Word Count: 3,295 Words
******
Resonant dragon roars rolled through the sky. The Sword of Destiny slashed out, and in the instant it left Ling Bai's hand, the pure-white blade turned into a magnificent, translucent rose-gold. Space tore apart like twin streams of water as the sword light reached Ye Xishui in a single heartbeat.
Ye Xishui stood atop the Death God Pagoda. Her hands came together, and a massive blood-red illusory figure materialized behind her. Six black and three red. Nine spirit rings rose one after another.
Bloody Demon Puppet Manifestation!
Her seventh spirit ring blazed as she melted into the Bloody Demon Puppet. The blood-red illusory figure swelled against the wind, and a scarlet halo erupted outward to meet the sword radiance that had ripped through space.
Hummm—
The Bloody Demon Puppet's power proved utterly useless. The sword light pierced straight through its body, and Ye Xishui shuddered involuntarily as a tiny white figure surfaced above her head. It was an exact replica of herself, as though her soul had been stripped from her flesh.
A bone-deep chill rose from her heart. She had no idea what had just happened. The Angel of Finality wielded power that mortals could not comprehend; she could feel that something fundamental had shifted within her, yet she could not identify what.
Eight pure-white wings beat gently as Ling Bai hovered in the sky. Humans were the darlings of heaven and earth, the protagonists of the world. The destiny carried by a human Son of Destiny was even more immense than that of an Emperor Destiny Beast.
By fusing with Ling Qiuxi, who could actively use the power of destiny, he had essentially found the key to unlock his own destiny force. Every one of his abilities sublimated together, and even the injuries he had sustained from absorbing the Death God Pagoda's assault head-on were temporarily sealed away and healed.
That earlier strike had been called Destiny Deprivation. Drawing on the Son of Destiny's authority, it laid a curse upon its target, stripping them of fate and turning them into destiny's forsaken child. From this moment on, Ye Xishui would meet misfortune at every turn, like a walking jinx. She would trip over flat ground and choke drinking cold water.
And that was merely the appetizer.
The eight pure-white wings shone with dazzling brilliance. Those rays drew together into a single pillar that shot toward the sky, blooming into a colossal white wheel of light.
Finality · Wheel of Destiny!
The Wheel of Destiny turned in the empty air. Its rotation resembled the turning of time's own gears, interweaving the trajectories of countless lives. From its rim, innumerable white motes drifted loose and fell like a meteor shower. Each tiny light carried a different fragment of destiny.
Whoever those motes brushed against saw their entire life replayed within: the path of their growth in the past, the brutal battlefield of the present, and dazzling splinters of possible futures. Every crossroad, every choice, revealed a different ending.
"No... no... impossible!"
A mote of destiny drifted down and sank into Ye Xishui's body. She saw her future as well, but where others saw a web of branching paths, hers was pitch-black. Beneath the weave of countless possibilities, all endings converged into a single, blood-red character:
DEATH!
"This Seat is Death God Douluo! The Death God is eternal!"
Ye Xishui let out a shrill, tearing howl. Her 100,000-year ninth spirit ring exploded with violent blood-red light, and the sky transformed. Crimson clouds surged overhead like a vast, roiling sea of blood.
Within the Bloody Demon Puppet's grasp, a strange blood-colored spear took form. The red was so deep it was unsettling, and fresh blood dripped from its tip without pause.
Ninth Spirit Skill, Bloodsea Soul-Burying Spear!
The moment the spear appeared, everything around Ling Bai transformed into a churning sea of blood. Countless agonized screams echoed through the air, congealing around his body to lock him in place. Ye Xishui had been lost to madness; she refused to accept that her destiny would end so miserably, and she would tear up this preordained fate by the roots!
The Death God Pagoda's shell flared with an almost painful scarlet glare. That glow was the sign of the pagoda being pushed beyond its limits. Under Ye Xishui's control, the Death God Pagoda squeezed out the last shreds of soul power from the vengeful spirits within. Souls were packed in and compressed one after another; the most powerful among them was Elder Song's!
The Death God Pagoda spat out a beam of the Light of the Death God, but this time the light did not blast toward Ling Bai. Instead, it dove into the Bloodsea Soul-Burying Spear. A Limit Douluo's ultimate ninth spirit skill superimposed onto the continent's number-one attack-type Spirit Guidance Device!
Death God Blood Soul Spear!
The vertical eye at the center of Ling Bai's brow snapped open. Rose-gold light poured into the Wheel of Destiny, and the wheel spun faster and faster until it brushed the edge of some invisible threshold. A tide of indescribably pure light burst outward, and the wheel dissolved into a massive white vortex that swallowed spirit power, light, and sound alike, scraping the air clean and forming an independent Destiny Domain.
