The streams of light within the altar space continued to flow slowly. The wind elements overflowing from the shattered statues spiraled around Bibi Dong as if they were alive. She raised her hand, palm facing upward. A wisp of cyan wind condensed and transformed between her fingers—sometimes soft as a ribbon, sometimes sharp as a blade, sometimes scattering into points of starlight, and other times gathering into a miniature storm.
This was not merely an increase in power; it was a subversion of her understanding of the world's essence.
"I can 'hear' the wind's breathing," Bibi Dong said softly, her gaze cast toward the distant light dome that was beginning to fluctuate. "Every wisp of wind in the entire Secret Realm is telling me their trajectories, their emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, tranquility. This is... a brand new sense."
Dai Chengfeng listened quietly. He could feel the subtle change in Bibi Dong—her aura had created a certain resonance with the surrounding environment. It was as if she herself were part of the wind, rather than merely a user of it. This realm of attainment far exceeded the control over elements possessed by ordinary Title Douluos.
"Your aura," Dai Chengfeng mused, "besides the power of wind, there is also a... sense of accumulation. As if you have experienced a thousand years of time."
"The Divine Soul carries fragments of memory and realization from past Wind Gods," Bibi Dong closed her eyes, seemingly organizing the fragments flooding her mind. "Though incomplete, the understanding of laws and observation of the heavens and earth contained within have expanded my cognition of the world far too much. The Rakshasa God's inheritance was more about the bestowal of power and authority, while the Wind God's Divine Soul... is a baptism of laws."
She opened her eyes, her gaze sharpening slightly: "It is precisely because of this that I understand even more clearly that this inheritance is only the beginning. The Divine Foundation is formed, but the Divinity is not yet condensed, and the Divine Fire is not yet lit. Right now, I am more like... a 'demi-god'? Or rather, a mortal who possesses the qualifications to become a god."
Before her voice had even faded, the entire Secret Realm suddenly shook violently.
The light patterns on the dome began to flicker on and off. Cracks appeared in the cyan crystals surrounding the altar, the ground split open, and the flow of wind elements became chaotic and violent.
"The Secret Realm is collapsing!" Dai Chengfeng shouted, "Let's go!"
Bibi Dong nodded. She reached out and pressed lightly into the air; the chaotic airflow ahead was immediately combed by force, forming a relatively stable passage. Her movements were natural and smooth, as simple as taking a breath, but Dai Chengfeng could feel the precise control she exerted over the Wind Laws in that instant—she was not suppressing them with brute force, but complying with the wind's regulations to guide them for her own use.
The two figures swept upward along the stone steps they had come down like lightning.
This time, Bibi Dong no longer needed Dai Chengfeng's protection. The cyan halo swirling around her automatically repelled the rampant turbulence caused by the instability of the space. She could even sense in advance where spatial rifts would appear ahead and avoid them with ease. Dai Chengfeng followed closely behind her, his heart filled with unparalleled shock—this was a true master of laws, a realm vastly different from relying on Soul Skills and Soul Power to force a breakthrough.
Passing through the long staircase, they returned to the spacious Wind Secret Realm.
At this moment, the Secret Realm was an apocalyptic scene.
The wind river, originally flowing gently, raised towering waves. Wind crystals floating in the air collided and exploded. In the distance, strange creatures condensed from pure wind elements let out wails like mourning, their bodies beginning to dissipate into primordial wind elements. Strips of light in the sky extinguished one by one, and darkness eroded in from all sides.
"Stay close to me," Bibi Dong said, her voice coming through clearly amidst the violent wind noise.
She formed a strange hand seal in front of her chest—that was not the opening move of any Soul Skill, but a guiding motion closer to a resonance with the laws. With her movement, the chaotic wind around them actually began to gather in an orderly fashion, forming a huge cyan light cocoon that wrapped the two of them inside.
The light cocoon flew upward against the torrent of collapse. Wherever it passed, the violent wind elements automatically made way, as if paying respect to their new King.
Inside the light cocoon, Dai Chengfeng experienced the strange sensation of being shielded by laws. He could see the terrifying scene of the world collapsing outside the cocoon—space shattered like glass, revealing the pitch-black void; wind elements exploded out of control, setting off destructive shockwaves; the structures of the Secret Realm that had existed for unknown years collapsed with a roar... Yet inside the cocoon, everything was as calm as the eye of a storm.
"Your control over the wind has reached this level?" Dai Chengfeng couldn't help but ask.
Bibi Dong focused on maintaining the cocoon, replying with part of her attention: "It is not control, it is 'understanding'. The wind is not my slave, nor am I the master of the wind. We are... resonators. I understand their language, and they are willing to listen to my requests. This is completely different from forcibly driving them with power, both in consumption and effect."
She paused, adding: "Of course, this also owes credit to the 'Wind God Authority' contained within the Divine Soul. Although it is not yet complete, it is enough for the wind elements to view me as one of their own, rather than an invader."
As she spoke, the light cocoon had already broken through the last barrier of the Secret Realm, re-entering the long wind tunnel connecting the Secret Realm to the outside world.
The wind tunnel was also collapsing.
The cyan crystal walls on both sides were shattering inch by inch, and the channel itself was twisting and compressing. What was even more terrifying was that the Gale Winds, originally constrained within the channel, had lost control. Like a beast breaking out of a cage, they charged about recklessly.
Bibi Dong's gaze hardened. Complex cyan patterns surfaced on the surface of the light cocoon. Those patterns seemed to be the text of the wind, recording the wind's rhythm and laws. The Gale Winds rushing to impact hit the patterns and were actually absorbed and transformed, reinforcing the strength of the cocoon in return.
"Use their spear to build their shield," Bibi Dong said softly. "This is one of the most basic law applications in the Wind God inheritance—the circulation and conversion of wind."
Dai Chengfeng observed those patterns carefully, trying to understand the mystery within. However, at his current realm, he could only vaguely feel the profound rhythm contained within them, unable to truly decipher them. This was the essential difference between Divine Laws and mortal Soul Skills—the former points straight to the source of the world, while the latter is merely a superficial application of power.
The light cocoon rose rapidly through the collapsing wind tunnel, like a swimming fish moving against the current.
It was unknown how much time passed—in such a tense environment, the perception of time became blurred—a spot of light finally appeared ahead.
That was the exit of the wind tunnel, and also the entrance to the Gale Zone.
However, the Gale Zone at this moment was far more violent than when they had entered, by more than ten times!
The entire Gale Zone seemed like an enraged ocean. Dense cyan-black wind blades cut, collided, and exploded against each other, forming a death domain capable of tearing even space apart. What was even more terrifying was that the edges of the Gale Zone began to contract inward. The spatial structure was extremely unstable and could collapse completely at any moment, dragging everything into the void turbulence.
"We're in big trouble," Dai Chengfeng said heavily. Even if Bibi Dong had obtained the Wind God inheritance, whether they could pass through safely in the face of this scale of Heaven and Earth's might was still unknown.
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