Douluo: Manifesting the Black Abyss and White Flower at the Start

Unlike the shock on Kong Deming and the others' faces, Lu Jingming, at this moment, was staring intently at Xu Tianran, a clear light shining in his eyes.

"So, Destruction has chosen to take action personally…"

With a single glance, he saw through Xu Tianran's condition. Unlike Shangguan Wei'er and Di Tian, who desperately resisted Destruction's corruption, Xu Tianran, at this final moment, gave up all resistance, spread his arms, and accepted it. He used his will, soul, and even his very existence as the final fuel, sacrificing all to the power of Destruction born from illusion.

If this were in a universe where Fate existed, such an act would be called "Fate Grand Order." He had willingly used his human body to challenge the destiny of Destruction. Of course, in this world, there was no such thing as destiny; Xu Tianran only responded to the power born from the illusion within his own body.

Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on Lu Jingming's lips.

"Heh, is this the 'great gift' you left behind for us?"

"I must say, it fits your stereotype perfectly. Even in death, you'd insist on tearing a piece of flesh from your enemy."

The moment he sacrificed himself to Destruction, Xu Tianran's own will had already died. Now, he was driven by instinct alone, nothing more than a madman who knew only the way of Destruction. An incarnation of destruction, born from Xu Tianran's ambitions, hatred, and lack of will, and the blurry force of Destruction.

Lu Jingming's gaze shifted away from the destroyed corpse, focusing on those behind Meng Hongchen.

"Meng, take Grandfather and Brother and leave the palace immediately. The farther, the better."

He admonished softly.

"Sister Xuan, please protect them."

As he spoke, his gaze instinctively turned to Kong Deming, who was far away. Kong Deming sighed, using the silvery shield of the Moon God to shift space and lead them out of the palace.

Seeing this, Lu Jingming's eyes narrowed slightly, no longer paying them any attention. Instead, he focused his full attention on Xu Tianran again.

"ROAR——!!!"

As if sensing Lu Jingming's powerful fighting spirit, the incarnation of Destruction let out a roar unlike any human voice. The purple lightning surrounding his body suddenly exploded, tearing through space as violet thunderbolts, hurtling straight for Lu Jingming.

"Alright."

Lu Jingming whispered, not retreating but advancing, soaring skyward. In an instant, his entire body was enveloped in black and red electric light.

Boom!!

Two bolts of lightning, filled with completely different colors of Destruction, collided boldly in the air. But in the next moment, a shocking scene occurred, making Meng Hongchen and the others' eyes almost pop out.

The moment the violent purple thunder touched the black and red lightning, it was like ice and snow meeting a hot soldering iron—instantly pierced, arrogantly and unreasonably torn apart. The black and red lightning, with barely any resistance, shot straight at the incarnation of Destruction.

From within the lightning, Lu Jingming's figure appeared. His hand, wrapped in black and red electric light, was so close it left afterimages as he pressed down on Xu Tianran's head. Then, with unparalleled force, he smashed him from the air down to the ground.

BOOM——!!!!!

The entire palace and the earth below let out a suppressed groan. A massive, human-shaped crater appeared in the ruins of the palace. At its center, spiderweb-like cracks spread in all directions, as if this single blow had shaken the very foundation of all Xingming.

Facing this shocking scene, Meng Hongchen did not hesitate at all.

"Grandpa, brother, let's go!"

She grabbed the still-dazed Jing Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, and hurriedly rushed out of the palace. Xiao Hongchen, pulled along by her, looked back with a complex expression before leaving. That person floated in midair, surrounded by black and red lightning, like a true demon god.

This…

Has he really become so strong now…?

In the depths of the smoldering red dust, emotions mixed and mingled. He recalled the Senior Soul Master Academy Fighting Soul Tournament on the continent back then. Even though he lost, he could at least see Lu Jingming's back and treat him as a target to pursue, still holding some pride that perhaps, someday, he might fight him again.

But now…

He wasn't even qualified to look up at the other's shadow.

This was already a realm no human could reach…

A god.

A deep sense of powerlessness rose in his heart. Yet, that helplessness was strangely replaced by a feeling of calm relaxation.

"Forget it… What else is worth chasing after?"

Xiao Hongchen smiled self-mockingly.

"There's no catching up, not in this lifetime… but…"

In his heart, Lu Jingming's ever-smiling face appeared.

No matter how strong he became, even if he became a god, wasn't he still his little sister's man? Wouldn't he still have to honestly call him 'brother' when they met?"

Thinking this, all the obsessions from his difference in strength, the pride and passivity belonging to a genius, seemed to fully let go at this moment. His whole being felt a sense of peace and clarity like never before. The bottleneck that had long confined his cultivation showed faint signs of loosening in this relief.

Zhang Lexuan's figure appeared beside the three of the Hongchen family as if teleporting, wrapping them in a gentle moonlight that isolated them from the violent aftermath outside.

"Let's go."

Her voice was cold, but her eyes remained fixed on the bottomless pit, full of vigilance. She quickly led the three away from the palace, the place of good and evil.

"Strange…"

As the Moon God, she could clearly perceive the layers of energy. The power Xu Tianran had just exploded with was violent, but at most only reached the demigod level, still a long way from a true god. With Xiao Ming's power, that blow could have crushed any demigod, but why… did he deliberately let us go?

A momentary doubt flashed through Zhang Lexuan's mind. But she didn't think much of it. It was this near-blind trust that made her believe in Lu Jingming's judgment without hesitation. Since he released her, it meant she was no longer able to intervene in the next battle.

