Chapter 22: The Eight Trigrams Qimen Celestial Plate Dao Art: The Burning Dimension Spirit

“Boom—”

Pitch-black flames spread across sky and sea, the intense heat evaporating vast quantities of seawater; Guang Biao and his Black-Class mech instantly turned to ash, as if they had never existed in this world.

The Tengshe slowly closed its massive jaws, its enormous body blotting out sun and sky, rising high as it lifted its upper torso; its black scales were solid and cold, its twin crimson vertical pupils piercing through the cloud sea like two blazing furnaces.

Compared to this celestial spirit forged from the world’s flames and deceitful power, humanity was but a speck of dust—yet one speck of dust stood atop the giant serpent’s head, its pupils flowing with molten gold.

“Let’s go meet… Tang Shenwang!”

The voice echoed through the sky, icy and bone-chilling; Zhao Xuanzhen was neither soft cotton nor an easy plum—he neither sought trouble nor feared it.

During the initial Soul Ascension Platform battle in Donghai City, Tang San broke all codes of conduct, attempting to implant a divine consciousness imprint; Zhao Xuanzhen knew he had been marked by a dog—and unless he destroyed Tang San’s divine thought, he would never know peace again in this life.

Tonight, the stars blazed brilliantly—the perfect celestial moment for Zhao Xuanzhen. He would seize this opportunity to end the Shenwang and secure a future free from divine interference.

Following the orders of the Qimen Master, the Tengshe roared to the heavens, its body soaring through clouds and mist like a bolt of black lightning, streaking across the sky straight toward its target.

In the dormitory of Class Zero at Donghai Academy, Tang Wulin abruptly ended his meditation; on his forehead, the golden trident rune shone clearly, his once black-and-white eyes now transformed into the blue-gold of the sea.

The youthful vigor had vanished; Tang Wulin’s expression was blank, filled only with cold, emotionless calculation.

Tang Wulin’s body, Tang San’s soul.

Tang San, hidden within the spiritual sea, had seized his son’s body—simple and brutal reason: he sensed a crushing, all-encompassing killing intent, aimed solely at him, rushing toward him at breakneck speed.

“Again, you’re using your backup plan?” Tang San sighed. “Last time it was the Star Dou ferocious beasts—the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King mastered spatial attributes and opened a spatial passage to flee. Who is this one now…?”

A beam of light shot from his brow; a four-meter-long trident hovered before Tang San, its golden glow rippling like water. The instant the trident appeared, the sea near Donghai City erupted in boiling fury, emitting excited and mournful cries.

Holding the trident, Tang San floated lightly upward, ready to shatter every obstacle blocking his son’s path—even as a mere divine thought, the proud Shenwang believed no one on the Douluo Continent could stop him.

High above, the stars blazed brighter than ever; the heavens resembled a vast curtain studded with countless jewels, two figures standing far apart, air churning violently.

“Who are you?”

Tang San frowned; Zhao Xuanzhen was shrouded in deceitful power, his entire form flickering bizarrely, the Tengshe beyond the Shenwang’s comprehension—its appearance was that of a supreme ferocious beast, yet its aura bore no resemblance to a soul beast; it seemed to be part of the Douluo Continent’s very fabric.

“Forgotten already?”

Zhao Xuanzhen chuckled softly, placing his palm over his forehead and forcibly extracting the deceitful soul he had previously tricked Tang San with; he crushed it between his fingers—sharp, crisp shattering—and the trident imprint vanished.

“A variable of fate!”

The spiritual imprint nullified, Tang San’s expression turned bitterly dark; with a shift in the Sea God’s will, the ocean surged into towering waves, terrifying energy gathering relentlessly in the air.

Pointing the Sea God Trident forward, its razor edge gleaming coldly, Tang San said: “I corrected the chaos, gave you the chance to become Wulin’s guardian. You gave him all your fortune and blood—perhaps one day you might ascend to the Divine Realm as a glorious divine official!”

But you rejected supreme glory!

Evil creature, you have already chosen your death!”

“Twenty thousand years, and you still rely on the same grand righteousness and ‘you’ve chosen your death’? How utterly uninspired.”

Zhao Xuanzhen’s lips curled in mockery; Tang San caught the unmistakable taunt, gripping the trident tighter.

“Enough words—let your actions speak!”

Zhao Xuanzhen’s gaze turned icy as frozen steel; he whispered: “Eight Divine Powers—Tengshe, return to your place!”

The mountain-sized serpent body surged into Zhao Xuanzhen’s body; the Eight Deceitful Gods instantly transformed into the Eight Divine Powers of Deceit, becoming part of the Qimen Master.

Drifting clouds, drawn by the Tengshe, coiled like a giant serpent casting spiral shadows; a crimson serpent mark bloomed on Zhao Xuanzhen’s forehead, like a phantom flame burning with eerie light.

