Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

Chapter 298 The Blood Spear Grows Again

……

Bibi Dong remained silent.

She couldn't completely trust this cunning nine-tailed fox, but there weren't any major logical flaws in what it said.

Power is never gained out of thin air; the more you gain, the more risks you must bear.

but……

Her gaze fell on Hu Liena's pale and restrained face, where the child's eyes held a dependence on her teacher and a hint of barely perceptible pleading.

Nana is her disciple, not a tool.

She wanted her to be strong, but she wanted her to be safe even more.

“Your method is too risky,” Bibi Dong finally replied coldly. “I won’t gamble with her mind.”

"Tsk, womanly compassion." The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox seemed somewhat disdainful. "Fine, since you can't bear to part with it, let's try a gentler method."

“Speak,” Bibi Dong said coldly.

"What you can't have always seems more alluring; once you get it, you'll find it's nothing special," the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox said leisurely.

"If you satisfy her a little bit, so that she is less fantasizing about this desire, her obsession with not being able to get it will naturally weaken."

"However... there is also a risk."

"What risks?" Bibi Dong asked.

“There’s a risk that I’m not entirely sure about either,” the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox said.

"She's not a real celestial fox after all, I don't know if she would do that."

"However, if the Celestial Fox Clan chooses this method to overcome their love tribulation, then the object of their choice will become indispensable to them."

"If this person is gone, or doesn't want her anymore, she can't go on living. Her heart will wither away without any relief."

"Is it better to live by depending on others, or to live independently?"

"I can't say which one is good or bad."

"It's up to you to choose."

……

A year has passed quietly on the bloody backdrop of the killing city.

Inside the stone house, the atmosphere was more subdued and calm compared to a year ago.

Hu Liena sat cross-legged on the stone bed, surrounded by a faint pink halo. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her brows were furrowed, clearly indicating that she was engaged in a difficult tug-of-war with the surging power within her.

Her breathing was sometimes rapid, sometimes long, and her body would occasionally tremble slightly, but she always managed to stay steady on the verge of losing control.

Xuanming sat quietly not far away, emanating a faint, icy aura.

His very existence was like a piece of ice that calmed the soul, constantly helping Hu Liena fight against the burning desire that originated from the depths of her soul.

Occasionally, when Hu Liena's breathing became too erratic, a cool white light would brush past her, helping her to calm down.

That year, with Xuanming's help, Hu Liena struggled to learn how to control the power that almost consumed her.

The process was painful and long; each act of suppression felt like dancing on a knife's edge, but her eyes were more determined than they had been a year ago.

As for the Hell Slaughter Arena, under Bibi Dong's covert pressure and the "active cooperation" of the King of Slaughter, although no one dared to challenge Xuanming, they could always "coincidentally" find some coerced or lured desperados who had just entered and were unaware of the situation, and every now and then they would put together a match for Xuanming.

His winning streak increased slowly and steadily, in a strange, unspoken agreement.

During this time, Bibi Dong visited several more times, not only to check on the two of them but also to bring news of the changing situation in the outside world.

The Spirit Hall has officially changed its name to the Spirit Empire, and with thunderous force, it has annexed several kingdoms on the border of Heaven Dou and Star Luo, rapidly expanding its territory.

After the destruction of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was also completely tied to the Spirit Empire's war chariot.

The two great empires' vigilance towards the Spirit Empire has reached its peak. A large number of spirit master families and sects that were unwilling to submit have flocked to the Heaven Dou or Star Luo Empires, resulting in a tense standoff between the three great empires.

In this turbulent game, some pieces have quietly changed positions.

Yu Xiaogang appeared in the Heaven Dou Empire. By exposing the true identity of "Xue Qinghe" and Tang San's teacher, and with the contrast of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School "defecting to the enemy", he actually gained the great trust of Emperor Xue Ye and was appointed as the national teacher. He was able to gather the remaining disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and obtain strong support from the Heaven Dou Empire, becoming a banner to resist the Spirit Empire.

Someone in the Elders' Hall suggested assassinating Yu Xiaogang, but Bibi Dong rejected the idea.

In her view, keeping such a "theoretical master" and "emotional leader" in Tian Dou is far more worthwhile than replacing him with an unknown and potentially more troublesome opponent.

As for Tang Hao and Tang San, they seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.

Dai Mubai was "sent" back to the Star Luo Empire by the Spirit Hall, where he is likely stirring up new trouble.

However, all these disturbances were overshadowed by a more urgent message during Bibi Dong's last visit.

"Qian Renxue remained deep within the Elder Hall, and Qian Daoliu made no further move."

"The Hall of Offerings is almost completely silent. I'm 90% sure that she has begun to undergo the test of the angels."

