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

Chapter 334 Reversing Life and Death
……

Xuanming stood silently on the sea, the sea breeze blowing his black robes, his back view lonely and cold.

Gu Yuena slowly flew to his side, her silver-purple eyes filled with complex emotions. She gently held his left hand, without speaking or offering comfort. She knew that Xuanming could not accept this kind of thing right now.

The Snow Empress and the Ice Empress watched from afar. At this moment, the initial doubts and disdain in their eyes were gone, replaced by deep shock and an indescribable sense of resonance.

As soul beasts, they can better understand this kind of resolute willingness to sacrifice everything for their clan and for a recognized existence.

Xuanming did not respond, but slowly raised his hand and looked at his palm.

There, the ethereal touch of the Ice Dragon King's final embrace still lingered.

He closed his eyes, suppressing his surging emotions, and when he opened them again, his icy blue eyes had returned to their usual calm.

"It's time to go back."

Xuanming silently withdrew his gaze, turned, and flew towards Seagod Island, with Gu Yuena following closely behind. Xue Di, Bing Di, Bi Ji, and Zi Ji exchanged glances and also followed. Di Tian stayed behind to, as promised, begin to soothe the frightened deep-sea demon whale cub.

The return journey to Poseidon Island was filled with a suffocatingly oppressive atmosphere.

Xuanming remained silent, emanating a chilling aura that kept strangers at bay.

Ning Rongrong, Hu Liena, and the others saw them returning from afar and were about to go up and greet them, but they were intimidated by Xuan Ming's almost tangible low aura and stopped in their tracks.

They looked at Gu Yuena, who simply shook her head slightly, indicating that they should not disturb her.

Xuanming didn't linger for a moment, nor did he even glance at anyone. His figure transformed into a streak of light, shooting straight towards Sea God Mountain, and without hesitation, he stepped into the Nine Heavens Mystic Steps shrouded in golden light.

He took a step forward with incredible speed, as if the Sea God's Light, which would make it impossible for ordinary Soul Masters to move an inch, had no effect on him. Level 10, Level 50, Level 100... His pace did not slow down in the slightest, as if he were walking on flat ground.

Level 400, 500, 600...

The pressure was mounting, and Xuanming began to show fluctuations of soul power around him, but he still did not stop.

Level 700, Level 800...

As he stepped onto the 888th step, Poseidon's figure quietly appeared at the end of the stairs, her face showing solemnity and a hint of worry.

"Xuanming, the pressure you're about to face will undergo a qualitative change. Even titled Douluos above level 95 will find it difficult to withstand." Poseidon's voice clearly reached Xuanming's ears.

Xuanming didn't speak, nor did he even look up at her.

He took a deep breath, and the dark purple, million-year-old abyssal dragon king's torso bone within his body suddenly lit up! Dark golden dragon patterns flowed, and a vast power surged forth, forming an ancient and majestic dark purple dragon king armor on his body!
The next moment, he took another step forward!
Level 900! Level 950! Level 980!
The pressure surged exponentially! Space itself was distorting! Xuanming's dragon scale armor groaned under the strain, his bones creaked, and a trickle of blood even escaped from the corner of his mouth!

999 levels!

When he reached the 999th step, his body had reached its limit. Fine beads of blood began to seep from his skin, a sign that capillaries had ruptured under the terrifying pressure.

He attempted to merge the Killing Domain, the Colorless Domain, the Spirit Domain, and the Ice and Fire Domain to form a solid barrier, but the invisible pressure was like the collapse of heaven and earth, still suppressing him and preventing him from taking another step forward.

Poseidon's figure appeared silently at the end of the steps. Looking down at Xuanming, who was covered in blood but still stood tall, her ethereal voice carried a hint of solemnity: "Xuanming, stop. The last two levels of the Nine Heavens Mystic Steps cannot be borne by anyone but a demigod. That is a realm that can only be reached by a body that has completed the Eight Trials and undergone the baptism of divine power."

Xuanming seemed not to hear. He raised his head, his icy blue eyes devoid of any emotion, only a deathly madness.

He slowly raised his right hand, aiming at the blood spear spirit rings floating around him—the first six black ten-thousand-year spirit rings.

Ring of Devouring!

Rumble——! ! !
Without any warning, the first six spirit rings suddenly burst forth with blinding light, and then, like a black hole collapsing, all the energy was instantly extracted, devoured, and surged wildly into Xuanming's body! It was a terrifying torrent of energy far exceeding the limits of his body's tolerance!
"Pfft—!" Xuanming suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body surface was instantly covered with more cracks, like a porcelain vase about to shatter.

But his aura was surging wildly at an illogical speed! Forcibly absorbing the destructive energy from the six spirit rings granted him temporary, superhuman power!

Using this devastating burst of force, he took a sudden step forward!
Level 1000!

He made it to the top! At the cost of his body collapsing!

Only one level left!
Poseidon's expression changed drastically: "Xuanming! The pressure of the final level is ten times that of the previous ones! You will die!"

