"Beep, beep, beep—!!!"
At that moment, the medical device's alarm grew even more piercing.
"What's going on?!"
"Did something happen to Luo Yang?!"
"Quick!"
The door was shoved open, and a group of Blood Gods rushed in in a panic, thinking something had happened to Luo Yang.
But what met their eyes was the sight of the boy calmly cultivating, surrounded by that heart-chilling aura of death.
They first breathed a sigh of relief, then their attention was immediately drawn to the aura around Luo Yang.
"This is... a Soul Skill fluctuation?" one Blood God asked in confusion.
"No!"
Zhang Huanyun's senses were sharper. He stared intently at Luo Yang. "This isn't a Soul Skill... This is the aura of a domain! And it's a Martial Soul innate domain!"
"An innate domain?!"
The moment the words fell, silence filled the medical room.
Every Blood God's gaze focused on Luo Yang, shocked and disbelieving.
In the Soul Master system of Douluo Continent, domain-type abilities had always been synonymous with top-tier control and amplification. Ten thousand years ago, they were as rare as Ultimate Attributes.
Although, in this era when Battle Armor had become widespread, high-grade Battle Armor often came with domain skills of its own, making domains seem less out of reach, "one more domain" still meant one more advantage. Domain effects could stack!
More importantly, Martial Souls that came with innate domains were almost without exception associated with two words.
Powerful!
The most famous example was the Spirit Hall legacy Martial Soul from twenty thousand years ago—the Six-Winged Angel. Its Angel Domain was renowned for its might and was an important part of its god-level Martial Soul.
At that moment, Luo Yang, sitting cross-legged on the bed, slowly opened his eyes. Deep within them, a faint trace of blood-red seemed to flicker and vanish.
Then the aura of death surrounding him receded like the tide, and the medical device's alarm gradually quieted.
He looked at the room full of Blood Gods, somewhat surprised. "Uncle Zhang, Uncle One... Aunt Eight? Why did you all come?"
"The racket you made nearly crashed the medical device. We thought something had happened to you!" Blood One smiled. "That aura just now... Was it your Martial Soul's innate domain?"
Zhang Huanyun and the other Blood Gods' gazes instantly burned with excitement as they fixed on Luo Yang.
Under everyone's expectant eyes, Luo Yang saw no reason to hide it and nodded frankly. "My Martial Soul's innate domain. I call it the Calamity Domain."
"Hiss—"
Though they had already guessed, the medical room still filled with a chorus of uncontrollable gasps when they heard Luo Yang confirm it himself.
A god-level Martial Soul... a Plane Blessing... and now an innate Martial Soul domain...
It was as if the plane had taken him for its own darling!
Several Blood Gods couldn't help exclaiming in amazement.
Zhang Huanyun took a deep breath and gazed at Luo Yang.
Blood One's expression grew complicated as well.
The shock this boy brought them grew more intense each time.
With talent like this, if he were given time to grow, perhaps the Abyss crisis that had plagued the continent for six thousand years could truly be resolved once and for all.
But first, he had to stay alive.
"Luo Yang." Blood One's expression turned serious. "We just discussed something important concerning your future."
"Hmm?"
"For your safety, you can't stay here any longer."
Blood One spoke gravely. "We've decided to send you to the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters. The current head of the Leng Family, His Excellency Leng Yaozhu, was an old friend of your parents. She's upright and trustworthy. We'll ask her to look after you and provide you with the best environment for learning and growth."
The other Blood Gods nodded one after another.
If they had still been hesitant before, then after witnessing his innate domain, all their doubts had vanished. Talent of this caliber shouldn't be buried on the front lines of a battlefield.
He deserved better resources and a safer future.
Perhaps... even the chance to become a god.
Luo Yang had already anticipated this decision, and, in fact, it suited him perfectly.
Even if the Blood Gods hadn't brought it up, he would have found a way to leave.
Every Blood God was a top expert in the Federation, and any one of them was more than qualified to teach him, but he couldn't stay here.
As someone familiar with the original story, he knew that in this era, Tang San was paving the road to godhood for Tang Wulin. The Abyss Plane, the Silver Dragon King, and even the fate of the entire continent were all pieces on the God King's chessboard.
To break out of this game, he had to find the most crucial person before Tang Wulin turned six—the Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena, or the even earlier "Na'er."
"Besides that, there's another very serious matter." Zhang Huanyun looked even graver than before. "Do you remember the arrow Black Empress shot into you before she retreated?"
"I remember."
"That was the Black Empress Clan's unique racial gift—the Curse of the Black Emperor."
Zhang Huanyun didn't hide anything. He told Luo Yang the full story of the curse's origins and effects, as well as the tragic fates of those in history who had fallen victim to it.
"So, in a sense, Black Empress has taken a liking to you. You've even been marked out as the future queen of the Black Empress Clan," Zhang Huanyun said.
"???"
Luo Yang's mind was full of question marks. He felt like his CPU was overheating.
An Abyss Emperor who had lived for over ten thousand years, the ruler of the Abyss's ninth level, had taken a liking to him, a human child who had just turned six?
What a joke!
Silence stretched on for more than ten seconds before Luo Yang finally managed to process it.
"So, to ease or resolve this curse, I have to have a child with Black Empress to suppress it?"
"Not just that." Zhang Huanyun's expression grew even stranger. "You might have to give the entire Black Empress Clan descendants. After all, you're the 'queen.'"
Luo Yang: "..."
Why did this sound more and more familiar?
Wasn't this damn near the same as an ant or bee society's queen system?!
So he wasn't being treated as a mate. He was being treated as a "breeding machine," expected to give the Black Empress Clan children day and night!
At the thought of that, Luo Yang swallowed hard.
The Black Empress Clan might all fit human standards of beauty, but if he got caught, he wouldn't just have to deal with one Black Empress. He'd have to deal with the entire clan.
Even a Limit Douluo would never be able to handle that.
This was practically a death sentence!
"Don't worry too much," Blood One reassured him. "Under normal circumstances, Abyss creatures can hardly leave the Abyss. As long as you stay away from the passage, Black Empress can't do anything to you."
"Exactly!"
A Blood God with a hearty disposition slapped his chest and said casually, "Could Black Empress really come all the way to the heart of the continent just to capture you, at any cost, forcing her way through the Douluo Plane's rejection and suppression?"
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
The other Blood Gods nodded and echoed him, convinced the odds of that happening were minuscule.
Could you not say that so soon? Why did it sound like you were tempting fate...
Luo Yang's head was throbbing. Far from feeling reassured, he was overcome by a foreboding sense of doom.
If Black Empress really caught him, wouldn't he end up becoming her shape...
Absolutely not!!