Word Count: 3,058
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BOOM—
Black flames engulfed both sky and sea.
The searing heat instantly vaporized enormous volumes of seawater.
Guang Biao and his black-grade Mecha were reduced to ash in the blink of an eye, as if he had never existed in this world at all.
Teng She slowly closed its giant jaws.
Its colossal body blotted out the sky as it reared its upper half high into the air.
Every black scale was cold, hard, and unyielding, while its crimson vertical pupils pierced through the sea of clouds like twin furnaces of blazing fire.
Compared to this spirit of heaven and earth, born of the world’s flames and the power of deceit, humanity was as insignificant as dust.
Yet, one speck of dust stood fearlessly atop the great serpent’s head, molten gold flowing through his eyes!
“Come. Let’s go meet… God King Tang!”
The voice echoed across the sky, cold to the bone.
Zhao Xuanzhen was neither soft cotton to be torn nor a ripe persimmon to be squeezed.
He did not provoke trouble, but neither did he fear it!
Back in the battle at the Eastsea City Elementary Spirit Ascension Platform, Tang San had acted without martial virtue by attempting to plant a spiritual brand on him.
Zhao Xuanzhen knew he had been marked by a mad dog.
If he did not destroy Tang San’s divine consciousness, he would never know another peaceful day in this life!
The stars blazed with brilliance tonight.
This was the most favorable timing he could possibly ask for.
He would seize this perfect opportunity to end the God King and win a future free of divine interference!
Obeying the Qimen Master’s command, Teng She threw back its head and roared.
Its mountain-like body rose through cloud and mist, transforming into a streak of black lightning as it shot straight toward its target!
…
Inside the Class Zero dormitory at Eastsea Academy, Tang Wulin abruptly stopped his meditation.
A golden trident sigil appeared clearly on his forehead, and at some point, his distinct black-and-white eyes had already shifted to the blue-gold of the sea.
All the vigorous energy of youth had vanished from his face.
Only cold, emotionless calculation remained.
Tang Wulin’s body, Tang San’s soul.
Tang San, who had been lurking within his son’s Spiritual Sea, seized control of Tang Wulin’s body for a simple, brutal reason: he had sensed an overwhelming killing intent aimed solely at him, rushing closer at terrifying speed!
‘Do I have to use another contingency?’
Tang San gave a soft sigh.
‘Last time, it was the Star Dou Forest’s Great Beasts.
That Golden Eyed Black Dragon King had comprehended spatial power and managed to open a passage for them to escape.
I wonder who has come this time…’
A beam of light flew out from between his brows.
A four-meter-long trident materialized before him, floating in the air as golden radiance flowed over it like rippling water.
The instant the Sea God Trident appeared, the ocean bordering Eastsea City suddenly began to boil, letting out excited, trembling cries.
With the trident in hand, Tang San rose lightly into the air, prepared to crush every obstacle standing in his son’s way.
Even though he was only a strand of divine consciousness, the proud God King did not believe anyone on the Douluo Continent could stop him!
High above, the stars shone with exceptional brilliance.
The vault of heaven looked like an enormous curtain inlaid with countless gems.
Two figures faced each other from afar while the currents between them churned and surged without rest.
“Who are you?”
Tang San frowned deeply.
Zhao Xuanzhen was wrapped from head to toe in the power of deceit, his whole figure distorted and constantly shifting.
Teng She was even further beyond the God King’s understanding.
It looked like a super spirit beast, yet its aura was vastly different from any spirit beast he had ever encountered.
It seemed to be a part of the Douluo Continent’s heaven and earth itself!
“You’ve forgotten already?”
Zhao Xuanzhen let out a soft laugh.
He pressed a hand to his forehead and forcibly drew out the soul of deceit that had fooled Tang San before.
His fingers tightened.
A crisp crack sounded, and the trident imprint vanished on the spot.
“Variable of Fate!”
Tang San’s expression darkened to an extreme degree the instant his spiritual brand failed.
As the Sea God’s will shifted, wave after towering wave rose from the ocean, and terrifying power began gathering in the air.
He leveled the Sea God Trident straight ahead.
