The afternoon sun hung high over Spirit City, casting long, golden fingers through the arched windows of the Supreme Pontiff's private dining room. Unlike the suffocating, holy pressure of the Worship Hall earlier that morning, this room felt like a rare bubble of normalcy.
"If you keep staring at that chicken leg like it's a Titled Douluo, it's going to run away, Renxue," Bibi Dong teased, leaning back with a glass of chilled nectar.
Renxue, still dressed in her ceremonial gold-trimmed silks, was poking a piece of glazed poultry with a silver fork, her brow furrowed in a way that looked adorable rather than intimidating. "I'm just thinking, Mother! The crystal orb... it was definitely vibrating when Yorrichi touched it. I saw it! It was like it was scared of him. How can it be Level 8? It's an insult! I should go back and kick it."
Yorrichi, who was mid-chew, let out a snort. "Renxue, it's just a number. Level 8 is higher than ninety percent of the children who awakened today. Besides," he added, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "if I'm Level 8, it just means I have to work harder to protect my 'God-Chosen' sister. Isn't that what you want? A hardworking bodyguard?"
"No!" Renxue puffed out her cheeks, her wings—which she hadn't quite figured out how to fully retract yet—fluttering slightly behind her, nearly knocking over a vase. "You're my brother, not a guard! And you're stronger than me! You beat me in the garden every morning! It makes no sense!"
Bibi Dong watched the exchange, her heart feeling a rare warmth. She reached out and ruffled Renxue's hair, much to the girl's protest. "Listen to your brother, Renxue. Talent is a starting line, not the finish. And Yorrichi," she turned her sharp, purple eyes to him, "I saw the sword. It didn't just appear; it claimed the room. We will talk more about its 'special' properties tonight. For now, eat. You've both grown five centimeters in an hour; your bodies need the fuel."
"I think I'm mostly growing in my stomach," Yorrichi joked, reaching for another bun. "Does the Seraphim bloodline come with an increased appetite? Because I feel like I could eat a whole Obsidian Tortoise."
"Don't give the kitchen ideas," Bibi Dong laughed, though her mind drifted for a second. She thought of the black stone and the way it had pulsed. She had a feeling Yorrichi's 'Level 8' was the biggest lie the Spirit Hall had ever been told, and she was going to enjoy helping him keep that secret.
While the twins were joking about chicken legs, the atmosphere in the heights of the Worship Hall was freezing.
Qian Xunji stood before his father, the Grand Worship Qian Daoliu. The earlier triumph of Renxue's awakening had faded into the cold reality of politics and power.
"Father, the scouts have confirmed it," Xunji said, his voice urgent, pacing the marble floor. "The Blue Silver Empress and the Clear Sky brat are near Lushin City. She is weak—pregnant and nearing her limit. If we act now, we secure a hundred-thousand-year ring and a soul bone for the Hall. I need you to accompany the team. Your presence would ensure zero casualties."
Qian Daoliu didn't even look up from the ancient scripture he was reading. His presence was like a mountain of gold—impenetrable and silent. "No."
Qian Xunji stopped mid-stride, his face flushing with a mix of embarrassment and rage. "Why? This is for the future of our lineage! Renxue is Level 20! She will need the best resources, the most secure environment! If we take out the Clear Sky Sect's golden boy now, we pave the way for her!"
"Xunji," Daoliu finally looked up, his eyes piercing through his son like a physical weight. "I am a Limit Douluo. I am the spokesperson for the Angel God. There are boundaries I will not cross. To lead a hunt against a junior like Tang Hao—a man who is barely a newly minted Douluo—would be a stain on the reputation of the Spirit Hall that a thousand years of prayer could not wash away."
"Reputation? Who cares about reputation when power is at stake?" Xunji hissed.
"I care," Daoliu's voice dropped an octave, the air in the room vibrating. "And you should too. If the High Worships begin hunting juniors, the world will descend into a chaos that even we cannot control. Furthermore, Tang Hao is a man of the Clear Sky Sect. If you kill him without absolute justification, you risk a total war that will burn the continent. My duty is to the Hall's stability, not to your personal trophy room."
Xunji bit his lip so hard it bled. He felt like a child being lectured. Always the same. He sits on his throne of 'honor' while I do the dirty work.
"The Elders have already reported," Xunji said, trying to maintain his composure. "A Soul Douluo, Shadow-Step, tracked them. He sent a message before being engaged. We need to act fast before they vanish into the Star Dou Forest. If you won't go, I will lead the pursuit myself. I will take Ghost and Chrysanthemum."
