C2152 The Teacher
"Great Abyss Lord!"
Evil God Hamm paused momentarily, gazing up at the Dragon Slash Platform where Yu Yuan had summoned the true form of the Soul Altar. With a respectful bow, he then spoke, "The guardian of the Holy Hall has summoned me. He reports that the Great Demon God Beilstein has shattered the dome of the hall and emerged."
"All the Evil Gods scattered throughout the Origin Realm are being rallied by him."
After much deliberation, Hamm, encased within the stone statue, ultimately pledged his allegiance to Yu Yuan.
"You are his master, so I shall follow you as mine!"
Hamm stated his position with humble conviction.
Hamm was aware that in the vast expanse, another incarnation of Yu Yuan existed, one who had ventured to a spring brimming with the essence of death.
Yet, Hamm's knowledge of the details was scant.
Often, he sensed that Yu Yuan and Beilstein were one and the same, ready to merge at any given moment.
Thus, he served each manifestation of Yu Yuan with utmost respect and caution.
Yu Yuan was taken aback; he hadn't anticipated Beilstein breaking free so swiftly.
"Beilstein is on his way?"
Demon God Lvliu, who had been lurking with Loong Jie, shuddered at the news of Beilstein's imminent arrival.
Beilstein's reputation was immense. As the undisputed mightiest being in the Origin Realm, no one from the era of the Nagas or the reign of humans had ever been able to withstand the leader of the Outland Devaputra alone.
His invincibility was well-earned.
"Zhong Chichen! Open the Galaxy Crossing at once!"
Andrea's voice rang out sharply from beneath the Dragon Slash Platform.
She had sensed it!
Summoning the Time Book, she placed the hefty tome over the Galaxy Crossing to sever the connection between the river and the outside world. Zhong Chichen, who had been guarding the crossing, hurried to Yu Yuan's side.
"My father is nearly here!" exclaimed Andrea.
Yu Yuan nodded in acknowledgment.
Loong Jie held his breath in anticipation.
Without further ado, Zhong Chichen shifted the weighty Time Book from the Galaxy Crossing, and instantly, a suit of armor crafted from divine iron soared out.
Loong Jie took flight, keeping a safe distance from the armor.
Forged in the Heaven and Earth Furnace and infused with President Lyi's gold metal essence, this demonic form, under the command of the Great Demon God Beilstein, possessed the potential to directly smelt Loong Jie's strength.
In the Gray Domain, Loong Jie had already sensed that something was amiss, and now the feeling persisted.
Sizzle sizzle!
The dim light in the eyes of the Great Demon God faded as the armor obscuring his face vanished, revealing his features clearly.
He surveyed the starfield owned by the Devaputra Race, casting a glance at the Meteor Sea that Saka had forged.
Regrettably, Saka was currently so overwhelmed by the Secular Bird Queen that he failed to notice the newcomer.
"Serene Starfield."
The Great Demon God murmured. He had not traveled through the space-time gate of Tia Main Planet, but from Heaven Opening Flare Star instead.
Previously, he had ventured to the Chaos Abyss from Heaven Opening Flare Star. His Devil Soul had navigated through various abysses, discovering a method to connect with the vast Heavenly Demon Starfields.
"I am intimately familiar with every territory of the Heavenly Demons," Beilstein mused.
"Father!"
"Lord Beilstein!"
Under the glow of the Soul Cleansing Brilliance, Andrea and Yuv Qian watched Beilstein with awe.
To their astonishment, a brilliant purple light shone from beneath Beilstein's armor, a light that should have been impossible to see.
This purple radiance signified the mark of the Origin Soul.
Having been consumed and refined, any trace of purple should have been erased, making its reappearance all the more extraordinary.
Yet, there it was, shining intensely from the depths of Beilstein's Devil Soul, a clear indication that Beilstein was indeed conscious!
His soft exclamations and murmurs upon arrival were further proof of his enduring spirit.
Yuv Qian and Andrea, having just come to their senses, had braced for a frenzied and wild entrance from Beilstein, only to find him in a state of unexpected tranquility.
Whoosh!
As Beilstein's armor ascended, Zhong Chichen trembled with fear, ready to shield the Galaxy Crossing with the Time Book.
"Destroy the crossing outright!" commanded Yu Yuan.
Without a moment's delay, Zhong Chichen activated the Time Book. It burst into dazzling light, and beams pulsing with spacetime energy plummeted down.
The vortex-shaped crossing, caught in the tumult of these forces, began to crackle and explode.
Soon, the Galaxy Crossing, meticulously constructed by the Babel Chamber of Commerce, shattered into a spray of ghostly light and unraveling threads of space.
The Galaxy Crossing had ceased to exist, meaning that the Gray Domain's most powerful beings could no longer arrive in the blink of an eye.
Only those of exceptional wisdom, like Arthurs, who had a mastery of the powers of the void, could manage such a feat.
"Excellent work! Well done!" Yuv Qian exclaimed in praise.
Yu Yuan, bearing the title of Abyss Lord, had intended to address Beilstein by name before his arrival. Yet, when the towering figure with the red beard materialized within his armor, Yu Yuan found himself instinctively calling out, "Teacher..." His mind was flooded with memories: the nurturing he had received from this man across two lifetimes and countless heartwarming moments.
