Asura's Avatar, a Blue-Clad Figure
As though a slumbering source had been fully awakened, ribbons of red and white light spread from the pearl, surging down the channels of resonance. This was the final inheritance the twin Ice and Fire Dragons had sealed away before their demise—the purest source of the Dragon Kings and the most complete imprint of the dragon race's bloodline, pouring without end toward Gan Lin through the Vision.
Gan Lin shuddered. Not daring to be careless in the slightest, he immediately focused inward, guiding the power of the Ice and Fire Dragon Pearl into his meridians.
But the instant the power of the Ice and Fire Dragon Pearl reached his dantian, a sense of utter deathly stillness and slaughter suddenly pierced through from the depths of the void!
It was not the pressure of Soul Power, nor the suppression of a domain. It was a gaze that had crossed time and space, falling precisely upon the Vision in his sea of consciousness and upon the two Dragon King sources that had just fused with it.
Like a chill piled up from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and like the indifference of all things falling into silence, that single gaze made the air throughout the cavern freeze. Even the Ice and Fire springs, which had churned for countless ages, seemed to stop for an instant.
"Ugh-"
Gan Lin let out a muffled groan as blood seeped from all seven of his orifices at once. The power of the inheritance surging through his meridians instantly ran out of control, rampaging like a wild horse that had thrown off its reins and tearing at their fragile walls. He spat out a great mouthful of blood and staggered half a step back, slamming against the cold rock wall. The inheritance had been forcibly interrupted, the backflow of dragon power had shaken his internal organs and injured them, and tearing pain shot through every meridian in his body.
Black mist began to churn silently in the void.
It was not a true body descending, merely an avatar formed from a will. Yet that phantom alone made the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well begin to tremble faintly. The black mist slowly traced the outline of a human figure, without the slightest excess halo around it, only annihilation in its purest form—the source of slaughter that could slay even the ancient Dragon God.
"Remnants of the Dragon God, and you still dared to leave behind a Core Flame of inheritance."
The indifferent voice echoed through the cavern. It was not loud, yet every word struck Gan Lin's sea of consciousness, bringing wave after wave of searing pain.
Was this the Asura God?
The deity who slew the twin Ice and Fire Dragons single-handedly back then? Just a will that had crossed time and space had left me without even the strength to lift my head.
Almost at the very moment the Asura God's will descended, the most powerful figures in several places across the Douluo Continent sensed it at once.
Atop the Angel Temple, Qian Daoliu slowly opened his eyes amid the holy light. His gaze pierced the clouds and fell straight toward the Sunset Forest, his brows knitting tightly. "The presence of a deity... a pure presence of slaughter."
The angelic power at his fingertips trembled faintly, and his voice grew grave. "Why has a deity suddenly descended after countless ages? Could a genius capable of moving the gods have appeared? Or has some crisis reawakened?" After a moment's silence, he slowly shook his head. A conflict at the level of deities was not something he, a demigod, could intervene in. He could only suppress his surprise and doubt and watch from afar.
Inside the Sea God Hall on Sea God Island, Bo Saixi stood at a window, leaning on the Sea God Scepter. A trace of gravity passed through her deep-blue eyes.
"The Asura God's intent of annihilation, and the presence of a source bearing the power of ice and fire..." she murmured, the Sea God's Power spreading in fine ripples around her. "The source is over on the continent... I suppose someone crossed a god's bottom line and brought a deity's reckoning upon themselves." She sighed softly. "In the mortal world, one cannot escape the gods' control after all."
At the end of Hell Road in Slaughter City, the King of Slaughter shot to his feet from his throne, fear and awe churning in his scarlet eyes.
"The Asura God! It's the Asura God's presence!" The killing aura around him surged out of control, making all of Slaughter City tremble faintly. "Why would he suddenly descend?"
He paced restlessly for two steps, but did not dare probe toward the Sunset Forest in the slightest. That was a deity's will, utterly beyond his ability to scrutinize. Besides, he himself was not clean either...
Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, beneath the waters of the Lake of Life, Di Tian slowly opened his golden, vertically slit eyes. His immense dragon pressure spread involuntarily, and the Soul Beasts throughout the forest prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling.
"The Asura God's will... and the lingering traces of the Ice and Fire Dragons." His voice carried the weight of ages. "After all these countless years, will you still not spare the dragon race?"
Beside him, the Scarlet King said in a low voice, "Lord Di Tian, should we send someone to investigate?"
"No need." Di Tian slowly closed his eyes. "The target is not Star Dou. We cannot interfere in the affairs of deities. We need only focus on clearing obstacles for our lord."
Deep within the central glacier of the Far North, the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress awoke from their slumber at the same time. The presence of Ultimate Ice surged through the glacier, forming countless sharp icicles.
"The killing presence of a deity, and the lingering warmth of dragon power." The Ice Empress's voice was cold as ice, touched with wariness.
The Snow Empress's voice was gentle but grave. "Why would the grudges of ancient times stir up waves in this era?"
"Whatever the reason," the Ice Empress said coldly, "as long as they do not set foot in the Far North, it has nothing to do with us."
Inside the cavern, the oppressive weight of death continued to grow.
The avatar of the Asura God's will lowered its head slightly, its gaze falling on Gan Lin—or, more precisely, on the Ice and Fire Dragon Pearl in his body that had yet to be refined.
"A mere ant, yet you dared overstep and receive the dragon race's inheritance."
He slowly raised his hand, and the black mist at his fingertip condensed into a ray of black light as thin as a hair.
"You shall be slain!"
There was no earth-shaking roar, no brilliant display of light, yet that seemingly insignificant black ray made every hair on Gan Lin's body stand on end. The presence of death enveloped him completely in an instant. He could clearly feel that beneath this black ray, not only he but the Ice and Fire Dragon Pearl behind him, and even the entire Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, would be crushed utterly into nothingness.
He wanted to use his Soul Power, to summon a Stone Stele for defense, to draw on the ice and fire elements to build a defense. But his meridians hurt as though they were being torn apart, his Soul Power seemed frozen in his dantian, and he could not move even a fingertip. Before the absolute power of a deity, all struggle seemed pale and ridiculous.
The black ray slowly descended. It was not fast, but it bore an unstoppable intent of annihilation.
Gan Lin stared fixedly at the black ray, his teeth clenched, the taste of blood filling his mouth.
A desperate situation.
A desperate situation through and through, without the slightest path to survival.
Just then, the Sigil of Permission that Gan Lin had kept close to his body flashed with golden light.
A golden barrier appeared around Gan Lin.
The water vapor dispersed. Gan Lin crouched where he was, gasping for breath, but aside from the injuries caused by the interruption of his absorption of the Ice and Fire Dragon Pearl, he had no new wounds.
"Oh?" The Asura God's will was slightly moved. "The presence of a god I have never seen before..."
"But what can a mere inanimate object possibly accomplish?!"
With that, he raised a finger again and followed up with several more attacks.
The water vapor dispersed once more. A diary hovered in front of Gan Lin, and in midair, a graceful figure clad in blue appeared...