Putting on an Act

Above the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, heaven and earth changed color.

The Nine-Colored Tribulation Cloud was no ordinary heavenly punishment. It was more like a pre-blessing trial drawn forth by some supreme law, aimed specifically at the existence known as "dragons." What churned within the clouds was not merely destructive lightning, but fragments of laws governing earth, water, fire, wind, light, darkness, space, time, and even creation and destruction. It was dazzling beyond compare, its pressure prison-like.

The first nine-colored bolt tore down from the sky, striking directly at Di Tian, who stood proudly in midair. He had already assumed his humanoid battle form, clad in jet-black dragon-scale armor and wearing a black dragon mask, his aura as deep as an abyss and as steady as a mountain. Facing tribulation lightning sufficient to destroy an ordinary Ultimate Douluo, Di Tian neither dodged nor retreated. The faint golden patterns that had recently appeared upon his dragon scales suddenly lit up!

Boom—!

The lightning struck him, yet caused none of the expected destruction. Instead, the nine-colored electric serpents seemed drawn in by some power of common origin. They coiled around him, seeped inward, and were ultimately slowly absorbed by those pale golden patterns! The golden light on his scales circulated, becoming even more solid.

"Absorbing the power of heavenly tribulation?!" Far away, Ya Li cried out in disbelief, her eyes full of shock. "This... this is no longer enduring a tribulation. It is more like... refining a tonic?"

The nine-colored tribulation cloud seemed utterly enraged by this near "blasphemous" act. It contracted violently, and at its core appeared a point of blinding light that made every observer's soul tremble. Then, all nine colors collapsed and condensed at once, forming an incomparably concentrated nine-colored spear of light no thicker than an arm. Ignoring space, it arrived in an instant and viciously nailed itself into Di Tian's chest!

Clang—!

A dull boom, like a massive bell being struck, spread outward. Di Tian's body trembled slightly, and black-gold radiance erupted from his surface. That spear of light, containing a portion of the power of laws, was actually fiercely deflected the instant it made contact by an even more ancient and tyrannical brute force! The refracted spear shot toward the outskirts of the forest, carving a charred scar through the air that lingered for a long time.

"Watch out!" Yun Ming reacted with incredible speed, his Heaven-Piercing Spear transforming into a streak of light as he intercepted it.

Clang!

The spear radiance collided with the residual waves of refracted lightning, producing a piercing metallic shriek. The Heaven-Piercing Spear was actually blasted backward, and Yun Ming's wrist went slightly numb as his gaze instantly turned grave. Mere residual power from a deflection was already this strong?

Before anyone could think further, another change arose within the tribulation cloud. A pure, majestic gold spread out from the heart of the nine-colored clouds, swiftly covering the entire cloud mass. An aura far older and more primal than the Nine-Colored Tribulation Lightning, filled with absolute power and bloodline pressure, descended upon the world. Golden clouds churned as an enormous golden dragon claw, entirely formed from destructive lightning and dragon laws, emerged. Carrying the intent of scrutiny and trial, it slowly pressed down upon Di Tian. This was no longer heavenly tribulation, but a formal test within the Dragon God's Golden Dragon King inheritance system for one receiving a blessing!

Golden light shot from Di Tian's eyes, and a low dragon roar rolled from his throat. He boldly raised a claw to meet it—the claw shadow was black as ink, yet at its core flowed clear, powerful pale golden law patterns! This was proof that the nature of his power had risen after he had already absorbed and fused a portion of the Golden Dragon King's dispersed origin power!

The pure golden dragon claw and the black-gold divine dragon claw collided with a thunderous crash high in the sky.

In that instant, light swallowed every sound. Space twisted and shook like crumpled paper. A terrifying ring-shaped shockwave swept across the heavens, scattering the clouds. Below, even peak experts like Yun Ming and Chen Xinjie had to circulate their soul power with all their strength just to remain steady, their faces stinging from the fierce wind.

"This destructive power... it is practically a force from another level." Chen Xinjie's face was ashen, sweat appearing at his temples. He knew that if he had taken that claw head-on, his chances of survival would have been slim.

Golden light and black-gold light intertwined, then annihilated one another. In the end, the phantom of the golden dragon claw slowly dissipated. Having released that final blow, the nine-colored tribulation cloud also seemed to have exhausted its strength. It churned unwillingly before gradually fading away, and the sky returned to clarity.

