MTLNOVEL Chapter 171: Evil Emperor
The Evil Emperor descends!
Compared to other Evil-Eyed Tyrants, the Evil Emperor's true form was even more terrifying.
A colossal eye, over three hundred meters in diameter, rose from the depths of the forest as if the forest itself had awakened and opened its eye. Countless enormous tentacles flailed wildly around it.
There were exactly eighty-one of these tentacles, each over five hundred meters long, glowing with a silver-white soul power radiance. As they whipped about, they decimated the forest, toppling and snapping giant trees like twigs.
That silver-white radiance was unmistakably the mark of spiritual power.
Huo Yuhao had to admit—the Evil Emperor's presence was indeed awe-inspiring. It was no wonder the Sun Moon Empire treated it as a totemic figure.
The moment the Evil Emperor awoke, chaos erupted throughout the Demonic Forest. Countless soul beasts fled in terror, their roars and cries composing a nightmarish symphony, as though worshipping the Emperor's return.
All humans within the forest's bounds—Zhang Lexuan, the four handmaidens, Xian Lin'er, members of the Holy Spirit Cult, and the soul-hunting teams along the periphery—were frozen in terror at the outbreak of violence.
Even the soldiers stationed outside the Demonic Forest scrambled to send out urgent messages. The intel reached Mingdu immediately, and preparations were made to intercept a possible soul beast stampede.
As for the rest—most people chose to retreat. A smaller group stayed put, watching in secret. Yet there were still some opportunists who believed the bigger the waves, the pricier the fish, and headed toward the core zone to investigate.
Among them were the Holy Spirit Cult's Leader and Deputy Leader—Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling. They were compelled to go—not by righteousness, but necessity. The Holy Spirit Cult needed the Evil Emperor's deterrent power to maintain its influence.
But then—just as the Evil Emperor made this grand, fearsome entrance—a loud, vulgar curse shattered the atmosphere.
"Evil Emperor, I f***ed your mother!"
This crude outburst from the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm instantly stalled the Evil Emperor's momentum. A far more terrifying killing intent surged forth in response.
"Human? Were you the ones who killed my son? You shall die!" the Evil Emperor roared with fury.
But the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm didn't flinch.
"Trying to scare me? Watch me yank your tentacles clean off!"
Without hesitation, it activated the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul, launched into the air, and dove straight toward the Evil Emperor.
Seeing the silkworm defiant and unafraid, the Evil Emperor growled coldly,
"Courting death!!!"
The Evil Emperor struck back mercilessly with a powerful ultimate move—Spiritual Detonation.
This devastating spiritual attack shattered the target's mind and obliterated their sea of consciousness. It was nearly impossible to defend against.
Unlike the spiritual attacks of other Evil-Eyed Tyrants, the Evil Emperor's version was like a hurricane, crashing into the protective mental barrier around the Frost Centipede Martial Soul and the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm.
Huo Yuhao wouldn't let the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm go head-to-head with the Evil Emperor in a spiritual clash. Sure, the silkworm was a million-year spiritual-type beast, but that meant it had a large pool, not necessarily lethal strength or refined technique. It couldn't match the Evil Emperor.
No matter how violent the hurricane, it couldn't destroy the unfathomable depths of the ocean. The waves it stirred were but ripples.
Thus, the Evil Emperor's Spiritual Detonation had little effect. The Frost Centipede Martial Soul didn't slow down one bit and continued its charge.
Its first soul ring glowed golden, emitting dazzling light, turning the entire centipede golden as well.
"Divine Technique—Frost Centipede Divine Kill!" shouted the excited Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm.
What a journey it had been! Finally, the silkworm could challenge even the fiercest soul beasts.
Thanks to Brother Hao, thanks to the Frost Centipede, and thanks to destiny!
The Evil Emperor had no time to react. Even though it could sense the terrifying aura in the golden light, it couldn't dodge or defend.
The Frost Centipede's soul skill was so fast it exceeded even the Evil Emperor's mental processing speed.
Boom!
Direct hit!
KA-BOOM!!!
"Screeeeech!!!"
The Evil Emperor shrieked in agony. Its massive body was sent tumbling, tentacles flailing wildly as silver liquid sprayed through the air.
An overwhelming and frigid force struck its body, mind, and soul simultaneously. The indescribable pain made the Evil Emperor convulse, unable to re-condense its spiritual strength.
In the blink of an eye, frost marks began to spread across its body.
