"So busy!!!"
From within the Holy Emperor Palace came an angry roar, brimming with youthful tone—undoubtedly the Skydream Iceworm.
As one of the earliest divine beasts to enter the God Realm, it and several others shouldered a mission—think of them as the Virtual Soul Beast Plane Inspection Team.
Gu Yuena was the leader; it was the deputy. Just a handful of them keeping watch over an entire plane—busy beyond belief.
It didn't even have time to go on dates with Bing Bing.
Even Gu Yuena felt dissatisfied and was preparing to file a request to recruit a few idle gods to help.
At this moment, thanks to Tianlin's past adjustment of the soul beasts' god-tribulations, the normal-difficulty tribulations posed no threat to the likes of Di Tian, who dedicated themselves to cultivation.
After years of arduous training, two soul beasts first passed their tribulations and entered the God Realm: the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian and the Evil-Eyed Tyrant.
No sooner had they arrived than Gu Yuena drafted them. Di Tian was naturally loyal to her, and even the malevolent Evil-Eyed Tyrant felt absolute respect for Gu Yuena, who had solved the soul beasts' crisis.
There should have been a third—the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's wife, the Demon Empress. With her husband killed by Ning Rongrong, she was bent on revenge. In the human realm, she considered destroying Sea God Island first, but before acting, Tianlin used boundless divine power to transfer her to the new planet.
She wanted to take revenge on Xiao Bai, but as the island's guardian divine beast, Xiao Bai was one of the few soul beasts remaining on Douluo Star. Helpless, the Demon Empress focused on cultivation, intending to ascend and then seek revenge in the God Realm.
Unfortunately, her strength lagged far behind the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's. To become a god quickly, she mimicked him by devouring other soul beasts—far too aggressively—causing countless sea soul beast casualties.
At that rate, sea soul beasts would be exterminated by the Demon Empress even if humans didn't do it.
In the end, Di Tian could no longer tolerate it and personally killed her. He felt regret at the death of a soul beast with the potential for godhood, but there was no choice. For the continuation of the soul beast race, he had to act.
Ordinary killing he could overlook, but the Demon Empress by then was no different from Tang Hao's slaughter for soul bones. He would not let it pass.
With two new gods added, Gu Yuena's side grew much lighter, and she could occasionally enjoy afternoon tea with Tianlin—her happiest moments.
One thing puzzled her: Qian Renxue and Tianlin maintained the same propriety—respectful and restrained, with not a single step over the line thus far.
How was that different from her situation? Did it mean Tianlin didn't truly love Qian Renxue?
Of course not. Tianlin had promised Qian Renxue something. Until he fulfilled that promise, he would not consummate their marriage—out of respect.
Previously, the Holy Emperor's responsibilities delayed him, and understanding his predicament, Qian Renxue bore no grievance—she merely stayed quietly by his side.
Ning Rongrong also gradually got used to Qian Renxue's presence.
Now that the Holy Emperor's tasks were complete, and with the God of Asura's duties entrusted to the God of Wisdom Ning Fengzhi and the Sword God Chen Xin, it was time for Tianlin to take Qian Renxue to fulfill that promise.
On this day, all Tianlin's friends and family gathered again to see him off. Tianlin was going to a faraway place—another universe—to express his gratitude to those who had helped him.
"Tianlin, is it the Sword and Fairy world you mentioned before?" Gu Yuena asked.
"Yes. Want to come along? I think I can manage to bring three." Tianlin invited.
"Will you come back?" Gu Yuena didn't answer directly, but asked another question.
Tianlin nodded. "Of course. This is my home. My parents, children, master, and friends are all here. I will definitely return."
"Then I won't go. Someone should stay. Besides, your two children only recently arrived in the God Realm. I'll take good care of them." Gu Yuena smiled. Had Tianlin said he wouldn't return, she would have gone. But now, she wanted to stay and await his homecoming.
"Thank you!" Tianlin said gratefully. He had long sensed Gu Yuena's feelings, but he could give her no response now—only heartfelt gratitude.
Bidding farewell to all, Tianlin shielded the two woman and stepped into the spatial turbulence. Guided by the Holy Spirit Pearl, they flew toward the Sword and Fairy world.
…
…
…
In a place of boiling magma and surging heat, two figures were battling. One, dressed in white, handsome, with a divine mark on his forehead—clearly a god from the God Realm.
The other was tall and lean, with horns and red hair. Strange by human standards perhaps, but not ugly—rather, magnificently imposing: clearly a demon.
Their fight was fierce. Both seemed able to rend space at will—the white-clad man needed his sword, while the red-haired demon could slice it open with a sweep of his arm. Their disparity in cultivation was obvious.
