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

……

Just as Xuanming was completely extracting the Golden Dragon King's bloodline essence, shattered dragon core, and the restless, annihilated divine spark, preparing to guide it towards the light cocoon where Gu Yuena was—

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Five vast and boundless auras of divine kings pierced through the sealing barrier of the forbidden land of gods without warning and descended instantly!

The five supreme rulers of the divine realm—the God of Evil, the God of Kindness, the God of Asura, the God of Destruction, and the Goddess of Life—appeared simultaneously in this shattered void, surrounding Xuanming and Gu Yuena, who was protected by a cocoon of light not far away.

They had clearly been closely monitoring the situation inside, and entered the place the instant the Golden Dragon King's aura completely disappeared.

Xuanming paused, his eyes narrowed, and his dim divine power gathered again. Although he was weak, his resolute stance in preparation for battle was crystal clear.

He slightly raised the blood spear in his hand, aiming it at the dark golden orb of light that had been peeled away and contained terrifying energy, as if he were ready to devour it at any moment and engage in a final battle with the five god-kings without regard for the consequences.

“There’s no need to be nervous,” the God of Kindness spoke first. “We are not here to take advantage of anyone in distress.”

The God of Evil's gaze swept over the restless, dark golden energy ball in Xuan Ming's hand, then looked at the weak Gu Yuena, his tone unusually serious: "Boy, don't be impulsive. If we wanted to take advantage of your vulnerability, we could have done so when you were fighting the Golden Dragon King for your life. Why wait until now?"

Xuanming's eyes were icy, and he remained vigilant: "Then why did you break in?"

The Asura God looked at Gu Yuena, and also at the shattered divine spark belonging to the Golden Dragon King in front of Xuanming, "In order to stop you from making the wrong decision, and also in order to... save Gu Yuena."

The God of Kindness spoke, his tone grave: "Xuanming, you just defeated the Golden Dragon King, so you should be well aware of the madness and violence contained within its shattered divine essence. Gu Yuena is in extremely poor condition right now; her soul is being assimilated by the Dragon God's Heart, and her mind is incredibly fragile. If you were to forcibly infuse the Golden Dragon King's bloodline and divine essence into her now, she would be utterly powerless to resist the impact of that destructive will!"

"At that time, her soul will be instantly torn apart by the Golden Dragon King's mad will! Then, the Dragon God's Heart will be freed from the Silver Dragon King's restraint and combined with the Golden Dragon King's Destructive Godhood... A destructive being even more insane and uncontrollable than the original Dragon God will be born! That will be a catastrophe for the entire God Realm and even countless planes in the lower realms!"

"So?" Xuanming asked in return.

“Therefore, we have a better suggestion.” The God of Evil’s expression turned serious.

"You shall devour the power of the Golden Dragon King."

The God of Kindness continued, “We understand your concerns. We can intervene and safely extract the Silver Dragon King bloodline and the Dragon God's Heart from Gu Yuena's body, then let you fuse with them. You have already gained the approval of the Dragon Tomb's Dragon Soul, condensed your own unique divine spark, and even bear a portion of our five Laws’ power. Having you bear the complete Dragon God bloodline and control the Dragon God's Heart will have the highest success rate and the lowest risk.”

The Goddess of Life radiated a vibrant green aura. Her gaze, filled with pity, fell upon Gu Yuena's cocoon of light. Her voice was gentle yet tinged with helplessness: "We will do our utmost to protect Gu Yuena's divine soul essence and ensure the safety of the extraction process. But, if I may be frank, given her current state, the success rate of forcibly absorbing the Golden Dragon King's power is... extremely low. It would be tantamount to suicide."

The meaning of the five god-kings is very clear.

They didn't trust Gu Yuena to succeed. The power of the Dragon God was too dangerous; they needed a more secure "container."

Xuanming, who has repeatedly created miracles, condensed an unknown divine essence, and successfully killed the Golden Dragon King, is undoubtedly the best candidate.

The most perfect solution right now is for him to become the new Dragon God, so that he can control the power, Gu Yuena can survive, and the divine realm can eliminate the hidden danger.

Of course, an even more important reason is whether, once Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon King, becomes the new Dragon God, it will once again usher in a situation where the dragon race once dominated the world and oppressed countless races.
Although most of them were thinking of leaving the divine realm to pursue their own freedom and future, they could not really hand over the divine realm to a "new dragon god" who might repeat the same mistakes.

