Ancient trees reach for the sky, their spiritual energy so dense it's almost like mist, and ten-thousand-year-old Soul Beast can be seen roaming freely through the forest.
This was Gu Yuena's doing. In order to alleviate the increasingly acute conflict between humans and Soul Beast over living space, she deliberately guided the expansion of land plates during the plane upgrade, thus securing a sufficiently vast habitat for the Soul Beast Clan.
Although a large-scale racial war did not break out between humans and Soul Beast due to the strong suppression by the Angel God Church and the Sea God Church, local frictions never ceased.
However, for the "one insect and one person" who are currently hiding by the Lake of Life, the outside disturbances are temporarily irrelevant to them.
" Brother Sky Dream, I don't understand."
Huo Yuhao, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, sat on the grass by the lake, his brows furrowed, his eyes filled with a world-weariness and confusion beyond his years. Looking at the plump, white worm basking contentedly in the sun before him, he couldn't help but ask:
"According to historical records, the Douluo Federation five thousand years ago was a land of strict laws, enlightened politics, and harmonious coexistence between humans and Soul Beast —a true paradise on earth. Why... why did the great Speaker Ning Fengzhi, and those first-generation councilors known as enforcers, choose to retire en masse and live in seclusion?"
"If they were still alive, how could the Federation be so corrupt now? How could it allow such dirty dealings to exist?"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rolled over and lazily yawned.
Since Gu Yuena reconstructed the body of the Dragon God and revived the Soul Beast Clan, he, the former " Hundred Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast," has become the mascot of the race.
He was doing well in the Divine Realm, but then Bibi Dong, that powerful woman, became too terrifying. She conscripted men and even Divine Beast.
In order to shirk her responsibilities, Tian Meng used the pretext of "guiding the development of Soul Beast in the lower realms" to sneak back to Douluo Star.
" Yuhao, it's easy for you to say that when you're not in my shoes."
Tian Meng shook the antennae on her head and said irritably, "Even gods need rest, okay? You think being an official is easy? Especially Ning Fengzhi's position, where he has to deal with the food, drink, and daily needs of hundreds of millions of beings across several continents, and coordinate the interests of various industries. That's even more tiring than cultivation!"
"And..."
Tian Meng sighed, "They are human too, with their own pursuits. They've worked hard for thousands of years, bringing the Federation back on track. Aren't they allowed to retire and enjoy the tranquility of the Divine Realm? Old man Chen Xin has long wanted to go to the Divine Realm to find a good sword and spar with others, and that guy Yue Guan is constantly clamoring to grow a garden of exotic flowers and herbs in the Divine Realm."
"So, five thousand years ago, when everything in the Federation was on track and no longer needed to be maintained by force, they collectively retired, handing power back to the mortals who came later."
"After working so hard for so long, is it too much to ask someone to rest?"
Huo Yuhao paused for a moment, then smiled wryly, "Not excessive... not excessive at all. I was being too harsh."
He lowered his head, looking at his reflection in the water—a "heretic" wanted jointly by the Federation, the Angel God Church, and the Sea God Church.
"But, Brother Sky Dream."
Huo Yuhao's voice turned low, "Since the system is perfect, and since it functioned perfectly for the first five thousand years, why... why, after they left, in just a few thousand years, has the Federation become like this?"
"Greed, corruption, suppression of dissent... The current federal leadership is willing to sell out everything for profit, and will arbitrarily alter laws to maintain their position. Even the church..."
Huo Yuhao clenched his fists, a flicker of pain in his eyes. "Even the Church, which represents the will of 'Heaven,' has become a tool for them to amass wealth and eliminate dissidents. They call me a heretic, say my Soul Spirit System is blasphemous... But clearly, the Soul Spirit System can save so many innocent Soul Beast and make Soul Master stronger, so why is this blasphemy?"
"Could it really be, as they say, that the chaos was caused by my ' Soul Spirit System ' shaking the foundations of the Federation?"
"Fart!"
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spat disdainfully, "Your Soul Spirit System is a good thing, it can solve big problems. What does the current chaos have to do with you? It's just that they're rotten to the core, they're just looking for an excuse to smear us."
Tian Meng wriggled and climbed onto the rock next to Huo Yuhao. Her usually sleepy little eyes now revealed a rare, deep light.
