Douluo Star.
Beyond the atmosphere.
The previously dark and profound curtain of the starry sky suddenly twisted into a vortex.
Space seemed like a silk cloth being wrung by an invisible giant hand. Streaks of purple-black cracks radiated from the center of the vortex, and the air was filled with a decaying, sulfurous stench.
"So soon?"
Xiao Hongchen was idly fiddling with his fingers when his gaze swept toward the warship's exterior. Within the black vortex, an intense devouring aura could faintly be sensed.
Without a doubt, this was exactly what A'Cheng had mentioned earlier — the Abyssal Plane!
"All hands, prepare for combat!" Xiao Hongchen's voice boomed through the fleet via a ninth-grade sound-amplifying soul device. Standing on the command platform of the flagship, nine soul rings—one purple, five black, and three red—rose slowly beneath his feet. The three 100,000-year soul rings emitted a strange crimson glow.
Suddenly, the spatial vortex expanded tenfold. The first Abyssal creature extended its claws—a centipede-like monster over ten meters long, covered in backward-facing barbs, with each body segment adorned by grotesque human-like facial patterns.
It let out a piercing wail, like the cry of an infant, and the resulting soundwave caused tiny cracks to appear in the surrounding space.
Then came the second, third... a torrent of Abyssal creatures flooded out like a breached dam.
There were piranha-like swarms with bat wings, spider women with gaping maws in their abdomens, and giant elephants stitched entirely from bones...
But the most terrifying thing was their aura—the weakest among them was equivalent to a human Soul King. Leading the charge were three gorgon-like beings with bone wings, each exuding the pressure of a Title Douluo!
These were the vanguard of the Abyssal Plane, and the first offensive strike launched against humanity.
"Detected spatial coordinate anomalies!" the adjutant's voice trembled. "The energy signatures of these creatures are entirely different from any lifeform on the Douluo Continent!"
"Don't panic..."
Xiao Hongchen narrowed his eyes.
"Have any of them reached god-level strength?" he asked quietly.
The adjutant regained some composure. "N-No. The strongest appears to be the leader among the three snake-women—roughly equivalent to a Super Douluo. According to AI predictions, they likely possess some form of fusion soul skills..."
"Fear of the unknown is natural, but when firepower is sufficient, it can shred anything—even gods," Xiao Hongchen smiled.
"Just a bunch of small fry. Not even worth troubling the Sun-Moon Empire."
"...You're right. I let my nerves get the better of me."
The adjutant looked ashamed.
Faced with alien creatures from space, he truly had been flustered.
"…"
Xiao Hongchen waved his hand dismissively, expression unchanged.
A'Cheng had gone to the Underworld. The appointed fleet commander, Xu Lexuan, was still undergoing training on the surface. His grandfather had also temporarily returned to Earth to prepare for handing over his academy post. Elder Kong and Elder Cheng were still on the surface working on upgrades for the interstellar warships...
At present, the only one stationed in space was him, along with the newly assembled fleet—just over 3,000 soul engineers in total.
This might very well be the Sun-Moon Empire's first space war.
With this thought, Xiao Hongchen opened the communicator.
The fleet's main channel was in mild chaos—each of the four escort ships was fighting independently. With no central commander, although they were killing off the encroaching Abyssal creatures one by one, their coordination was a mess...
After all, no matter how much theory you've studied, facing your first real outer space battle is bound to be disorienting.
"I am Xiao Hongchen…"
He coughed twice.
The main channel immediately fell silent.
"From this point forward, I will serve as temporary supreme commander of the four escort ships. First order — activate soul power shields! Form a rhombus battle formation!"
"Yes! Escort Ship 001, acknowledged!"
"Escort Ship 002, acknowledged!"
"…"
Soon, the communication channel became orderly.
Under Xiao Hongchen's command, the fleet began to fight back effectively, and the battlefield swiftly became organized.
A hundred-meter-wide magic array unfolded beneath the flagship. Twelve silver metal pillars rose from the deck, interweaving into a hemispherical barrier. Simultaneously, the four escort ships ignited their soul-powered thrusters, and the ninth-grade energy cannons at their bows began charging.
The Abyssal creatures quickly noticed the shift in the fleet. The three gorgons let out piercing shrieks, and all the monsters suddenly turned direction, surging toward the flagship like a black tide.
Their movement patterns were bizarre—Xiao Hongchen even noticed some Abyssal creatures teleporting short distances.
"What the hell?" Xiao Hongchen's mouth twitched.
A'Cheng didn't mention that!
"These things not only have the power of Devour, they can actually use spatial teleportation?!!"