Xuanming paid no heed. He felt the six spirit rings within him dimming and weakening, felt the excruciating pain of his body about to disintegrate, and then, he activated the spirit ring power belonging to the Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King within him!
Ice-blue light and crimson light erupted from his body at the same time!
The two opposing yet fundamental forces of extreme cold and extreme heat, under his abnormally precise control, did not clash, but were forcibly fused together!

A more violent, more primal, chaotic energy, seemingly capable of tearing the heavens apart, exploded within his body!

Om-!
Under the impact of this force, a certain barrier deep within his body seemed to be broken! His aura instantly broke through the limits of the mortal realm, briefly touching that mysterious and profound realm—demigod!
Riding the wave of qualitative change brought about by this brief leap into the demigod realm, and bearing the pressure enough to crush even a peerless Douluo, Xuan Ming took the final step. Level 1001!
Climb to the top!

He stood at the very top of the Nine Heavens Mystic Steps, standing before Poseidon.

Beneath my feet lies a vast sea of ​​golden light, and behind me, a winding white jade staircase, like a dragon.

The burning light of the ice and fire dragon soul around him slowly faded, and the forcibly enhanced demigod aura receded like a tide. A huge sense of weakness instantly overwhelmed him, making him almost unable to stand.

But he made it up eventually.

Poseidon stared blankly at Xuanming standing in front of her.

He was covered in blood, his black robe was tattered, his face was as pale as paper, and his breath was so weak that it seemed he would be extinguished at any moment. The backlash from forcibly devouring the soul ring and fusing the power of ice and fire had almost completely destroyed his body.

But he stood up.

She stood atop the 1001st step, a step that even she, the Grand Elder of Seagod Island and a level 99 Peerless Douluo, would have to exert all her strength to reach!
In a nearly self-destructive, insanely extreme way!
Poseidon could clearly feel that the excitement she had forcibly suppressed was growing wildly and uncontrollably, like a seed breaking through the soil.

The young man's reckless madness, his upright spine despite the heavy burden of his past, and his almost obsessive determination... all of these were assaulting her defenses.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her throat was a little dry.

Just then, a gentle yet vast golden light descended from the sky, enveloping Xuanming within it.

The golden light contained pure divine power, which quickly repaired his body, which was on the verge of collapse, and nourished his depleted soul power and spiritual power.

At the same time, a majestic and ancient flow of information was directly imprinted into his mind:
[Second Trial of the Sea God: Traverse the Light of the Sea God and Ascend the Nine Heavens Mysterious Steps. Completed.]

[Review: Beyond limits, perfect.]

[Rewards: Soul Power increased by two levels. One divinely bestowed Soul Ring. All Soul Rings' age increased by ten thousand years. Evil God's Guardian Evolution—Evil God's Barrier!]

[Hidden Reward Triggered: The Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King's Dragon Soul Imprints are stabilized. Information Unlocked: When the inheritor achieves a God-King level divine position, they can use the God-King's authority and the complete Dragon Soul Imprint to attempt to reshape their Dragon Soul origin and reverse life and death.]

The first six soul rings of Xuanming's Blood Spear, which had been dulled by the absorption of soul rings, quickly regained their luster under the nourishment of the golden light.

A black-gold, divinely bestowed soul ring, radiating an evil aura, floated in front of him.

The aura of the evil god within him became even deeper and darker, and the protective power and evil backlash it emitted were several times stronger, as if it had transformed into an indestructible barrier!

But all these rewards paled in comparison to the impact that last message had on Xuanming.

Achieve God-King status...able to reverse life and death...reconstruct the Dragon Soul...

This message was like a glimmer of light suddenly appearing in the darkness; though distant, it truly illuminated the lifeless lake of his heart.

The Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King... still have a chance to be resurrected!

Xuanming breathed a sigh of relief. The sadness and emptiness in his eyes were no longer simple, but had transformed into a deeper and more determined obsession.

Two streams of hot tears silently slid down his cheeks, mingling with the blood on his face, and dripped onto the white jade steps beneath his feet.

"Are you... alright?" Poseidon looked at the tear stains at the corners of Xuanming's eyes, her voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible worry and tenderness.

Xuanming slowly turned his head to look at Poseidon. He raised his hand and wiped away the tears and blood from his face with his fingertips. "I'm fine."

"Can I absorb a spirit ring here?"

Poseidon paused slightly, then nodded subconsciously. "Of course."

"Thank you." Xuanming nodded, crushed the black and gold divine soul ring hanging in front of him, and released the evil aura within without any concealment, instantly spreading throughout the entire Sea God Temple.

Poseidon's expression changed slightly.

First came the aura of slaughter, then the aura of evil, but the sacred aura of the sea god that should have been present in the Nine Trials of the Sea God was nowhere to be found.

Moreover, both the first and second tests far exceeded Xuanming's limits.

What exactly is going on with this assessment?

(End of this chapter)