, it transformed into a tsunami of wild joy and pride!
Counter-attacking an alien plane! Slaying a demigod-level Demon King! Building a city in the heart of the demons' lair! Any one of these feats was an epic achievement worthy of being recorded in history and shining through the ages! And now, these feats had been accomplished by the Soul Masters of their own era!
The Seven Great Sects issued a joint announcement, and Martial Soul Hall proclaimed to the world the detailed battle report of this expedition. The invincible demeanor of Yu Yuanchen, who single-handedly cut down the four Demon Kings—Salvos, Adost, Anat, and Baroque; the heroic posture of Qian Chongxiao as he confronted a Demon King head-on with the Angel Sacred Sword; the valiant fighting of young prodigies like Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu; as well as the fearlessness and sacrifice of all the Soul Masters who participated in the expedition...
One by one, each and every detail became common knowledge through official channels, storytellers in taverns and teahouses, and the word-of-mouth accounts of traveling Soul Masters.
The name of Yu Yuanchen once again resounded through the heavens, reaching an unprecedented height! He was no longer just the leader of the younger generation, no longer just the Young Sect Master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, but was revered as the "Thunder Dragon God" and "Demon Quelling Venerable," becoming a living legend of the entire Douluo Continent and a guardian deity in the hearts of countless Soul Masters and commoners alike! His portrait was hung in the squares of major cities, and his deeds were turned into poems and sung. The prestige of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan also reached its zenith, vaguely becoming a holy land in the eyes of all Soul Masters under heaven.
As for those Soul Masters who had gone on the expedition with him, whether they were sect masters, elders, or ordinary Soul Sages and Soul Douluo, their names were solemnly engraved upon the newly erected Expeditionary Heroes Monument in Martial Soul City, to be revered for all eternity. A person lives but once, and what they seek is nothing more than fame and fortune; for these powerhouses who already stood at the pinnacle of the continent, "leaving a name in history" was undoubtedly the greatest temptation and glory. Now, they had achieved it. Their families and sects had also gained supreme honor because of this.
The entire Soul Master world of the continent was immersed in an atmosphere of passion and progress. The feat of pioneering an alien plane seemed to have opened a door to a new world for all Soul Masters, allowing them to see the possibility of transcending the mundane and conquering the heavens! A vigorous spirit and a heart of enterprise spread among the Soul Masters of the continent.
In this ocean of celebration, Ye Zhilan quietly returned to the Ye Family Beast Taming Research Institute located near the Star Dou Great Forest. She declined invitations to various celebrations, her mind already flown back to her research. Gu Yuena (the Silver Dragon King avatar) had already urged her several times through secret contact, showing great interest in the unique biological system of the Demon Plane.
Ye Zhilan had a premonition that there might be some unknown connection between demon creatures, Soul Beasts, and even the Way of Beast Taming she was researching. This would be a brand-new, challenging research direction; a series of key topics regarding Soul Beast Contracts, bloodline evolution, and more were waiting for her to lead and advance.
Her experiences in the Demon Plane gave her a deeper understanding of the diversity of life forms, which might provide new inspiration for the Way of Beast Taming. She knew well that while personal glory was gratifying, promoting the progress of the entire Soul Master world and even the Soul Beast race was a more lasting achievement.
Compared to the jubilation on the continent, those who remained in Demon Quelling City on the Demon Plane faced more realistic and severe challenges.
Demon Quelling City had begun to take shape. Craftsmen and Soul Masters from the Douluo Continent, organized by the remaining powerhouses of various sects, were working day and night to reinforce the city walls, build houses, and set up various defensive, spirit-gathering, and purifying arrays. Outside the city, on the cleared land, some tender green seedlings were growing tenaciously—these were the special Blue Silver Grass seeds that people had sown, which had been treated by Ye Zhilan with life force energy. They were working hard to improve this barren land.
