Chinese animation: Starting with Bad Guys

Chapter 1 The Final Trial

Deep within the palace of the underworld, the power of renewal and order, like a gentle stream, silently encircles the throne that symbolizes the authority of the universe.

Qin Chuan sat upright on it, his eyes slightly closed, not to rest, but to sense the vast and boundless power flowing within his body that had already transcended the dimensions of this world.

That power flowed like a galaxy, as if it were the beginning of chaos, roaring through his meridians and blood vessels. Every particle contained the power to shatter stars and reshape the laws of nature.

A moment later, he slowly raised his right hand, palm up, and a soft yet profound golden light quietly emerged, like the rising sun, dispelling the last trace of shadow in the depths of the hall.

It was the mark of the god of Chinese animation that gave him trials and guided him through different worlds of Chinese animation.

Today, this mark is no longer so mysterious to him.

With absolute control over power and laws, dimensions open up wherever the mind goes.

Even without this mark, he could travel freely through the endless void, and even, through the pull of memories and cause and effect, he could bring back the people he had once set foot in the world to his side and reunite them in this underworld palace.

This mark has been dormant for a long time.

In the past, whenever he successfully completed the trials of a world, it would hum in a very short time, launching him into the next magnificent journey.

This unusual silence, ironically, aroused Qin Chuan's curiosity, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.

With a slight thought, he activated the gentle golden light in his palm.

A long-lost voice, carrying a certain timeless rhythm, resounded directly in the depths of his consciousness, clear yet indifferent, devoid of any emotion:

"Trial participant, congratulations on completing all the prescribed trials. Your strength, temperament, and understanding of order and truth have all met the standards, and you are qualified to inherit the position of 'God of Chinese Comics'."

The voice paused slightly, as if making some kind of final judgment, weighing factors beyond the rules, before resounding again:

"However, before you are truly crowned as a god and take control of the Chinese animation universe, you still need to complete the final trial."

"What the final trial is, I believe, is something you have already glimpsed at your current level, and you already have the answer in your heart."

"Whether you go or not is your decision."

After the message was transmitted, the golden light in his palm seemed to have completed its final mission. The light gradually subsided and dissipated, eventually turning into specks of golden fireflies, like fireflies returning to their nests, completely merging into Qin Chuan's palm and skin, leaving no trace, as if it had never existed.

Qin Chuan's lips curled slightly, revealing a knowing smile.

This god of Chinese animation, whom I've never met, seems to enjoy creating an air of mystery.

He naturally knew what he meant.

That world, faintly visible amidst countless clues of the world, is a top-tier world of gods and demons, where true immortals, demons, and even indestructible saints exist...

That place is the ultimate battlefield of power, and also the source of the laws.

He had long been curious about that world.

How could we not go?

The next moment, Qin Chuan suddenly stood up from the throne, his movements fluid and natural.

He took a step forward, and the stable spacetime barrier of the Super Beast World in front of him, which was once regarded as an insurmountable absolute boundary, shattered silently like fragile glass, revealing the endless void sea behind it, which was bizarre, intertwined with laws, and filled with destruction and rebirth.

Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Chuan's figure disappeared into the chaos.

He locked onto the unique coordinate fluctuations emanating from that supreme world in the darkness, like a lighthouse, and resolutely marched towards a higher dimension, his posture decisive and without any hesitation.

In the chaos, years are not recorded; so-called time loses all meaning in the endless void where rules are disordered and space is folded.

Qin Chuan's figure seemed to transform into eternity itself, traversing the bizarre and fantastical dimensional gaps, enduring the impact of spacetime turbulence powerful enough to crush stars and annihilate souls, yet his speed remained undiminished.

His form became increasingly refined, like a tempered needle, constantly piercing through layers of illusory barriers, and advancing relentlessly.

No one knows how much time had passed—perhaps a moment, perhaps ten thousand years—but suddenly, a tiny, hair-thin crack appeared in the eternally unchanging chaotic color ahead.

