Poseidon's divine sense paused for a moment, as if in thought, "Stripping away Soul Ring? Why are you asking that?"
"Resolve the fundamental conflict between humans and Soul Beast," Xuan Ming stated succinctly.
Poseidon's voice carried a hint of helplessness. "The method... theoretically, exists. Divine power, especially power involving the rules, can achieve this. But it's extremely troublesome, requiring incredibly precise control over the soul and the Martial Soul Origin. The slightest mistake can damage or even destroy the Soul Master's soul. Moreover, this can only be applied to individuals and cannot be widely implemented. You want to use this to resolve the conflict between the two races? It's unrealistic."
Xuan Ming frowned slightly. Poseidon's answer, like Gu Yuena's, both pointed to the "rules" themselves.
Just then, another, gentle yet far more vast and powerful divine thought quietly joined in, like a spring breeze.
"Perhaps I can give you a more detailed answer to this question." The voice of the Godess of Kindness resounded directly in the hearts of Xuan Ming and Poseidon.
" The Godess of Kindness?" Poseidon's divine sense flickered.
" Xuan Ming," the voice of the Godess of Kindness was calm and full of wisdom, "You seem to believe that the rule that Soul Master need to hunt Soul Beast to obtain Soul Ring was set by our Divine Realm?"
A strange light flashed in Xuan Ming's icy blue eyes. "Isn't it?"
"That's not the case," the Godess of Kindness said slowly. " The Soul Master system of the Douluo Continent, its core rules—such as the birth of Martial Soul, the existence of Soul Power, and the need for Soul Master to absorb Soul Ring to break through bottlenecks—are naturally formed by the world rules of Douluo Star itself. Just like the movement of stars in the universe, the need for living beings to breathe, and the need to overcome heavenly Heavenly Tribulation to become a god, these are inherent laws of this world."
"World rules?" Xuan Ming repeated the term.
"Yes. This is the concrete manifestation of the universe's rules on Douluo Star. Even we, the God King, cannot fully comprehend all its mysteries, much less easily alter its fundamental nature. This is not a setting of the Divine Realm, but rather the underlying logic of the world."
The Godess of Kindness paused, then changed the subject. "However, rules are not immutable. Historically, there have indeed been instances where certain rules were altered. For example, the Ice Dragon King should have told you that the Dragon God once established a rule that beastmen could not become gods."
Xuan Ming's heart stirred, and he nodded. The Ice Dragon King had indeed mentioned this.
"But what I want to talk about is the deeper meaning behind this rule." The Godess of Kindness's tone became meaningful. "Back when the Dragon God ruled, the Dragon Clan was the supreme overlord, and all other races were under his oppressive power. After the Dragon God Rebellion, the Dragon Clan declined. If the Dragon God was merely worried that the Dragon Clan would be hostile after becoming gods, he could have simply set the rule that ' Dragon Clan cannot become gods.'"
But he deliberately set a rule that 'no beastman can become a god'.
The voice of the Godess of Kindness carried a hint of guidance. " Xuan Ming, with your wisdom, you should be able to figure out why."
Xuan Ming remained silent for a moment, a glint of light flashing in his icy blue eyes, before slowly speaking, "Kidnapping."
"Oh?" The Godess of Kindness seemed somewhat surprised by his direct choice of words, but then expressed his approval, "A very accurate description."
" The Dragon God worries that if other beast races can become gods while the Dragon Clan cannot, then the beast races, who have accumulated countless grievances under the oppression of the Dragon Clan race, will inevitably take the opportunity to retaliate, making the already weakened Dragon Clan even worse. Gods cannot easily interfere in the mortal realm, but the Divine Realm cannot intervene too much in the battles between the beast races in the mortal realm."
"More importantly," Xuan Ming's voice was icy, "If only the Dragon Clan is restricted, while other beast races can freely become gods, then the Dragon Clan's so-called 'revival' will become a complete joke. At that time, let alone revival, the Dragon Clan will be questionable even in terms of survival under the hostility of numerous newly ascended beast race deities."
"Therefore, the Dragon God established this rule to forcibly bind the fate of all beastmen to the Dragon Clan. To become a god? Sure, you must first help the Dragon Clan revive, you must first overthrow this rule set by the Dragon God! All beastmen must exert all their strength for the Dragon God's return. This is a... high-stakes gamble and a kidnapping that involves the entire future of the beastmen."
