Douluo Dalu 3 | Divine Destruction

He was in pain. Not physical pain, but something far worse. Battling his partner was something he was well accustomed to and wounds were a natural result of those battles. But sparring and one sidedly tormenting her were completely different things.

Seeing her form covered in bruises and blood was far more painful than enduring the heavenly tribulation but there was nothing to be done. She was the hero and he was the evil bastard who opposed her.

Lazily twitching his finger, a blade of space itself twisted and turned. It was too primitive to be called a blade yet too dangerous to be considered anything less as it traveled through the distance between he and her in quite literally an instant.

Gathering the four basic elements in her grasp, Yuena used the explosion to mitigate the spatial distortion and make some distance. But mitigation alone did not spare her from the force of his 'attack' should it even be called such.

The blood of his most treasured flowed, her eyes widening from pain as she was nearly bisected in half. Rather, if it weren't for his blood now flowing through her veins alongside her own she would have been bisected. 

That was not the only wound he had inflicted upon her nor was it the most severe. Her arm hung by a thread, her legs were permanently paralyzed, and her blood flowed from her eyes, nose, and ears from the mere strain of standing in his presence. 

'I'm lucky that I don't have to look at her.' Frowning internally, Luslec attempted to distract himself from the battles of the others to no avail. White was enjoying himself far more than he should, taking the entire situation lightly as expected. He would have to be humbled once more after this was all over. Yun Ming and Di Tian were about the same but they at least had the spirit beast and humanity rivalry going on to fuel their lust for battle which made it seem at least mostly real.

The rest of the skirmish was going about as expected, the effects of his blood ring making it all too easy for his forces to take the lead. The casualties on FUG's side were small and though the same could be said for the Spirit Pagoda, the difference in morale would quickly change things. 

"You're pretty cocky, don't you think God of Devils?" Snarkily snapping at him, Yuena glared at him angrily. Her wounds had once more been healed, a delicate usage of the Holy element that derived from light itself mixing with her regeneration to give her such immense regeneration.

"..." Holding his tongue, Luslec played the part he himself created. Yuena was below him, an ant that didn't deserve his attention any more than a fly buzzing around him. He would swat her down but he would never give her the satisfaction of a response.

Xie Xie and the rest of his classmates were down below, fighting valiantly against the forces of FUG while hiding the feelings of doubt and worry swirling within. He had made it seem quite comical before, but knowing that your friend was a leader of one of the now Five Great Powers was quite a big deal. They could handle it though, he just had to give them time and the truth.

The soft click of Yuena's tongue returned his attention to her, something he desperately didn't want at the moment. He had grown weak as of late, not physically but rather emotionally. After revealing the most grotesque sides of himself to her his determination to do anything to harm her had disappeared. She had accepted him where others would not after all.

Truthfully, there were many people who would accept the ugliness he hid below the surface in this life. They would surely be accepting of his many secrets, but truthfully he didn't want to reveal such things to the world. Was it too much to ask to be remembered as a normal person in their minds? Perhaps it was but he certainly wouldn't give up trying.

White light filled the heavens in an instant and all those who inhabited the skies fell to the ground like a bird whose wings were clipped in a split second. All but Luslec and the lucky lady who was close enough to him that the influence was nonexistent.

'He really did it, huh?' Gazing down upon the divine form of the Atlas Douluo, Luslec couldn't help but be impressed. Divinity was something he, as the inheritor of the Dragon God's memories, knew better than most. Wulin had no problem teaching the Atlas Douluo that knowledge in return for his help in many things, it was a fair trade.

Yun Ming thought so as well in the beginning but he quickly learned the errors of his ways. It was easy to compare divinity to something like martial arts, something that could be learned if it was taught, but in reality, it was a fool's errand.

Divinity was akin to a wisp, a chance that came once in a lifetime for those who were talented enough to make their world seem trivial. Such individuals could take advantage of that wisp to reach divinity, to elevate their being to the next tier of existence. Yun Ming was more than talented enough to be graced by that wisp but he lacked the proper tools.

As always it fell back to the Divine Realm. The divine realm was the facilitator, the sole thing that allowed those geniuses to take advantage of that wisp. Without it, the wisp would be nothing more than a wasted chance. Divinity was difficult to reach, it was why most divine positions were inherited rather than created. It was simply more feasible.

But without a Divine Realm, Yun Ming didn't have either option available to him. He couldn't grasp the wisp nor could he inherit the position of another. He had spent his entire life trying to create a divine position of his own, heightening his understanding of the law of Heaven to even the smallest of details in the hope that it could help him reach the next level. But it never would.

That was why, Wulin taught him a method only he and the girl currently trying to break him out of his wandering thoughts had done. Gaining divinity was the easiest way to elevate your existence to the next tier but what if you did the opposite? What if rather than elevating your existence using divinity you received divinity because you elevated your existence?

They had the boon of being soul beasts which inherently gave them that chance however Yun Ming was human through and through, there was no chance of that happening. So he took that which gave him strength, his soul rings, and merged them to create a pseudo divine ring.

Aether, the first divine ring created by mortal hands. That was the power that allowed Yun Ming to reach divinity, the ability he created with his own hands to elevate his existence to the next level albeit only for a short while.

For those few moments, Yun Ming was undeniably a God.

****

Hey there, hope you liked the chapter.

Not quite what I intended to do with this chapter but the explanation of Yun Ming's Ring 0: Aether was something that had to be done anyway. Besides, it helps that Wulin wanted any excuse possible to look away from the blood soaked Yuena.

If you want more chapters, head to patre*on.com/TrapOverlord for up to 25 extra chapters. It isn't required but it'd be much appreciated.