The Queen Awakened

Twenty days passed, and three different colored flames—one black, one blue, and one gold—had all grown to a hundred meters tall within Gu Ding's Soul Space. The upper limit of Gu Ding's divine source energy had also tripled again under the effect of the God Skill, Burning Heaven.

And Gu Ding finally slowly opened his eyes.

"You're finally awake. There are only two days left." Liliath looked visibly relieved.

"Two days is enough. I'll just need to spend a little more time replenishing my divine energy." Gu Ding nodded, swallowed five Source Energy Crystal in one go, and closed his eyes again.

The high upper limit of his divine source meant that only one-third of the divine source in his body, which was originally overflowing, remained. With the Source Energy Crystal, it wouldn't take too long to replenish his divine source.

The Gu Ding Team has once again collectively improved its strength.

Not only has the flow of divine energy within Bigge's body become smooth, but he has also achieved perfect communication with the two three-star and Four-Star Divine Object swords. Combined with the power of the weapons and the coordination of the divine energy within his body, his Combat Strength has increased by at least two or three minor ranks.

Tagore had already devoured nearly 100,000 Insect Core, successfully advancing to the god-level. Strangely, he didn't Heavenly Tribulation. However, he himself told Lily and the others that he had already reached the god-level. His Combat Strength had also increased by about two minor ranks.

With the help of the Source Energy Crystal, Robert easily advanced to the level of Mid-rank God, and his strength naturally increased as well, though it is unknown what new methods he has acquired.

Dokter's mental strength has advanced to the level of six stars, while Liliath is even more exaggerated, with her soul strength reaching the level of seven stars, just a little short of being comparable to Mid-rank God.

Elsa, having received eleven of the twelve vials of dragon blood, has yet to awaken. However, her aura has become exceptionally powerful, reaching the peak of Seven-Star Low-rank God, extremely close to that of Mid-rank God. Strangely, however, she shows no sign of breaking through to demigodhood.

A day and a half later, Gu Ding finally awoke again, his aura completely stable. The depth of his Divine Source had increased dramatically, reaching over 530,000 points, comparable to Three-Star Mid-rank God. This meant that while his flames might not be able to annihilate Three-Star Mid-rank God -Three-Star Mid-rank God, they could certainly inflict damage. Most importantly, with the support of three types of flames, Burning Heaven could now construct a terrifyingly powerful killing move.

Not long after Gu Ding woke up, Elsa also finally woke up. She was about to take out the last tube of dragon blood to inject when she heard Gu Ding's voice in her ear.

"Elsa, don't get distracted. Listen to me. The thirty-day period is over now. Robert will teleport you outside the domain. You can continue absorbing dragon blood in the Merit Hall. We will cover your Merit Points, so you can't rush things. Continue cultivating at your normal pace. We'll take care of anything that happens outside, so don't worry."

After Gu Ding finished speaking, Robert teleported everyone out, and Gu Ding followed and stepped out of the exit.

Elsa sat cross-legged on the spot, extracted the last vial of dragon blood, and injected it into her body. Gu Ding and his group all stood guard nearby, patiently waiting.

At this point, there was less than an hour left before the game rules changed.

Elsa's aura, however, spread out like the ocean, causing those still in the hall to feel a strong pressure.

"The members of the Gu Ding Team are all terrifying..." many people thought to themselves.

Many people had already guessed that the team that broke the 10 billion merit point mark was probably Gu Ding Team. Although Gu Ding Team had a lower cultivation level, their overall Combat Strength was among the strongest, with most members receiving a five-fold increase in Merit Points. Furthermore, there were rumors that Gu Ding and his team had triggered Insect Tide, which ultimately failed to Insect Tide, leading some to suspect that Gu Ding Team used special methods to eliminate the Insect Tide. This explains their high Merit Points.

However, most people knew they couldn't afford to provoke the Gu Ding Team. Even the top member hadn't said anything, the Self Alliance hadn't made any statement, and the military's powerful Elite Legion had fallen silent. The other Combat Strength units were mostly individuals, lacking the strength to challenge the Gu Ding Team. Therefore, everyone was angry but dared not speak out, mainly because there was no concrete evidence to prove that the Gu Ding Team was responsible.

The news of Gu Ding Team disappearing for three whole days has been circulating widely recently. It wasn't until the three days were about to end that people saw them reappear in the Merit Hall.

With the three-day countdown underway, Elsa, having received the final injection of dragon blood in the Merit Hall, was growing increasingly powerful, breaking through the limits of Low-rank God and reaching the level of Mid-rank God. Even Liliath and Dokter were finding it difficult to withstand the overwhelming pressure emanating from her.

