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

……

Time slipped away quietly in the silence of cultivation, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Deep within the Papal Palace, in a secret chamber sealed by a powerful barrier.

Xuanming sat cross-legged, his body enveloped in a pure white halo. The halo was not dazzling, but it carried a strange power that soothed the soul and purified all things, completely different from the murderous aura of the Blood Spear and the domineering majesty of the Abyss Dragon Emperor.

Six spirit rings floated silently around his body. The most eye-catching of all was the last spirit ring.

It was not the usual brilliant gold of a divinely bestowed soul ring, but a more peculiar color—the main body was still a noble gold, but the edges of the gold were surrounded by a soft and continuous white halo, like a holy halo.

The spirit ring itself does not emit pure power pressure, but rather a vast, inclusive, and compassionate aura that brings peace to the heart.

A million-year soul ring—the Ring of Kindness!
The moment this unique soul ring solidified completely, Xuanming suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes!

"Om-!"

An indescribable, boundless pressure spread silently from him! This pressure was not domineering or fierce, but it carried a supreme quality originating from the very source of life, as if he himself had become a part of the law!

The space inside the secret room began to distort slightly, and the light around him became hazy, as if even time and space were surrendering to him!

He slowly raised his hand, feeling the surging, seemingly inexhaustible power within his body. This power was no longer merely soul power, but something more fundamental, something more advanced… divine power!
Level 100!

Without inheriting any divine position, he relied on his own accumulation, the help of the Dragon God's Heart, and the boost from the rewards of this divine test to forcefully break through the limits of the mortal realm and step into the realm of gods!

A level 100 True God without a Divine Rank!
"What's next?" Xuanming stood up, feeling the vast divine power flowing within him, which seemed to allow him to control a portion of the rules of heaven and earth in an instant, but his face remained expressionless.

"What are your plans for the next part?"

……

In the realm of the gods, within a magnificent and solemn temple.

The figures of the five god-kings were shrouded in a hazy divine light, yet the atmosphere was unusually solemn. Their gazes, like invisible shackles, were firmly locked onto Poseidon, the sea god standing in the center with a bitter expression.

Within the mirror of light, the scene in the Papal Palace of Douluo Continent was clearly reflected—Xuan Ming's divine power was restrained, yet he had already stepped into the realm of a hundred-level True God, and the unique million-year-old Ring of Goodness, flowing with white light, slowly rotated behind him.

His final words, calm yet icy inquisitive, were like a whip of frozen ice, lashing at the hearts of every god-king.

"What are your plans for the next part?"

The nature has changed!

Everything has changed!

The Asura God's blood-red eyes gleamed with a chilling light, the God of Destruction was surrounded by restless, purplish-black energy, the Goddess of Life had worry in her eyes, and the God of Kindness had a furrowed brow.

Even the usually cynical evil god had lost his smile, his face now showing only solemnity.

The trigger for all of this was Poseidon's damned fourth test!
"Poseidon!" The voice of the Asura God was as cold as ancient ice, filled with suppressed rage. "Look at the mess you've made!"

Poseidon felt even more wronged than the Deep Sea Demon Whale King. He opened his mouth, trying to explain, his voice tinged with grievance: "I...I really didn't mean anything by it! I just saw how brutal the previous tests were for this kid! Soul stripping, will reconstruction, dragon soul sacrifice...which one wasn't a near-death experience? I just wanted to let him...let him relax a bit! And, incidentally, to set him up with Ceci, wasn't that good? Who knew he would...get the wrong idea? And get involved with that little angel girl like that? I really didn't mean to force him!"

His original intention in conducting this test was indeed because he felt Xuanming was too tense, and the past was filled with too much blood and tears. He wanted to change to a relatively "gentle" way to let him sort out his emotions, so that he could find inner peace and closure, and integrate into the divine realm more smoothly in the future. In his opinion, bringing Poseidon together was the best of both worlds.

But despite his meticulous planning, he overlooked Xuanming's deep-seated suspicion and his self-contained, obsessive logic!

