> [System rewards being distributed...]
[Reward obtained: Revival Herb ×1]
[Item Effect: Contains the Law of life and death reversal. It can resurrect a deceased target and restore them to half of their maximum health.]
Liu Yuan sat upright on a hardwood chair inside the Duke's Mansion's secret chamber.
Looking at the dark green herb floating within his Sea of Consciousness, radiating a faint, bitter fragrance, he frowned in confusion.
"Revival Herb?"
He muttered softly.
Originally, he had expected the System to grant him something that would increase his offensive power or strengthen his Law-based abilities now that he had reached Rank 85 and was facing the threat of the God Realm.
Instead, it had given him the Revival Herb.
Although its description sounded extraordinary, to Liu Yuan it seemed even less useful than the Escape Rope.
After all...
There was no one he needed to resurrect.
"The rewards I've been getting lately..."
"...they're becoming stranger and stranger."
Liu Yuan shook his head with a helpless smile.
He had absolute confidence in his current strength.
With his Dual Soul Cores, Dynamax Mega Rayquaza, and Primal Kyogre, very few people on the Douluo Continent could push him into a life-or-death situation.
And if he truly faced a God King like Tang San...
A resurrection that restored only half his health would probably do nothing more than let him die a second time.
"This isn't useful to me."
"I can't exactly rely on dying first just so I can use it."
With a sigh, Liu Yuan stored the Revival Herb in a corner of the System's inventory and temporarily put it out of his mind.
His cultivation had currently reached Rank 85.
Although only five ranks remained before becoming a Titled Douluo, each subsequent breakthrough would require an enormous accumulation of spirit power.
For now, he could only wait for the System to release another mission and hope it would provide an opportunity to break through the Rank 90 bottleneck.
---
Meanwhile...
Far away, during the fifteen days Liu Yuan spent completing his check-in mission...
A weary figure quietly arrived in Bright Capital, the capital of the Sun Moon Empire.
It was Huo Yuhao.
Wrapped in a tattered gray cloak, he concealed his exhausted face beneath its hood.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his entire body radiated despair.
Ever since leaving the Clear Sky Fortress, he had been trapped in constant torment.
On one side stood Liu Yuan—
His benefactor.
His trusted friend.
On the other side was Wang Dong'er—
The woman he loved, whose divine soul was supposedly on the verge of dissipating.
His conscience and his love tore at each other relentlessly, pushing him toward complete collapse.
He instinctively refused to harm Liu Yuan.
Yet somehow...
His feet had unconsciously carried him all the way to Bright Capital.
---
High above, inside the God King's Hall of the God Realm...
Tang San watched Huo Yuhao enter Bright Capital through the divine mirror.
The gloom on his face finally eased.
His fingers lightly tapped the armrest of his throne as a faint smile appeared.
"Heh..."
"Just as I expected."
"Everything is proceeding according to plan."
His voice was filled with absolute confidence.
In Tang San's eyes, someone like Huo Yuhao would ultimately surrender to his emotions.
Now that he had entered Bright Capital...
It was only a matter of time before he targeted Liu Yuan.
Manipulating the weaknesses of the human heart...
Tang San had never once failed.
However...
The events that followed completely exceeded his expectations.
After arriving in Bright Capital, Huo Yuhao made no attempt to infiltrate the Duke's Mansion.
Nor did he search for an opportunity to obtain Liu Yuan's blood.
Instead...
He seemed to lose all motivation to act.
He rented a room in a shabby tavern hidden deep within one of the city's back alleys.
For the next fifteen days...
He did nothing except drink.
Every morning before dawn, he sat alone in the darkest corner of the tavern, swallowing one cup of cheap, burning ale after another.
He tried to drown his thoughts in alcohol...
To escape the impossible choice before him.
This continued until the morning of the sixteenth day.
As the first rays of sunlight fell across his worn cloak...
The confusion in Huo Yuhao's eyes finally disappeared.
He had reached a decision.
"I can't attack Brother Liu Yuan..."
"That would betray everything I believe in."
His hoarse voice echoed through the nearly empty tavern as he slowly stood.
"But..."
"I also can't just watch Dong'er die."
"If I did..."
"I'd be betraying her as well."
Unable to choose between the two...
He chose a third path.
After paying for his drinks, Huo Yuhao quietly left the tavern and headed toward a remote valley outside Bright Capital.
He had decided...
To end his own life.
In his mind, once he died...
He would never again have to face this impossible choice.
And he could accompany Dong'er in death.
---
The instant Tang San witnessed this scene...
His fury exploded.
"You worthless fool!"
Tang San shot to his feet.
His elegant expression twisted with rage.
With a sweep of his arm, he sent the divine mirror flying aside.
The Sea God's Trident erupted with dazzling golden light, illuminating the entire God King's Hall.
"I painstakingly arranged everything for you!"
"I even issued divine revelations to guide you!"
"And this is your answer?"
"You choose suicide?"
Tang San was nearly driven mad with anger.
He paced back and forth across the hall, cursing under his breath.
"This kind of cowardly behavior disgraces the successor of the Sea God!"
"For the sake of a meaningless friendship..."
"You would abandon Wutong's life?"
"Huo Yuhao..."
"You have truly disappointed me."
Tang San had believed Huo Yuhao would obediently sacrifice anything for love.
Instead...
His moral conscience had become the greatest obstacle to Tang San's plans.
"Suicide?"
A sinister smile appeared on Tang San's face.
"On my chessboard..."
"Without my permission..."
"You don't even have the right to die."
He slowly narrowed his eyes.
Liu Yuan's appearance had completely disrupted the fate of the Douluo Continent.
Even Huo Yuhao...
Had become increasingly difficult to control.
Tang San began considering what harsher methods he could use to completely break Huo Yuhao's will and turn him into a truly obedient pawn.
---
At that very moment...
Inside the Duke's Mansion in Bright Capital...
While Liu Yuan was quietly planning his next step, the System panel within his Sea of Consciousness suddenly lit up once more.
A familiar ripple spread through the interface.
The crisp mechanical voice sounded again.
> [Ding! A major distortion in the plane's fate has been detected. A new mission has been triggered!]
Liu Yuan immediately frowned.
"A major distortion in the plane's fate?"
"What happened?"
"What could have caused something this serious?"
"System..."
"Explain everything in detail."
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