Douluo Unrivaled: The Beginning Materializes the Black Abyss and White Flowers

Huanlong remained standing, but several clear cracks appeared on the Xuan Lotus behind her, and the light flowing around her became much more disordered.

She stared coldly at Jing Yuan and Fei Xiao, her eyes blazing with killing intent, but she seemed to be wary of their combined strength and did not immediately launch another attack.

The two sides were locked in a brief stalemate.

However, the stalemate between top experts cannot change the absolute disadvantage on the ground battlefield.

After losing the strong support of top experts, the remaining forces of the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Body Sect, and the Qingqiu Army finally collapsed completely under the combined attack of the Sun Moon Empire's complete fleet of floating warships, its endless army of mechs, and its inexhaustible antimatter legions.

The defensive line was torn open in countless places, soldiers fell in droves, the formation was completely broken, and the command system completely failed.

The defeat spread like a plague.

Princess Vina, under the desperate protection of her guards, found the dying Poison Immortal, who had been rescued at the cost of his life by the sect disciples.

Seeing the hellish scene before her and witnessing the annihilation of the empire's elite forces, the strong princess shed tears of despair.

"General, Princess, the situation is hopeless, we must retreat immediately."

A Qingqiu army general, covered in blood, rushed to Jingyuan and Feixiao's vicinity and shouted hoarsely.

Jingyuan and Feixiao exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness and resolve in each other's eyes.

Their combined efforts did temporarily hold off Huanlong, but they could not reverse the overall defeat of the battle.

If they continue fighting, not only will they perish here, but the last seed of the Heavenly Soul Empire will also be completely extinguished.

"withdraw."

Feixiao made a decisive decision.

Jing Yuan swung his sword, unleashing a bolt of lightning that temporarily forced back several doomsday beasts that were trying to approach.

Feixiao also took a deep breath and fired several wind arrows, clearing away the enemies approaching Princess Vina's direction.

Jing Yuan came to Du Busi's side and picked him up on his back.

Feixiao then protected Princess Vina.

The two led the remaining disciples of the Body Sect, the Qingqiu Army, and some of the Empire's elite troops in an extremely difficult strategic retreat towards Tiandou City.

Huanlong stood in the air, coldly watching them leave, without forcibly giving chase.

For her, destroying the resistance of the Heavenly Soul Empire and spreading despair had essentially achieved her goal.

Fighting to the death against two powerful individuals whose condition is unknown is not her style.

She raised her hand and gently stroked the cracks on the black lotus, whispering:

"It's alright... The seeds of destruction have already been sown; we just need to wait for them to blossom and bear fruit."

Under orders from higher levels, the army of the Sun Moon Empire began to systematically clear the battlefield and consolidate its occupied territories. Then, like a torrent of death, it continued its surging advance toward the heart of the Heavenly Soul Empire—Heavenly Dou City.

The Battle of Emerald Plains ended in a crushing defeat and a strategic retreat for the Heavenly Soul Empire's allied forces.

This battle not only severely damaged the Heavenly Soul Empire's national strength, but also completely changed the strategic balance of the continent, paving the way for the Sun Moon Empire to sweep across the continent.

Meanwhile, Haiyuan City remained shrouded in distant mist, silently observing all of this.

Within the Star Sea, the torrent of information and energy continues to surge tirelessly.

Hatsune Miku, the embodiment of planetary consciousness, presented the breathtaking battle she had captured on the distant Emerald Plains to Black Tower and Ruan Mei in the clearest form of data stream and energy spectrum.

When Huanlong unleashed the immense life force he gained after devouring the Golden Tree, mixed with his own destructive power, and clashed head-on with Jingyuan's Divine Lord and Feixiao's arrow, causing near-earth-altering destruction, Heita's exquisite face did not show any surprise, but rather a scrutinizing look with great interest.

"interesting."

Heita crossed his arms and tapped his arm lightly with his fingertips.

"Although she is different from us, born from that little guy's memories and cognition, and manifested as an 'existence' through the energy of this world and the Holy Grail system, it must be said that she found an excellent springboard."

Ruan Mei's gaze calmly swept over the peak readings of the Illusionary Energy level in the data stream, her voice as gentle and flat as ever:
"The Golden Tree, the life core of this world, contains a plane-based power far beyond the ordinary. She is not only the first Servant to completely break free from the Holy Grail's constraints and get rid of the negative energy base, but she has also successfully turned this fundamental power of the world into her own. This opportunity and execution are truly extraordinary."