Within that domain, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Space twisted and warped, knitting itself into layer upon layer of intricate patterns. To anyone who looked closely, the faint lines of a Seraphim, a Golden Dragon, and a Three-Eyed Golden Lion could be discerned hidden within those sigils.
Ye Xishui's pupils shrank to the size of needle points. The Death God Blood Soul Spear shot forth like lightning, and the wails of innumerable vengeful spirits joined into a single, earsplitting dirge as they hurled themselves into the Destiny Domain without the slightest fear of annihilation.
BOOM—
A blast that seemed to tear the world apart shook the sky. For a single heartbeat, pure white and blood-red alone ruled the air. Unparalleled radiance of white and red interwove and erupted, and a woman's razor-sharp scream cut through it all.
Long Xiaoyao knew that voice too well. His heart lurched and all composure shattered. He twisted around in desperation to plunge into the center of the explosion and drag Ye Xishui out. But how could the Bone Dragon King allow him to leave? Its bone wings flared with a cyan wind-attribute glow as it streaked after the Darkness Holy Dragon, mounted its back, and rained bone fists down without mercy.
The shockwaves finally dispersed, leaving only one figure at the center of the blast.
Ling Bai, still in his Angel of Finality state.
The white dragon-patterned armor bore a web of fine cracks, yet his overall aura remained steady. As for the peak Class 9 Spirit Guidance Device, the Death God Pagoda, nothing remained of it but a faint smear of ash drifting on the wind. A generation's Death God Douluo seemed to have scattered along with it.
"Xishui!"
Long Xiaoyao's voice broke with grief. He would rather take a Fire Dragon's Breath head-on than stay where he was. He stared at the sky, completely clean and empty, dazed and helpless as a lost child.
"Xiaoyao, save me!"
Ye Xishui had been reborn!
Gone was the twisted, evil aura of the Bloody Demon Puppet. Her entire body now radiated pure light, and a pair of magnificent golden phoenix wings unfurled from her back.
Bright Phoenix Innate Spirit Skill, Phoenix Nirvana!
No one had known Ye Xishui possessed Twin Martial Spirits, not the Black and White Holy Dragons, nor that old ghost Zhong Li. She had concealed her second Martial Spirit all along, and today, Nirvana Rebirth had snatched her back from the brink of death. But the price was steep. All her cultivation and skills tied to the Bloody Demon Puppet were gone, wiped clean. From here on, she was only a single-Martial-Spirit Bright Phoenix Spirit Master.
"Xishui... it's wonderful. You're still alive..."
The shock of having the lost returned hammered through Long Xiaoyao's mind. Phoenix Nirvana had restored Ye Xishui to her teenage years.
He reached out and brushed his fingers against her bright, beautiful face, and the Dragon Emperor Douluo's eyes blurred with tears.
This was the person he had seen in his dreams countless times.
This was the Ye Xishui he had loved for a lifetime, his one and only goddess!
Ye Xishui's gaze slid past him to Ling Bai, who still held the Sword of Destiny. A note of real apprehension crept into her voice. "Xiaoyao, that power has already surpassed our realm. It has touched the domain of Gods. I cannot stop him. Neither can you."
"No." Long Xiaoyao's tone was firm. "He's only a Spirit Douluo. Even after the Spirit Fusion, his total spirit power isn't large enough. Using that move once is already his limit.
And even if there were a second time..."
He broke off, lifting a dragon claw to set Ye Xishui gently atop his head.
"If he wants to kill you," Long Xiaoyao said, his voice like iron, "he'll have to step over my corpse first."
Ling Bai blinked from a distance. That line sounds oddly familiar... where have I heard it before?
Still, Long Xiaoyao wasn't wrong. The Wheel of Destiny had nearly wrung Ling Bai dry; he truly couldn't unleash it a second time. But the might of that single strike had been terrifying enough, drawing on the continent's power of destiny to crush a Limit Douluo head-on.
Were it not for the Bright Phoenix's Nirvana Rebirth, Zhongli Wu's family would have been holding a happy reunion in the underworld.
Ling Bai slowly exhaled a turbid breath. A Martial Spirit was the foundation of a Spirit Master, and with the Bloody Demon Puppet destroyed, the Evil Spirit Master had essentially ceased to exist. The Seraphim drank deep of the resulting feedback of spirit power.
How massive was the feedback from a Limit Evil Douluo?
The Seraphim was eating well today, a veritable state banquet!
