Douluo: When the piano sounds, the hidden weapon returns to the factory

Taking advantage of the chaos and obscured vision caused by the avalanche, Tang San unleashed the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step to its fullest extent. His blood-red soul power surged around him, making him appear like a blood shadow blending into the wind and snow, and he once again narrowly escaped from Feng Yao's lock.

God Realm, Shura Temple.

Seeing Tang San's once again fleeing in a sorry state in the lower realm, the God of Asura's face was so dark it could wring water. Feng Yao's existence was like a sharp thorn stuck in his throat, making him feel as if he had a fishbone lodged there. If things continued this way, Tang San wouldn't be able to smoothly inherit the divine position; even after Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong ascended to the God Realm, he would likely still be chased and forced to hide by Feng Yao in the lower realm, his day of becoming a god seemingly far off.

"This child... has become the biggest variable. We must find a way to deal with him," the Asura God weighed in his mind. Directly eliminating Feng Yao would come at too high a price, easily triggering a backlash from the rules of the divine realm, and would thoroughly offend the Sea God. It seemed that the only option was to start with the Sea God.

Left with no other choice, the Asura God's divine sense transformed into a streak of blood-red light, traversing the boundaries of the divine realm and descending upon the deep blue sea god's temple.

"Sea God." The cold voice of the Asura God echoed in the Sea God's Temple.

The sea god, seated in the center of the temple, slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the uninvited Asura god, a knowing glint flashed in his eyes, and his tone carried a hint of teasing: "Is it about your successor?"

"Your successor has seriously disrupted the order of divine succession and hindered the balance of the divine realm," the Asura God said bluntly. "He is also a candidate for your successor, and it is most appropriate for you to step forward and persuade him to stop hunting down Tang San so that he can complete your divine test in peace."

The Sea God remained silent for a moment. He admired Feng Yao and was aware of the cause and effect of the grudge between Feng Yao and Tang San, as well as Feng Yao's relationship with the angel Rakshasa. However, with the Asura God personally intervening and exerting pressure under the pretext of "the balance of the divine realm," he could not completely ignore it.

“Very well, I’ll give it a try.” Poseidon finally nodded. “But I can’t guarantee whether I can persuade him. This boy’s willpower is extraordinary.”

In the far north, just as Feng Yao, following the faint scent of the Rakshasa Gem, determined Tang San's new escape route and was preparing to continue the pursuit, a gentle yet boundless divine sense quietly descended, enveloping him. The surrounding wind and snow seemed to freeze instantly, and the flow of time slowed down.

"Feng Yao." The familiar and majestic voice of the Sea God resounded directly in his mind.

“Lord Sea God.” Feng Yao stopped, his expression calm, seemingly unsurprised. He had guessed that the Asura God, having suffered repeated setbacks, would eventually come to the Sea God.

"Stop chasing Tang San." The Sea God's voice carried a hint of admonition. "You have already proven your strength and potential. Focus on your Nine Trials of the Sea God, inherit my divine position as soon as possible, and ascend to the God Realm. That is the right path. Continuing to fight against Shura will not benefit you."

Feng Yao gazed calmly into the void. Although he already had his suspicions, he still needed confirmation from the Sea God. He bowed solemnly, his voice resolute and unwavering: "The situation on the continent is already clear, and I truly do not wish for Tang San to become another variable. Sea God, could you please tell me why the divine realm is protecting him so fiercely?"

The sea god's divine thoughts rippled slightly in the wind and snow, and after a long while, a long sigh echoed: "Feng Yao, have you ever considered where the eternal life of gods comes from?"

Feng Yao's mind raced, but he feigned ignorance: "What does this have to do with me killing Tang San?"

"You already know in your heart," the sea god's voice held an all-knowing wisdom. "All things in heaven and earth are born and die in the cycle of reincarnation, only the gods transcend it, which in itself is a violation of the laws of nature. Child, why are you so attached? In the eternal river of time, the affairs of the mortal world are but fleeting moments. Even if you help the angels and rakshasa ascend to the realm of the gods, in the end, you will only become new Asuras, entering a new cage. You will, like us, choose successors in the mortal world to pass on your divine positions, and then go to other worlds to enter the cycle of reincarnation."

These words struck like a thunderbolt, confirming Feng Yao's deepest suspicion—the fundamental reason the divine realm protected Tang San was to maintain the stability of the existing divine system. The Sea God's warning further made him realize that even if the old order was overthrown, without establishing a new balance, the same mistakes would ultimately be repeated.

Feng Yao stood silently on the snowy plain, letting the words of the sea god dissipate in the wind. He looked up at the sky, his gaze seemingly piercing through the nine heavens, meeting the eyes of that supreme being.