This was the power of a Divine Technique.
"W-What the hell is this? How could such a powerful being exist on this continent?!" the Evil Emperor screamed internally.
Even Ditian back then didn't have such divine might.
At this point in time, even with the Dragon God's Claw, Ditian only had quasi-divine cultivation and could barely spar with weak deities. It was honestly a bit embarrassing for the Dragon God's legacy.
But the Frost Centipede Martial Soul, having activated a true Divine Technique, had already crossed the threshold into godhood. Divine Techniques overwhelmingly suppressed mortal beings and soul skills.
If the Evil Emperor had a hundred health bars like a final boss, this one strike just wiped out over eighty of them.
The Evil Emperor's life now hung by a thread.
Yet the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm didn't follow up.
Why? Because it couldn't.
The power of the Divine Technique had pushed the Frost Centipede's limits. After using the Frost Centipede Divine Kill, it was temporarily incapable of performing any further actions—paralyzed, so to speak.
Like a Pokémon using Hyper Beam and needing to rest the next turn.
"What's going on with this body? Move, damn it! Why aren't you moving? Is it broken?! Hao-ge! Hao-ge, come look—I think I broke the Frost Centipede!" cried the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, panicking.
Huo Yuhao quickly reassured it through their spiritual link:
"Brother Tianmeng, the Frost Centipede's cultivation has reached godhood, but its body and mind haven't fully transformed. The Divine Kill technique demands a lot from both. What you're seeing now is the backlash from overexertion. It's just overloaded. Give it time to recover."
"…Tsk."
The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm let out a long breath—but still felt annoyed.
This is like playing an H-game and entering a CG scene… only for the game to crash. Totally ruined the mood!
But there was no helping it.
Normally, ascension to godhood involves the simultaneous transformation of both body and mind. Those inheriting proper divine positions complete this during their trials. But the Frost Centipede's inheritance was irregular. Its cultivation reached godhood, but its body and spirit had yet to catch up.
Now it had to grow on its own, like soul beasts do—though at least it wouldn't have to face a god tribulation.
With the Frost Centipede momentarily incapacitated, the Evil Emperor seized the opportunity. It rose again, spiritual power condensing. This time, it was planning something big—a lethal counterattack.
"Hao-ge! Hao-ge! What do I dooooo?!" the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm shrieked.
"Use Divine Abilities!" Huo Yuhao responded quickly. "You can't use soul skills or move, but divine abilities still work!"
That was the key: while soul skills and bodily functions were on cooldown, divine abilities remained usable.
The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm reacted instantly and unleashed all three of the Frost Centipede's innate divine abilities at once:
Innate Divine Ability – Centipede Leg Clone: Generated countless clones to distract and harass the Evil Emperor.
Innate Divine Ability – Heavenly Dream Transformation: Transformed into a tiny bug, minimizing its size to evade damage.
Innate Divine Ability – Soul Tool Rune Array: Activated runes to boost its own defense.
The Evil Emperor knew—if he didn't eliminate the Sky Dream Iceworm now, he might never get another chance to resist.
To die so muddleheadedly? How could he accept that? It was pure humiliation!
That's why the Evil Emperor had long since locked onto the Sky Dream Iceworm with his spiritual power, ensuring his attack wouldn't miss. He was even willing to endure the attacks from the Centipede Leg Avatars, all to fulfill one goal: slay the Sky Dream Iceworm.
The Evil Emperor understood well—human soul masters derive their strength from their martial soul. As strange as the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul seemed, once it was destroyed, the soul master would become far easier to handle.
He'd think about everything else after surviving this battle.
As the Evil Emperor charged up, his pupils gradually turned blue—and grew darker and deeper.
Had he not been injured, had his spiritual power not been scattered, why would he need to charge up for a finishing blow?
This buildup was also a process of gathering and repairing his damaged spiritual power.
The Sky Dream Iceworm tried everything to stop him.
The Variant Frost Centipede martial soul's dozens of centipede legs detached and transformed into streams of light, rapidly morphing into Centipede Leg Avatars.
These avatars weren't weak—each had the power equivalent to a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. After the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul advanced, the avatars even evolved, now capable of using some of the main body's abilities.
Most notably, they had grown wings!
However, they only had one pair of wings and could only channel one of three elemental powers: Light, Spirit, or Destruction.
The Sky Dream Iceworm's avatars were uniformly imbued with Destruction, the most devastating of the three.
