Chapter 226: Brigitte's Sacrifice and the Resurrection of Soul Beasts
"What's happening?"
Brigitte felt her strength soaring, her damaged origin and soul power rapidly recovering.
She realized that all the energy from the soul rings around her was being completely absorbed into her body.
This puzzled her—since soul rings in this world could normally only be absorbed by human soul masters, how was it possible for her to take them in?
Suddenly, a thought struck her. Was it possible that she had already passed the Divine Stone's trial?
Perhaps, she reasoned, that's why she could absorb all this soul ring energy and ascend to godhood.
She looked out and saw that the fallen soul beasts numbered in the tens of millions. If all their energy became her own, her cultivation would indeed soar to the realm of a million-year soul beast, truly reaching divine status.
As time passed, more and more soul rings merged with her.
But Brigitte did not wish to use the sacrifice of these soul beasts to achieve godhood. She didn't want to succeed in this way.
Biting her lip, she desperately tried to keep the soul rings out, but they seemed drawn to her, endlessly pouring in.
No matter how she resisted, nothing worked.
Half an hour later—
With another wave of destructive sword energy from the sky, countless more soul beasts perished, their rings merging into Brigitte as her age crossed nine hundred thousand years.
She sensed the surging force within her—a force almost at the level of a million-year soul beast. Her heart pounded with awe, yet she refused to lose herself in this new power.
Suddenly, a spark of insight flickered in her eyes.
She stopped resisting and instead opened herself completely, allowing even more soul rings to fuse with her.
At the instant she broke past the barrier and became a true million-year beast, a stunning radiance blanketed the entire Star Dou Forest.
A colossal green divine ring appeared behind her, enveloping Brigitte in a soft, holy light.
She was reborn, her aura utterly transformed—she now looked like a true goddess of life herself.
"So this... is the power of a god?"
Brigitte felt every soul ring absorbed and began to fathom her new strength.
The soul beasts really could cross the threshold into divinity.
She had not experienced any heavenly tribulation during her ascension. If not for the God Realm's restrictions, perhaps all soul beasts could have cultivated so smoothly to a million years.
Turning her gaze toward the raging sword energy, determination gleamed in her eyes.
She leaped skyward, her divine ring glowing even brighter.
In her hands, she gathered a power formed entirely from her life energy and hurled it at the devastating sword light.
Explosions shook the heavens as life force and sword energy clashed. The Star Dou Forest trembled violently.
Green healing rain cascaded across the land, and in its wake, all the withered plants instantly revived.
In moments, the forest's vitality was restored—except for the soul beasts, who remained almost entirely slain.
"Thank you for letting me experience the realm of a million-year soul beast. But I do not want this cultivation at the expense of your lives."
Brigitte's verdant eyes filled with sorrow as she looked far into the distance.
She knew she could never return to the real Star Dou Forest.
With a resonant shatter, the divine ring on her back broke apart, dissolving into a wave of pure life force.
The radiance flooded the entire forest, and miraculously, the dead soul beasts began to revive one after another.
As the number of revived beasts grew, Brigitte's own divine power faded.
Her physical form grew increasingly ethereal, until she seemed about to disappear entirely.
"May you all live peacefully in this world."
Her gentle gaze rested upon the resurrected soul beasts, now kneeling before her in reverence. She bestowed upon them the blessing of the gods.
Though this Star Dou Forest was only an illusion created by the Divine Stone, to her it felt like another, parallel time and space.
Here, there were no restrictions from the God Realm, no predation from soul masters, and all soul beasts could thrive in peace.
It was the future every soul beast on Douluo Continent had hoped for.
Perhaps, under her master's leadership, the soul beast race would find revival—but she herself might never live to witness it.
With a last, lingering look at the Star Dou Forest, Brigitte's body faded away.
She scattered as points of starlight, dissolving into the world itself as the illusion unraveled and vanished.
In the real Star Dou Forest, at the gate to the Divine Stone's illusion guarded by the Ten Thousand Demon King and others, the portal began to tremble violently.
"What's going on? What's happening?"
Bear Lord hurried forward, trying to stabilize the portal with his soul power.
Yet no matter what he did, the gate remained completely unaffected—his strength couldn't touch it at all.
"It was fine just moments ago… Why is it shaking so suddenly? Did something happen to Brigitte?"
The others grew increasingly uneasy.
This gate was directly linked to Brigitte's trial. Seeing it shake so terribly now made them fear the worst.
Most believed that, with a success rate below one percent, she must have failed.
But then, the trembling abruptly subsided.
A brilliant rainbow glow burst forth from the portal, covering the core of the forest in radiant light.
"What is this? Did we guess wrong—did Brigitte succeed?"
Excitement swept through the soul beasts. The power washing over the land was far too strong to be ordinary.
Even Di Tian, deep in the lake's hidden chamber, felt the tremor.
Seeing that Gu Yuena was safe, he quickly rose to investigate.
(END CHAPTER)
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