" Yuhao, do you know why, for the past five thousand years, no one in the Federation dared to be corrupt or cause chaos?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head.
Because of two words—fear.
Tian Meng's voice turned serious, " Ning Fengzhi's group, and those old guys who survived back then, they saw 'Tian' with their own eyes."
"They had witnessed how that being wiped out millions of soldiers in a single night, and how he had breached the Divine Realm. To them, the 'sky' above them was not an ethereal concept, nor a mythical tale written in books, but a real, ever-present sword of Damocles that could fall at any moment."
They respected, but feared even more.
"That deep-seated fear made them tread on thin ice when they held power, daring not to have the slightest selfishness or slackness. Because they knew that if they dared to act recklessly, 'Heaven' would really be watching, and 'Heaven' would really kill them."
At this point, Tian Meng sighed and looked towards the distant Federal City.
"But what about the mortals who came after?"
Five thousand years have passed, ten thousand years have passed. To the current federal leadership, Ning Fengzhi and his group have become legends, and that 'Heaven' has become a symbol in mythological books.
"These federal congressmen and church bishops have never met Xuan Ming, or even Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue. Their understanding of 'Heaven' comes entirely from those embellished church scriptures and those Bingbing, lifeless idols."
"In their eyes, 'Heaven' is merely a concept, a tool used to rule over the ignorant masses, not a living being that can bring divine punishment."
"If one lacks reverence, selfish desires will swell."
Tian Meng shook her head. "They started to think that as long as they controlled the interpretation, and as long as they did it discreetly, 'Heaven' wouldn't know. Or rather, subconsciously they felt that 'Heaven' didn't exist at all, or had long forgotten about this world."
"Insufficient reverence breeds arrogance; arrogance breeds corruption."
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sneered, her tone laced with mockery:
"If this were ten thousand years ago, under the watchful eyes of Xuan Ming... no, under the watchful eyes of 'Heaven,' the darkness and filth you see now, let alone their existence, would have terrified you to the point of wetting your pants just by the thought of them."
"So, Yuhao."
Tian Meng patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder, "It's not your fault, nor is it the system's fault. It's purely these bastards... they need to be taught a lesson."
After listening, Huo Yuhao remained silent for a long time.
He looked at the calm lake, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
It turns out that the world he now finds suffocating wasn't always like this. It once had its bright moments, but time and human greed have covered them with dust.
" That Brother Sky Dream..." Huo Yuhao raised his head, his eyes gleaming with hope, "That 'Heaven'... will he look at this place again?"
Just as Tian Meng was about to speak, his keen Spiritual Detection seemed to sense something, and his entire insect body stiffened abruptly, his plump body trembling uncontrollably.
His eyes widened in horror as he looked towards a certain point in the sky.
"Look... it seems..."
Tian Meng stammered, "He... has... already... seen..."
Chapter 503 You Want to Defy the Heavens?
Suddenly, an invisible wave enveloped the entire Lake of Life without warning.
This fluctuation had neither earth-shattering momentum nor any Divine Power pressure.
But the moment it appeared, the once bustling forest fell into a deathly silence.
The wind stopped, and the water became still.
Even Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's incessant chatter seemed to be forcibly sealed by some force, freezing it in mid-air.
Huo Yuhao was terrified. He subconsciously tried to activate his Spirit Eyes Martial Soul, but found that his Soul Power seemed to have solidified and he could not mobilize it at all.
Immediately afterwards, three figures appeared out of thin air above the lake, as if they had stepped out of a painting.
In the center stood a man in a black robe, with white hair flowing down his shoulders. His handsome face was otherworldly, and his deep eyes seemed to contain the stars of the entire universe.
On the left is a stunningly beautiful woman in a long silver dress, noble and aloof, exuding a supreme dragon aura that makes all Soul Beast want to bow down in worship.
On his right was a girl who looked to be about the same age as him, with purple hair and green eyes, looking around with curiosity, radiating a refreshing and invigorating aura of Life.
"This... this is..."
Huo Yuhao's pupils contracted sharply.
Although he had never met these three people, he could sense that they represented an absolute crushing superiority on a Life level.
Even the Limit Douluo and Demigod powerhouses he had met in the Douluo Federation would probably be nothing more than ants in front of these three.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, which had been boasting, was now trembling with its fat, its small eyes wide open, and its mouth agape enough to fit an egg.