A soft sigh came from the divine sense of the Godess of Kindness: "That's right. The Dragon God used this rule to force all the beast races to become 'allies' or rather... 'hostages' for the revival of the Dragon Clan. This has nothing to do with right or wrong; it was simply the most extreme and effective choice the Dragon God could make for the survival of his race under the circumstances."
"I'm telling you this," the Godess of Kindness's voice softened again, "So that you understand that changing the rules, especially the world's inherent, fundamental rules, is extremely difficult and has unpredictable consequences. The Dragon God's actions back then had their specific historical context and unavoidable reasons, and their impact continues to this day."
"Your idea to resolve the conflict between humans and Soul Beast is excellent. However, the Soul Ring System is part of the world's rules, and changing it is by no means easy. You need to consider not only whether it 'can' be changed,' but also 'how' to change it, and what kind of chain reaction it will trigger."
"This Fifth Trial, ' Reshaping Order,' may be an opportunity for you to think deeply and put it into practice. But remember, haste makes waste."
"So you're only giving me three years?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Because I believe you have the ability," said the Godess of Kindness.
"Moreover, Reshaping Order doesn't mean you have to actually make the world a better place. Rather than giving you three years to reshape the order of the Douluo Continent, it's more like..."
"I want to see what you can achieve in three years."
Or rather, what kind of world do you want to make?
Three years is not about finding a perfect answer, but about seeing the path he chooses and the extent to which he can achieve his goals.
Xuan Ming remained silent, but his gaze involuntarily fell upon the million-year-old Ring of Kindness within him, which emitted a soft white light.
This Soul Ring is extremely special. It did not grant him any direct attack or defense Soul Skill. The energy contained within it is vast and pure, more like a kind of... origin, a kind of authority.
This feeling was vaguely similar to the Sea God's Heart he had once merged with.
If the Fifth Trial is primarily driven by the will of the Godess of Kindness, then her bestowal of this special Soul Ring was certainly not without reason.
She saw the Destruction tendencies growing within him and understood that the irreconcilable conflict between humans and Soul Beast was one of the core issues.
this
Chapter 413 Creation, Deprivation, Substitution
"Rules..." Xuan Ming muttered to himself. Gods can bestow Soul Ring, and they can also take Soul Ring away.
Human Soul Master can theoretically relinquish their Soul Ring, but the price is the complete destruction of their cultivation. It seems that there's some kind of interrelationship between Divine Power, Soul Power, and Soul Ring.
With that in mind, Xuan Ming found a step in the Sea God Hall and sat down.
" Sea God, lend me two God-Given Soul Ring."
Poseidon's divine sense carried a hint of doubt, but he still bestowed two ordinary God-Given Soul Ring. The maximum age of these items was only 100,000 years, which was the limit that most Sea God Island examinees could reach under normal circumstances.
If it's God-Given Soul Ring like the one Xuan Ming absorbed before, which can reach up to a million years in length, then it's not something that can be given away casually.
After all, a million years is the threshold of reaching the God Realm.
The Million-Year Soul Ring contain the power of the God Realm laws. The Asura, Evil, Destruction, and Ring of Kindness Xuan Ming has obtained so far all contain the power of the laws of several God King themselves. Although they are only in their infancy, it means that Xuan Ming has a "seed".
Just like a seed of Blue Silver Grass, it can grow into Blue Silver Grass, or into a ten-thousand-year Blue Silver King, or even Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor.
Once you have the seed, how high it can grow depends on how you plant it.
Xuan Ming grasped the two God-Given Soul Ring, closed his eyes, and immersed all his divine sense into the Ring of Kindness within his body. He wanted to feel and understand how the gods "created" Soul Ring. He wanted to deduce this process in reverse.
A long silence fell over the Sea God Hall, with only Bo Saixi quietly standing by, watching the pure white aura surrounding Xuan Ming and the two God-Given Soul Ring before her reflecting each other.
A month has passed quietly.
Xuan Ming opened his eyes, raised his hand, palm facing upwards, and the vast, attribute-less Divine Power within his body began to slowly gather, compress, and construct in an extremely complex manner...
He attempted to mimic the law fluctuations of the God-Given Soul Ring granted by Poseidon, using his own Divine Power to condense a brand new, independent God-Given Soul Ring!
This process was extremely difficult. It required an abnormal level of precise control over Divine Power, as well as a deep understanding of the underlying rules governing the formation of Soul Ring. The special connotation of "creation" and "bestowing" contained within the Ring of Kindness provided him with crucial guidance.
Time passed slowly, and fine beads of sweat even appeared on Xuan Ming's forehead, which was extremely rare for a level 100 True God. The energy ball in his palm kept changing and flickering unstablely, as if it might dissipate at any moment.
