Someone had to go to the Douluo Continent at once, grasp the situation in the lower realm, and find Xiao Wu. As for Tang San himself, there was absolutely no way he could leave.
As one of the original core members of the God Realm Committee, holding at the same time the divine thrones of the Sea God and the Asura God, he was without question one of the most watched figures in this chaotic battle. Any abnormal movement from him would immediately draw countless gazes.
But his parents were there…
Tang San's divine sense quietly fixed on the edge of the battlefield. Two figures, because their strength was comparatively weaker, did not approach directly, but instead watched the battle from a distance with anxious expressions—his father Tang Hao and his mother Ah Yin.
At the same time, he also noticed Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, Ning Rongrong and the others watching the battle from the periphery.
Those were them.
Like invisible silk threads, a secret divine thought pierced through the chaotic turbulence of energy and landed precisely in Tang Hao and Ah Yin's minds.
"Father, Mother, the God Realm is no longer stable. No one knows how long this war will last. The lower realm has changed. It's related to Xiao Wu and the foundations of my divine thrones. Hurry and take Mu Bai and the others with you. Use the chaos in the lower realm to uncover the truth and search for Xiao Wu's traces."
Receiving the message, Tang Hao and Ah Yin were both shocked. They exchanged a look, and astonishment flashed in each other's eyes before their gazes immediately grew firm.
They understood the immense pressure their son was currently facing, and how dangerous it was to transmit such a message amidst this chaos.
Gods interfering with the mortal world was strictly forbidden in the God Realm. Even second-rank gods weren't qualified to convey information to the lower realm, let alone descend in person. This was a grave violation of the God Realm's iron laws—if the God of Destruction discovered it, whoever it was would be severely punished.
And yet…
Staring at the apocalyptic battlefield before them, thinking of the Xiao Wu and the foundations of the divine thrones Tang San had mentioned, those so-called iron laws suddenly seemed laughably absurd.
Rules are dead; people are alive.
They had already ascended from the lower world. They no longer felt awe toward those rules that bound their hands and feet.
If Tang San had obediently abided by the rules, he would never have reached where he stood today.
A fierce determination flashed across Ah Yin's eyes. She lightly nodded at Tang Hao.
Tang Hao took a deep breath. A fleeting hardness crossed his time-worn face. Then he calmly began moving in Dai Mubai's direction, sending him a brief voice transmission along the way, passing on Tang San's secret message.
Dai Mubai had been watching the battle. When he received Tang Hao's transmission, his eyes froze for a moment and a flicker of shock crossed them, but his expression quickly turned clear and resolute.
He trusted Tang Hao, and Tang Hao clearly trusted him.
He immediately relayed the message to Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, and Ning Rongrong.
The partners who had lived and died together fell silent for only a brief moment of doubt before arriving at a tacit understanding.
They quietly withdrew, gradually moving away from the battlefield. Their retreat was silent, and on the vast battlefield of the God Realm, where second-rank and third-rank gods surged like waves in a stormy sea, their movements were far too insignificant to draw the attention of the battling God Kings.
The Golden Dragon King roared. Ma Hongjun burned. The Ligh God purified. The Immortal God raged…
Who would care about the movements of a few low gods?
On the battlefield, Tang San forced Ma Hongjun back with desperate swings of his sword. The Asura Demon Sword swept away the raging tides and cleaved toward the attacking Mad God Lei Xiang.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his parents and his partners safely disappearing at the edge of the battlefield, and his heart relaxed just a little.
…
Deep within the Douluo Star, the Inner Star Sea—the core of the planetary supercomputer—trembled slightly, a massive sphere of light composed of pure energy and information currents pulsing faintly.
The next moment, Hatsune Miku transformed into a beautiful girl with long green twin ponytails, and projected a top-priority alarm onto the main screen of the Hertha & Ruan Mei Research Institute.
Almost at the same time, space rippled, and Lu Jingming's figure had already appeared inside the institute.
His gaze was immediately drawn to the ultra-clear real-time image on the screen—a beam of sacred power tore through the sky, ignoring planar barriers, boldly piercing the clouds as if to bombard some remote wilderness on the Douluo Continent.
As the pillar of light dispersed, several figures releasing powerful auras emerged from within. They were Tang Hao, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, Ning Rongrong, and Ah Yin.
"They're here. See for yourself. Your trouble has arrived."
Hertha folded her arms in front of her chest. On her delicate face, it looked as if the ones appearing on the screen weren't six gods, but six flying insects that had accidentally wandered into the institute.