Its keen blades gleamed with cold light as he spoke in an icy voice, “I set chaos right and gave you the chance to become Wulin’s guardian. If you had offered him all your fate and flesh and blood, you might have been fortunate enough to ascend to the Divine Realm in the future and serve as a glorious God Officer! And yet, you rejected that supreme honor! Evil creature, you have already stepped onto the path to death!”
“It’s been twenty thousand years, and you still only know how to put on a righteous act before throwing out ‘the path to death.'”
A mocking curve rose on Zhao Xuanzhen’s lips.
“How unoriginal.”
Tang San caught the unmistakable ridicule, and the hand gripping the trident tightened.
“Enough talk. We’ll settle this with our hands!”
Zhao Xuanzhen’s gaze turned icy as he barked in a low voice, “Eight Divine Powers, Teng She, return to your position!”
In an instant, the Eight Deities’ power of deceit transformed into the Eight Divine Powers and became part of the Qimen Master himself!
Scattered clouds were drawn in by Teng She’s pull, coiling overhead like a giant serpent and casting a spiraling shadow below.
A crimson snake-patterned mark bloomed at Zhao Xuanzhen’s brow, looking like a cluster of illusory flame burning with eerie light!
BOOM—
A crimson ring exploded outward from Zhao Xuanzhen as Teng She’s power merged into his body.
It was a domain of power forged from the fire of deceit!
The sky trembled and buckled under the violent surge of the fire element.
Tang San watched the figure at the center of that domain without expression.
Around Zhao Xuanzhen’s brilliant golden eyes, blood-red lines spread little by little, like cracks through porcelain.
“So that serpent’s power has transferred to you.”
Tang San believed he had seen through the truth and dismissed it without concern.
“This method hasn’t elevated your life level. You’re still only a Quasi God, too weak to withstand a single blow! Between Quasi God and God, the difference is only one word, but the gap between them is heaven and earth!”
He swept out the Sea God Trident.
In the distance, seawater blasted skyward and condensed into enormous water dragons high in the air.
Carrying the vast might of the deep sea, they roared toward Zhao Xuanzhen, ripping apart everything in their path with shrill, ear-piercing shrieks!
“You’re right. That’s exactly why merging with Teng She is only the prerequisite for bearing another kind of power.”
The sky suddenly erupted with countless rays of dazzling starlight.
They crossed and interwove, outlining an immense stellar diagram that crushed the incoming water dragons to pieces!
Nine stars stood at its core.
Runes flowed through the formation, and every star seemed alive, resonating with the others and drawing on one another to build an intricate, exquisite system of stellar power.
A majestic, heart-shaking aura spread outward from within.
Eight Trigrams Qimen, Heaven Plate Daoist Art!
The Eight Trigrams Qimen was formed from four plates: Heaven, Earth, Human, and Divine.
Zhao Xuanzhen usually fought with the Earth Plate, which represented earthly advantage, and kept the Divine Plate, with its eight forms of divine assistance, as his trump card.
But on a night of blazing stars such as this, the might of heavenly timing was amplified dozens of times over.
In a single stroke, the Heaven Plate’s stellar power surpassed the Divine Plate, whose Eight Deities had not yet fully awakened!
Only when the Heaven Plate Daoist Art appeared did Tang San finally show a change in expression.
After all, this was merely a strand of divine consciousness, not the descent of a true God, and the divine power it carried was limited.
With Teng She’s Eight Divine Powers absorbed into his body and the Heaven Plate strengthened by the blazing stars, Zhao Xuanzhen now possessed the capital to threaten him!
“Nine Stars: Cease and Silence.”
Stellar power sealed off the sky, the land, and the sea, cutting off every trace of leaking aura.
This battle was destined to be world-shaking, and Zhao Xuanzhen intended to leave no future trouble behind.
He was not only preventing Heavenly Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu from joining the fight; he was also severing Tang San’s connection to the sea!
Tang San swung the Sea God Trident.
The 108,000-jin Divine Weapon felt as light as a feather in his hands, and its blades drew a circular arc through the air.
Golden Thirteen Halberds, Unfixed Storm!
Golden rings spread outward layer upon layer, dense and overlapping.
