### **Chapter 7: A God in the Woods**
Crown Prince Xue Qinghe walked into the morning court assembly with flawless composure. His posture was perfect, his greetings to the ministers were measured, and his arguments on supply chain logistics for the northern garrisons were sharp and incisive. No one could see the raging inferno of emotion behind those calm, princely eyes. No one could know that the woman beneath the robes had been reforged in a fire of passion and devastating truth.
But Luo Yan could.
Through the `[Heart's Dominion]`, he felt the hum of her emotions from across the city: a steely resolve layered over a deep well of love for him, all underpinned by a new, burning determination regarding her mother. It was a comforting, proprietary warmth in the back of his mind.
He himself didn't linger in the palace. Moments after Qian Renxue had departed for her duties, he had stepped through the wall of her chamber and reappeared, unseen, on a quiet street on the outskirts of Heaven Dou City.
He had a wealth of System Points to manage (`6,250`), new abilities to test, and a permanent cultivation boost to take advantage of. His recent union with Qian Renxue had catapulted his raw power to **Planetary Level 7**—a terrifying tier of strength in the *Swallowed Star* universe, and something utterly beyond comprehension here. He needed a training ground to acclimate to this new level of force.
He checked the system map. **[Star Dou Great Forest]**. It was perfect. Vast, teeming with powerful life forms, and remote enough that the inevitable ripples of his power wouldn't immediately be traced back to him.
With a flicker of thought, space folded around him. He didn't move; he simply ceased to be in Heaven Dou City and began to exist at the ancient, sun-dappled edge of the great forest.
The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and primal energy. For the next few hours, he simply walked. His perception, sharpened by the soul of a former Domain Lord, broke the world down to its fundamental components. He didn't just see trees; he saw the flow of spirit energy through their xylem and phloem. He didn't just see beasts; he saw the way their genetic code was interwoven with this world's unique energy, concentrating it into what they called Spirit Bones.
He encountered several Spirit Beasts—a thousand-year-old Man-Faced Demon Spider, a ten-thousand-year-old Ghost Tiger. They didn't sense an "aura." They sensed his very existence. A Planetary-level being has a density, a gravitational and spiritual weight that is fundamentally oppressive to lesser life forms. The spider froze in its web, every one of its eight eyes wide with a terror it couldn't comprehend, before scuttling away so fast it tore its own nest. The Ghost Tiger, an apex predator, let out a pathetic whimper, flattened itself to the ground, and played dead until he was miles away.
Satisfied with his initial analysis, he decided it was time for a more practical test of his new strength.
He found a desolate, rocky clearing. He extended his hand, palm up. His soul, that of a being who understood the fundamental laws of matter, issued a command. His body, now a Planetary Level 7 vessel, provided the raw energy to enact that command.
The ground before him shimmered. Metallic elements within the soil—iron, copper, nickel—were pulled from the earth and rock, flowing like liquid mercury into his palm. In seconds, they compressed and solidified into a perfect, flawless longsword, humming with a density that would make it a divine weapon in this world.
"The control is still perfect," he noted, giving the sword a test swing. The air didn't just hiss; it *split*, creating a momentary vacuum along the blade's path. "The energy output from Level 7 is substantially higher."
He let the sword dissolve back into metallic dust. He now had a baseline. He understood how his new power interacted with this world. He could now perfectly calibrate his output to appear as anything from a commoner to an unstoppable god.
As he was contemplating his next move—perhaps seeking out the hundred-thousand-year-old beasts in the core region for a "chat"—a cataclysmic boom ripped through the forest miles away. The shockwave flattened trees and sent a tremor through the very earth he stood on. It was a battle, and from the raw, desperate power radiating outwards, it involved a Titled Douluo on the verge of collapse.
A flicker of interest ignited within him.
*A Titled Douluo in distress? How fortunate.* A perfect opportunity to make an impression on whatever organization they belonged to.
With a dismissive thought, he folded space and vanished from the clearing, leaving no trace he had ever been there.
---
He reappeared, silent and unseen, in the high branches of an ancient tree overlooking a scene of absolute chaos. A clearing was torn asunder, littered with massive craters. In the center, a towering, mountain-like ape, its fur the color of obsidian and its fists glowing with terrifying earthen power, was relentlessly pounding on a ghostly, spectral figure.
Luo Yan instantly identified both combatants. The **Titan Giant Ape**, Da Ming, a 100,000-year-old sovereign. And **Ghost Douluo**, Gui Mei, a peak Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall.
But Ghost Douluo was at a severe disadvantage. The Ape was a creature of pure, overwhelming physical might. Ghost Douluo's ethereal body, his greatest defense, flickered violently, growing more transparent with each blow he barely evaded.
Then, Luo Yan's gaze shifted. Huddled behind a shattered rock formation were three young Spirit Masters, their faces pale with terror but their eyes holding a glint of defiant pride. The "Golden Generation" of Spirit Hall: Xie Yue, Yan, and a young woman whose presence made Luo Yan's analytical mind pause.
**Hu Liena.**
She was even more captivating in person than the novels described. Her figure, already showing the promises of its future devastating curves, was wrapped in the practical uniform of Spirit Hall, which did little to hide her lithe grace. Her face was a perfect, heart-shaped masterpiece, with foxy, almond-shaped eyes that were currently wide with a mixture of fear and resolute determination. Her aura was one of natural, almost predatory, charm, a nascent field of spiritual seduction.
Luo Yan felt a sharp, appreciative thrum of interest. Not the deep, soul-bound love he felt for Qian Renxue, but the calculated appraisal of a collector admiring a flawless gem. This was a woman destined for greatness and tragedy, a perfect candidate for his collection. And, more importantly, she was the prized student of Bibi Dong. Getting close to her was the perfect vector to approach the tormented Pope and fulfill his promise to Renxue.
"Run!" Ghost Douluo roared, his spectral form flickering violently as he took another bone-jarring blow from the Ape. "Get back to the carts! I cannot hold it for much longer!" He was at his absolute limit, preparing to sacrifice himself to buy them time.
Luo Yan's lips curved into a subtle smile. *The stage is set. Time for the protagonist to make his entrance.*
To be Continue.