"That's enough. Quiet down."
Tang Hao's deep voice cut through the chatter and emotions of the group. His expression was solemn as his gaze swept over each of them.
"We can reminisce later. Don't forget the purpose of this trip."
In terms of pure strength, he wasn't the strongest among them, and Dai Mubai and the others were only second-rank gods without divine thrones. However, he was the father of the God King Tang San and the elder of Dai Mubai and the others. That identity naturally put him in a position of authority.
Dai Mubai and the rest quickly calmed their expressions and turned their gazes to Tang Hao, clearly prepared to follow his lead.
After all, this trip had been fully orchestrated by Tang San, and they were even taking the risk of violating the rules of the God Realm. They had to proceed with extreme caution.
Tang Hao continued, "The difference in time flow between the God Realm and the lower realm is enormous. Ten thousand years have passed here, and the Douluo Continent has already been turned upside down. Xiao San has sensed signs… changes in the Golden Tree, the appearance of a new Sea God, the turmoil in the source of faith—these are all extremely unusual. We must uncover the truth as quickly as possible."
He pondered for a few moments, then began assigning tasks.
"Ah Yin and I will return to the Clear Sky Sect first. There might be information we need there."
The Clear Sky Sect was extremely important to him, and he desperately wanted to know what had become of it after ten thousand years.
"Mu Bai, you're of the Star Luo royal family and understand the Empire's situation the best. You and Zhuqing will go to Star Luo City and investigate the current state of the Star Luo Empire."
His gaze landed on Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.
Dai Mubai nodded heavily, sharp light flickering in his eyes.
"Rongrong, you and Oscar will go to your sect, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and inquire about the major changes that have happened on the continent recently—especially in recent years… and whether there's any sign of Xiao Wu."
Tang Hao looked to Ning Rongrong and Oscar.
Once the wealthiest sect among the major forces, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's information network must have developed greatly. It was an important channel through which they could obtain news.
Ning Rongrong immediately replied, "Don't worry, Uncle Hao, leave it to us."
Once the tasks had been assigned, Tang Hao took a deep breath, and a grave look flashed through his eyes.
"Remember—this trip is not for sightseeing. The situation in the lower realm is unknown, and many drastic changes may have occurred. There must be powerful forces or existences involved. Treat everything with caution. If you encounter a situation you cannot handle, contact us immediately through the sealed divine sense. Do not act rashly."
"Yes!"
Dai Mubai and the others voiced no objection to Tang Hao's orders.
This was a mission personally entrusted by the God King Tang San. Deep down, each of them wanted to contribute to finding Xiao Wu and uncovering the truth.
And Tang Hao was Tang San's father and their elder; the respect they held for him had long been branded into their code of conduct.
The six exchanged glances and nodded to each other. Then their figures turned into six streams of divine light of different colors, streaking across the sky in different directions like meteors, vanishing in a flash into the vast horizon above the Douluo Continent.
The Nine-Colored Goddess Ning Rongrong and the God of Food Oscar transformed into two invisible streaks and flew toward the northern skies of the Douluo Continent.
The deeper they penetrated into the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire, the more clearly the scars of war appeared in the perception of their divine senses.
Charred land, abandoned villages, the shattered remains of soul tools, and the faint scent of smoke and blood hanging in the air all spoke silently of the suffering this land had endured.
They even witnessed a small-scale engagement—the troops of the Heaven Dou Empire's soul master army almost had no power to fight back when faced with a covert unit of soul engineers from the Sun Moon Empire.
Soul tool beams as dense as torrential rain, new-model soul tool mechas whose pilots showed no fear of death, and the distant silhouettes of floating battleships standing high in the sky and raining down fire support—all of it left the two gods somewhat stunned.
"Xiao Ao, did you see that?"
Ning Rongrong transmitted her voice through divine sense, a faint solemnity in her tone.
"Those soul tools… Their power means nothing to us, but their popularity and cooperative potential… If, in our time, an army like that could easily rout an Empire's elite corps, it would have been terrifying."
Oscar's handsome face had shed its usual levity. He nodded.
"Indeed. After ten thousand years of development, the form of warfare in the lower realm has completely changed. The Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology has reached an unimaginable level. No wonder the Heaven Dou Empire is at such a disadvantage."
Along the way, through fragments of conversations among refugees and low-level soul masters captured by their divine senses, they gradually pieced together some information.
