Douluo Continent: Dragon's Journey Across the World

After an unknown amount of time, and after countless trips across the Bridge of Helplessness, Yang Ping'an's soul power seemed to begin to gradually transform. His aura seemed to decrease significantly, and even the power of every strand of bloodline and every soul bone was undergoing a transformation, as if it were about to detach from Yang Ping'an's body.

If this continues, Yang Ping'an will likely become nourishment for the underworld, eventually turning into nothingness like a walking corpse.

After countless attempts, Yang Ping'an seemed to regain a sliver of clarity in his mind. This clarity seemed to come from the Grim Reaper's Scythe between his eyebrows, or perhaps from the Asura Demon Sword between his eyebrows; it seemed to be the work of two completely different forces.

The strange king in the air seemed a little surprised: "Shura, I didn't expect this Asura God to be so interesting. He's clearly the successor I've chosen, yet he still wants to interfere. It seems the Asura God has also taken a liking to this kid. This kid's opportunities are much better than I imagined."

"But this is not bad either. It saves the kid a lot of time. Maybe he really can succeed."

At this moment, Yang Ping'an seemed to vaguely realize that it was a change in his body. Instead of stepping onto the Bridge of Helplessness again, he sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Am I inside or outside the Tower of Death? Could it be that the Tower of Death on the other side doesn't exist at all, and I've always just been inside it?"

Having seemingly crossed the Bridge of Helplessness countless times, Yang Ping'an's mind was now exceptionally clear, and he appeared somewhat reborn, as if he were completely detached from worldly affairs.

"Is it true that 'the mountain doesn't look like a mountain because you're in it?' The King of the Strange wouldn't say something like that without reason. Could it be some kind of hint?"

Yang Ping'an searched through all the memories in his mind, and his heart seemed to gradually begin to understand.

The saying "Seeing a mountain as not a mountain" may be profound, but it is also extremely superficial. At least in my previous life, it was just the beginning.

"When you look at a mountain, it is a mountain; when you look at a mountain, it is not a mountain; when you look at a mountain, it is a mountain again."

Yang Ping'an gradually began to understand. The strange king's words were only partially true and might have been deliberately misleading him. A true understanding would probably be much more complicated.

The saying "seeing mountains as mountains" represents the first level of self-cultivation, the most primitive and intuitive stage of perception. At this stage, we are filled with curiosity and a fearless spirit of exploration. We simply understand everything before us—be it mountains and rivers, or human relationships—based on what we see, without in-depth thought or investigation.

At this stage, we are often easily misled by superficial phenomena, lacking the ability to distinguish right from wrong and to see the essence of things. For example, when we see a mountain, we only think of it as a mountain, without considering why it exists, its internal structure, or its impact on our lives—these are the deeper questions. Our minds change with the external environment, lacking our own opinions and the ability to think independently.

The next stage, "seeing mountains not as mountains," represents the second level of self-cultivation, a stage marked by questioning and in-depth exploration. At this stage, we begin to doubt our previously accepted intuitive perceptions and start to contemplate the essence and intrinsic connections of things.

When we face a mountain again, we no longer simply think of it as a mountain, but begin to think about why it has formed such a shape, what its geological structure is, and what impact it has on our environment. We begin to try to understand and interpret the mountain from different angles and levels, attempting to reveal its underlying essence and laws.

The final stage, "seeing mountains as mountains again," represents the third level of self-cultivation, a confident stage of understanding and transcendence. At this stage, after a long period of exploration and reflection, we finally gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of things. We begin to realize that many things, though seemingly complex and changeable on the surface, actually follow certain rules and principles.

Yang Ping'an carefully observed the underworld. This Bridge of Helplessness seemed to have a rule that transcended the entire Douluo Continent, as if it was guiding him to undergo some kind of change. To truly transcend this change, he needed endless years to understand, to experience, and to comprehend it. To comprehend it, the rules were often measured in years, requiring anywhere from several years to tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years.

Yang Ping'an pushed his spiritual power to its limit, even manifesting his head soul bone, and began to gradually integrate his spiritual power into the Bridge of Helplessness.

After the spiritual power entered the Bridge of Helplessness, it seemed to be baptized and gradually turned into nothingness. However, after an unknown period of time, it seemed to return to its original state under the influence of some special force.

During this process, the spiritual power seemed to undergo a transformation, as if it were reborn.

As more and more spiritual energy was injected, Yang Ping'an seemed to understand more and more about the power on the Bridge of Helplessness. It was not a so-called destruction or rebirth, but a completely new power, a power that even the God Realm had never possessed.

Yang Ping'an muttered to himself, "Reincarnation? I never imagined it was this kind of power. The question is, how can I break through this power? Or rather, how can I master this power?"

In Yang Ping'an's memory, the strongest power in the God Realm should belong to the five God Kings, namely the power of destruction, the power of life, the power of evil, the power of good, and the power of Asura. If one wanted to be above them, there would probably only be the legendary power of creation.

The power of reincarnation before my eyes seems completely different, more like some entirely new power, even surpassing the power of the divine realm.

After an unknown amount of time, Yang Ping'an stood up again. This time, after pausing to collect his thoughts, he stepped onto the Bridge of Helplessness once more.

However, this time Yang Ping'an made some changes. He directly brought out the power of the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone in his right leg and the power of the Soul Bone in his head to the extreme, carefully sensing the changes in power, or rather, the changes in rules, on the Bridge of Helplessness.

