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

……

"The time has come. Activate the Divine Trial Mark. This is both his final test and our... final observation."

A hint of reluctance flashed in the eyes of the Goddess of Life, but it ultimately turned into determination.

For a god destined to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the divine realm, and for a god who attempted to interfere with the legacy of the Dragon God, they could not afford to be lenient in the slightest; they would only obstruct him with a severity that bordered on despair!
The five god-kings exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

The next moment, divine light shone brightly around them, and the boundless will of the God-King descended upon the source of rules at the core of the God Realm like five pillars of light piercing through the heavens and earth!
At the same time, the five divine soul rings they had previously bestowed upon Xuanming contained not only the origin of laws, but also the "test marks" belonging to the God-King level hidden within them, which were simultaneously activated!
Dragon Tomb, Dragon Valley.

Xuanming is at a critical moment in his attempt to attain godhood.

His divine soul was highly concentrated, and the seeds of the five great divine king laws within his body grew and strengthened at an unprecedented speed under the irrigation of the vast dragon soul energy. They collided and merged with each other, attempting to fuse into one and condense into a divine prototype unique to him!

In that instant when mind and strength are concentrated on a single point—

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Five completely different, yet equally terrifying, wills, like five red-hot branding irons, suddenly exploded from the depths of his soul!

This was not an external attack, but rather originated from within himself!
It was the God King's Mark hidden deep within those five God-given Soul Rings that he had already absorbed and refined that was forcibly activated by his master in the God Realm!
The first trial was the ultimate slaughter and judgment! Illusions of mountains of corpses and seas of blood instantly filled his mind, and endless killing intent, like billions of steel needles, pierced his soul's core, trying to drag him into an eternal abyss of slaughter! This was the Asura God's test!

The second test is twisted desire and chaos! All negative emotions in the world are magnified to the extreme: greed, jealousy, rage, lust... like venomous snakes gnawing at his reason, tempting him to fall and succumb to endless evil pleasure! This is the test of the god of evil!

The third path is pure annihilation and destruction! A terrifying scene of all things withering and stars extinguishing plays out in his mind. A deathly will that wants to reduce everything to nothingness frantically assaults the foundation of his existence, threatening to turn him and his will into dust! This is the test of the god of destruction!

The fourth challenge is a seemingly gentle yet far more deadly choice and protection! Countless tragic scenes and dilemmas requiring sacrifice and decision-making emerge, interrogating his heart. The cold will that compels him to carry out "necessary evil" for the sake of "greater good" attempts to distort his true nature and make him accept some absolute rule of "good"! This is the test of the god of goodness!

The fifth path is a boundless vitality and creation, yet it carries an irresistible "nourishment" and "assimilation"! It seems to want to integrate everything about him into some eternal life cycle, to make him lose himself and become part of the laws of life! This is the test of the goddess of life!

The five trials of will at the level of a God-King were like five invisible mountains pressing down on Xuanming's mind at the same time! This was far more dangerous and more difficult to defend against than the tribulation of becoming a god that he was currently facing from the outside world!
Because this test stems from a part of his power, a subversion that originates from within!

This is not an attack, but something far more dangerous—the infusion of will and the interference of laws!

They wanted to forcibly infuse their divine king will into Xuanming's nascent divine form!
They wanted to witness firsthand and experience for themselves whether this young man's will was truly unbreakable! Whether his path could truly accommodate, or even control, the imprint of the wills of the five god-kings!
If he succeeds, his divine status will naturally carry some of the qualities and recognition of the five God-Kings, with unlimited potential, and he may even directly reach the prototype of a God-King!
He failed... His will will be overwhelmed by the torrent of the wills of the five god-kings, his soul will shatter, all his efforts will be in vain, and even the power of the dragons in the Dragon Tomb may backfire on him, annihilating both his body and soul!
This is the true and most brutal ultimate test behind the sixth trial, "Choice of Godhood"!

It's not about giving you a choice, it's about making you prove that you have the right not to choose!
They have the right to forge their own path, one that transcends their plans!
Gu Yuena, who was some distance away, immediately sensed the abnormality. She felt Xuanming's aura suddenly become chaotic and dangerous, as if it were simultaneously engaged in an invisible battle with several terrifying forces! Her heart leaped into her throat, but she knew that she absolutely could not interfere at this moment, or the consequences would be unimaginable!
Under the violent impact of the five divine kings' wills, consciousness flickered violently like a candle in a storm, as if it would be completely extinguished at any moment.