The Sun Moon Empire had launched a full-scale war. The defensive line at Mingdou Mountain Range of the Star Luo Empire had collapsed; the White Tiger Duke had fallen in battle. The Heaven Dou Empire had suffered a disastrous defeat on the Emerald Plains, taking enormous losses; the front line of the enemy army now pointed directly at the Empire's heartland.
All of this left Ning Rongrong and Oscar with an almost disorienting sense of time and space.
In ten thousand years, the pattern of the continent had been completely overturned.
Even standing on their sacred pedestals, they could not underestimate a civilization-level war that engulfed the entire continent, nor the possible entities hiding behind it all—such as the nascent new Sea God.
"Let's go to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect first," Ning Rongrong decided.
"There, we can definitely find the most important news. We can also see how the juniors are doing now."
Her voice carried a slight tremor. Ten thousand years was enough to turn all familiar bloodlines into dust. The thought of facing a group of completely unfamiliar descendants filled her heart with complicated feelings.
Guided by the directions in her memory, the ley lines, and their perception of the energy flows along the way, the two finally arrived at a valley brimming with spiritual energy, surrounded by mountains.
This was the stronghold of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect ten thousand years later.
Unlike the flashy, luxurious Seven Treasure City of her memories, the current residence of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect looked like a gigantic fortress, tightly fortified yet cleverly integrated with the natural environment.
The soaring glazed towers were still landmark buildings, but they were far fewer in number. Countless complex soul tool runes were inlaid on the towers' surfaces, emitting a cold, crystalline glow.
The entire sect was shrouded under a semi-transparent energy shield. Through it, one could faintly see various soul tool batteries and detection arrays slowly revolving within. The patrolling disciples wore light armor imbued with detection and defense soul tools and maintained high vigilance.
"So it really is… The sect has changed greatly too."
Ning Rongrong gazed down at the mix of familiar and unfamiliar sights below, her heart surging with emotion.
It seemed the sect had undergone dramatic transformation in response to the war and the challenges of a new era.
But just as they were about to suppress their auras, play the part of hidden experts from afar, and knock on the mountain gate, Ning Rongrong's divine sense accidentally swept past the central council hall of the sect.
In the next instant, her delicate body suddenly trembled violently, as if struck by heavenly thunder. She froze in mid-air, her hand flying up to cover her mouth as her beautiful eyes flew wide open, filled with disbelief and a tide of overwhelming grief.
"How… How is this possible…"
Her voice shook uncontrollably, and her eyes reddened in an instant.
"Rongrong, what's wrong?"
Noticing her abnormality, Oscar immediately followed her gaze.
The expression on his face turned to stone in an instant, a look of disbelief and horror rapidly spreading.
In front of the council hall doors, three people were standing and conversing.
In the center was a man in a moon-white robe, gentle, elegant, and handsome, though fatigue and worry lingered faintly between his brows. Yet his outline and bearing were uncannily similar to the familiar silhouette of the wisdom in their memories…
There was no mistaking it. It was the man they had long assumed to have turned to dust over the course of ten thousand years—Ning Fengzhi.
To his left stood an elder, with white hair and beard, his body as straight as a pine tree, plain-featured but with eyes like blades—a sword aura lingering around him. This was Sword Douluo Chen Xin.
To his right stood another elder, slightly stooped, with an unhealthy pale complexion, yet eyes as deep as an ancient well. His entire person exuded the aura of an unmoving mountain. This was Bone Douluo Gu Rong.
This…
This was impossible.
Ning Rongrong's mind went completely blank.
Father…
Grandpa Sword…
Grandpa Bone…
How could they still be alive?
Even for an Ultimate Douluo, a lifespan spanned only several hundred years. Ten thousand years should have been far beyond any limit. What's more, she had seen with her own eyes, during the final battle at Jialing Pass, how Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo had fought to their last breath to retrieve Tang San's body and fallen heroically. That sacrifice had become an eternal pain in her heart.
The scene before her overturned all of her understanding and shook her soul.
"Who's there?!"
The moment Ning Rongrong, shaken to the core, accidentally let a fluctuation of divine power leak out, Sword Douluo Chen Xin suddenly raised his head. His gaze shot up like twin sword-lights, cleaving through the hidden void.
His sword heart had been honed through countless life-and-death battles and was extremely sensitive to any strange or powerful aura.
As his shout rang out, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect instantly entered its highest state of alert.
"Buzz—!"