"With Qian Daoliu's full assistance, her progress may exceed expectations. If I fail to achieve the Rakshasa Godhood before her... our previous agreement may be subject to change. At that time, not only me, but also Gu Yuena and the others... may face great danger." Once Qian Renxue succeeds, the power of the Martial Soul Empire will change hands in an instant.

The格局 (geju, a term referring to the overall situation or structure) of the Martial Soul Empire and even the entire continent will be completely overturned.

Xuanming paid no attention to the conflicts in the outside world or the rise and fall of empires.

However, the potential consequences of Qian Renxue becoming a god, especially the threat to Gu Yuena, were something he could not ignore.

He glanced at Hu Liena, who was still struggling with her own desires, and then felt the surging power within him and his long winning streak that had stalled for so long.

It seems the day to leave the Killing City will have to be brought forward.

Xuanming pushed open the bone gate and stepped into the eternally dim red night of the City of Slaughter.

Inside the room, Hu Liena remained in meditation, struggling against the power within her body, seemingly oblivious to everything around her.

Xuanming's nearly two years in the Killing City had given him an intimate knowledge of this sinful city.

He didn't need to search deliberately; simply walking along the twisted streets of the inner city, the chilling killing intent emanating from him, almost solidified, was enough to terrify any lurking observers and send them fleeing in panic.

But there are always some newcomers, or desperate outlaws driven to the brink of despair, who will rush forward with bloodshot eyes and become nourishment for the Blood Spear.

Xuanming's figure moved like a ghost among the jagged rocks and blood-stained buildings.

He did not actively engage in large-scale slaughter; he was more like a cold-blooded reaper, clearing away the weeds that had deliberately come to him.

The Blood Spear did not materialize, but whenever an attack approached or he locked onto a target, a dark red afterimage would flash by like a venomous snake.

There was no earth-shattering display of power, only extreme speed and precision, and the opponent's instantly shriveled corpse after the attack was completed.

The killing now feels like nothing to him, as natural as breathing.

The relentless killing over the past two years has resulted in an astronomical number of fallen individuals dying at his hands.

The Slaughter Messenger had personally approached him and vaguely revealed some information: since his arrival, in less than two years, the population of the Slaughter City, which had been accumulated and nurtured for nearly a thousand years, had decreased by almost one-third.

The massive amount of life force and soul power was devoured and refined by the Blood Spear, bringing it to a state that even he could not quite understand.

But what followed was an increasingly clear sense of stagnation.

Especially in the last six months, he has found it increasingly difficult to fully unleash the power of the Blood Spear.

It wasn't that his power had weakened; on the contrary, the energy contained in the Blood Spear had become so immense that even he felt a chill run down his spine.

The problem lies in control.

The blood spear that appeared with the awakening of his martial spirit seemed to have given birth to a vague and extremely primal will after devouring countless lives.

A pure, unadulterated desire for killing and devouring.

It's like a ferocious beast that's been overfed and is about to break free of its reins.

But in the last two weeks, an even stranger change has occurred.

The blood spear's ever-present devouring desire and bloodlust began to weaken.

It didn't disappear, but rather became... lethargic?
Like a glutton who, after a long and unrestrained binge, is finally nearing the point of satisfaction.

It still craves killing, but that craving is no longer so impatient or so difficult to suppress.

Xuanming could clearly sense that the vast, ocean-like power inside the Blood Spear was approaching a certain saturation and stability.

The energy he received became increasingly refined, but the quantity decreased.

It's almost "fed".

This realization left Xuanming with mixed feelings.

On the one hand, the stability of the Blood Spear means that he has a greater chance of regaining complete control over it, and he no longer needs to worry about backlash when using it.

On the other hand, he was also curious about what would happen to a martial spirit that had devoured so many lives and was almost the most vicious and evil in the world after it reached saturation.
Will it fall into silence, or... give birth to something even more terrifying?

He stopped and stood atop a watchtower made of bones, looking down at the hellish inner city below.

The stench of blood and the frenzied screams never ceased.

He raised his right hand, a thought flashing through his mind.

hum-

A dark red spear, seemingly forged from congealed blood, quietly appeared.

On the spear shaft, the dragon scale patterns that were originally just faint black have now become clear and deep, with a faint shimmering light.

The tip of the spear is a deep, dark red that seems to devour all light; looking at it for too long will even make your soul tremble.

The blood spear hovered silently in his palm, no longer humming with thirst as before, but instead exuding a calm, restrained, yet even more unsettling aura.

Xuanming could sense that the faint barrier between him and the Blood Spear still existed.

It was no longer a complete extension of his body, but more like a symbiote that had begun to exhibit some instinctive reactions.

(End of this chapter)