The avatars soared into the air, charging at the Evil Emperor's eighty-one tentacles.
Though they had only just gained the Destruction attribute, it was still easy for them to enhance their attacks, causing greater damage.
The Centipede Leg Avatars unleashed their Dark-Gold Centipede Legs, aiming to sever the Evil Emperor's tentacles—but they were shocked by their sheer toughness.
As the Evil Emperor's pupils grew more intensely blue and the buildup neared completion, the Sky Dream Iceworm steeled his heart.
"Self-destruct!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!
The Centipede Leg Avatars all detonated themselves.
These explosions were each as powerful as a hundred-thousand-year soul beast self-destructing. The devastating blasts shredded over a dozen of the Evil Emperor's tentacles, causing even more damage and knocking him back again, making it seem like he could no longer aim at the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul.
"Worthy of being my bro! All according to plan!" Sky Dream Iceworm beamed, lifting his spirits as he canceled his transformation and returned to the form of the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul.
From his insect-like viewpoint, he couldn't see the Evil Emperor's condition and was eager to admire the results of his handiwork.
But Huo Yuhao suddenly shouted, "Brother Sky Dream—watch out!"
The smoke from the explosion was suddenly swept away by a horrifying aura, revealing the Evil Emperor—he had landed on the ground, heavily wounded. Yet the most terrifying thing was: his charged-up power was still intact and now fully completed.
And it was aimed directly at the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul!
Sky Dream Iceworm's soul nearly jumped out of his body in fear. The aura of death made him tremble.
"How is this possible?! How does he still have strength left?!"
That's what happens when you don't fight much.
Huo Yuhao sighed, communicating spiritually:
"Sky Dream bro, you're literally a spiritual-type soul beast. Don't you know how to use spiritual detection?"
Thanks to their mental link, they could say several sentences in a single moment.
"Yuhao bro, scold me later! Save me now!!!" Sky Dream Iceworm screamed.
The Variant Frost Centipede martial soul couldn't move at all yet, and even the soul itself expressed discontent.
Variant Frost Centipede Martial Soul: "Bro, you're too weak~"
A fight that should've been an easy win ended with a blade at their neck. They wouldn't die, but definitely would suffer.
Just then, the Evil Emperor unleashed his ultimate technique:
"Light of Time and Space!!" he roared.
He didn't know why the battle started, nor the enemy's origins, nor what to do next—but right now, he had only one goal: destroy the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul, annihilate Sky Dream Iceworm.
A narrow beam of deep blue light, one zhang (3.3 meters) wide, burst forth from his pupil. Huo Yuhao clearly sensed that this beam distorted space along its path.
The moment the beam appeared, time itself seemed to halt. The already immobile Variant Frost Centipede martial soul was now bound by a space rapidly compressing around it.
In Sky Dream Iceworm's eyes, the sky turned blue, the earth turned blue—everything in his vision was blue.
Oddly, Sky Dream Iceworm felt… peace.
Sky Dream Iceworm: "I give up. Time to lie flat. My life ends here…"
Time froze—but just before the moment it solidified, Huo Yuhao's will descended into the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul.
Under his control, the martial soul activated a divine ability:
Postnatal Divine Ability – God of Wisdom!
This ability came from the legacy of the God of Wisdom. It was a status-type divine ability, and once the Variant Frost Centipede became a true god, this skill would evolve into an innate divine power.
Golden divine light burst from within, turning the entire martial soul into a radiant golden being over a hundred meters tall, looking as though it were made of pure energy.
It resembled a Martial Soul True Body—but far more advanced, for this was divine power.
With this transformation, the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul regained full mobility and the ability to fight. A tenth soul ring silently appeared and pulsed with light.
"Divine Skill: Fortune – Banish Evil!"
This divine skill, born of fate itself, had a powerful effect: it consumed fortune to ignore all incoming attacks and external effects, while also removing all negative statuses. It had no side effects, and its duration depended on how much fortune the user had. The fortune would recover after the skill ended.
The Light of Time and Space struck the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul—but like a pebble thrown into the ocean, it vanished without a trace.
The Evil Emperor stared in disbelief.
His ultimate move faded away, yet the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul remained completely unscathed.
Then he noticed the ten soul rings circling the martial soul, and sensed that immense divine power. Understanding finally dawned. He murmured one word:
"God."
So… he had been fighting a god this whole time.
How laughable he was.
