The One Chosen to Awaken the Angel Holy Sword, Ye Gu Yi

Leaving the wind-swept Far North Land, Lei Chen instantly returned to the Plane Origin Sea. Within the origin space suffused with seven-colored flowing light, he slowly opened his eyes, where countless laws seemed to rise and perish.

This journey to the Far North Land had not only helped the Snow Empress survive the Heavenly Tribulation and paved her path toward the Ice God Divine Seat, but had also allowed him to devour the Tribulation Lightning, greatly strengthening his Thunder God Origin. It had truly been a fruitful trip.

"On the Soul Beast side, the Silver Dragon King is in seclusion, Di Tian and the other fierce beasts understand the new rules, and the Snow Empress is on the right track... For now, that can be considered settled."

Lei Chen pondered inwardly, his gaze shifting toward the vast Douluo Continent, toward the territory belonging to human soul masters.

Human soul masters were an indispensable part of the Douluo Plane. Their development and potential also concerned the growth of the Plane Origin, while reforging Divine Seats was undoubtedly the key to rapidly elevating the plane's level.

Apart from the Ice God Divine Seat that had already been arranged, as well as the Thunder God Divine Throne personally held by Lei Chen, his next target naturally fell upon the Angel Godhood.

And to reforge the Angel Godhood, he could not do without that Divine Artifact. Lei Chen slowly raised his right hand and gave the void a gentle grasp.

There was no earth-shaking spectacle, as though it were merely a casual motion. Then, deep within an ancient ruin buried beneath vines and the passage of time in a remote mountain range somewhere on the Douluo Continent, a dim longsword embedded in the center of an altar suddenly gave a faint, nearly inaudible hum.

The next instant, space rippled slightly, and the longsword vanished into thin air. When it appeared again, it was already quietly hovering above Lei Chen's palm.

This was the God of Angels' Divine Artifact—the Angel Holy Sword.

As the former weapon of the God of Angels, a true Divine Artifact, the Angel Holy Sword was now entirely unworthy of its name.

Though its blade still retained its slender and elegant form, the sacred runes engraved upon it had lost all luster. The dazzling holy light that should have flowed from it had vanished completely, replaced by the dull gray of ordinary iron. Only at certain angles could one catch the faintest trace of a golden afterglow.

The divine sword had been buried in dust.

Lei Chen's fingertips brushed over the cold blade. As the Plane Lord, he could clearly sense the nearly exhausted divine origin within this holy sword, as well as that profound sleeping will that seemed eternal.

"During that battle ten thousand years ago, Qian Renxue shattered her own Divine Seat and her divinity collapsed. You, as her bound Divine Artifact, were dragged into it as well, suffering grievous damage and falling into slumber. It has been ten thousand years now..." Lei Chen murmured softly, a trace of emotion in his voice.

Through the authority of the Plane Lord, he could see the aftermath of that divine battle from ten thousand years ago. He saw how, when the Angel Godhood shattered, this holy sword had wailed as it fell from the heavens, its divine light fading as it was sealed away by the years.

Ten thousand years were enough to turn seas into mulberry fields and reduce splendor to dust. Had it not been a Divine Artifact by nature, it would likely have rusted away long ago.

"However, slumber is not the end." Lei Chen's gaze deepened. "A divine sword covered in dust will eventually be awakened."

As for the person who would awaken this divine sword, he had already found a suitable candidate.

Lei Chen's gaze crossed countless mountains and rivers, descending upon a girl at the outskirts of a city where prosperity and chaos intertwined within the Sun Moon Empire.

She was a girl of around fourteen. Her body had begun to grow, making her appear tall and agile. She wore a neat white combat outfit, while her golden hair cascaded to her waist like a waterfall woven from sunlight, its ends swaying gently with her movements.

Her skin was fairer than snow, and her delicate features seemed as though they had been meticulously sculpted by a divine artisan. Her sapphire-blue eyes were as clear as a lake, yet hidden within that clarity was a resolve and sharpness that did not match her age.

Though she was still young, a solemn, inviolable sacred aura could already faintly be seen between her brows, as if she had been born fundamentally incompatible with the filth and Evil of the world.

This girl was Ye Gu Yi, Qian Renxue's blood descendant left behind on the Douluo Continent, a soul master possessing the pure Sacred Angel Martial Soul.

Under Lei Chen's gaze, Ye Gu Yi was silently following two black-robed men ahead of her, their auras cold and sinister. Her movements were exceptionally light and nimble. Using the shadows at street corners and passing pedestrians as cover, she kept her eyes tightly fixed upon her targets like a wildcat stalking its prey.

The two black-robed men seemed not to notice that they were being followed. They continued onward, leaving the city gates and heading straight for a desolate, uninhabited stretch of woodland outside the city.

Just as the surroundings grew increasingly quiet and deserted, the two suddenly stopped and spun around.

One of them let out a hoarse, grating sneer and said sinisterly, "Friend behind us, you've followed us for so long. Aren't you going to show yourself? Don't tell me you've taken a fancy to us brothers?"

Seeing that her presence had been exposed, Ye Gu Yi no longer concealed herself. She slowly stepped out from behind a thick tree trunk. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell upon her, as though coating her in a faint halo.

She stood still, her sapphire-blue eyes sweeping coldly over the two black-robed men before her without the slightest hint of fear.

"Oh, it's just a little girl." The other man licked his lips, his gaze greedily roaming over Ye Gu Yi. "Why were you following us?"

Ye Gu Yi did not answer their question. Instead, she demanded coldly, "Thirty miles east of the city, there was a small village where not even chickens or dogs were left alive overnight. Every villager's spine was brutally torn out, and their corpses were covered in bite marks..."

"I saw it with my own eyes. The nauseating Evil soul power lingering there came from the same source as the aura on you. Speak! Was it you?!"

The two black-robed men—or rather, the Evil Soul Masters—exchanged glances. Not only were they not flustered at being exposed, but they revealed cruel, smug smiles and readily admitted it.

"So what if it was? Those lowly peasants' bones can become nourishment for our cultivation. It was their honor!"

"What, little girl? Are you planning to uphold justice and destroy us?"

Hearing them so casually admit to such a horrifying crime, the last trace of emotion in Ye Gu Yi's eyes vanished, leaving behind only pure, icy killing intent.

She stared at them as though they were already corpses. Her crimson lips parted slightly as she calmly spoke a few words. "You deserve to die."

Before her words had even faded, an incomparably powerful golden light erupted from within her.

Dazzling sacred radiance dispersed the gloom of the forest. A pair of white wings unfurled behind her, golden halos flowing along the edges of their feathers. Her aura instantly became noble and holy, while four soul rings—two yellow and two purple—rose from beneath her feet and slowly revolved around her.

Sacred Angel Martial Soul, possess!