Gagi! A Calamitous Star Descends
"This is..."
Qian Lingye was utterly stunned.
Authority of Wrath.
Was it an ability brought about by the return of the Seven Deadly Sins' "Token of Wrath"?
"System, is this a Soul Skill?" Qian Lingye asked.
Still, he had only asked in passing.
Qian Lingye had yet to obtain his First Soul Ring, so it was unlikely to be a Soul Skill. It was more like an ability.
[Answering the host: The Authority of Wrath is an ability exclusive to the Great Old One. It awakens upon the return of the token and can be used without any restrictions or cost.]
After listening to the system's explanation, Qian Lingye took another careful look at the Authority of Wrath.
All of his attributes and the power of all his Soul Skills would increase with his anger.
Simply put, the angrier he was, the stronger his combat power and Soul Skills would become.
But there was no quantitative measure for this increase. He still didn't know how great the boost could be.
All in all, though, it was a good thing. Getting something for nothing was better than getting nothing at all.
Finished studying his new skill, Qian Lingye turned his attention back to his lottery draw.
He could hardly wait!
"System, draw!"
Swish, swish, swish!
A multicolored curtain of light appeared once more.
The pointer spun rapidly around the wheel, finally stopping at the very bottom.
[Ding! Lottery draw successful!] [Congratulations, host! You have obtained Barrier Monster Gagi!]
Information flooded into Qian Lingye's mind, and delight instantly rose in his eyes.
Gagi!
A monster that lurked beneath the earth.
Its two tentacles could drain the essence of humans and claim it for itself.
Its physical combat abilities were exceptionally formidable, and it also possessed its signature "barrier" ability.
Unlike Golza, a monster from the ultra-ancient past, this was a monster purely from outer space.
In terms of overall initial strength, Qian Lingye estimated that Gagi in its newborn state was already a cut above Golza when it had first appeared!
Most terrifying of all was its exclusive ability, Absolute Barrier. It was nearly impossible to counter, combining offense and defense: it could confine the battlefield, block all attacks, and even devour the energy of living beings to nourish itself and continually evolve.
One attacked, the other defended; one crushed with lava, the other confined with barriers.
Golza specialized in violent assaults, while Gagi specialized in absolute defense and sealing off territory.
If the two strange beasts fought together, they would have both offense and defense, able to advance and retreat as one. They would be impossible to counter!
"Another trump card. Now I control two Three-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts!"
Qian Lingye rejoiced inwardly.
With just these two incomparably powerful Soul Beasts in his hands, no one on the entire Douluo Continent could threaten him anymore!
Just as he was rejoicing, a new system mission refreshed as well.
[New main mission: Obtain the Seven Deadly Sins token "Earth Vein"] [Mission hint: The foundation of the earth, the source of all living things]
Qian Lingye frowned slightly, his heart full of confusion.
Earth Vein?
He knew the Douluo Continent fairly well, but he had never heard the term before.
"System, are there no other hints? At least give me a location."
[None.]
Pretty aloof.
At a loss, Qian Lingye knew he had to figure out where the Earth Vein was first.
After giving it some thought, Qian Lingye decided to ask his mother.
At the same time, in the Pope's main hall of Spirit Hall.
The hall was solemn and majestic. Purple-gold Soul Power circulated all around, filling the air with a formidable and imposing presence.
Bibi Dong sat upright on the papal throne, her brows slightly furrowed as she considered Qian Lingye's future cultivation.
Qian Lingye had awakened a dark-element Martial Soul. Although she couldn't tell what it was, it was certainly no ordinary thing.
Normally, the upper limit for a First Soul Ring was four hundred years, but how could she let her own son settle for a Hundred-Year Soul Ring? It had to be at least a thousand years old. She had a way to accomplish that, even if she had to resort to forbidden techniques.
She would never allow her son to suffer the slightest grievance.
As she pondered, an attendant announced a visitor from outside the hall.
