DD Black White [369-370] (Patreon)

Chapter 369: Battle in the Imperial Palace

"…Forget it."

Mobius exhaled softly—part resignation, part resolve.

"Let's call it… reclaiming an interesting specimen, or else…"

She drew a small line with her fingertip. A miniature, ghostly green spatial rift opened, and from it floated a dark-violet core radiating ominous, mighty energy.

Its surface seemed to be corroded by viscous streams of data and shadow—precisely the Herrscher of Corruption core that Lu Jingming had handed to her.

"Perhaps this is fate."

A playful glint flowed through Mobius's emerald serpent eyes. She tapped her finger; the dark-violet Herrscher of Corruption core rose, its baleful power swelling.

"After all, little one, your original identity… was the Herrscher of Corruption, no? For you, this core is… returning to its rightful owner—back to your origin."

Before the words had faded, Mobius's gaze sharpened. Guided by her precise power, the Herrscher core imbued with corruptive authority slowly sank toward Yae Sakura's chest—where her form was most fragile and where the core had first collapsed.

Verdant halos—the hue of boundless life—surged alongside the dark-violet radiance—the sigil of Corruption. Two seemingly opposed, contradictory forces, yet under Mobius's control, they reached a dangerous equilibrium, working in concert upon Yae Sakura's body on the verge of vanishing.

"The Grailgranted Servant vessel has completely collapsed. The core is dissipating rapidly. Conventional repair can only slow the process. Ultimately, it's futile."

Her voice held the fevered calm of a researcher in midexperiment—as though what lay before her wasn't a life, but a test subject.

"But what if we use this Herrscher of Corruption as her new existential anchor?"

Darkviolet light, like a living thing, swiftly melded into Yae Sakura's body.

In a sudden spasm, the unconscious girl arched, a strangled whimper of agony tearing from her throat. Uncanny violetblack circuitlike markings—like overloaded circuitry and scrambled data—raced across her skin. Rampant Honkai energy seemed poised to shred her remaining consciousness.

And yet Mobius's domineering green lifeenergy forcibly suppressed and channeled it, steering the Honkai rampage into a controllable fusion track.

"Hm?"

Mobius let out a soft note of surprise; astonishment flashed in her serpent pupils.

"The fusion speed and adaptability… far beyond expectations. As I thought—her compatibility with this core is astonishing."

Before her eyes, Yae Sakura's body absorbed the core's power with an almost instinctive efficiency. The energy body that the Holy Grail system had built upon negativity was swiftly being broken down and corroded by the core—then reforged into a purer, stronger form: a body composed of highly condensed Honkai energy.

Mobius soon looked enlightened and glanced at the tense Higokumaru.

"I see… You two are in deep symbiosis. And you, little one, were originally the Herrscher who wields the power of Corruption, weren't you? If she couldn't perfectly synchronize with this core, that would be the real oddity."

Such perfect compatibility is rare. Whether it was the Snow Empress, the Demon Empress, or Huo Yuhao—their Herrscher cores were not perfect matches, and the power they could exert had limits.

The violent energy fluctuations gradually subsided.

The dark-violet glow drew inward; the verdant lifelight slowly dispersed.

Yae Sakura's body was no longer translucent or illusory. Instead it emanated a solid, full presence. Faint dark-violet luminescence flowed beneath her skin, a sign of a fundamental transformation in her essence.

At her heart, a dark-violet core mark slowly sank and vanished, as if it had wholly merged with her.

Her breathing lengthened and steadied. Though still in deep coma, all vital signs stabilized.

This stability sprang from an independent, selfsourced core—not sustained by the Holy Grail system or negative energy.

Like Phantylia, Yae Sakura had acquired the Herrscher of Corruption core, passing from the unreal to the more real.

At the same time, in the instant she successfully fused with the core, the faint thread binding her to the Holy Grail was severed and overwritten.

To the Holy Grail's reckoning, the Servant named Yae Sakura had died and exited the stage.

The energy overflow from the dissolution of her negativeenergy body was drawn in from afar by the Grail, converted to pure positive energy, and silently nourished the Douluo Star.

…

Far off on the other side of the Mingdu battlefield, Bei Bei clutched the unconscious Tang Ya as Jing Yuan sped them out of the city.

Behind them, the Holy Spirit Church fought a retreat. Huo Yuhao commanded a vast undead legion and Borisin warriors, doggedly entangling Joan of Arc, Aglaea, and the rest to stall their pursuit.