“Boom—”

As the Eight Divine Powers Tengshe merged into him, a ring of crimson erupted from Zhao Xuanzhen’s center—a domain forged from deceitful fire.

The sky trembled in chaotic upheaval from the surge of fire elements; Tang San watched motionless as the figure at the domain’s core—around Zhao Xuanzhen’s dazzling golden eyes, blood-red cracks slowly spread.

“The giant serpent’s power has transferred to you.”

Tang San believed he saw the truth, dismissing it: “This method doesn’t elevate your life tier—you’re still a pseudo-god, utterly fragile!”

“Pseudo-god and god—a single character difference, yet a world apart!”

He swung the trident; distant seawater erupted skyward, forming colossal water dragons that coalesced upward, radiating the ocean’s primal might, roaring toward Zhao Xuanzhen—shattering everything in their path, their shrieks piercing and shrill.

“You’re right. So merging with the Tengshe was merely a prerequisite to channel another power.”

The sky suddenly erupted in countless brilliant starlight beams; starlight crisscrossed, forming a vast stellar array that crushed the water dragons into fragments.

Centered on nine stars, the array’s runes flowed; each star seemed alive, resonating and pulling at one another, constructing a complex, exquisite stellar energy system, radiating a terrifying, majestic aura.

Eight Trigrams Qimen, Celestial Plate Dao Art!

The Eight Trigrams Qimen consists of four plates: Heaven, Earth, Man, and Spirit. Zhao Xuanzhen usually fought with the Earth Plate, saving the Eight Divine Plates as hidden cards.

But on this once-in-a-millennium night of brilliant stars, the power of Heaven’s timing amplified dozens of times—Celestial Plate stellar energy now surpassed the Eight Deceitful Gods’ divine plates, still only half-awakened.

As the Celestial Plate Dao Art manifested, Tang San finally showed alarm—after all, this was only a divine thought, not the true god descended; his reserved divine power was limited. Zhao Xuanzhen, having absorbed the Eight Divine Powers Tengshe and amplified by the stars, now possessed the strength to threaten him.

“Nine Stars—Cease.”

Stellar power sealed the sky, earth, and ocean, cutting off all external energy signatures. Their battle would shake heaven and earth; Zhao Xuanzhen eliminated all risks—preventing the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, Leng Yaoju, from joining, and severing Tang San’s connection to the sea.

Tang San swung the Sea God Trident; the ten-thousand-eight-thousand-jin divine artifact moved as lightly as a feather, its blade tracing a circular arc through the air.

Golden Thirteen Spears—Boundless Wind and Waves!

Golden rings expanded, dense and layered, overlapping endlessly; the sky contracted, the sea’s waves stilled, all things fell silent—the golden rings of Boundless Wind and Waves enveloped heaven and earth.

As Tang San’s standard opening move, Boundless Wind and Waves immobilized enemies—even gods—for a time, followed by a torrential assault from the Sea God Trident.

“Deceitful Soul.”

With foresight, Zhao Xuanzhen understood the full control mechanism of Boundless Wind and Waves; pitch-black flames mixed with Celestial Plate stellar energy surged forth, the Tengshe’s cunning, treacherous fire perfectly blocking every golden ring.

“Stars, converge here!”

Gazing up at the sky, Zhao Xuanzhen’s pupils became boundless starfields, endless and deep. One by one, stars ignited—countless golden specks hung high, as if turning the entire world’s night into day.

Stars poured into the Celestial Plate; radiant light piled and compressed; the nine stars blazed brightest—Beidou’s Seven Stars plus Zuofu and Youbi. They greedily absorbed stellar power, the Celestial Plate’s network blazing hotter, hotter, as if never reaching its limit.

“A thousand years of white clouds—empty, drifting!”

Tang San lost his composure, his face twisted in fury; on this night of brilliant stars, stellar power was infinite—a single divine thought could not oppose the entire celestial sphere.

The Celestial Plate’s Cease Array blocked his absorption of the sea’s energy, compounding his plight. If he didn’t eliminate Zhao Xuanzhen now, his lingering divine power would be exhausted, forcing him into slumber, unable to influence the Douluo Continent’s fate—his ten-thousand-year plan would slip from his grasp.

Swinging the Sea God Trident, Tang San’s body shimmered with layers of golden halos; the halos coalesced into mist, ethereal and insubstantial; time slowed—sea turned to mulberry fields.

“Void—”

The Golden Thirteen Spears technique halted; Tang San froze as starlight locked him in place—time resumed its normal flow.

“The sea kneels beneath the sky—and you, too, have always been bathed in starlight,” Zhao Xuanzhen said slowly, revealing the truth.

Stellar control—absolute.

My mechanism surpasses yours.