Amidst intense pain and chaos, Xuanming's consciousness seemed to be torn apart, plunging into a bizarre and fantastical vortex.

When he "opened his eyes" again, or rather, regained his senses, the surrounding scenery had changed drastically.

It was no longer the desolate and desolate Dragon Valley of the Dragon Tomb, where dragon souls roared, but a... bright, luxurious room with a faint fragrance.

Soft light streamed through the delicate window frames, filling the air with a serene and sacred atmosphere.

"you're awake?"

A familiar yet slightly unfamiliar female voice rang in my ears.

Xuanming turned his head in a daze and saw a beautiful girl with golden hair and golden eyes, dressed in a golden palace dress, standing by the bed, looking at him with complicated eyes.

Qian Renxue?
This is...the Temple of Angels?
In an instant, countless chaotic fragments of memories flooded his mind—being forcibly abducted by Golden Crocodile Douluo, the confrontation with Qian Daoliu, that suffocating pressure, and... the almost hopeless diagnosis about his martial soul.

Could it be that... everything I've experienced before, that magnificent yet cruel and bloody journey, the establishment of the Martial Soul Empire, the struggle with the God Realm, and even the godhood I'm currently striving for... was just a long and vivid dream?
Yes, he should have died here. Because of those damned, mutually devouring twin martial souls.

An indescribable weariness and a sense of absurdity washed over me. If it was all just a dream, then the despair of this reality felt all the heavier.

Qian Renxue looked at the confusion, bewilderment, and even a hint of...death in Xuan Ming's eyes.
A sudden tightness gripped her heart, and she began with the prepared words, "This is where I used to live. You can live here from now on too."

Xuanming's gaze swept across the magnificent room, his voice carrying a calmness born of experience: "For a cemetery, this place is a bit too bright."

Qian Renxue's breath hitched, and she suppressed her displeasure: "This is not a cemetery, it's a place to live."

"Isn't the place where the dead live a cemetery?" Xuanming asked rhetorically, his tone completely calm.

"You!" Qian Renxue took a deep breath, her chest heaving slightly, clearly furious. "Did I ever say I wanted you dead?"

"Then why did you bring me here?"

“It’s not an arrest,” Qian Renxue turned around, her back to him, trying to create an air of mystery, “It’s a friend of mine who asked me to save you.”

"Friend? Who?"

“Xue Qinghe,” Qian Renxue said, revealing the name she had already prepared. “He contacted me, saying that you were kidnapped by a Title Douluo from the Spirit Hall and asked me to rescue you.”

"and who are you?"

“Qian Renxue. The Grand Elder you just encountered is my grandfather.”

Then came the meticulously prepared grand narrative about the situation on the continent, the alliance between the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire, and the pursuit of peace and order...

She paints a picture of a future that seems beautiful but is actually full of calculations, trying to move this seemingly precocious but desperate boy with righteousness and ideals.

Xuanming listened quietly, watching Qian Renxue silently, his face showing no emotion.

He clearly felt that, as the conversation progressed, the will of the five divine kings was like invisible tentacles, keenly sensing every fluctuation in his emotions and thoughts.

The will of the Asura God is sensing his reaction to the topics of "killing" and "resistance".

The will of the evil god is peering into his true thoughts about "power," "unity," and "means" deep within his heart.

The will of the God of Destruction is assessing his subconscious attitude toward concepts such as "destruction" and "reconstruction".

The will of the benevolent god is testing his level of acceptance of "sacrifice" and "righteousness".

The will of the goddess of life lies in experiencing his subtle feelings about "vitality" and "coexistence".

They are using this illusion to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth "psychological analysis" of him! They are trying to find the weaknesses in his will, or the possible contradictions and flaws in his path and philosophy!
When Qian Renxue said, "We will ruthlessly eliminate those stubborn and destructive forces as a warning to others!" Xuanming could clearly feel that the will of the God of Evil and the God of Asura resonated strongly with and approved of her.

When Qian Renxue mentioned "peace" and "unity," the will of the God of Kindness and the Goddess of Life revealed a sense of scrutiny.

The will of the God of Destruction always carried an indifferent observation, as if waiting for some opportunity to "destroy and then rebuild".

It's not about crushing your will head-on, but about this subtle and pervasive "ideological penetration" and "root-cause inquiry"!
They wanted to see if he would waver when faced with the "choice" that had once influenced the course of his fate. (End of Chapter)