Huo Yuhao descended onto the head of the Variant Frost Centipede martial soul, holding a miniaturized serpent statue. He activated the secret realm power hidden within the statue, concealing the divine aura emanating from the martial soul.
Gazing down at the Evil Emperor, who had completely surrendered, Huo Yuhao calmly said:
"I acknowledge your spirit, of all those spiritual-type cultivators who have fought me there is no one who surpasses you—I, Huo Yuhao, Declare you the Strongest! "
As such I will grant you a chance.
"Bring the Evil Eye clan to swear loyalty to me. Sacrifice for me—and I promise, you will have a place in the Divine Realm."
"I submit!"
The Evil Emperor chose to yield, giving up all resistance. All his tentacles fell to the ground.
On one hand, he truly couldn't win—continuing the fight would only lead to death. On the other hand, a god now stood before him—he had no choice but to believe.
Death was certain either way. So why not gamble? After all, this person had the power to kill him all along—there was no need for deception.
"A wise choice." Huo Yuhao smiled faintly. He raised his hand, and the giant serpent statue rose into the air. Then, with a sweep, he drew in all the Evil-Eyed Tyrant Kings, including the Evil Emperor, into the secret realm.
The Variant Ice Centipede also withdrew its divine ability, reverting to its original form. Its tenth soul ring vanished, the first ring reverted to the hundred-thousand-year level, and its aura dropped back to the quasi-god level.
Then, both Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Iceworm looked in the same direction—two powerful auras were rapidly approaching. It was Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling.
"Brother Hao, more express delivery has arrived. This time, I'll make sure they don't leave!" the Skydream Iceworm declared, hoping for another chance to shine after failing to perform earlier.
But Huo Yuhao shook his head. "No need. Besides, the Holy Spirit Cult can't fall just yet."
If the cult fell, who would play the villain in the future? As the righteous Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion, who else could he use to build prestige?
Moreover, if Zhongli Wu could surprise him by breaking through to Limit Douluo, he'd be even more valuable.
There's a qualitative difference between a Super Douluo and a Limit Douluo.
"Hmph, guess they're lucky to live another day." The Skydream Iceworm snorted arrogantly, clearly putting on a show.
Huo Yuhao chuckled lightly, shaking his head with helpless amusement as he began cleaning up the battlefield.
With a wave of his hand, his soul power erupted, instantly obliterating all traces of the battle. Then, he excavated the ground beneath the Healing Angel puppet's feet and took it, along with the absorbed soul ring, to the place where the Evil Emperor once slumbered.
After they left, Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling finally arrived. They observed the aftermath, but with all evidence erased, they found nothing.
"That earlier mental fluctuation was clearly the Evil Emperor. It's likely he was fighting an enemy—and he even cried out in pain… That enemy must've been very powerful," Feng Ling said with an unreadable expression.
Zhongli Wu understood her implication: the Evil Emperor might be injured!
If they could seize the opportunity and capture him...
The thought was tempting.
But Zhongli Wu restrained himself. He knew that the forest still harbored many Evil-Eyed Tyrant Kings. If they were besieged, their lives would be in danger too.
"No matter what, let's first confirm the Evil Emperor's condition. If we can help, the Holy Spirit Cult must offer assistance," he said solemnly.
Whether that meant helping him recover—or helping him die—was yet to be determined.
They couldn't win in a head-on fight, but if they struck while he was weakened, a surprise attack might succeed.
It all depended on how badly the Evil Emperor was hurt.
However, as they tried to go deeper into the forbidden zone, a powerful spiritual wave descended, forming a barrier that blocked their way.
Both Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling's expressions changed. They realized that someone still had the strength to deploy such a strong spiritual defense—which meant the Evil Emperor was still capable of fighting.
That made them drop their little schemes.
"Evil Emperor, we've come to aid you," Zhongli Wu called out.
"Thanks, but all is well. You may leave," came the Evil Emperor's voice from deep within the forbidden zone, still brimming with authority.
"Very well. Farewell."
Without hesitation, Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling turned and left without looking back.
If the Evil Emperor was fine, they didn't want to risk him changing his mind and commanding his forces to keep them there.
Their alliance was just cooperation, after all—caution was necessary.
At the heart of the forbidden zone:
The Variant Ice Centipede withdrew the Skydream illusion and reverted to its true form. The imposing figure of the Evil Emperor disappeared. The Skydream Iceworm hovered beside the Variant Ice Centipede and said, "Alright, we've tricked them away. Now let's see what treasures the Evil Emperor has stashed. Since he's now Brother Hao's beast, his stuff naturally belongs to Brother Hao too!"
