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

……

"You succeeded?" Poseidon asked softly.

Xuanming nodded without saying anything more and walked directly towards the statue of the Sea God. "I need to contact the Sea God."

Poseidon asked no further questions, formed a mudra with her hands, and prayed devoutly. The statue of the sea god emitted a soft golden light, and a vast divine aura slowly descended.

"Kid, you're here to see me again so soon?" Poseidon's divine sense carried a hint of teasing, but when he sensed Xuanming's aura as a level 100 True God, his tone became noticeably more serious. "Tsk... a level 100 True God, you really are..."

"Is there any way to strip a human soul master of the soul rings they have already acquired?" Xuanming interrupted his musings and asked directly.

Poseidon's divine sense paused for a moment, as if in thought: "Stripping away a spirit ring? Why are you asking that?"

"To resolve the fundamental conflict between humans and soul beasts," Xuanming said succinctly.

Poseidon's voice carried a hint of helplessness: "The method...theoretically, exists. The power of the gods, especially the power involving the rules, can do it. But it's extremely troublesome, requiring extremely precise control over the soul and the origin of the martial spirit. The slightest carelessness can lead to damage or even collapse of the soul master's soul. Moreover, this can only be applied to individuals and cannot be promoted on a large scale. You want to use this to resolve the conflict between the two races? It's unrealistic."

Xuanming frowned slightly. Poseidon's answer, like Gu Yuena's, both pointed to the "rules" themselves.

Just then, another gentle yet far more vast and powerful divine thought quietly joined in, like a spring breeze.

"Perhaps I can give you a more detailed answer to this question." The voice of the God of Kindness resounded directly in the hearts of Xuanming and Poseidon.

"The god of goodness?" Poseidon's divine sense flickered.

"Xuanming," the voice of the God of Kindness was calm and full of wisdom, "you seem to believe that the rule that Soul Masters need to hunt Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings was set by our God Realm?"

A strange light flashed in Xuanming's icy blue eyes: "Isn't that right?"

"That's not the case," the God of Kindness said slowly. "The core rules of the Soul Master system in Douluo Continent—such as the birth of Martial Souls, the existence of Soul Power, and the need for Soul Masters to absorb Soul Rings to break through bottlenecks—are naturally formed by the world rules of Douluo Star itself. Just like the movement of stars in the universe, the need for living beings to breathe, and the need to overcome heavenly tribulations to become a god, these are the inherent laws of this world."

"World rules?" Xuanming repeated the term.

"Yes. This is the concrete manifestation of the universe's rules on Douluo Star. Even we God-Kings cannot fully comprehend all its mysteries, much less easily change its fundamental nature. This is not a setting of the God Realm, but rather the underlying logic of the world."

The God of Kindness paused, then changed the subject: "However, rules are not immutable. Historically, there have indeed been instances where certain rules were altered. For example, the Ice Dragon King should have told you that the Dragon God once set a rule that beastmen could not become gods."

Xuanming's heart stirred, and he nodded. The Ice Dragon King had indeed mentioned this.

“But what I want to talk about is the deeper meaning behind this rule.” The God of Kindness’s tone became meaningful. “Back when the Dragon God ruled, the dragon race was the supreme overlord, and all races were under his oppression. After the Dragon God’s chaos, the dragon race declined. If the Dragon God was only worried that the dragon race would be hostile after becoming gods, he could have simply set the rule that ‘dragons cannot become gods.’”

"But he deliberately set a rule that 'no beastmen can become gods'."

The voice of the God of Kindness carried a hint of guidance: "Xuanming, with your wisdom, you should be able to figure out why." Xuanming was silent for a moment, his icy blue eyes gleaming, before he slowly said, "Kidnapping."

"Oh?" The God of Kindness seemed somewhat surprised by his direct choice of words, but then expressed his approval, "A very accurate description."

"The Dragon God is worried that once other beast races can become gods while the dragon race cannot, the beast races that have accumulated countless grievances under the oppression of the dragon race will inevitably take the opportunity to retaliate, making the already weakened dragon race even worse. Gods cannot easily interfere in the lower realm, but the divine realm cannot intervene too much in the battles between the beast races in the lower realm."

“More importantly,” Xuanming’s voice was icy, “if only the dragon race is restricted, while other beast races can freely become gods, then the dragon race’s so-called ‘revival’ will become a complete joke. At that time, let alone revival, the dragon race will be in trouble whether it can even survive under the hostility of many newly ascended beast race gods.”

"Therefore, the Dragon God set this rule to forcibly bind the fate of all the beast races to the dragon race. To become a god? Sure, you must first help the dragon race to revive, you must first overthrow this rule set by the Dragon God! All the beast races must do their utmost for the return of the Dragon God. This is a... high-stakes gamble and kidnapping that involves the future of the entire beast race."

A soft sigh came from the divine sense of the God of Kindness: "That's right. The Dragon God used this rule to force all the beast races to become 'allies' or rather... 'hostages' for the revival of the Dragon Race. This has nothing to do with right or wrong; it was simply the most extreme and effective choice the Dragon God could make for the survival of his race under the circumstances at the time."

“I’m telling you this,” the God of Kindness’s voice became calm again, “so that you understand that changing the rules, especially the world’s inherent underlying rules, is an extremely difficult thing with unpredictable consequences. The Dragon God’s actions back then had their specific historical background and unavoidable reasons, and their effects continue to this day.”

"Your idea to resolve the conflict between humans and spirit beasts is excellent. However, as the spirit ring system is part of the world's rules, changing it is by no means easy. What you need to consider is not only whether it is possible to change it, but also how to change it, and what kind of chain reaction it will trigger after the change."

"This fifth test, 'Reshaping Order,' may be an opportunity for you to think deeply and put it into practice. But remember, haste makes waste."

"So you're only giving me three years?" Xuanming asked.

“Because I believe you have this ability,” said the God of Kindness.

"Moreover, reshaping the order doesn't mean you have to actually make the world a better place. Rather than giving you three years to reshape the order of Douluo Continent, it's more like..."

"I want to see what you can achieve in three years."

"Or rather, what kind of world do you want to make?"

Three years is not about finding a perfect answer, but about seeing the path he chooses and the extent to which he can achieve his goals.

Xuanming remained silent, but his gaze involuntarily fell upon his own million-year-old Ring of Kindness, which emitted a soft white light.

This spirit ring is extremely special. It does not grant him any direct attack or defense spirit skills. The energy contained within it is vast and pure, more like a kind of... origin, a kind of authority.

This feeling was somewhat similar to the Heart of the Sea God that he had once merged with.

If the fifth trial is primarily driven by the will of the God of Kindness, then her bestowal of this special soul ring was certainly not without reason.

She saw the destructive tendencies growing within him and understood that the irreconcilable conflict between humans and spirit beasts was one of the core issues.

This fifth test is perhaps meant to see which path he will choose, given sufficient power and a less extreme time constraint. Will he choose utter destruction and reconstruction, or will he find a more constructive, even if only preliminary, path to alleviate conflict? (End of Chapter)