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

……

Xuanming ignored her shock, his gaze sweeping over the imperial city below, and continued, "The situation here is completely different from that of Douluo Continent. Soul tools are the cornerstone of society, and the Soul Master system is also self-contained. With your cultivation of an eight-ring Soul Douluo, you are considered a powerful figure here. As long as you don't actively provoke top-tier forces, you will be safe."

After saying that, he took Liu Erlong and flashed again, appearing directly inside a magnificent and heavily guarded palace.

The guards inside the palace were startled when they saw the two people suddenly appear. They then recognized Xuanming and immediately knelt down on one knee to pay their respects, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Soon, the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, having received the news, rushed over, surrounded by his ministers and court soul masters.

The emperor, a dignified middle-aged man, immediately bowed respectfully upon seeing Xuanming, his attitude extremely humble: "Your Majesty's arrival is a great honor! May I ask what Your Majesty's instructions are?"

Xuanming pointed to Liu Erlong, who was still somewhat dazed, and said succinctly, "This is my friend, Liu Erlong. She is new to the Sun Moon Continent and is not familiar with this place. Arrange a suitable place for her to stay and provide her with the necessary conveniences so that she can live here in peace."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor immediately turned his gaze to Liu Erlong, a warm and solemn smile spreading across his face: "So you are His Majesty's friend! Don't worry, Madam Liu, I will make all the arrangements perfectly! During your stay in our country, all your expenses will be covered by the royal family, and you will not experience any inconvenience whatsoever!"

He immediately ordered his chief eunuch to prepare the most luxurious palace residence for Liu Erlong, complete with servants and guards, and to grant her the identity token of a royal guest, enjoying numerous privileges.

Looking at the scene before him, Liu Erlong felt as if he were dreaming.

How could the emperor of a continent be so respectful before Xuanming? And how could he, an "outsider," receive such the highest level of courtesy so instantly?

Seeing that things were mostly arranged, Xuanming said to Liu Erlong, "The basic arrangements are complete. You can decide for yourself what you want to do later. The rules here are different from those in Douluo Continent, so take your time to adapt."

He paused, looking at Liu Erlong's still somewhat dazed eyes, and finally said, "Live well. A new life has just begun."

"Don't die."

After speaking, Xuanming's figure rippled like water before disappearing completely without leaving any trace.

Liu Erlong stood there, feeling the completely unfamiliar surroundings, and looking at the respectful Emperor Sun Moon and his ministers, her heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Shock, bewilderment, a touch of unease, but more than anything, a sense of relief after breaking free from shackles and... a vague anticipation for the future.

She took a deep breath of the air unique to the Sun and Moon Continent, which carried a faint aura of energy, and clenched her fist.

Yes, a new life has begun. This time, she will live only for herself.

That brat Xuanming... although his mouth is still as sharp as ever, this time, he really gave her a chance to be reborn.

……

Six months later, in Wuhun City.

Xuanming stood atop the highest point of the Papal Palace, overlooking the city that had been completely transformed. Two years had passed, and his fifth trial, "Reshaping Order," was still underway, while Bibi Dong's eighth trial as the God of Asura was nearing its end.

Poseidon's divine sense recently sent a message—Poseidon is making the final push for the inheritance of the Sea God's legacy and will be unreachable during this period.

Meanwhile, Qian Renxue has completed the eighth test of the angels and is about to begin the final ninth test.

With Bibi Dong's iron-fisted approach and the support of Xuan Ming's soul tool technology, the reforms of the Martial Soul Empire in recent years have begun to get on the right track.

However, a core problem remains unresolved: the long-term storage of spirit rings.

Xuanming has successfully mastered the technique of forcibly stripping away spirit rings, but the stripped spirit rings are extremely unstable and will quickly dissipate.

Even the top-tier storage soul tools from the Sun Moon Empire, with their current soul tool technology, cannot preserve soul rings for long periods, let alone safely store soul rings stripped from others for later use.

The key to solving this problem lies in a higher level of power—divine power, or the power of pure faith.

