Eden's Star!

Just as Xu Yue underwent his martial soul awakening.

The morning sun, which had only just risen, suddenly underwent a total solar eclipse without warning.

A speck of black gradually spread across the golden-red surface of the sun. Within moments, only a ring of gold remained.

The instant the celestial phenomenon changed, the entire Douluo Continent was plunged into darkness, with visibility dropping below ten meters.

Not only that, with Eastsea City as its epicenter, the surrounding coastal regions also experienced a mild earthquake.

In some places, even the gravitational constant underwent subtle changes.

"What's going on?! An earthquake?"

"No! Is that a total solar eclipse?!"

"The forecast didn't say there'd be a celestial anomaly and an earthquake today!"

For a time, the entire eastern coast fell into panic.

Elsewhere, within the origin space of Douluo Star's plane.

The upheaval here was even more violent than outside.

Countless streams of seven-colored energy seemed to have been drawn by an immense attraction, forming a vortex as they rapidly poured into an extremely bright point of light.

No, it was not a point of light.

It was the deepest darkness, from which even light could not escape!

The so-called ultimate radiance was merely an accretion disk formed as the compressed seven-colored energy was gradually devoured.

Such a drastic change instantly awakened the two figures sleeping here.

One of them, a burly man, watched the scene with a deeply furrowed brow, fury burning in his eyes.

It was Tang Hao, the slumbering Lord of the Plane.

"What is this? How dare it intrude upon my domain?"

Without hesitation, he immediately reached out and grabbed at the anomaly.

"Hao! Wait..." A Yin tried to stop him from the side, but it was already too late.

The moment Tang Hao's hand entered the range of the accretion disk, his expression changed drastically.

Whoosh!

"How is this possible?!"

His body seemed to have been seized by an invisible monster, suddenly lunging forward.

Fortunately, Tang Hao reacted quickly and responded at once.

Blazing divine power ignited across his body like fire. The muscles of his divine body bulged and tensed, yet he still could not stop himself from being dragged forward, his feet carving two deep furrows into the ground.

Even as the Lord of the Plane, with strength comparable to a second-level god, he was equally powerless before it.

This force was more ultimate than ultimate, purer than pure—as though it were the ultimate embodiment of all power in this universe.

Tang Hao had even begun invoking the authority of the Lord of the Plane, yet it still had no effect whatsoever.

At this moment, no matter how prideful Tang Hao was, he had no choice but to call out.

"A Yin! Help me!"

At his words, A Yin's expression turned equally grim. She did not hesitate.

Blue-golden vines spread out from around her body, transforming into dragons that seized hold of Tang Hao.

But in an instant, the blue-golden vines were pulled taut, even dragging A Yin's body forward!

"Hao!" A Yin's expression changed as she cried out, "Think of something! This force has caught me too."

Tang Hao's face flushed red at her words.

The closer his body drew to the point of light before him, the more immense that peculiar force field became, and the harder it was to break free.

At that thought, a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

The next moment.

A flash of black light streaked past, and a terrifying explosion erupted instantly. The enormous recoil freed Tang Hao from the force field's restraints.

A Yin did the same.

"Ah!"

The two cried out in pain, staring ahead with horrified expressions.

The energy produced by the explosion instantly turned into a torrent, forming a vortex as it was sucked into the accretion disk.

"What exactly is this thing? How can it be so bizarre?" Tang Hao said, his face somewhat pale as he looked at A Yin.

"I used a full thirty percent of my power just to break free of the restraints! What about you, A Yin?"

"I lost twenty percent too!" A Yin's face was equally pale.

It had to be known that what they had unleashed was not mere divine power, but their origin power—the foundation of their very beings.

Having received that answer, the two watched the bizarre vortex with lingering fear.

Yet, as if the energy contributed by Tang Hao and A Yin had met its requirements, it vanished from where it stood in an instant.

Watching it disappear, the two of them let out a sigh of relief.

But soon afterward, Tang Hao's expression changed, and he fell directly into a deep sleep.

A Yin wanted to ask what was wrong, but her own injuries were not light either. At the same time, she had to keep watch over the Life Core to prevent any accidents.

However, after this incident, further complications were likely unavoidable.

A moment later, another consciousness within this space watched the pair's actions and let out a disdainful snort.

"What shallow knowledge. You dare touch anything you come across!"

"This is the Star of Myriad Stars—the ultimate form of all stars, and the manifestation of all forces and fundamental power."

"Forget you two petty gods who took shortcuts to get where you are. Even the entire Divine Realm would be nothing but ants before it."

After belittling them, his tone abruptly changed, filling with delight.

"Thirty percent of the permissions have returned. Not much, but enough."

Eastsea City.

The Blacksmiths' Association building.

Just as Xu Yue was rejoicing over awakening the Sun martial soul, the golden-red fireball in his hand suddenly underwent a drastic transformation.

Every speck of fire rapidly contracted inward, before erupting with the most extreme, most dazzling radiance.

It was as though the sun in his hand had reached the end of its lifespan and begun an uncontrollable stellar collapse.

"What's happening...?"

His eyes widened as he watched everything unfold before him.

But Mu Chen, standing before him, seemed to realize something. He immediately cried out in shock, his expression caught somewhere between joy and worry.

"This is... a martial soul mutation?!"

However, as Mu Chen voiced his shock, Xu Yue no longer had the mind to care why his martial soul had mutated.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier until they soon closed.

The next moment.

A force seemed to pour into him from nowhere, yet also seemed to surge forth from the deepest depths of his body, flowing through his entire being in an instant.

It made him feel as though he had returned to his mother's embrace.

Warmth, happiness, safety.

His bones were tempered anew, and his muscles strengthened once more.

From the inside out, from soul to flesh, everything about him was renewed at this moment.

In the haze, Xu Yue felt as though a long time had passed. Faintly, he heard Mu Chen and Mu Xi calling to him in alarm.

"Xiao Yue! What's wrong with you? Wake up!"

"A Yue..."

Hearing their calls, Xu Yue slowly awakened, like an infant opening his eyes for the first time and looking upon the outside world anew.

The golden-haired girl stood before him with an anxious expression. Only after seeing him wake did she finally let out a long breath.

"A Yue! You scared me to death! Why did you suddenly fall asleep?" After saying that, Mu Xi hurriedly added, "Quick, look at your martial soul!"

"I fell asleep? My martial soul? What happened to my martial soul?"

A confused thought flashed through Xu Yue's mind, and he immediately looked toward his right hand.

There, floating above his palm, was a dark blue spherical crystal roughly fifteen centimeters in diameter.

Its surface was covered in golden patterns like embossed carvings, while specks of starlight shimmered across it with brilliant radiance.

"This... this is..."

Xu Yue's pupils contracted violently. His heart began racing uncontrollably as he enunciated four words, one by one.

"Star! Of! Eden!"