Even the formidable Hysilens and Cerydra were, for the moment, mired by the endless undead tide and Borisin artillery and found it hard to break through.

From the moment they saw Aglaea on the battlefield, it was inevitable that Hysilens and Cerydra would stand unhesitatingly at her side.

Hysilens's ties to Aglaea needn't be belabored, and in her original world, Cerydra had cultivated Aglaea as her successor.

Reunited in this other world, of course they would share a common enemy.

Then Jing Yuan's sharp eyes noticed the crimson Command Seal on the back of Tang Ya's hand fading visibly—vanishing entirely.

He knew exactly what that meant.

He sighed lightly in his heart, shook his head, but said nothing—only quickened their retreat.

He had no wish to aid the Holy Spirit Church, so he took only Bei Bei and Tang Ya. Otherwise, with his strength, he could have singlehandedly blocked all Shrek pursuers.

Once Bei Bei and Tang Ya were safe, he intended to pay the Lord Ravager a visit. At that thought, his gaze flicked skyward.

There, flames of annihilation and hunting gales split the sky in two, locked in stalemate.

…

"Alright, the troublesome part's preliminarily handled."

Mobius waved lazily. A darkgreen energy serpent, alive with motion, appeared from nothing and deftly coiled around the unconscious Yae Sakura to lift her.

Whether from some perverse humor or otherwise, the serpent's coils happened to trace the graceful lines of Yae Sakura's figure, presenting a posture both embarrassing and strangely alluring.

But Higokumaru had no attention to spare for her big sister being arranged in a shameful pose.

Her small body of flame flickered violently with excitement; Mobius's offhand remark kept echoing in her head—

"Come. Let's find you, little one, a patron. If you can win his favor, perhaps… you might see your sister again."

Mobius paused deliberately, watching Higokumaru freeze in stunned disbelief; the corner of her mouth curved, pleased with her mischief:
"By the way, that Sister Elysia of yours… she's here too."

Before the nearly exploding Higokumaru could respond, Mobius chuckled, turned, and stepped into a quietly opening green spatial rift.

The energy serpent bore Yae Sakura in after her.

Higokumaru let out a sound mixture of joy, hope, and disbelief, transformed into an impatient streak of light, and flashed through the rift.

…

Mingdu Imperial Palace—its former gilded splendor was gone, replaced by shattered walls and raging energy turbulence.

Cold killing intent and violent soul power intertwined, turning this former center of power into a battlefield of relentless slaughter.

He Caitou's eyes were bloodred, a decade of pentup hatred erupting like a volcano in his chest.

Though he stood at the heart of battle and had Servant Karna's deliberate protection, his lifesaving soul tools had all shattered, and his soul power was nearly exhausted.

Death's breath hovered close, but he didn't care.

His gaze, sharp as a blade, was locked on a figure not far away—Xu Tianran.

At this moment, his only obsession was to see Karna slay his enemy before his life burned out.

Otherwise, he would not die content!

"Xu Tianran, today I'll take your dog life to honor my father, mother, and sister in the heavens!"

He Caitou's hoarse roar was steeped in bonedeep hatred. He abandoned defense entirely, pouring all remaining soul power—indeed his very life potential—into the massive soul cannon in his hands. The scorching barrel gathered his last hate and fury.

"With just yo-?"

Before Xu Tianran finished, a heartpalpitating purpleblack energy spread from him, reeking of doom—this was the boon of the Lord Ravager, Phantylia.

His martial soul, the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon, was already a toptier destructionattribute soul. With Phantylia's infusion, it had mutated further. Violetblack light flowed along its scales, its pressure far beyond ordinary top spirits—a super martial soul.

But He Caitou's greatest reliance was never himself.

Before his roar had faded, brilliance like a blazing sun tore through the chaotic fray, bypassed Long Xiaoyao's obstruction, and stood before him.

That holy, dazzling light seemed to gather all radiance under heaven.

Clad in golden armor and wielding an undying flamewreathed divine spear, a figure became an unassailable bulwark before He Caitou.

His Servant: the Son of the Sun—Karna.

Karna's expression remained calm and indifferent. His moltengold eyes were still waters as he simply regarded Xu Tianran and, beside him, Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui, both with auras ragged and clothes torn.

Clearly, in earlier exchanges these two famed Limit Douluo had gained no advantage against the Sun God's son—indeed, they had suffered.