Yang Ping'an's right leg Blue Silver Emperor represents the ultimate life attribute, while the head soul bone has an extremely strong destructive attribute. Life and destruction are in a cycle, and it seems that a special power is gradually forming between the two, which is faintly merging with the power on the Bridge of Helplessness.

After Yang Ping'an crossed the Bridge of Helplessness this time, his memories were fully restored, but he did not return to the Bridge of Helplessness. Instead, he came to the front of a giant tower, which was the Tower of Death.

At this moment, Yang Ping'an felt that all his soul bones were gradually merging together, as if they had formed an unprecedented power.

Yang Ping'an couldn't help but roar to the sky: "Is this the power of reincarnation? It is indeed powerful."

As Yang Ping'an used all his power to touch the Tower of Death, the entire Tower of Death seemed to shrink suddenly in that instant, eventually merging into the location of Yang Ping'an's heart.

Yang Ping'an carefully observed the location of his heart and found that it seemed to have acquired some special attribute, and he could even use the Tower of Death perfectly.

Just then, a voice echoed in Yang Ping'an's mind.

"Yang Ping'an has passed the eighth of the Nine Trials of Death, gained the approval of the Tower of Death, obtained the Heart of Death, and was rewarded with a 15% increase in Death Affinity, bringing his total affinity to 95%."

Just then, the Mysterious King reappeared in front of Yang Ping'an.

"Yang Ping'an, I didn't expect you to complete the seventh level of the test so quickly. It seems you are much faster than I thought."

Yang Ping'an quickly bowed and said, "Thank you for your help, Lord Death, and especially thank you for your guidance earlier."

The Mysterious King nodded slightly: "This is your own destiny. I originally thought that with your talent and intelligence, it would take you at least a hundred years to pass the seventh test, but I didn't expect you to complete it in just half a year. It seems that you are indeed destined to be with me."

Yang Ping'an was surprised: "Lord Death, did this assessment really take half a year? I feel like it didn't take that long."

The King of Eeries spoke calmly: "What do you think this place is? This is the underworld I created in my previous life, an independent little world I built. Although it is synchronized with the outside world and time, it has its own rules."

"How many times do you think you've crossed the Bridge of Helplessness? From the first time you stepped onto the Bridge of Helplessness until now, a full six months have passed, which is 182 days. In these 182 days, you have crossed the Bridge of Helplessness a total of 36,000 times."

"Fortunately, you've finally grasped the essence; otherwise, it would probably have taken you nearly a hundred years to get through this. Otherwise, why would I have told you how difficult this assessment was?"

Yang Ping'an's face was somewhat dark at this moment. If it weren't for the hints from the Death Scythe and the Asura Demon Sword, he would probably have continued walking on the Bridge of Helplessness, and who knows how many years that would have taken.

Yang Ping'an's time is very tight right now. The Douluo world changes every day. If he becomes a god too late, all his previous plans may collapse.

The Mysterious King seemed to see through Yang Ping'an's thoughts: "Yang Ping'an, you no longer have the chance to pay attention to what's happening outside. In this small world, in this underworld, if you cannot complete the inheritance of the God of Death, then you will never be able to leave this place for the rest of your life."

Yang Ping'an quickly asked, "Lord Death, will the next two trials also take an endless amount of time like this?"

The King of Eeries countered, "Are you really that concerned about the time it takes to complete the assessment? But it's too late for you to worry about that now. Even the God of Asura cannot enter this Underworld, let alone other gods."

"However, I can tell you in advance that you are basically a god now. In other words, theoretically you are already a god. However, since you do not have a godhood or a tenth spirit ring, you can only be considered a demigod or a pseudo-god. The later assessments should not be too dangerous, but how long it takes depends on you."

At that moment, another voice appeared in Yang Ping'an's mind.

"Yang Ping'an, the eighth of the Nine Trials of Death, has cultivated his dual martial souls to the nine-ring level, obtained all soul rings and soul bones, gained the recognition of the Underworld, and become the Lord of the Underworld. There is no time limit."

Yang Ping'an was also surprised when he saw the assessment content. There was no time limit or penalty for failure, which seemed to be completely different from other assessments.

"Lord Death, how can I gain the world's approval? Is there anything I need to do?"

The eerie king said, "This small world has not truly taken shape. Although I established certain rules during my lifetime, they are not perfect. Although it can absorb some souls from the Douluo world, it has not yet merged with the entire Douluo world. Therefore, you need to improve its rules and even make this world a world like the God Realm."

Yang Ping'an was completely confused: "Lord Death, I still don't quite understand. With my strength, I shouldn't be able to access things at the level of rules, right?"

The eerie king said, "Don't you understand your own strength? After passing the seventh trial, you can use the power of reincarnation, the power of death, and even a trace of life force and destructive force. In particular, you can use the heart of death. Naturally, you can do whatever you want in this small world."

"What's especially fortunate is that you actually have two spirit rings in your body, which saves you the trouble of acquiring spirit rings. Perhaps you can be called a level 100 true god without a divine position."

Yang Ping'an: ...

When did I get two spirit rings in my body?

The eerie king continued, "However, your situation is rather special. If you cannot inherit the godhood, you will be trapped in this small world forever. Even if you manage to return to the Douluo World, you will be ostracized by the entire Douluo Star." (End of Chapter)