Son of the Plane (5000 Words)

The night was like thick ink, completely staining Eastsea City. In the early hours of the morning, the entire city was asleep. Only the scattered streetlights of Eastsea Academy cast dim yellow halos across the silent campus.

Zero Class's exclusive dormitory stood at the foot of the academy's most secluded hill, backed by a dense Camphor Forest.

A black figure, like a ghost blending into the night, silently appeared within the shadows of the Camphor Forest. It was Li Chen.

He wore a suit of pure black combat attire, with an extremely faint aura of death lingering around him. It was not released outward; instead, he had concealed all fluctuations of his Soul Power, traces of spiritual power, and even the primordial aura of the Death God Divine Position within the barrier of the Underworld Law.

Even a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse would find it exceedingly difficult to detect his presence without deliberately sweeping the area with spiritual power.

After a few leaps, he landed outside Tang Wulin's dormitory window.

The dormitory was a double room. Xie Xie slept by the window on the other side, snoring softly, while Tang Wulin sat cross-legged on the bed inside, his eyes shut as he entered a state of deep meditation.

What he had experienced in the Spirit Ascension Platform during the day had not crushed the boy. Instead, it had completely awakened the tenacity buried in his bones.

Na'er had utterly overwhelmed him with absolute strength. The explosive surge of power brought by the first seal of the Golden Dragon King within him, the spiritual shock caused by Tang San's divine sense leaving his body—these impacts intertwined. The moment he returned to the dormitory, he entered deep meditation, doing everything he could to adapt to the newly awakened Golden Dragon King power within him and temper the foundation of his Soul Power.

At this moment, a faint golden halo of blood and vital energy lingered around the boy. Deep within his dantian sea of qi, the Golden Dragon King Divine Core, wrapped layer upon layer in eighteen flawless seals, pulsed slowly with his breathing.

With every pulse, it released a wisp of incomparably pure Dragon God Origin, which flowed into his limbs and bones, nourishing his body and meridians. This Divine Core was a core of power split off after the Dragon God's fall countless years ago. It carried all the Golden Dragon King's power and origin, and it was also the core foundation of the path to godhood Tang San had paved for Tang Wulin.

Standing outside the window, Li Chen's deep eyes pierced through the glass and precisely caught the aura of that Divine Core. Yet there was not the slightest greed in his eyes to refine or possess it, only calm scrutiny and calculation.

He had not come tonight on a whim, much less to refine the Golden Dragon King Divine Core to improve his cultivation.

Li Chen had no interest whatsoever in refining this Divine Core, which carried the Golden Dragon King's God King origin. His path was the Death God Divine Position, governing the laws of life and death in the Underworld. It was utterly incompatible with the Golden Dragon King's violent power system. Forcefully refining the Divine Core would only disrupt the foundation of his laws, bringing harm without benefit.

What he truly wanted was to take this Golden Dragon King Divine Core away intact, for deep research and future arrangements.

First, after the Dragon God fell ten thousand years ago, its fragmented will and origin still lay dormant within Dragon Valley on the Douluo Continent. Not only did that place conceal the Dragon God's inheritance, it also contained terrifying power capable of overturning the entire plane.

In the future, he would inevitably enter Dragon Valley and face the Dragon God's remaining will. As the core origin split from the Dragon God, the Golden Dragon King Divine Core was the only key for him to understand the weaknesses of the Dragon God Origin and make targeted preparations. Only by thoroughly grasping the Divine Core's origin structure could he seize absolute initiative in Dragon Valley and avoid being restrained by the Dragon God's will.

Second, the soul beast lineage of the Douluo Continent had long since declined. The core soul beasts of the Star Dou Forest all revered the Dragon God bloodline and regarded Gu Yue and Na'er as their sovereigns.

In the future, he would inevitably need to cooperate deeply with the Star Dou Spirit Beast lineage. He might even need to rely on the soul beast lineage's earth veins and life origin to stabilize the balance of the laws of life and death between the Underworld and the Douluo Plane.

This complete Golden Dragon King Divine Core would be his greatest bargaining chip in negotiations with the soul beast race. After all, the soul beast lineage's ultimate desire throughout ten thousand years of existence had been the Dragon God's revival and the return of its bloodline. Holding the Golden Dragon King Divine Core meant possessing absolute authority in any dialogue with the soul beast race.

