Failure

Night fell. Clouds at the horizon seemed to be dragged by some dark force, rapidly converging toward the center. Ink-black darkness swiftly swallowed the entire sky, and muffled thunder rumbled from deep within the clouds, as though countless bolts of lightning were gathering strength. Purple lightning slithered through the heart of the clouds, swelling from slender threads of light into knotted dragon shapes that battered the cloudbanks until they bulged as if ready to burst. The scent of scorching grew stronger in the air, and every wisp of cloud was stretched taut, containing power enough to overturn heaven and earth.

Martial Soul City—Hall of Consecrates—Qian Daoliu

"Have even the gods been alerted?" Qian Daoliu slowly opened his eyes, a trace of surprise in his gaze. "Someone, investigate the cause of this anomaly at once..."

Douluo God Realm—God Realm Core—Asura God

"You all sensed it, didn't you? God-level power has appeared in the Douluo Plane, and its level is so high that it may even surpass the Dragon God of old!" Asura God's voice carried a note of gravity.

Destruction God King said, "Indeed. That power is incomparably pure, yet for some reason, only this trace remains—and even the world cannot contain it!"

Asura God rose from his seat and used his divine power to stare intently at the Douluo Plane, as though he wished to see through the endless void and uncover the source of that mysterious power.

"An anomaly has descended. The plan must be set in motion ahead of schedule!" Asura God's eyes were firm and resolute. He knew full well what changes the appearance of this power would bring to the Douluo Continent. With that, he turned and left the God Realm Core...

Notting City—Su Yuntao's Courtyard—Gu Hengzhi

"This is bad. Is this a sign that a lightning tribulation is about to descend?" Gu Hengzhi's expression turned exceedingly grim, and a powerful sense of unease rose within him.

Crack— A shocking fissure spread rapidly downward from the statue's forehead like a vicious bolt of lightning, as though it had been struck fiercely by thunder. Then a second and third crack appeared in succession, spreading like a spiderweb across the statue's entire body!

"This is bad!" Gu Hengzhi's heart clenched. Without hesitation, he rushed forward, trying to stop the statue from breaking apart. Yet an invisible divine might surged toward him like a landslide and tsunami, knocking him back several steps.

The statue shook violently. The phantom condensed from divine might suddenly threw back its head and roared, its voice like the trembling of the starry river, deafening in its force—Boom!

With an earth-shattering blast, the divine statue burst apart amid dazzling light!

Stone fragments scattered like snowflakes. The rubble glimmered with faint golden light before dissolving into the void, finally turning to dust and drifting away on the wind.

Everything returned to calm. In the middle of the clearing remained only a ring of long-burned incense ash, along with Gu Hengzhi's stunned, silent expression.

He slowly sank to his knees. Only after a long while did he murmur, "The statue... the statue simply couldn't bear the divine might of such an existence. Sigh, I... I was too arrogant."

In the sky, purple lightning roared like giant dragons. Yet the moment it tore through the clouds, the locked-on aura vanished abruptly like an illusion.

The clouds seemed to lose their support and instantly slackened like deflated balloons. The frenzied lightning seemed to have been frozen by a spell, abruptly halting before scattering like fireworks into countless tiny specks of light. They flickered in the clouds a few times, then quickly went out like shooting stars. The heavy cloud cover thinned and dispersed at astonishing speed, while its fierce momentum vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

A moment later, only a few pale clouds remained in the sky, drifting softly in the night breeze as though recounting the heart-stopping tremor that had just shaken heaven and earth—a mere illusory dream.

With a loud bang, the courtyard gate was violently shoved open. Su Yuntao hurried inside. "Hengzhi, Hengzhi, what's wrong? What happened?"

Gu Hengzhi hurriedly rose from the workbench and reassured him, "Brother Tao, I'm fine. I was just conducting an experiment. Do you remember the gunpowder I told you about before? I think I've found a way to maximize its power..."

"You brat, you gave me a scare! You're conducting such dangerous experiments in my courtyard? If you blow the place up, you'll be sorry!" As he spoke, Su Yuntao raised his hand and lightly smacked the back of Gu Hengzhi's head.

"Ow! Easy—easy!" Gu Hengzhi cried exaggeratedly. "Brother Tao, don't smack all my intelligence out of me."

Su Yuntao shot him an annoyed glare. "You, intelligent? Don't conduct such dangerous experiments here again."

Gu Hengzhi chuckled. "Got it, Brother Tao. This discovery is a major breakthrough. Once I succeed in my research, I'll definitely open your eyes!"

Gu Hengzhi knelt before the shattered stones, his palm still holding the lingering warmth from the scorching burst of light, his gaze vacant.

The wind brushed past, scattering the stone dust and incense ash, as though erasing that brief miracle as well. All that remained was ash strewn across the wilderness and the confusion in the young man's heart.

Amid that deathly silence, ripples suddenly arose deep within his sea of consciousness.

Startled, he tightly closed his eyes and sank into his sea of consciousness.

—There he saw the golden ancient book dormant within his spiritual world. It now hovered silently at the center of the abyss, emitting a faint glow. On its cover, the three words "God-Sealing Record" shone with brilliant golden light, like the sun and moon hanging high in the sky, containing the order of heaven and earth.

After a moment, the golden pages turned on their own, like wind plucking at harp strings and producing an ethereal, distant chime.

Then an ancient voice emerged—deep, solemn, and utterly devoid of emotion. Like the whisper of the Great Dao, it entered Gu Hengzhi's ears with perfect clarity:

"The path of sealing gods cannot be borne by mortal flesh."

"The might of gods must not be lightly profaned."

"Your soul power is still lacking, and your physique remains weak. You recklessly seek supremacy and defy the heavens. The divine statue cannot withstand it and will inevitably shatter."

"The statue was made from crude mortal stone. Before divine might, it is no more than dust and ashes."

The voice contained neither reproach nor anger, as though the laws of heaven and earth possessed their own balance and required no emotion to intervene.

Gu Hengzhi remained silent. Within the reach of his divine sense, the God-Sealing Record slowly closed. Then a line of gleaming gilded words appeared upon it: "Divine might has descended. This volume requires three days to recover. Only after three days may a god be invoked again."

The words seemed carved by blades and axes. Every character that appeared struck his soul like a great bell. Then a gentle yet immovable force slowly pushed Gu Hengzhi's consciousness back into his body.

When he opened his eyes, the night was black as ink and the last of the incense had dispersed. Only the faintly cool night wind remained in the clearing, like heaven and earth's silent judgment upon mortals.

He slowly rose to his feet and stared at the shattered stones strewn across the ground. The confusion in his eyes had already faded.

"Insufficient soul power, gods too powerful, a crude statue... Sigh, I really was too hasty..." he murmured softly, his tone carrying a trace of reflection and understanding. "It seems that at my current level, I can only invoke the most basic gods!"

He gathered the incense burner and the remaining offerings, then walked into the depths of the night. The wind stirred the hem of his clothes, as though gods were silently watching this mortal who had only just set foot upon the divine path.