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"Can you tell me their story?"
Gu Yuena gazed at the three women in the image, who stood like triplets behind that man, overlooking the entire Star Dou Great Forest. Yet, the eyes of those three women occasionally flickered toward Bai Xu.
That look—Nana knew it all too well.
Bi Ji shook her head. "My Lady... some things..."
She fell silent for a long moment before continuing, "...are better left unknown. Illusions may be false or real, but they are also what one clings to, the end of one's heart... Just keep walking this path... with the Tang family."
Bi Ji refused to elaborate. Back then, the soul beasts had been entirely at the mercy of the Tang family's schemes. If not for his appearance, they would have stood no chance at all.
"Ah! Aunt Bi Ji, come on! Tell me! I want to hear it too!" Bai Yue grew excited at the mention of her parents' story.
"Is there... something I shouldn't know? Are you afraid I'll grow jealous? Or that I'll betray Wulin? I wouldn't..." Nana smiled bitterly. She just wanted to understand the version of herself in this world.
She was already under house arrest, with the Water Dragon King as her jailer.
She had sneaked in without the strength to escape, and now, confinement was the best outcome she could hope for.
Bi Ji let out a long sigh, giving Nana a meaningful glance before soothing Bai Yue. "From the moment he was born, the master was extraordinary. It's said he possessed the ability to see through past and future. His first meeting with our Lady was at East Sea Academy..."
"..."
"At the time, the master had immense courage. Guided by the will of the plane's spirit, he formed a soul contract with our Lady—a partnership. The master borrowed the resources of the soul beasts, while our Lady gained knowledge of the future. That was when we learned... that the then-ruler of the plane was the father of the Sea God Tang San, while the life core of Douluo Continent was his mother. And Tang Wulin... was the son of the Sea God."
"So, you killed Wulin in his childhood?" Nana guessed. She already knew most of this, though by then... it had been close to the end.
Bi Ji shook her head. "No. At that time, none of us could kill Tang Wulin. With his grandparents and the three God King-level divine senses his father left in his body, even our Lady couldn't have killed him. Everything was under their family's control."
Nana's pupils constricted. "Three... God King-level divine senses?"
"Yes. It's said they granted him three chances to save himself from peril. After that, we went into hiding..."
"..."
"At first, our Lady realized she had fallen in love with the master. She laid everything bare before us, declaring that between the soul beasts and Bai Xu, she would choose the soul beasts. She planned to exploit their bond and ambush the master from behind once their cooperation was complete—when he and Tang Hao were both weakened from their battle. She intended to kill him. As long as she seized the Golden Dragon King's bloodline and became the Dragon God, she could ascend to the heavens in a single step. Even if the Divine Realm returned, it would be powerless against her."
"And then?!" Bai Yue's eyes sparkled as she urged Bi Ji to continue.
Nana listened silently, her heart bitter.
"Then... what happened next shattered our Lady's hopes of becoming the Dragon God. First, the old Dragon God only bestowed his trials upon those he favored. Whether it was Gu Yuena, Gu Yue, Na'er, or even Tang Wulin as the Golden Dragon King—none received the Dragon God's acknowledgment. Without inheriting the old Dragon God's divine position, forcibly merging the gold and silver dragon bloodlines... would only lead to madness again, repeating history and plunging the soul beasts into peril once more."
"Second..."
Bi Ji glanced at Nana. "The Sea God Tang San used Tang Wulin to plant a God King's imprint in our Lady's spiritual sea. This act severed the last thread of her hope to become the Dragon God, forcing us to turn to the master. And it was precisely this act that led us to where we are today."
Hearing this, Nana's pupils shrank violently. A familiar memory surfaced in her mind.
It was during the Golden Dragon bloodline's rampage. She had been suppressing the berserk Tang Wulin when... a figure seemed to have done something to her, causing a sharp pain in her head—though it vanished almost instantly.
At the time, she had been too preoccupied with suppressing the Golden Dragon to notice. But now, recalling it, her face turned ashen. "No... impossible! A spiritual imprint? How?!"
Panicked, Nana frantically searched her spiritual sea for traces of that moment.