“Bind the ferocious, imprison the evil—Nine Radiance Sealing!”

The Earth Plate commands elements, the Spirit Plate holds divine power, but the Celestial Plate excels at sealing.

Zhao Xuanzhen clapped his palms together; stellar power responded, forming nine rotating stellar crystal rings from the Celestial Plate’s map. Vast stellar energy surged, flowing along celestial orbits, weaving a mysterious sealing array.

The world paused; waves ceased surging, air stopped flowing. Zhao Xuanzhen stepped upon a ladder of woven starlight toward Tang San—the sealing rings activated.

“Just sealing isn’t enough.”

A sigh echoed through the void; Zhao Xuanzhen turned toward the sound. A half-black, half-white figure appeared between heaven and earth—its aura chaotic, yet clearly transcended pseudo-godhood, having reached the divine realm.

“You are… the Douluo Dimension Spirit!”

Every movement of this figure aligned with cosmic laws; only the Dimension Spirit of this realm could explain it.

“Yes.”

The Dimension Spirit gazed at Tang San bound by stellar power, eyes filled with hatred so fierce it wished to devour his flesh and sleep on his skin; it spoke:

“Variable of fate, my time is limited—let us speak plainly.

As long as Tang San lives, the Douluo Continent will never know peace. Even a single divine thought cannot be allowed a second chance to stir chaos.

Before the Divine Realm plunged into spatial chaos, Tang San sent a human named Tang Hao into the dimension’s core, making him devour my body and consciousness to become the new Douluo Dimension Spirit.

For millennia, I’ve slowly lost control over the Douluo Continent. I considered self-destructing to drag Tang Hao into oblivion—but that’s only a temporary fix. As long as Tang San lives, future Zhang Hao or Wang Hao will replace me.

Until you appeared—I conceived a new idea.

While my consciousness remains barely awake, I will burn myself, dragging Tang Hao into slumber with me, granting you time to transcend the world’s shackles, and bestowing upon you the power to obliterate Tang San’s divine thought!

The heaviest cost—I bear it for you!

I ask only one thing: carry my will forward, free the Douluo Dimension from Tang San’s grip, and grant it rebirth!”

Zhao Xuanzhen did not answer. He asked: “Dimension Spirit, so easily entrusting your future to me—aren’t you afraid I’ll become the next Tang San?”

The Dimension Spirit laughed aloud: “Of course I fear it. But consider this: it cannot possibly be worse than now.

Even with no guarantee, I must seize this sliver of hope to turn defeat into victory, exhaust every effort to lay the groundwork for future generations—never retreat, never yield, even unto death!

I am the Dimension Spirit—I must carve a path for the Douluo!”

“I accept. I will restore the continent’s rebirth.”

Zhao Xuanzhen whispered, moved by the Dimension Spirit’s ferocity.

To burn oneself to drag Tang San and Tang Hao from their thrones? You’re something else, Dimension Spirit.

Before the Celestial Plate’s stellar power and the Dimension Spirit, Tang San’s divine thought knew all hope was lost; his voice turned venomous: “Your deeds are meaningless. When the Divine Realm returns, your blood shall dye the Douluo Continent red!”

“Humanity never submits, nor accepts the Shenwang’s ten-thousand-year plan—we will fight the evil gods to the end!” Zhao Xuanzhen’s gaze burned fiercely.

“Twenty thousand years ago, I was blind—I thought you the chosen one of your age. Ten thousand years ago, you used your daughter to bind the second chosen one, destroying the Emperor Auspicious Beast of the soul beasts.”

“I remember every drop of blood you’ve spilled!”

“I’d rather die now, and take some justice from you!”

The Dimension Spirit ignited in a burst of flame; excruciating pain struck—blood beads seeped from its skin fissures; the continent wept and wailed as the Dimension Spirit burned itself, a middle-aged man’s furious roar echoing faintly within.

Ultimate one-for-two: obliterate Tang San’s divine thought, drag Tang Hao within him into grave slumber. The Dimension Spirit’s laughter was wild, triumphant—after millennia of suppression, it finally had its chance to strike back at the Tang family!

“Variable of fate, today I’ve cleared most threats to this continent—the Abyss, the Hell of Evils, other dimensions still eye the Douluo hungrily.

After I fall into slumber, I can no longer deal with them—you must find a way.”

As the origin burned away, the Realm Spirit’s voice grew fainter and fainter.

“There is one more thing—the life core of this realm faces the same plight as I do; the Blue Silver Emperor is devouring its consciousness and energy.”

“If you can, please help it—it will grant you a certain return.”

With that, the Realm Spirit dissolved into specks of light, and the shimmering seven-colored energy descended toward Zhao Xuanzhen.

“Kill Tang San… this is my final strength!”

(End of Chapter)