Stepping out of the palace, Wang Zhong felt an inexplicable sense of oppression as he looked at the numerous werewolves in the city, lost in grief and confusion.
This was the helplessness and desolation left behind by their people after the death of their god. In a race without gods or faith, where would they go?
Would division, war, slaughter, and bloodshed be the outcome?
Walking step by step out of the underground city, Wang Zhong emerged into the open. Everything he saw outside was still as bleak as ever.
Wolves raised their heads and howled, their cries lost and mournful. Without the leadership of their Wolf God, they had lost their direction and hope for the future.
If the wolf pack was like this, what about humans?
Wang Zhong walked through the wolf pack and out of the dense forest, arriving at a mountain peak. He sat down cross-legged, staring at the distant wolf pack, observing their expressions and movements. Something was stirring within him.
What was the purpose of the Spirit Hall's annual awakening of the common people?
In those villages, knowing that their children had a high chance of inheriting their own useless spirit, why were they constantly made to try for a predetermined outcome as soon as they met the requirements?
Was it greed, discontent, desire, or that unyielding hope and prayer?
Was it for that one in ten thousand chance, or that sliver of hope?
At this moment, Wang Zhong seemed to hear prayers...
"Great god, please bless my child, grant them spirit power, even just a little!"
"Ancestors, please, do not let this child inherit my spirit, let them become a Spirit Master!"
"Child, you can do it, you definitely can!"
"Believe in yourself, don't be afraid, you will surely become a noble Spirit Master, revered by all."
...
Divine blessings, ancestral protection, the prayers of all beings, the hopes of myriad spirits.
What was the reason for these desires...
Bloodline inheritance, spirits are born with them!
The outcome was predetermined. The useless would forever be useless, and the talented would always be talented. The son of the useless would surely be useless, and the son of the talented would surely be the talented. This was the spirit master bloodline.
A person's future was already decided at birth! It was only revealed at the age of seven!
Darkness, helplessness, poverty, desolation, despair... This dense fog that pervaded every commoner's home across the continent was so thick it made one breathless.
In such darkness, why did they not fall into madness, depravity, or give up on themselves? What existed that made them fight desperately to live, filled with expectation?
Because of light!
Because of hope!
Because of possibility!
Because the spirit awakening still existed!
Because of the fleeting possibility of spirit mutation occurring in their offspring!
Humble as dust, yet hope eternal.
A wolf's howl echoed through the heavens from the cave, immense and majestic spirit power washing over the land. That pure golden light symbolized the birth of a god.
The Wolf God was reborn!
With the spirit bone left by his father, the golden werewolf, after fusion, broke through its own limits and reached the divine realm.
Faith returned, the Wolf God reappeared, and the entire wolf tribe once again seethed with excitement. They were no longer sad or desolate. Protected by their god, they once again had direction and hope.
Flourishing, vibrant, the so-called sorrow and desolation vanished without a trace.
The wolf's howl, long and clear, brought boundless excitement and exhilaration.
"Faith..."
"Light..."
"Hope..."
"Future..."
Wang Zhong murmured these eight short words, his emerald eyes shining as if a sun burned within them.
In the distant Spirit City, the Angelic Sacred Sword, standing tall on the mountaintop, trembled violently. Surges of powerful, pure divine power radiated outwards like waves.
The overflowing divine power enveloped the entire Spirit City in light and warmth.
"What is happening?"
Elder Qian Daoliu, the adjudicator, was abruptly awakened from his cultivation. As the guardian of the Angel, he sensed something unusual about the Sacred Sword.
But even he, as powerful as he was, did not know the source of this change.
"Talents that come from bloodline, I am powerless to change them."
"The spirit power that is present or absent from birth, I am also powerless to alter."
"But I will firmly protect the light and hope..."
His soft murmurings shook the heavens. Wind howled around Wang Zhong, and specks of golden light swirled around him like joyful sprites.
The Angelic Sacred Sword could no longer be suppressed.
The sword body trembled madly, and along with its scabbard, it shook the entire Hall of Worship, as if the sky was collapsing.
"Angelic Sacred Sword, what has happened?"
"Who is it? Who is provoking it!"
In the Hall of Adjudication, figures began to gather. They looked at the winged figure standing at the highest point, their expressions filled with deep surprise.
Qian Daoliu, the adjudicator, whose expression was usually as calm as a still pond, was now filled with madness and a roar. Only Qian Renxue could have taken the Angelic Sacred Sword!
But now, someone was provoking this Sacred Sword, wanting it to be removed from the Hall of Adjudication. How could this not drive him mad?
"Grandfather, what on earth is happening!"
A golden figure streaked across the sky. Qian Renxue rushed from the imperial palace, her expression anxious and uncertain.
No, it should be said that she had felt a sense of unease and agitation for several hours, and this feeling had intensified with time. It was precisely because of this strangeness that she found an excuse to leave the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace and come here.
"Little Xue, are you the one provoking the Sacred Sword!"
Qian Daoliu's expression became extremely anxious, even fearful.
He did not want the divine seat of the Angel God, which he had painstakingly guarded for nearly a hundred years, to be snatched away by an unknown outsider.
Qian Renxue shook her head, her expression equally bewildered. She felt the change in the Angelic Sacred Sword, but she did not know the specific reason.
The only thing she knew was that there was a strange warmth and fervor within her heart, like a small sun burning fiercely, almost melting her entire being.
At the mountain peak, Wang Zhong slowly stood up. He looked up at the scorching sun hanging high in the sky, his eyes piercing through the heavens.
Vast, pure, spirit power, representing light, was transmitted from an unknown distant location to Wang Zhong at this moment.
The spirit power surged fiercely, spreading outwards in waves from the mountain peak, encompassing heaven and earth. The wolf pack bowed their heads in sanctity, and the trees swayed, the green grass gently rippling, as if in congratulation.
In the cave, the golden werewolf, who had taken on the mantle of the Wolf God, now looked astonished. Its gaze penetrated the thick mountain wall and saw the figure standing alone on the mountaintop.
Golden light radiated from his body, and purity and sanctity draped him in an immaculate veil.
"Angel God?"
"No, such purity is not something that kind of person can possess."
"A new god?"
"This feeling of sanctity and light, this brat wants to create a new divine seat and seize the authority of the Angel God!"
"He's courting death!"
A brat who wasn't even a Titled Douluo dared to openly seize the authority of a god. Wasn't this courting death?
Did he really think gods were so kind!
When it came to divine seats, even a pure and holy god like the Angel God would be moved to kill.