Third, Gu Yue and Na'er carried the Silver Dragon Origin, the other half of the Dragon God's life and elemental core after its division. Yet the Dragon God war ten thousand years ago had left the Silver Dragon Origin with an irreparable flaw. Even with the Spirit Pagoda pouring all its resources into nurturing them, it could not mend the innate fracture in the Dragon God Origin.

By studying the laws of origin coexistence between the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon, he wanted to try using the Golden Dragon King Divine Core as a guide to repair the flaws in the Silver Dragon Bloodline. He even hoped to use the origins of the two Dragon Kings as a foundation to artificially create a complete Dragon God Origin without harming Gu Yue and Na'er's origins, completely resolving the bloodline danger left behind by the Dragon God's fall and allowing Gu Yue and Na'er to break free of fate's shackles.

As for refining the Divine Core and seizing the Golden Dragon King's power, Li Chen had never considered such a thing from the beginning. To him, this Divine Core was a research sample, a bargaining chip, and the key to restoring the Silver Dragon Origin. It was anything but a shortcut to greater cultivation.

Li Chen slowly raised his right hand. A wisp of death Soul Power, pure to the extreme yet incomparably gentle, gathered at his fingertips. It carried no aggression at all. Like the softest thread, it silently passed through the gap in the window, avoided the sleeping Xie Xie, seeped slowly through Tang Wulin's brow into his spiritual sea, then traveled along his meridians toward the Golden Dragon King Divine Core deep within his dantian sea of qi.

He acted with extraordinary caution, controlling every wisp of Soul Power perfectly. He would neither disturb Tang Wulin's deep meditation nor forcibly tear open the Golden Dragon King's outer seals. He only wanted to first touch the Divine Core's origin barrier, determine the structural patterns of the eighteen seals, and prepare to remove the Divine Core intact later.

But at the instant that wisp of death Soul Power was about to touch the outer seal of the Golden Dragon King Divine Core and analyze its structure—

"Buzz!"

A deafening golden hum suddenly exploded within Tang Wulin's body!

The Golden Dragon King Divine Core, which had been pulsing steadily, instantly erupted with dazzling golden radiance. Boundless Sea God Divine Power burst from the depths of Tang Wulin's spiritual sea like an awakened volcano! The boy, who had been in deep meditation, suddenly opened his eyes. There was no longer any trace of a youth's clarity or innocence within them—only the majesty of one who had endured eternal ages, bone-chilling killing intent, and the absolute dominance of Tang San, the Sea God and enforcer of the God Realm!

Tang San's divine sense had long ago left a core protective mark deep within Tang Wulin's spiritual sea. The moment someone touched the seal of the Golden Dragon King Divine Core, it would activate instantly and possess Tang Wulin's body! In his eyes, any attempt to covet the Golden Dragon King Divine Core was a challenge to his bottom line, destruction of the path to godhood he had paved for his son, and interference with his overall plans for the Douluo Plane.

"Insolence!!!"

A cold, majestic voice came from Tang Wulin's mouth. It was not the boy's originally clear voice, but Tang San's deep, resonant voice, carrying the pressure of a God King as it instantly swept through the entire dormitory. The tables and chairs within shattered under invisible divine power. A violent wind rose in the Camphor Forest outside, making the leaves rustle. The barrier Wu Zhangkong had set up was like paper before a God King's pressure and instantly collapsed!

"You repeatedly ruined my plans within the Spirit Ascension Platform and erased a wisp of my divine sense. Now you dare sneak in at night and covet my son's Golden Dragon King Divine Core?" Tang Wulin, possessed by Tang San, slowly rose from the bed. Golden Sea God Divine Power and tyrannical Golden Dragon King blood energy intertwined around him, forming a terrifying vortex of energy. "I had intended to spare your life because you possess a God King Divine Position and may become a pawn against the plane's great calamity in the future. But you refuse to know your place and repeatedly touch my bottom line! Today, I will extract your divine soul, enslave your will, and completely strip away that foreign Death God Divine Position within you, eliminating all future trouble!" (Just kidding, he actually couldn't do that at the time~)

The instant his words fell, Tang San raised his right hand, and golden light surged from his fingertips.

Countless Sea God Divine Power threads, as fine as hair yet containing laws of soul enslavement, instantly wove into a great net that blotted out the sky and descended madly upon Li Chen outside the window! This was a divine soul enslavement art of the God Realm. Once caught by those threads, even a Title Douluo would instantly become a puppet at another's command, never to rise again.

The pressure of a God King locked tightly onto Li Chen, instantly freezing the space around him and leaving him nowhere to evade.