With that, the Skydream Iceworm began excavating the Evil Emperor's hoard. With its spiritual detection ability, not even a single herb could escape.
Not just the Evil Emperor's treasures, but even those of the other Evil-Eyed Tyrant Kings—the Skydream Iceworm wanted them all. Greedy as ever.
This was one of the good habits Huo Yuhao instilled:
Don't waste anything!
Everyone had to say it: frugality is virtue.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao had already entered the secret realm, ready to deal with the Evil Emperor and the others.
Within the secret realm:
The Evil Emperor and the other Evil-Eyed Tyrant Kings had been unsealed. Their sizes had been reduced to human height thanks to the realm's effect, so space wasn't an issue.
For easier interaction, the Evil Emperor had even taken on a human form—a middle-aged man.
None of them dared to act out, since Huo Yuhao stood right before them.
Beside Huo Yuhao stood the Heavenly Dragon and the Golden Xuanwu. They ignored the Evil Eyes and continued cultivating with intense focus. This state of elevated comprehension and intelligence was so addictive that they couldn't tear themselves away.
The feedback was just too rewarding!
Nearby, the Healing Angel puppet was still absorbing the soul ring from a 500,000-year Evil-Eyed Tyrant King. As the ring was absorbed, the corpse disintegrated and vanished.
This was typical of the Evil Eye clan—their bodies contained little flesh or blood, so no lifeblood essence could be collected.
Instead, their crystal cores were the true source of their power.
Though the puppet absorbed the soul ring, Huo Yuhao still extracted the fallen king's soul.
The Evil-Eyed Tyrant King looked dazed.
The moment they saw his soul, the Evil Emperor and his kin grew excited. The Evil Emperor's trust in Huo Yuhao's promises deepened further.
No more time was wasted.
They proceeded as agreed.
Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged, summoning his Sacred Eye Martial Soul and Ten-Thousand-Soul Banner Martial Soul, then said to the Evil Emperor, "Let's begin. Sacrifice!"
The Evil Emperor was stunned. "F-Four Martial Souls?!"
Humans weren't supposed to have more than two!
Four Martial Souls? That was unthinkable!
But then...
"He's a god. That explains everything."
Anything impossible became reasonable in the presence of a god.
The Evil Emperor gave a few simple instructions to the other Evil-Eyed Tyrant Kings—telling them to follow Huo Yuhao's orders—then began his sacrifice.
Even without the Variant Ice Centipede present, he dared not defy Huo Yuhao, for he could feel it—this was Huo Yuhao's domain. This place was crafted with divine power, and their lives were completely under his control.
Though worried and reluctant, the Evil-Eyed Tyrant Kings could do nothing but await their fate.
Huo Yuhao would make two uses of the Evil Emperor:
Sacrifice to the Sacred Eye Martial Soul — to grant it massive benefits, since the Evil Emperor's own Martial Soul was a perfect match.
Use the Evil Emperor's soul as the seventh main soul in the Ten-Thousand-Soul Banner.
Because the Evil Emperor's identity and destiny were extraordinary.
He possessed four fate traits:
[Evil Eye Emperor!]: The natural ruler of the Evil Eye clan!
[Beast God Potential!]: Exceptional talent—able to surpass racial limits and even become a god!
[Many Offspring, Much Fortune!]: Numerous descendants lead to a flourishing clan. Fate increases with their growth—but can also be affected by their misfortunes.
[Totem!]: Totem of the Sun-Moon Empire. His fate is linked with the empire's destiny. As the empire grows, so too does he—his talents and achievements rise with it.
The Evil Emperor had been passively turned into a totem through worship by the Sun-Moon Empire. The totemic path was similar to the incense-burning path of gods, except that the absence of worship didn't harm the totem's life—instead, it granted it greater freedom.
Half an hour later.
With Huo Yuhao's strength, he easily absorbed everything from the Evil Emperor.
Both his Sacred Eye and Ten Thousand Souls Banner martial souls received new soul rings.
The Sacred Eye martial soul obtained the fourth soul ring, a 790,000-year Evil-Eyed Tyrant Lord ring.
The Ten Thousand Souls Banner martial soul obtained the seventh soul ring, representing the Evil Emperor's totem.
And that wasn't the end.