Daoliu went back to his book, his silence a dismissal. "Do what you must, Pope. But remember my warning: Do not harm the boy, Tang Hao, unless it is a matter of life and death. The Clear Sky Sect's old monster, Tang Chen... even I do not wish to wake him from his seclusion for the sake of your greed."
Xunji turned on his heel, his golden cape snapping in the air. As he walked out, his thoughts were a dark swirl of ambition. Renxue is Level 20. Yorrichi is... a tool. I will get that ring. I will become the strongest Pope in history, and then even you, Father, will have to bow to my results.
In the city of Veridian at Heaven Dou Empire which is a medium sized trading hub, the "The Paradise Inn" sat tucked away in a narrow alley. Inside Room 402, the air was thick with the scent of medicinal herbs and the heavy, humid heat of a summer night.
Ah Yin lay on the bed, her breathing shallow and labored. Her belly was a prominent mound, the skin stretched tight. She looked at the door, her heart aching for the man who had risked everything for her.
Inside that womb, however, a consciousness was stirring that should not exist.
Where... where am I?
The thought was sharp, crystalline, and filled with a terrifying authority. A soul that had once commanded the stars was suddenly compressed into the tiny, developing brain of a fetus.
Darkness. Fluid. The rhythm of a heartbeat... it's so loud. Am I... a baby?
The consciousness tried to reach out with its mental power, but it was met with a wall of undeveloped nerves. A wave of deja vu washed over him. The warmth, the pulsing energy... it felt hauntingly familiar.
Wait. This life force. This gentle, forest-like aroma... no, it can't be. Is this... Mother? Is this Ah Yin?
The baby's soul screamed internally in a mix of horror and disbelief. I've gone back? I'm back in the womb?!
This was none other than the God-King Tang San, the Law Enforcer of the Divine Realm. His last memory was a nightmare of cosmic proportions. A mysterious, ancient Black Hole had manifested in the heart of the Divine Realm—a void so absolute that even the combined power of the Five God-Kings couldn't stabilize it. As the most powerful among them, Tang San had attempted to seal the rift using an ancient, forbidden reincarnation technique as a last-ditch effort to save his family.
But the Black Hole was a tear in the very fabric of existence. It had absorbed the Divine Realm, shredding space and time. Tang San remembered the look of terror on Xiao Wu's face before the darkness swallowed them both.
The Divine Realm is gone...Xiao Wu... he thought, a cold grief washing over his tiny form. Everything I built. My friends, my daughter, my son... were they all consumed? Or did they reincarnate too?
He felt a sudden surge of protectiveness. If he was truly back, then he knew exactly what was about to happen. He knew about the pursuit. He knew about the sacrifice.
I won't let it happen again, Tang San vowed, his tiny heart beating with the fury of a God-King. In my previous life, I was a puppet of fate. This time, I will be the one who cuts the strings.
The door to the inn room creaked open. Tang Hao stepped inside, his cloak drenched in rain. He looked haggard, his hands trembling as he set a small bag of food and a bundle of herbs on the table.
"Yin'er," he whispered, rushing to her side. "I found a healer. He's a rogue master, doesn't care about Spirit Hall. He'll be here in an hour. How are you feeling?"
Ah Yin reached out, her fingers brushing his calloused hand. "The child... she is restless, Hao'er. It's as if she knows we are in danger."
Inside her, Tang San stiffened. Healer? Father, you fool. That 'rogue master' is likely a Spirit Hall plant or someone who will sell us out for a single gold coin. Your trust in humanity is what gets Mother killed!
Tang San tried to move, to kick, to give some kind of signal, but he was trapped in the limitations of a biological vessel that wasn't ready to be born.
Tang Hao sat on the edge of the bed, burying his face in his hands. "I saw the marks on the trees outside the city. They are closing in, Yin'er. The Spirit Hall dogs are everywhere. I should have taken you to the Star Dou Forest. I was a coward. I feared the Great Kings, but I should have feared the 'Holy' city more."
Ah Yin stroked his hair, her voice a soft, melodic hum. "It's okay, Hao'er. We are together. That is all that matters."
No, it's not! Tang San screamed in his mind. Father, pick her up! Run! Don't wait for the healer! The shadow of the Seraphim is already over this city!
He felt the stirrings of his own soul power—the remnant of the Mysterious Heaven Technique. Even as a fetus, he began to circulate the air within the womb, trying to accelerate his own development. He needed to be born. He needed to be awake.
Because in this timeline, the "God-King" wasn't the only anomaly. Somewhere in Spirit City, a boy with a Black Katana was already changing the rules of the game, and Tang San's "knowledge of the future" was about to collide with a variable he could never have predicted.