"Xuan... Boss Xuan Ming?!"
"And... Lord Dragon God?!"
Tian Meng let out a pig-like scream, and without thinking, she sprang up from the lotus leaf and knelt on the ground with a "thud," her head hitting the ground so fast it could have sparked.
"Waaaaah! Boss! Lord Dragon God! You've finally arrived!"
"Xiao Tian Meng, I've missed you all so much! I've been waiting for you to come back and uphold justice!"
Huo Yuhao was dumbfounded.
Is this the same Brother Sky Dream was just pontificating to him and badmouthing the gods? His change of attitude is incredible!
Xuan Ming looked down at the fleshy ball that was still frantically kowtowing on the ground, and his lips twitched involuntarily.
"Alright, stop acting."
Xuan Ming spoke calmly, instantly silencing Tian Meng's sobs, "You've had a pretty comfortable life on Douluo Star for the past few thousand years, haven't you? Bibi Dong made you work in the Divine Realm, and you ran off here to escape the hustle and bustle?"
"Hehe... well... boss, I was just trying to help you out."
Tian Meng scrambled to her feet, rubbing her tiny hands with a fawning expression. "I thought the Soul Beast of Douluo Star also needed guidance, and as the hope of the entire village, it was my duty!"
Xuan Ming was too lazy to expose this guy's little scheme.
His gaze passed over Tian Meng and landed on the boy sitting cross-legged on the bluestone.
With short, deep blue hair and bright, expressive eyes, she still managed to straighten her back even when facing the oppressive aura of a descending deity.
Is this Huo Yuhao?
That chosen Child of Fortune to challenge the order of "Heaven"?
"Are you Huo Yuhao?" Xuan Ming asked.
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, suppressing the fear in his heart, stood up, and respectfully bowed. "Junior Huo Yuhao greets... greets senior."
He didn't know Xuan Ming, but he wasn't stupid.
The person who can be called "Boss" and " Dragon God " by Brother Sky Dream must be a legendary big shot from the Divine Realm.
"Senior?"
Xuan Ming looked at him with a half-smile, "Wasn't this fat worm just telling you my story? What, now that you're in person, you don't recognize me?"
Huo Yuhao was startled and looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"You... you are..."
" The God of Primordial Beginning?!"
That which is enshrined in the highest place by the church, revered by the world, yet gradually forgotten—Heaven?
"Looks like he's not too stupid."
Xuan Ming smiled slightly, then slowly descended and stood in front of Huo Yuhao.
Gu Yuena and Yan Ling'er also landed. Yan Ling'er curiously approached Huo Yuhao, looking him up and down as if he were looking at some rare animal.
"I heard you want to overturn the rules I set back then?"
Xuan Ming looked at Huo Yuhao, his tone calm and unreadable, "You want to replace my Soul Ring Cycle System with that Soul Spirit System?"
Huo Yuhao's heart tightened.
Is this an accusation?
If it were any other god, they might be furious, feeling that this was blasphemy.
But facing this legendary "heaven," Huo Yuhao suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable courage.
"Yes."
Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth and looked directly into Xuan Ming's eyes. "This junior dares to say that while the rules you established back then resolved the conflicts, they are no longer applicable with the development of the times."
"While the Soul Ring Cycle System protects Soul Beast, death remains an inevitable end for those with advanced Soul Beast. And Soul Master can still only passively receive power."
" The Soul Spirit System is an equal contract, a symbiotic relationship of Life. It allows Soul Beast to retain their individuality, and it also allows Soul Master to gain closer companions. I believe... this is the future!"
"Even if the church issues a warrant for my arrest, even if the world misunderstands me, I will persevere. Because I believe that this is the greatest respect for Life!"
His words were powerful and resounding.
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, standing to the side, was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat. She frantically tried to signal to Huo Yuhao with her eyes. "Ancestor! Can't you speak properly? Saying the rules are outdated in front of the person who made them? Do you have a death wish?"
However, Xuan Ming was not angry.
Instead, as he looked into Huo Yuhao's firm and clear eyes, the smile in his eyes grew stronger.
"Good."
Xuan Ming nodded and even clapped. "You've got some backbone. Compared to those church parasites who only kneel and kowtow before idols while secretly engaging in immoral acts, you're more like a human being."