“What you say may be true.” His voice was as calm as a deep pool, “but I am ultimately just a mortal, and cannot look down upon all living beings from the perspective of a god.”

"For the public good, I do not wish to see the soon-to-be-unified continent engulfed in war again. Even if the land is still divided ten thousand years from now, at least for this moment—this era in which I existed should leave a different mark. I would rather try to see if I can shake the unchanging order of the divine realm."

"Personally..." He paused slightly, a ripple appearing in his eyes, "I absolutely cannot accept watching someone important leave because of the so-called balance of the divine realm. Since the Sea God knows that I come from another world, he must have heard the saying 'Man can conquer nature'."

"Today, I will be the one who defies the heavens."

The sea god's divine thoughts remained silent for a long time amidst the wind and snow. He had foreseen Feng Yao's rejection, but he had not expected this young man to be so sharp and eloquent.

“I will not relay what you just said to Shura,” the Sea God’s voice held an unspeakable depth. “I will only tell him that you rejected the offer.”

The wind and snow seemed to freeze at that moment, and the sea god's oracle flowed like a warm current across the icy plains: "Go ahead and do it. I eagerly await to see how far you can take this path."

“I humbly thank the Sea God for his granting of my wish.” Feng Yao’s lips curled into a sharp smile. “This junior also wishes to know what kind of world can be created under these divine rules and laws.”

As the azure divine thought receded like the tide, Feng Yao stood alone amidst the vast snow-covered plains. The howling wind whipped at his dark robes, yet an inextinguishable flame burned in his eyes, which reflected the ice and snow.

He never relinquished the initiative; the conversation just now was merely another way of rewriting a challenge. Whether Shura accepts the challenge or not, he is destined to walk this path against the heavens to the bitter end.

The next three months were an endless nightmare for Tang San.

Like the most persistent hunter, Feng Yao, relying on the Rakshasa Gem's keen sensitivity to the same-origin divine power, accurately located Tang San's carefully arranged hiding places time and time again. The far north snowfield, the depths of the Sunset Forest, the small island in the sea... Tang San fled almost all over half the continent, but he was always caught up by Feng Yao like a shadow after only a brief respite.

These three months were also the months in which Feng Yao used Tang San as a whetstone. In the repeated hunts and battles, he no longer relied solely on the long-range attacks of the Fuxi Qin, but made more use of the Innate Bagua Plate for control, blockade, and even direct offensive and defensive confrontations. The power of the Kun trigram activated the earth's veins, creating traps and obstacles;

The thunder of the Zhen trigram tears through the sky, breaking through divine defenses;
The fire of the Li trigram burns away all things and restrains the evil and murderous energy.
The Kan trigram, representing flowing water, is all-pervasive, penetrating barriers to find weaknesses...

His application of the power of the Eight Trigrams became increasingly refined and exquisite. Initially, it required focused concentration and preparation, but later, a mere thought could draw upon the power of heaven and earth. The Eight Trigrams rotated endlessly, demonstrating a suppressive force that was almost at the level of laws in actual combat.

Although Tang San was forced to improve his strength and the use of the Asura God's power under the immense pressure of being hunted down, and even unleashed power beyond his own limits several times at the critical moment of life and death, he still repeatedly narrowly escaped death under Feng Yao's all-round, multi-angle, and increasingly skillful attacks. He was only able to save his life by the Asura God's remote infusion of divine power at all costs or by forceful intervention at critical moments.

Finally, after narrowly escaping from Feng Yao's tearing claw, which incorporated the meaning of "never to return," at the cost of having almost half of his body torn off, the Asura God's patience reached its limit.

This time, the crimson divine light that rescued Tang San did not disappear immediately. Instead, it condensed in mid-air, transforming into a blurry yet infinitely majestic and murderous crimson phantom. The phantom's face was indistinct, but a pair of cold eyes, like two crimson stars, were fixedly locked onto Feng Yao below.

The terrifying divine power pressed down as if it were a physical force, freezing the surrounding space, far surpassing the effect of previous remote interventions.

"Feng Yao—" A deep, furious voice, seemingly from the deepest hell, exploded directly in Feng Yao's soul, "You've gone too far!"

Feng Yao felt the divine pressure that far surpassed that of Poseidon and was even several times more terrifying than that of Bibi Dong, who had just become a god. His body sank slightly, but his eyes remained sharp as knives as he fearlessly met the blood-red phantom.

He knew that the person in question had finally been forced to show up and speak in person.

"Passed?" Feng Yao's lips curled into a mocking smile. "The Asura God, right? Interfering in the mortal realm, favoring the inheritance, disrupting the continent's order—who really passed?"

He directly revealed the other party's identity, without the slightest hint of respect in his tone.

