Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Young Gilas, Sandstorm King!

Chapter 89 I regret it!
Lou Gao looked down at the mark on his arm again, then touched his burning chest, feeling the unfamiliar and powerful force within him that seemed ready to ignite him at any moment.

"I... I feel like there's a live volcano inside me, power is surging, but this power is too violent, I can't control it at all... and... it's so hot... a heat that's seeping into my bones..."

Sweat streamed down his forehead like a brook, dripping onto the scorching ground and instantly turning into white steam.

"Reborn from the flames...reborn from the flames..."

Lin Xia frowned, repeatedly chewing on those two words. Her brain raced, trying to decipher their meaning by combining her previous experience of reshaping her body with the divine characteristics of the Phoenix God.

"Literally, to bathe in flames."

Lin Xia analyzed.

"But this is clearly not an ordinary flame. Teacher, do you remember my previous experience?"

"Burned by the essence of the sun, leaving only a skeleton, and then reshaped by the power of the Phoenix God. That is essentially a kind of 'rebirth'—gaining new life in the ultimate flames of destruction."

"Your trial is also called 'rebirth from the ashes.' Does this mean that you also need to undergo a similar baptism of fire from the inside out?"

Lin Xia's gaze sharpened.

"The phoenix rises from the ashes, reborn from the flames! This is the core essence of the phoenix!"

"This test will likely require you to actively activate the flame power within your body, imbued with the mark of the divine trial, and let it completely incinerate your body, soul power, and even... your soul!"

"In the depths of destruction, seek that sliver of opportunity for rebirth, and complete a profound transformation!"

Lou Gao listened to Lin Xia's analysis, his expression changing repeatedly.

To unleash the raging, all-consuming power within him to burn himself?
This sounds tantamount to suicide!

But considering the scene of Lin Xia's skeleton scattering and then instantly reforming, and the legend of the phoenix's rebirth, this explanation is undoubtedly the closest to the truth.

"But…"

Lou Gao swallowed hard, his throat dry and sore.

"How do I trigger it? How do I control it? To what extent should I trigger it? What are the standards for 'rebirth'? There's no guidance on any of these! What if... what if I get burned and can't control it? Wouldn't that be..."

Just then, the cheerful "crunch crunch" sound of Young Kiras munching on ore came from the side.

It was happily munching on a dark red stone rich in fire crystal ore, and the runes on its dark lava carapace were becoming brighter under the nourishment of the ore's energy.

Lin Xia's gaze swept over Young Gilas, then fell back on the mark on Lou Gao's arm. A thought flashed through her mind like lightning!

"Mark!"

Lin Xia suddenly grabbed Lou Gao's arm and pointed at the crimson-gold phoenix mark.

"Teacher, try concentrating your mind and communicating with this imprint using your thoughts! Just like how I activated the resonance of the imprint vein before!"

"This mark is the core of the divine test, the linchpin connecting you to the power of the Phoenix God! The key to 'rebirth from the ashes' may very well lie in how to use this mark to communicate with and guide the divinely bestowed flame power within you!"

Lou Gao's spirits lifted upon hearing this.

Yup!

This mark is the key!
He immediately sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and tried to banish all distracting thoughts—including the noise of Young Gilas gnawing on the ore and the unbearable burning sensation within his body. He concentrated all his thoughts as if forging iron, carefully reaching for the warm and majestic phoenix mark on the inside of his arm.

At first, it was a chaotic, scorching heat. But when he focused his mind and tried to "touch" the mark, a strange sense of connection arose!

He seemed to see the mark come to life, transforming into a miniature phoenix made of pure golden flames, soaring through the ocean of his consciousness!

At the same time, the raging, restless divine fire power within him seemed to have found an outlet, and began to slowly and spontaneously surge toward the mark!
Lou Gao felt a chill run down his spine and immediately tried to guide this power with his mind—not to suppress it, but to guide it like molten iron in a furnace, trying to make it flow according to his own will.

"Om..."

The phoenix mark on his arm suddenly lit up!
A crimson-gold light instantly enveloped his entire body!
A much purer and more terrifying heat erupted from him!
"Ugh—!"

This time, it was real, excruciating pain!

Lou Gao couldn't help but let out a low, painful roar.

He felt his skin, muscles, bones, internal organs, and even his flowing blood and soul power being burned madly by the divine fire guided by that mark!
It wasn't the external flames that scorched us, but the destructive fire that ignited simultaneously from the deepest part of the body, at every cellular level!

Lou Gao's skin instantly turned bright red, like a cooked shrimp, and fine beads of blood even began to seep from his pores, which were then evaporated by the high temperature, forming a thin layer of blood mist that swirled around his body.

The tattered clothes instantly turned to ashes, revealing a body underneath that was trembling violently, with muscles bulging and blood vessels throbbing and writhing under the skin like red earthworms!
sweat?

It's long gone; the body's water is being rapidly evaporated!
"teacher!"

Lin Xia exclaimed in surprise and subconsciously tried to step forward, but was violently pushed away by the intensely blazing divine fire energy field!

The heat was even more terrifying than when they were gnawing on the mineral veins before!
"Yo-ji?!"

Young Giras also stopped eating, looking warily at the towering building enveloped in crimson flames. Golden flames flickered in its scarlet eyes, carrying a hint of worry.

Lou Gao sat cross-legged on the ground, his body trembling violently, his teeth clenched so tightly they made a clicking sound.

He felt like a piece of mortal iron thrown into the furnace of God, undergoing the most brutal forging, hammering and tempering.

The pain was like a million red-hot steel needles, piercing every inch of his nerves.

His proud Soul Saint-level Soul Power was as fragile as paper in the face of this divine fire, and was easily ignited, burned, and assimilated!
The phantom of his martial spirit, the Vajra Chisel, flickered violently behind him, emitting a mournful hum, as if it too was about to melt in the flames.

"No... I can't give up... This is the divine test... This is an opportunity that Xia fought for me..."

Lou Gao's consciousness sank and floated in an endless sea of ​​pain, but one thought held him firmly up like a rock—a craftsman's heart is as hard as iron! Forged in fire!

Lin Xia's eyes were bloodshot, and her heart felt as if it were being gripped by an icy hand.

Overwhelmed by immense fear and overwhelming regret, Lin Xia was instantly consumed by it.

He regretted it!

Lin Xia regretted that she shouldn't have been so eloquent in front of the gods, and that she shouldn't have put her elderly teacher in such a precarious position!

All talk of touching the realm of gods and refusing to be mediocre seems so childish and laughable in the face of this cruel divine fire that can instantly burn a Soul Saint to ashes!
Lin Xia originally thought that the divine test would be like the "test" in her previous life, with clear guidance, a gradual process, and time for buffering and preparation.

Lin Xia had even planned to take her teacher to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, using the immortal herbs there to strengthen her teacher's foundation and increase her strength, so that she could calmly face the divine test... But now?
(End of this chapter)