But at the critical instant when those countless Sea God enslavement threads were about to touch Li Chen's brow and invade his divine soul—

Deep within Li Chen's soul, the Death God Divine Position that had always lain dormant suddenly bristled!

Like a kitty whose reverse scale had been touched, desperately protecting its own child, the silent Death God Divine Position needed no urging from Li Chen. It instantly sensed the God King's enslavement intent, killing intent, and deadly threat toward its host. An incomparably cold Law of Death, capable of annihilating all things, erupted violently from Li Chen's body!

"Boom!"

The boundless phantom of the Underworld slowly unfolded behind Li Chen. A pitch-black river of the Underworld churned endlessly as countless Underworld runes flowed through the air. A phantom of the Death God Scythe, entirely black and carrying laws of absolute annihilation, condensed in midair. The once docile and restrained aura of death transformed into a raging tsunami, sweeping toward Tang San with towering fury at the threat to its host!

The instant the Sea God threads containing laws of enslavement touched the Law of Death, they melted and vanished at a visible speed like ice and snow beneath the blazing sun, leaving not even a trace behind. The Death God Divine Position and Sea God Divine Position were both God King-level origins, while the Law of Death naturally suppressed divine souls and annihilated divine power. Moreover, this was an instinctive eruption to protect its host. Its power was far more violent and unreasonable than when Li Chen activated it himself!

"What?!" Tang San's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with stunned disbelief. "A mere mortal host can make a God King Divine Position develop such fierce protective sentience?!"

He had governed the Douluo God Realm for nearly a century and seen countless inheritors of divine positions, yet he had never seen a God King Divine Position act like a young beast protecting its offspring, erupting of its own accord and fighting desperately for its host.

This was no longer simple recognition by a divine position. It was a complete soul bond, treating its host as part of the divine position itself! (One year in the mortal world equaled one day in the God Realm, so that should make it a hundred.)

"When you encounter the King and do not bow, your true fate is lost. Your name is inscribed upon the Reincarnation Stele. One step, one kowtow; upon the road to rebirth, half your sins shall be erased, and your true spirit protected."

Li Chen's voice emerged alongside the will of the divine position, resonating with heaven and earth. The vast land trembled violently, as though a Pluto had descended, wielding the Death God Scythe and imposing his pressure upon the mortal world.

Before Tang San could react, the phantom Death God Scythe had already come slashing down at him with annihilating power capable of destroying heaven and earth!

Tang San did not dare be careless. He immediately activated all his Sea God Divine Power, condensing a heavy Sea God Shield before him. At the same time, he mobilized the Golden Dragon King blood energy within Tang Wulin, transforming it into a golden dragon shadow that charged toward the Death God Scythe. He was, after all, a God King who had lived for tens of thousands of years, with combat experience beyond measure. Even with only a wisp of divine sense possessing a body and unable to wield his full God King power, he could still bring the use of Sea God Divine Power to its utmost limit.

The terrifying golden and black powers collided violently within the cramped dormitory courtyard. Berserk energy shockwaves scattered in every direction. The entire dormitory building shook fiercely, fine cracks spread across the ground, and all the nearby trees were severed at the waist.

The Sea God Shield Tang San had condensed was instantly covered in cracks. The golden dragon shadow was also cleaved in two by the Death God Scythe. Tang San staggered back several steps before barely stabilizing himself. Even the divine sense possessing Tang Wulin shook and dimmed slightly.

He was ultimately only a wisp of divine sense, acting through Tang Wulin's body. The power he could draw upon was less than one ten-thousandth of his true body's.

Though the Death God Divine Position was likewise limited by Li Chen's cultivation and unable to unleash a God King's complete power, it possessed innate suppression through its laws. Combined with its violent eruption to protect its host, the balance shifted, and Tang San had already fallen into an absolute disadvantage.

After several exchanges, Tang San's Sea God Divine Power was continuously devoured and annihilated by the Law of Death. His treasured soul skills and divine skills could not display even a fraction of their power before the unreasonable law of deathly annihilation.

He could barely keep circling with the combat experience he had accumulated across eternal ages, but he had no way to reverse the decline. If this continued, this wisp of divine sense would be completely erased, just like the one within the Spirit Ascension Platform.

"Anomaly! Must you truly fight me to the death?!" Tang San roared. A ruthless gleam flashed through his eyes. He immediately stopped hesitating, used the Sea God Divine Position as a guide, and sent an urgent divine-sense summons across space toward the depths of the Douluo Plane's oceans. "Father! Come help me at once!"