The killing intent surrounding the crimson phantom surged instantly, causing the space itself to groan under its strain. "Mortal, you are provoking divine might!"

"Divine Might?" Feng Yao sneered. "If Divine Might treats all things as straw dogs and all living beings as pawns, you want to maintain your so-called 'balance,' while I only want to protect the people and things I care about, and incidentally... smash your disgusting game! This continent cannot accommodate a true god."

"Arrogant!" the Asura God roared. His blood-red phantom raised his hand, and a blood-red sword beam, seemingly capable of severing cause and effect and judging souls, began to condense. Its terrifying power made all living beings within a hundred miles tremble and prostrate themselves on the ground.

Feng Yao's pupils contracted slightly as he sensed a deadly threat. However, he clearly felt that this space was repelling the Asura God. He did not retreat, though. His dual soul cores operated wildly, and the phantom of the Innate Eight Trigrams Plate appeared behind him. The six trigrams, Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, and Li, shone brightly, drawing upon the power of the surrounding heaven and earth to form a solid barrier. At the same time, the power of Gui Xu's right arm bone and Kun Xu's torso bone was also raised to the limit, preparing to withstand this furious attack head-on.

However, the crimson sword light abruptly stopped just before it was about to strike. The phantom of the Asura God stared intently at Feng Yao, especially at the mysterious Bagua disc phantom behind him, as if weighing something.

Finally, the crimson sword light slowly dissipated, and the Asura God's icy voice rang out once more, carrying a hint of suppressed rage and a barely perceptible trace of apprehension: "Feng Yao, I'm giving you one last chance. Cease your madness, or... when my true form descends, I will surely... annihilate you, body and soul!"

Faced with this blatant threat, Feng Yao simply raised his hand slowly. In his palm, the Rakshasa Gem emitted a faint purple light. He said calmly, "You can try. Let's see if you will destroy me body and soul first, or if I will make your heir... completely disappear first."

"You!" The phantom of the Asura God rippled, clearly furious, but seeing Feng Yao's fearless demeanor and the gem containing Bibi Dong's divine power, he ultimately suppressed his anger.

"Hmph! We'll see!" After uttering these harsh words, the blood-red phantom suddenly vanished, along with Tang San's aura, disappearing completely. This time, he had clearly taken Tang San to a more secluded and harder-to-track place.

Feng Yao stood there, relieved. He had made the right bet. The reason why gods ascend to the God Realm was that they could not exert most of their power in the mortal world. Just like the Sea God in the original story, he could only save Tang San, but could not truly help Tang San kill his opponents.

He slowly calmed the turbulent blood and qi within him. He knew that this brief conversation with the God of Asura meant that the conflict between the two sides had been laid bare, leaving no room for negotiation. The struggle to come would be even more dangerous and direct.

But a more intense flame burned in his eyes.

"We'll see? Just what I wanted." He muttered to himself, his figure blending into the wind and snow as he continued his hunt. Forcing the Asura God to personally appear and speak was only one step in his plan. Next, he would make this god-king truly feel what the rage and determination of a "mortal" were like.

While Feng Yao and the Asura God were locked in a battle of wits across the distance, the situation was quietly reversing on the distant border battlefield of the Star Luo Empire.

Ever since that golden divine light, imbued with a resounding fighting spirit, descended upon the Star Luo Empire and entered Prince Dai Mubai's body, this already exceptionally brave White Tiger Prince seemed to have undergone a complete transformation. Not only did his soul power cultivation rapidly increase during the divine trial, but more importantly, a faint yet powerful war god domain began to surround him, boosting the morale of his own forces and chilling the hearts of his enemies!
In recent key battles, Dai Mubai led from the front, like a true god of war descending. His White Tiger Martial Soul, empowered by the god of war, became even more ferocious and domineering. Its claws seemed to tear through the void with every swing, and its roar shook the heavens and the earth, enough to throw the Soul Master Legion of the Martial Soul Empire into disarray.

What's even more astonishing is his tactical command ability. The God of War's trial seemed to have not only granted him power but also unlocked in him a certain wisdom about the art of war. He could always pinpoint the enemy's weaknesses, achieving maximum results with minimal losses. Under his leadership, the Star Luo army, which had been steadily retreating under the pressure of the Spirit Empire's elite Soul Master legions, actually stabilized its position and successfully recaptured several strategic locations, winning several brilliant comeback battles!

The morale of the entire Star Luo Empire was greatly boosted! Dai Mubai's prestige was unparalleled for a time, even slightly surpassing that of Emperor Dai Tianfeng. He was regarded by the military and civilians as the hope for saving the empire, and the title of "Prince of War God" spread like wildfire.

The news reached the Martial Soul Empire, causing a stir throughout the court and the country. (End of Chapter)