Both of these powers possess the characteristics of stable rules and endowing "existence" with "concepts," which are fundamental to maintaining the form of the soul ring. Bibi Dong was busy with her own divine test, and the Asura God Power and Rakshasa God Power were inherently inclined towards destruction and chaos, which were extremely incompatible with the storage requirements that needed "stability" and "order." Moreover, she seemed to be intentionally pushing this matter onto Qian Renxue.

Xuanming was speechless.

He could roughly guess some of Bibi Dong's thoughts. She simply wanted to find an important position for Qian Renxue in the affairs of the Spirit Empire, so that she would have something to care about and something to do. Perhaps she wanted to ease the almost irreconcilable relationship between her and her daughter, as well as between Qian Renxue and him.

"Why bother..." Xuanming sighed inwardly.

He had already spoken frankly with Qian Renxue; their positions were opposed, their ideologies clashed, and the seeds of hatred had long been sown.

Making her hate him, giving her a clear goal to pursue and surpass, might not necessarily be a bad thing for her.

It's better than leaving her feeling lost and confused.

Of course, Qian Renxue is unlikely to be complacent; she will never give up her struggle for "ownership" of the Martial Soul Empire.

But in Xuanming's view, the current Spirit Empire is completely different from the Spirit Hall of the past.

In the past, the Spirit Hall was centered on a powerful army of spirit masters and a monopoly on faith.

Now, the advantage of the Soul Master Legion has been greatly diminished in the face of Xuanming's absolute military strength and Soul Guidance Device technology.

The empire's system, ideology, and development direction were overturned by Bibi Dong and him, with a greater emphasis on people's livelihood, technology dissemination, and order reconstruction. It bears almost no resemblance to the Spirit Hall of the past, which was aloof and privileged.

If we must call it inheritance, it's only in name.

The actual Martial Soul Empire is more like a completely new product jointly created by Bibi Dong and him. Half of it is Bibi Dong's iron-fisted rule and reform will, and the other half is the soul tool technology and forward-thinking ideas he brought.

What did the six-winged angel family contribute besides a symbolic "holy" title?
Like the old nobles of the two great empires, they clung to the glory of the past and were out of step with the new direction of the empires.

How can someone like Qian Renxue, who was born standing on a cloud and whose eyes are only on her family's honor and personal obsession, understand and participate in the management of such a complex and brand-new empire?

Xuanming had serious doubts about this.

Can she understand the demands of the underprivileged? Can she empathize with ordinary people struggling to survive?
What she probably sees is only power and the glory that belongs to "angels".

But Bibi Dong insisted on this, and Xuanming had no choice but to accept it.

At least, finding Qian Renxue some proper work might reduce the trouble she gets into, although he didn't have high hopes for it.

With a heavy heart and no expectations, Xuanming once again came to the outside of the Hall of Worship after many years.

The palace was still heavily guarded, with several veteran elders of the Spirit Hall standing like statues. When they saw Xuan Ming's figure, although a hint of fear flashed in their eyes, they still gritted their teeth and stood in front of the palace gate, trying to maintain their last shred of dignity.

Xuanming didn't even bother to look at them this time. With a slight movement of his divine sense, the extremely cold aura instantly spread, freezing the several elders and the space around them into crystal-clear ice sculptures, without even a trace of soul power fluctuation.

He sensed that Qian Daoliu's powerful and sacred aura was not inside the hall, which meant that the final ritual of the angelic inheritance had likely already begun.

Qian Daoliu, the high priest of the angel family, is probably somewhere right now, preparing for his destined sacrifice.

Xuanming took a step forward, his figure passing through the main hall and arriving at the solemn angel statue in the deepest part of the hall.

The statue emitted a soft yet majestic golden aura, but Xuanming sensed an extremely hidden spatial node beneath it, which only beings at the god-level could vaguely perceive.

After the node, what should be connected is the secret realm of inheritance left by the God of Angels.

Qian Renxue should be undergoing her final transformation within that secret realm. (End of Chapter)