After a full day and night.
"Buzz--"
A soft but steady hum sounded.
A sphere of light, emitting a faint white glow and with energy fluctuations roughly equivalent to Hundred-Year Soul Ring, finally slowly took shape!
It worked!
Although this Soul Ring is of extremely low quality, it can only be granted to Soul Master Hundred-Year Soul Ring at most. Moreover, because his Divine Power has no specific attribute, this Soul Ring is also attributeless, and its effect may not be as good as hunting a suitable Hundred-Year Soul Beast.
But that doesn't matter!
Importantly, he can indeed create Soul Ring.
Since creation is possible, then theoretically... it's not entirely impossible to reverse engineer and find the "node" connecting the Soul Ring and the Martial Soul Origin, and then "strip" it away!
Poseidon's divine sense was filled with undisguised shock. "You... you brat... you actually managed to pull it off?!"
Although it's just a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, its significance is completely different! This is no longer a simple application of power, but rather a "creation" that touches upon the level of rules!
How could someone who has only just entered the God Level and has no Godhood be able to "create"?
Xuan Ming stared at the faint ball of light in his palm. The energy fluctuations of the Hundred-Year Soul Ring were like fireflies to him, but the significance it represented was Qian Jun. He had proven the possibility of "creation," which provided the theoretical foundation for "deprivation" and "substitution."
He could understand Poseidon's shock, but he was more concerned about the feasibility of the operation.
"What are the raw materials for condensing God-Given Soul Ring?" Xuan Ming asked, wanting to assess the cost.
" Divine Power, the Power of Faith, both are acceptable," Poseidon replied, then understood Xuan Ming's intention, his tone filled with disbelief, "You don't really intend to use this method to replace Soul Beast's Soul Ring, do you? Kid, do you know how many that would cost?"
Poseidon's divine sense carried a strong sense of Negation: "Even on my Sea God Island, God-Given Soul Ring are only granted to those who pass the Black Level Assessment or above! How vast is the number of Soul Master on the Douluo Continent? A Soul Master needs a maximum of nine Soul Ring in their lifetime! Even if most Soul Master don't need that many, just the current generation of Soul Master alone require hundreds of thousands, even millions of Soul Ring! To fill that gap with God-Given Soul Ring?"
Believe me, even if you had the ability, you wouldn't have the leisure to do so.
Xuan Ming did not refute, knowing that Poseidon was telling the truth. But this did not mean that the path was completely blocked; it simply meant that a more efficient and fundamental method was needed, or... that the "demand" itself needed to be changed.
He temporarily set aside this difficult question and instead asked another crucial one, "How long will it take for Bo Saixi to inherit your Godhood?"
Poseidon pondered for a moment, then estimated, "She has a solid foundation and possesses the complete Sea God Trident and the Sea God's Heart, but it will take at least two more years for her to fully integrate her divine Godhood and condense her own Sea God authority."
Two years... Xuan Ming silently calculated in his mind. Then, connecting this with Bibi Dong, who was receiving the inheritance of the Asura God, a clear picture emerged in his mind.
Sea God Island has Bo Saixi, who is about to become a god, while the Spirit Hall Empire on the mainland has Bibi Dong, who is undergoing the Asura God Trial. The content of this Fifth Trial is "reshaping the continental order," which is essentially to help Bibi Dong establish a truly stable and sustainable empire.
The Divine Realm is... putting a rein on him.
Because of Bo Saixi's existence, he cannot and will not take action against Sea God Island and the creatures of the seas it protects.
Because of Bibi Dong and the Spirit Hall Empire, he was also unable to indiscriminately Destruction the humans on the continent.
Poseidon's willingness to let Bo Saixi inherit the Godhood was tantamount to indirectly handing over some of the "jurisdiction" and "responsibility" of Sea God Island to Bo Saixi, with whom he had a close relationship. This was not simply a matter of moral coercion, but rather endowed him with a certain degree of influence and the ability to interfere.
Once Bibi Dong becomes a god, given the complex and strong relationship between them, she will become the strongest force to restrain humanity and maintain order on the continent. She will also be able to largely prevent humans from excessively harming Soul Beast and destroying the internal order.
The Godess of Kindness guided him to think about the rules of Soul Ring, giving him Ring of Kindness that contained the meaning of "creation," thus providing him with the "tools" and "thinking methods" to solve problems.