Compared to them, unresolved mathematical conjectures and exotic cosmic constants were far more interesting in her eyes.
Lu Jingwei gazed at the six figures on the screen, the corner of his mouth lifting as expected.
"Looks like Tang San has finally reacted. Of course—he's from the generation of God Kings. Even driven by hatred, after his daughter's fall, the seizing of the Golden Tree, and so many changes on the Douluo Continent tied to the new Sea God, it would be impossible for him to do nothing."
He spoke in a flat tone.
"If he remained indifferent even now, I'd have to suspect he'd turned mentally disabled from losing Xiao Wu."
He paused for a moment, then let out a mocking, sarcastic chuckle.
"Gods descending to the mortal world… Indeed, so-called rules are used to restrain the weak. For the truly powerful, the laws of the God Realm are nothing more than scraps of paper that can be ripped apart at any time."
He saw through it all.
In essence, the God Realm was a world where the strong were revered. The so-called iron law that gods must not interfere in the lower realms existed to restrict ordinary gods that had ascended from dependent planes, to maintain distance and stability for the God Realm itself.
But for God Kings with real power, the restraints of this so-called iron law were extremely limited.
In the original development, if not for the suppressive balance of the rule-abiding and death-fearing God of Destruction, why would Sea God Tang San have needed to act so cautiously, secretly arranging everything?
He could have openly issued divine decrees and directly intervened in the affairs of the continent. How many would have dared to object?
Strength is the ultimate right to speak.
"Dear, what are you planning to do?"
A gentle, affectionate voice sounded by Lu Jingwei's ear. At some point, Ruan Mei had walked up to him. Her slender jade hand reached out and gently caressed his cheek. A light very much like that of a researcher examining some rare specimen flickered in her beautiful eyes.
"We're still missing a few… god-level test subjects. Their life structures are sure to be fascinating."
Her tone was naturally indifferent, as if she were asking him to acquire a few ordinary experimental instruments, not several living second-rank gods.
"Tch."
Off to the side, Hertha couldn't help curling her lips, unconcealed displeasure flashing across her face.
This sense of unhappiness came not just from Ruan Mei's intimate gesture, but from the effortless affection Ruan Mei showed toward Lu Jingwei—something Hertha herself had never fully understood.
Seeing those two talk as if no one else existed right in front of her made Hertha distinctly unhappy.
Lu Jingming was not surprised by Ruan Mei's request. He reached back to take her hand and said casually:
"Those simple second-rank god-level lab rats are indeed precious materials, and not so easy to come by. I'll have Hysilens and Cerydra assist with the research. They can help bring one back. If necessary, we can contact Gu Yuena and get her to move openly against the gods of the God Realm. She'd be interested as well."
His words radiated absolute confidence.
To the forces native to the Douluo Continent, second-rank gods were untouchable, invincible peak existences.
But before Haiyuan City, god-level combat power was anything but lacking.
Jingliu's sword that could cleave stars. Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon King who controlled the origin of elements.
The Asura God Cerydra. The Sea God Hysilens.
The Herta with her myriad methods. Acheron, who walked the void and severed concepts with his blade. And Istaroth, the ruler of time…
Any one of them could contend head-on with, or even defeat, a second-rank god.
Zhang Lexuan, who was on the verge of ascending to godhood as the new Moon God. And Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong of parallel worlds…
All of these were powers Haiyuan City could mobilize.
As for Tang Hao and the others, whose strongest members were only second-rank gods—even if they possessed the combat strength of first-rank gods, in Lu Jingwei's eyes they were nothing more than high-quality experimental materials, entirely incapable of shaking Haiyuan City, not even enough to make him feel the slightest tension.
…
Six streams of divine radiance, dazzling as falling meteors, crashed down onto a remote wilderness of the Douluo Continent. Dust surged into the sky, and the violent fluctuations of godly power made all creatures within dozens of miles tremble, shudder, and prostrate themselves instinctively.
As the light slowly faded, six figures whose auras were completely different from those of mere mortals appeared clearly.
At the head stood a middle-aged man, tall and powerfully built, with a resolute face and a short beard. In his hand was a massive Clear Sky Hammer, and his aura was fierce—it was Tang Hao.
Beside him was a woman in a long blue dress. She was gentle and feminine, her eyes filled with curiosity. This was Ah Yin.
A little behind them was a pair of man and woman, both with outstanding bearing.
The man had golden hair cascading down, double-lidded eyes gleaming with an intimidating fiendish spirit, and a faint white tiger phantom looming over his body. This was the God of War, Dai Mubai.