A piercing alarm blared. The energy shield shrouding the sect flared brightly and grew denser.
On the ground, countless hidden soul tool batteries rose like the quills of an awakened hedgehog. Their muzzles began to charge rapidly, locking onto a certain point in the sky.
Dozens of oddly-shaped floating soul tools lifted into the air, intertwining detection and interference fields across the sky.
With a series of precise mechanical transformations, the sect instantly shifted from a peaceful cultivation haven into a terrifying soul tool killing field bristling with death.
Several of the thickest muzzles were releasing energy fluctuations that had already reached the level of ninth-rank soul tools.
This was the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect after ten thousand years. Though no longer the ancient pillar power it once was and suppressed by newcomers like the Tang Sect, its deep heritage and enormous wealth allowed its investment into soul tool research to reach astonishing heights.
This sect-wide defense formation was enough to deter any Super Douluo or even Ultimate Douluo.
Yet before the two true gods, all of this appeared…
Fragile.
Facing the dense barrage of soul tool beams lancing up into the sky and the condensed, unparalleled sword qi slashing down from Sword Douluo, Ning Rongrong didn't even use a soul skill.
Still dazed and not yet fully recovered from her shock, she simply lifted a slender finger and gently tapped the oncoming sword aura.
Pop—
A soft sound, like a bubble bursting, echoed in the air.
The terrifying sword qi that could split mountains and shatter boulders shattered inch by inch upon touching Ning Rongrong's fingertip, dispersing into pure points of light that faded away in mid-air.
Ning Rongrong's finger didn't show even the faintest trace of red.
The toughness of a divine body far surpassed any metal in the mortal world.
Having had his sword stroke so easily dispelled, Sword Douluo's pupils tightened sharply. A look of unprecedented solemnity appeared on his face.
He could sense that the power of this visitor was unfathomable, far beyond his understanding.
He was about to unleash the true form of his martial soul and launch an even stronger attack, when—
The moment Ning Rongrong and Oscar fully revealed themselves in the air—
Time seemed to stop.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin's sharp gaze locked onto Ning Rongrong's face. That face was devastatingly beautiful, and eight or nine-tenths identical to the little witch in his memories, though now more sacred and elegant.
The Seven Kill Sword in his hand trembled slightly, and his sword heart, tempered by countless battles, rippled violently.
"Rong… Rongrong?!"
He cried out, his voice hoarse and full of disbelief.
Below, Bone Douluo Gu Rong, who had also been readying his attack, stared wide-eyed at the figures of Oscar and Ning Rongrong in the air—especially Ning Rongrong.
"Rongrong?! And… Oscar?!"
In front of them, Ning Fengzhi was even more stunned. The scepter in his hand fell to the ground with a thud.
He raised his head to look at the goddess-like Ning Rongrong in the sky, his lips trembling, yet no words coming out.
Just then, a girl in a pink dress, whose features bore seven or eight points of resemblance to Ning Rongrong, floated out timidly from behind Bone Douluo. Even suspended in mid-air, she still looked immature and youthful.
She had rushed out upon hearing the alarm, driven by a mix of curiosity and fear. But the moment her eyes met those of the unparalleled goddess surrounded by multicolored divine light in the air, she felt as if struck by lightning. Her little mouth opened into an "O" of shock, her entire being left dumbstruck.
"Eh?????"
Two Ning Rongrongs. One in the sky, radiating divine light. One on the ground, young and bewildered.
Separated by ten thousand years, they now faced each other across space in this impossible manner.
In that instant, the air seemed to completely solidify.
Only the blaring sirens continued to howl in vain, and the countless soul tool cannons pointed up into the heavens still glinted with cold light.
Within this frozen atmosphere, several sharp whistling sounds of air being torn apart echoed from afar, quickly drawing nearer.
A woman appeared, dressed in resplendent sect master robes, exuding a composed and capable aura. Her brows bore a clear resemblance to Ning Tian's. She rushed to the scene with several elderly experts, their presences immense.
This was Ning Hongyue, the current sect master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, accompanied by several powerful elders. Among them was an old man with a particularly fierce aura—Wu Yun, the Crimson Dragon Douluo, in charge of sect discipline and grandfather of Wu Feng.
Ning Tian and Wu Feng followed right behind them, faces tense and curious.
"What happened? Are we under attack? Who are they?!"
Even before Ning Hongyue arrived fully at the scene, her cold and authoritative voice rang out.