Deep within the Divine Realm.
A domain filled with the aura of negative laws.
Inside the Evil Emperor Palace.
The First God of Evil sat on a black dragon throne.
Standing beside him was a woman with a graceful figure and striking beauty.
Every gesture she made radiated an intangible allure.
Neither her beauty nor her bewitching arts were comparable to those of someone on Hu Liena's level.
Without a doubt, this woman was the God of Lust, one of the Seven Deadly Sins Gods.
"Lord God of Evil, why did you think of letting that boy inherit your godhood?"
"According to the God Realm Committee's rules, gods must not interfere too much in the mortal world. If the God of Asura finds out about this..."
The God of Lust spoke in a lazy, sensual voice, the very picture of a mature woman. But before she could finish, the God of Evil raised a hand and cut her off.
"It seems you still don't fully understand my divine abilities."
"At least for the next month, the God of Asura won't notice anything amiss."
"One day in the Divine Realm is a year in the mortal world. Thirty years will be more than enough for that boy to complete the divine trials and inherit my godhood."
"Your wisdom is admirable, my lord." After praising him, the God of Lust looked puzzled and continued:
"To inherit your godhood, he must master the evil within himself and ultimately become the embodiment of the laws of evil."
"During the divine trials, he must not only face his deepest fears, but also withstand the temptation of his own depraved desires."
"The slightest misstep, and his inner demons will devour him, leaving him trapped in an illusion forever."
"This God King-level trial is impossibly difficult. It seems you have great confidence that he can pass it."
"But what I don't understand is... why are you in such a hurry to pass on your godhood?"
The God of Evil gave a cold laugh. Then, with a slight movement of his divine sense, a blinding black light erupted before him.
As the light faded, a vast screen more than two hundred inches across appeared in midair.
The scene playing on the screen showed Qin Xuan and Yue Guan riding in a carriage on their way to the Star Dou Great Forest.
"This boy was abandoned in childhood. He has more resilience and negative emotions than anyone his age."
"Destruction, fury, slaughter, and resentment—all these powerful emotions are intertwined within him. That is what drew my attention."
"The Five Great God Kings control the laws of the Douluo Plane, so these divine trials are naturally impossibly difficult. Finding a suitable heir is practically impossible."
"Otherwise, we Five Great God Kings would have passed on our godhood long ago and wandered the heavens."
"After all, those old fellows and I have been trapped in the Divine Realm for thousands of years!"
"Though this boy has less than a forty percent chance of successfully inheriting my godhood, he has the highest odds of anyone I've found in all these years."
"That is why I didn't hesitate to use a sliver of divine power to evolve his Martial Soul, so he could take the divine trials sooner."
"I see." The God of Lust sighed.
"Even after passing on our godhood, we gods can retain our divine power, live forever, and wander the myriad worlds. That's why most gods are searching for successors."
"What I didn't expect was that even you, Lord God of Evil, had grown tired of life in the Divine Realm."
"Alas..." The God of Evil sighed, his words tinged with helplessness and loneliness.
"In the Douluo Plane, a God King stands at the pinnacle of strength and embodies the laws. But across the myriad worlds, beings many times stronger than God Kings are everywhere."
"Here in the Douluo God Realm, we're like frogs at the bottom of a well. Once you reach the God King realm, you stand atop the highest peaks, with nowhere left to climb."
"I've long grown weary of the affairs of the Divine Realm. Compared to staying here, regaining my freedom and wandering the myriad worlds would be far more exhilarating."
"Now that I've finally found a suitable successor, I won't let him slip away."
"Besides, aside from me, the God of Asura and the Sea God seem to have recently been discussing their own successors in secret."
At that, the God of Lust furrowed her brow. "It seems the Divine Realm is in for a great upheaval."
"My lord, if this boy truly succeeds in inheriting your godhood, how would his strength compare to yours?"
The God of Evil answered without hesitation:
"If Qin Xuan completes every trial, he'll naturally be far stronger than me—perhaps even far beyond the other Four Great God Kings."
"After all, the trials I've set for him are extraordinarily difficult!"
"Whether he can truly inherit my godhood is entirely up to him!"
The Star Dou Great Forest was the largest of the three major Soul Beast habitats on the Douluo Continent.
Its terrain was complex, encompassing wetlands, swamps, mountains, rivers, and more.
A thriving Soul Hunting Town stood near the forest's outskirts.
The Spirit Hall carriage carrying Qin Xuan and Yue Guan was pulled by a high-ranked Scale Horse. Even over the rutted road, it rode as smoothly as if on level ground.
After covering several hundred kilometers in less than two days, the two of them reached the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
They got out of the carriage.
Then they headed deeper into the forest.
It was midday, and the sunlight was intense, but the forest's humidity was extremely high.
An ordinary person walking here would likely find it hard even to breathe through the oppressive heat.
As they walked, Yue Guan explained the forest's different regions to Qin Xuan:
"Xiao Xuan, the Star Dou Great Forest is divided into four regions."
"The outer forest is mostly home to ten-year and Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, making it suitable for low-level Soul Masters."
"The mixed zone is dominated by thousand-year and Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. It's the main hunting ground for high-level Soul Masters."
"The inner zone is home to Soul Beasts over fifty thousand years old."
"And at the heart of the forest lies the Core Circle, centered around the Lake of Life. It's the lair of ultimate hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts and Ferocious Beasts."
"The Core Circle is currently held in check by the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape. Even I am no match for those two super Soul Beasts."
"Let's look for a suitable Soul Beast in the mixed zone."
"Mm." Qin Xuan nodded in agreement.
"Given how powerful your Martial Soul is, once you absorb a Hundred-Year Soul Beast for your First Soul Ring, your Second Soul Ring should be able to handle a thousand-year one."
"Besides, the Nine Nether Evil God Tiger contains nine attributes. It can absorb Soul Rings of nearly any attribute except holy and light, so we can save time by not searching for an exact match."
Yue Guan explained, then spread his golden spiritual power over an area fifty kilometers in every direction.
Hearing this, Qin Xuan hurriedly objected, laying out his reasoning in earnest:
"Elder Chrysanthemum, given the strength of my Nine Nether Evil God Tiger, I can absorb a thousand-year Soul Beast for my First Soul Ring."
"Besides, the Nine Nether Evil God Tiger has an innate ability to devour. The remnants of a mere thousand-year Soul Beast won't survive inside me for ten minutes!"
"So I want both my First and Second Soul Rings to be thousand-year ones, preferably from evil, dark-type Soul Beasts. I'll have to trouble you, Elder Chrysanthemum."
With that,
Yue Guan said nothing, evidently accepting Qin Xuan's decision.
With his spiritual power fully unleashed, he soon found a suitable insect-type Soul Beast for Qin Xuan in the northeastern part of the forest.
"It's a Shadow Mantis that only recently broke through the thousand-year mark!"
"Xiao Xuan, your First Soul Ring is taken care of!"
As soon as Yue Guan finished speaking, he turned into a golden streak of light and flew northeast.
Seeing this, Qin Xuan hurried after him, swiftly following his path through the air.
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