Douluo Continent: The Destruction of Life, My Brother Huo Yuhao

The God of Destruction looked at the boy who was only twelve years old, at the unfathomable darkness in his eyes, and at the tiny spark that refused to be extinguished in the depths of that darkness, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Good! Good! Good!"

He exclaimed "Good!" three times in a row, his eyes gleaming with a brilliant purple light: "That's exactly how it should be! The succession of a deity isn't about finding an obedient puppet, but about finding an inheritor who can forge their own path! Kid, I'm admiring you more and more!"

The goddess of life sighed softly, but did not object. She simply walked up to Dai Tu, reached out her hand, and gently touched his forehead with her fingertips.

"In the name of the goddess of life, I bestow upon you the mark of life."

A glimmer of emerald green light emanated from her fingertips and seeped into Dai Tu's brow.

A warm, gentle, and vibrant power surged through Dai Tu's body like spring water. The Life Tree martial spirit in his left hand automatically appeared, swaying its branches and leaves joyfully, as if he had seen his mother tree.

The God of Destruction also stepped forward, reaching out to touch Dai Tu's forehead, next to the mark of life.

"In the name of the God of Destruction, I bestow upon you the mark of destruction."

A deep purple light exploded, and a violent, domineering, and destructive power surged into Dai Tu's body. The kaleidoscopes in his eyes spun wildly, their scarlet light blazing brightly, as if to devour everything.

The two forces converged, collided, and finally reached a delicate balance between Dai Tu's eyebrows, transforming into two side by side marks: a bright green leaf pattern on the left and a deep purple lightning pattern on the right.

"This is the mark of our heritage," the Goddess of Life said gently, withdrawing her hand.

"From this moment forward, you are the twin inheritor of life and destruction. You will undergo nine divine trials, one of which must be completed for each breakthrough in your soul realm. You must complete at least one trial within one year, or the mark will backfire on your soul."

The God of Destruction continued, his tone sharp: "The content of the Divine Trial will be released as you grow. It could be hunting soul beasts, overcoming inner demons, or any other test. Remember, there is no turning back from the Divine Trial—either pass or die."

Dai Tu raised his hand and touched the two slightly burning marks between his eyebrows.

One is warm, the other is cold.

One symbolizes life, and the other symbolizes death.

Just like his life now.

"Kid, stay alive. Don't let me down."

As the words fell, the figure of the God of Destruction began to fade, and by the time the last sentence was uttered, his figure had completely vanished into thin air.

The goddess of life remained until the very end. She looked at Dai Tu with a complex expression, a mixture of pity, expectation, and a touch of worry.

"My child," she whispered, her voice as gentle as a mother's words to her child on a long journey.

"Remember, the meaning of life lies not in its length, but in how you live it. Destruction is not the end, it is just... another beginning."

"No matter where you go in the future, no matter what you become, never forget who you are standing here today. Never forget why you live and why you fight."

She reached out her hand, seemingly wanting to pat Dai Tu's head, but stopped halfway through.

In the end, she simply smiled slightly, and her figure transformed into specks of emerald light, dissipating into the morning light.

The once-still world begins to turn again.

The leaves continued to fall, the insects fluttered away, and the wind blew again, carrying the unique fresh scent of the forest after the rain.

It was as if everything that had just happened was just a dream.

But Dai Tu knew that it wasn't a dream.

He raised his hand, palm up. With a thought, the phantom of the Tree of Life appeared, its emerald light illuminating his pale face. With another thought, the kaleidoscope spun in his eyes, its crimson light intertwining with the emerald green, creating an eerie spectacle.

Two marks between his brows were slightly warm, reminding him of what had just happened.

Divine lineage.

Nine divine tests.

A series of unfamiliar words churned in my mind, but ultimately only two things settled down:

First, he has a chance to revive everyone in Konoha. Although the chance is slim and seemingly impossible, the goddess of life said it's possible.

Secondly, he needs to become stronger, strong enough to overturn the White Tiger Duke's mansion, strong enough to complete the nine divine trials, strong enough to... reach the end of life and destruction, and touch that ethereal boundary between life and death.

Deep within the Starry Sky Forest, the light dimmed.

Dai Tu leaned against an ancient tree that would take three people to encircle and slowly sat down.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his body, and began to sort out the current situation.

Divine inheritance sounds beautiful.

The Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction are first-level deities, the rulers of the universe's rules. Their successors are destined to ascend to the divine realm and stand shoulder to shoulder with those legendary beings.

But that's the future.

Right now, he's just a Soul Master who has just broken through to level 20 and doesn't even have a second Soul Ring yet.

In the world of Soul Masters, he has barely escaped the category of "apprentice" and entered the threshold of "Great Soul Master", provided that he can successfully obtain his second Soul Ring.

"Still too weak..."

Dai Tu muttered to himself, his voice unusually clear in the silent forest.

The Duchess of White Tiger will not let this go.

Zhu Ye is dead, along with fifty elite White Tiger Army soldiers. Although Dai Tu used his divine power to erase Zhu Ye's body and used Amaterasu to burn away most of the traces, it was still more than fifty lives lost, and he was the Duchess's own brother.

Sooner or later, the Duke's mansion will find clues, follow the trail, and find him, this "illegitimate son who shouldn't exist."

At that time, the person sent will not be a fourth-ring Soul Master like Zhu Ye.

It could be a Soul King, a Soul Emperor, or even... a Soul Saint or a Soul Douluo.

In the face of a true powerhouse, he now has no chance to escape.

Even the most powerful Mangekyou Sharingan requires soul power and time to develop. Faced with absolute level suppression, all techniques are a joke.

"I need shelter," Dai Tu murmured, his mind racing.

On the Douluo Continent, there are only a handful of forces that can rival the White Tiger Duke's Mansion of the Star Luo Empire.

Shrek Academy is the top choice, the number one academy on the continent, with a history spanning ten thousand years and unfathomable depths. Even the emperor of the Star Luo Empire would have to think twice before becoming a student at Shrek.

Ke Daitu rejected the option almost immediately.

Shrek Academy's training methods are too abstract!

No, no.

"Running as a form of training?" Dai Tu smirked, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "My training requires the nourishment of blood."

So, join another empire?

The Heavenly Soul Empire and the Fighting Spirit Empire might be willing to antagonize the Star Luo Empire for the sake of a genius with twin martial souls, but Dai Tu dared not gamble.

The Star Luo Empire is the strongest of the three great empires, and Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger is a symbol of the military.

For the sake of his illegitimate son of unknown origin, would the royal family of Tianhun or Douling really be willing to risk a full-scale war with Xingluo?

More likely, they will "politely" send him back to his country in exchange for political gain.

"No...nothing will work..."

Dai Tu frowned, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the two marks between his eyebrows.

The contrast between cold and heat, destruction and life, seemed to remind him that he had embarked on a path completely different from that of ordinary people.

Just then, a name suddenly popped into my mind.

Ontology.

The most mysterious, xenophobic, and fiercely protective sect on the Douluo Continent.

All disciples are possessors of their own Martial Soul—eyes, arms, bones, blood…any part of the body that awakens as a Martial Soul falls under the category of “Original Martial Soul”.

The Body Sect's creed is simple: Body Martial Soul, number one in the world.

They despise all external martial spirits, believing that only their own bodies are the strongest weapons. They act eccentrically, sometimes righteous and sometimes evil, entirely according to their whims.

They once clashed head-on with Shrek Academy, and even suppressed Shrek at one point, forcing the then-dean of Shrek Academy to bow down and compromise.