The sky began to contract, the sea fell quiet, and all things sank into stillness as the golden rings of Unfixed Storm enveloped the surrounding world!
This was Tang San’s standard opening move.
Once Unfixed Storm struck its target, even a God would be bound for a time, and what followed would be the Sea God Trident’s storm-like barrage of attacks!
“Soul of Deceit.”
The advantage of foresight revealed itself.
Zhao Xuanzhen understood exactly how Unfixed Storm’s overwhelming control worked.
Pitch-black flames mixed with the Heaven Plate’s stellar power surged out, and Teng She’s cunning, ever-changing evil fire blocked every golden ring with flawless precision!
“Stars, gather here!”
He lifted his gaze skyward.
Zhao Xuanzhen’s pupils seemed to become a boundless starry expanse, deep beyond the reach of sight.
One star after another lit up.
Countless golden points of light hung above, as though the darkness of the entire world was about to be illuminated into day.
The stars poured into the Heaven Plate.
Resplendent radiance piled up and compressed.
The brightest of all were the nine ruling stars: the seven of the Big Dipper, plus the Zuo Fu and You Bi stars.
They were drawing in stellar power with ravenous intensity, and the lines of the Heaven Plate’s star map grew brighter and fiercer, as if they would never reach their limit!
“White Clouds Drift Through the Emptiness for Thousands of Years!”
Tang San finally lost his composure, and his face twisted with a trace of ferocity.
On a night of blazing stars, the stellar power was nearly inexhaustible.
A single strand of divine consciousness was not enough to contend with the stars filling the sky.
The Heaven Plate’s Cease and Silence formation was already blocking him from absorbing the sea’s energy, which only made matters worse.
If he did not deal with Zhao Xuanzhen now, the divine power left in this strand of consciousness would inevitably run dry.
He would be forced into a deep slumber, unable to influence the course of the Douluo Continent, and even his ten-thousand-year grand design would slip from his grasp!
The Sea God Trident danced through the air.
Layer after layer of golden halos appeared around Tang San and gathered into drifting cloud-mist, vague and ethereal.
The flow of time itself seemed to slow down, and ages seemed to turn within a single breath!
“Null—”
The Golden Thirteen Halberds divine skill was abruptly cut short.
Tang San’s movements froze as starlight bound him fast, and time immediately resumed its normal flow! This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“The sea kneels beneath the sky,” Zhao Xuanzhen said slowly, revealing the truth, “and you, too, have always stood beneath the light of the stars.”
Under stellar law, control was absolute.
My mechanism stands above yours!
“Bind the Vicious, Lock the Evil—Nine Luminaries Seal!”
The Earth Plate commanded the elements.
The Divine Plate held divine power.
But what the Heaven Plate excelled at above all else was sealing!
Zhao Xuanzhen brought his palms together with sudden force.
Stellar power answered his call as the Heaven Plate’s star map condensed into nine rotating crystal rings of starlight.
Vast, magnificent energy born from the endless cosmos flowed along the paths of the stars, weaving a profound and mysterious sealing formation.
It was as though the entire world had been pressed into stillness.
The sea no longer surged, and the air no longer moved.
Zhao Xuanzhen stepped onto stairways woven from starlight and walked toward Tang San as the sealing rings began to take effect.
“A seal alone won’t be enough.”
A sigh echoed through the void.
Zhao Xuanzhen turned toward the source and saw a figure suddenly appear, half-black and half-white.
Its aura was chaotic and unstable, yet it had clearly surpassed the Quasi God realm and reached the threshold of Godhood.
“You are… the Douluo Planar Spirit!”
Every motion of that figure harmonized with the laws of heaven and earth.
Other than the spirit of this plane itself, Zhao Xuanzhen could think of no second answer.
“Yes.”
The Planar Spirit looked at Tang San, who was bound fast by stellar power.
A hatred so overwhelming flashed through its eyes that it seemed to wish to devour his flesh and flay his skin as it spoke:
“Variable of Fate, my time is limited, so I will keep this brief.
As long as Tang San remains, the Douluo Continent will never know peace.
