Tribulation Clouds

"So, besides film and television visuals, we should also make a simultaneous push through music to build a complete auditory image for the 'God of Emotions'?" Zi Ji took back the preliminary proposal Huo Yuhao had handed her, a thoughtful glint flashing through her violet eyes. Her slender fingers lightly tapped the tabletop. "This direction is indeed worth exploring. Good scores and theme songs often reach deeper into people's hearts than visuals do, becoming anchors for memory. I have solid partnerships with several top Soul Tool music producers and popular singers across the continent. They're all extremely eager to lend their voices to works related to the 'Ice Douluo' or the 'God of Emotions,' and their contact information is readily available."

She recalled, "Back when Battle Against the Dragon King was made, its theme song, Oath of Ice and Soul, was performed by Silver Bell, the heavenly-voiced diva of the Star Luo Empire. Her ethereal, epic voice added greatly to the film, and the song itself became immensely popular. This time, we can go even further." Zi Ji's business mind worked rapidly. "Perhaps we can first tailor one or two exclusive pieces in the style of 'oracles' or 'hymns' for your image as the 'God of Emotions.' They wouldn't be directly tied to a particular film, but would serve as the background music and spiritual symbol of this Godhood. After that, we can collaborate with Xiaoling's Game Workshop and incorporate these musical elements into major story events or character themes in the games, creating a cross-media resonance of faith."

"Not a bad idea." Huo Yuhao nodded approvingly, then opened another, thicker document Zi Ji had handed him. "This is... a detailed proposal for a new project? Abyssal Shadow? A spy... television series?" He raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, a spy thriller series about infiltration, intelligence, and high-stakes maneuvering." Zi Ji's eyes shone with a planner's shrewdness and enthusiasm. "The protagonist is a top agent with extraordinary spiritual power, skilled in disguise, infiltration, and solo combat. This is perfect for artistically presenting the various abilities and dangerous experiences you had back when you were the 'Ultimate Soldier,' especially your signature methods such as spiritual detection, simulation, and Soul Shock. I've artistically altered the names of the setting as well, avoiding unnecessary trouble from direct references while building an entirely new world full of conspiracies and dangers."

She leaned in slightly and explained in detail, "Choosing a television series instead of a film is a long-term consideration. A well-produced series can keep viewers engaged for a long time, with discussion lasting for months or even longer. For maintaining and deepening the presence of the 'God of Emotions' or his incarnations in the public's mind, the effect is more lasting than a one-time moviegoing experience. We can release episodes weekly and continually create suspense and discussion."

At that moment, Di Tian, who had been silently listening, interjected, "I've read the draft for the second major film project. Focusing on God Rank battles with grander scenes fits modern audiences' preference for visual spectacle. People in peaceful times do enjoy watching that." His tone shifted, and a trace of doubt flashed through his golden dragon eyes. "But speaking of villains... news of Evil Soul Master activity across the continent has seemed abnormally scarce these past few years."

The atmosphere by the lake tightened slightly at those words. Evil Soul Masters, shadows like diseases clinging to the bone, had once brought countless disasters to the continent. Their powers were strange and formidable; there was no way they could simply vanish without cause. Over the past five years, they seemed to have slipped overnight into the deepest darkness. Even the Spirit Pagoda and the Shrek Inspection Corps had rarely detected signs of large-scale activity.

"This abnormal silence often signals that an even greater storm is brewing." Huo Yuhao's expression turned solemn. "Zi Ji, it's a good idea to make Evil Soul Masters the hidden thread or even the main villains of your series. This isn't merely for dramatic conflict; it is also a potential warning to the world—darkness has never gone away. It has only hidden itself more deeply. We need to use stories to remind people to remain vigilant. At the same time, we can reasonably show in the plot the spiritual strength and unshakable will required to resist evil. That itself is a positive form of guidance for Faith Power."

"Understood." Zi Ji carefully noted it down. "When the writing team develops the Evil Soul Master faction, I'll have them emphasize its secrecy, infiltration capabilities, and the oppressive sense of a massive conspiracy being brewed, so viewers can feel that underlying danger even while enjoying the show."

The discussion came to a temporary end. Huo Yuhao's expression became serious, and with his palm facing upward, the gray-white gateway to the Undead Plane appeared once more. This time, strands of exceptionally pure dark gold energy were slowly drawn out, still radiating an unyielding and violent aura. These energies had left the main body of the Divine Core and had been partially "digested" by the Undead Plane, shedding some of their violent will and becoming relatively more "gentle," yet their essence remained unimaginably powerful. They swirled and condensed above Huo Yuhao's palm, eventually forming a palm-sized dark gold dragon scale that seemed almost solid, gleaming with metallic luster and intricate patterns.

"This is a portion of the Golden Dragon King's Origin that the Undead Plane currently cannot completely transform. Its nature is too overbearing, and leaving it there would be a hidden danger." Huo Yuhao handed the dragon scale to Di Tian. "Di Tian, you are a dragon, and your bloodline is powerful. Perhaps you can try absorbing it. This should count as a rather... unconventional 'Dragon God's Blessing'?"

