Chapter 594 - 373: Enlightenment: The Burning Steel Soul Domain Prototype (Part 2)

Chapter 594: Chapter 373: Enlightenment: The Burning Steel Soul Domain Prototype (Part 2)

At the edge of the horizon was the faint, dark line of a mountain range.

Now that the gravel, with its poor heat retention, was gone, the temperature difference between day and night had returned to a normal range.

"Brother Zhao, task complete. I didn’t cause any delays, did I?"

At eight in the morning, Han Ning returned to the reconstruction camp, right on time.

"Excellent, absolutely incredible! Great work. We’ll take it from here!"

His face flush with excitement, Old Zhao gazed at the fertile land in the distance and gave a grand wave of his hand.

At that moment, gathered behind him were at least a thousand older folks—mostly middle-aged and elderly ’old-timers’—a mix of humans, Dragon Blood People, and Hexagon People.

The Dragon Blood People were the most numerous. They called themselves Children of the Forest and had unique insights on how to cultivate one.

The air rippled violently.

One after another, Soul Beasts of all shapes and sizes appeared, shimmering with Spiritual Energy before landing on the ground. Most of them were of the Wood, Water, or Earth Attributes.

"AWOOO!" "MEOW~" "HISS!"

Green Dragons, Wood Demons, Wood Type Insects, Water Attribute Giant Snakes with Flood Dragon blood...

All sorts of Soul Beasts appeared among the crowd—standing, lying down, or flying—numbering two to three thousand in all.

The Spiritual Energy fluctuations they gave off weren’t particularly strong. The most powerful among them was only at the Lord Level.

The masters of these Soul Beasts were all part of the older generation within the Tri-Race Alliance, the very people who were supposed to be looked after. Yet here they were, voluntarily joining the city’s reconstruction efforts.

As one of the ’old-timers’ put it: they were no good for fighting on the front lines, but when it came to logistical support, they were experts.

"All squads, follow your leaders’ instructions and proceed to your designated locations! Move out!"

Old Zhao vaulted onto the back of a massive Giant Rock Dog and, with another grand wave, gave the command!

"Charge!"

"I used to build farms out west when I was young. Never thought I’d be building one again in this strange Otherworld, hehe! Guess I’m back to my roots!"

"It’s not often we get a chance to be useful. Can’t let those young whippersnappers look down on us."

"Once the city’s built and our lives are settled, I’ll have to remind my son—the one who only knows how to do his Cultivation all day—to find a partner and give me a big, fat grandbaby!"

"Thanks, Xiaohan! Well, we’ll get to it then~"

Amid the lively chatter, the vast procession of Beast Masters and people headed out toward the boundless black soil.

...

Han Ning and Egg Pancake stood on the plains, a faint smile gracing Han Ning’s lips as he watched the vibrant scene unfold.

"Alright, let’s leave the construction to them. It’s time for us to get back to our Cultivation."

"SQUEAK!"

He patted Egg Pancake on the head. Then, man and dragon turned and flew toward the wasteland where Fei Lin was waiting.

...

「Time passed.」

「Six months later.」

Thousands of kilometers west of Green Tear Oasis.

On a stretch of wasteland within the Steel Elephant Race’s territory, just beyond the Withered Desert.

A stunning woman clad in Crimson Dragon Armor, hovering silently in mid-air, suddenly snapped her eyes open.

"KREEE!"

A sharp, golden glint flashed through Fei Lin’s pale gold eyes.

Before her, a fist-sized silver orb suddenly erupted, releasing billions of silvery filaments that burrowed into her body.

SWOOSH~

The sharp, slender silver threads swirled around Fei Lin, forming a magnificent storm of metal powerful enough to pierce the heavens.

Fei Lin quietly savored the moment, her delicate, snow-white hand slowly reaching for the hilt of the sword at her waist.

She gripped the hilt, sensing the violent, highly concentrated Metal Spiritual Energy swirling around her as she slowly began to draw the blade.

SHIIING~

As she drew the blade, a flash of silvery-white light burst from between the hilt and sheath.

SWISH!

In an instant, the sky across nearly a quarter of the Steel Elephant Race’s entire territory changed color.

Dark clouds churned and thunder cracked.

The sky suddenly darkened.

Countless Steel Elephant People in the eastern territories gazed at the sky in terror.

Under the distant firmament, countless blades of silver light, trailing magnificent afterglows, filled every inch of space.

They crisscrossed the sky, whistling as they moved in a distinct, special pattern.

