I've also recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Douluo: AFKing to Become a God
------------------------------------------------------
Qiangu Dieting furrowed his brow, contemplating the key point of Yun Ming's statement.
The path to godhood lies in the martial soul!
Martial soul…
Recalling the scene of Yun Ming's ascension three days ago, the Limit Douluos present each formed their own understanding.
"Do you mean refining the martial soul into a divine artifact and then using the martial soul to break through?" Qiangu Dieting frowned, feeling that such a task was far too difficult—far beyond what he could currently achieve.
Strictly speaking, he was the father of Qiangu Dongfeng, while Qiangu Dongfeng and Yun Ming were of the same generation.
Yun Ming was in his prime, at the peak of his strength. However, Qiangu Dieting had already begun to decline physically. Maintaining his current state through sheer cultivation was already his limit. To further nurture his martial soul and elevate it to the level of a divine artifact might very well cost him his life.
After glancing at Qiangu Dieting, Yun Ming decided to elaborate further.
The path to godhood still needed to be revealed. The more god-level soul masters that emerged on Douluo Planet, the less pressure they would face in the future.
The Abyss was nearing its upper limit. Aside from the Abyssal Sage King, the strongest of the remaining Emperors were the Spirit Emperor and the Lie Emperor, who possessed god-level power but had not yet fully transformed.
In other words, aside from the Abyssal Sage King, there wasn't a single true god-level being.
Douluo's side was different—they still had room for growth. With four quasi-gods, even if just one of them broke through, the battle against the Abyss in the future would become much easier.
Since Yun Ming's ascension to godhood, the balance between the two planes had been firmly established.
The Abyssal Sage King had never imagined that the position of Plane Lord, which Yun Ming had seized, would fall to someone so weak. How could this seemingly insignificant Plane Lord possibly stand up to him?
The Stellar Phenomenon was still evolving and had not yet reached its peak. Even with special means to become the Plane Lord of that space and harness the entire plane's power, reaching the pinnacle of True God-level strength was the limit. But Yun Ming was different. He could fight above his level, wield the Atlas Divine Spear as a divine artifact, and utilize god-core power—not only drawing upon the plane's natural forces but also wielding the power of laws.
On this foundation, Yun Ming himself had broken through to godhood, leaping directly to the Super-God level.
Such an astonishing transformation left the Abyssal Sage King completely unprepared.
And Yun Ming's emergence had shattered the balance between the two planes.
"It is not necessary to refine the martial soul into a divine artifact. Of course, if any of you can achieve that, you may try. It is a similar path. What I refer to as the path to godhood is for soul masters to develop their martial souls, enriching them with personal insights. Starting from Level 95, gradually enhance and perfect your martial soul. Think of it as continuing to nourish your martial soul, allowing it to evolve further alongside you until the ultimate stage, where the soul master and martial soul are deeply fused. The martial soul becomes the medium through which the soul master communicates with the laws of heaven and earth, thereby undergoing a baptism of laws and achieving godhood."
Godhood, in simple terms, represents a dimensional transformation. The method to achieve this transformation is through the baptism of laws, aligning oneself with the laws and forming a body of law.
Sensing the laws and undergoing their baptism are the two critical points.
Among the Limit Douluos, those who could ascend to quasi-god status generally had a deep understanding of the laws—they only lacked the baptism of laws.
Using the martial soul as a bridge, one could channel the laws, guiding them to flow within their body and integrating the power of laws into their soul power to generate divine soul power.
Yun Ming shared the method of achieving godhood with the gathered Limit Douluos, hoping that new gods would emerge among them.
"So that's how it is."
Long Yeyue suddenly understood.
She remembered Yun Ming mentioning years ago that she should try fusing her insights into her martial soul. At the time, she thought it was a technique Yun Ming had discovered to further enhance the strength of quasi-gods.
Now, however, it was clear that this wasn't just a technique for increasing strength—it was the key to breaking through to godhood.
The expressions of the Limit Douluos present varied.
The four quasi-gods frowned, showing concern, while a few demi-gods displayed hints of joy.
