The world suddenly darkened, and the humming of soul power ceased in an instant.
So this is the power of a god…
Azure Blue froze for the first time.
Amid the fury of heaven and earth, in the storming black clouds and raging thunder, Chen Fu saw the divine punishment descending from the heavens above. A brilliant blue bolt of lightning, carrying boundless divine might and an icy, overwhelming killing intent, instantly pierced through the makeshift defenses of the black and white twin dragons. It shattered the divine test barrier of the God of Bronze and Weapons,the one who had forcibly bound his test to Chen Fu ever since the creation of the Ark,and finally blasted through Chen Fu from head to toe.
"Sea God, how dare you!"
The moment the divine test shattered, heaven and earth echoed with an earth-shaking roar. Unimaginably vast divine power gathered instantly outside the world, its density so terrifying that even the world's crystal membrane violently trembled. That existence,beyond mortal imagination,actually attempted to forcefully break through the world membrane of the Douluo World!
Buzz!
The world membrane suddenly erupted with an oppressive force surpassing divine rank, kicking both intruders out at once. The world's will immediately strengthened its resistance against the two gods' divine power. For a short period of time, neither deity would be able to step into the Douluo World again.
In the vast blue ocean of divine power, the god who ruled over the seas coldly glared at the one who had attempted to interfere,a special first-rank god, the God of Bronze and Weapons, known in the God Realm as the Craftsman God.
Killing a god's inheritor was a grave crime. But that foreign ant had ruined his ten-thousand-year plan and even rejected his goodwill, placing the Douluo World at risk of greater chaos at any time. His death was hardly regrettable.
The mortal refused the opportunity to relive his past, rejected the goodwill of being spared the mental branding despite having divine inheritance, and even repeatedly challenged the Sea God's authority over the Douluo World. Truly, he had sought death.
The Sea God's ruthless gaze passed over the Craftsman God, whose divine power surged in anger, and once again turned coldly toward the Douluo World.
Stubborn little ant.
Amid the crater-filled ruins left by the explosions, half of a colossal blue-gold ancient tree lay broken and withered on the ground. The air around it shimmered with fine soul power crystals, remnants of more than ten Ark-linked explosions.
More than a dozen Title Douluo elders from Shrek Academy rushed over after the massive explosion. Seeing the devastation before them, none of them could find words.
The weight in their hearts did not come only from failure, but also from the nature of that failure.
"Cough… cough…"
From beneath the debris, a tattered black-robed old man burst out of the rubble, carrying an unconscious elder,his body cracked but faint signs of life returning.
"Pavilion Master!"
Xuanzi and the others hurried forward.
Long Xiaoyao tossed the half-formed divine-body Mu En to Yan Shaozhe. His expression was complicated. At the final moment, Mu En had shielded him, and thanks to his half-completed divine body, the two survived the lingering force of the divine punishment. They hadn't been the target.
"Where is Chen Fu?!"
Soul power flared uncontrollably around Ma Xiaotao like flames. Her eyes were bloodshot as she looked at Long Xiaoyao.
He remained silent. He had attempted to intervene, but clearly failed.
A golden figure swept past them, rushing into the ruins to search. Terrifying strength tore apart layers of metal fragments left by the soul power explosions.
Joining her was Ning Tian, who had arrived shortly afterward and displayed monstrous strength rare even among the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School.
As the imperial auspice beast, Jinlin did not believe that someone brimming with tangible destiny like Chen Fu would die so easily.
Ma Xiaotao tried to rush past, but Yan Shaozhe grabbed her, refusing to let go or speak.
The atmosphere among the elders was suffocatingly heavy.
More and more people from the Soul Tool Department arrived as Jinlin and Ning Tian tore the ruins apart, climbing onto the nearly-destroyed Sea God Island.
"…" Fan Yu's heart twisted with pain as he stared at the shattered remnants of his disciple's life's work.
The furious words of that unknown god had revealed the identity of the one who cast the divine punishment,the Sea God, the deity Shrek Academy had revered for generations.
Crack…
Under Jinlin's terrifying strength, the shattered remains of the massive blue-gold tree were overturned, revealing a tattered humanoid figure hidden beneath the dust.