Karna spoke not a word, only lifted his Undying Spear slightly.

Flames at the spearpoint burned in a soundless fury. The air seethed with heat. His pure, vast divinity crashed into Xu Tianran's aura of destruction and the twin pressures of the two Limit Douluo—and, overwhelmingly, forced their combined momentum back.

In the next instant, Karna moved—a golden streak that rent heaven and earth. The divine spear thrust straight toward Xu Tianran's heart.

Long Xiaoyao flickered like a phantom, splitting into a thousand shadows. A dragon claw, condensed with darkness, reached to seize or deflect the spear's line.

Ye Xishui shrieked, unleashing a boundless sea of blood. The foul, corrosive tide, which devoured flesh and soul, surged from the flank to foul Karna's immaculate divinity.

He Caitou roared his last, pouring all soul power into the cannon. A bloodred beam, laden with infinite hate, lanced toward Xu Tianran.

But the gap in strength was too vast.

Xu Tianran didn't even move. The phantom of the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon behind him spat a concentrated torrent of violet annihilation that easily shattered and erased the blood beam.

The torrent hurtled on toward the exhausted He Caitou.

Karna was forced to split his attention. His molten eyes flared, revealing the true name of a Noble Phantasm: "O Brahma, cover the earth!"

Not a spear strike—searing solar rays shot from his eyes, precisely intercepting Xu Tianran's attack and neutralizing it.

But that instant of division gave Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui a breath. Together they barely parried Karna's assault.

Just then, a wild, furious bellow cracked the sky like thunder:
"Xu Tianran, you wretch—come die!"

A figure blazing green, exuding boundless toxins and tyrannical vital force, crashed into the field like a meteor—straight at Xu Tianran.

The newcomer: Sect Master of the Body Sect—Du Bushi.

His life force surged like an ocean. Venom and the ultimate power of his Body Martial Soul fused perfectly, making him a demon of toxic flame.

His arrival shattered the stalemate at once.

Disregarding his own defense, he fought to trade life for life.

He focused all his raging power on a single point, tore open the joint defense of Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui with a roar, and slammed a vast green palm—condensed from a Limit Douluo's cultivation and deadly poison—square at Xu Tianran's face.

Xu Tianran's expression finally changed.

Facing a newly ascended Limit Douluo's deathblow, he dared not be careless.

Violetblack destruction surged madly. The dragon phantom roared. He threw a punch to meet the toxic palm headon.

Boom—!!!

The terrifying blast deafened.

Chapter 370: The Death of He Caitou

Toxins and destruction intertwined and annihilated each other. The shockwave razed the ruins again.

Du Bushi shuddered and staggered a step back.

Xu Tianran stumbled back several steps; a sweetness rose in his throat, and he nearly spat blood—but he forced it down, an unhealthy flush rising to his face.

Even with Phantylia's boon, his power surged, but against Du Bushi's wrathful strike—backed by a Body Martial Soul at rank 99—he showed a clear deficit.

"Du Bushi, you court death."

Murder boiled in Xu Tianran's eyes—rage and shame mingled.

"I've lived long enough. If I can drag a scourge like you to hell today, that's a bargain well struck."

Laughing madly, Du Bushi suppressed his roiling blood and charged again—fiercer than before.

Karna would not miss such a chance. His spear blazed like a small sun. His assault grew even more incisive, binding Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui so tightly they could not break free to aid Xu Tianran.

As Du Bushi lunged for Xu Tianran, a calm voice sounded.

"Sect Master Du, have you forgotten this old man is your opponent?"

With the voice, a crystalline barrier inscribed with countless intricate soultool sigils appeared silently between Xu Tianran and Du Bushi.

The mountainshattering, allcorroding toxic palm slammed into the crystal wall, which rippled with violent rings—but held fast. Not a trace of poison seeped through.

A moment later, Kong Deming stepped from the void, face serene as a deep pool, holding a delicate, silverglowing domeshaped soul tool.

The soft silver light radiated a soul force so vast it made hearts quail.

"Elder Kong."

Xu Tianran smiled upon seeing him.

Du Bushi's sudden breakout had indeed slipped past Kong Deming's block, but Xu Tianran did not think it intentional.

Kong Deming had now intercepted Du Bushi in time—proof enough.

Though they had clashed unpleasantly before, it didn't stop Xu Tianran from wielding this imperial blade.