Di Tian accepted the dragon scale. It was heavy in his hand, and a scorching fluctuation brimming with power instantly spread from his fingertips, making the dragon blood throughout his body faintly boil. He carefully sensed the true meaning of "immortality" and "power" contained within it, then said in a deep voice, "It is indeed incomparably tyrannical, far beyond the energy level of ordinary dragon remains. However..." Golden light flared in his eyes, igniting intense fighting spirit. "Since it is power from the same source, what would I, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, have to fear?!"

Before his words had even faded, his five fingers suddenly clenched!

Crack!

The dark gold dragon scale shattered, but it did not turn to dust. Instead, it exploded into countless smaller yet even more dazzling golden motes. Like living stardust, they instantly enveloped Di Tian's entire body! The golden light rapidly condensed, forming a towering, airtight golden cocoon. Flowing radiance shimmered across its surface, and faint dragon-shaped phantoms moved within it. The powerful energy fluctuations caused the surrounding space itself to distort slightly.

Everyone's eyes focused on the cocoon of light, filled with tension and anticipation. Huo Yuhao watched especially closely, spiritual fluctuations faintly appearing in his ice-blue eyes as he prepared to deal with any accident at any moment.

The cocoon's light gradually faded from brilliance, its color growing paler and more transparent, as though the energy were being absorbed at a rapid pace. After only about a quarter of an hour, the cocoon completely dispersed, revealing Di Tian within.

The "freshly produced" Di Tian had undergone subtle yet distinct changes in appearance. His originally profound violet-gold dragon eyes were now tinted with an even more dazzling dark gold hue, as though molten gold had been poured into them. Whenever his gaze shifted, divine light flashed within, seizing the soul. The black dragon scales covering his body seemed denser and harder than before, carrying a cold metallic gleam. Meanwhile, ancient Dragon Runes in the same dark gold color had quietly appeared on scales at key areas such as his chest, shoulder armor, and forehead, adding several traces of majesty and mystery. Though his aura was restrained, he gave off the heavy, oppressive feeling of a mountain standing over an abyss, as if a force capable of tearing apart the heavens lay dormant within him.

Di Tian slowly raised his hands and clenched his fists, his bones releasing a series of soft cracks. Feeling the unprecedented power surging through his blood, as well as the "immortal" quality that both conflicted with and gradually merged into his black dragon bloodline, he revealed a carefree, confident smile. "Wow... this feels... very good! Full of power!" He looked at Huo Yuhao and nodded, indicating that everything had gone smoothly.

The growth of power required practical testing and adaptation. Di Tian's gaze shifted toward Bear Lord, who had long been itching for a fight, and his battle intent rose. "Bear Lord! Stop standing around. Put on your full set of gear and spar with me! Let me test this new power!"

"Haha! I've been waiting for you to say that, Boss!" Bear Lord roared excitedly, his voice shaking the surroundings. Without any flourish, a thought crossed his mind, and a set of Three-Word Battle Armor instantly emerged from within his body. Its dark, heavy metallic sheen and savage, ferocious design completely covered his mountain-like frame. At the same time, several small Soul Power amplification devices installed at key points on the armor activated with a hum, emitting a dangerous red glow. Most eye-catching were the high-intensity Soul Tool thrusters mounted on his back and along the outer sides of his arms, their nozzles already faintly glowing blue-white.

Bear Lord used no soul skill. He took a deep breath and assumed the simplest, yet most power-concentrated opening stance—gathering force! His feet rooted themselves into the ground as he lowered into a slight bow stance. The terrifying power in his tensed muscles surged wildly toward his left arm like rivers flowing into the sea. The Soul Tool thruster behind that arm was pushed to maximum output, blasting blue-white flames and releasing a low roar like that of a colossal beast, providing the final acceleration and explosive force for this purely physical strike.

This punch combined Bear Lord's racial divine power as a Darkgolden Dreadbear, the enhancement of his Three-Word Battle Armor, the reinforcement of the amplification devices, and the kinetic energy of the thrusters. It was the embodiment of his strongest physical attack—simple, brutal, yet containing terrifying power capable of splitting mountains and shattering earth!

Sensing the destructive energy gathering around Bear Lord's fist, enough to make an ordinary Title Douluo lose body and soul, golden light burst from Di Tian's eyes. He neither dodged nor retreated. With a low shout, he stepped forward and threw his own right fist! There was no dazzling light around it, only an extremely condensed coating of dark gold, as though it were not flesh and blood at all, but forged from the hardest divine metal.

"Everyone, defend!" Bi Ji called out softly. A jade-green curtain of light spread first, gently enveloping the core area of Lake of Life. With a wave of Myriad Demon King's hand, tough vines and roots burst from the earth, weaving together into a second layer of buffering defense. Scarlet King's three heads howled in unison as blazing rings of fire spread outward, forming a high-temperature deflection field. Zi Ji lightly traced the air with her jade hand, causing ripples to spread through space and weakening any possible spatial tremors.

