Thump thump thump thump thump...
That drumbeat-like heartbeat magnified continuously on the battlefield, and was displayed in the vision of the people of the entire Douluo Continent through soul guide projection.
Countless people watched Xie Huanyue stand up again and couldn't help but cheer and shout for him.
"Shouldn't his martial soul be the Pipi Elephant?" Tang Wutong in the stands watched this scene dumbfounded and murmured.
Beside her, Dai Yuhao shook his head slightly. Back then, during the new student assessment in the new school year at Shrek Academy, they had just arrived, and Xie Huanyue was the first opponent among the new students who almost severely injured him.
Although he didn't know why Xie Huanyue had undergone such a massive change, he figured it must be inextricably linked to that Demon King Huo Yuhao.
The two sides fought together again. Xie Huanyue's abilities, which seemed straight out of a fairy tale picture book, once again caused immense trouble for Tang Wulin, making Tang Wulin, who already liked to fight recklessly, feel helpless for a time.
However, what this divine sense clone of Huo Yuhao paid attention to was not the battlefield, but the Tang family deities headed by Tang San.
As it stood, Tang San appeared incredibly composed, and Dai Yuhao beside him showed no signs of worry either. This indicated that Tang Wulin likely still had other hidden cards he hadn't revealed yet.
Being the protagonist of the Dragon King's Legend era, Tang Wulin's strength and talent naturally could not be underestimated. More importantly, in terms of willpower, Tang Wulin was undoubtedly the pinnacle of the Tang family.
The strength or weakness of willpower could fundamentally decide the final victory or defeat of a battle.
At this time, the several princesses who had stepped onto the starry sky battlefield together with Xie Huanyue walked over to Huo Yuhao in unison.
"You guys... what exactly is going on?" Huo Yuhao was somewhat curious. In his understanding, Xie Huanyue had never seemed like a person who understood the romance between men and women. The fact that that guy was able to tie the knot with Xue Zili had already surprised Huo Yuhao quite a bit.
"It's not what you think between us..." Wei Na's beautiful eyes dimmed, and she revealed everything: "During the years Fatty traveled the continent, he gradually found stories regarding the Sun God."
"Apollo?" Huo Yuhao raised his eyebrows slightly.
"You know this name?" Wei Na was somewhat surprised. She then exchanged a look with Xu Jiujiu: "That seems to be a matter of many years ago. Long back in that era, there was a giant spreading the spark of civilization on the continent. He was called the Sun God by the people."
Huo Yuhao thought to himself that he naturally knew clearly; that was prehistoric civilization. However, he still chose to listen on first. "And then?"
"In that distant and mysterious prehistoric era of Douluo, the continent had just experienced an unprecedented great disaster. The sky was shrouded in dark haze, and the earth was devastated. Once lush forests were turned to ashes, galloping rivers dried up and became exhausted, mountains collapsed, plains were torn apart, and the entire world seemed to have plunged into endless despair and dead silence..." Wei Na earnestly began to introduce it to Huo Yuhao.
"The surviving primitive humans struggled to survive in this cruel environment. They lacked clothing to cover their bodies and food to fill their stomachs, struggling every day for a mouthful of food and a place to settle down. They feared the soul power of nature and the unknown creatures in the forest. They could only curl up in narrow caves, huddling together, seeking a sliver of warmth and a sense of security..."
Listening to Wei Na's narration, Huo Yuhao fell silent. The so-called great disaster was entirely an invasion of alien species into the Eden Kingdom, devastating the entire continent and ruining all living things. After that, the entire Eden perished, and the surviving citizens were taken to live in the Divine Realm.
Only Apollo, following King Lucifer's instructions, remained on the continent, attempting to develop those surviving primitive tribal people into a new human civilization.
"Apollo looked at these pitiful humans, his heart full of compassion. He knew deeply that these humans had suffered too much hardship in this great disaster. What they needed was not just material help, but even more so spiritual guidance and the passing down of civilization. Thus, he decided to stay, helping humanity step out of their predicament and usher in a new era."
"Apollo first taught humans how to find food. He led the humans into the barren forests, teaching them to identify which plants were edible and which herbs could cure illnesses. He also imparted hunting skills to the humans, letting them learn to craft simple weapons, such as stone spears and stone axes, to hunt wild beasts. With Apollo's help, humans no longer worried about food, and their lives gradually improved."
"However, merely solving the food problem was far from enough. As night fell, cold and darkness once again enveloped the land. The primitive humans had no dwellings and could only shiver in caves. Seeing this, Apollo began to teach humans to build houses. He taught them how to gather wood and stones, and how to construct simple wooden and stone houses. Under Apollo's guidance, humans quickly learned the technology of building houses. They gained warm dwellings and no longer feared the cold and darkness."
