Wrath of the Rock, Gan Lin's Sorrow
Ganyu waved her hand, and Gan Lin's injuries healed. She even wiped away the traces of blood on his face.
Gan Lin instinctively wanted to throw himself into Ganyu's arms, but the instant he made contact, her figure began to flicker.
Her touch in that instant was real and gentle, her warm breath brushing his cheek, her familiar features so close at hand. It was as though his longing, spanning endless space and time, had finally found a place to rest. But just as his arms were about to wrap around her slender shoulders, Ganyu's body suddenly shuddered.
The blue-green light flowing around Ganyu began to flicker and warp violently, as though the laws of heaven and earth were forcibly tearing at her.
A trace of helplessness and reluctance passed through Ganyu's blue eyes. She gently raised her slender fingertips, intending to stroke Gan Lin's head, but the movement froze entirely. Halos of light crumbled layer by layer, and her figure grew transparent as shattered glass. In the next breath, she vanished completely into the mist swirling around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Only a soft, distant voice remained between heaven and earth, carrying a tenderness that had deepened over a thousand years and echoing long through the valley. "Xiaolin... beyond ten thousand miles of mountains and seas, the day to return will come."
The lingering sound finally faded into the wind, where heat and cold intertwined.
Gan Lin stood frozen, his outstretched arms empty, not a trace of warmth left in his embrace. Their meeting just now had been real, yet it felt like a fleeting dream. Only the faint, delicate fragrance of Qingxin lingering at his nose, soothing and refreshing, proved it had not been an illusion.
Gan Lin let his hands fall in dejection, his fingertips trembling slightly. His heart suddenly felt hollow, and the emotions surging within him, mingled with reluctance and melancholy, refused to settle for a long time.
But Gan Lin was no ordinary child, after all. He slowly closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing his churning emotions and gradually calming his restless breathing.
After a long while, Gan Lin slowly opened his palm. The dragon pearl, bearing the ultimate powers of ice and fire, floated quietly above it. Crimson flames and pale blue ice, two ultimate powers, blended perfectly together, a gentle yet vast radiance flowing over them.
At that moment, a medley of emotions filled his heart.
His great joy was that he had truly seen Sister Ganyu, whom he had longed for day and night.
Ever since he had come to the Douluo Continent, his longing through countless days and nights and his thoughts of her throughout his cultivation had all found fulfillment in this moment. Though their meeting had been brief and their parting swift, it was enough to sustain him through every lonely step of his cultivation path to come.
On further thought, being able to see each other again, to know that both were well and that there was still a chance to reunite someday made all the waiting and torment worthwhile.
Just as the upheaval at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well faded and slowly settled, Morax was still laying down a "contract" in the Divine Realm, high above the heavens.
He had not shown the slightest hint of murderous hostility, yet with his divine will alone, he had suppressed every disturbance throughout the Divine Realm. His indifferent, imposing voice rang through every corner of the realm, each word bearing the weight of a mountain:
"The Douluo Continent has its own cycle of fate, and the cultivation of living beings follows its own heavenly course. The variables in this plane are matters of mortal cause and effect, of individual opportunity. They have nothing to do with the Divine Realm.
"From this day forth, none of the gods of the Divine Realm may harbor thoughts, make moves, or pry without leave. None may interfere in the slightest with the Douluo Continent's fortune or destiny.
"Those who break their word shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock."
When his voice fell, the gilded apparition slowly faded and dispersed, and the vast pressure receded with it. The Divine Realm returned to normal, but that pressure, which had shaken their very souls, lingered for a long time.
At the heart of the Divine Realm-
The God King of Goodness frowned slightly, her eyes touched with emotion. "That power just now... it transcended the Divine Realm's system, ancient and boundlessly vast."
The Evil God King's expression was grave. He nodded slightly, his voice wary. "That fellow's strength is unfathomable. He is in no way inferior to the five of us joining forces. His words were no empty threat. Had a deity acted rashly today, their soul would surely have been utterly destroyed."
The Asura God King's gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, "That brat in the lower realm, the one attempting to inherit the power of the Dragon God's remnant, has a peculiar fate, far surpassing all the native prodigies of Douluo. Now it seems the forces beyond our domain involved with him are completely beyond our reach. With this powerhouse standing guard, I fear we will never again be able to influence any situation on the Douluo Continent. Whether it is a deity descending to the mortal world or a change in fortune, we may not interfere."
The Life God King's gaze was gentle, but filled with gravity. "The variables of heaven and earth have their own ordained course. To forcibly interfere is to defy the heavens. That person's warning today has also opened our eyes. Mortal cultivation values the natural course of things; too much interference will only breed greater hidden dangers."
The Destruction God King slowly raised his eyes, his voice low and resonant. "The ban has been set. None may defy it. From now on, put aside all thoughts of investigation and interference, and simply watch how events unfold. I fear the future course of a brat sheltered by a great power from beyond our domain will slip completely beyond our control."
The Five Great God Kings faced one another in silence, and the great hall fell quiet for a long time. No one dared harbor the slightest thought of prying into or interfering with the Douluo Continent again. From that moment on, the entire Divine Realm sealed itself completely off from the Douluo Plane.
Meanwhile, on the Douluo Continent, beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Gan Lin still sat quietly alone, unaware of the upheaval in the heavens.
A sharp rush of air came speeding from afar. Dugu Bo had keenly sensed the violent disturbance at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Realizing that something extraordinary had happened and fearing something had gone wrong with Gan Lin, he had not dared delay and had hurried to the valley.
There he saw the boy sitting alone beside the spirit spring, his knees hugged to his chest.
The evening breeze stirred Gan Lin's robes. His head was bowed, his hair hiding his features, and an inescapable air of despondency and loneliness hung around him. There was no joy at having survived a calamity or gained a great opportunity, only a quiet melancholy. Currents of mingled heat and cold flowed around him from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but they could not dispel the loneliness in the boy's heart.
Dugu Bo slowed his steps and approached, carefully looking Gan Lin over. He asked in a low voice, "Heaven and earth were in violent turmoil just now, Soul Power ran wild, and an immense, utterly unfamiliar power swept through this place. What exactly happened? Did something go wrong with your cultivation? Have your injuries worsened?"
Gan Lin slowly raised his head at the sound. He had already concealed all the melancholy in his eyes, leaving only calm. He knew that Ganyu's appearance and the Asura God's descent were secrets.
Sometimes, it was better not to know.
He shook his head gently and gave an evasive reply in an even voice. "It's nothing serious. Don't worry, Grandpa."
Dugu Bo had seen all the ways of the world. At a glance, he could tell the boy was downcast and hiding something, and he knew Gan Lin was unwilling to reveal his secrets. Dugu Bo had always been perceptive and worldly-wise. He never forced people to do what they did not want, much less pried carelessly into a junior's secrets.
Hearing this, he did not dig any deeper. He simply nodded and asked no more about what had happened.
Dugu Bo sat down silently beside Gan Lin, neither asking further questions nor deliberately offering comfort. He simply kept the unhappy child quiet company, letting the evening breeze smooth the ripples in the boy's heart.
Gan Lin had been mature for his age since childhood. He trusted him.