Volume 2, Chapter 68: The Higher Table
Leaving a mortal body behind always feels like waking up from a heavy nap. One moment I was a wrinkled academy teacher with dirt on my vest, and the next, I was back in my true skin.
The Phoenix God Star Realm expanded around me in every direction. It was a massive, high-level Five-Dimensional plane, but it didn't start out that grand. Originally, I created it as a low Five-Dimensional realm from the old Phoenix Valley. That valley had been a quiet, solemn place — the final resting ground of ancient birds, holding the silent tombs of the Golden and Silver Blue Devil Birds. After it fused with the four-dimensional Douluo God Realm, the whole place grew. It became a high-level cosmic anchor, and I sat at the absolute top of it as the Supreme God King.
The sky here stayed a permanent shade of deep twilight. Networks of pink and gold fire drifted through the air like clouds. It was beautiful, sure, but after ten thousand years, a sky is just a sky.
I walked into the grand council room. The chamber was a massive circle made of white marble that caught the reflection of the passing stars. A great round table sat in the center. The people waiting around it were the ones who kept the fabric of reality from tearing at the seams.
To my left sat Destruction, Hui Mei. His dark purple armor gave off faint, angry pops of lightning every time he shifted his weight. Right next to him was his wife, the Goddess of Life. Her green robes radiated a quiet, steady warmth that usually kept her husband from blowing up the room. Across from them sat my fellow Earth brother, Ji Dong, the God of Evil, alongside his wife Lie Yan, the new Goddess of Kindness.
And then there were my wives, the core strength of my palace.
Zhu Zhuqing sat perfectly still, her presence as dark and silent as the night itself. Next to her was Shui Bing'er, the God King of Glacial Origin, surrounded by a faint frost that kept the air crisp. Qian Renxue sat with her golden wings neatly tucked behind her chair, her star power humming like a distant engine. Then there was Bibi Dong. She sat with her arms crossed, looking entirely bored but radiating the absolute weight of the True Slaughter God. After she fused the Rakshasa core with Asura's core, she became the only one of her kind in the universe — a singular force, much like the Dragon God used to be. Beside her sat my fifth wife, Gu Yuena, the new Dragon God, her violet eyes staring deeply into the center of the table.
A projection of the mortal world floated above the marble. Right now, it looked bad. A greasy black smudge was creeping across the northern continent.
"The Universe Will is cheating again," Ji Dong said, leaning his elbows on the table. He pointed a finger at the black smudge. "The Abyss World shouldn't be interfering like this. This Crimson Mother is a tool meant to balance the scales for Chen Feng. She's at the absolute peak of a First Class God — a half-step God King."
"And if Chen Feng continues on his path, his setup will give him a true God King position," Bibi Dong said, her voice cutting through the room like cold glass. "A God of Devouring, or maybe Decay. It doesn't matter what title he takes. If he achieves it, he will have the power to flatten the mortal planet."
"We can't just drop down there and swat him," Destruction growled, his red eyes burning bright. "The lower boundaries can't take our direct weight. If we step foot on the clay, the planet shatters before we can even find him. We need a new generation to handle the ground."
A man at the far end of the table stood up, stretching his arms. It was Rong Nianbing, the God of Emotion. He wore loose, comfortable robes that always smelled like wild thyme and roasted garlic.
"If we are handing out promotions, I have my man ready," Rong Nianbing said with a grin. "Huo Yuhao. I watched him pull off that mental attribute soul core yesterday. The kid is eighteen and he's already compressing energy like an old master. But more importantly… have any of you tasted his fish? The kid knows exactly how to handle wood smoke. I've been a god for far too long. My feet are itchy, and I want to see what kind of food they cook in the next galaxy over. Yuhao can have my seat."
I laughed from my throne. From the memories of my old life back on Earth, I knew this was exactly how the story was supposed to go.
"I won't stop you from retiring, Nianbing," I said, my voice echoing through the marble hall. "But a standard First Class God position isn't going to cut it. Not against Chen Feng's Holy Ghost army and a half-step God King. If Yuhao takes your place, he has to go higher."
I reached out my hand. A small, swirling knot of ancient grey mist appeared above my palm. Chaos Qi.
"We will give him this," I said, tossing the mist into the center of the table. "When the time comes, he can use the Chaos Qi to fuse his own original emotions, upgrading the God of Emotion seat into a true God King position. That gives us the muscle we need."
"What about the rest of his circle?" Qian Renxue asked, her golden eyes looking at the mortal projection. "Tang Ya, Xiao Xiao, Ye Guyi. The angel girl is already breaking her back trying to cleanse those corrupted sects in the west."
"They will all get their turn," I said. "We will forge new positions for them when the time is right. If the Douluo Planet is going to survive the Crimson Mother, it needs an entire pantheon of young blood, not just one guy with a fancy seat."
I waved my hand again. The doors at the back of the hall opened, and two more figures walked in.
First came Ma Hongjun, still looking small and awkward in his red Third Class God robes. Behind him walked Oscar, the Food God, wearing simple white and green robes that smelled faintly of herbs and roasted meat.
"Hongjun, Oscar," I said. "We need to talk about succession."
Oscar raised an eyebrow. "Succession? You're finally kicking me out, Lakan?"
"Not kicking you out. Offering you a better retirement," I replied with a small smile.
Ma Hongjun looked incredibly small in this room. He wore the red robes of the Third Class God of Evil Fire, and his hands were twitching against his sides. He kept his eyes on the floor, avoiding my gaze entirely.
It had been ten thousand years since the great war where they fought alongside Tang San against me. Even though I pardoned them and let them ascend to my Phoenix Star God Realm, they had spent the last ten millennia under a loose form of house arrest. It was a strange existence. Especially for Hongjun. Down in the dirt, his descendants actually built shrines to him, thinking he and I were old friends because I let him up here. Human history is funny like that. They always fill the gaps with nice stories.