Shaking violently, the figure crawled out little by little, crimson blood oozing from the cracks in his skin.
He stopped Jinlin and Ning Tian from helping him, then forced himself to lift his head toward the rushing Ma Xiaotao, pulling at his broken face muscles to show that he was still alive.
Dragging his mangled body, Chen Fu pushed himself out of the dirt. As he looked around at the bewildered faces staring at him, he suddenly burst into laughter, his wild messy hair making him look both unrestrained and insane.
"Hahaha,! Cough!"
Scarlet blood splattered the dust.
Chen Fu had never been this miserable. His body was cracked open everywhere, kept together only by his ring-melting body tempering technique. All four transparent soul rings containing nuclear Arks had been destroyed. Azure Blue's data divine ring had a hole blasted through it, and massive amounts of data were leaking.
Due to the world's will suppressing divine-class energies, even gods could not unleash overly powerful attacks freely. Most of the damage had been blocked by the Craftsman God's divine test barrier. The rest was absorbed by the Ascension soul tool, which Azure Blue used in full overload mode during Protocol One. As a result, the tool exploded, its host,the blue-gold tree,reduced to dust, and the Azure Blue system was critically damaged.
Even so, he was still alive.
Because multiple forces had protected him, and the Ascension device had unleashed a counter-force at god-level during its overload.
Cough.
He wiped fragments of his own organs from the corner of his mouth, trying to calm himself.
He had misunderstood one thing. The god who tried to probe him using the appearance of his lover from his previous life was none other than the Sea God,the very figure he had always tried to align himself with, the faith of Shrek Academy.
Why Shrek?
Why the Sea God Lake?
Why the Sea God Island?
Why make the Sea God Pavilion Master Mu En the first executor of the Ascension program?
Someone who took the path of godhood at the Sea God's sanctuary naturally benefitted from the Sea God. Their foundational allegiance would also naturally align with him.
The Craftsman God had clung to him ever since the Ark's creation, even bestowing a god-given ring when Chen Fu lacked a suitable one, and helping resurrect the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Chen Fu had scorned the forcibly bestowed divine test, but he was still a student and teacher of Shrek Academy, a junior of the Sea God.
So why… was he not accepted?
Why wait until he was about to succeed to strike?
Did the Sea God see him merely as an insect?
Did his technology make the god afraid?
Or did the god find him too intelligent to control?
"Chen Fu, you defied the gods and brought divine punishment upon us! Your crime deserves death!"
A Sea God–faith elder suddenly denounced him.
"Defy the gods?"
Chen Fu laughed expressionlessly, then stared coldly at the elder.
"What does our development of soul tool technology have to do with any god?"
"Divine punishment?"
He looked at the despairing students and teachers of the Soul Tool Department and let out a manic laugh. Cracks bled across his face, and through his disheveled white hair, his bloodshot eyes shone with a brilliance that was maddening and blinding.
"That wasn't divine punishment! It was the highest form of respect a god can offer!"
"It means our direction is correct! He is trying to stop us! Trying to halt our progress! He is afraid!"
"Teachers, students of Shrek Academy,what has divine faith ever truly offered you?"
"Perhaps in the past he gave us safety, wisdom, and skill. But now, he has fallen!"
"He is stopping us from advancing! He fears our advancement! He wants us to stay small and stagnant forever!"
"Can he make you gods?!"
"He cannot! He is nothing but a selfish deity, ignorant and foolish, who interferes with the development of our civilization for his own gain!"
The young man who had suffered a massive blow was venting everything inside him. Xuanzi's heart trembled, and he squeezed Elder Mu's unconscious hand until it hurt.
Golden sunlight pierced the lingering smoke of the ruins, refracting into dazzling colors through the high-energy soul crystals.
In the girl's eyes, the boy stood before a crowd crushed by authority, raising his arms high. The pale-gold sunlight seemed to cloak him in radiant armor as he shouted:
"Abandon the sinful god! Become your own god!"
The earth-shaking declaration shook everyone's heart.
The world seemed to fall silent…
Chen Fu
smelled blood.
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