"Slowly, the humans of that time regarded Apollo as the sun and respectfully addressed him as the Sun God."
"He taught humans to use fire, letting them learn to use fire to cook food, keep warm, and drive away wild beasts. The use of fire was an important milestone in the development of human civilization. It brought earth-shaking changes to human life."
"Apollo also taught humans to create written characters. Using his finger, he drew various symbols and patterns on the ground, explaining the meaning represented by each symbol to the humans. The humans learned earnestly. They used stones and branches to carve these symbols onto animal skins and stone slabs, recording their lives and experiences."
"As time passed, humans gradually developed and grew stronger with Apollo's help. They established their own tribes and villages, forming a simple social order. People began to divide labor and cooperate. Some were responsible for hunting, some for gathering, some for building houses, and some for taking care of the elderly and children. The division of labor in society greatly improved human production efficiency, and the development of civilization also became more rapid."
"In the years that followed, humanity continued to develop and grow, and their civilization became increasingly prosperous. They established more massive cities and nations, invented more advanced technologies and tools, and created more brilliant culture and art. And all of this stemmed from the grace of the Sun God Apollo. He sowed the spark of civilization on this land, leading humanity from ignorance to wisdom, and from darkness to light."
"Time flies, and years pass like a shuttle. Several thousands of years have passed, and humanity has become the ruler of the Douluo Continent. They gradually forgot that difficult history and forgot the existence of the Sun God Apollo. However, those ancient legends and stories were passed down in the documents recorded by the humans of that time..."
Speaking up to here, Wei Na's gaze toward Xie Huanyue became increasingly gentle.
Although it was just a simple description, Huo Yuhao knew clearly what kind of heavy responsibility Apollo bore back then. It was just a pity that Apollo ultimately had his legendary life ended by traitors.
"Back then, in order to pass down the spark of the Eden Kingdom's civilization, Apollo partnered with women from four tribes at the time, entrusting the four powers within him to his descendants." Xu Jiujiu added: "That is, the Star Crown for battle amplification, the Swan for free flight, the Snow Lotus for healing pain, and the Sun that illuminates all living beings."
"What did you say?"
Huo Yuhao was instantly beyond surprised. The previous four great empires of the Douluo Continent were actually founded by the descendants of Apollo!
"Only by regaining the origins of these four martial souls can the authority of the Sun God be considered complete." Xu Tianzhen nodded and said.
"However, this time he only chose Xue Zili." Xu Jiujiu gave a bitter smile, turning her head to look at the silent Eighteenth Princess of the Dou Ling royal family.
"The reason Fatty didn't choose me is probably because of you." Xu Jiujiu turned her gaze back to Huo Yuhao and sighed softly: "Although the matter is already in the past, I still want to say 'I'm sorry' to you and your mother on behalf of my aunt."
Huo Yuhao did not utter a sound. He had no right to forgive the Duchess on behalf of the deceased Huo Yun'er. Moreover, the original Huo Yuhao, who was truly qualified to receive Xu Jiujiu's apology, was already dead.
He was Huo Yuhao, a soul from another world who had transmigrated here.
"This battle concerns the future of our world. If we win, we will join the Eden Alliance and contribute to the future of humanity. If we lose..."
"If we lose, a branch will appear in your Xu family's Star Crown martial soul, called the Star Wheel Ice Staff." Huo Yuhao couldn't help but recall the story ten thousand years later in the main space-time, and smiled.
"Demon King Huo Yuhao, can we... win?" Wei Na slightly raised her eyelids, brewed over it for a moment, and asked earnestly.
"We can win, and we must win."
Huo Yuhao gave the answer without the slightest hesitation: "The Tang family is acting against the trend of history, obstructing the progress of civilization, and supporting divine right. Ultimately, they will definitely fail."
"Alright." Having received the answer they hoped for, the four women's moods involuntarily relaxed, and they then turned their gazes back to the battlefield in unison.
In the arena, facing Xie Huanyue's completely reckless abilities, Tang Wulin was entirely at a disadvantage. One must know, he was already in his complete state as the Destruction God King now!
The main body of the first-generation God of Destruction, the Destruction Liquid, had already been ninety percent absorbed by him. Coupled with his unique ultimate skills, he was not inferior in the slightest to the God of Destruction at his peak.
Even so, in front of Xie Huanyue's nearly unreasonable abilities, he was merely holding on desperately.
Whether physical attacks or energy methods, they would all be assimilated under the influence of Xie Huanyue's authority. What Tang Wulin could do seemed to be only dragging Xie Huanyue out until he exhausted his strength again.