"Supreme God King," Ma Hongjun and Oscar said in unison, bowing their heads until their chins nearly touched their chests.
"Sit down, both of you," I said, keeping my tone relaxed. "If I wanted to punish either of you, I wouldn't have waited ten thousand years to do it. The old war is dead and buried. We have a fresh fire to put out."
Hongjun blinked, looking up with a cautious expression. "What do you need?"
I waved my hand, changing the projection above the table. The image shifted to a young woman with hair like wild embers, tearing through a pack of mechanical wolves with pure, white-hot flames. Ma Xiaotao.
"Your descendant has a better foundation than you ever did," I told him plainly. "Her fire is cleaner. Her spirit doesn't have the taint that yours carried. The mortal world needs that heat to push back the Abyssal mist."
Ma Hongjun stared at the girl. A sudden look of pride washed over his face, followed quickly by a heavy sigh. "You want my position."
"I want you to pass it to her," I said. "With her bloodline, she can take that Evil Fire seat and elevate it into a pure, First Class Phoenix God position. We need that kind of power on the front lines."
He stayed quiet for a long moment. Giving up immortality is a hard thing to swallow, even if you've spent ten thousand years being awkward in a giant palace. But he looked at the girl in the projection, then looked back at me.
"If it gives her a chance… and saves the world… I'll do it," he said softly. "But what happens to me after the fire is gone?"
"You stay right here," I assured him, letting a small smile show. "The Phoenix God Star is your home. You can live out your days in the gardens without the fire burning your bones from the inside out. You've done your time, Hongjun. Let the girl take the weight."
His shoulders dropped, and he let out a breath he seemed to have been holding for centuries. "Thank you, Lakan."
I turned to Oscar next.
The projection shifted again. This time it zoomed in on a young woman with long black hair and a lazy, almost sleepy expression. She was standing in a simple kitchen, carefully slicing vegetables with a long, slightly curved blade. The orange glow of her martial soul flickered around her fingers as she worked. Even while cooking, her movements were precise and efficient.
"Her name is Ju Zi," I said. "Food-type martial soul — Orange. Her father was a chef who died in the war against Star Luo. She's currently taking a break from her soul engineering project to cook. That blade she's holding… she calls it the Tiger-Slaying Blade. Right now it's just a soul tool she's developing for revenge. Later, it will awaken as her second martial soul."
The projection shifted slightly, showing a possible future. The same young woman stood on a battlefield, the Tiger-Slaying Blade now fully awakened as a martial soul, cutting through enemies while she cooked powerful recovery food for her allies in the middle of combat.
Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow. "A cooking knife that can also kill. That's… practical."
"She's a better cook than I ever was," Oscar admitted after a moment. "And that blade fits the Food God position perfectly. Cooking and cutting. Life and death on the same edge."
"I agree," Gu Yuena said quietly. "She has the foundation to take the Food God seat higher than it has ever been."
Oscar looked at the projection for a long time, then sighed. "Fine. I'll pass it to her when the time is right. Same deal as Hongjun?"
"Same deal," I confirmed. "You stay here in the Phoenix God Star. No more fighting. Just good food and quiet days."
Oscar nodded. "I'll take it."
I then reached into the air and pulled out a heavy, glowing core — the Strength God Core I had taken from Tai Long ten thousand years ago.
"There's one more," I said, holding the core up. "The Strength God position has been empty for a long time. I've been waiting for the right person."
The projection changed again, this time showing a tall, powerfully built young man with brownish-red hair and smooth, jade-like skin. He stood in a training ground of the Body Hall, his entire body glowing with silver light as he underwent the second awakening of his martial soul.
"Long Aotian," I said. "Young successor of the Body Hall. His martial soul is Skin — a true Body Martial Soul that has already reached Silver-level second awakening. He's the strongest of their younger generation."
Destruction grunted in approval. "A body cultivator. Perfect for the Strength God seat."
"The Body Hall has been quiet for too long," I continued. "I created it so that people with Body Martial Souls would finally have a proper home and proper training. Long Aotian is the first one in a long time who has the potential to carry a God position."
I looked around the table. "Any objections?"
No one spoke.
"Good," I said, closing my hand around the Strength God Core. "Then the seats are decided. Yuhao for Emotion. Ma Xiaotao for Phoenix Fire. Ju Zi for Food. Long Aotian for Strength. The rest will come later."
I looked at Ma Hongjun and Oscar. "You've both done your time. Live well here."
Both men bowed.
I turned back to the table and closed the projection. "The seats are ready. Now we just have to let the mortal world run its course. We need to give them enough room to grow into the boots we've made for them."
I turned back to the table, looking at my wives and the other kings. "The seats are ready. Now we just have to let the mortal world run its course. We need to give them enough room to grow into the boots we've made for them."
I closed my hand, and the glowing image of the mortal world shrunk down into a tiny speck of light before vanishing entirely. Down there, things were about to get messy. But time is a funny thing when you are sitting at the top of a five-dimensional realm. A single day up here in the Phoenix God Star was an entire year for the kids walking on the dirt below. I had exactly five days before the cosmic alignments would shift enough for the Abyss to make its real move. Five days for me, but five long years of grinding, sweating, and fighting for Yuhao and the rest of the mortal world.
And honestly? I needed a break from playing the grand architect. I wanted to spend those five days with my parents and my wives, completely away from the strategy tables and the constant talk of war. The world below could run its course for a little while without me staring over its shoulder.
The quiet times were officially over for the mortals, but for the next five days, my world was going to slow down.
End of Volume 2, Chapter 68