The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament had finally concluded, but Mingdu's air grew heavier, thick with the tension of gathering storm clouds. Beneath the surface festivities, undercurrents of power shifted among factions.
Though Gu La had delayed the underground Soul Engineering Tournament to buy time, the Tang Sect—led by Huo Yuhao—acted with greater decisiveness.
They had secretly planted timing-triggered soul devices, meticulously crafted by He Caitou, in several of the Sun Moon Empire's hidden warehouses storing fixed-type soul projectile shells.
At the awards ceremony, Gu La calmly accepted the Rank 9 soul device granted to the champion. Afterward, Huo Yuhao sought him out discreetly, his expression grave as he revealed:
"Gu La, according to our reconnaissance and intelligence from the princesses, the Sun Moon Empire has secretly placed vast quantities of high-grade fixed-type soul projectile shells around Mingdu's eastern, southern, and northern outskirts. They form a death encirclement capable of threatening—even killing—Super Douluos. Only the west seems lightly guarded, but that's likely a trap."
Gu La nodded, acknowledging the warning.
After Huo Yuhao left, Gu La's spiritual power sank into his Forest Sea demiplane.
There, one of his clones performed the final hypnosis on an unconscious elder—the Rank 9 soul device master and Star Sky Douluo, Ye Yulin. Gu La had ambushed and abducted him after the underground tournament, leveraging future sight and spatial mastery.
With Gu La's terrifying Spiritual Domain-level spiritual power, forcibly extracting and replicating the core knowledge and blueprints of Rank 9 soul devices from Ye Yulin's mind was no great challenge. Answers were within reach.
Night fell. Mingdu's clamor faded, but covert movements reached their peak.
Through secret coordination by Star Luo Princess Xu Jiujiu and Tianhun Princess Wei Na, nearly all non-Sun Moon competing teams and their backing powerhouses reached an unspoken agreement.
They would concentrate their forces to break through the western front—apparently a trap, yet the only plausible breach. It was an overt strategy, their sole hope.
Shrek's Xuan Zi, the Body Sect's Du Busi, and other top-tier powerhouses had already infiltrated Mingdu, shielding their juniors from the shadows.
Meanwhile, Natural Sect's seven prodigies—Bai Yuan, Mu Yi, Bo Xi, and others—had been silently returned to their rightful timeline (Legend of the Dragon King era) via Gu La's time manipulation. They vanished as if they'd never existed, leaving only legends and unsolved mysteries.
Gu La split off a clone possessing partial strength, blending with Shrek's team to "retreat" westward with Elder Xuan and others—a decoy.
His true body remained like a shadowed hunter at the heart of this disaster-bound city, waiting silently.
Midnight struck. Catastrophe erupted!
BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!!!!
First, a violent tremor surged from beneath their feet—as if the earth's core itself had roared. Then, Mingdu's northeastern sector heaved upward as if lifted by an invisible giant hand!
The continent's mightiest metropolis seemed to "jump" playfully!
This wasn't an earthquake. It was the timed soul devices planted by the Tang Sect in underground soul device warehouses and strategic reserves triggering secondary, chain-reaction detonations far exceeding expectations!
The earth roared! Space warped!
An indescribably scorching fireball erupted from the depths, instantly devouring everything within miles!
Following it rose a colossal mushroom cloud—a churning mix of dust, flame, and death—soaring skyward, illuminating half of Mingdu as if it were midday!
To Gu La, this apocalyptic blast surpassed Rank 9 fixed-type soul projectiles. It bordered on Rank 10, even brushing the threshold of Rank 11 power!
Huo Yuhao, retreating with the team, stiffened at the world-ending shockwave behind him. His face turned deathly pale.
He'd never imagined their actions would trigger such catastrophic chain reactions. The casualties from this single explosion would likely reach millions!
Yet Gu La's true body, still within the city, quietly switched martial souls, absorbing his Du An avatar's power.
He gazed upward at the sky shrouded by mushroom clouds and despair. Countless newborn souls—radiating pain and resentment—wailed and drifted aimlessly.
"A million souls… sufficient as the cornerstone for Death God faith." He murmured, eyes devoid of pity, holding only an almost cruel calm. 'This was their destined fate. I will not interfere.'
"What immense resentment! What pure spiritual power! Hahaha!"
Evil soul masters lurking in Mingdu, like sharks scenting blood, emerged to greedily absorb the death energy saturating the air, reveling in this sudden "feast of carnage."
Gu La smiled faintly. His figure rose slowly into the air. Beneath his feet, the seventh soul ring blazed.
Martial Soul True Body—Solar Pyramid · Soul Pasture!