Inside Demon Quelling City, the initial defensive works and living facilities were already complete, but outside the city lay the vast, unknown, and dangerous demon territory. Although low-level demons dared not approach the city, they still lurked in the distance, and occasionally small groups of demons would launch probing attacks. Environmental transformation, resource exploration, and maneuvering against the remaining demon forces—each task required a massive investment of energy.
Qian Daoliu walked along the newly built city wall of Demon Quelling City, which radiated a faint, purifying power of the Angel Holy Light, his brows tightly locked. The Angel Mark between his brows heated up slightly, and a clear piece of information regarding his divine trial lingered in his heart:
[Angel Fifth Trial: Glory Shall Not Be Profaned (Part II)]
[Trial Content: Find and purify ten Fallen Angels. Use the Angel Holy Light to guide them to shed their fallen bloodlines and return to the light. If they harbor good intentions and are willing to accept the baptism of the holy light, you may assist in the sublimation of their bloodlines; if they are deeply evil and resist purification, then use thunderous means to completely purify their existence.]
[Trial Time Limit: Three years.]
[Trial Reward: God-level affinity increased by 15%, and partial power of the Angel Sacred Sword unlocked.]
"Fallen Angels..." Qian Daoliu muttered to himself, a complex look flashing in his golden eyes. These beings were originally of the same origin, yet they were created with Angel bloodlines due to the profanity of demons. They were both a disgrace to the Angel clan and, from a certain perspective, victims as well.
The divine trial required "guiding" rather than "slaying," reflecting a mercy of the Angel God, but "if unsuccessful, then completely purify" also manifested that divine might is like a prison, a strict law that would not tolerate those who were beyond saving.
He gently stroked the long sword radiating warm holy light behind his back—the Angel Sacred Sword. Before leaving, his father, Qian Chongxiao, had temporarily handed this artifact inherited by Martial Soul Hall to him for self-defense, and solemnly instructed: "Liuer, the matter of the Fallen Angels concerns the foundation of our clan's glory; you must be cautious. With the sacred sword in hand, you must uphold justice while also harboring a heart of compassion."
"Father, I understand." Qian Daoliu took a deep breath, a look of firmness appearing in his eyes. He bid farewell to the affairs in the city, strapped the Angel Sacred Sword to his back, and transformed into a streak of golden light, silently leaving Demon Quelling City to stealthily head toward the area where, according to the soul-searching of demon captives, Fallen Angels might be active. His fifth trial was destined to be a path full of thorns and tests.
Meanwhile, the forging workshop area in the city was bustling with activity. Tang Chen was shirtless, his bronze-colored muscles bulging, sweat pouring down like rain as he repeatedly hammered a piece of metal embryo he had seized from a high-level demon commander—it was dark red all over and covered with strange patterns. Amidst the splashing sparks, the metal actually emitted a low humming sound like a living creature.
"Damn it, this demon forging technique has some merit!" Tang Chen dropped his hammer and picked up a cooled metal fragment to examine it closely. This fragment had extreme hardness and possessed excellent affinity and conductivity for dark and fire energy, far exceeding ordinary metals. "To think it uses demon blood for quenching, hellish fel energy for smelting, and then solidifies it with demon runes... The path is a bit evil, but this line of thinking, this effect..."
Excitement flickered in Tang Chen's eyes. Although the "Hundred Forging Essence Gold Technique" he had previously tinkered with could improve metal performance, it was mostly about the purification and structural optimization of materials. The demon forging technique, however, seemed to focus more on "empowerment" and "enchantment," directly solidifying powerful evil energy into the interior of the metal, making it naturally possess special power. Although this power attribute was incompatible with human Soul Masters, its line of thinking was highly inspiring.
"If I can take its essence and discard its dross, combining this concept of 'energy solidification' with my Hundred Forging Essence Gold Technique, and then replacing the fel energy with Soul Power or Bloodline Power..." A bold idea formed in Tang Chen's mind. He seemed to see a path leading to a higher realm of forging! If he could succeed, perhaps in the future, human Soul Masters could also possess standard-issue equipment comparable to or even exceeding top-tier Soul Tools!