These profound memories had become an integral part of his soul, unforgettable not just for one lifetime, but for eternity.
His utterance of "Teacher" brought forth a hearty laugh from within Beilstein's armor.
"Well done, you've done very well. You've lived up to my expectations!"
"I never imagined there could be such a light in the universe capable of eradicating its corruption."
With a broad smile, Beilstein emerged from the remnants of the Galaxy Crossing and approached the edge of the Soul Cleansing Brilliance, squinting as he observed it closely.
He had not yet undergone the cleansing of the Soul Cleansing Brilliance, yet he had evidently regained his sense of self, much to the astonishment of Yu Yuan, Zhong Chichen, and the others.
They were baffled by his lucidity.
"Father, how?" Andrea inquired, unable to contain her curiosity.
"Your Devil Soul was created from a fragment of my own soul's origin. As you were bathed in this light and began to reclaim your spirituality and identity, I felt it too. This brilliance shines not only on your Devil Soul but also on a part of mine," Beilstein explained with a hint of pride.
His Devil Soul and Andrea's were interconnected, thanks to his transcendent power that allowed him to disregard the barriers of the Origin Realm.
With the Evil God Temple's gates flung open and the Evil Gods departed, nothing could obstruct him.
Thus, at the very moment Andrea was touched by the Soul Cleansing Brilliance, he had already transferred a portion of his Devil Soul into her consciousness.
He had acted discreetly, also taking the opportunity to experience the marvel of the Soul Cleansing Brilliance, curious about any potential adverse effects.
He was determined to ascertain whether the thoughts and intellects of Yuv Qian and Andrea would remain unaltered by Yu Yuan's influence under the glow of the Soul Cleansing Brilliance.
The individual in question had inflicted considerable harm on him, necessitating a cautious approach.
Within the Evil God Temple, he had employed his Devil Soul to eavesdrop on the dialogue between Yu Yuan, Andrea, and Yuv Qian, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the developments within the Serene Starfield. It was only after he ascertained that the Soul Cleansing Brilliance was truly beneficial and harmless that he exited the temple and traversed the shadowy passage from the Heaven Opening Flare Star.
"No wonder I've been feeling so drained. It turns out... your Devil Soul is still present."
Yu Yuan was somewhat perplexed; despite harnessing the power of the Soul Altar, he had failed to detect the presence of another Devil Soul lurking within the recesses of Andrea's mind.
"Heh!"
Beilstein let out a smirk.
Within Andrea's Devil Soul, a superimposed soul materialized like a circle, seemingly intertwined with and enveloping Andrea's own, providing a protective barrier.
Whoosh!
The Devil Soul soared from the top of Andrea's head, transforming into a towering elder with a fiery red beard, his soul's tangled threads dissolving away.
"Truly worthy of being my erstwhile mentor," Yu Yuan exclaimed in admiration.
He had not perceived the overlap between Beilstein's Devil Soul and Andrea's, which appeared as a spectral illusion or projection of Andrea's soul, almost as if it were an intangible entity.
Most notably, his Soul Altar had failed to reveal this, a testament to Beilstein's exceptional nature.
"There are still many of his imprints that I've yet to erase. Let's see how long you can hold out."
Beilstein gestured towards his core soul, eyeing the Soul Cleansing Brilliance with curiosity as he remarked, "Managing one Yuv Qian and one Andrea seems to be your limit. Introducing a Devil Soul stealthily will sap even more of your soul energy, piling on the pressure. I sense that soul energy is your most significant expenditure."
"Conversely, you seem to be able to transform other forms of power and continuously assimilate them."
Beilstein reflected briefly and swiftly discerned the makeup of the Soul Cleansing Brilliance, deducing that Yu Yuan's fatigue and overwhelming burden stemmed from the substantial depletion of soul energy.
Beilstein, encased in his armor, abruptly closed his eyes, lifting his arm sheathed in gold metal.
The Great Demon God prepared to embrace the entirety of the Serene Starfield.
"Come forth," Beilstein commanded with a powerful shout.
At his call, the soul energy dispersed throughout the Serene Starfield began to converge with startling swiftness. From the moment Beilstein had arrived, he had asserted his dominance over the Serene Starfield, reigning supreme as its master, his soul's laws towering above the cosmic domain.
In a Starfield where the presence of Heavenly Demons often meant a richer concentration of soul energy, the Serene Starfield was no exception. His commanding cry caused all the soul energy within to surge toward him, as if answering a summons, desperately trying to infuse itself into the Devil Soul within his armor.
Beilstein extended his hand toward Yu Yuan, and a bridge of murky gray materialized on Yu Yuan's forehead. The soul energy from every corner was drawn into this bridge, its impurities swiftly cleansed, leaving behind soul energy of the purest kind.
This energy was nearly identical to what Yu Yuan had painstakingly gathered in the boundless void. It was ready for him to absorb directly.
"Go ahead and purify without restraint. I will replenish the soul energy you lack until you overflow with it," Beilstein offered.
A torrent of pure soul energy was then forcibly infused into Yu Yuan's brow, saturating his consciousness.