"Your Holiness, Elder Golden Crocodile Douluo has come to visit."
At those words, Bibi Dong's brows immediately drew together slightly, and a trace of displeasure flashed through her eyes.
Golden Crocodile Douluo.
The most senior Titled Douluo in Spirit Hall, he was even far above Qian Daoliu, who was in seclusion, in seniority. He had lived for hundreds of years, with deep foundations and immense prestige.
Most importantly, he was a die-hard loyalist of the angel lineage and obeyed only Great Enshrined Qian Daoliu.
He normally spent his years in seclusion and rarely concerned himself with the hall's minor affairs. For him to appear so suddenly, he surely wouldn't have come to the temple unless he had business there.
Before Bibi Dong could respond, a rough, overbearing laugh came from outside the hall, carrying a touch of arrogance from one who traded on his age.
"Hahaha, Your Holiness has countless affairs to attend to each day. It seems my unannounced visit has disturbed your peace."
Before he had finished speaking, a tall, burly old figure strode into the main hall.
Golden Crocodile Douluo wore the dark brocade robes of an elder, his body straight as a pine. The weighty Soul Power accumulated over hundreds of years filled his body, and his aged eyes were sharp and deep, with a hint of scrutiny and indifference. He showed no respect for the Pope whatsoever.
The atmosphere in the hall turned subtly tense in an instant.
Bibi Dong did not rise. Her gaze merely cooled slightly as an exceedingly faint wisp of purple-gold Soul Power quietly seeped out around her.
The wisp of presence seemed unremarkable, yet it carried the absolute pressure of a Limit Douluo. It silently enveloped the entire hall and firmly suppressed Golden Crocodile Douluo's naturally overbearing presence.
Hum-
As the invisible Soul Power collided, Golden Crocodile Douluo abruptly halted. His expression darkened slightly, and he was inwardly startled.
After several years, Bibi Dong's strength had advanced yet again.
Despite his great seniority and deep foundations, he was still firmly suppressed in the face of a Level 99 Limit Douluo's absolute strength.
Golden Crocodile Douluo was unwilling to accept it, but he had to face reality. With a cold snort, he reined in some of his arrogance and stopped deliberately throwing his weight around.
"Your Holiness's strength has become ever more unfathomable. I am impressed."
His tone was somewhat forced. He then raised a hand and produced an ancient, yellowed animal-skin scroll. It was covered in tiny star patterns and gave off an ancient, mysterious air.
"I came on the Great Enshrined's orders. He has been in seclusion for years, but made an exception and awoke today, instructing me to deliver this astrological prophecy scroll to you."
Bibi Dong's gaze sharpened, and she reached out to accept the scroll.
Qian Daoliu has been in seclusion for decades and almost never interferes in worldly affairs. Yet today he made an exception to leave seclusion and send a message of his own accord?
Unease quietly took root in her heart as her fingertips unrolled the animal skin.
A series of obscure, arcane star charts unfolded before her. The stars across the sky alternated between bright and dim, but in one corner of the heavens, a pitch-black calamitous star shone brilliantly. Its light was piercing and domineering, crushing every star around it and bearing an ominous air of destruction, disaster, and the overthrow of everything.
The annotation on the chart was a single short sentence: A foreign star descends upon the world, black night blankets the heavens, and a great calamity approaches.
In an instant, Bibi Dong's heart sank, and towering waves surged within her.
She was well versed in secret records of prophecies, both ancient and modern, and deeply understood the art of astrological divination.
Ordinary disturbances in the stars, whether they concerned the rise and fall of sects, the succession of emperors, or Soul Beast uprisings, all left signs that could be traced.
But this star chart was entirely different.
This calamitous star did not belong to Douluo's original celestial paths. It was a star from another realm, born from nothing and suddenly appearing in the world!
It corresponded neither to imperial authority nor to the legacies of sects, nor to any native Ferocious Beast or outstanding person.