"Bigge, you and Robert are in charge here." Gu Ding patted Bigge's arm, then turned to Liliath and the others and said, "The rest of you, come with me."

Tagore leaped onto Gu Ding's shoulders; after ascending to godhood, he had grown a little larger.

Liliath and Dokter followed Gu Ding out of the Merit Hall.

"Will Elsa be alright?" Liliath hesitated for a long time before asking. She and Elsa were best friends who could talk about anything, and she was worried about Elsa seeing her in pain.

"Don't worry," Gu Ding shook his head.

The Sea Emperor explained, "The Vikings are actually ancient humans who originally lived on the sea. They possessed immense strength and were able to hunt and eat aquatic Flood Dragon. Later, due to Natural Disaster, not many of their bloodlines survived. Then, with the start of the interstellar era, some Viking Clan joined interstellar pioneers and gained a way to strengthen themselves—through this bloodline stimulation."

"Their bloodlines possess terrifying growth potential; given sufficient stimulation, they can evolve multiple times. The Beast Blood acts as a catalyst for their growth. Because of this catalytic effect, pain is inevitable. Elsa's bloodline has never been strengthened since adulthood, so using such high-quality dragon blood for the first time is indeed a challenge for her, but it will also pave the way for her bright future. This kind of bloodline evolution has the possibility of failure, but it generally does not pose a life-threatening risk."

The Sea Emperor's words reassured Liliath somewhat.

"According to that old man, in less than five minutes, the insect beasts in those nests will awaken, and the Mother Queen will also awaken. This time, it will be a tough battle..." Gu Ding had experienced Insect Tide before and naturally knew Insect Tide terror. This Insect Tide, in both quantity and strength, was stronger than any Gu Ding had encountered before. Although everyone's strength had increased, this battle would still be very difficult.

Within the city walls, the top-tier team, Self Alliance teams, Elite Legion, and other Federal Government troops, mostly retreated. They knew that facing an enemy far outnumbering them, only by uniting could they have a chance of victory. If they remained in their individual camps, they would be easily defeated one by one by the overwhelming number of insectoid beasts.

Upon seeing Gu Ding and his group appear, Stda from the Self Alliance was the first to approach.

"Gu Ding, we've been looking for your team for the past few days, but we can't find a single person."

"We were in seclusion for a while and just came out." Gu Ding turned to Stda. "Is there something you need?"

"Here's the thing, we've been thinking about it for the past couple of days and we think it would be better for everyone to unite. We've also reached a consensus with the Federal Government and most other people. Your team, which has relatively strong Combat Strength, was one of the first teams we considered. You can consider whether you want to join us." Stda was also a little worried that Gu Ding would refuse, because he guessed that the person with the bounty of over 10 billion was either Gu Ding or Bigge.

Information from the Federal Government's Elite Legion informed Stda that Gu Ding's fire abilities were capable of annihilating at least five-star special insect beasts, and according to the Elite Legion's description, there was a high probability that Bigge's tribulation had triggered Insect Tide. The Insect Tide didn't occur, and Gu Ding's Merit Points skyrocketed, indicating that it was highly likely that Gu Ding Team had wiped out the Insect Tide. Therefore, this large-scale insect hive outbreak required Gu Ding's intervention.

"I think at times like this, everyone should put aside their prejudices and conflicts..." Stda added.

"Okay." Before he could finish speaking, Gu Ding agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"You agreed so easily?" Stda stood there blinking twice, still a little unsure.

"If we don't join forces, I doubt anyone will survive this. So I hope everyone will go all out and hold nothing back," Gu Ding said again. "The Insect Tide is far more terrifying than you imagine."

Upon hearing Gu Ding's words, Stda immediately realized that Gu Ding had experienced the Insect Tide. He also voiced his own question, "What do you mean? The most terrifying thing about the Insect Tide should be those five-star Elite Bug beasts. If your attack power is insufficient, you can't kill them in one hit, which would be quite troublesome."

"You're wrong. The most terrifying thing about the Insect Tide isn't the strength of the insect beasts, but their sheer number. Like a tidal wave, it's suffocating. Even High-rank God could be worn down and killed by a large enough Insect Tide." Gu Ding knew this all too well.

Gu Ding's words caused a flash of horror in Stda's eyes. He immediately understood that for a god who had become an energy body, once the divine source was exhausted and the divine body suffered large-scale damage, he would die immediately.

Suddenly, the sky darkened, as if the entire world had entered nighttime mode. Abruptly, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, stretching across the entire expanse, followed by a deafening roar of thunder, the violent sound violently sweeping through every corner of the world.

"Is it raining?" Gu Ding felt raindrops falling and reached out his hand.

"The Mother Queen has awakened..." The Sea Emperor's voice rang in Gu Ding's ears. (To be continued...)