For Long Yeyue, Yun Ming had given her prior advice, but her insights contributed little to the growth of her martial soul. Most of her efforts were focused on increasing combat strength, forming powerful techniques.
Not just Long Yeyue—all quasi-gods primarily focused their insights on enhancing combat power, with few deliberately developing their martial souls.
On the other hand, some demi-gods, especially those who were self-made or had forged their own paths, had made greater progress in cultivating their martial souls.
Take Xu Shengqun, for example. He had no family inheritance. Though he had received successive help from Xu Zhi and Xu Yuan to reach his current height, every step he took was entirely his own.
Further nurturing the martial soul, allowing it to grow?
Not difficult at all.
His Holy Void-Breaking Spear started as a variant martial soul with many flaws. Through his cultivation and insights, he had mended these flaws, making his martial soul's mutation complete. The spear's essence was perfected, its core stabilized, and its strength solidified.
Qiangu Dieting's brows remained tightly knitted.
The Qiangu family had produced many Limit Douluos, with almost no interruption in their presence over the past millennium, thanks to the family's inherited cultivation methods.
However, widely applicable inheritance also meant limited individual impact.
Yun Ming emphasized that the martial soul and soul master must grow together.
The development of the martial soul must align with the soul master's unique direction.
Even with the same martial soul, different soul masters suited different directions, making it difficult to rely entirely on the family's inherited methods.
Still, having walked this path and reached the quasi-god level, Qiangu Dieting soon steadied his thoughts.
Even without family inheritance, he still had hope.
Achieving quasi-god status was based on his own hard-earned insights.
It was just that these insights might not align with the Dragon Coiling Staff. He needed to go back and reorganize, rediscover insights more suitable for the Dragon Coiling Staff, and integrate them into it.
Consider it a thorough review of his abilities.
"Of course, there's one more thing you all need to be aware of. Douluo Planet still cannot support the birth of god-level soul masters. If you wish to break through, you can only do so within my small world."
Yun Ming's words caused many Limit Douluos to look alarmed.
What did he mean?
Could they only ascend to godhood here? What about after becoming gods?
Could they not return?
Yun Ming's calm expression weighed heavily on the minds of the Limit Douluos present.
Clearly, if they became gods here, they would not be able to leave afterward.
But this was the node connecting the two planes. Hadn't Xu Yuan previously threatened the Abyssal Sage King by threatening to destroy this place?
In other words, this small world could collapse at any moment, losing its foundation.
If this small world collapsed, what would happen?
Zhang Huanyun sighed inwardly.
He had previously thought that Yun Ming had seized the benefits of the Stellar Phenomenon, claiming its advantages and becoming the strongest. Now, it seemed that Yun Ming's sacrifices were far greater than anyone realized.
Yun Ming was the Plane Lord.
Once this place collapsed, those who normally ascended to godhood within a plane might survive, but could a Plane Lord survive the backlash of a collapsing plane?
"The fusion between Douluo Planet and the Abyss has been progressing. The Abyss has repeatedly infiltrated Abyss energy into Douluo Planet, creating a foundation for the fusion of the two planes. The appearance of the Stellar Phenomenon became the critical node. Under the influence of cosmic laws, the fusion of the two planes' laws in the Stellar Phenomenon region has accelerated and is nearing harmony," Yun Ming explained. "However, there is still some time before full fusion is achieved. Even though I have advanced the creation of the Underworld, giving the fusion node a physical form, there is still some way to go. Nevertheless, the fusion of the two planes is inevitable. Once successful, Douluo Planet will ascend to a god-level planet, and the Abyss will undergo a transformation."
Douluo Planet had yet to elevate its dimension and could not accommodate god-level soul masters. Therefore, soul masters could not break through on Douluo Planet. Attempting to do so would invite the plane's suppression.
The Underworld itself also lacked sufficient dimensions, but being connected to the Stellar Phenomenon and relying on cosmic space allowed breakthroughs here to bypass the plane's dimensional restrictions.
