"Something good?"
Electrolux frowned slightly, staring at Zhu Ziyang in confusion.
"That's right! Definitely something good!"
Ziyang smiled brightly as he leapt off the bed and walked over to the window. Outside, night still blanketed the world in darkness. He picked up the small mirror from his desk and looked at his reflection. Faintly glowing on his forehead was the ghostly outline of a Death Lily mark.
He instinctively tapped into his spiritual awareness—and in that moment, the contents of the First Trial of the God of Death surfaced clearly in his mind.
"What is it, really?"
Electrolux still looked baffled, a hint of impatience creeping into his usually calm demeanor.
"Come on, my dear disciple, don't keep this old man guessing. I'm about to die of curiosity!"
"Oh—sorry, Teacher!"
Ziyang quickly realized he'd been rude, and turned around to face him with a sheepish, apologetic smile.
"Just now, my soul was pulled into a mysterious space… and I received the inheritance of a god!"
"What?!"
Electrolux was instantly stunned. He floated over to Ziyang's side, placing his illusory hand on the young man's shoulder.
"You're telling me you were chosen for a god's inheritance?! Which god?!"
Ziyang nodded with absolute certainty.
"I'm sure of it! It was the God of Death!"
"The God of Death?!"
Electrolux's incorporeal form trembled with excitement. His shocked expression quickly morphed into joy as he exclaimed,
"Hahaha! I knew my judgment was sharp! Even a death god from another world acknowledges my choice!"
Ziyang couldn't help but chuckle softly at his teacher's reaction. He said nothing, allowing the old man to revel in his excitement.
It took a long while for Electrolux to calm down. Then he turned back to Ziyang and asked seriously,
"Ziyang, what kind of god is the God of Death? How does he compare to, say… the legendary Sea God?"
The question made Ziyang pause.
His thoughts flashed back to the mysterious voice he'd heard in the divine realm—one that had mentioned a familiar name: Tang San.
Could it be… that Tang San?
A trace of unease appeared in his heart, but he quickly shook it away. Now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
"I'm not sure," he said honestly.
"That god has already fallen. All that remains is his divine seat and the remnant spirit overseeing the trials. I learned very little."
"A god who's already fallen?"
Electrolux was surprised, but quickly accepted the idea.
"What did the trial administrator say?"
Ziyang repeated what Xiao Bai, the divine remnant, had told him:
"The God of Death was a Primordial Deity, born at the dawn of the world. He governed the Laws of Death, and was one of the cosmic rulers of this starry sky."
"Primordial Deity… Lawkeeper… Ruler of the stars…"
Electrolux murmured those terms slowly, his aged face showing both awe and uncertainty.
"Teacher," Ziyang asked eagerly, "have you heard of those terms before?"
Electrolux shook his head, a look of regret on his face.
"I'm afraid not. Only the word 'starry sky' is familiar to me—the others are completely unknown."
"I see…"
Ziyang's expression dimmed for a moment, but he recovered quickly.
"Then what does 'starry sky' mean, exactly?"
"Haha, that's one thing I can explain," Electrolux said with a slight smile.
"'Starry sky' refers to the fundamental structure of the universe. Opposing it is the Abyss. The world we live in belongs to the starry sky. When mortals speak of transcendence, they mean surpassing the mundane and entering the starry sky—becoming gods."
"So… you mean the starry sky is the same as the God Realm?"
Ziyang asked thoughtfully.
"That's only part of the picture," Electrolux explained.
"The starry sky contains the God Realm, yes—but also countless worlds beneath it.
Each starry sky houses many worlds, and within each one, a single God Realm exists.
The world I once came from—Sanctus Terra—and your Douluo Continent likely do not belong to the same starry sky.
Between starry skies lie endless Abysses and black holes… I still don't know how I ended up here."
"Hahaha, well, it just means we were fated to meet, Teacher!"
Ziyang laughed, reaching out to pat the old man's shoulder.
"Hahahaha! I won't deny that!"
Electrolux joined in his laughter.
"Ziyang, meeting you has been the luckiest thing in my entire life!"
"Same here, Teacher."
Ziyang smiled and climbed back into bed.
"Let's rest for now. We'll start planning the god inheritance tomorrow."
"Good. I'll leave it all to you."
Electrolux's mood was jubilant as he returned to Ziyang's spiritual sea.
Lying in bed, Ziyang closed his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart. Only now, in the quiet of the night, did he truly grasp the weight of what had happened.