Di Tian remained suspended where he was, but his bearing had become utterly different. His figure appeared even more imposing. Though the pale golden patterns on every black scale were thin, they resembled law imprints, flowing with restrained yet noble radiance. The space around him rippled faintly, a sign that his surging power had not yet been fully tamed.

Standing with his hands behind his back, his black dragon mask faced the human experts below, all of whom were deeply shaken. His voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable authority. "After watching for so long, does anyone wish to personally 'weigh' me up?"

It was a provocation—a naked display of dominance!

"You beast, do not be so arrogant! Take my fist!" Chen Xinjie had the fiercest temper. As the master of the War God Hall, when had he ever suffered such contempt? Enraged and humiliated, azure light burst from his body. The phantom of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud appeared, nine red soul rings and one orange-gold soul ring gleaming in succession. Gathering the cultivation of his entire life, he unleashed the Vast Sea Boundless Fist, carrying a vast fist intent as though it could drown a continent, straight at Di Tian!

Facing this earth-shattering attack, Di Tian did not move in the slightest.

A bizarre scene unfolded. Chen Xinjie's savage forward charge came to an abrupt halt without warning when he was still roughly thirty meters away from Di Tian! His entire body seemed frozen within amber formed from solidified space. Azure Vast Sea light flashed madly, and the immense soul power of an Ultimate Douluo surged as he attempted to break free. Yet that invisible spatial confinement was incomparably resilient, locking him firmly in midair. He could barely even move a finger!

"Spatial confinement?! How can it be this effortless...?" "He did not even move!"

Yun Ming, Ya Li, Qian Gu Dongfeng, Zang Xin, and the others' pupils contracted sharply, chills rising in their hearts. Instantly, silently, and completely restraining an Ultimate Douluo who was erupting with full power was already wholly beyond their comprehension! Even Yun Ming had to admit that he could never accomplish such a feat so effortlessly.

Yet Di Tian inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Perfect timing, Chen Xinjie!

All of this stemmed from a law bug caused by an error in sequence.

Ancient Dragon Clan Law stipulated that to receive the Dragon God's Blessing—to accept an inheritance of higher dragon power—one first had to pass the Blessing Trial, consisting of tribulation lightning and a bloodline test. Once the trial was passed, the blessing descended, power fused, and the laws granted recognition.

But Di Tian's situation was special. What he had absorbed was the incompletely sealed dispersed divine power of the Golden Dragon King that Huo Yuhao had extracted from Tang Wulin's body. In essence, it was a portion of the Golden Dragon King's origin power. In the perception of dragon laws, Di Tian had effectively "received the blessing" first by fusing with that power, without undergoing the formal trial.

Yet the laws' "program" was still running. Thus, the "Blessing Trial"—the Nine-Colored Tribulation Lightning and the phantom claw of the Golden Dragon King—still came, and Di Tian successfully "passed" the trial through the power he had already obtained.

That was where the problem arose. The trial had been passed, but the blessing had already been "issued" and "received" in advance. At that moment, the dragon blessing laws fell into temporary logical confusion—the blessing process seemed to have been completed, yet also seemed not to have fully run its course. The temporary authority of "dragon laws above all else," intended to ensure the authority of the blessing and suppress non-dragon divine power, should have existed steadily once the blessing was formally completed. But due to the disorder in the process, it was now in a "suspended" state: activated, yet with nowhere to settle, and about to dissipate.

This state was extremely unstable and might only last a few seconds. But it truly allowed Di Tian to briefly possess a portion of law priority originating from the Dragon God, the Golden Dragon King.

At that very moment, Chen Xinjie attacked. His Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud martial soul carried an extremely faint trace of Sea God divinity. From the perspective of those "suspended" dragon laws, that trace of divinity immediately marked him as a "non-dragon divine unit requiring temporary suppression by dragon laws."

Therefore, when Di Tian used the spatial power he was already skilled in to attempt confinement, that "suspended" law authority automatically attached itself and reinforced it. What Chen Xinjie felt was not only Di Tian's spatial lock, but suppression from bloodline laws of a higher level. As a result, the operating efficiency of his soul power, which contained a trace of Sea God characteristics, instantly plummeted by nearly half! One side weakened while the other strengthened, creating this seemingly inconceivable confinement effect.