In the end, the white-clad god was easily defeated by the red-haired demon, who even seized his sword.
As the man was about to plunge into the magma, the red-haired demon turned back and opened a passage to the human realm where he fell. "Hmph. Considering you're General Fei Peng's brother-in-law of sorts, I'll spare you. See that you don't offend me, Yanbo—"
Before he finished, he sensed another fluctuation in space—this time with three life signatures.
"Hmph, more guests? Does everyone think my Demon Realm's Yanbo Spring is a tourist spot?" With a casual flick, he launched three blood-red demon orbs.
Qian Renxue and Ning Rongrong had just stepped out of the spatial channel when they were startled. Each of the three oncoming demon orbs packed power no less than the Evil Sword Immortal's prime, even far beyond—at the God-Emperor level.
Tianlin hurriedly swung the God-Demon Sword, shattering all three orbs.
"Oh? Not bad. Stronger than the last one." The red-haired demon wasn't angry—in fact, he was intrigued.
"That attire and that domineering presence—are you Chong Lou? Then this must be Yanbo Spring?" Tianlin blurted out.
"Oh? You know me and Yanbo Spring. You hold the God-Demon Sword and bear the Holy Spirit Pearl. Heh, so it's you. What, did you defeat the Evil Sword Immortal and save that world?" Chong Lou had recognized Tianlin.
Tianlin smiled and nodded. "Of course. Lord Demon Sovereign, I didn't let you down."
"Not bad. Though still short of me and Fei Peng for now, since you've come to this world your power can keep rising. With full mastery of the God-Demon Sword, you'll reach the level to fight me. Go. I'll open a passage to the human realm. Come find me when your training bears fruit." Chong Lou was clearly more lenient with Tianlin than with the previous man; the Holy Spirit Pearl's coordinates to Yanbo Spring had been set by him, after all—he'd long known Tianlin would one day arrive.
"Great—but, Brother Lou, could we spar now? I want to see how big the gap is."
Seeing Tianlin proactively challenge him—and brazenly call him "Brother Lou"—Chong Lou admired his courage. "Heh, very well. I wasn't satisfied with that last bout anyway. I'll play with you first."
Only now did Tianlin notice the sword in Chong Lou's hand—Spring Nourisher, one of the Nine Springs artifacts. Then the man he'd knocked down earlier must have been Brother Guozi.
He had arrived right at the start of Sword and Fairy 7's plot. All the better—he could experience the arc with Brother Guozi and save the human realm, growing stronger through the trials.
"Thanks, Brother Lou. One more request: if I one day defeat you, would you act as the Demon Realm's witness at my wedding?"
"A wedding witness? Heh, sure. If you can beat me, I'll accept any condition." Chong Lou, who once sold a demonic sword for a single coin, never stood on ceremony. If someone stronger than him could fight him to the fullest, such a small ask meant nothing.
"Wedding? Witness? What do you mean?" Ning Rongrong didn't understand. They had already married twice—another wedding?
Qian Renxue happily explained: Tianlin had promised her a grand wedding with the strongest in the Three Realms as witnesses.
The strongest in the God Realm was General Fei Peng. Easy—pay him, and he'd do the job.
The strongest in the human realm was the first-generation descendant of Nuwa. Tianlin was on good terms with her and believed she'd be happy to help.
The hardest would be the Demon Realm's strongest, Chong Lou. Tianlin would have to defeat him to ask the favor.
Each of them, at full strength, far surpassed a God Emperor. Having these three witness a wedding would be the greatest honor.
To achieve this, Tianlin would need even more effort. The resolve alone moved Qian Renxue deeply.
"Unfair! Sword Brother is playing favorites. I want one too!" Ning Rongrong reacted exactly as Tianlin had predicted—jealous.
"Rongrong, I didn't crash your wedding back then. I quietly bowed out, remember?" At that single line from Qian Renxue, Ning Rongrong was speechless. She'd been secretly pleased Renxue hadn't shown up—only to learn this was the reason.
Honestly, she couldn't bring herself to steal this wedding now. Qian Renxue had waited and hoped for so many years. She could only keep pouting.
In the sky, Tianlin's God-Demon Sword clashed with Chong Lou's Flame-Blood Edge. Both wore smiles brimming with fighting spirit, their power making Yanbo Spring boil.
A new story began. Tianlin's path of growth would never cease. He would keep striving, on and on.
[END]
That's it, guys!
It's been a while since I last finished translating a book—feels good, man.
I'll definitely miss this one. The plot is kind of weird, though—like Tianlin has too many cheats but still acts like a shounen protagonist.
Overall, though, the story, dialogue, and characterization are peak.
Definitely in my top 5 Douluo fanfics.