Beyond the rift, one could vaguely sense the vast and pure spiritual energy, as well as countless complex auras of laws, some majestic, some eerie, some sacred, and some mysterious.

The crack appeared quickly and disappeared even faster, almost instantly closing in, as if it were the world's instinctive self-healing.

In that split second, Qin Chuan's speed suddenly exploded, like a streak of light that transcended the concept of time and space, and he stepped into the disappearing rift with perfect precision.

Time and space shift, and everything is renewed.

Qin Chuan felt a sudden change in the laws surrounding him. A world pressure far greater than that of the Super Beast World, ancient, vast, and imbued with a rich immortal spirit and a deep, eerie aura, descended like an invisible giant mountain.

He has already arrived, standing firmly on solid ground, or rather, on the edge of a strange land.

This is an underwater barrier that was forcibly created.

Outside, there is a deep, endless ocean with turbulent undercurrents and pressure strong enough to crush steel, where the shadows of giant beasts can be vaguely seen lurking; inside, however, is a purgatory scene where heat and cold intertwine, and light and darkness coexist.

Huge stone pillars, exuding an aura of suppression, stand tall, running from top to bottom, like the spine supporting the heavens and the earth.

On each stone pillar, there are majestic dragons with imposing scales and piercing eyes!

They are not sculptures, but living dragons, exuding powerful dragon might, like the coldest jailers. With each breath of their dragons, they activate the power of the barrier, suppressing this underwater hell.

Within the purgatory, thick, scorching dark red magma churned, and bubbles containing pure, malevolent energy burst open from time to time, releasing corrosive toxic fumes.

In the shadows of the churning lava and the crisscrossing, thick chains of runes, one could vaguely see enormous, ferocious beasts, their bodies pierced by chains and nailed to stone pillars.

They let out a silent roar; only their eyes, filled with resentment and pain, testified to their tenacious vitality.

Among them, the most eye-catching are the three dragons of different shapes, imprisoned in the core area of ​​Purgatory and suffering from the scorching heat of magma.

They are clearly of the same origin and bloodline as the dragons that suppress this place on the stone pillars, yet now they have become prisoners, their dragon scales dull, enduring the surveillance and punishment of their own kind!

"Ao Run, don't be so presumptuous!"

At the top of the largest stone pillar, a dragon, the largest in size, shimmering with a majestic silver light, with horns as imposing as a crown, suddenly spoke, its voice booming like a bell, carrying both majesty and a hint of weariness.

A mighty dragon's might then spread, shaking the entire purgatory and causing the magma below to surge with scorching waves.

"With you here, elder brother, how dare I be presumptuous?"

Below, in the magma, the eerie, icy-purple dragon Ao Run, upon hearing the sound, showed no fear. Instead, it let out a charming yet chilling laugh, its long tail swaying gently in the scalding magma, stirring up dangerous ripples.

"It's just a little trick to pass the time."

As she spoke, her incomparably sharp, gleaming dragon claws seemed to casually slash in front of her. Wherever her fingertips passed, fine black cracks were cut open in the void, emitting a chilling spatial fluctuation that seemed capable of easily tearing apart the soul.

"Auntie's Sky-Splitting Claw is incredibly powerful!"

A clear voice, filled with heartfelt admiration and a touch of childishness, rang out.

The speaker was a young man dressed in white, with a handsome face and a pair of small white jade dragon horns on his forehead, standing beneath the stone pillar where the silver dragon was coiled.

He was Ao Bing, the nephew of Ao Run and the third prince of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea.

He stood on the edge of the scorching heat, yet a pure and ethereal aura surrounded him, shielding him from the intense heat and making him appear out of place.

"No matter how powerful Aunt is, she was still suppressed in this underwater hell for thousands of years, wasn't she?"

Ao Run chuckled self-deprecatingly, but when his icy purple dragon eyes turned to Ao Bing, they held a hint of undisguised envy and complexity:

"Unlike you, who have a good father and a good master, and who possessed a spiritual pearl at a young age, with a flawless foundation, you will one day break free from this underwater cage, ascend to the Heavenly Court, and join the ranks of immortals..."

"Master..."

Upon hearing the word "Master," a complex and inexplicable expression flashed across Ao Bing's handsome face.

His master was from Kunlun Jade Void Palace, a disciple of the Chan Sect, and a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, one of the Three Pure Ones. He possessed profound Taoist skills but was also extremely strict.

It inspires awe in him, making him want to get close, yet he doesn't know how to do so, always separated by an invisible barrier, like watching a fire from across the river.

"Ao Bing, how's your kung fu...?"

A slightly hoarse voice, with a noticeable stutter, as if each word was being squeezed out with great effort, rang out from behind Ao Bing at that moment.

Upon hearing the sound, Ao Bing quickly composed himself, suppressed all his emotions, and respectfully turned around to look.

Sure enough, a man dressed in a black robe, tall and thin, with a face that was somewhat sinister and lingering with melancholy, was seen standing there, like a ghost blending into the shadows.

It was his master, Shen Gongbao!

Shen Gongbao looked at his exceptionally talented disciple, who possessed a spiritual pearl, and his lips moved as if he wanted to give him more instructions. However, the deeper words stuck in his throat, and he could not say them.

However, before he could even speak—

A completely unfamiliar, calm voice, tinged with amusement and scrutiny, seemingly transcending all the turmoil, love, hate, and demonic aura surrounding it, resounded without warning in this underwater inferno:

“Ao Run, Ao Bing, Shen Gongbao… Interesting, truly interesting…”

The sound wasn't loud, but it instantly drowned out the churning lava and the dragons' breathing, silencing the entire inferno.

All the dragons and demons, whether they were the suppressors or the prisoners, were suddenly startled and looked in the direction of the sound, filled with surprise and vigilance.

At the edge of purgatory, at the barrier of distorted light and shadow, a figure stood silently, seemingly out of nowhere.

It was Qin Chuan who came from another field.

Chapter 2 Primordial Limitless Golden Immortal

With Qin Chuan's current state of returning to simplicity and merging with the Dao, let alone Ao Guang, the East Sea Dragon King with the highest cultivation in this underwater purgatory, even if the Heavenly Emperor of this world were to come in person, he would not be able to see through even a fraction of Qin Chuan's true nature unless he took the initiative to reveal himself.

In the eyes of Ao Guang and other dragons, he had no spiritual energy fluctuations around him, and his flesh and blood body was just like that of an ordinary human struggling to survive in the mortal world.

Ao Guang's massive silver dragon head abruptly turned towards his third sister, Ao Run, who was trapped in the lava. His dragon eyes were filled with wrath and questioning intent:

"Ao Run! Are you up to something again?!"

His first suspect was his own sister, who was always restless and cunning.

Her innate ability, the Void-Splitting Claw, can tear through the void and create some incredible commotion. Perhaps it was unintentional or even intentional on her part that she tore through the void and dragged such an unfortunate mortal into this underwater purgatory where mortals should never exist.

"Brother! You're really slandering someone's innocence out of thin air!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Run immediately cried out in protest, her charming voice filled with grievance and dissatisfaction:

"Yes, I usually like to use these claws to relieve my boredom, but under the suppressive power of this underwater hell, my Sky-Splitting Claws are only one-tenth of their original power. The small gap I tore open healed itself in the next moment. How could I possibly bring a living person in?"

She paused, her dragon tail slapping against the lava, sending up a few sparks, before continuing:

"Besides, look at him! What mortal body could withstand the tearing of the void turbulence? He'd probably be turned to dust the moment he got close!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Guang's anger subsided slightly, and he felt that the dragon's words made sense.

Although Ao Run was cunning, there was nothing wrong with what she said. In this underwater hell, her supernatural powers were indeed greatly suppressed.

Moreover, as she said, how could a mortal body withstand the turbulent void?