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

Chapter 356 Only Whether You Can or Can't

……

Poseidon seemed to sense his arrival, and stood quietly in front of the palace, her sea-blue eyes calmly looking at him with a hint of inquiry.

Just as Xuanming was about to speak, a gentle yet undeniable golden divine thought suddenly descended, directly interrupting his thoughts.

It is Poseidon, the god of the sea.

"Speak not now." Poseidon's divine will conveyed a clear message: "Even if you must speak, wait until everything has settled down."

Xuanming was taken aback and looked at the statue.

Poseidon's divine sense continued, his tone complex: "The matter of Tang Chen is already settled. If you tell her the truth now, revealing your intention to kill him, how will Poseidon, with her personality, cope? She is the High Priestess of Seagod Island and cannot leave without permission. Telling her now would be tantamount to placing her in the agony of knowing her dearest friend is about to die but being powerless to do anything about it. What kind of torment is that?"

"Once things are settled and the die is cast, then you can tell her the result. At that time, although there will be grief, at least you will be spared this long wait and the torment of helplessness. The impact may be great, but it will be better than the torture you are in now."

Xuanming remained silent for a moment.

He understood Poseidon's meaning. Telling Poseidon now would be cruel, forcing her to endure the pain prematurely without being able to change anything. Telling her afterward, while having the same consequences, would at least make the process less agonizing.

He glanced at Poseidon, who stood calmly before him, seemingly unaware of the divine thought's arrival, and a complex emotion flashed through his mind.

Finally, he nodded and transmitted his thoughts to the sea god, saying, "I understand."

Since he's decided to be the "bad guy," and since he's greedily trying to grab everything, then he should bear the corresponding responsibility and consequences. His indecisiveness and hesitation are enough.

He nodded slightly to Poseidon, without mentioning Tang Chen, and after exchanging a few words as usual, he turned and left the Temple of Poseidon.

Poseidon watched his departing figure, a hint of doubt flashing in her sea-blue eyes, but she didn't ask any further questions.

Xuanming returned to the foot of Seagod Mountain and joined Bibi Dong, who was in peak condition, and Gu Yuena, who was waiting nearby. Hu Liena and the others were still undergoing their second trial, while Xue Di and the other ferocious beasts were left behind on Seagod Island by Gu Yuena.

Without a word, Xuanming's body surged with dark red light, and he activated the Leap of the Evil God, his precise spatial fluctuations enveloping the three of them.

The next moment, the surrounding scenery distorted and changed, directly returning from the sea-breezy island to the solemn and majestic Martial Soul City.

Departing from Wuhun City is far faster than flying from the distant Seagod Island. Moreover, having been away for so long, Bibi Dong needs to reappear to stabilize the situation and understand the current state of affairs on the continent.

After a brief exchange, Bibi Dong went straight to the Elders' Hall to convene a meeting.

Xuanming then flashed again, ascended the Pope's Mountain, and arrived in front of the Temple of Angels.

The golden trident of Poseidon remained firmly planted in the center of the plaza in front of the palace, unmoved. However, the ground around it was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, indicating that many had tried to shake it, all to no avail.

Just as Xuanming approached the area of ​​the sacrificial hall, several powerful auras suddenly locked onto him.

Led by the Third Offering, Azure Phoenix Douluo, the figures of the four Offerings, Light Feather, Lion, Thousand Jun, and Demon Subduer, appeared almost simultaneously, forming a fan shape around Xuanming in the center, their eyes solemn, filled with vigilance and hostility.

They could sense the unfathomable aura emanating from Xuanming, which was far more terrifying than when he left a few months ago!
Xuanming seemed not to notice and walked straight toward the Trident of the Sea God.

Under the tense gaze of several worshippers, he gripped the halberd shaft with one hand, lifting the divine weapon, which weighed 108,000 jin, with ease, as if it were just an ordinary weapon.

Just as he picked up his trident and prepared to turn and leave, the heavy doors of the temple slowly opened.

It was not the Grand Master Qian Daoliu who emerged, but Qian Renxue, dressed in palace attire, whose demeanor was becoming increasingly noble and sacred.

Her aura was much deeper than before. Although the fluctuations of her soul power were still somewhat unstable, she had already broken through the bottleneck of level ninety and officially entered the realm of Title Douluo.

Clearly, she had only recently achieved a breakthrough.

Qian Renxue's gaze fell on Xuan Ming, especially on the golden trident in his hand that exuded a vast aura, and her feelings were complicated and hard to describe.