Huo Yuhao then turned his gaze to the remaining Evil-Eyed Tyrant Kings and gave a wicked smile.
The Evil-Eyed Tyrant Kings:
Is he done? Surely he's done, right? Evil Emperor, say something~
Another half hour passed.
Huo Yuhao and his Healing Angel Puppet Martial Soul completed their absorption processes.
New Soul Ring Gains:
Healing Angel Puppet Martial Soul:
Gained the eighth soul ring, a 500,000-year Evil-Eyed Tyrant King, with spiritual attribute.
Gained two soul skills:
Mental Shock
Evil Eye Stare
Both are powerful spirit-based offensive soul skills.
Sacred Eye Martial Soul:
The fourth soul ring, through fusion with the Evil Emperor's and the Tyrant Kings' rings, evolved into a million-year Evil-Eyed Tyrant Lord ring.
It came with four soul skills, all vastly more destructive than the ones granted by the Skydream Iceworm:
Light of Time and Space –
Derived from the Evil Emperor's deep comprehension of spirit and space. A mental-source-based temporal force that can strip away the mental origin of all beings. It was this move that once allowed the Evil Emperor to escape unharmed from Di Tian.
Thorn Halo –
Reflects 50% of the damage received as spiritual damage back to the attacker. Once, in combination with the soul-stealing of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, it even injured Tang God King.
Light of Destruction –
A single-target attack that becomes more powerful the narrower its diameter. Capable of threatening even Di Tian's life.
Spiritual Domain Field –
Originally a racial talent of the Evil-Eyed race, now evolved into a full domain. Within this domain, all enemies suffer spiritual suppression, causing effects like dizziness, sluggishness, fatigue, despair, and weakness based on their cultivation and spiritual strength. It can also absorb enemies' spiritual power to replenish and strengthen its own.
In the original story, the Skydream Iceworm's soul skill "Spiritual Disturbance" also evolved into the Spiritual Disturbance Domain. It has now naturally evolved for Huo Yuhao too, due to his heightened spiritual power.
And that's not the end — this domain can further evolve into the Skydream Domain, becoming even stronger.
Previously, Yuhao hadn't rushed to evolve it due to already having enough domains. But now, it evolved naturally.
With the recent inheritance from the God of Wisdom, and his powerful spiritual strength, Huo Yuhao now only needed enlightenment to take it to the next level.
The Evil Emperor's own Spiritual Field was undergoing a similar evolution — from racial talent to domain. It too may one day become the Evil Emperor Domain.
Then came the Ten Thousand Souls Banner Martial Soul.
With the Evil Emperor as the seventh soul ring, it unlocked the Seventh Soul Ring World – The Spiritual Realm.
All the souls of the Evil-Eyed Tyrant Kings were placed within this seventh soul ring realm.
Unknowingly, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner now had seven soul rings, each unique:
First Ring – Caitou
Twin Martial Soul wielder, bearer of an emperor's fate, imbued with dragon aura and vast fortune.
Second Ring – Electrolux
Demi-god residual soul, Necromancer Supreme Mage, brought a necromantic demi-plane.
Third Ring – Golden Xuanwu
King of Turtles, bearer of the Xuanwu body, an auspicious beast.
Fourth Ring – Jin Qiu'er
Three-Eyed Golden Lion, imperial beast, noble bloodline, chosen of the soul beasts' destiny.
Fifth Ring – Snow Empress
Northern Elf of Ice and Snow, unparalleled talent, Ice and Snow Monarch.
Sixth Ring – Blue Silver Empress
Sovereign of plants, noble identity.
Seventh Ring – Evil Emperor
Totem Beast, born to reign.
Huo Yuhao was enlightened.
"A human emperor, a turtle emperor, a soul beast emperor, an ice and snow emperor, a plant emperor, an evil eye emperor, and a necromancer god… Six emperors and one god…"
Huo Yuhao had an epiphany:
"Looks like it's time to rename the Ten Thousand Souls Banner…"
"No—this isn't just a banner of human emperors. It's the banner of soul beasts, plants, and all living beings!"
"I shall name it the Hao Sovereign Banner!
—The banner of the emperor who rules the Douluo Continent!
For others, the seventh soul ring is about attaining the true form of their martial soul.
For Huo Yuhao, the seventh soul ring granted the revelation of its true name—the Hao Sovereign Banner!
Besides these gains, he also acquired an external soul bone, a crucial reward.