He immediately summoned several elite blacksmiths from the Clear Sky Sect and the Blacksmith Association who had come with the army, dismantled and studied the captured demon equipment one by one, and combined them with his own previous forging insights to begin tireless experiments. Inside the workshop of Demon Quelling City, the clanging of iron and the occasional small energy explosion became a unique background sound. Tang Chen's "technique approaching the Dao" state became increasingly solid and profound through these repeated practices.
And at this moment, in the center of Demon Quelling City, at the top floor of the tallest Meditation Tower that drew upon the power of earth fire and thunder.
Yu Yuanchen sat cross-legged at the heart of the tower, his aura completely restrained, as if he had become one with the entire tower, the Demon Quelling City beneath his feet, and the heaven and earth of the surrounding Demon Plane. He was not in deep seclusion, but in a mysterious state of "enlightenment."
His Spiritual Power was like invisible tentacles, meticulously sensing and analyzing everything in the Demon Plane. That violent and chaotic Fire Element, that fel energy containing a strange life force within its filth, that spatial structure and law pulse that seemed similar to yet different from the Douluo Continent, yet vaguely followed some deeper commonality...
"So that's how it is..." A realization gradually grew in Yu Yuanchen's heart.
In the Douluo Continent, the Thunder Law he comprehended was extremely Yang and extremely hard, governing destruction and life force, leaning more toward the side of order and creation. But here, the thunder of the Demon Plane (if those raging storms of destructive energy could be called thunder) was full of absolute destruction, chaos, and termination. The two seemed to be in opposition, but in reality, they were both manifestations of the Thunder Law under different environments and different origins. Like water, it can nourish all things, but it can also be a monstrous flood.
"The 'Ultimate Soul Core' I seek must be all-encompassing, gathering ten thousand laws into one. It must not only have the order and life force of the Douluo thunder, but also understand and even control the destruction and chaos of this demon thunder. Only when Yin and Yang complement each other and life and death rotate can it be complete."
He also gained insights into the spatial laws of this place. The reason the Demon Plane could connect to other planes relatively easily was not because its spatial barrier was weak, but because its spatial structure was more "permeable" and "aggressive," as if it were born with the attribute of outward expansion. This was vastly different from the relatively stable and restrained spatial structure of the Douluo Continent. Through the refining and sensing of the Hell Gate itself, Yu Yuanchen's understanding of space was also rapidly improving, touching upon the deeper mysteries of "plane traversal" and "spatial anchoring."
"My domain, 'Heavenly Tribulation Sacred Dragon Domain,' might be able to take this opportunity to integrate a trace of the spatial characteristics of the Demon Plane, so that it not only possesses the power of suppression and destruction, but also adds the utility of 'imprisonment,' 'banishment,' and even preliminary 'boundary traversal'..."
All kinds of insights came one after another. The laws that Yu Yuanchen had originally thought he had comprehended to a certain height revealed new edges after coming into contact with the "stones from other hills" of this alien plane, allowing him to see a broader and more profound path. His Soul Power flowed slowly in his body, his Bloodline Power surged endlessly, his soul core rotated and accelerated, and the tentacles of his Spiritual Power probed toward more microscopic and essential levels of rules.
The bottleneck from Level 98 to Level 99, that seemingly indestructible barrier, in Yu Yuanchen's perception at this moment, seemed to become... traceable. He needed time, he needed more insights, and he needed to completely digest this "new knowledge" from the alien plane and integrate it into his own system.
Demon Quelling City was being built steadily, Qian Daoliu had embarked on the path of purification, Tang Chen was obsessed with the new forging method, and Yu Yuanchen, in the Meditation Tower, had taken a solid and crucial step toward that supreme God-level Realm.
The colonial era of the Demon Plane, amidst glory and challenges, had officially begun. And the legend belonging to Yu Yuanchen and his companions was still being written.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan