Douluo Calendar, Year 21073
Di Tian, who no longer concealed his cultivation and energy, was still called the "Beast God," but his true form was a genuine divine dragon. When he heard that the Sea God, Skadi, had actually used her authority to stir the ocean currents and lead the Sea Soul Beasts in a migration, a tempest of shock surged in the depths of his eyes.
In Di Tian's understanding, gods were inherently "parasites"--relying on the endless power of faith to anchor themselves in the Divine Realm, and borrowing the celestial lands to absorb cosmic energy and condense it into immortal qi in exchange for eternal life. Yet, the Sea God before him completely overturned his understanding.
The ocean current stirred by the black-and-white killer whales was like a "highway" opened by a deity. Wherever it passed, countless marine creatures migrated along with it. The surging waves carried thousands of Sea Soul Beasts; the Sea God's mighty power was no longer a high and mighty deterrent, but a cradle that upheld the continuation of life.
The endless blood of the Sea God soaked and nourished her subjects along with the migration, transforming dead seas into vibrant homes teeming with vitality. The Seaborn reshaped the structure of the ocean, making the environment more suitable for living beings to reside. The Sea Soul Beasts sometimes broke away from the current to frolic, and sometimes drifted along with the waves; the entire ocean became their playground.
Long-extinct races reappeared in the world, their lineages continuing under the protection of the Sea God, and entirely new creatures were even born. That ocean current seemed as though it would rush toward the very end of life in the universe, nurturing endless living beings with a gentle posture.
Di Tian also obtained the method of lineage continuation from Skadi's hands--as long as he truly broke through to become a divine beast, he would be able to scatter his own dragon qi and dragon blood just like the Dragon God of the past, tinting the Soul Beast under his command and reproducing the glory of the Dragon Clan.
Through this, he comprehended a technique to inherit memories through bloodlines, allowing him to store soul skill, memories, and talents within the lineage. Even if he died, as long as the bloodline remained unbroken, there would eventually come a day when the glory would reappear.
"Di Tian, on behalf of all land Soul Beast from this day forward, thanks the Lord Sea God!" This proud dragon king lowered his own dragon head, paying deep respect to Skadi. The remaining savage beasts followed closely behind and bowed--this gesture was a willing submission, unrelated to strength, honoring only this guardianship of life.
Gu Yue stood to the side, watching the Soul Beast who had never bowed so grandly to her. Her heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions; she finally understood that as the "Co-Sovereign of Soul Beasts," she was still far too inadequate.
Yet, the light of wisdom always reveals itself inadvertently. Having reflection meant the beginning of progress. Even though her emotional intelligence and experience were still shallow, at least she had taken the first step. This also made her increasingly determined in her plan to join the Spirit Pagoda after transforming--she wanted to revive all her Soul Beast subjects, and more importantly, she wanted to properly study "Law." In the future, she would definitely thrash that smelly brat who looked down on her!
"Just you wait! Once this big sister returns with great success, I'll definitely spank your little butt until it's swollen!" Gu Yue clenched her small fists, her adorable purple eyes filled with an unyielding fighting spirit.
Douluo Calendar, Year 11235
Within Star Luo City, a bizarre war of karma suddenly erupted.
The cause was Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei. After witnessing the Myriad Karma Mirage, he caught a glimpse of the future path of development for soul masters--in an era where individual power clashed with soul tool technology, a Titled Douluo already found it difficult to withstand several Rank 9 Soul Missiles. Even though their soul tool technology was backward by nearly ten thousand years and unable to replicate the power of Battle Armor, as long as they had a direction, mobilizing the strength of the entire nation meant they could inevitably forge a new path.
Xu Jiawei immediately summoned the world's blacksmiths, holding a grand blacksmith competition in the name of a contest. The rare metals within the Star Luo Empire's treasuries were completely brought out for the blacksmiths to forge and replicate. On the continent at that time, there were two existences known as "Divine Craftsmen," who were said to be capable of forging mortal iron into divine iron. At this moment, they also stood upon the tournament grounds together.
Ultimately, a blacksmith named Ma Xianhong stood out from the crowd.
He could not be considered the strongest--at eighteen years of age, his soul power was only in the forties, making him completely unremarkable in the Douluo Continent where geniuses emerged in multitudes. With gray-pink long hair, a tall figure, and slightly bulging yet not coarse muscles, at first glance, he actually looked like a pretty boy, completely out of place among the broad-supported and thick-waisted blacksmiths around him. His martial soul was merely an ordinary iron hammer, and his soul power cultivation was mediocre; standing in the crowd, he even appeared somewhat frail.
Yet, the moment he began forging, he became a completely different person. His delicate appearance was exceptionally eye-catching among the crowd of rough men, naturally drawing many gazes. Different from other blacksmiths who threw rare metals into the fire to smelt, Ma Xianhong only took a piece of ordinary Deep Silver and placed it on the anvil, then quietly closed his eyes.
In the next second, his martial soul iron hammer suddenly manifested, and a strike slammed heavily onto the Deep Silver! The powerful force caused the silver metal to vibrate and shrink, impurities expelling like a receding tide, and its entire body gradually emitted a brilliant silver light. Each of his strikes was heavier than the last, and the force of his swinging hammer actually affected the surrounding blacksmiths, to say nothing of the sound of the metal vibrating--even outsiders found it crisp and pleasant to the ear.
Very quickly, the other blacksmiths all stopped, and even the two Divine Craftsmen stared unblinkingly at Ma Xianhong. His forging rhythm, frequency, and striking sounds all carried a bizarre cadence. Just listening to it made one's mind and spirit feel completely relaxed.
But in the ears of the blacksmiths, this sound was entirely different--they seemed to hear the "echo" of the metal, feeling the "breathing" of this piece of Deep Silver. Every time Ma Xianhong struck a blow, they would twist their bodies along with the rhythm of the sound, as if their souls were being cleansed, leaning backward from the recoil of the strike before slowly standing straight again.
At this moment, Ma Xianhong did not seem to be forging metal, but rather "forging" these blacksmiths. Even the Titled Douluo, including Xu Jiawei, stared intently at him--that movement of wielding the iron hammer possessed a sense of power yet carried the elegance of a work of art. The aura of handling the light as if it were heavy, and handling the heavy as if it were light, was performed to the absolute limit by him.
Clang, clang, clang! The dense and rhythmic striking sounds fell, and in just a short moment, the Thousand Forging was already complete. That piece of Deep Silver was smooth and beautiful, having already reached the level of "divine iron" for this era.
Ma Xianhong suddenly stopped his hands, and the silver light of the Deep Silver froze along with him. The person and the object seemed suspended in time and space. In the next second, his aura suddenly erupted, a golden energy coursing through the iron hammer before delivering a heavy strike--mana poured over the Deep Silver like flowing water.
The metal did not change in the slightest, and even the previous vibrating sounds vanished, merely lying quietly upon the anvil. The audience held their breath and waited for a long time, yet there was still no movement.
"Is this... a failure?" someone whispered.
"No, it's a success." Ma Xianhong slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the perfectly square metal, and gave it a gentle tap.
A miracle occurred--the solid Deep Silver actually spread out like a liquid, flowing along the surface of the anvil. With a stroke of Ma Xianhong's soul power, this pool of "silver water" flipped along with it, circulating around his arm. After enveloping his entire hand, it transformed into armor, blades, and spears according to his will, turning into all things in the world before finally reconversing into a silver sphere.
Law artifact: Fluidic Gold, success!
The war of karma was originally a reflection of the destinies of Law Seekers and ordinary people, a gathering of mortal events. One only needed to alter one of three things--thought, faith, or technology--to make it a breakthrough node that profoundly influenced subsequent history. Then, endless karma would converge, allowing Wan Ye's tentacles to extend into the world.
At this moment, above Star Luo City, the karma of the entire world began to gather. A golden tree branch sliced through the horizon, and an unripe fruit upon the tip of the branch was frantically absorbing the surrounding karma. Unlike the era of the Legend of the Dragon King, the true body of the Myriad Karma Immortal had not descended at this moment, so there was no need for the Dream of Myriad Karma to cover everything.
People all over the world froze for an instant--though it was just the blink of an eye, it felt as though they had experienced a long dream. The higher a person's cultivation, the more clearly they could remember the contents of the dream.
Unlike the Myriad Karma Corpse Immortal who required human witnessing to grow stronger, the Myriad Karma Immortal, though weak, could drop the Fruit of Myriad Karma through major karmic events. Once it fused into the earth, it would unconsciously modify the laws of the world. It did not need human witnessing; it had long since transformed into a fundamental Law of the universe, becoming the Spirit of the Plane of the future world--the world itself.
The "Law artifact" born this time because of Ma Xianhong completely changed the path of blacksmiths. Even if Hundred Forging, Thousand Forging, Spirit Metal, Heavenly Forging, and Divine Forging appeared one after another, they would be unable to shake the status of Law artifacts--they would ultimately be forged by Law Seekers into Law artifacts exclusive to this world.
The Law had descended. Whomever the Fruit of Myriad Karma ultimately fell to, or whatever wish was made, no longer had anything to do with Ma Xianhong. This experience of forging and learning had already transformed into a seed of divine ability, using his aptitude and disposition as nourishment to sprout his Natal Divine Ability: Hundred Refinements of Divine Mechanism.
Though it was merely an elementary-stage divine ability and he could not yet refine Law artifacts entirely as he pleased, he was already walking upon the correct path, and his future was set.
"No one is allowed to move blindly! Violators will be executed without exception! Xu Dongqing, go up and seize the Fruit of Myriad Karma!" Xu Jiawei shouted in reprimand, causing the Titled Douluo of the Star Crown Clan to ascend into the sky to capture the fruit. As for how the crowd would slaughter and fight over it after learning the fruit's function through the Dream of Myriad Karma, Ma Xianhong no longer cared.
He only knew that in the end, three Titled Douluo died in this struggle.
Douluo Calendar, Year 1096 · The Agreement of Spirit Hall
Hei Loulan, who had been playing inside Spirit Hall for a long time, suddenly burst out laughing. Qian Renxue, who had been suppressed the entire time during their sparring session, instantly felt mocked. With a loud clatter, she threw down her sword, turned around, and walked away.
"You bastard! I finally see through you! To think I thought you were an innocent little girl at first, but it turns out you're just a fun-seeker who loves playing pranks! You always bully me!" Qian Renxue puffed out her chubby little face like an angry little pufferfish and yelled, "I've decided not to pay attention to you bad guy for a whole day! No... that's too long, three hours! (。•́〈•̀。)"
"Don't be like that! I like Xiaoxue the very, very most~" Seeing that she had taken the bullying a bit too far, Hei Loulan hurriedly hugged her and threw out her trump card, "Tonight I'll take you to sneak into your mommy's blanket, okay?"
As expected, the angry little pufferfish instantly "deflated." With a flushed face, she covered her eyes, peeked toward Bibi Dong who was exercising her physique in tight clothing nearby, swallowed her saliva, and asked in a small voice, "Is, is that guaranteed?"
"Guaranteed! Who do you think I am!"
After comforting Qian Renxue, Hei Loulan turned her head to look at Bibi Dong. The latter's ear tips had flushed red from being teased like this, but she could only glare at her furiously without saying a single word.
"Two textbook tsunderes! They clearly want to sleep together like a normal mother and daughter, but both are too embarrassed to say it, hmph!" Hei Loulan muttered in her heart.
"I felt a fluctuation in the Laws of Karma. What happened in the 'present'?" Bibi Dong suddenly spoke. Over the past year, she had bitterly practiced the method of cultivating the primordial spirit transmitted by Hei Loulan. Though she had neglected her soul power and mana, she had barely stepped into the realm of minor divine abilities, allowing her to subtly perceive the ripples of karma--even if she could only see a faint ripple within the void above Hei Loulan's head, it was enough to prove her progress.
"In the 'present' timeline, the first war of karma has already broken out. The 'me' who focuses on Law artifacts has ignited a war, the Fruit of Myriad Karma has descended, and a wonderful Natal Divine Ability was even awakened," Hei Loulan explained.
"Then our war of karma..." Bibi Dong's voice carried a hint of gloom. After focusing on her primordial spirit, her thoughts had become increasingly clear, completely sorting out the causes and consequences. Qian Daoliu's attitude of letting Qian Xunji avoid them--as if letting him "enjoy the remainder of his life"--made her feel resentful yet helpless.
"Don't worry, the years across the three timelines are synchronized. Four years from now will be the beginning of everything." Hei Loulan waved her hand.
Bibi Dong suddenly pulled Qian Renxue tightly into her embrace, their two exquisite little faces pressed together. Closing her eyes, she felt the warmth of her daughter--this was flesh and blood that had come from her own body. Yet Hei Loulan knew that what she was thinking about at this moment was how the Fruit of Myriad Karma should be used after the great battle.
A moment later, Bibi Dong opened her eyes, her gaze resolute. "Good! No one shall manipulate our destiny, not even the gods!"