Ling Bai sensed Long Xiaoyao's iron resolve to protect his goddess, and mindful that his own condition had slipped from its peak, he decisively dispatched the Bone Dragon King to entangle this Dragon Emperor Douluo whose 'love brain' was acting up.
Don't be fooled by how casually Long Xiaoyao had loafed his way through the fight against Elder Xuan. If anyone made a serious move on Ye Xishui's life now, the old man might just lose his mind, flush red with fury, and choose mutual destruction. A Limit Douluo self-detonation in the truest sense!
So the one throwing the fixed match became the Bone Dragon King. Punch by punch, kick by kick, the two traded blows in tidy turn-based fashion, coaxing Long Xiaoyao into calming down. Meanwhile, Ling Bai streaked toward the Dark Lightning Douluo and Netherworld Douluo he had been eyeing all along. The Sword of Destiny swept out twice, severing the lifelines of both Evil Douluo in a single breath.
Wipe them out. Every last one!
The Holy Spirit Cult's Evil Douluo were either dead or imprisoned. From here on, only a divided-hearted Long Xiaoyao and a half-crippled Ye Xishui remained...
Along with the still-unaccounted-for Death Abyss Douluo!
His business with the Evil Douluo finished, Ling Bai turned his gaze toward the Sun Moon Empire's Class 9 Spirit Guidance Masters. On the battlefield, they posed a far greater threat than most Titled Douluo. Every one of them killed meant fewer casualties in the continental wars to come, and Ling Bai had no intention of holding back.
The Angel of Finality streaked through the sky like a bolt of white lightning that had suddenly split the sky. The Class 9 Spirit Guidance Masters waved their hands frantically, fast as electric fans, faces blanched with terror.
Don't come over here!
The powerhouses of Shrek Academy and the Star Luo Empire engaged their opponents with bright grins, content to stall and wait for the angel's descent. Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan clenched his back teeth, and a column of brilliant light shot skyward from his body, swiftly condensing into a pure-white dome around him.
Class 9 Defensive Spirit Guidance Device, Unbreakable Shield!
Crack!
A single slap shattered Zheng Zhan's unrealistic dream. After the Martial Spirit Fusion, Ling Bai now wielded the Golden Dragon's Ultimate Strength. His gauntleted hand closed over that terror-stricken face, and with a sharp snap, the skull burst apart in a thunderous spray.
For a defender so renowned, the end could hardly have been more wretched. The remaining Class 9 Spirit Guidance Masters fell into utter despair. Before setting out, Xu Tianran had clearly told them this was a mop-up operation, a chance to swoop in and pick up the leavings. How had they ended up as pigs being lined up for slaughter!
Ling Bai claimed Zheng Zhan's Storage Spirit Guidance Device. Class 9 Spirit Guidance Masters were all filthy rich, with personal fortunes running to at least eight figures. Not one such opportunity to fatten his little treasury could be allowed to slip past.
Elsewhere in the sky, Starsky Douluo Ye Yulin manipulated the Sun Moon Divine Needle to drive back Shattered Star Douluo's Light of Shattered Stars, and the Unbreakable Douluo's death registered in his vision with painful clarity.
'He's going to cut his way clean through us...'
Ye Yulin's expression turned grim. The battle was already lost. Below the Limit Douluo realm, none of them had any realistic means of escaping this battlefield alive. He gently caressed something inside his Storage Spirit Guidance Device and let out a soft, melancholy sigh.
'To think I'd have to use you so soon after finishing you...
Ah, well. Death's already certain either way, so let our deaths be worth something to the Empire.'
The slaughter pressed on. Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan, Sun Moon Imperial Prince Xu Guozhong... the Class 9 Spirit Guidance Masters fell one after another, until at last it was Starsky Douluo Ye Yulin's turn.
Shattered Star Douluo released a ring of Light of Shattered Stars to sever every avenue of escape skyward, then threw back his head and laughed, waving Ling Bai over:
"I've got him pinned! Come finish him off!"
Ling Bai gave a small nod and thrust. The Sword of Destiny pierced clean through Ye Yulin's heart. In that very instant, the Spider Emperor Sense and the power of destiny howled warning together.
The light of life dimmed in Ye Yulin's eyes, yet his lips curved into a smile.
"It's called the Space Destroyer. I made it with my own hands..."
Class 9 Stationary Spirit Cannon Shell, Space Destroyer!
Long before Ling Bai had even arrived, Ye Yulin had quietly armed the timed detonation device hidden inside the Space Destroyer. A blaze of bright silver radiance burst out from his ruptured Storage Spirit Guidance Device, so dazzling that even the sun seemed to dim before it!
