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

Chapter 301 Do you crave power?
……

The three did not linger. After a brief rest, Bibi Dong, along with Xuanming and Hu Liena, headed towards Wuhun City.

The closer one gets to Wuhun City, the more intense the tense atmosphere becomes.

The once bustling Wuhun City, imbued with the aura of a sacred land for soul masters, has now completely changed its appearance.

The towering city walls were further reinforced, gleaming with the unique energy glow of soul tools. The patrolling soldiers on the walls were no longer ordinary temple knights, but soul master soldiers dressed in standard soul master armor, exuding a powerful aura.

The enormous banner of the Martial Soul Empire fluttered atop the city walls, its complex emblem, a fusion of the papal scepter and numerous Martial Soul elements, signifying its new authority.

The city gates were heavily guarded, and everyone entering or leaving had to show a special identification token. The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.

Upon seeing Bibi Dong's return, the guards hurriedly bowed, their eyes filled with awe and fervor.

Upon entering the city, the scene changed drastically.

Many non-core buildings were demolished and converted into barracks, training grounds, and workshops.

Teams of Soul Masters were conducting coordinated combat training under the command of officers, with Soul Skills of various attributes flashing and roaring incessantly.

The people coming and going on the streets were mostly Soul Master officers in a hurry, scouts delivering intelligence, and logistics personnel transporting supplies.

The entire city, like a giant war machine, was operating at high speed, preparing for the impending all-out war.

Hu Liena looked at the Martial Soul City before her, which was completely different from what she remembered, and felt the overwhelming atmosphere of war. Her eyes were filled with complex emotions.

She knew her teacher's ambitions and understood that the war was unavoidable, but seeing her homeland transformed into a giant military camp still weighed heavily on her heart.

Xuanming's gaze passed over the busy army and the heavily fortified positions, landing deep within Martial Soul City on the magnificent complex that symbolized the Elders' Hall and the Hall of Worship.

Qian Renxue was right there.

With the all-out assistance of the peerless Douluo Qian Daoliu, the progress of the Angel God Exam will probably be faster than imagined.

Once the divine test begins, the flow of time and the sense of opportunity will be different from those in the outside world, and it is not impossible to complete the nine tests in a few years.

Once Qian Renxue becomes the Angel God first...

The seemingly monolithic rule of the Spirit Empire will develop fatal cracks from within.

The old forces of the Elders' Hall and the Hall of Offerings will inevitably rise again, and Bibi Dong's Rakshasa God Test will show abnormalities once more, and the situation will be reversed in an instant.

At that time, not only will his plans be affected, but Gu Yuena and the others will likely be in danger.

We must confirm Qian Renxue's progress as soon as possible and prepare for the worst.

"Nana, calm down."

Walking down the long street of Wuhun City, Bibi Dong clearly sensed the murderous aura unconsciously emanating from Hu Liena. To prevent any accidents, she directly released her Killing God Domain to stabilize her.

"You... don't you feel anything?" Hu Liena took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the killing intent in her heart, and turned to look at Xuan Ming.

“I’m used to it,” Xuanming said.

Normally speaking, after spending nearly three years in a hellish place like Killing City, even without killing anyone, one's mind would definitely not be normal.

Fortunately, his mind wasn't quite right to begin with.

Because the Blood Spear itself can condense killing intent, from the first day he killed someone to the later battles in the Great Soul Arena, he was honing his killing intent.

For him, the environment of the Killing City was simply a larger, more efficient whetstone.

As long as he isn't ambushed and his murderous intent isn't amplified, he won't run into any problems.

Soon, the three of them passed through layers of guards and returned to the Papal Palace.

The Papal Palace is now more solemn and busier than ever before.

High-ranking Soul Master generals frequently came and went, reporting military affairs and receiving orders.

The entire empire's war machine is centered here.

Back in the familiar side hall, isolated from the outside noise, Bibi Dong looked at Xuan Ming, her tone softening slightly: "You've just experienced the Hell Road, your domains are newly formed and need time to stabilize. Especially Nana, your power..."

She paused, then added meaningfully, "It needs to be carefully managed. Let's rest here for now and not concern ourselves with external affairs."

Hu Liena nodded. She did feel somewhat mentally exhausted. The newly acquired Killing God Domain was still slowly integrating with her own power, and she needed to meditate.

"I need to rest for a while longer. Is there anything I can help you with?" Xuanming asked.

“Help me…” Bibi Dong thought for a moment.

"I'm a little worried about the Hall of Offerings. Why don't you... go and check on Qian Renxue's progress?"

With no progress on the Rakshasa God Examination and a mountain of affairs piling up in the Martial Soul Empire, she was now at her wits' end!
If Qian Renxue really beats her to it, not only will the power of the Martial Soul Empire be seized by the Hall of Worship, but Xuanming will also likely be in trouble!

She knew Qian Renxue's personality well; that girl wouldn't easily let go of her obsession with Xuanming. On the contrary, under the pressure of the divine test, her obsession with Xuanming would only deepen and become more and more insane!
If you don’t get it, destroy it!