Hei Ta nodded and pulled up another set of comparative data, which was a record of the energy reactions of Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong after they became gods in a parallel world.

"Look here, Qian Renxue's angelic position and Bibi Dong's Rakshasa position, according to the classification of this world, both belong to the category of first-level gods. Although they have only recently become gods and their use of divine power is still immature, their divine positions are real."

She pointed to the energy vortex spectrum generated when Huanlong had just unleashed his power:
"The pure energy level and the depth of her influence on the rules that Huanlong just displayed have clearly surpassed those two newly promoted first-level gods. This means that, after absorbing the Golden Tree, she now possesses at least the standard combat strength of a first-level god in this world, and..."

Black Tower paused, a glint of light flashing in his eyes:
"This is likely not all she has to offer. The essence of the Annihilation Lord lies in her understanding and practice of the concept of 'destruction.' Currently, she relies more on energy crushing. Her most proficient methods of spiritual erosion and guiding civilizations to self-destruct have not yet been fully revealed. If she were to fully adapt to and integrate into the rules of this world, combining her 'aesthetics of destruction' with the characteristics of the creatures here... her threat would increase exponentially."

Ruan Mei nodded slightly in agreement:
"Clearly, even after crossing the cosmic barrier and arriving in a different world with vastly different rules, and experiencing initial culture shock, the potential and adaptability represented by the title 'Great Lord of Annihilation' should not be underestimated. Their speed in recovering and plundering power is astonishing."

In comparison, Jing Yuan and Fei Xiao's performance seemed somewhat "slow" in the eyes of the two geniuses.

"On the other hand, look at Jingyuan and Feixiao."

Black Tower curled his lip, his tone carrying a hint of something that was barely perceptible... perhaps disdain?

"They don't seem to have completely broken free from the constraints of this world's system, or rather, they are recovering their power in a more 'compliant' way, and their progress is as slow as a snail's pace. If it were the 'Sky Strike General' in her prime, with her ultimate martial prowess in conquering evil creatures and controlling storms, why would she need Jing Yuan's assistance? Facing Huanlong alone, even if she couldn't win, she certainly wouldn't be in such a sorry state."

Nguyen Mai added that her perspective was more fundamental.

"The speed at which power is restored is related to the essence of an individual's existence. Huanlong's 'destruction' itself is extremely aggressive, while Jingyuan and Feixiao are different. As one gains and the other loses, the gap widens."

However, neither Huanlong's display of great strength nor Jingyuan Feixiao's temporary setback could stir up any waves in the hearts of Heita and Ruanmei.

Fear? Worry? These emotions are too foreign to them.

"powerful?"

Black Tower chuckled, as if he had heard a ridiculous joke.

"When it comes to simply piling up power, don't we have any beings on our side that surpass the norm?" Her gaze seemed to pierce through the inner sea of ​​the star and land on a quiet corner of the Sea Abyss City, where Huang Quan, who spends his days with "nothingness" but whose blade is sharp enough to sever concepts, resides.

It also landed on the martial arts arena outside the city, where Jingliu, whose swordsmanship had reached a state of perfection and was capable of annihilating stars, was located.

"not to mention."

Ruan Mei responded, her tone calm and even, yet it expressed the common sentiments of people like her.

"For geniuses, direct combat ability has never been the most important evaluation criterion; it can even be said to be... a relatively inefficient way of solving problems."

In Heita and Ruan Mei's view, spending energy studying how to destroy and annihilate more effectively is far less appealing than exploring the laws governing the world, the mysteries of the birth of life, and even the ultimate answer to the universe.

Combat is a means, a process, but never an end.

When knowledge is extensive enough and computing power is strong enough, many conflicts can be eliminated before they even occur, or guided in a direction more favorable to one's own side.

So-called "power" sometimes appears so clumsy in the face of absolute knowledge and wisdom.

Just then, in the image projected by Hatsune Miku, the illusory figure slowly dissipated, and the battle on Emerald Plains temporarily came to an end.

Hei Ta withdrew his gaze from the distance and instead focused on Ruan Mei beside him, a rather amused expression on his face.

"But then again."