Ye Yulin was one of the Sun Moon Empire's 'guaranteed top five, contending for top three' Class 9 Spirit Guidance Masters. The Space Destroyer embodied the sum of his life's work, and its power far surpassed that of any ordinary Class 9 Stationary Spirit Cannon Shell.
The sky let out an enraged bellow. The cloud layers were blasted outward, and spiderweb cracks of pure black raced across the firmament in every direction. The Space Destroyer had triggered a space storm!
"Invincible Barrier!"
The Golden Tortoise flung itself forward without hesitation, its shell flaring as it shielded Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and the others while they retreated. A dome of dark-golden spirit power held firm as bedrock, weathering the world-rending fury of the space storm.
The other powerhouses from Shrek Academy and the Star Luo Empire likewise shielded their young geniuses and bore them safely back to the ground. Only a handful of top-tier experts remained aloft now: Jianmu Douluo, Kong Deming, the Bone Dragon King, Long Xiaoyao, and Ye Xishui.
"Xiao Bai!"
Jianmu Douluo and the Bone Dragon King plunged into the still-raging space storm. They found no trace of Ling Bai. What they did find was a single 10,000-year skull spirit bone bearing Shattered Star Douluo's lingering aura, and their hearts turned cold in that instant!
Man and dragon searched in a frenzy, yet for all their efforts, not so much as a hair of Ling Bai or Ling Qiuxi could be found.
Only when the space storm had begun to subside did Ning Tian and the others dare ride the Golden Tortoise and the Light Spirit Holy Dragon back into the sky. Ning Tian's voice cracked with urgency.
"Grandpa Jianmu, did you find Bai-ge?"
"No..."
Jianmu Douluo's expression was bleak as he shook his head. A single branch extended to return the spirit bone to Xu Jiujiu.
"This spirit bone carries Shattered Star's aura. Keep it safe."
"I understand, Senior Jianmu."
Xu Jiujiu closed her eyes, pain etched into every line of her face. Shattered Star Douluo had been a Rank 95 Super Douluo, one of the top five Imperial Worships of the Star Luo Empire. His death was a devastating blow.
A heavy silence of grief settled over them all. Seizing the moment, Kong Deming and Long Xiaoyao slipped quietly away. Wu Feng was already wiping at her tears, glancing about in search of an 'auspicious' patch of ground on which to raise a memorial stone for Ling Bai.
Jianmu Douluo's eye gave a sharp twitch, and he hurried to comfort her:
"Xiao Feng, don't get ahead of yourself. If Xiao Bai were truly gone, his spirit bones would have rained down the same as Shattered Star's. He's still alive. We just don't know where the space storm has carried him."
"Really?" Wu Feng paused mid-shovel, the small mound of dirt she had been heaping for a grave now half-formed at her feet.
The Golden Tortoise stretched its long neck out and declared, "Trust me. He's alive, guaranteed!"
It had laid eyes on the Death Abyss Bone Dragon before, and was certain in its heart that Ling Bai had quietly worked some change upon the Bone Dragon King. Judging by how stable the Bone Dragon King's current state was, Ling Bai had to be perfectly safe.
Besides, Ling Qiuxi was still inside Ling Bai's body, and the Emperor Destiny Beast carried the Black Dragon Reverse Scale. If they had truly been in mortal danger, Di Tian would have torn through space to retrieve them long before now.
"Let's go. We'll head home and wait for Xiao Bai."
This was no place to linger. Jianmu Douluo decided to lead everyone away.
"Teacher, what about this big fellow?"
Ning Fengyu rapped her knuckles lightly against the Bone Dragon King's jet-black ribs.
"Well..." Jianmu Douluo hesitated. "The Bone Dragon King has forsaken the dark for the light, but at the end of the day, it remains an evil creature..."
The Bone Dragon King seemed to consider for a moment. Then it opened its enormous maw:
"Roar... meow~"
It blinked its dragon eyes, each one larger than a grown man, with an expression that practically begged for adoption.
A baby dragon who had lost its master. Weak. Pitiful. Utterly helpless!
A Limit Douluo-level evil creature steeped in malevolent aura was making puppy eyes at them, and everyone instantly broke into a cold sweat. The Light Spirit Holy Dragon ducked behind Ning Tian, its small face frozen in undisguised horror.
Jianmu Douluo waved a weary hand.
"Fine, fine. Bring it along."
...
How much time passed, none could say.
Ling Bai slowly stirred awake. As far as the eye could see, a boundless ocean stretched in every direction, and beneath him lay nothing but a thick sheet of solid ice.
"Where the hell did that throw me to...
Is this even still the Douluo Continent?"