Haotian Douluo's Dream, Too Painful to Wake From...

Lu Ming gave himself a thumbs-up in his heart.

--[Awesome!]

"Formless Transformation" was a technique that altered one's appearance through mimicry at the soul level.

As long as Lu Ming's understanding was clear enough, he could perfectly replicate a voice, aura, and even subtle habitual movements!

And A Yin's appearance could not have been clearer to someone who had read the original story.

What he was betting on was Tang Hao's love and guilt toward A Yin!

How would a man who had "lost" his wife react when he suddenly saw his "revived" wife standing before him?

Reason?

It did not exist!

"A Yin! It really is you!"

Tang Hao could no longer suppress his emotions. He descended from the sky and staggered toward that figure like a child.

He spread his arms, wanting to pull his "wife" tightly into his embrace.

Yet "A Yin" took a step back, avoiding his hug.

Tang Hao froze, his face filled with confusion and hurt.

"A Yin, you..."

"Brother Hao, calm down." Lu Ming imitated A Yin's voice and spoke gently. "Look around you. Look at what you've done."

He extended a slender finger toward the devastated mountain forest.

Massive craters smashed out by the Haotian Hammer, trees destroyed by the energy storm, and frail creatures struggling and crying amid the flames...

The entire mountain range had become a scene of utter devastation because of his rage.

"I..."

Tang Hao looked at his hands, a trace of bewilderment flashing through his eyes.

Yes, what had he done?

Because A Yin had withered away, he had taken out his anger on a stranger and destroyed the forest to this extent.

If A Yin were truly here, would she want to see this?

No, she would not.

She was the Blue Silver Emperor who loved life most dearly, the gentlest and kindest of all.

She could not even bear to step on an ant. How could she bear to witness such widespread slaughter and destruction?

"I'm sorry... A Yin, I... I was just too angry..." Tang Hao's voice was filled with remorse.

"I know." Lu Ming continued playing "A Yin," his expression full of compassion. "But, Brother Hao, anger cannot solve anything. It will only bring more destruction."

As he spoke, he quietly backed away...

Acting was acting, but running away was the real priority. Who knew when Tang Hao would come to his senses?

A Titled Douluo's willpower was absolutely not something to underestimate.

"But that boy... he ate you..." Tang Hao's expression turned conflicted once more as reason and emotion waged a fierce battle within him.

"No, he didn't eat me."

Lu Ming immediately threw out the explanation he had prepared long ago.

"My life had reached its end. It was he who used a method beyond my understanding to continue my existence."

"Look."

Lu Ming held out his hand. A tiny stalk of Blue Silver Grass slowly grew in his palm, giving off a soft blue-gold glow.

He had simulated it using the residual Blue Silver Emperor origin power within his body.

"I haven't disappeared. I'm merely living within his body in another form."

Lu Ming's explanation was half true and half false.

He had indeed devoured the Blue Silver Emperor, but he had also inherited the Blue Silver Emperor's power.

When he first used Formless Transformation to touch his own soul, he had vaguely sensed A Yin's soul within it.

In a sense, Lu Ming was a walking Blue Silver Emperor!

Tang Hao looked at that stalk of Blue Silver Grass. The red in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by emotions so complicated they had reached an extreme.

There was sorrow, relief, and even a trace of... happiness?

He believed it?

Lu Ming let out a breath of relief inwardly. It seemed this move had worked!

"So, Brother Hao, let it go."

"Don't pursue this any further. Let him leave."

"This is my wish as well."

After saying this, Lu Ming did not linger. He turned and walked toward the depths of the forest.

He walked slowly and gracefully, his back filled with resolve and reluctance. He flawlessly portrayed a tragic woman forced to leave the man she loved.

Tang Hao remained where he was and did not chase after him.

He simply stared blankly at that retreating figure, reaching out as if to keep her, yet not knowing how to speak.

He watched as "A Yin's" figure vanished into the shadows among the trees...

At that moment, Tang Hao felt his heart convulsing again and again. He opened his mouth, but no sound came from his throat. He could only watch helplessly as the figure that haunted his dreams was gradually swallowed by darkness.

Reason told him that something was wrong, that this was bizarre.

A Yin had already sacrificed herself. Her soul, soul ring, and soul bone had all been given to him. How could she possibly be "revived" in such a way?

That boy had seemed indescribably strange from beginning to end.

But...

Those gentle eyes, that familiar blue-gold radiance, those repeated calls of "Brother Hao"...

What if?

What if it was real?

What if there truly was a miracle in this world, allowing his A Yin to survive in another form?

Tang Hao did not dare to investigate further, much less destroy it.

He was afraid that if he pierced this fragile dream, that retreating figure would vanish completely like a bubble, leaving him with not even the last shred of hope.

He stood there, staring blankly in the direction "A Yin" had gone, allowing the tangled emotions of sorrow, remorse, and a thread of illusory happiness to drown him completely.

He would rather lose himself in this false dream, even if only for a second.

Elsewhere, Lu Ming pushed his acting skills to the limit.

He maintained "A Yin's" elegant yet resolute stride as he walked deeper into the forest. Only after confirming that Tang Hao's spiritual power was no longer locked onto him did he dare to relax.

Thud!

Lu Ming's legs gave out, and he collapsed directly to the ground. His body distorted amid shifting light and shadow, swiftly changing from A Yin's appearance back into his original teenage form.

"Pant... pant... pant..."

He gasped heavily, drenched in cold sweat from head to toe, his heart still pounding wildly.

That had been way too thrilling!

Playing a role in front of Haotian Douluo, one of the strongest beings in the Douluo world—and playing his dead wife at that—was like dancing on a knife's edge!

If anything had gone wrong at any point just now, he would already have been a puddle of flesh.

[Blue Silver Emperor soul power has been overused. The system is beginning retrieval and sealing...]

The cold system prompt sounded. Lu Ming felt the vast and surging soul power within him rapidly recede like the tide, retreating into the deepest recesses of his body and being sealed away by the system once more.

An intense wave of weakness and emptiness swept over him.

--[Damn it! You take it back the moment I'm done using it? You're harsher than a capitalist!]

Lu Ming cursed wildly in his heart. He could feel that only a faint trace of Blue Silver Emperor origin aura remained within him. His soul power had also returned to rank twenty, and it was nearly depleted.

Still, he did not dare linger for even a moment.

Who knew when that madman Tang Hao would snap out of his post-nut clarity?

This was not a place to stay for long!

Forcing his utterly exhausted body onward, he checked his bearings and limped away in the direction opposite Saint Soul Village.

This time, he had truly escaped alive from Haotian Douluo's grasp!

The joy of surviving the disaster welled up in his heart, making him nearly want to laugh out loud.

He had done it!

A little "newbie" who had only just crossed into this world, with soul power at merely rank twenty, had somehow survived at the hands of a Titled Douluo wielding a hundred-thousand-year soul skill!

Who would believe such a record if he told them?

--[The process was a little miserable, but the result was good.]

Lu Ming grinned. Though his entire body ached terribly, his mood had never been better.

As long as he was alive, there were limitless possibilities!

His gaze turned toward the distant east.

Star Dou Great Forest!

That was where a "soul beast" like him truly belonged!