Even if it was only short-range—no, short-range was even better for research!Xiao Hongchen's eyes lit up.
"Attention! All those space-jumping Abyssal creatures—capture them alive if possible! They're prime research specimens!"
The interstellar warship's teleportation array was far too advanced.
No one knew where A'Cheng had gotten it from, making it extremely difficult for the Sun-Moon Empire to study. But these natural, primitive forms of spatial teleportation were perfect for advancing the Empire's understanding of space!
"All others, open fire at will!"
With Xiao Hongchen's order issued—
The four escort ships simultaneously unleashed five-meter-wide beams of soul energy, carving four vacuum paths through the monster horde.
Abyssal creatures struck by the beams instantly vaporized, but were quickly replaced by the ones behind. The flagship's side hatches opened—36 launch ports lit up, and hundreds of grade-seven tracking soul-guided missiles streaked out with blazing trails, painting gorgeous arcs of death through space.
The explosive roars were so intense they shook the atmosphere itself, which rippled like clouds—faintly beginning to fracture.
But the true threat was only just beginning to reveal itself.
Unnoticed, the three snake-haired gorgons had appeared directly above the flagship. Their hair was composed of countless tiny venomous serpents, now furiously gnawing at the soul power barrier. The eldest gorgon suddenly opened her mouth and spat out a beam of light black as ink.
"Dark-attribute attack!" the adjutant's pupils shrank sharply.
The barrier trembled violently, and one of the metal pillars developed a crack.
"No wonder they're the vanguard… they're something else."
Xiao Hongchen sneered, stopping the adjutant from activating the level-11 soul cannon. He pressed a button on the command console — no need to use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.
Behind the command platform, the deck suddenly split open. Amid clouds of steam, a towering 50-meter silver mecha, named "Hongchen Jueying" (Red Dust Phantom), rose into view.
Inlaid in the chest of the mecha was a level-10 soul core. Its arms were interchangeable between energy cannons and high-frequency particle blades.
This concept had come from A'Cheng, and Xiao Hongchen had eagerly adopted it.
It was indeed quite stylish in use.
"I'll leave this to you guys."
Xiao Hongchen leapt into the cockpit. As the neural interface synced, the mecha's eyes glowed crimson, and six pairs of metallic wings bloomed from its back like flower petals.
Terrifying Soul Power of a level-95 Super Douluo surged through the mecha via soul amplifiers, causing soul ring patterns identical to Xiao Hongchen's to appear on the mecha's surface — this was a true, personal-named soul tool.
The mecha soared skyward, shattering the barrier as it charged toward the enemy. The three gorgons tried to dodge, but found themselves immobilized by an unseen force — one of the mecha's integrated skills, "Hongchen Restraint", which targeted foes within a 100 km radius.
The high-frequency particle blade on the right arm slashed in a graceful arc — and all three monstrous heads were severed at once.
However, the Abyssal creatures' grotesque powers defied imagination. From their necks, fleshy tendrils extended, reattaching the severed heads. The gorgons split up — two entangled the mecha, while the third lunged directly toward the flagship's command tower.
"Activate Heavenly Net!"
Xiao Hongchen issued the order coolly from within the cockpit.
The flagship's underside fired out 36 chains, each tipped with a ninth-level restraining soul device. The chains moved like living snakes, wrapping around the charging gorgon. The terrifying Soul Power roasted her black instantly.
As for the mecha, Xiao Hongchen triggered a transformation. The chest armor slid open to reveal a ninth-level energy cannon muzzle. Charging time: just 0.3 seconds — a feature of Mingde Hall's latest "instant-fire" tech.
A blinding white light flashed — one gorgon was blasted until half her body remained. But even more horrifying, the remaining portion began devouring her own kind to evolve!
"Damn, real pain in the ass..." Xiao Hongchen shook his head helplessly.
A Super Douluo at level 95, yet the battle was endless — kill one, it regenerates; kill again, and it evolves. No wonder A'Cheng had always kept a close eye on this. It really was disgusting.
"All units, be advised — Abyssal creatures possess devour-evolution capabilities!" Xiao Hongchen's voice echoed throughout the fleet. "Immediately execute Plan B!"
The four escort ships suddenly shifted formation, deploying silver metal pillars at the four corners of the battlefield. Upon landing, each pillar expanded into a square barrier a kilometer wide.
This was a [Barrier] developed by Xiao Hongchen's grandfather, equipped with multiple negative debuffs.
Inside the [Barrier], the Abyssal creatures' movements slowed noticeably.