She discovered that she was completely unable to perceive Xuanming's current level of soul power, which meant that his strength far surpassed hers!

Just how strong has he become?
"How did the divine exam go?" Xuanming asked, looking at Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue paused slightly, then nodded. "I just finished the sixth test. What about you?"

This golden trident has been here for more than half a year. Her grandfather has also confirmed that it is a divine artifact of Seagod Island. In addition, considering the golden trident mark on Xuanming's forehead, he has most likely obtained the inheritance of the Seagod.

However, when Xuan Ming left Wuhun City for Seagod Island, he was only a level 70, six-ring Soul Saint. Now, just over a year later, he is stronger than her! "I'm only on my third test," Xuan Ming said.

Qian Renxue was silent for a moment, then asked, "Was your assessment difficult?"

Xuan thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. You know I have no concept of difficulty. There's no such thing as difficult or not difficult, only whether or not I can do it."

Xuanming's calm reply plunged Qian Renxue into a brief silence.

"There is no such thing as difficult or not difficult, only whether or not you can do it."

These words sounded calm, even arrogant, but Qian Renxue detected an almost absolute confidence and a way of thinking that was completely different from hers, or rather, from the vast majority of Soul Masters.

Simple and pure.

Xuanming has always been like this.

After a brief silence, Xuanming turned around, his back to Qian Renxue, and said, "I have something to do. Goodbye."

"Wait." Qian Renxue suddenly called out to him again.

Xuanming stopped and turned to look at her. "Is there something you need?"

Qian Renxue clenched her fists and looked into his eyes. "You can... never mind, it's nothing."

Qian Renxue took a deep breath, turned around and entered the offering hall.

Xuanming stared at the tightly closed palace doors, said nothing more, and turned to disappear.

……

Pope's Palace.

When Xuanming returned from the mountain, Bibi Dong had already dealt with the matters of the Elder Hall. However, it seemed that something had gone wrong in the City of Slaughter.

"What's wrong?" Xuanming asked.

"The logistics of the Slaughter City are supported by the Spirit Hall, but since the founding of the Spirit Empire and the establishment of a confrontation with the two great empires, the Spirit Hall's supply to the Slaughter City has stopped," Bibi Dong said.

"Ghost reported to me that there seems to be a problem in the City of Slaughter these past few months. The King of Slaughter has even sent his enforcement team captain, a Title Douluo, to contact the Heaven Dou Empire, requesting that the Heaven Dou Empire provide them with more people and logistics."

"If the Heavenly Dou Empire doesn't agree, the Slaughter City will cause trouble."

The Heaven Dou Empire is currently busy preparing for war and dealing with the attack from the Spirit Empire. If another troublesome Slaughter City were to emerge from behind, leaving them besieged on all sides and facing internal and external troubles, they would be in a truly awkward situation.

Therefore, faced with the threat of the King of Slaughter, the Heaven Dou Empire unsurprisingly chose to compromise. As for the specifics of what to provide to the Slaughter City, the spies of the Spirit Empire had not yet found out, but they could roughly guess.

"You...you don't seem surprised?" Bibi Dong asked, puzzled.

Xuanming paused for a moment, then said, "When I left the City of Slaughter, I fed the Blood Pool of Hell Road to Blood Spear. That thing is the foundation of the City of Slaughter."

The blood pool on Hell Road is the core energy source that keeps the city of slaughter running and controls the fallen.

Without this source, the production of Bloody Mary would inevitably decrease sharply, failing to meet the needs of the entire Killing City.

Those corrupt individuals, driven by bloodlust and the desire for bloodshed, would naturally descend into madness and chaos when their supplies were cut off.

To maintain the stability of the Slaughter City and secure his throne, the King of Slaughter either replenishes his power by acquiring large amounts of life energy from external sources or directly conducts internal purges to reduce the number of "consumers."

Clearly, the King of Slaughter has chosen a two-pronged approach.

However, after the massacre, the city of slaughter was short of people.

What kind of king is he if he has no subjects?
In order to continue to maintain the dream of the twisted kingdom of the Slaughter City, the King of Slaughter can only try to obtain more resources and population as soon as possible.

On the Spirit Empire's side, the King of Slaughter is someone they can't afford to offend. After all, if he dares to threaten Bibi Dong, the Slaughter Capital might have to disappear from this world.

However, the King of Slaughter can still bully the Heavenly Dou Empire.

(End of this chapter)