Di Tian could clearly feel the law power reinforcing him receding as swiftly as the tide.

Five seconds! He counted silently.

At the fifth second, Chen Xinjie's face was red as blood, and the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud hummed as though it were about to crack. Just as he was about to break free, Di Tian appropriately "swayed slightly," as if his strength could no longer support him, and voluntarily released the confinement.

"Urgh!" Chen Xinjie abruptly broke free. The soul power he had been building rebounded upon him, and he let out a muffled groan. He was sent flying back dozens of meters before stabilizing himself in an embarrassing state. His expression was a mix of fury and shock as he stared fixedly at Di Tian, yet he no longer dared step forward. That strange, utterly incomprehensible sensation of suppression had left his heart trembling.

Di Tian's heart settled. That was close. Half a second more, and I would have been exposed. On the surface, however, he remained as deep and steady as an abyss. His gaze slowly swept across the human experts below, whose expressions kept changing, before finally landing on Qian Gu Dongfeng, master of the Spirit Pagoda. His tone turned cold. "Qian Gu Dongfeng, the borders of the Star Dou Great Forest should return to what they were two thousand years ago. I do not wish to see those eyes and ears that should not exist anymore. You..." He paused, a hint of mockery in his voice. "You are not Ice Douluo, after all. My patience is limited."

Qian Gu Dongfeng's expression turned incomparably ugly. Expanding into the forest and installing surveillance had been an important strategy of the Spirit Pagoda. But Di Tian's displayed strength was unfathomable, and those strange methods were unheard of. He forced out a smile and spoke rapidly. "Senior Di Tian, please calm your anger. This matter... was mishandled by the Spirit Pagoda. Two days! Within two days, all personnel and monitoring facilities will definitely withdraw from the relevant regions. We will never repeat this offense!" Inwardly, he had already begun rapidly calculating how to make up for the losses.

Di Tian neither confirmed nor denied it. He then looked toward Zang Xin, deputy master of the Tang Sect, and said calmly, "That recent 'film' was quite novel. God of Emotions: Battle of the Dragon King!... The Tang Sect has some impressive methods." He paused slightly over the words "Battle of the Dragon King."

Zang Xin's heart tightened, and his back went cold. The film had been led by the Violet Dragon Pavilion, with the Tang Sect participating in its distribution, and its content had arranged for Di Tian to be "defeated." He hurriedly gave a dry laugh. "Senior, you jest. It is merely entertainment, nothing but fictional nonsense—it cannot be taken seriously! The Tang Sect has absolutely no intention of offending you. Should there be anything improper, Zang is willing to personally apologize and negotiate!" His posture was exceedingly humble.

Seeing how nervous he was, Di Tian said nothing further and finally turned his gaze toward Yun Ming.

Suppressing the storm in his heart, Yun Ming asked in a deep voice, "Di Tian, as far as I know, you are still far from the end of your lifespan. This tribulation did not seem to be for extending your life, but rather... for some other opportunity?"

Di Tian glanced at him and replied blandly, "Yun Ming, who said tribulation lightning can only be drawn down when one's lifespan is nearly exhausted? When one sees a path ahead and feels power stir within, tribulation descends from heaven. As for what path I saw..." He paused briefly, offered no further explanation, and merely waved his sleeve, his voice turning cold.

"Now that you have seen enough, all of you—get lost."

The word "get lost" was utterly blunt. Yet before that absolute gap in power and the unfathomable methods displayed earlier, no one dared argue.

Yun Ming gave Di Tian a deep look, said nothing further, and nodded slightly to Ya Li before turning into a streak of light and leaving first. Chen Xinjie's face was iron-gray. He shot Di Tian a vicious glare, then departed closely behind with the people from the War God Hall. Qian Gu Dongfeng and Zang Xin, meanwhile, seemed as though they had been granted amnesty and hurriedly led their people away.

In the blink of an eye, the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest's core region were empty of people. Only scorched earth ravaged by tribulation lightning remained, along with chaotic elemental energy that had yet to settle and faint lingering dragon might in the air.

Di Tian stood alone in the void. Only after the auras of every human expert had completely vanished beyond the edge of his perception did he slowly descend.