Black Tower's tone was somewhat sarcastic.

"You're really willing to invest, Ruan Mei. You've even sacrificed yourself for your research."

She still clearly remembered that not long ago, when she went to see Ruan Mei for a joint research project, she inadvertently saw through the crack in the not-quite-closed laboratory door what Ruan Mei and Lu Jingming were having an extremely deep "life form exchange" that went far beyond the scope of ordinary "research partners".

The scene was so spectacular that even the well-informed Black Tower crashed for 0.3 seconds.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Mei's eyelashes didn't even tremble.

She turned her head, looked at the Black Tower with her calm, unwavering eyes, and replied:

“His life form is very special. He is the embodiment of ‘real authority’ and a unique existence that transcends the barriers of the world. He himself is an invaluable and unknown research topic. He is willing to fully open his life information field to me and allow me to conduct the deepest observation and recording. Therefore, I do not mind paying some necessary ‘interaction costs’ to establish a more solid research trust relationship.”

Her tone was devoid of any shyness or embarrassment, as if she were simply stating an experimental procedure.

Emotional fluctuations are extremely rare, or even non-existent, in Ruan Mei's world.

All her actions were guided by the highest principles of research value and efficiency.

"as you like."

Heita pursed his lips, but a very subtle emotion, almost "competitive," flashed across his delicate features.

“But he’s my man. I was the one who discovered this ‘interesting sample’ first. You ‘snatched’ it and conducted in-depth research on it in this way. It just doesn’t feel right…”

This "dissatisfaction" stems from both romantic and academic relationships, as well as from a natural competitive spirit among top researchers regarding the "right to make the first discovery" and the "leading role in in-depth research."

It's like two geniuses are both focused on an unprecedented puzzle, but one of them uses unconventional methods to get the core data first. Although the other party sees this as a reasonable "price," Black Tower feels a sense of being "hijacked."

In particular, the person who snatched the prize was Ruan Mei, a close friend she considered an equal.

Ruan Mei didn't seem to fully understand the subtle competitive psychology of Black Tower, and simply stated calmly:

"The order of the research process does not affect the correctness of the final conclusion. If you are interested, I can share subsequent research data."

Black Tower snorted but didn't reply.

Sharing data? Of course we need that.

But this feeling of being "a step behind" still made her a little depressed.

She began to think that she should also find some time to have a more "in-depth" conversation with Lu Jingming, not for any other reason than to save face in front of Ruan Mei regarding the "research progress".

The Mingdou Mountains, once hailed as the most fortified bulwark of the Star Luo Empire, have now been reduced to a desolate wasteland of scorched earth and rubble.

The once majestic mountains have been leveled, leaving only jagged cliffs and rock walls molten into glass-like shapes by high temperatures. The air is filled with pungent gunpowder smoke, the smell of burning, and a faint stench of blood.

"Quick, keep up, don't fall behind!"

Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Palace had a hoarse and tired voice, yet it still carried an air of authority.

His armor was covered in cracks and charred marks, and was dull and lifeless.

He personally covered the rear, his sharp tiger eyes bloodshot as he stared intently at the pursuers who were following him like shadows.

Beside him were the equally wounded White Tiger Guards, and the remnants of the Empire's most elite First Soul Master Legion, led by Xuanji Douluo.

This once well-organized and highly motivated army is now reduced to less than three thousand men, all of whom are wounded and have exhausted their soul power. A tragic and desperate atmosphere permeates the ranks.

Their retreat route wound through the broken mountains, attempting to use the complex terrain to escape their pursuers.

However, the Soul Master Legion of the Sun Moon Empire, like the most cunning hunting dogs, relentlessly pursued them.

"Whoosh whoosh—!"

Dense beams of soul-guided rays, like a sudden storm, poured down from behind the mountain ridge not far away.

These rays are precise and deadly, specifically targeting the flanks and rear of the Soul Master team.

"Form ranks, defend!"

Xuanji Douluo's hair and beard bristled as he roared in anger.

Several powerful Soul Douluo-level experts around him immediately unleashed their powerful defensive Soul Skills, and a thick earthen wall instantly rose up, barely managing to withstand the barrage of fire.

But the booming sound of the soul-guided rays striking the defense continued incessantly, each impact causing the defensive shield to shake violently, as if it would shatter at any moment. (End of Chapter)