Xiao Hongchen seized the opportunity. The mecha activated its ninth soul skill, "Red Dust Annihilation", formed through the God-bestowed soul ring and fused into the life-linked mecha.
The mecha placed its hands together, and nine soul rings glowed simultaneously, forming a crimson orb at its chest.
When the orb expanded to 30 meters in diameter, the mecha pushed it toward the center of the barrier.
There was no explosion, no shockwave.
Wherever the light sphere passed, Abyssal creatures crumbled like sand sculptures, disintegrating into dust. This attack targeted their very life essence, leaving no time to evolve or devour. The last snake-haired gorgon let out a shrill, unwilling scream, her body suddenly swelling—
"Are you serious? Another one?"
"All units, raise shields!" Xiao Hongchen waved calmly.
He wasn't worried for himself — but the escort ships were precious. Each one represented the heart and soul of the Sun-Moon Empire's effort. Even a scratch would pain him.
The gorgon's self-destruction caused the barrier to crack, but didn't shatter it.
When the smoke cleared, only a few weak Abyssal stragglers remained on the battlefield, dying in place.
"At least this served as a wake-up call for the Sun-Moon."
Xiao Hongchen surveyed the battlefield.
He curled his lip.
The threat of the Abyssal Plane… likely less than a year away.
Abyssal Plane.
Above a pool of blood, a shattered crystal core floated. Inside it was stored the last footage transmitted before the vanguard force was wiped out — that colossal silver warship, spanning the heavens, was firing annihilation beams, while the rhombus formation of escort ships shredded the Abyssal beasts apart.
"Your Majesty, the Holy Lord." The Scarab Emperor's twelve compound eyes all narrowed, and his scythe-like forelimbs scraped anxiously. "The fragments from the frontlines indicate this plane harbors an energy form we've never seen before…"
"According to earlier projections, they've evolved so quickly that they crushed the vanguard with ease."
A figure on the throne slowly raised a hand. The dark red sky of the tenth layer of the Abyss warped in response.
The Abyssal Holy Lord's long hair stirred despite no wind, the tips flowing with black fog that devoured light. With a flick of his finger, the blood pool roiled, reassembling the broken footage into a 3D hologram. A brief glimpse of the level-11 cannon charging on the Sun-Moon Empire's flagship made his eyes flash with interest.
Everything else, he dismissed.
But that strange device… sparked a faint sense of threat in him.
It channeled and compressed energy via some unknown medium, unleashing power close to a demigod in the cosmic hierarchy.
"Interesting." The Holy Lord's voice was cold and indifferent. At his feet, the Abyssal Lords knelt in fear.
Suddenly, he stood. The Abyssal Heart embedded in his chest erupted with purple-black light, and the entire plane's crust began to tremble.
"They evolve fast… but luckily, in one year, we'll arrive. When that time comes, the Abyssal Plane will devour that planet, enabling our great advancement…"
"If the Abyss ascends to the God Realm—I shall be the God King!"
The projection switched to Xiao Hongchen's Red Dust Phantom mecha. When the Holy Lord saw the energy waves at its core, his pupils narrowed into vertical slits.
He reached out to grasp the image — the mecha was shredded by invisible force — but the screen froze eerily on Xiao Hongchen's smirking face.
That human had somehow perfectly fused machine and life.
So this so-called "tool"... was what those ants were relying on…
Still, it was just borrowed strength.
He did not fear it.
"Your Majesty!" Suddenly, the Soul-Eating Empress of the seventh layer shrieked. Hundreds of eyes on her spider abdomen bled simultaneously — it was a ghastly sight. "My children are wailing! Those metal constructs are breaking down Abyssal energy! They're trying to harness it — they've set their sights on… space manipulation!"
Behind the Holy Lord, space shattered, revealing the coordinate of Douluo Star's plane. He stared at the still-spinning spatial vortex, and then burst into wild laughter.
His laughter sent kilometer-high waves surging through the Sulfur Sea of the tenth layer. Countless hibernating Abyssal creatures exploded from the sonic force.
No one knew why he laughed, but all trembled before this supreme king.
"What are you all afraid of?"
The Holy Lord stepped down from the throne, each footstep branding the rock with burning prints. "They are but ants wielding glowing stones, trying to survive in the vastness of space. But what are we?"
"We are the harvesters who will extinguish their hope!"
"Send the word — layers one through nine prepare for battle. We'll accelerate our advance. And inform those Abyssal Void Dragons hiding in the shadows — it's time they repay their debt for being fed."
"When the Abyss devours that planet, our true rise begins. Godhood is within reach!"(End of chapter)