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

……

After entering Wuhun City, Xuanming did not immediately go to find Qian Renxue, but went to the Papal Palace first.

Bibi Dong seemed to have sensed his return long ago. When he entered the main hall, she was standing by the window, looking down at the city. Her beautiful profile showed a hint of weariness that was hard to hide, but her eyes were still sharp and firm.

"You're back?" Bibi Dong turned around, her purple-gold eyes looking at Xuan Ming, her tone calm.

"Hmm." Xuanming nodded, stepped forward, and without any pleasantries, raised his hand, revealing an exquisitely designed and complexly structured soul tool storage ring in his palm.

“This is something I brought back from the Sun Moon Continent.” He handed the ring to Bibi Dong. “Inside is the Sun Moon Empire’s most core and comprehensive information on soul tool technology, including basic principles, development history, and design blueprints for various common soul tools, from military weapons to civilian facilities, everything is included.”

Bibi Dong accepted the ring, and after a brief scan with her divine sense, her eyes instantly blazed with astonishing brilliance! With her knowledge, she immediately realized just how immense the value of this information was!

For the past six months, she has been working to reorganize the internal affairs of the Spirit Empire. Although she has forcibly suppressed the chaos, order alone lacks the fundamental means to maintain it, making this stability false.

The productivity of Douluo Continent was extremely backward and the social structure was rigid. The root cause was that the concept of "Soul Master supremacy" imprisoned everyone's mind.

Ordinary people place their hopes for changing their fate entirely on the vague and ethereal awakening of martial spirits, never thinking of improving themselves through knowledge and tools.

Meanwhile, the Soul Master class became obsessed with improving their personal combat power, neglecting to promote the overall productivity of society.

These soul-guided device technologies can break this deadlock! They allow ordinary people to gain power through tools, greatly improve production efficiency, improve people's livelihoods, and fundamentally change the way society operates!
With these technologies, she was confident that she could gradually dismantle the old interest groups and build a truly powerful and well-established empire! This was far more reliable than simply relying on military intimidation!
Although promoting these technologies will inevitably affect the interests of the existing Soul Master class, the resistance will be enormous.

But now, the thing she cares about least is resistance!

Any obstacle that dares to stand in her way, no matter what it is or who it is, will be crushed by her!
After handing the ring containing the soul tool technology to Bibi Dong, Xuanming did not leave the Papal Palace immediately. Instead, he seemed to have found some excuse and stayed there.

He first inquired about Bibi Dong's progress in mastering the Asura Demon Sword, listened to her recount her insights and difficulties in cultivation, and occasionally offered his own opinions.

The conversation then turned to the current state of the Spirit Empire.

"Are the two great empires behaving themselves lately? Should I pay them another visit to make a stronger impression?" Xuanming's tone was calm, but his words carried an undeniable ruthlessness.

Bibi Dong glanced at him and shook her head: "Not for now. Xingluo and Tiandou are both very quiet right now, especially Tiandou. Xueye is seriously ill and there are undercurrents running through the company. They have no time to spare. Your deterrent power is still there."

"That's good." Xuanming nodded, seemingly regretful that he hadn't found a reason to take action.

In the days that followed, Xuanming became even more ruthless.

He repeatedly activated spatial teleportation, traversing the vast ocean and appearing directly in the imperial palace of the Sun Moon Empire.

Faced with this evil star who could even subdue their "guardian god" Evil Emperor, how could the Sun and Moon Royal Family dare to be the slightest bit negligent?

Xuanming directly demanded top-notch soul tool design masters, theoretical experts, and even skilled craftsmen.

Then, he took these bewildered elites of the Sun Moon Empire back to Wuhun City like chickens and dumped them in front of Bibi Dong.

"You can use these people for now. If you don't understand anything, or if they don't cooperate, just tell me," Xuanming said to Bibi Dong, his tone matter-of-fact. In just over half a month, the Soul Tool Research Institute in Wuhun City took shape at an astonishing speed, and the technology from the Sun Moon Continent began its initial collision and fusion with the Soul Master system of the Douluo Continent.

Xuanming, using this as an excuse, spent almost every day in the Papal Palace discussing "important matters of the empire" with Bibi Dong, ostensibly to ensure the smooth introduction of technology, but in reality, he was enjoying this rare, undisturbed time together.

Although Bibi Dong saw through his little scheme, she didn't expose him. After all, she quite enjoyed the peace and quiet, so she let him be.

He was busy with various tasks, seemingly putting all his energy into helping Bibi Dong consolidate her empire and develop technology, never mentioning Qian Renxue, and seemingly forgetting the unfinished fourth test on Seagod Island.

Inside the Papal Palace, he and Bibi Dong could often be seen standing side by side, discussing matters. Although there were no particularly intimate gestures between them, the unspoken understanding and the lingering atmosphere made Gu Yuena's expression grow colder day by day.

Finally, just as Xuanming was returning from the Sun and Moon Continent with a "full load" and was about to show Bibi Dong a new batch of sophisticated soul tool blueprints, Gu Yuena could no longer bear it and stormed into the Papal Palace like a silver lightning bolt.

"Xuanming, how long are you going to drag this out?"

Xuanming paused in his movements, slowly turned around, his face expressionless.

Bibi Dong also raised her head, her purple-gold eyes calmly looking at Gu Yuena. She didn't speak, but an invisible majesty had already spread out.

Gu Yuena completely ignored Bibi Dong, her gaze fixed solely on Xuan Ming: "It's been over half a month, what are you doing back here? Are you trying to escape this way, or... have you made up your mind to just give up and do whatever you want?"

Xuanming remained silent, neither admitting nor denying. He simply stood there, his eyes lowered, staring at the ground, as if Gu Yuena's questioning had nothing to do with him.

But this silence itself is an answer.

Gu Yuena's heart sank. She had guessed correctly. Xuanming's current state was like a string being stretched taut, about to reach its limit. This "severing of ties" test from the God Realm had completely touched a raw nerve, making him feel fooled and coerced.

He really couldn't hold back any longer.

He can accept the trials and tribulations set by the divine realm, even if it means facing nine deaths and one life. It is the path he has chosen, and he accepts it.

But using this method, which involves the emotions of those around him and is almost manipulative, to "test" him has exceeded his bottom line.

More importantly, he sensed an extremely dangerous signal—was the divine realm trying to control him through this method? Was it using the people he cared about to threaten him and force him to submit?
If not, why create such an absurd "breakup of the relationship"? Was Poseidon's appearance and the hidden divine test a signal of "recruitment" from the sea god, trying to bind him with a gentle embrace?
He wasn't sure, but the feeling of being manipulated by an invisible hand, of having his weaknesses exploited, made him extremely uncomfortable, and he even felt intense anger and... a chill of betrayal.

He felt that his attitude was clear enough and he had shown enough "sincerity" - he did not choose to run away with Gu Yuena and plan to start a war with the gods in the future. Instead, he was willing to accept the test, hoping to solve the problem in a relatively peaceful way, and was willing to bear the corresponding costs and constraints for it.

But the response from the divine realm seemed to be telling him: your sincerity is worthless, we have plenty of ways to manipulate you.

This feeling of being mocked and coerced stirred up the destructive desire within him once more.

This silence, this almost passive resistance, was a harbinger of his pent-up discontent and its impending explosion.

"..." (End of this chapter)