In the past, Qian Renxue hesitated to make a decision, not only because of her feelings, but also because she felt that they hadn't reached that point yet. Perhaps later on, Qian Renxue did have that thought, but she no longer had the ability to do so.

But once Qian Renxue becomes a god, the power of life and death will be entirely in her hands!

……

Silence returned to the palace. Bibi Dong had a lot of things to attend to, so she left quickly.

Hu Liena needed to calm her murderous intent, so Bibi Dong took her to a secret room for quiet meditation.

Xuanming sat by the window, looking at the Douluo Palace high up on Papal Mountain.

“Actually, you have another way now,” the Ice Dragon King said.

"Give it your all, either take down Qian Renxue or Qian Daoliu."

"The former solves everything, while the latter can relieve your stress."

Xuanming withdrew his gaze from the direction of the Douluo Palace. "There's no need."

"What do you mean it's unnecessary?" the Ice Dragon King asked anxiously.

"Are you planning to wait for her to become a god so that she can decide your life or death? And decide the life or death of Gu Yuena and the others?"

"Once Qian Renxue becomes a god, you won't even have the right to fight her to the death!"

"Do you think she can be faster than me?" Xuanming asked in return.

“You…” The Ice Dragon King was slightly taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

Xuanming paused, then took out the Vast Ocean Universe Cover. "Do you remember the safety measures I mentioned?"

If the Asura God ignores him, and Qian Renxue's progress exceeds expectations, he will have no choice but to use this backup plan.

Xuanming's gaze fell on the azure triangular object in his palm—the Vast Ocean Universe Cover.

It lay there quietly, radiating a soft and deep blue light, as if it contained a miniature ocean.

"This thing... do you really think it can work?" The Ice Dragon King asked with some concern.

"Do you think I'm inferior to Qian Renxue?" Xuanming asked in return.

"Still not as good as Bibi Dong? Not as good as Tang Chen, who's fallen into the City of Slaughter?"

The Ice Dragon King was speechless for a moment.

“I know what you’re worried about. I’ve always known,” Xuanming said.

"Don't worry, I will do my best to keep my promise."

The Ice Dragon King was silent for a moment, then said, "Hmm."

Xuanming took a deep breath and, without further hesitation, extended his powerful spiritual energy like invisible tentacles, slowly and cautiously penetrating into the interior of the Vast Ocean Universe Cover.

At first, the Vast Ocean Universe Cover showed no reaction, just like a special piece of blue crystal.

But when Xuanming's spiritual power touched its core area, a sudden change occurred!
Om-!
The Vast Ocean Universe Cover suddenly erupted with a dazzling azure divine light, instantly illuminating the entire side hall as if it were a dragon palace in the deep sea!

A vast, majestic, and terrifying divine power, imbued with the aura of the endless ocean, erupted and completely enveloped Xuanming!
Xuanming groaned, feeling as if his spiritual power had collided with a boundless, raging ocean. Immense pressure was pressing in from all directions, threatening to crush and assimilate him!
But he did not back down; instead, a sharp glint flashed in his icy blue eyes.

He steadied his mind, gathering his profound spiritual power, tempered in the city of slaughter, and like a pillar in the middle of a raging torrent, stubbornly resisting the impact of this divine might.

At the same time, he deliberately concealed the aura of the Ice and Fire Dragon Essence to avoid stimulating this wisp of the Sea God's divine thought.

"what?"

A soft sigh, seemingly tinged with surprise and doubt, resounded directly within Xuanming's spiritual sea.

The vast ocean's divine power suddenly subsided, no longer filled with aggression, but transformed into a gentle yet still unfathomable probing force, carefully "examining" Xuanming.

This divine sense swept over Xuanming's incredibly solid spiritual power, over the dormant yet terrifyingly powerful blood spear within his body, and over the newly formed, abyss-like Killing God Domain. Finally, it seemed to linger for a moment at the center of his brow.

"Such a refined spirit...such a pure killing domain...and this..." The sea god's divine sense seemed somewhat surprised, but more so a scrutinizing and curious feeling of discovering a gem in the rough.

"Interesting...truly interesting. Such a young age, yet possessing such depth and...encounters."

It seemed to sense something, but couldn't quite see through it; it just instinctively felt that the human youth in front of it was extremely special.

"It's really impolite of you to talk nonsense in other people's minds." Xuan Ming's eyes narrowed, and his berserk killing god domain erupted with full force, impacting that faint but far stronger divine thought of the Ice and Fire Dragon King's soul.

"Young man, don't get agitated. I mean no harm." The voice of the Sea God rang out leisurely. The impact of the God of Slaughter Domain had no effect whatsoever and disappeared as if it had vanished into thin air.

"Do you... crave power?"

"Guess?" Xuanming asked in return.

Poseidon remained silent for a moment, clearly not expecting such a response.

Instead of answering a question properly when asked by a deity, he actually asked him a question in return?
Is this right?
The grand voice rang out again, carrying the seductive power unique to gods: "Do you yearn to transcend the mortal realm, rule the vast ocean, and become the supreme being in this world?"

"Guess again?" Xuanming said.

"..." Poseidon.

"Young man, you've successfully piqued my interest!"

(End of this chapter)