Demon Spirit reacted the fastest. Almost the instant Bear Lord began gathering force, she flashed in front of the still somewhat weakened Huo Yuhao. Several portable high-level Soul Tool shield generators jointly produced by Deep Space Dragon Domain and Three-Headed Spirit Scent activated simultaneously on her body. Layer upon layer of translucent shields with different properties unfolded at once, tightly protecting both her and Huo Yuhao. Her small face was full of tension and determination.

Just as Di Tian's fist was about to collide with Bear Lord's fist, which carried all of his strength and had been accelerated to its limit by the thrusters—

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

Then—

BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!

An indescribable explosion suddenly erupted! It was not merely a sound, but more like a pained groan from heaven and earth themselves! At the center of the collision, an extreme flash of light swallowed everything. Immediately afterward, a spherical ring of destructive energy, mixed with dark gold and dark red, expanded madly in every direction, visible to the naked eye!

Hummm—!!!

The layered defensive barriers formed jointly by Bi Ji and the others shook violently, releasing an overloaded hum. The green light curtain flickered erratically, the vine barrier snapped apart inch by inch, the fire rings were forcibly extinguished, and the spatial ripples were brutally smoothed away! Fortunately, the barriers ultimately held firm against this first and most concentrated wave of impact.

However, the aftershock did not completely dissipate. It continued sweeping outward!

At the outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest, a Spirit Pagoda observation station.

A piercing alarm blared throughout the entire building!

"Warning! Warning! Forest interior energy monitor sequence one through fifteen have all lost signal! An immeasurable high-energy reaction is erupting in the central zone! Energy level... exceeds limits! Exceeds limits!" The monitor stared at the Soul Tool screens, now completely white, and the indicators flashing red wildly as he screamed himself hoarse.

The supervisor rushed into the control room, his face ashen. "What happened? What is the energy source? A soul beast riot or a natural disaster?!"

"I-I don't know! The instruments were instantly destroyed! This energy waveform has never been recorded before... Wait, Supervisor! It's here! The shockwave is coming!!" The monitor pointed outside the window, despair filling his eyes.

In the distance, the forest looked as though it had been plowed by an invisible giant blade. Rows of towering ancient trees fell and shattered! The observation station's sturdy outer walls twisted and cracked as easily as paper! The auxiliary buildings of the Spirit Pagoda branch established at the forest's edge collapsed by half before the aftershock of that heavenly might, sending smoke and dust soaring into the sky!

The surviving staff crawled out of the ruins, filthy and shaken, staring toward the center of the forest. The next moment, they all froze, their pupils shrinking sharply.

Above the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, an incomparably thick, slowly rotating mass of dark tribulation clouds had gathered at some unknown time! Golden, purple, and black bolts of lightning writhed madly within the clouds, radiating heavenly might that made souls tremble! This world-destroying scene had somehow been completely concealed before now, only revealing its true form at this moment!

The central region, lakeside.

The soul beasts stared at the terrifying tribulation clouds overhead, stunned.

"Tsk, I almost forgot." Di Tian scratched his head, looking at his fist before glancing at the sky. He smiled helplessly. "A blessing is a blessing, but this generous 'gift' from the Golden Dragon King is ultimately external power. If I want to completely make it my own, the laws of heaven and earth still have to go through the process and send down a trial... Looks like I got the order backward. I took the power first, then made up the 'exam' afterward."

Bear Lord shook his slightly numb arm and grinned. "Boss, your 'exam' sure is making quite a commotion!"

At that moment, Demon Spirit urgently reported through the hidden detectors spread throughout the forest, "Uncle Di Tian, Uncle Bear Lord! The aftershock from that clash just shattered several layers of the outermost concealment barriers and interference devices we had set up! The people outside must have noticed the huge disturbance here and the tribulation clouds in the sky by now!"

Bi Ji made an immediate decision. "Put away all Soul Tools at once! We can't let them discover that we're using such advanced human technological products here!" Everyone moved swiftly, flashes of light appearing in rapid succession as the Azurefall Celestial Ring, various testing instruments, amplification devices, and other equipment were quickly stored inside storage Soul Tools. The scene immediately became far more "natural." Aside from the enormous crater and fallen trees, it looked more like destruction caused by a battle between extremely high-level soul beasts or a tribulation crossing.

Di Tian did not care in the slightest. He waved his hand, perfectly composed. "No matter. So what if people outside see it? Good. I intend to cross this 'heavenly tribulation' under their watch. As for the earlier disturbance, we can simply attribute it to the precursor of the tribulation clouds gathering. Demon Spirit, take Yuhao away from the central region first. Find somewhere safe with a good view. The rest of you should retreat for now as well. I'll handle this 'exam' myself."

He raised his head toward the increasingly low-hanging tribulation clouds, where lightning flickered faintly. Rather than fear, blazing fighting spirit burned in his dark gold dragon eyes. The newly acquired power surged through his veins, resonating with his black dragon bloodline and making him yearn for a fierce, satisfying battle to truly master this "blessing"—and announce to the entire continent that Di Tian, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, had taken another step forward!