The Death of Poseidon

After only a few more exchanges, Poseidon was completely on the defensive.

The glow of divine power around the Sea God visibly dimmed. The oceanic laws under his control continued to weaken within Suranos's Darkness Domain, while the blood mist evaporated the surrounding moisture. Golden divine blood dripped steadily through the seams of his armor.

Every living being watching the Sky Curtain had their heart in their throat. Those who had been certain the Sea God would win now fell silent.

Qian Daoliu, Tang Chen, Bibi Dong, the Snow Empress, and the others clenched their fists, but they knew they were powerless to intervene in a battle between gods of this caliber.

Di Tian and Zi JI exchanged a grave, wordless look.

If Poseidon had faced a slow monster like Golza or the Silver Dragon, he could have remained beyond its reach even if he could not win, relying on flight, his smaller size, and his speed.

But against a fast monster with as many abilities as Suranos, every one of his advantages vanished. He had no chance of winning.

Suranos roared with delight. Red light surged in his eyes, and a wide-ranging Hypnotic Light Wave swept across the battlefield. Poseidon's mind grew hazy, and he nearly lost control of his senses. He hastily burned part of his own Divine Essence and forced himself free.

But in that brief pause, Suranos had already closed in.

Poseidon knew that if the fight dragged on, he would be worn down and killed. He had to escape at once.

He held nothing back, raising the Sea God Trident above his head.

He unleashed all the oceanic divine power and Divine Ring Origin within him. Thirteen phantom forms of the Golden Halberd Techniques appeared behind him, their halberd silhouettes merging one after another. All the moisture and power of the oceanic laws between heaven and earth rushed toward the trident.

"Golden Thirteen Halberds, ultimate technique—Thirteen Halberds Unite, Sea God's Twilight!"

His roar shook heaven and earth. A dazzling golden beam a hundred meters wide erupted from the trident's tip, formed from oceanic divine power capable of destroying everything. Golden light engulfed the world, and everyone instinctively shut their eyes, unable to look directly at its devastating radiance.

This was Poseidon's strongest killing move.

Suranos watched the golden beam hurtle toward him. Rather than retreat, he burned with mad fighting spirit. Blood-red mist billowed around his massive body as he charged straight into the beam.

The golden light swallowed Suranos whole.

At the sight, almost everyone on Douluo Star prayed that Poseidon's attack would kill Suranos.

But then—

Suranos burst straight through the golden beam, appeared before Poseidon, and caught him in his jaws.

Crack!

The top-tier divine armor forged from gilded metal shattered. Hard fangs pierced Poseidon's divine body and clamped down on his torso.

Suranos drove his Vampiric Power to its limit, frantically draining the Sea God's divine power and life force. Poseidon screamed in agony, but he could not break free.

After draining every last trace of Poseidon's divine power and life force, Suranos bit his divine body in two. Before the remaining divine power could disperse, Suranos opened his mouth and swallowed it all.

Poseidon, the Sea God and First-Class God of the Douluo Divine Realm, had fallen.

Tang Zhen, the Second Elder, and the Third Elder dropped to their knees in excitement and shouted wildly, "Our lord is mighty! Our lord is invincible!"

The other living beings on Douluo Star stood frozen in place, their blood seemingly turned to ice.

The streets fell utterly silent. The people who had been cheering stood without a word, trembling uncontrollably.

If even a god could not stand against this monster, who in the world could stop it?

Grandmaster's expression was especially ugly.

Worthless Sea God. Worthless Douluo Divine Realm. They'd made a fool of me.

If I ever saw the Sea God again, I'd beat him every single time.

Suddenly, Suranos whipped his head toward the distance on the Sky Curtain.

"Tiga!"

With that roar, he spread his wings and launched his massive body into the air, speeding toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Sky Curtain's image abruptly split into three, each section showing a different scene: Suranos flying at full speed; a giant stone statue of Tiga; and the Light God Temple in Apple Town.

From Suranos's roar, his flight path, and the images on the Sky Curtain, many guessed that his target was the Tiga statue held by the Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. Like Golza and Melba, he wanted to destroy it before Tiga could return.

The temple in Apple Town was packed inside and out. All two thousand-plus residents had gathered there, hands clasped in devout prayer as they silently recited pleas for the light to come.

A small statue of Tiga on the temple's left side gave off a steady, gentle glow. Faint white light spread along the ground and enveloped every praying townsfolk. Tiny flecks of luminous white light slowly appeared on their bodies as well.

Seeing this through the Sky Curtain, living beings across Douluo Star remembered the ending of Tiga's story.

Countless people followed Apple Town's example, clasping their hands and praying devoutly.

Inside the temple, Gu Yuena watched Suranos rapidly draw closer on the Sky Curtain. She quietly turned and made her way to a deserted alley behind the temple.

Gu Yuena stopped in an empty corner and looked up at the sky.

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded beside her.

"What, are you planning to intercept Suranos?"

Gu Yuena did not look back. Her gaze rested in the direction of Tiga's statue.

"Yes."

"Isn't your mission to restore the Dragon Clan? If you fight Suranos now and die, that revival may become impossible. Is it worth it?"

Gu Yuena smiled faintly and turned to Su He. The familiar coldness had left her eyes, replaced by a touch of human warmth. "Then I'll give it up."

"That doesn't sound like something the Silver Dragon King would say."

"I was born when the Dragon God split apart. From the moment I came into being, I carried the hatred and the mission of the entire Dragon Clan and Soul Beast Race."

"I used to see it that way too. Perhaps it was the stories on the Sky Curtain, but I no longer want to live bound by shackles placed on me at birth."

"Now I want to live for myself, by my own will."

"I've spent almost my entire life here. This planet and the Star Dou Great Forest have long been my home."

"I want to be like Daigo in the Sky Curtain and give everything I have to protect this land."

Su He watched Gu Yuena in silence. This old girl was still far too naive.

Although Gu Yuena had lived for tens of thousands of years, her only companions had been Di Tian and a handful of other Ferocious Beasts. In some ways, she was less worldly than an ordinary high school girl raised in an age of information overload.

That made her values easy for outside influences to shape.

Still, this Gu Yuena felt more real than the one in the original story.

In the original, her duty to the Soul Beasts seemed more like a convenient label for creating conflict between the male and female leads than a deep-seated desire driving her actions.