Chapter 12

"With this body, I swear this oath."

"With this body, I swear this oath!"

The moment the oath fell, Lan Changsheng felt a thread in the unseen pass through flesh, soul, and space, connecting him to Ah Yin.

Even though its other end lay on a different plane from his, it still pointed clearly toward that place.

This way, Ah Yin will never be forced to sacrifice herself again, Lan Changsheng silently vowed.

Just then, Bibi Dong's attack arrived. Scarlet rays shot from the tips of all six Spider Spears at once, spiraling together as they hurtled straight toward Lan Changsheng.

But this time, Lan Changsheng merely extended his palm. Dense life force gathered in it, finally forming a shield like a dragon scale. This was the oath of protection Lan Changsheng and Ah Yin had sworn.

With a flicker, the oath of protection split into six. Six dragon-scale shields formed a circle and firmly blocked Bibi Dong's full-powered strike. The blood-red beams crashed against their surfaces with piercing explosions, and cracks spread outward.

But in the next instant, golden roots emerged from the cracks, intertwining and mending them. The six shields were soon as good as new, dissipating the beams' energy layer by layer until they finally scattered into fragments of light that vanished into the night sky.

"Brother!" Ah Yin's voice grew clearer and more vibrant, carrying delight. "I can sense your condition so clearly!"

Lan Changsheng smiled and answered, Yes, in his heart.

Golden light pierced through his robes, his chest, and his blood vessels, pouring into the phantom of the Blue Silver Imperial Emperor Grass behind him.

The golden veins on its leaves surged as though new life had been poured into them. The edges of the domain, previously compressed and curled inward, instantly expanded dozens of yards outward. Life energy condensed in the air into pale golden mist. When it settled on the broken plants nearby, new shoots actually sprouted from their broken ends at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Bibi Dong drove her six Spider Spears straight into the ground, while Qian Daoliu beat his six pairs of wings fiercely several times. The impact of the domain's expansion actually forced both Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu back several steps.

"Wh-what is happening?!" Qian Daoliu cried out in shock. His power was already near the limit of this continent, yet what stood before him...

"Is the God of Life's power truly this great?" Greed and conflicting feelings mingled with the coldness on Bibi Dong's face as she stared fixedly at that towering, hundred-yard blade of grass.

No, she was staring at the golden curtain of light behind it, which even she could not see through.

Under the fierce surge of life divine power, the abilities stolen by Bibi Dong's fifth Soul Skill rushed along that unseen circuit and returned to Lan Changsheng's body.

Taking a deep breath, he knew he now had the assurance that he could leave whenever he wished.

He looked toward Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu again.

The phantom of the Blue Silver Imperial Emperor Grass behind him began to change. All its leaves trembled gently, gathering toward the center from every direction, overlapping one another, arranging themselves in layers and locking tightly together.

A ferocious dragon's head emerged. Its enormous jaws opened, and a scorching breath surged out, burning the air along its path until it warped. Then came the body, the limbs, and the long tail. Every scale was a leaf of Blue Silver Imperial Emperor Grass. A divine dragon's phantom appeared behind Lan Changsheng.

Lan Changsheng tossed the oath of protection in his hand toward the divine dragon. While still in midair, it began to split apart and reassemble, turning into genuine armored scales. Starting at the dragon's head, they spread all the way to its tail, fitting seamlessly over its body.

Divine script shone in mutual splendor. The entire dragon resembled a totem brought to life. At that moment, it was as though a true Five-clawed Golden Dragon had descended upon the world.

"Roar!"

A dragon's roar rang from its mouth. Blazing golden breath washed over Bibi Dong's and Qian Daoliu's faces, its heat forcing them another step back.

Lan Changsheng gripped the Blue Silver Emperor Spear tightly, its tip pointing diagonally toward the ground, his long silver hair flying.

"It would be discourteous not to return the favor. You've treated me to so much; I ought to offer something in return."

Before his words had faded, he abruptly thrust his spear forward. Man and spear became a streak of silver light, his body following the spear.

The golden dragon coiled behind him, gradually accelerating. Spear in hand, Lan Changsheng stood within the divine dragon's mouth. Man and dragon became one, bearing down toward Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu together.

Bibi Dong braced all six Spider Spears, but a sweep of the dragon's tail sent her sliding backward dozens of yards, her body and Spider Spears trembling incessantly.

Qian Daoliu roared in fury and met the dragon's head with the Angel Holy Sword. As the blade collided with the dragon's fangs, countless tiny streaks of golden light burst forth.

"Roar!" The divine dragon swept its tail again and accelerated. Lan Changsheng spun faster within it as well, forcing Qian Daoliu back step by step.

"Ah!" Qian Daoliu beat his six wings. Dazzling golden light flared in his eyes, and his muscles bulged as he forcibly heaved the divine dragon upward.

The divine dragon finally dispersed in midair into a sky full of luminous motes, which settled all along the street.

Dust and smoke shrouded half the city. When they cleared, Lan Changsheng was already gone from where he had stood.

Several breaths later, golden light flashed, and Qian Daoliu used Teleportation to return to the air above the battlefield's ruins, gazing into the distance. His clothes and headwear were still fairly intact, but his violently heaving chest showed that he had not had an easy time.

"If this Soul Beast isn't eliminated, he'll surely become a great scourge in the future. Pfft..." Before he finished speaking, he spat a mouthful of blood onto the clothes over his chest. "I'll go tend to my injuries first. You handle the aftermath." He glanced at Bibi Dong with a complicated look, then vanished into the horizon.

Bibi Dong stood where she was, falling into a long silence. She released her Martial Soul Avatar, her killing intent receding like the tide, and raised her head to look at the sky. There was no telling what she was thinking.

"Your Holiness!" A Spirit Hall deacon hurried over and looked at the devastated city. "This... what should we do next?"

"Repair the damaged houses and pay whatever compensation is due. Then..." Bibi Dong looked straight ahead, her voice so calm that it held not the slightest fluctuation. "Then issue an order to eradicate all Blue Silver Grass on the continent. Leave not a single blade!"

"Yes..."

Lan Changsheng kept darting from place to place as he steadied his breathing.

That last strike had made him feel signs of his Soul Power running dry for the first time.

[Congratulations to the host on completing the God of Life's First Divine Trial. Reward received: five percent mastery of the Law of Life. Current mastery: eighteen percent!]

The system, which had played dead for so long, finally spoke.

Lan Changsheng felt a multitude of insights into the Law of Life merge into his Divine Soul.

With the mastery gained during the battle just now, plus the reward for completing the Divine Trial, his current mastery of the Law of Life was already approaching the standard for the Second Trial.

But the next sentence made him stop short.

[The host has taken another step along the divine path. Current emotion-fear-has dissolved.]

Lan Changsheng frowned and demanded inwardly, Hmm? Why haven't I heard you mention this before?

[Gods are perfectly impartial and selfless. Of course their emotions grow increasingly detached. Isn't that common knowledge?]

"So now I...?"

[The host will no longer feel afraid.]