Furthermore, despite his obvious signs of instability and Destruction tendencies, the rewards from the God's Trial were still distributed on time: four God-Given Soul Ring at the God King level— Asura, Evil, Destruction, and Kindness —as well as assistance in restoring Gu Yuena's original nature... All of this indicates that the Divine Realm does not want to completely oppose him; they are also avoiding extreme measures and are willing to provide him with support and space to grow within the rules.
What they hope to see is a potential collaborator who can solve problems within a framework, possesses leadership and constructive thinking, rather than a madman and enemy who only knows how to Destruction.
Having figured this out, Xuan Ming's restless and irritable feeling, stemming from being schemed against and bound, subsided considerably.
Since the Divine Realm has made its stance clear, willing to play within the rules and granting him corresponding leverage and a certain degree of freedom, he is naturally willing to play a brilliant move on this chessboard.
He will not disappoint these expectations, nor will he waste these resources.
Chapter 414 Sun Moon Reinforcements
"I understand." Xuan Ming stood up, and the white Hundred-Year Soul Ring orb in his palm quietly dissipated.
He glanced at Bo Saixi, who had been silently guarding him, and softened his voice slightly. "Focus on your attempt to ascend to the Sea God Godhood. There's no need to rush. I can handle things outside."
Bo Saixi's sea-blue eyes flickered slightly. Seeing the calm and confidence that had settled in his eyes, she felt a little relieved and nodded gently. "Okay."
Xuan Ming said no more, took a step, distorted space, and his figure disappeared from the Sea God Hall.
The next moment, his figure appeared directly in the sky above the imperial city of the Sun Moon Empire on the Sun and Moon Sun Moon Continent.
The vast and unfathomable God Level pressure was not concealed in the slightest. Like an invisible curtain, it instantly enveloped the entire imperial city. All Soul Master, regardless of their level, felt their souls tremble at this moment, as if they were being targeted by a prehistoric beast, unable to muster the slightest thought of resistance.
Deep within the palace, the emperor and his ministers, who were discussing state affairs, along with the imperial advisor who had just been frozen and released by Xuan Ming Ice Seal and was still shaken, all rushed out with pale faces, gazing up at the figure in the sky that looked like a god descending to earth.
"Greetings, Your Excellency!"
The Sun Moon Emperor was the first to bow, his voice trembling uncontrollably. The Imperial Preceptor and the other ministers quickly followed suit, their postures extremely humble.
Xuan Ming hovered in the air, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the area below. "Summon all the top-tier Soul Engineer currently existing in your Sun Moon Empire. I want you to immediately begin researching how to create Soul Tool capable of storing Soul Ring."
"Store Soul Ring?" The emperor and all the Soul Engineer leaders were stunned. This request was unheard of! Soul Ring were formed from the condensed energy of Soul Beast after their death; how could they be stored?
"I will give you the principles and direction," Xuan Ming added. He had already developed some preliminary ideas based on his previous research on the essence of Soul Ring.
"Secondly, I will select 10,000 of the most skilled technicians in the manufacture, application, and even the basic theory of Soul Tool, and take them to the Douluo Continent. Their mission is to help the Spirit Hall Empire establish a complete system for the research, development, production, and application of Soul Tool in the shortest possible time."
Taking away tens of thousands of core technical talents?! This is tantamount to tearing the foundation of the Sun Moon Empire apart!
The emperor's face turned extremely ugly, his lips trembled, but he dared not refuse directly.
Xuan Ming's gaze then fell on the National Preceptor, whose face was still somewhat pale. This peak Level 98 Peak Douluo was already a top combat force in the Sun Moon Empire, but in front of Xuan Ming, he was as fragile as an infant.
"You, step forward." Xuan Ming pointed at him.
The Imperial Preceptor froze, then steeled himself and flew forward, hovering below Xuan Ming. He bowed respectfully and asked, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
Xuan Ming did not answer, but slowly raised his hand and pressed it down on the Grand Preceptor from a distance.
A divine Divine Power, so pure it defies description and as vast as the starry sea, surged into the Imperial Preceptor's body like a gentle yet irresistible torrent!
"Ugh--!"
The Imperial Advisor let out a suppressed growl, his body trembling violently. He felt his meridians, Soul Core, and even his soul being forcibly cleansed, expanded, and sublimated by this terrifying power!
The bottleneck of level Level 98 that had trapped him for decades shattered like a paper wall in the face of this absolute power!
A surge of immense Soul Power coursed and roared within him, and the path that had seemingly come to an end suddenly opened up before him! An unprecedented sense of power filled his entire body, as if he could command the power of heaven and earth with every gesture!
The entire process took only ten breaths.