Even if this is only a strand of divine consciousness, I cannot allow him a second chance to stir the winds and clouds.
Before the Divine Realm was swept into spatial turbulence, Tang San sent a human named Tang Hao into the plane core and had him devour my body and consciousness, turning him into the new Douluo Planar Spirit.
For thousands of years, I have been losing control over the Douluo Continent step by step.
I once thought of self-destructing to drag Tang Hao down with me so that we would both perish, body and soul.
But that would only treat the symptoms, not the cause.
As long as Tang San lives, there will always be another Zhang Hao or Wang Hao to take my place.
Then you appeared, and a new idea took root.
While my consciousness is still barely clear, I will burn myself and drag Tang Hao into a deep slumber alongside me.
I will buy you time to transcend this world’s shackles, and at the same time, grant you the power to erase Tang San’s divine consciousness before you!
I will bear the heaviest price for you!
I ask only one thing in return: carry my will forward, help the Douluo plane break free of Tang San’s control, and let it be reborn!”
Zhao Xuanzhen did not agree at once.
Instead, he asked, “Planar Spirit, you would entrust the future to me this easily? Aren’t you afraid I’ll become the next Tang San?”
The Planar Spirit threw back its head and laughed.
“Of course I’m afraid! But think about it from another perspective, no matter what happens, it cannot possibly be worse than the current situation. Even if it’s a gamble with no certainty at all, I still have to seize this one sliver of hope to turn defeat into victory. I will do everything in my power to lay the groundwork for later generations. I will never retreat, and even in death, I will not yield! I am the Planar Spirit, and I must carve a path of survival for Douluo!”
“I promise you. I will let this continent be reborn.”
Zhao Xuanzhen’s voice softened, moved by the Planar Spirit’s unyielding resolve.
Burning yourself to drag Tang San and Tang Hao from their divine pedestals…
What an extraordinary fellow you are, Planar Spirit!
Tang San’s divine consciousness was faced with the combined pressure of the Heaven Plate’s stellar power and the Planar Spirit, and understood there was no longer any hope of turning the tide.
His voice turned cold and venomous.
“Everything you’re doing is meaningless. When the Divine Realm returns, your blood will surely stain the Douluo Continent red!”
“Humanity will never submit, nor will we accept the ten-thousand-year grand design imposed by a God King. We swear to fight evil Gods to the very end!” Zhao Xuanzhen’s gaze blazed like a torch.
“Twenty thousand years ago, I was blind and believed you were the Child of Destiny of that era. Ten thousand years ago, you used your own daughter to bind the second Child of Destiny and destroyed the spirit beasts’ Emperor Destiny Beast.” The Planar Spirit’s voice brimmed with hatred.
“I remember every last one of those blood debts! Even if I must die trying, I will first take some justice back from you!”
The Planar Spirit suddenly ignited into flames!
Intense agony crashed over it, and blood seeped from the cracks in its skin.
The continent itself let out a grief-stricken wail, weeping tears of blood for the Planar Spirit’s self-immolation.
Within that sorrowful cry, the unwilling roar of a middle-aged man could faintly be heard.
It was the ultimate one-for-two exchange.
Tang San’s divine consciousness would be erased, and Tang Hao inside the Planar Spirit would be dragged into grievous injury and deep slumber alongside it.
The Planar Spirit laughed—wild, free, and cathartic.
After thousands of years of suppression, it had finally found its chance to take revenge on the Tang family!
“Variable of Fate, today I have cleared away more than half of this continent’s threats for you. However, planes like the Abyssal Plane and the Demonic Plane are still eyeing Douluo like hungry tigers. Once I fall into slumber, I will be powerless against those enemies. You will have to find a way to deal with them yourself.”
As its origin continued to burn away, the Planar Spirit’s voice grew lower and lower.
“There is one more thing. The Plane’s Life Core faces the same fate I did. The Blue Silver Empress is devouring its consciousness and energy. If you can, please help it. It will repay your kindness.”
With those final words, the Planar Spirit dissolved into countless motes of light and scattered.
Brilliant seven-colored energy fell toward Zhao Xuanzhen.
“Kill Tang San… this is the last of my power!”