"Oh my, looks like a certain little guy managed to escape." Yuezi gazed toward the city below and shook his head.
"Well, it doesn't interfere with my grand plan."
"Boss!"
A few severely injured Evil Soul Masters flew up to Yuezi, their eyes filled with fear.
"Well, well, I didn't expect any survivors. That saves me the trouble. Gather the remaining people and help me buy some time. Hold off those Federation hunters. Once I ascend as an Evil God, I will grant you all eternity!!"
"Yes!!"
Calling them madmen would be an understatement—they were complete lunatics. The look in their eyes said it all.
"What is that?!" General Jiangxing stared in shock at the scene before him.
Countless massive vines shot into the sky, surrounding the city. The ground split apart, releasing strange energy that surged into a massive eye floating above.
The earth trembled.
"Alert! Alert!"
Shouts of alarm and warnings blared from the mechas, signaling imminent danger.
Suddenly—
The ground cracked open, and enormous vine-like tentacles shot toward them.
Boom!
The soldiers dodged just in time, and the first strike missed. But then—one vine, two vines… seven in total!
"Armor-piercing rounds, prepare to fire!" Jiangxing commanded.
Like the call of swift birds, the sharp rounds were fired from the weapons of the mecha soldiers.
The bullets pierced through the vines, while some mechas wielded blades, slicing the vines cleanly in half.
"Lock onto the city's vines and blast an opening! We're charging in!" Jiangxing's eyes burned red with determination. If the three Sonic Pilots died, how would he face the military? How would he answer to the Federation? Each pilot was more valuable than an entire fleet of fighter jets. Even if they perished, they had to recover their bodies.
"Commander, the satellite is experiencing heavy interference. We have no visibility inside. Are we really going in?" a mecha pilot asked through the comms.
Jiangxing hesitated for a moment but then gritted his teeth. "Go! We must go!! Our comrades are still inside! Do any of you agree to retreat?!" His final words were thunderous.
"No!!" The soldiers responded in unison.
Three hundred level-five soul-guided missiles locked onto the vines surrounding the city and exploded upon impact.
When the smoke cleared, a massive opening appeared.
But what greeted them on the other side—was dozens of Evil Soul Masters, all at the Soul King level.
Battle!
A thousand-meter charge took mere seconds for the mechas. Flesh clashed against steel, soul skills collided with missiles.
"This battle! I don't know how many will die, but we have no way back. Our people are still trapped inside. Our comrades' fate is unknown. So—do not mourn for the fallen, do not grieve for the fallen. On the battlefield, there is no room for emotions. If you must feel something—save it for victory!!"
"What conditions are needed to unlock the nine seals?" Guyou asked the Dragon God.
"The first three are quite simple. You can unlock one right now and absorb its essence. The conditions are reaching Soul Elder, Soul Emperor, and Title Douluo."
"What about the rest?" Guyou felt the requirements seemed too easy.
"You must reach the divine realm." The Dragon God saw through his thoughts and cut him off.
"The divine realm?" Guyou was taken aback. Wasn't that just playing with him?!
"It seems difficult, but once you unlock the third seal and reach the Limit Douluo level, you will have already stepped into the divine realm. You just won't have a god position yet." The Dragon God explained.
Outside, the underground chamber trembled violently.
Guyou remained seated, his soul ring now fully absorbed. Blood-red—if he stepped outside, who wouldn't be shocked? A Soul Elder with a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, and it even carried an ultimate attribute.
His soul bone had also stabilized, and a faint blue glow emanated from his right leg.
"Human, wake up already! This place is about to collapse! You just became my soul spirit, and you're going to get crushed to death?!" The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion panicked in his spiritual sea, hopping around anxiously. It sensed something missing from Guyou's soul—what if he became a vegetable? "Why is my life so miserable~…"
"So it's that easy? How do I unlock the first seal?"
"The condition is already met. Just use your heart, your hands—feel this immense power."
One of the nine beams of light surrounding the Dragon God slowly floated toward Guyou and stopped in front of him.
Guyou reached out his hand. The overwhelming aura of annihilation and destruction filled him with satisfaction. Dragon scales spread across his body.
Outside, a gentle white light enveloped Guyou, forming a cocoon-like sphere. It looked like an egg.
It felt like soaking in a warm spring. A soothing current surrounded Guyou.
So good! This feels amazing!!
His mind went blank, as if the world's most beautiful sights unfolded before him.
Creation is destruction. Destruction breeds creation…
"My power… after that battle, it changed in ways even I don't fully understand. Sometimes, I wonder—am I still truly myself?"
Crack!
The fragile light cocoon shattered. A pair of delicate hands emerged first, followed by a whole figure.
Guyou's body had undergone a complete transformation—it was no longer that of an ordinary human. His skin was so white it seemed unreal. The only contrast was his dark eyelashes and those purple-blue pupils.
"How do you feel?" the Dragon God asked.
"I've never felt this good before! My strength has skyrocketed. Even the side effects from my forced breakthrough earlier are completely gone. I'm now a true level 30 peak Soul Elder." Guyou was amazed.
"That's not even the most important part. The first seal grants you a divine domain skill. It has two forms—augmentation and suppression. It's called 'Silent Genesis', but in reality, it's two separate domains: 'Extinction' and 'Creation'."
"A domain?" Guyou was stunned. Generally, only those with immense talent could comprehend a domain after reaching Soul Sage. Another rare case was inheriting a domain from someone else. Clearly, he fell into the latter category.
"As a divine skill, its effects are immensely powerful. You'll understand once you develop it. My benevolent consciousness is weak and must enter slumber now. Otherwise, if I disappear, even when you reach Soul Emperor, unlocking the second seal will be extremely difficult." The Dragon God's voice began to fade.
"Thank you, Dragon God senior. Since you have entrusted your inheritance to me, I cannot ignore the matters of the soul beast race." Guyou's gaze was firm.
"Even if you wanted to ignore it, you couldn't. It's good that you understand. But let me warn you—if you ever betray your promise, I will use all my remaining power to take us both down."
His voice disappeared, and a sinister aura surged forth, making Guyou feel suffocated.
"So this… is the price of becoming the Dragon God?" Guyou murmured. His form dissolved into specks of light, vanishing from the space.
(End of Chapter)