Huo Yuhao fused the soul bones of the Evil Emperor and the other Tyrant Kings into one, choosing the Heavenly Dragon as the bone spirit.
Thanks to the secluded realm, he didn't have to worry about heavenly tribulations.
With this cover, it was time to upgrade and fuse his other soul bones as well.
Because to face the Divine Realm and protect Douluo, no preparation is too much.
The result was a million-year-level external head soul bone:
Evil-Eyed Tyrant Dominator's Evil Head.
Unlike typical eye-type external soul bones, this one was a full head bone, shaped like a giant eyeball, radiating intense spiritual power.
Yuhao named it: Evil Head.
This upgrade also pushed the Heavenly Dragon to million-year soul beast status, albeit with considerable suffering — it would need time to recover before resuming cultivation.
Huo Yuhao didn't pick one of the Tyrant Kings as the bone spirit, as he preferred giving such chances to those close to him — and he didn't fully trust these newcomers.
"The rest of the bone fusion can wait until we return to Mingdu. One day, I will have a body of million-year soul bones… and forge them into god-tier equipment!"
Leaving the Secret Realm…
Yuhao then saw Skydream Iceworm grinning creepily at a group of Evil-Eyed Tyrants, accompanied by the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul.
Huo Yuhao: "…Can you at least make them humanoid? Big eyeballs just don't cut it!"
It turned out that the forbidden land of the Evil-Eyed race housed not only the kings, but also their wives and children, many of whom were high-quality soul beasts with ten-thousand-year cultivation levels.
During Skydream and Frost Centipede's raid, the wives and kids naturally resisted, so… they were all captured.
One had to admit: as spirit-type soul beasts, the Evil-Eyed race was more advanced — they even had concepts like wives and concubines, unlike other primitive soul beasts.
Honestly, Huo Yuhao couldn't even tell their gender or attractiveness.
What else could he do?
He simply sent them into the Hao Sovereign Banner, reuniting them with family.
Those capable of marrying kings had strong talent—many even possessed second-tier or first-tier innate talents, especially among their children.
Besides these captives, Skydream also looted resources accumulated by the Evil-Eyed clan over hundreds of thousands of years.
Ores, herbs, soul bones, even soul tools from human soul masters— everything imaginable.
The wealth of the Evil-Eyed Tyrants in the Forbidden Land was indeed impressive. Even though the Demonic Forest lacked resources, there was no such thing as a "poor" Evil-Eyed Tyrant.
After all, even a general's Maybach needs fuel, right?
Some resources, even if useless to the Evil-Eyed Tyrants themselves, could be reserved for their descendants. Moreover, with their society having evolved a certain structure, the Evil-Eyed Tyrants began consciously accumulating resources as personal assets to showcase their status.
However, most of these resources were of little use to Huo Yuhao. He simply fed them to the Haohuang Banner and the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul as though they were dog food.
The banner pole of the Haohuang Banner still needed to be upgraded. But at this point, the pole's development speed was starting to lag behind that of the banner cloth—higher-grade materials might be necessary soon.
As for the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul, it too required continual strengthening of its body and the evolution of its constitution. Only by fully transforming its mortal flesh into a divine body could it wield divine techniques without restraint—something that demanded a massive amount of resources.
Fortunately, resources for the Mutant Frost Centipede were relatively abundant. Aside from the metal veins scattered across the mountains, the underground armory of the Mingde Hall had also become its personal snack stash.
This idea actually came from the divine pattern abilities Huo Yuhao obtained when the Mutant Frost Centipede devoured the ruins of the Mingde Hall. If devouring soul device patterns could grant divine abilities—then what about devouring high-grade soul tools directly?
Thus, all the stationary and long-range soul tools in the armory were allocated to the Mutant Frost Centipede. Even if they didn't grant new abilities, the rare materials used to craft those tools would still benefit its growth.
In the end, Huo Yuhao was left with only two items in hand.
Both originated from the Evil Emperor's collection, and both had aroused Huo Yuhao's interest due to their unique properties.
The Evil Emperor eagerly emerged from the Haohuang Banner to enthusiastically explain the origins of the two objects.
One was a dark green orb; the other, a crescent-shaped black metal shard. Both appeared unremarkable at first glance—but that was only because their brilliance was reined in. True divine artifacts conceal themselves. The mere fact that the Evil Emperor kept them in his private stash proved their extraordinariness.