He knew the imperial grand worship well: Kong Deming cared only for the Sun–Moon Empire's interests and the royal house's safety; besides that, only for soul tools.

And Xu Tianran was the Empire's future. As long as he lived, unification remained possible. Mingdu's fall was a setback; the Empire's roots were intact.

Kong Deming gave Xu Tianran the slightest nod, then turned to the grim Du Bushi.

"Sect Master Du, having reached the limit, why so impatient—why rush to mothtoflame? Allow this old man to finish our unfinished match."

With that, the silver dome—the Silver Moon Divine Light Shield—soared aloft.

A web of impossibly complex soultool arrays flared. Silver light surged, and like an inverted bowl, it formed a vast silver domain that swallowed the raging Du Bushi whole.

A rank10 soul tool—the Silver Moon Divine Light Shield.

With this pinnacle of Sun–Moon soultool craft, Kong Deming could, lacking a Limit body, nonetheless restrain—even suppress—the freshly ascended and surging Du Bushi.

Know that with a golden Body Martial Soul awakening, Du Bushi's strength far exceeded an ordinary newly minted rank99 Douluo—enough to contend with veterans like Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui.

The battlefield was forcibly partitioned again.

Kong Deming, by virtue of the Silver Moon Shield, dragged the greatest variable—Du Bushi—into a separate domain duel.

On the main field, Xu Tianran snatched a breath and regrouped with Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui.

Opposite them stood He Caitou, spent of soul power and running on hate alone, and Karna, invincible in mien but unable to go allout while protecting his Master.

Though He Caitou shouted for Karna to ignore him and strike down Xu Tianran, how could the Altruistic Hero, the Son of the Sun, watch his contracted Master die before his eyes and remain unmoved?
That concern was an invisible shackle upon the sun's light.

The battle seemed to sink again into suffocating stalemate and despair.

In He Caitou's eyes, the flame of revenge still burned, yet a tint of powerlessness and sorrow crept in unbidden.

Above the palace ruins, the fighting was at its cruelest.

Feeling the last threads of soul power dry up, watching Karna—glorious even twoonone—yet ever turning to shield him, a surge rose in He Caitou's heart.

Vengeance!

His only reason to live was revenge.

If his existence shackled the hero and doomed their vengeance, what meaning had his lingering breath?
"Karna!"

He Caitou cried with all he had left, his voice broken but chillingly calm.

"My Servant, forgive my selfishness… and forgive my incompetence."

Karna's molten eyes trembled faintly, as if he would speak.

But He Caitou gave him no chance.

He looked one last time at his hated enemy, Xu Tianran—eyes full of regret and unwillingness: regret that he would not witness his death, unwilling that his family's blooddebt would not be settled by his own hands.

A heartbeat later, all that emotion became a final entrustment and faith.

"Karna!"

He raised the crimson Command Seal on his hand—its glow brighter than ever.

"My hatred, my obsession, my all… I entrust to you. Please, sever this karma for me."

This was not a command, but a last prayer and bequest.

As the words fell, He Caitou leapt from Karna's protection and charged straight for Xu Tianran—into the deathzone woven by Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui.

He spread his arms. In his eyes—no fear, only release, only final hope.

"Courting death!"

Xu Tianran snorted. A sweep of purple lightning. Ye Xishui's blood sea engulfed the charging figure.

Only Long Xiaoyao sighed and shook his head.

No miracle came.

Spent of power and bereft of defense, He Caitou's body was torn and devoured like a broken doll… Only his eyes, to the last, locked on Xu Tianran.

He Caitou—dead.

"…"

Karna's movements froze for an instant.

On his everplacid face, something seemed to crack.

In his molten pupils, for the first time, emotion boiled—pain at failing to protect, and a mountainous burden: the hatred that had been entrusted to him.

Slowly—terribly slowly—he lifted his head. His gaze slid past Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui and fixed on the suddenly uneasy Xu Tianran.

"Master."

The low voice sounded—calm as a still pool, yet chilling.

"Your grievance, your wish—I, Karna… have received them in full."

In the next heartbeat, the sun descended.

"O Brahma, curse my flesh!"

Karna hesitated not at all and invoked his Noble Phantasm.

His spear swept; a flood of annihilating flame, borne on crushing radiance, swallowed everything ahead.

Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui blanched, defending with all they had. Shadows and bloodseas keened under the sun's blaze, boiling away.