At the center of the Sword Domain, Fei Lin’s movements slowed, the blade emerging from its sheath more and more deliberately.

Yet, the contemplative light in her eyes only grew more brilliant.

Finally, as if she’d had an epiphany, she drew the longsword in one swift motion.

SHIIIIING!

A sharp cry of the sword echoed between heaven and earth.

The space around Fei Lin had transformed, becoming a colossal, platinum Sword of Destruction that connected heaven and earth.

Countless blades of platinum light orbited this heaven-piercing sword, spinning at high speed to form an Infinite Sword Domain that pulsed with a terrifying aura!

BOOM!

Even the thunderbolts in the sky were shattered by the overflowing blades of light, exploding into a rain of electric plasma.

The churning dark clouds were shredded to dust by the astonishing Sword Qi. For a moment, the firmament was clear, the thunder gone, revealing the azure expanse of the sky.

’This aura...’

In the Steel Elephant territory, Gang Sasi, who was handling daily affairs, snapped his head around. He stared toward the distant, abruptly brightening sky.

’The Holy Sanctuary’s rift is opening... a Soul Beast is ascending to the Emperor rank... Could it be one of Han Ning’s?’

Within the Burning Steel Divine Hall.

The ten Steel Elephant Chieftains, along with the Pope and his Bishops, who were all in the middle of analyzing the Divine Remains, turned their heads in unison.

’The power of the Divine Domain... It seems Han Ning’s Soul Beast has gained an initial understanding of the Divine Domain’s aura and is beginning its breakthrough...’

Gang Long’s eyes flickered, an unreadable brilliance filling his gaze.

The Burning Steel Pope gazed into the distance, his eyes dark. "To think that the first of the younger generation to sense the aura of the Divine Domain... would be the Soul Beast of an Alien Race."

Beneath the Sword Domain, Han Ning, Fei Lin’s Beast Master, stared blankly at the scene unfolding above.

’I knew the disturbance from Fei Lin’s breakthrough would be huge, but I never expected this.’

According to his powerful spiritual senses, an area covering nearly a quarter of the Steel Elephant territory—almost the size of an entire Insect Continent—was blanketed by the surging, metallic Sword Qi emanating from Fei Lin’s body.

This Burning Steel Sword Domain was powerful to the extreme, completely suppressing Fei Lin’s original Domain. Not a single trace of her former style remained.

’I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but... Fei Lin is about to break through to the Emperor rank. That much is certain!’

Who would have thought that besides Huaimiao, Fei Lin, whose Cultivation Progress had been lagging the most, would be the first to step into the Emperor realm.

A sharp sword cry continued to echo between heaven and earth.

Under Fei Lin’s control, the scattered blades of Sword Qi harmed nothing.

They seemed to be constantly attuning to her control, seeking a perfect flight path.

’So beautiful... beautiful to the extreme.’ Han Ning watched, transfixed.

"LING~" "SQUEAK." "COOO." "AWOOO~"

The other four little ones sat on either side of Han Ning in a neat row, their expressions just as stunned as they stared blankly at the sky, at Fei Lin, who had become a pillar of sword light connecting heaven and earth.

But even the most beautiful sights must come to an end.

Several hours later, Fei Lin seemed to have found the method that best suited her Sword of Command.

All the infinite blades of light soaring through the sky converged, flowing back into the colossal platinum sword that pierced the heavens.

Then, the light receded, revealing Fei Lin’s form once more.

At this moment, Fei Lin’s appearance was considerably different from when she was at the Monarch Level.

First, her striking Crimson Dragon Armor, originally a form of Biological Armor, had been nourished by Egg Pancake’s Ancient Dragon Bloodline and had transformed on its own.

Now, under the influence of the Burning Steel Mammoth’s Metal Essence, its color had changed from crimson to platinum—a mixture of silver and pale gold.

Compared to before, she had lost some of her alluring charm, replaced by a holy, inviolable, and piercing aura.

Next was her appearance. Her once jet-black hair had turned a brilliant silver.

Her eyebrows had shifted slightly, becoming sharper and more aggressive, like drawn swords.

Her eyes, once purple, were now the color of Broken Gold, and her entire expression exuded a powerful, heroic air.

The Star Dream Unicorn behind her, influenced by its master, also saw its once dark-purple coat transform into a platinum sheen.

Only its long, spiraling horn remained a deep, blackish-purple, a sign that it still wielded Dark Energy.

However, unlike its master, the Star Gate Unicorn did not advance in rank. It remained at Monarch IV, a fact perhaps related to the Dream Realm Fei Lin had previously mastered.