Amplified by his Three-Word Battle Armor, his aura—despite imperfect attribute alignment—instantly surged to the level of a Level 98 Super Douluo.
A kilometer-tall golden pyramid phantom descended over Mingdu like a divine omen, its surface shimmering with intertwined holy and deathly radiance.
At its apex, a bizarre gray sun coalesced, rotating slowly.
With each pulse of the gray sun, an invisible, soul-targeting suction force enveloped the blast zone and beyond.
The sky's lost, anguished souls found their final haven. Like rivers flowing to the sea, they transformed into gray torrents, irresistibly drawn toward the gray sun, ushered into the pyramid's interior.
Gu La felt it clearly—as countless souls flooded in, the Death God divine position within Du An's body—born from the Dual Gods' inheritance in Slaughter City—was rapidly stabilized and fortified.
The Solar Pyramid was more than a weapon; it was a perfect "Soul Pasture." It suppressed and purified the overwhelming resentment carried by souls, providing temporary sanctuary for their purity.
The purified resentment energy, combined with the grateful belief generated when souls found peace, transformed into pure faith power—flowing ceaselessly into Du An's divine core.
This method far surpassed Ye Xishui's crude technique of treating souls as disposable fuel—infinitely more efficient and "eco-friendly."
"Who are you?! How dare you hoard all the souls for yourself!" A reckless evil soul master—a Soul Douluo—lunged at Gu La, eyes maniacal, attempting to snatch souls.
Gu La didn't even glance his way. A casual, indifferent look was all it took.
Puh!
The evil soul master's body froze instantly. Vitality drained from his eyes as his soul was forcibly extracted—a new stream of light flowing toward the Solar Pyramid.
At this moment, Gu La harnessed the Solar Pyramid to convert faith power into pure Death God divine power. With a Level 98 foundation driving this divine might, his power had soared to unfathomable heights.
He sensed that even a divine official descending from the Divine Realm might not overcome him now.
He split off an avatar, manifesting Du An's appearance and Death God Scythe martial soul. Its sole task: hunt down evil soul masters daring to steal souls, hooking their souls back to enrich the pasture.
Far away, Xuan Zi—escorting the retreating team—felt the pyramid's heaven-piercing phantom and the heart-chilling divine fluctuations from Mingdu's direction. His fists clenched tightly, shock and horror gripping him:
"Who is that?! When did the Holy Spirit Cult produce such a terrifying evil soul master?!"
He sensed the pyramid's controller rivaled his own strength. But to protect the children, he gritted his teeth and pressed onward, leading the team deeper into flight.
An hour later, the explosion zone's souls had been fully harvested by Gu La. Evil soul masters bold enough to surface were nearly eradicated by Du An's avatar. Gu La prepared to withdraw, vanishing from this cauldron of chaos.
"Esteemed one," a cold voice cut through the ruins. "Swallowing all these souls in one gulp… isn't your appetite too large?"
Zhongli Wu, leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, finally revealed himself.
He had sensed the exceptionally pure death energy and massive spiritual fluctuations, assuming he'd found a kindred spirit—perhaps even a potential ally to recruit.
But Gu La merely glanced at him, eyes regarding him as no more than an ant. In his hand, a gray scythe materialized—forged from the purest Death God divine power.
Empowered by divine might, the Death God Scythe exerted absolute martial soul and law suppression over Zhongli Wu's Death God Demon Puppet martial soul.
Zhongli Wu felt his soul power instantly freeze. His very soul trembled!
"No… you…" Terror and disbelief flooded his eyes.
Gu La gave him no chance. As a Death God acolyte, Du An could witness soul memories. After observing a million souls perish in an instant, Gu La had naturally comprehended the true meaning of death. He simply swung the scythe.
Blade light flashed—like reaping wheat.
Zhongli Wu, the Holy Spirit Cult's supreme ruler who had terrorized the continent for a century with his Level 98 cultivation, met his end—body and soul annihilated.
Gu La raised his hand, drawing Zhongli Wu's resentful, terrified soul into his grasp. He murmured with faint regret:
"The Death God Demon Puppet martial soul… an ideal vessel for the Death God's earthly incarnation… I had intended to leave you for my Angel Spirit Soul's judgment—purifying darkness with light… Alas, you chose to rush to your death."
With that, his figure—and the colossal Solar Pyramid phantom—slowly dissolved into the deepest darkness before dawn, as if they had never existed.
Only the scarred ruins of Mingdu remained, and a terrifying legend swiftly spreading across the land: the Death God had descended, and the Holy Spirit Cult's leader had perished.
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