Gu Yuena's obsession with the dragon race runs too deep. Once she becomes the Dragon God, she will do her utmost to make the dragon race stand at the top of all races once again!

But Xuanming is different. Although he has deep ties with the Soul Beast Clan and the Dragon Clan, his personality and style are clearly more in line with the attitude that a god in the God Realm should have.

In Xuanming's eyes, there was no difference between the soul beast race, the dragon race, humans, and even other races.

Even if they are the same, it doesn't matter.

But the divine realm needs precisely such a supreme god.

impartial.

If God intervenes, the rules and order of the mortal realm will completely lose their meaning!

God's indifference is the greatest mercy to mortals!

“…” Xuanming fell silent.

He looked down at the dark golden ball of light in his hand, which contained all the power of the Golden Dragon King and exuded an aura of rage and destruction. Then he looked at the beautiful face in the cocoon of light not far away, whose brows were furrowed in pain.

The power of the Dragon God?
He felt no longing whatsoever; instead, a deep weariness welled up within him.

How many life-and-death battles did he go through to get to where he is today? How many blood feuds did he bear? How much pressure did he endure that ordinary people could not imagine? He finally managed to condense his own divine essence and saw the dawn of fulfilling all his promises, resurrecting the Ice and Fire Dragon King, and settling everything down.

The realm of God-King is not out of reach for him. All he needs is time to solidify his divine status and accumulate power.

What does it mean to touch the power of the Dragon God?
That represents supreme authority, but also endless troubles and responsibilities.

He was really tired. He just wanted to end it all as soon as possible, and then... maybe he could finally get some rest, see the people he cared about, and live a relatively peaceful life.

With the finish line in sight, he did not want to, and absolutely did not want to, push the line that represented liberation to an unreachable distance again because of the heavy title of "Dragon God".

but……

His gaze returned to Gu Yuena. He looked at the nine-colored light throbbing violently between her brows, as if it were tearing her soul apart, and felt the undisguised weakness and pain in her aura.

While the five God-Kings' words reflected their own stances and calculations, they weren't entirely without merit. Given Gu Yuena's current state, the success rate of forcibly fusing with the Golden Dragon King's berserk power was... negligible. It would practically be tantamount to suicide.

He couldn't just stand by and watch her go to her death.

Seeing the struggle and exhaustion flash in Xuanming's eyes, and the complex look that finally settled on the cocoon of light, the five god-kings became even more certain that their suggestion was correct.

Xuanming has no desire for the power of the Dragon God itself. This "indifference" is precisely the key to his ability to control this dangerous power without being enslaved by it.

Gu Yuena's obsession with the revival of the dragon race is too deep. Her affinity with the power of the dragon god may become a catalyst for her being devoured by it.

Just as Xuanming was struggling intensely within himself, the scales of his mind swaying between his own exhaustion and his worry for Gu Yuena—

Within the cocoon of light, Gu Yuena's tightly closed eyes trembled slightly, her long eyelashes frosted with pain. Her soul, under the impact of the Dragon God's Heart, regained a brief moment of clarity.

She seemed to sense everything in the outside world, Xuanming's hesitation, and the proposals of the five god-kings.

A faint yet resolute thought, like a wisp of smoke, entered Xuanming's mind:

"Xuanming...don't...make things difficult for me..."

"Let me... give it a try..."

"The responsibility of the dragon race... should not... be imposed on you..."

Her thoughts were fragmented, yet filled with unwavering resolve. She understood Xuanming's yearning for freedom and closure, and she refused to burden him with heavy shackles because of her own obsession. Even if the road ahead led to an abyss, she was willing to face it herself!
Sensing Gu Yuena's almost self-sacrificing resolve, Xuanming's last trace of hesitation vanished instantly!

Exhaustion? Restraint? Future troubles?
Compared to her safety, none of these things matter!

He absolutely would not allow her to take such a life-or-death risk again!

"Go to sleep."

A gentle light flashed in Xuanming's eyes, and a soothing yet gentle divine power, like the softest moonlight, enveloped the cocoon of light.

Gu Yuena's forcibly concentrated consciousness, under this soothing force, seemed to have its last support removed, and she quickly fell into a deeper coma, the pain on her face also subsiding slightly.

Then, Xuanming raised his head and calmly looked at the five god-kings.

"Let's do it." (End of Chapter)