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"How could this happen?"
Xu Huang's face twisted in fury as he gazed at the towering monument outside Soul Sea City. The inscription on it, ordered by Marshal Ge Long, briefly and objectively detailed the battle.
Xu Huang's fists clenched tightly, and an overwhelming aura—far surpassing what a Soul Douluo should possess—erupted from him like a tidal wave, suffocating the nearly ten thousand soldiers of the Sun-Moon Army standing behind him.
His anger was not unjustified.
He had come to this land with the intent to conquer it, but who could have predicted that the previous Sun-Moon Army had been completely captured? Even Yu Hongchen, who had arrived three or four days earlier, was killed.
And it wasn't just anyone—it was twenty-six Titled Douluo!
Twenty-one of them were below Rank 95, three were above, one was Rank 98, and even the empire's only Rank 99 Peerless Douluo, Yue Hongchen, had fallen in battle!
When did the Douluo Continent become this terrifying?
Even if they were defeated, shouldn't they have been taken as prisoners? So many Titled Douluo, and they were all executed without hesitation?
Through Xu Xing, Xu Huang had learned that this Douluo Continent was not the one he had imagined. It housed multiple otherworldly travelers, and even the "protagonist" was no longer the original Tang San. However, according to Xu Xing, the continent still had the two great empires and the Spirit Hall, so the general plotline shouldn't have changed much.
But what was happening now?
Was he really supposed to believe that in the five years since Xu Xing left the Douluo Continent, everything had turned upside down, and someone had even ascended to godhood?
Or was this the work of that divine-level entity?
He wasn't afraid of god-level power—after all, he held the Eternal and Creation God Imprint Throne. But if this opponent had inherited a divine position from the God Realm, then their battle would surely draw the attention of the gods above.
With a transcendent artifact from another dimension—especially one left behind by a Creator God—how could the gods sit idly by?
Even a God King might descend to the mortal world for this.
"Your Majesty, don't be angry. The idea of one person instantly killing nearly twenty Titled Douluo is impossible," said Luo Qiu. He understood the might of a Peerless Douluo, but to instantaneously slaughter so many Titled Douluo? That was a fantasy. Were they all standing there, doing nothing, waiting to be killed?
Unless... the person's strength was close to that of a god.
"No, it's likely true," Xu Huang said as he calmed down. The Eternal and Creation God Imprint Throne, along with the responses from the beings within it—King Easton, the Sacred Dragon, and the Eternal Angel—would not deceive him. A formidable enemy did exist here.
Reason dictated that he should retreat for now. He needed to break through to Rank 100 and fully control the Creator God position bestowed by the Eternal and Creation God Imprint Throne before stepping onto this land again to rule over it.
But to return without even understanding the situation, right after arriving on this land, would be laughable. Although he had unified the Sun-Moon Empire, not everyone in the empire was fully loyal to him. Many still harbored deep hatred, though they lacked the means to oppose him openly.
Moreover, there were still evil soul masters on the Sun-Moon Continent, some even forming a cult with ties to the Tyrant Ruler of the Evil Eye Forest.
"So, what do we do now?" Luo Qiu reluctantly let go of the thick root of the Blue Silver Emperor beside him. "And who exactly is this enemy?"
"Blue Silver Grass, Blue Silver Emperor... There's no doubt, it must be the Tang San that Xu Xing mentioned," Xu Huang muttered, his eyes flashing as he uttered a name. Only that twin martial spirit-wielding otherworld traveler could push the Blue Silver Emperor to such a height and also wield the power of creation. After releasing a soul skill, it could make the Blue Silver Emperor's presence endure for such a long time.
He, too, was a traveler, having come to this world of Douluo. If he left without even meeting "Tang San," it would be a wasted journey.
At the very least, he had to ascertain Tang San's current situation.
If Tang San had already started some sort of divine trial, then, for the sake of the bigger picture, Xu Huang could consider retreating for now, planning to reclaim his honor in the future.
But if Tang San hadn't accepted any divine trials and had instead raised his soul to a level akin to a divine spirit through sheer power, then things would be much simpler. Xu Huang could rely on the might of the Eternal and Creation God Imprint Throne to crush him.
After all, the Creator God's throne was not an ordinary artifact. Its aura was incredibly restrained, and as long as he didn't step into any godly inheritance grounds or unleash a power strong enough to obliterate the continent, the gods of the Divine Realm wouldn't notice him.
---
"San Ge, that Xu Huang must have arrived at Soul Sea City, right?" Xiao Wu, with her strong spiritual power, also sensed it. Seeing Tang San gazing in that direction, she couldn't help but speak up, "It's exactly like you said. There's a very peculiar force blocking spiritual probing, vast and boundless like the starry sky."
It wasn't just Xiao Wu; Huo Wu, Guang Ling, and Ning Rongrong all sensed something. Even though Zhu Zhuqing, Yu Tianheng, and the others didn't possess the same level of spiritual strength as Tang San and his group, their powerful martial spirits gave them a mysterious feedback, filling their hearts with an inexplicable sense of pressure.
Even Chrysanthemum Fairy's expression was unusually grave.
In her perception, that invisible oppressive force wasn't as overwhelming as the Pope's, but it was even more majestic, like the presence of a truly noble deity.
At that moment, Tang San's Haotian Hammer automatically appeared from his left hand, transforming into a seven-headed chimera, though it was only palm-sized, crawling up to rest on his left shoulder.
Austin Griffin did not emerge in full, but the seven heads each displayed disdain toward the familiar presence they sensed. Some bared their teeth, others glared, exhaled, or howled.
The seven elements—fire, light, wind, water, poison, death, and darkness—along with the inherent "metal" of the Haotian Hammer, gathered into an unseen destructive aura, proclaiming their rebirth to the power of creation seated upon that distant throne.
Among them, the element of darkness was the seventh element, acquired by Tang San after his breakthrough, and the original attribute of Austin Griffin at his peak.
Reborn through the Haotian Hammer, Austin Griffin could not undergo a conventional bloodline transformation. Without external interference, its heads retained the attributes once wielded by the God of Heavenly Punishment.
And for Austin Griffin, the most crucial element was destruction. The rest of the attributes were mere embellishments, insignificant by comparison.
Sensing this aura of destruction, the thirteen celestial halos within Xu Huang's body trembled, and Easton King, the Holy Dragon, and the Eternal Angel all sensed something, their minds filled with shock.
Easton King exclaimed, "The God of Heavenly Punishment, embodying destruction, truly exists in this realm. And what's more, its fate is intertwined with the one who wields the power of creation!"
The Holy Dragon was incredulous. "How is this even possible?!"
The Eternal Angel added, "To control both creation and destruction at the same time... What kind of method has that human used? How can he even control Austin Griffin? Or could it be that after the last encounter, Austin Griffin was so influenced by Long Haochen that even its temperament has softened?"
(End of Chapter)