As a deity, she knew all too well the importance of the spiritual sea. If someone could tamper with it undetected, the consequences were unthinkable—they could enslave her completely.
Bi Ji watched with a knowing expression, unsurprised. "The first time we met, the master saw our future... our Lady became a God King in the Divine Realm. Given how things stand now, marrying into the Tang family might indeed allow you to join them once the Divine Realm returns... and attain the status of a God King."
Nana could no longer listen. She was too busy scouring her spiritual sea for any remnants of that imprint. But... ten thousand years had passed. Everything had long since faded.
---
Central Hall.
"Boss, don't make this hard for us. We can't betray the Federation to rescue you.. The boss I knew died ten thousand years ago. And the Tang family... they've paid for their actions, recorded in history as the most vile figures of all time." Xie Xie sighed.
"What are you talking about?! My parents, my grandfather, and grandmother—they all contributed greatly to Douluo Continent, maintaining peace for nearly ten thousand years! How could they be reviled by the world?!" Tang Wulin roared in fury.
Xie Xie said nothing. Ten thousand years had passed—he was no longer the young man of the past. He had long abandoned the name of Shrek, pledging his loyalty to the Federation.
"Ten thousand years ago, I had a decent impression of you. But now... you've grown more and more like your parents and grandparents."
A soft sigh came from the doorway. A handsome young man stepped in, his body exuding a faint, razor-sharp aura of spear intent. His presence alone suffocated Tang Wulin, making him feel as if he could be crushed at any moment.
"S-Sect Master?!" Tang Wulin's pupils shrank to pinpricks. He had heard of the Spear God's legend but never imagined he would see him again.
Yun Ming had died long ago, perishing in an attack by evil soul masters, his divine position self-destructed. Yet now... he had become a deity.
"Don't call me Sect Master. I haven't been one for a long time. Now, I'm considered an ancestor of the Federation. I'm here to negotiate with another Douluo Federation. They're willing to pay a hefty ransom to retrieve you... the Dragon Emperor Douluo." Yun Ming cut straight to the point.
"What about Gu Yuena?! What have you done to her?!" Tang Wulin's first thought was of her.
"She's probably imprisoned by the Dragon God. Since she's a member of the dragon clan, we don't interfere." Gradually, more voices joined in. Space rippled as familiar faces emerged—Ling Zichen, Ya Li, and others.
"You... you're all still alive? You've lived for ten thousand years?!" Tang Wulin was stunned, memories of the past flooding back.
"The commotion you and that Silver Dragon King caused was no small matter. All us old monsters from the Longevity Secret Realm came out to meet you. We've heard that in your world... we're already dead." Yun Ming remarked.
"Tang Wulin, come with us. The Douluo Federation wants to ransom you. Let's see if they're willing to trade an entire planet for your return." Qi Donglai said calmly.
Tang Wulin paled. "An entire planet?! You're nothing but bandits!"
"Hah. Compared to your Tang family... we're saints. Over these ten thousand years, the plane's will has finally let go of its old grudges. Otherwise... the moment you appeared in this world, endless heavenly tribulation would have struck you down to avenge the blood debt. I have to admit, Tang San was cunning. He hollowed out Douluo to serve your family. Usurping the plane, Tang Hao became its ruler, while A Yin became the life core. From the moment he became a god, every deity on Douluo was under his control."
With a wave of his hand, Qi Donglai transported everyone, including Tang Wulin, to another scene.
Two hundred-meter-tall statues knelt in penitence, their souls seemingly trapped in endless remorse, murmuring incoherently.
Tang Wulin's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. "Grandfather... Grandmother! You—you've imprisoned their souls and tortured them for ten thousand years?! You monsters!"
Now, Tang Wulin had no time for nostalgia. Surrounded by cold stares fixed on the statues, he felt his blood boil. But under Di Tian's seal, he couldn't even summon a trace of his Golden Dragon bloodline.
Bai Xu's methods had endured for ten thousand years, and no one knew what torment Tang Hao and A Yin had suffered. Before leaving, Bai Xu had entrusted the means to release them to the plane's spirit—if it so wished, they could be freed to reincarnate.
"If I return to Douluo... I will come back and make you pay for this humiliation!"
The others only laughed, offering no reply.