Meanwhile.
Deep within the Blood God Legion's base, in a vast circular command hall.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Three rows of enormous soul-guidance screens ringed the hall, showing real-time images of every area along the Abyss Passage.
At that moment, with Legion Commander Zhang Huanyun at their head, all the Blood Gods had gathered there except Blood Eight, who had stayed behind to care for Luo Yang.
They had just emerged from a brutal battle. Exhaustion marked every face, but their eyes remained sharp.
"How is that child, Luo Yang, doing now?" Zhang Huanyun asked first.
Everyone's gaze turned to a gentle-looking, middle-aged man in a white robe.
The third-ranked among the Nine Blood Gods, Blood Three's Martial Soul, the Ancient Tree of Life, was peerless in healing and detection.
Blood Three nodded slightly. "I've examined him carefully. Luo Yang's body is fine, and his Soul Power is several times more substantial than before his awakening. He most likely passed out because he suddenly had to bear the enormous energy of the 'Plane Blessing.' His body and mind need time to adapt."
He paused, then added, "Simply put, he got too much of a good thing and needs to sleep so he can regulate himself."
Youth was wonderful. You could just drop and sleep.
The thought crossed the minds of several younger Blood Gods, easing the heavy mood a little.
Hearing this, Zhang Huanyun let out a faint breath of relief, and the other Blood Gods relaxed as well.
A Plane Blessing... It was the stuff of legends.
Everyone present was a top expert of the age, well-traveled and widely read, yet none had ever witnessed one firsthand. They hadn't even found a clear record of one in reliable historical texts.
To be favored by a plane was already an immense stroke of luck, let alone receiving a direct blessing from its source.
Luo Yang was the first in history.
They didn't know exactly what this blessing would bring, but a gift from the world's source could hardly be a bad thing.
"What a day. I've truly seen it all," Blood Seven, the seventh-ranked and more outgoing of the group, couldn't help exclaiming. "Not only did we see the Black Empress's projection, we even witnessed the manifestation of a plane's consciousness! And what's more, that kid Luo Yang awakened a Martial Soul so favored by the Plane Master!"
The other Blood Gods nodded, their expressions complicated—full of amazement, envy, and relief.
Divine-grade Martial Souls had been exceedingly rare throughout the history of the Douluo Continent.
The only one generally recognized was the Six-Winged Angel, passed down through Spirit Hall two thousand years ago.
Today, they had witnessed the birth of another divine-grade Martial Soul with their own eyes—and one that had even received the Plane Master's "official endorsement"!
Its power and uniqueness needed no further explanation. The "miracle" of bringing the dead back to life said it all.
"Don't celebrate too soon."
Blood One's expression was grave as he looked around at them. "Luo Yang awakening a divine-grade Martial Soul is certainly cause for celebration. But don't forget the arrow the Black Empress fired at him before she retreated."
Everyone's heart tightened.
Blood Three furrowed his brow and took over. "That's exactly what puzzles me most. I sensed an extremely ominous aura from that arrow, but no matter how I examined Luo Yang—even probing his Soul Power and mental fluctuations—I couldn't find anything wrong."
The greatest fear came from the unknown.
It had clearly struck him, yet they couldn't find a problem. That in itself was the biggest problem.
The Blood Gods' expressions grew grave once more. They had all seen the Black Empress's attack hit Luo Yang.
Given the Black Empress's identity and the circumstances at the time, she hadn't fired that arrow without a reason. But now that their examination had turned up nothing, their unease only grew.
"That was the 'Curse of the Black Emperor,'" Zhang Huanyun said slowly. "It's an innate ability unique to the Black Empress Clan."
The Curse of the Black Emperor?
Most of the Blood Gods looked startled and uncertain.
The Black Empress Clan was mysterious and rare even among Abyssal creatures. They rarely appeared in ordinary tides, so the Legion knew little about them—let alone about an ability that sounded so bizarre.
Zhang Huanyun continued, "According to the few scattered records in the Legion's secret archives, along with intelligence our predecessors bought with their lives... the Black Empress Clan is almost entirely female."
"If they wish to bear offspring, they have to seek powerful males from other species as mates."
"But not every powerful male they choose is willing to submit. So the Black Empress Clan evolved this innate curse. Once it hits its target, the male hormones in his body keep surging."
"As time passes and they accumulate, the target's mind and body will eventually be unable to bear it. The only way to ease it—or the only 'antidote'—is to mate with the Black Empress who cast the curse and bear her offspring. Each time can suppress it temporarily, but never cure it. It's more like drinking poison to quench one's thirst."
Zhang Huanyun's gaze swept across the shocked faces around him as he delivered the cruelest part: "There have been a handful of recorded cases of human experts being cursed. They met one of two ends."
"Either, once their desire had built to its limit, their bodies and souls couldn't take it and exploded, or the poison and some form of influence from the Black Empress made them lose themselves completely, turning them into breeding tools who obeyed every command."
The command hall fell utterly silent.
At some point, Blood Eight had quietly arrived at the doorway. She had clearly heard the latter part. Her face went deathly pale.
"But what does that mean for Luo Yang?" Blood Eight's voice was dry, though she struggled to stay calm. "By your account, the Black Empress's curse is a mating tactic aimed at 'powerful males.' Luo Yang is only six, and... the one who cursed him was the Black Empress!"
Zhang Huanyun's expression turned exceedingly strange. He was silent for a moment before replying, "The archives say the Black Empress Clan's taste in beauty... well, is rather unusual, and they tend to 'cultivate' their choices. Sometimes they choose young individuals with limitless potential and plant the curse in advance, marking them as a 'future heir' or 'exclusive mate.'"
Luo Yang's Martial Soul had alarmed the Black Empress. His potential must have shocked even her, so...
He paused, then summed it up. "Simply put, Luo Yang has been 'reserved' by the Black Empress, and probably at the highest level."
The other Blood Gods wore a striking mix of shock, disbelief, and worry.
Only Blood Eight felt a nameless fire surge within her. She gritted her teeth.
Luo Yang was a child she had watched grow up, the "tender little cabbage" she had carefully nurtured and treated as her own!
She hadn't even gotten to enjoy him much herself, and now that wicked woman from the Abyss had set her sights on him and branded him with such a disgusting mark!?
Absolutely not!
Zhang Huanyun didn't notice the murderous look in Blood Eight's eyes and continued, "What's worse, the Black Empress planted this curse herself. Its effects are probably far greater than those of an ordinary Black Empress. That means that one day, Luo Yang may have to face not just the Black Empress herself, but the 'needs' of the entire Black Empress Clan."
Now every Blood God's face turned green.
By human standards, the Black Empress's transformed form was peerlessly beautiful. In the human world, she would have been a beauty capable of toppling a kingdom, and ordinary Black Empresses also tended to take the form of bewitching beauties.
But... the entire Black Empress Clan? What did that even mean? Even a steel-bodied Limit Douluo would be drained dry and worked to death!
Blood Eight clenched her fists until they crackled. She couldn't bear to imagine the inhuman treatment Luo Yang might suffer if he ever fell into the Abyss.
Wouldn't he be the Black Empress's dog, day and night?!