"That green orb," the Evil Emperor began, "I call it the Demonic Prison Tree Core. It comes from a 300,000-year-old Demonic Prison Tree—a terrifying soul beast. Though it's a plant, it's carnivorous."
"A long time ago, the Demonic Forest wasn't ruled by our Evil-Eyed Clan, but by a 300,000-year-old Demonic Prison Tree, known as the Demonic Prison King."
"Back then, all soul beast clans in the Demonic Forest had to offer up members as tribute to live in peace. Countless rare species were devoured."
"Its roots extended through the entire forest, giving it near-total control. Resistance was nearly impossible—soul beasts in the Demonic Forest lived in constant fear."
"That is, until I rose in power and finally slew the Demonic Prison King, becoming the forest's strongest. Only then did the Evil-Eyed Clan gradually become the ruling force."
"This tree core was dug from the Demonic Prison King's body—it was its power source. But its energy was unsuitable for our kind, so I kept it as a trophy. That said, the place it grew was a treasure land—I once slept there."
Of course, only half of what the Evil Emperor said could be believed—no more. If the Demonic Prison King really had such control, would the Evil Emperor have had any chance to grow strong?
And the Evil Emperor rising so rapidly? You think it was just talent?
The Demonic Forest is a breeding ground for dark-aligned soul beasts. Not a single light-aligned one exists. The Evil-Eyed Clan is notorious even outside the forest.
They rarely devour flesh, sure—but don't forget: their innate ability is a mental force field. Their specialty is devouring other beings' spiritual energy, draining them until death, and strengthening themselves in the process.
This rosy retelling by the Evil Emperor was nothing more than a fresh recruit trying to seem righteous and repaint his image.
But the truth didn't matter. Brother Hao didn't care about that kind of thing.
"Not bad. From now on, when you go out, that's the story you tell. Me and my crew—we're absolute justice. Got it?" Huo Yuhao instructed.
The Evil Emperor fell silent. In that moment, he finally understood why Huo Yuhao was the boss.
Huo Yuhao toyed with the Demonic Prison Tree Core in his palm, sending in his spiritual power. Inside, he sensed a rich plant-type soul beast energy—but also a trace of sinister malice.
The core could be used in forging or simply as a resource—but its greatest value was actually in alchemy.
A tree core is the very essence of a tree!
Its strength wasn't quite enough for forging. Using it raw would be wasteful. But refined into a pill? That could unlock far greater utility.
However, that evil aura inside posed a problem. Removing it would reduce the core's quality. Keeping it meant the resulting pill could only be used by those capable of resisting the aura—or risk corruption.
Either way, Huo Yuhao wouldn't be taking it himself.
Not because he feared the evil aura—but because it was useless to him. Just like how the Evil Emperor had never used it for being incompatible.
Using it raw might yield 100% effectiveness—but 70 to 80% of that would be wasted.
"The Healing Angel Puppet Martial Soul may have mutated into a life-type, but it still has light attributes. It would clash with the evil aura. I'll save it for Xuelian—she can digest anything," Huo Yuhao decided.
Next, the Evil Emperor began introducing the crescent-shaped metal shard. Its origin turned out to be even more unique.
"This piece," the Evil Emperor recalled, "I discovered it after becoming a ferocious beast, while adventuring outside—in a valley."
"A valley?" Huo Yuhao's interest was piqued.
"Yes. I don't know the exact nature of that place—I stumbled into it. But I could sense it housed an immense power. Coincidentally, I encountered some humans who had also wandered in. I manipulated them to explore the place."
"In the end, none of them made it out alive. Only one Titled Douluo, before dying, flung this shard out using soul power. I got it."
"After obtaining it, I blacked out. When I came to, I was lying in some distant mountains. When I tried to go back—I couldn't find the valley again."
"Helpless, I returned to the Demonic Forest and started studying the item—but found no use for it. I suspect it's a fragment of some ancient soul tool."
"To that end, I started collecting soul tools and learning about them from humans. But still, I found nothing. Eventually, I gave up. Haven't touched it since."
This feeling—possessing treasure but being unable to use it—tormented the Evil Emperor. Out of sight, out of mind.
Had it not been dug up by the Skydream Iceworm and the Mutant Frost Centipede, he would've completely forgotten about it.
Huo Yuhao rubbed the crescent shard with his fingers, smiling faintly.
A fragment of an ancient soul tool?
The Evil Emperor was thinking too small.
This was clearly a fragment of a divine artifact!