The figures of the five Divine Kings hovered in midair, their auras enveloping the entire world.
The villagers of Holy Soul Village had long since fallen to their knees, trembling so badly they did not dare raise their heads. Su Yuntao's legs shook as he braced himself against the table to barely remain standing, his lips quivering soundlessly.
Only Lin Chen remained where he was, looking up at the five towering figures of light.
He was not afraid.
It was strange. Though any one of them could crush him countless times with a mere thought, he could not feel even the slightest fear. The gray mark in his palm grew faintly warm, as though responding to something.
"Little fellow, what is your name?"
The one who spoke was the golden figure in the center. Her voice was gentle and pleasant, carrying a woman's tenderness yet also an unquestionable majesty.
"Lin Chen."
"Lin Chen..." The Goddess of Kindness repeated the name, falling silent for a moment. "Do you know what that mark in your palm is?"
Lin Chen shook his head.
He truly did not know. In the seven days since he had transmigrated here, he had tried every possible method to examine his body. Other than sleeping exceptionally well, he had found nothing unusual.
"That is Father God's mark," the Goddess of Kindness said slowly. "The imprint of the Creator God's origin."
At those words, the purple figure beside her visibly trembled. That was the God of Destruction, deep purple lightning coiling around him, his aura so violent it seemed ready to tear the heavens apart at any moment.
"Kindness, are you certain? Father God voluntarily split himself apart back then. His origin was divided into five, giving rise to us. How could a sixth seed still exist in this world?"
"There is no mistake." The Goddess of Kindness sounded certain. "I will never forget this aura. Before Father God fell, he once told me, 'There are cracks in everything. That is how the light gets in.' I never understood what he meant until today."
She paused, a trace of complicated emotion entering her voice. "So Father God had left something behind when he divided his origin. He hid the most essential part of his origin away, waiting for the right time to be reborn into this world."
The other four Divine Kings fell silent.
Lin Chen was utterly confused, but he roughly understood. He had stumbled into an enormous windfall and become the Creator God's successor.
"Then what am I supposed to be now?" he asked.
"Our little brother." The Goddess of Kindness chuckled, and a breathtakingly beautiful face vaguely took shape within the light.
"Father God's origin gave birth to the five of us, while you inherited his most essential power. By seniority, you truly are our youngest brother."
"Big Sister is right." The green figure beside her spoke. Her voice was as gentle as water; she was the Goddess of Life. "Since Father God chose him, it must be the will of heaven. As his elder siblings, we cannot possibly treat our little brother poorly."
After saying that, she lightly tapped with her fingertip. An emerald beam descended from the sky and entered Lin Chen's body.
Lin Chen's entire body jolted as if something had exploded inside him.
His meridians expanded, his blood boiled, and the hot current in his dantian swelled instantly, like a parched riverbed suddenly struck by floodwaters. He could clearly feel his Soul Power soaring—level one, level two, level three...
It did not stop until it reached the threshold of level thirty.
"This is the power of life origin. It will help you establish the finest foundation," the Goddess of Life said softly. "Your Soul Power has already reached the level-thirty bottleneck. You need only absorb a Soul Ring to break through."
Before Lin Chen could thank her, the God of Destruction made his move as well.
A deep purple ray poured into his body, carrying a violent aura of destruction.
Yet strangely, this power did not harm him. Instead, it formed a protective layer within him, shielding his meridians like armor.
"Kid, this is my power of destruction. If anyone dares bully you in the future, use it to beat them up." The God of Destruction snorted, his tone fierce, but Lin Chen heard a trace of concern within it.
Immediately afterward, a blood-red beam and a dark beam descended at the same time.
The God of Asura and the God of Evil had acted as well.
The four divine powers intertwined and merged within Lin Chen, ultimately flowing into the gray mark in his palm.
The mark lit up. It was no longer as faint and indistinct as before, but transformed into clear lines, like an ancient eye slowly opening.
The Goddess of Kindness had yet to act.
Only after the other four Divine Kings had finished did she speak. "Lin Chen, the five of us have each given you a portion of our power, but none of this is Father God's true inheritance. How far you can go will still depend on your own fortune."
As she spoke, she pointed a finger.
Lin Chen's palm grew scorching hot, and the gray mark erupted with a dazzling glow.
When the light faded, he looked down and froze.
Three Soul Rings revolved slowly around his body.
They were not ordinary Soul Ring colors. The three rings displayed an indescribable hue, as if every color had been crushed together and recombined. Their flowing radiance was so beautiful that no one could look away.
Nine-colored.
"Th-this..." Su Yuntao's eyes widened, and he nearly lost his breath. "N-nine-colored Soul Rings? What kind of Soul Rings are those? They have never appeared in history!"
Not only him—even Tang Hao was dumbfounded.
The Clear Sky Douluo had lived for most of his life. What strange and unusual Martial Souls had he not seen? Yet he had truly never heard of Nine-Colored Soul Rings.
"Each Soul Ring represents mastery over a Law," the Goddess of Kindness's voice echoed in Lin Chen's mind.
"The first ring is the Five Elements Law; the second ring is the Yin-Yang Law; the third ring is the Destruction Law. As for what follows: the fourth ring is life, the fifth is reincarnation, the sixth is karma, the seventh is your Martial Soul Avatar, the eighth is destiny, and the ninth is space-time. Once your cultivation reaches the required level, the Soul Rings will naturally awaken."
Lin Chen's heart pounded wildly.
Five elements, yin and yang, destruction... any one of those terms alone represented a supreme Law, yet now they had all been stuffed into his Soul Rings.
"But you must remember," the Goddess of Kindness said sternly, "although the power of Laws is strong, your body is still fragile. Forcing yourself to use power beyond your limits will cause backlash."
"Understood." Lin Chen nodded.
Right now, he felt as though he had won a five-million lottery prize. He was so excited he wanted to jump in place three times, yet he had to keep a straight face and could not embarrass himself in front of so many people.
The figures of the five Divine Kings began to turn transparent. They were clearly preparing to leave.
"Lin Chen," the Goddess of Kindness said one final thing before departing, "the gates of the Divine Realm will always stand open for you. Once you have grown strong enough, we will wait for you in the Divine Realm."
As her words fell, the five figures of light shot into the sky and vanished among the clouds.
Heaven and earth returned to normal.
Sunlight streamed down once more, and a gentle breeze swept through the treetops. Everything was much the same as before. If not for the gray mark in his palm still burning hot, Lin Chen would almost have believed that everything just now had been a dream.
"L-Lin Chen..." Old Jack approached shakily, his face filled with shock and delight. "Y-you, this is..."
"Grandpa Jack." Lin Chen grinned. "I think I awakened a pretty good Martial Soul."
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