"After Douluo Planet ascends, breakthroughs will be possible there."
With this clarification, the Limit Douluos present finally relaxed.
Though their chances of becoming gods were slim—perhaps only one out of twenty Limit Douluos achieving godhood would be miraculous—who's to say it wouldn't be them?
Why not worry a little?
---
One month after the Battle of the Underworld ended, all sixteen bases were completed.
With Douluo Planet's Endless Mountains as headquarters, the sixteen bases were fully linked to the main base in terms of resources and information.
From this point on, the standoff between Douluo Planet and the Abyss was fully established. The Underworld came to be known as the "Underworld Battlefield" by the Blood God Legion's soul masters.
---
Abyss.
"Abyssal Sage King King, are we just going to sit idly by while Yun Ming continues to grow stronger?" Ghost Emperor's expression was extremely anxious.
He had not participated in the previous battle but had been kept in the Abyss by the Abyssal Sage King.
Upon learning that Yun Ming had broken through and become a Plane Lord, combining multiple systems to rival the Abyss within the Underworld, he felt as though the sky had fallen.
Their retreat was completely blocked.
"What else can we do?" The Abyssal Sage King stared at the Ghost Emperor, anger flaring in his eyes.
"If it weren't for your Holy Spirit Sect's incompetence, failing to understand Yun Ming's system, I wouldn't have been caught completely off guard!"
Who would have thought that Yun Ming was not only the strongest in the soul master system?
Even solely as a soul master, he was already the strongest on the continent.
But he also had the means to instantly become a Plane Lord, which was theoretically available to anyone—it was just a matter of opportunity.
The key point, however, was that Yun Ming possessed a demi-god seat!
This was the most crucial aspect.
Without the demi-god seat merging with the Underworld to evolve, Yun Ming wouldn't have gained the ability to resist the Abyssal Sage King immediately after breaking through.
Nor would the Abyssal Sage King have hesitated to act from the start.
The Plane Lord system allowed Yun Ming to control the Underworld. The fusion of the demi-god seat with the Underworld's laws formed a god-core, granting Yun Ming mastery over the Underworld's laws—a fundamental and complete control.
Even the Abyssal Sage King could only mobilize the Abyss's power, unable to wield its laws with complete freedom.
The Abyss operated according to its own logic, which he couldn't fully interfere with.
At most, he could intervene.
"Continue to confront them. Although Yun Ming has created the Underworld, covering the Stellar Phenomenon and becoming its Plane Lord, it doesn't completely exclude Abyss infiltration."
Strictly speaking, the two planes were fusing, and the Underworld, as the intermediate node, was part of that fusion.
After fusion, there would be no significant suppression, especially during the critical fusion phase.
While the Underworld's development and improvement increasingly suppressed the Abyssal Sage King, this was due to Yun Ming's deliberate use of the Underworld's power. If Yun Ming were to fall asleep, the Abyssal Sage King could enter the Underworld at any time.
Similarly, Douluo Planet's Plane Lord wouldn't be suppressed by the Underworld.
"The Stellar Phenomenon is still evolving. I haven't yet found the key core of its evolution. Before discovering the opportunity nurtured by the Stellar Phenomenon, all we can do is wait."
The Abyssal Sage King took a deep breath and made his decision.
The fusion of the Abyss and Douluo Planet?
Perhaps it wasn't a bad choice.
"I've tested it—the Abyss can still extend in the energy dimension and establish spatial channels with the material dimension, retaining its ability to invade other planes as an energy plane."
Since the situation with Douluo Planet had reached a stalemate, why not raid a few smaller planes?
He glanced back at the sixth layer of the Abyss.
The Wisdom Emperor's breakthrough had consumed a great deal. At this time, strengthening himself further was the best option.
---
Douluo Planet, Endless Mountains.
Xu Yuan had already distributed the promised Heaven-Forged metals.
Since these were rewards, they were leftovers from his earlier practice sessions—not custom-made.
However, even without being custom-made, these Heaven-Forged metals were already qualified, sufficient to serve as materials for most soul masters' four-word battle armors.
