When the last god's soul fell into the abyss, this newborn Hell let out a ravenous hiss.
A blood moon hung in the sky, with no stars in sight. It was Hell's only source of light.
Shattered godheads rained down like blood upon the scorched earth, every drop stirring up a thousand-meter pillar of sulfurous flame.
The souls that had once stood high above in the God Realm now huddled within fissures of magma, their souls carved with savage cracks by the winds of Hell.
"This is impossible!" The God of Fire's remnant soul tumbled through a river of lava. He tried to summon the Flames of Origin, but received no response.
Naturally. Their godheads had long since shattered and their divine authorities had been stripped away. The gods were now nothing more than slightly superior souls.
They were not even qualified to become the Seven Deadly Sins.
Piercing shrieks rose one after another from the depths of Hell.
Sea God Poseidon's remnant soul drifted through an endless sea of blood, every fragment of his soul transforming into a different sea monster and tearing at the others.
The largest fragment was becoming a whale-like monster, only to be relentlessly devoured by piranhas formed from the other fragments.
Blue-gold foam churned across the entire blood sea, echoing with his wails.
The gods were nothing but the lowliest ants!
This place was so filthy that even Ye Su was unwilling to cast his gaze upon it.
And these False Gods could only wail here in despair.
Within the Douluo World, aside from Tang San, the original protagonist, only Solomon sensed the upheaval between heaven and earth.
Michael, formed from Qian Daoliu; Lucifer, formed from Bibi Dong; Gabriel, formed from Qian Renxue; and Raphael, reincarnated from Xiao Wu's Mother, had all sensed the obvious change as well. However, none of them felt it as strongly as Tang San and Solomon did.
As the protagonist of the original work, Tang San's spiritual senses seemed sharper than those of ordinary people. Yet he could not explain why. He only felt that he had lost something extremely important, something he might never be able to obtain again in this life. That was all.
As Ye Su's avatar and the Son of Man, Solomon naturally sensed the changes between heaven and earth.
The fall of the gods would usher in the finest era!
At least, for Ye Su and Solomon, it would be the finest era.
It would be their best opportunity to unify Douluo Star and turn the entire planet into their private garden.
"It seems the original body moved quickly." Solomon merely sighed softly, a faint smile lingering in his eyes.
At that moment, the system issued another prompt, informing them that their Role-playing Degree as God had advanced once more, reaching 50%.
Sure enough, rebuilding Heaven and Hell was extremely important to God.
Solomon shook his head again. Without dwelling on it further, he prepared to head to Star Dou Forest to obtain a soul ring.
Although he could create soul rings for himself, he also wanted to gain the support of the soul beasts and improve the way humans acquired soul rings.
Relying on slaughter to gain power was far too barbaric. It did not fit God's merciful ideals.
Drawing from the method used to create Spirit Souls during the second era of Douluo, he intended to modify it and bring Spirit Souls into existence ahead of time.
That was why he needed to personally obtain a soul ring.
In any case, Raphael was guarding Spirit City, while Gabriel and Lucifer were watching over it as well. No serious problems could arise.
He could use this opportunity to strengthen his bond with his nominal mother, promote the Holy Mother, and have the two of them obtain soul rings together.
It seemed his nominal mother was due to obtain her ninth soul ring as well.
He could upgrade her into a Spirit Soul while he was at it.
Once he had made up his mind, Solomon arranged the matter. A few days later, he met with Ye Lingtong.
By then, Ye Lingtong had long shed the immaturity of a young girl. She carried a gentle, compassionate aura, ethereal and holy, like the Mother of All Things, nourishing every corner of the world.
"Holy Mother." Solomon walked up to Ye Lingtong and placed one hand over his chest in salute.
He smiled at this mother he had not seen in a long time, thinking that his judgment of people had indeed been excellent.
Even after increasing her Soul Power so drastically in just six years, her true soul nature had not changed in the slightest. She had remained true to her original heart. She had even accumulated considerable merit through her good deeds, giving her an air of pure sincerity.
She truly is my mother!
Solomon sighed inwardly, though his expression remained perfectly calm.
He was Solomon now, not Ye Su. Ye Lingtong did not know of the connection between them.
Ye Lingtong nodded slightly with a gentle smile. "Holy Son, there is no need for such formality. I heard that before The Lord departed, he appointed you the King of Kings. I trust you already have a plan?"
"Of course." Solomon elegantly adjusted the crystal buttons on his cuff, his fingertips refracting a seven-colored halo beneath the sunlight.
"Holy Mother, as far as I know, your Soul Power should have reached the bottleneck at Rank 89 by now, correct?"
"During meditation the day before yesterday, I did feel my Soul Power increase." Ye Lingtong nodded slightly, then suddenly frowned. "It is only this final soul ring..."
"That is precisely why I invited you to accompany me." Solomon wore a gentle smile. "For tens of thousands of years, human soul masters have acquired new abilities by hunting soul beasts, obtaining soul rings, and fusing with them. This method is traditional and has endured for ages, but I believe it may be improved."
Solomon continued, "How could the merciful The Lord permit people to gain power through the slaughter of living beings? It goes against God's mercy. God is the father of all things. Whether human or soul beast, all are equal in God's eyes. All living beings are God's lambs. Humans and soul beasts are brothers and sisters, yet they have endlessly slaughtered one another. Even I feel saddened to witness it."
After hearing this, even Ye Lingtong could not help nodding slightly.
She had never considered this question before. After all, for ordinary people to become soul masters, aside from possessing martial souls and Innate Soul Power, they had to hunt soul beasts and obtain soul rings. This truth had remained unchanged since ancient times, but did that mean an ancient and unchanging truth was necessarily right?
To God, all things and beings were his children. How could a parent bear to watch their children slaughter one another?
For God, that was surely wrong, was it not?
Perhaps this method of hunting soul rings to become soul masters truly needed to change.
"Holy Son, your thinking is truly unique. How did I never consider it before?" Ye Lingtong's beautiful eyes widened. Looking at the young man before her, she nodded repeatedly. "You are truly wise!"
"It is nothing." Solomon replied modestly. "God made me the King of Kings. I believe he did not mean I was to be only the king of humans. I must also become the king of soul beasts."
"And as the king of soul beasts, how could I watch my own people be slaughtered by others?"
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