They were blasted into the distance, bodies charred, their auras instantly halved.

But that was only the beginning.

"O Brahma, cover the earth!"

Karna's eyes shone brighter than the sun. Stronger beams poured forth in indiscriminate saturation fire.

The palace ruins—and far beyond—shuddered and melted under the onslaught, power enough to topple a city.

Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui mustered their last strength to raise a joint defense, but under such relentless Phantasm fire, their bulwark was shredded layer by layer like paper.

In the end, the destroying light consumed them.

When the light faded, the two lay at the bottom of a vast crater—bodies ruined, life flickering like candles in the wind, near extinction.

Blood dribbled from Long Xiaoyao's lips. He turned his head with effort to look at the likewise dying Ye Xishui.

Those eyes, always so complicated, held only fatigue—and a trace of release.

"Xishui… kh… in the end… we still…"

His voice broke to whispers.

Ye Xishui's pale face formed the faintest, most complex smile.

"Heh… Xiaoyao… we… were wrong… both of us… too stubborn…"

Blood stained her words.

"If there's a next life…"

"If there's a next life… don't…"

Long Xiaoyao tried to lift his hand; it fell, powerless.

Entangled for a lifetime, the two Limit Douluo, at the end, finally laid down all grudges. In their eyes remained only each other, as they slowly closed them.

Karna's gaze did not waver—still locked on Xu Tianran, who, though battered by the backlash, clung to life by the power of the dragon and Phantylia's boon.

He felt his Master's final obsession urging him on.

He raised his spear; all radiance drew inward—condensing to a single point at the tip.

That point of light held the secret of creation and end. For the first time, Xu Tianran felt mortal terror.

"O Sun, obey death!"

Karna unleashed his true godslaying lance—his antidivinity Phantasm—its ultimate power, without reserve, at Xu Tianran.

Xu Tianran screamed in despair, amassing all his destructive power to his front—his last struggle.

In the distance, within the Silver Moon Shield, Kong Deming's face changed drastically.

Though inside his domain, external cataclysms and the shifting course of battle could not escape his senses.

The turn had come too fast.

From He Caitou's resolute death, to the twin Limit Douluo falling under Karna's unleashed brilliance—it all happened in a flash, too quick to breathe.

"This is bad!"

Kong Deming blurted, waves crashing in his heart.

He had never imagined that the Sun's son, stripped of restraints and burning his existence to ascend, would be this terrifying—beyond anyone's reckoning.

That was not power humans could block.

The crisis spurred an instant decision—he had to reinforce.

Even knowing he was no match for Karna as he was now, he had to try to extract Xu Tianran. The Empire's future could not end here.

He moved to retract the Silver Moon Shield and hurled himself toward the main field.

But at the instant his mind wavered and the domain slackened—

"Roar!!"

A deafening bellow exploded within the domain.

The massive darkgreen figure he had suppressed burst through the silver bonds with brutal force—like a volcanic mountain of poison—and planted itself before him.

Du Bushi.

Though still bearing scars from his earlier clash with the domain, his bulging eyes now burned with excitement and glee—none of his prior frustration remained.

He grinned wide, voice booming:

"Hahaha! Old man, didn't you just block me to your heart's content? Now the wheel turns. It's my turn to block you. Leave? No way."

The sudden reversal made Du Bushi's heart soar.

Moments before, he'd thought the assassination had failed and was planning a minimalloss retreat.

Who would have thought—after darkness, light.

That Shrek lad, He Caitou, had, by such resolve, bought the Sun Servant's unbridled eruption.

That sacred, destroying aura sweeping heaven and earth; that instant annihilation of two Limit Douluo.

Du Bushi felt clearly—if not on par with the flying Xiao he had personally tasted, then not far off.

This power would be more than enough to blast Xu Tianran to slag.

His goal was within reach.

Best of all, it seemed he needn't throw his life away to achieve it.

For him, this development was perfect.

"You Shrek—beautifully done. Well played."

Elated, Du Bushi even praised the fallen He Caitou aloud.

"Since you staked your life for revenge, this old man will lend you a hand today—by holding off the greatest variable."

His massive figure stood like an unscalable escarpment, barring Kong Deming from the main field. Billowing poison fused with raging vital force to form a domain that sealed every path.

Against a Limit Douluo going all out, Kong Deming would not be reinforcing anytime soon.