It was a disaster from beyond this realm, through and through!
Bibi Dong's thoughts churned rapidly, countless threads of thought intertwining.
The first thing she thought of was Golza, the colossal lava beast that had appeared out of nowhere in the Star Dou Great Forest.
No records in any text, no bloodline to trace, combat power that crossed levels, and the ability to devour origin power and evolve on its own...
All of its characteristics perfectly matched the signs of "a foreign star descends upon the world."
But on second thought, she weighed the matter inwardly, her heart growing heavier.
A strange beast approaching three hundred thousand years of age was indeed enough to stir up turmoil on the continent, but it fell far short of "the destruction of the continent and a calamity for all living things."
No matter how strong Golza was, it was still only one Ferocious Beast. On its own, it would be hard-pressed to shake the foundations and order of the entire continent.
If the stars foretold an impending calamity, then that meant...
Besides Golza, there were even more terrifying, unknown variables from another realm on the continent that had yet to appear!
What on earth is it?
What other terrifying existence is lurking in this world?
Bibi Dong's fingertips tightened slightly, crumpling the animal-skin scroll as her expression grew ever more grave.
Qian Daoliu had spent his life studying angelic prophecies and never spoke recklessly of fortune or disaster.
The fact that he had made an exception to leave seclusion and send a warning of his own accord was proof enough that this calamity was real and deadly.
The entire continent seemed merely to be facing an upheaval in Star Dou and the appearance of a strange beast, but in truth, it was already standing at the edge of a precipice overlooking an unknown disaster.
"Is there any other information?" Bibi Dong asked in a low voice.
Golden Crocodile Douluo slowly shook his head, his expression also somewhat solemn. "The Great Enshrined only told me to deliver the scroll. He didn't leave a single word and went back into seclusion after looking at it."
At that, the weight on Bibi Dong's heart grew heavier.
Even Qian Daoliu couldn't divine the full scope of the calamity or predict its course. All he could do was give advance warning.
Just how terrifying is this disaster of the foreign star?
Inside the great hall, the atmosphere was deathly still and oppressive, with undercurrents surging beneath it.
Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the Star Dou Great Forest's core.
Far beyond the reach of any human power's investigations, this was the ultimate forbidden land for the Soul Beasts of the entire continent. Black mist lingered here year-round, the place was deathly still, and its oppressive might was terrifying in the extreme.
The entire primeval forest suddenly stirred without wind. Countless ancient trees shook violently, and the birds and beasts within cried out in terror and fled in all directions, not daring to linger for a moment.
An ancient, boundless, overbearing and terrifying presence, bearing the crushing might of the supreme dragon, slowly awoke from the depths far beneath the earth, rising and sweeping out in all directions.
Rumble-!
The earth split open layer by layer. Pitch-black fissures spread for a thousand li, and shadows churned in the depths underground, like the gates of hell, dormant for ages, slowly opening.
A vast, towering figure of a pitch-black dragon slowly emerged, treading on the subterranean Yin Qi.
Endless black mist coiled around its body. Its scales were as black as ink, its eyes as scarlet as blood, and its dragon might surged across a hundred million zhang, suppressing the entire territory of Star Dou.
The ultimate Ferocious Beast, the ruler of Star Dou-
Black-Eyed Golden Dragon King Di Tian!
Di Tian, who had not appeared for ten thousand years, gazed into the distance toward the volcanic core, his scarlet dragon eyes full of gravity and suspicion.
He had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, witnessing the passage of ages and the changes of all things on the Douluo Continent. He knew every Soul Beast bloodline and every source of origin power in its lands.
But he could not see through the strange beast beneath the volcano, understand it, or trace its origins.
After a long while, a low, hoarse dragon's voice, bearing the vicissitudes of countless ages, slowly echoed beneath Star Dou.
"The fire wolf's presence has vanished... a newly born being at the three-hundred-thousand-year level..."
"It seems... the heavens are about to change..."