Just then, a sudden mutation occurred!
A golden light suddenly appeared in Tang Wulin's hands, taking the shape of a long halberd. Immediately following was a Dragon Emperor Slash swinging down, tearing a deep gash on the shoulder of Xie Huanyue, who couldn't dodge in time, dripping with blood.
That is...
"The Golden Trident?" Everyone present exclaimed in unison, immediately casting their gazes onto Tang San standing in front of the deities.
Facing everyone's gazes, Tang San just smiled as if his plan had succeeded. The trident in his hand abruptly turned into a rain of light and dispersed.
Huo Yuhao's face darkened instantly.
No wonder! No wonder Tang San had been holding a fake Golden Trident in his hand right from the start. This move was naturally to confuse everyone, or rather, to deceive the opponent.
Through his analysis of Huo Yuhao, Tang San believed that Huo Yuhao must possess the ability of foresight and knew everything about the main space-time. Thus, the fact that Tang Wulin could use the Golden Trident naturally couldn't be used as a hidden trump card.
So from the beginning, Tang Wulin held the inherited Scepter of Destruction and tangled with Xie Huanyue, until just now when he brought out the Golden Trident.
One must know, Tang Wulin's forte was originally not scepter-type weapons! Not only had he mastered a set of spearmanship of his own, but all his fighting styles were mostly close combat.
How great an amplification two Super Divine Tools provide to a God King—just think about Tang San with the coexistence of two gods and you'd know.
Therefore, ten years ago, Huo Yuhao used every available means to weaken Tang San to the point where he could only use his unaccustomed Asura God state, and ultimately won using the Dragon God Transformation.
"In terms of the degree of manipulating people's hearts, I am still inferior to this hypocrite..." Huo Yuhao sighed softly in his heart.
At this point, he could only choose to believe in his brother.
For the Sun God Apollo to be someone Lucifer could trustingly hand the kingdom over to, his true strength shouldn't be weaker than a God King, presumably.
"Interesting!" Xie Huanyue looked at Tang Wulin holding two Super Divine Tools, completely ignoring the injury on his shoulder, his battle intent surging once again.
"Although this move carries the suspicion of borrowing someone else's power, for the sake of our space-time, I will stop at nothing!" Tang Wulin took a deep breath and said sternly.
He couldn't help but recall the words his father Tang San said when he handed the Golden Trident into his hands just before preparing for battle.
"Wulin, you will take the field first. For our family's reunion and final victory, use this trident well..."
Through their clashes, Tang Wulin had basically drawn a conclusion: the opponent's bouncy and bizarre body had only one weakness—a fear of sharp blades.
Next, he was going to use his most powerful single-target defense-breaking method to defeat Xie Huanyue in one fell swoop!
The next moment, Xie Huanyue leaped high into the air. His body rapidly expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the short time of less than a few breaths, he transformed into a tall giant.
The giant swung his fist and whistled downwards. The exaggerated speed of the fist body was terrifying, like a descending meteorite.
Tang Wulin likewise stomped fiercely on the ground, wielding his two Super Divine Tools to meet him.
"Forbid Space-Time, Dragon Emperor Slash—"
Huo Yuhao couldn't be clearer about the characteristics of this move. That was the sharpest defense-breaking skill in Tang Wulin's Dragon Emperor Forbidden Law. It was the only divine skill capable of causing actual damage to Xie Huanyue.
Looking at Tang Wulin coming head-on, Xie Huanyue couldn't help but recall the times he once spent discussing ultimate skills with Huo Yuhao.
"Fatty, your ability is very special, but it's just afraid of fire and sharp blades. You must find a way to overcome this weakness."
"But if the opponent comes at me like a red-hot hedgehog, how should I deal with it?"
"Do you remember the 'momentum' of Mu En's Sovereign's Descent? That kind of aura can hit the opponent without touching the enemy."
"That's so hard to practice! You know my spiritual power isn't considered strong."
"Believe in yourself, you can do it, Fatty."
"Alright, I'll practice when I have the chance. I'll also think of more ways regarding my spiritual power."
"..."
Even Huo Yuhao didn't know that ever since Xie Huanyue broke through his limits, during his travels across the continent, he had been concentrating on cultivating his spiritual power.
During the few years Huo Yuhao was away, Xie Huanyue's spiritual realm had successfully broken through to the Divine Origin realm.
Compared to Huo Yuhao, although it wasn't considered exceptionally high, it was already enough for him, not to mention there was also the terrifying all-around amplification of the Sun God's true body...
Now, after the power of the Sun God was completely perfected, Xie Huanyue could finally do it—combine his authority with his momentum.