And facts proved her judgment was correct.

BOOM——!!!

As expected, Xu Tianran, smashed deep into the earth by Lu Jingming, did not die. In that deep pit, there was no sign of his life breath fading; instead, an even more intense, boiling, and rich aura of life surged up at a terrifying speed, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"ROAR——!!!!"

It was not the roar of a dragon, but more like the roar of an ancient primordial beast awakening, echoing from deep underground. The entire palace, even all of Xingming, began to shake violently.

"Crack… crack…"

On the ground, the shattered cracks spread even further. From the depths of those cracks, blinding and ominous purple lightning burst forth, painting the underground like a monster's body.

In the next instant—

An incomparably huge dragon claw, covered in ugly purple-black scales, suddenly thrust up from the center of the palace ruins. Just a single talon was larger than the entire original palace hall. It pressed down hard on the ground, making a sharp sound like rocks shattering, and then, an even larger, unimaginably huge head slowly rose from the earth.

It raised its head, opened its mouth wide enough to swallow a mountain peak, and let out a roar that shook heaven and earth, announcing its existence.

"ROOOOOAR——!!!!!"

With that roar, a purple-black dragon, hundreds of meters tall with wings wide enough to cover the sky and sun, slowly rose from the ruins. Its form was somewhat similar to Xu Tianran's martial soul, the "Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon," but fundamentally different.

Its scales were no longer pure purple, but had turned into a deep purple-black that seemed to absorb all light. The dragon's horns were even uglier, twisted like bolts of destructive lightning. There was no trace of life in its body, only a pure, cold will bent on destroying everything to the end.

With its appearance, the entire sky was instantly dyed an ominous purple-black. Thick, ink-like clouds gathered from all directions, forming a vast, slow-spinning vortex overhead. Purple lightning of destruction exploded, rampaging through the clouds, as if signaling the coming of the end.

This terrifying, apocalyptic vision rapidly spread from Xingming to the whole continent. Whether in the borders of the Star Luo Empire, the far north icy plains, or Star Dou Great Forest, at this moment, every living thing on Douluo Continent unconsciously looked up at the sky.

From the depths of their souls, they felt the tremor and unease, as if the end of the world was at hand.

Lu Jingming floated in the air, calmly watching the purple-black dragon standing in the sky. He stared at the living "Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon" before him, forged entirely from the power of Destruction. There was no solemnity in his face; the corners of his lips twisted slightly, a trace of mockery appearing.

"Of course, I knew the Phantom woman wasn't so honest."

He muttered under his breath. Based on his understanding of Phantylia, in their previous confrontation, both sides had reached some tacit understanding. Phantylia and Celenova had agreed to be used by him, but to expect the Lord Ravager and the cosmic calamity to truly cooperate honestly and unconditionally with those walking the path of Destruction was far too naive.

"So, this is your surprise, Phantylia?"

A flash of realization crossed Lu Jingming's eyes.

Phantylia had planted the purest seed of Destruction in Xu Tianran's body early on. All Xu Tianran had accomplished over the years—his ambition, slaughter, and madness—became the best nourishment for that seed to take root and sprout.

And at the final moment, when Xu Tianran sacrificed himself, the seed fully erupted. It not only devoured his will, but also stimulated the bloodline of the ancient Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon. It forcibly enabled a "reversion to ancestor" with Destruction as its core.

It transformed Xu Tianran from a human with dragon blood into an Ancestor, turning him into a living head made of pure Destruction, the true source of the bloodline…

The Destruction of the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon.

Above the ruined palace, Lu Jingming calmly watched the purple-black dragon crawling up from the earth, as if stepping on the void beneath his feet.

"The Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon…"

This name, which existed only in the most ancient and secret texts, floated into his mind. According to legend, it was a being born alongside the Dragon God, the embodiment of the concept of Destruction. It was the ancestor of all sub-dragons, born to wield the most primal forces of Destruction and Lightning. Its very existence led all things to their end.

Its destructive power and craving for destruction were so pure and powerful that even the Dragon God who created the Dragon God Realm deeply feared it. In the end, to protect the thriving God Realm he had created, the Dragon God personally resolved the situation, erasing this ancestor of sub-dragons and the terrifying race it spawned from the river of time.

A dragon clan that could make the gods jealous and be destroyed by their own hand—throughout all of myth, there was only one.

One could only imagine how powerful the true Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon was.

And now, upon these ruins called Xingming City, Phantylia had forcibly birthed a head through Xu Tianran's ambition, hatred, life, and even his blood…

A pure-blooded Destruction Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon.

Lu Jingming could clearly feel the vitality of the great beast before him far surpassing mortal limits, reaching the realm of the gods.

No, not just any god…

His divine sense gently touched the almost tangible domain of Destruction swirling around the dragon. With just a moment's contact, his awareness felt a sharp, needle-like numbness, as if being absorbed by the pure will of Destruction, on the verge of being erased.

This aura…

It was several times stronger than the Nether White Tiger martial soul fusion skill performed by Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing. At that time, the Nether White Tiger already possessed the fighting strength of a true first-rank god.

But the Purple Radiant Heavenly Destruction Dragon before him radiated an even more unfathomable sense of danger.

This was a true mythological beast—

And not just any, but a first-rank divine beast standing at the very pinnacle of the pyramid of mythical beasts.

That Phantylia…

She really spent a lot on Xu Tianran just to set up this surprise.

Lu Jingming sneered to himself.