Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

……

Wuhun City, the Pope's Palace.

When the battle report was presented by a trembling servant, Bibi Dong read every word on it. Even with her composure and having already anticipated this, the fingers holding the scroll involuntarily tightened slightly, and the pupils in her purple-gold eyes suddenly contracted.

She had considered that Xuanming would use ruthless methods to intimidate them, and that he might personally go to one or two major battlefields to crush the enemy's main force with unparalleled power...

But she never imagined it would be such a direct, ruthless, and... merciless execution!

Millions of people! In a mere instant, like a mark being erased from a sand table, they were completely wiped from the world!

She took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil in her heart, only to find that even her breathing was trembling slightly.

She ultimately underestimated Xuanming's detached indifference, his view of all living beings as mere ants, and the undeniable ruthlessness with which he carried out his will.

He is no longer the hesitant child he once was.

He is... God!

A living god!
A god who disregards life and holds the power of life and death!

……

Temple of Angels.

The golden divine light flowing around Qian Renxue suddenly froze and dimmed after she finished reading the information transmitted by the divine thought. The color drained from her beautiful face, and her bright golden eyes were filled with disbelief and... a trace of pain.

In her mind, an image uncontrollably surfaced from long ago, in that dark alley, where the young Xuanming argued with her over a few abused cats and dogs, his eyes filled with pity and stubbornness for the weak.

Is the boy who once argued with her over insignificant lives... really the same person who now effortlessly wipes out millions without even blinking an eye?
There are clearly other ways to deter, to capture, to defeat... why choose the most extreme and cruel one?
“It was when it could have been avoided…” Qian Renxue murmured to herself, her voice so soft that only she could hear it, carrying a sense of loss and desolation that even she herself could not understand.

She always knew that Xuanming had changed, becoming powerful and cold.

But only now did she realize so clearly that what separated them was no longer a gap in power or position, but an insurmountable chasm in their understanding of the essence of life.

He was no longer the boy who cared about the life or death of cats and dogs.

He is God.

It is a god who holds the power of life and death, whose rules are determined by his heart, and who regards all things as straw dogs...

The entire continent trembled under his cold divine might, forced to offer up faith nurtured by fear.

……

Deep within the Soul Guidance Device Research Institute in Wuhun City.

In stark contrast to the tumultuous events outside caused by the "divine punishment," the laboratory was still filled only with the faint hum of the soul tool's energy flow.

Xuanming stood before the nearly completed, dark blue soul-guided mecha, white divine power flowing between his fingertips as he made final adjustments. His expression was focused and calm, as if the life and death of millions of people outside were no different from the energy circuit he was adjusting.

The immense power of faith from the outside world, surging like a tsunami and mixed with fear, awe, and supplication, crossed space and converged on Wuhun City, even faintly surging towards him.

But he didn't even lift his eyelids. With a slight thought, he channeled this power, which was enough to move any god, into the new "divine pillar" in the corner of the laboratory, which had just completed its main structure and was radiating a soft white-gold glow, as if guiding a stream.

For God, the power of faith is strength, an extension of authority, and the cornerstone for building God's kingdom and performing miracles.

It originates from "belief" and contains the possibility of creating "miracles".

But Xuanming had no interest in this at all.

He doesn't need anyone's "belief" to prove himself, nor does he need to rely on "miracles" to achieve his goals.

In his eyes, the rules governing the world are clear and cold, and reality is wherever his will reaches.

The so-called "miracle" is nothing more than a beautiful hope for the uncertain when one lacks the strength.

He possesses the power to transform will into absolute reality.

Whether it was trust or not, whether it was a miracle or not, it meant nothing to him. The laboratory door slid open silently.

Gu Yuena's figure quietly appeared at the door.

Her long, silvery-purple hair seemed to have lost its former luster, and her exquisite face carried an intractable complexity and heaviness.

She looked at Xuanming, who had his back to her and was still focused on the soul-guided mecha. His eyes, which seemed to contain stars, were filled with pain, guilt, and a trace of... bewilderment.

She stood there quietly, without immediately going forward.

The tranquility inside the laboratory contrasted sharply with the storm outside, making her feel even more distressed.

She knew that Xuanming was not born so indifferent to life.

He used to be moved by the fate of soul beasts and fall silent at the demise of the weak.

It was that heavy responsibility, the Ice Dragon King's dying wish, the pressure to continue the soul beast race, and her expectations... that gradually pushed him onto this cold and resolute path.

It was to resolve the almost unsolvable conflict between humans and soul beasts, and to secure a future for her and the soul beast race, that he had no choice but to use the most extreme, effective, and cruel method to forcibly reshape the order of the entire world.

It was she, and this cruel reality, that changed him.

“Xuanming…” Gu Yuena finally spoke, her voice trembling and choked with emotion, “I’m sorry…”

She walked behind him, reached out, and gently hugged him from behind, burying her face in his broad but cold back.

"If it weren't for me... if it weren't for the burden of the Soul Beast Clan... you wouldn't have... wouldn't have become like this..." Her voice was muffled, filled with self-blame and pain.

She would rather he remained that somewhat awkward but reverent boy, rather than the god who could slaughter millions with a wave of his hand and whose eyes were as cold as ancient ice.

Xuanming stopped what he was doing.

He could clearly feel the warmth and slight trembling from behind him, and sense the heavy guilt and sorrow in Gu Yuena's heart.

He didn't turn around immediately, but simply let her hold him quietly.

After a moment, he slowly put down the tools in his hand and covered her hands that were wrapped around his waist.

His hands were very cold, like jade.

"I haven't changed."

He gently turned around, embraced Gu Yuena, and looked down at her reddened eyes and face full of self-reproach.

"I just... don't care anymore."

They didn't care about the opinions of the world, the moral judgments, the number of people killed, or the cruelty of the process.

He only cares about the results, the goals he wants to achieve, and the people he cares about.

For this "concern," he can bear everything, or he can... erase everything.

The so-called change may simply be the condensation of that previously scattered "concern" to its extreme, while everything else is relegated to the category of "indifference".

Gu Yuena stared at him blankly, at the pure, intense indifference and focus in his eyes, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

She didn't know if this was a relief or a deeper sorrow.

But she knew that this was Xuanming as he was now.

In order to protect what he believed he "cared about," he was willing to transform into a god or demon who slaughtered millions, and he also disregarded the faith that stemmed from fear.

He embraced her, as if embracing one of the few sources of warmth in his cold world that needed to be "cared for".

All the external events and disturbances are merely insignificant background noise. (End of Chapter)