The woman at his side was dressed in black. Her figure was sultry and alluring, her features beautiful, but her cold aura would freeze any stranger at arm's length. Laziness and sharpness mingled in her enchanting eyes. This was Zhu Zhuqing, the God of Speed.
On the other side was a slightly eccentric, intelligent-looking handsome young man, looking all around with obvious curiosity. This was Oscar, the God of Food.
Holding onto his arm was a woman in a pink dress, as beautiful as an elf, brimming with grace and nobility. Her eyes were filled with excitement and nostalgia. She was the Nine-Colored Goddess, Ning Rongrong.
Setting foot on this land that was both familiar and profoundly unfamiliar, they could all sense the power of heaven and earth. It was much thinner than in the God Realm, yet possessed a unique worldly aura. The six gods each showed different degrees of emotion and absent-mindedness on their faces.
"It's really… been a long time."
Tang Hao's voice was low, bearing the rise and fall of the years.
He stomped lightly on the solid earth beneath his feet. The Clear Sky Hammer vanished from his palm. His gaze swept all around, complex emotions flickering in his eyes. Though the landscape was somewhat desolate, the outlines of terrain that had endured for ten thousand years could still be faintly discerned.
To him, this continent carried far too much hatred and resentment—from the glory and humiliation of the Clear Sky Sect, to his meeting and parting with Ah Yin, to the life-and-death struggle with Spirit Hall…
In the end, they had ascended to the God Realm, and he had believed they would never return to this world.
"Indeed. More than twenty years have passed in the God Realm, but down here, it's already been ten thousand years."
Ah Yin sighed softly. As the Blue Silver Emperor, she was most sensitive to the breath of life.
She could feel that the lifelines of this continent were still the same, but the essence flowing within them was completely different from ten thousand years ago. There were countless traces of cold, efficient, and unnatural creations—marks she could not quite comprehend.
"Wow. So this is the air of the Douluo Continent ten thousand years later? I can feel… the heavens and earth are much stronger than in our era."
Ning Rongrong took a deep breath, sensing that the qi of heaven and earth was significantly more active than in their time.
But driven by the excitement of returning home, she ignored the subtleties. Instead, she looked all around the wilderness, as if searching for familiar silhouettes hidden within it.
"It's really nostalgic. We haven't been back in so many years. I wonder how our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is doing now… Ah, no—by now it should be the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Does it still exist? How has it developed?"
Once the little princess of one of the three great sects, the sect had always been one of Ning Rongrong's greatest concerns.
She might possess a higher divine position and eternal life in the God Realm, but the sect forever occupied a place in her heart.
Dai Mubai was also stirred. He gazed into the distance, as if seeing the splendid imperial capital of the Star Luo Empire in his mind's eye.
"Ten thousand years of upheaval—who knows how much the world has changed. I don't even know if the Star Luo Empire still exists on this continent. Does our Dai clan's bloodline… still flourish?"
As a direct descendant of the Star Luo imperial family and one of the first-generation Seven Monsters of Shrek, his feelings for his homeland were extremely deep.
The rules of the God Realm were strict. Without a special reason, it was almost impossible for second-rank gods to descend to the lower realm. He had never imagined that he would get the chance to set foot again on the land of his birth.
Compared to Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong's excitement, Zhu Zhuqing's reaction was much more indifferent. She yawned lazily, a faintly interested look on her beautiful face.
"So what? Most of it has nothing to do with us anymore."
She and Dai Mubai had spent all their years together in the God Realm and had left no descendants.
Even if the White Tiger bloodline still existed, at most it would be a distant collateral branch, not her direct line.
She cared little for power or clans. If not for the sudden changes in the God Realm that Tang San had entrusted her to help investigate, she would have preferred to stay in her divine domain, quietly studying those interesting creations brought from other dimensions called video games, rather than get dragged into this storm.
Oscar slung an arm around Ning Rongrong's shoulders, smiling as he tried to round things off.
"Don't say that, Zhuqing. In the end, this is where we were born, where we grew up, where we fought so hard. After ten thousand years, stepping back on this land… anyone would feel at least a bit moved."
He hadn't worried about anything in the Douluo Continent for a very long time. All his relatives and friends had long turned to dust in the river of history. He hadn't left behind any sect inheritance either. To him, revisiting this old land was more of a curious surprise.
"No matter how it's changed, now that we're back, I really want to know how the food here has evolved. Are there any new delicacies…?"
As the God of Food, he was exceedingly curious as to whether any new kinds of cuisine had emerged on the Douluo Continent after all these years.
…