Chapter 1377: They Speak

When Chen Ling saw the aurora over Tongzhou, he had a suspicion. The residual auroras contained no souls, only empty husks. Only the Aurora Lord could take so many souls.

When he personally witnessed Yang Xiao's incredibly powerful soul, he suddenly realized that the Aurora Lord's power was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

Tuning other people's bio-magnetic fields and integrating them into his own. In other words, he could absorb the souls of the newly deceased around him to enhance his power.

The last person capable of something similar was the Wuji Lord, Lou Yu, but Lou Yu relied on the alchemy of the Witch God Path to create the Philosopher's Stone. Yang Xiao, however, didn't need to; he could directly absorb souls for his own use.

This meant that in an era of greater chaos and casualties, Yang Xiao's growth rate would be faster.

"Why is this happening...?" Yang Xiao stared blankly at the aurora surrounding him, subconsciously shaking his head. "No... I never intended to absorb them into my soul... I don't know what's going on!"

"You were hit by a nuclear weapon. Survival is simply an instinct of your ability. It's not your fault."

Self-reproach and pain reappeared on Yang Xiao's face. He was already tormented by his failure to save those people, and now knowing that he had survived because of their deaths made his inner turmoil even worse.

The charred hands that reached out from behind him in his dreams seemed to rest on his shoulders once more, slowly dragging him into an endless abyss.

Yang Xiao's breathing became heavy.

"When they merged with you, you must have heard their voices, right?" Chen Ling looked into his eyes. "Think carefully... Were they truly blaming and cursing you?"

Yang Xiao was slightly startled.

His brows furrowed tightly as if he were struggling to recall the situation. He remembered the flames engulfing everything, an endless aurora surrounding him, and millions of cacophonous voices nearly overwhelming his mind.

What were they saying back then?

After the explosion, the souls' faces seemed to show more bewilderment.

Death had come too suddenly. Once they realized they were dead, their eyes revealed sadness and helplessness. Some held their children, others clasped their loved ones, some cried bitterly in frustration, and some cursed angrily at the sky. Of course, there were also those who looked at him with resentment, accusing him of failing to protect them.

But when Yang Xiao's ability activated, his soul gradually merged with those of the deceased. His memories, personality, and thoughts all linked with their souls.

They felt Yang Xiao's pure and simple soul.

Those who cursed stopped, and those who wept showed regret and pity in their eyes. Millions of souls, in the form of aurora, encircled Yang Xiao, watching the "Aurora Lord" on the verge of collapse in the sea of fire with an incredibly complex gaze.

They knew he had tried his best; they knew he truly wanted to save them.

It was just that... he wasn't strong enough yet.

Their souls gradually transformed into aurora and merged with Yang Xiao. At the same time, they all opened their mouths to say something, and hands lifted into the air, reaching towards the Aurora Lord in the sea of fire.

The aurora from all directions streamed towards Yang Xiao, just as they had surged towards him before the nuclear bomb fell.

Inside the ship's cabin, Yang Xiao clutched his head, as if struggling to recall what they had said and why he had chosen to fly towards the sea afterward. He felt he was on the verge of understanding.

Chen Ling didn't disturb him, knowing that Yang Xiao would have to confront all of this sooner or later. Just then, the roar of numerous fighter jets echoed from above.

Chen Ling frowned, looking up at the deck above.

"Hawk calling Seal 3!"

"Hawk calling Seal 3!!"

"Respond if you receive, repeat, respond if you receive!"

Chen Ling knew these destroyers were merely scouts for the U.S. Seventh Fleet; the main force was behind them. Now that these destroyers had been destroyed, the Seventh Fleet had likely realized something and locked all their firepower onto this sole surviving destroyer, which ironically had no survivors.

The main force likely included a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and numerous other vessels. Their conventional weapon strike capability was beyond doubt. Chen Ling wasn't afraid himself, but the problem was Yang Xiao was still on board. He didn't possess Chen Ling's powerful eighth-tier disaster body, and it would be difficult for him to survive a direct, large-scale conventional weapon strike.

"They've locked onto this position," Chen Ling said gravely. "Let's go. I'll get you out of here."

Yang Xiao, who was deep in struggling to remember, suddenly seemed to recall something and trembled slightly.

"I remember now..." Yang Xiao murmured.

"The last thing they said to me before merging with my soul... I remember it."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!!!

The dense sound of missiles tearing through the sky rapidly approached the destroyer where Chen Ling was.

Chen Ling's expression changed. He immediately stepped forward, intending to get Yang Xiao out, but the next second, a brilliant aurora erupted from Yang Xiao's eyes!

A terrifying aura, like a tsunami, pushed Chen Ling back half a step. He stared in astonishment at Yang Xiao, from whom aurora continuously overflowed. In that moment, Yang Xiao bore a faint resemblance to the Aurora Lord within Aurora City!

Dozens of missiles whistled through the sky, flying towards the destroyer like a net. Just as they were about to detonate...

Yang Xiao slowly spoke:

"They said..."

"'Avenge me.'"

A magnificent and vast aurora swept out from within the destroyer like an explosive shockwave. The countless missiles about to hit the ship's hull seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, instantly freezing in mid-air!

No matter how much exhaust flared from their tailpipes, no matter how much power surged through them, the missiles could not advance an inch!

The aurora illuminated the previously dim cabin with brilliant light. Under Chen Ling's gaze, Yang Xiao slowly looked up. With a thought, the metal frames and screws forming the deck and cabin ceiling trembled simultaneously, then began to automatically dismantle and float. A circular opening, leading directly to the deck above, was instantly cleared.

Dim skylight streamed through the opening, illuminating Yang Xiao inside the cabin. He lightly shifted onto his toes, and his body, as if freed from the Earth's magnetic field, slowly floated upwards.

As the Seventh Fleet watched from a great distance, Yang Xiao's figure rose from within the destroyer, and an incomparably powerful aura surged in all directions!

His white research robe whipped wildly in the sea breeze. Unbeknownst to anyone, the aurora had already filled the entire sky!