Whether it was their affinity for blood qi or the unique star affinity of Xu Yuan's Heaven-Forged process, these metals significantly enhanced their usability.
Anyone could use them. Furthermore, leveraging the characteristics of these metals, there was an opportunity to develop paths in both the stars and blood qi.
Progress shouldn't be neglected just because it was small.
At the Limit Douluo level, the proportions of essence, energy, and spirit were already at an extreme state. Any slight enhancement would change the whole, even if the increase in blood qi didn't reach the level of a Soul Sage, it would still strengthen the overall power.
"Teacher."
Before Xu Yuan stood a holographic image of Yun Ming.
"Hmm, now that everything has stabilized, it's time for me to enter slumber and push forward the evolution of the Underworld. I'll do my best to absorb star energy and delay the formation of the opportunity within the Stellar Phenomenon, buying you time."
Yun Ming wore a contemplative expression.
Looking at Xu Yuan, he hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Your teacher's wife still needs your help. With your level of Heaven-Forging, I believe you can craft a set of four-word battle armor beneficial to her martial soul's growth."
"Don't worry, Teacher. I've been thinking about this for a long time. I've already calculated the metal combinations needed to forge a four-word battle armor for Teacher's wife."
"That's good. Also, Na'er has remained in the Demon Plane, likely still worried about Ancient Moon forcibly merging with her. I currently have no ability to persuade Ancient Moon, so it's up to you to resolve this."
"Understood!"
Xu Yuan took a deep breath. He felt it was time to address some internal conflicts on Douluo Planet.
The threat from the Abyss was no longer as pressing.
Entering a temporary period of calm, he had already planned to focus on internal matters.
"Hmm, I trust you to handle your teacher's wife and younger sister. As for your cultivation, there isn't much more I can teach you."
Yun Ming paused, seemingly conflicted, but soon made a decision.
"Your spear techniques follow the path of inclusiveness, piercing through everything while carrying overwhelming momentum, encompassing elements like the five elements, blood qi, thunder, and more. In the future, it will include spirit and even star power. Though diverse, you've handled it exceptionally well. Therefore, I'll point you toward a more challenging ability, hoping it won't divert your focus."
Listening to Yun Ming's words, Xu Yuan already had some guesses.
"Devil Island. When you return to the academy, your teacher's wife will tell you about Devil Island. Normally, every generation of Shrek's Seven Monsters is sent to Devil Island for training. However, your generation has faced too many challenges, and by now, your combat strength has reached its limit, and the others' strengths have surpassed expectations. It's too late to arrange traditional training on Devil Island."
"On Devil Island, there is a force of destruction. You can try incorporating it into your golden thunder to further transform your thunder power. There is also a force of life intertwined with it—you can attempt to interact with it using your Life Metal."
"But be careful when mastering these two forces. Don't destroy Devil Island." Yun Ming warned.
"Understood, Teacher."
Yun Ming let out a sigh of relief.
There was nothing more he could teach Xu Yuan.
Just some life experiences.
Looking at his disciple, Yun Ming felt a surge of pride.
"I've taken care of the Plane Lord role for you. Just focus on your steady progress."
Step-by-step progress was genuine progress.
Above godhood was True God, above True God was Super-God, above Super-God was 1st Class God, above 1st Class God was Quasi-God King, then God King, and even higher was the realm of Dragon God, transcending many God Kings.
If one followed the path of becoming a Plane Lord and jumped two or three levels at once, it would inevitably affect future development.
Early on, the plane drove the strength of the Plane Lord, but later, the plane's advancement would hinder the Plane Lord's progress.
While boosting the plane seemed to enhance the Plane Lord's power, the proportion of this increase was too low, making it harder and harder as one progressed.
"Teacher, rest assured. I'll handle Teacher's wife and younger sister's matters quickly. I'll also visit Devil Island as soon as possible."
Yun Ming wore a proud smile as his figure gradually dissipated.
"With you on Douluo Planet, I can rest easy."
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead Guaranteed: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)