In Xuanming's view, what lay ahead was a test of life and death, a tempering of strength and will, and he accepted it! But suddenly the tone shifted, turning into an inextricable emotional entanglement? Especially when he had just shed the Heart of the Sea God and his mindset was already sensitive, it was as if the divine realm was toying with him, testing his bottom line with the people he cared about, or even trying to bind him with "gentle embrace"!
Xuanming's vigilance was completely aroused!

The God of Evil rubbed his temples and sighed, "It's no use saying all this now. Explanation? With that kid's suspicious nature, any explanation we give now will only sound like a cover-up and a scheme to him, making him even more wary." The Goddess of Life nodded gently, "Indeed. The assessment must continue, but the subsequent assessments must be handled with even greater care, and we absolutely cannot be as casual as Poseidon."

Her gaze towards Poseidon carried a hint of helplessness. What Poseidon saw as "relaxation" and "matchmaking" appeared, from Xuanming's perspective—after the brutal trials of the first three tests—towards how childish and...insulting to his intelligence this fourth test seemed. This contrast was even more pronounced after he had paid a heavy price to "settle things."

The God of Kindness was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly, his voice gentle yet carrying an undeniable power: "Xuanming's mindset has already changed; forcibly guiding him will only backfire. If you want him to change, you must now let him experience, choose, and change for himself."

His gaze swept over the other four God-Kings: "Moreover, everyone, do not forget that if he can truly reproduce the power of the Dragon God, or even go further, then what he will face in the future will not be a battle for a single city or a single territory. What he needs to possess is the ability and vision to rule over a region and balance the universe."

“The Xuanming of the past displayed more of the qualities of a top warrior—tenacity, decisiveness, an absolute desire for control over power, and even a destructive force that spares no effort. That’s good, but not enough. A god, especially the future leader of the god realm, cannot be just a warrior.”

The God of Kindness paused for a moment, then offered his suggestion: "For the fifth trial, let him resolve the chaos in the Douluo Continent. The three great empires are locked in a standoff, riddled with internal conflicts, the old order has collapsed, and a new order has yet to be established. Let him face this chaotic situation and see how he makes his moves, how he handles differing opinions, and how he... truly builds, rather than merely destroys."

"This concerns his decision-making ability, his vision, and whether he has the potential to transcend personal likes and dislikes and lead civilization forward."

A brief silence fell over the temple upon hearing this.

Immediately, the cold voice of the Asura God rang out: "Fine. Let him lift his head from the mire of power and see how this real world should function."

The God of Destruction's aura calmed slightly: "Establishing order amidst chaos is itself an extreme test. I agree."

The God of Evil smirked, his eyes regaining interest: "Interesting. Let's see if this newly ascended True God chooses to overcome all skill with brute force, or finds a... more interesting path."

The goddess of life nodded gently: "Hopefully this will allow him to see more than just hatred and destruction."

Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, Poseidon finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly declared, "I will absolutely not interfere in the subsequent assessments!"

He was scared; this kid's thought process was completely on a different wavelength from his own.

The divine thought of the God of Kindness, like an invisible tide, penetrated through layers of spatial barriers and precisely descended upon Xuanming's heart, who had just stabilized his level 100 True God realm.

A clear and majestic message, accompanied by a vast surge of divine power, resounded in his mind:

[Poseidon's Nine Trials, Fifth Trial: Reshaping Order.]

[Content: To end the conflicts on the Douluo Continent, establish a new order, and eliminate the root causes of war. Timeframe: Three years.]

[Assessment Requirements: Genocide-style cleansing using absolute force is prohibited; a sustainable new order framework must be established.]

Xuanming slowly raised his head, his icy blue eyes piercing through the barrier of the secret chamber, as if gazing into the endless void, meeting the gaze that was watching him from the darkness.

"Restore order... No genocide..."

Sure enough, it was just as he expected.

The divine realm began to use more "advanced" methods to restrict and test him.

It was no longer just a test of strength, but a push into a more complex game. What they wanted to see was how he would "play the game" within the rules, to see if this "warrior" possessed the mind of a "ruler."

They are afraid.

I'm afraid he'll act recklessly, I'm afraid he'll overturn the chessboard.

So they drew a line for him—he couldn't kill them all.

Very good. (End of Chapter)