God's Mark

"Angel Light Blade!"

Qian Xunji unleashed a Soul Skill. As he swung the sword in his hand, a massive blade of light shot straight toward Tang Hao.

"Clear Sky Hammer! Chaotic Cloak!"

Tang Hao's low voice rang out. With the Clear Sky Hammer in hand, he seemed to command the world. An unshakable force, as vast as the boundless earth, surged from him.

The hammer and sword crashed together. A thunderous sonic boom erupted where they met, and a visible shock wave swept in every direction.

Normally, a Level 90 Super Douluo would have no trouble defeating a Level 89 Soul Douluo. Yet what happened before them was undeniable: Tang Hao had knocked away Qian Xunji's holy sword, displaying the might befitting the continent's number-one weapon Martial Soul.

It was also clear that Tang Hao had reached Level 90 in that moment, becoming a pseudo-Titled Douluo, just one level shy of a true Titled Douluo.

"What! How could this happen!"

"Could it be...!"

Qian Xunji realized that Tang Hao had also come out of Slaughter City. Could he have inherited the power of the God of Slaughter too?

That was the only way he could have knocked away the Angel Holy Sword with the strength of a Soul Douluo!

"It seems I can't let you live after all!"

"Attack together!"

Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo were ready. They stood back to back, their ten fingers interlocked and raised high. The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and Ghost Martial Soul appeared, followed by their nine Soul Rings each—eighteen in all.

"Two-Pole Static Domain!"

In an instant, it engulfed Tang Hao!

To his horror, Tang Hao found that he couldn't move.

Seeing this, the others unleashed their ranged attacks one after another.

While they were fighting, Li Pu had already slipped into Ah Yin's room.

He looked at the elegant, richly dressed woman lying on the bed. Soft, pale-blue hair fell from her shoulders, and her blue dress was still damp. Her azure eyes were flawless as blue crystals. She looked nothing like the fairies had described.

She was also bright and sunny, with a curvaceous figure and a mature air about her, radiating a seductive charm.

"Who are you? Are you one of them?"

Fresh from giving birth, Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin was so weak that she had no strength to resist. Anyone could kill her with ease.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're such a lovely woman—why'd you turn to thievery?" Li Pu remarked admiringly.

Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin explained, "You've got it wrong. I'm not the kind of person you're talking about."

"You may not be that kind of person, but you could've stayed a Soul Beast. Instead, you came to the human world, and now you've stirred up a storm here," Li Pu said.

"I... I just wanted to fall in love and, while I was at it, ease the tensions between humans and Soul Beasts!" Ah Yin said weakly.

Li Pu sneered. "Fall in love? You call it love when your lover's family is ruined and his life is thrown into chaos? And do you really think it's possible to ease tensions between humans and Soul Beasts? The development of different species is bound to be bloody. To survive better, they naturally expand, inevitably threatening other life. Just look at those two rabbits in Star Dou Forest. How much vegetation have their descendants destroyed to help their species survive and thrive?"

"You're twisting things!" Ah Yin couldn't argue with Li Pu.

How could ideals so easily overcome reality?

Li Pu sneered. "Peace is built on a balance of power. Even if humans no longer needed to hunt Soul Beasts for Soul Rings and Soul Bones, and could form them on their own—or even become powerful without Soul Rings and Soul Bones—peace would only ever be temporary. The essence of life is to expand outward, carving out new territory for itself."

"Love between humans and beasts, without equal strength on both sides, is utterly ridiculous! You talk about easing relations between humans and Soul Beasts, but your appearance will only become the spark that ignites a war!"

Ah Yin fell silent. Everything she had experienced over the years had proved Li Pu right.

Their story had spread throughout the Soul Master World and the Soul Beast Realm, and their respective kin had been caught up in the fallout.

Tang San was one of the successors chosen by Asura God. As a Soul Beast, Ah Yin's fate meant nothing to Asura God—and she was the perfect spark to ignite the flames.

She had no idea she was merely a thread in the hands of the Creator, the most important piece in driving the evils of Douluo Continent forward.

No one else mattered as much as she did.

Even Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue were only relatively important pieces. Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen were merely somewhat important tools.

"Your only efforts to ease the tension between humans and Soul Beasts have been falling in love and running away. You've done nothing concrete. Surely you don't expect this half-human, half-beast child to do it for you?" Li Pu glanced at the infant Tang San.

Though he badly wanted to strangle him, if he did, Asura God would surely revive him somewhere else. Then he would slip beyond the bounds of limited control.

"Having inherited your bloodlines, the child is bound to have extraordinary talent. Once he grows up, perhaps he really will be able to solve this!"

But his voice was full of mockery.

Tang San would see himself as human, not as a Soul Beast. Even with Soul Beast blood in his veins, he would still consider himself human—and then scheme relentlessly against Soul Beasts.

"I believe my child will definitely be able to do it." Ah Yin's eyes shone with determination.

"What do you plan to do next? Sacrifice yourself and put an end to this farce?"

Li Pu knew perfectly well that Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin was about to sacrifice herself to Tang Hao.

To Ah Yin, his words made it sound as though her sacrifice would be useless too.

"I'll go with you. Spare my beloved, and..."

"Heh. You're so naive. Do you think it's possible to spare a Titled Douluo who's a walking threat?"

Ah Yin had nothing to say. A Titled Douluo on the move was a constant danger. As a woman, she had no idea what she should do.

Outside the wooden hut, Tang Hao fought desperately. He had already broken free of the Two-Pole Static Domain, displaying immense power as a pseudo-Titled Douluo. With the Divine Slaughter's Domain bolstering him, he held his own against a group of Titled Douluo and Soul Douluo.

"What do you want from us? All we want now is to live a quiet, happy life!" Ah Yin pleaded with them one last time.

"Don't get your hopes up. Go out and say your goodbyes. Put an end to all this," Li Pu said.

At the same time, he could sense the manipulation of a divine presence, like a God's Mark. It was not only on him, but on Ah Yin as well.

If Ah Yin had clearly understood the gulf between a newly advanced Titled Douluo and a Super Douluo, and the strength of so many powerful Spirit Masters, she wouldn't have chosen to sacrifice herself. She would have gone quietly with Spirit Hall instead. If the so-called God's Mark was on her, then her sacrifice was inevitable.

As if obeying, Ah Yin nodded, picked up her child, and followed Li Pu out of the wooden hut.

Outside, Tang Hao was covered in wounds but still forcing himself to stand.

Qian Xunji and the others were panting too.

When they saw Li Pu and Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin appear, they all stared in stunned disbelief.

They had been fighting to the death, as if their heads had been kicked in by a donkey, never imagining someone could simply sneak in and capture the woman!

"Brother Hao, stop..."