A god's inheritance…
The path to transcendence…
He realized that despite his previous detachment, he could no longer feign indifference.
Before he knew of gods, becoming a Titled Douluo had been his greatest dream.
But now that he had seen the threshold of godhood, a longing had awakened in his soul—a desire to break through the mortal realm and step into divinity.
This was the ultimate pursuit of all cultivators.
This… was the true meaning of being a soul master.
Ziyang soon drifted into deep sleep. But the ripple he had caused in fate had only just begun—and the destinies he would alter were only beginning to unfold.
At that moment, within his spiritual sea, two figures—Snow Empress and Ice Empress—were immersed in ecstatic joy, while Electrolux stood before them, his eyes fixed on the Soul Crystal of the Silver Moon Ice Wolf.
"Snow Empress, is this really happening?"
Ice Empress was still stunned, her voice trembling with disbelief.
"Heh… what part of this feels unreal?"
Snow Empress replied with a hint of bitterness.
"This is exactly what we hoped for… And yet, why has fate treated us soul beasts with such cruelty?"
"I…" Ice Empress couldn't find a reply.
"It's fine, Ice," Snow Empress sighed.
"I'm just venting. Besides, we're not soul beasts anymore—we're soul spirits now.
I just hope Ziyang reaches godhood soon and brings us with him into the God Realm.
I want to see it with my own eyes."
"He will, Snow. I know he will!"
Ice Empress clenched her fists. When she set her mind to something, she never turned back.
"By the way, what's Electrolux doing? Why's he staring at that crystal? What is it?"
Snow Empress's voice turned solemn.
"Ziyang said that crystal holds the soul of a dragon-wolf—the soul ring of his second martial soul."
"A dragon-wolf? From the Extreme North?" Ice Empress asked sharply.
"Yes," Snow Empress answered, her tone dark.
"She was a divine beast. One of the auspicious beasts of our Extreme North."
"What?! An auspicious beast?!"
Ice Empress gasped, her heart full of disbelief.
"You mean Ziyang killed one of our Extreme North's sacred beasts?!
But how could we not have sensed it?
How did she survive under our noses long enough to reach 100,000 years without us noticing?"
"I don't know," Snow Empress said coldly.
"She sacrificed herself willingly for Ziyang.
As for why… we'll have to ask her when her soul wakes up."
"…Alright."
Ice Empress looked toward the Soul Crystal, her eyes filled with regret and sorrow.
An auspicious beast…
If we had found her earlier, then Snow Empress wouldn't have needed to reincarnate,
and I wouldn't have needed to agree to Tianmeng's crazy plan…
Damn it.
Is this what fate is?
How utterly unjust!
Meanwhile, far away in the core of the Star Dou Forest, another ancient soul beast was cursing fate.
Di Tian, King of the Ferocious Beasts, knelt respectfully before the Lake of Life, surrounded by his fellow sacred beasts. From beneath the waters came a cold, ethereal voice—faint but filled with fury.
"Cursed heavens!
Another human god has interfered!
Why must fate be so unjust?!"
"Lord!"
Di Tian and the others lowered their heads even further.
"Di Tian," the voice continued, "watch over the auspicious beast carefully.
I've sensed a shameless god eyeing the destiny of our soul beast race!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
Di Tian replied solemnly.
"Very well.
I must slumber again.
In the meantime, stay within the Lake of Life.
Avoid the mistakes of that ancient whale from ten thousand years ago.
The gods require offerings for their inheritance…
Don't let yourselves become sacrifices."
"We understand.
Thank you for your warning, my Lord."
Di Tian bowed deeply.
As the lake fell silent, he turned to the others.
"You heard our Lord.
Scarlet King, Bear Sovereign—watch the auspicious beast carefully.
Do not let her wander."
"D-Di Tian…"
Bear Sovereign stammered, trembling.
"S-she… She disappeared… three days ago…"
"…What did you say?"
Di Tian grabbed the massive bear by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
His calm eyes now burned with fury.
"W-when I found out, all that remained was a note she left behind.
She transformed into a human and left the forest…"
"Damn it!
I should flay you alive!"
Di Tian roared.
The Lord had just said to protect her, and now she was gone?!
"Go!
Search every corner of the continent!
Bring that girl back to me!
And if you fail… don't even think about coming back alive!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
Bear Sovereign answered, trembling with fear.
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