Thinking of Tang San's legacy, then of how she and her descendants had kept the continent free of Evil Spirit Masters for ten thousand years only to be forgotten and despised, Qian Hanyu felt a surge of bitterness.
People did not thank the Angels, just as they did not thank Luo Ji. But Qian Hanyu did not regret her choice. She had founded a Divine Core and made protecting all living beings her purpose. How could she so easily stray from her path?
Qian Hanyu pulled herself from her tangled thoughts. "You're saying that when you were reborn, you brought an Angel God Seed with you? May I see it?"
"Yes, Divine Ancestor. Please take a look." Qian Renxue took out the Divine Seed and handed it to Qian Hanyu.
Qian Hanyu accepted it and sensed an aura opposite to her own. Yet despite that opposition, it shared the same roots as her Angel God Seed. Just as Qian Renxue had said, it came from her Alternate Self in another time and space.
Until now, Qian Renxue could have fabricated her story, and Qian Hanyu had not fully trusted her. But the moment she saw the Divine Seed, she believed her completely. A cold glint flashed through her eyes.
One variable had changed everything: the Eternal God. The Divine Realm was nothing like the one Qian Renxue had described from her Previous Life. Before Becoming a God, the Sea God had been undercut by the Eternal God. He could have become a First-level God, but had fallen to Second-level God instead. After Becoming a God, his utterly sleazy reputation had left him shunned by the other gods, while the Eternal God made his life difficult at every turn. Naturally, he had little energy left to plot against her. In a way, the Eternal God had indirectly saved her life.
Compared with the Sea God, she, the Angel God, had enjoyed a comfortable existence in this time and space. The Divine Realm was currently divided between the Eternal God and the Five God Kings. Some gods had sided with the Five God Kings, others with the Eternal God King, while the rest had yet to declare a position. At the peak of the Main God rank, she had more freedom to choose than the Sea God. With the situation still uncertain, she had chosen not to take sides or stake everything on either camp. Thanks to her neutrality and her strength as a Main God, both sides had tried to win her over.
Qian Hanyu had committed to neither side. But now that she knew what had happened to her and her successor in another time and space, she had her answer.
"Now that you know the future, Xue'er, what do you plan to do next?" Qian Hanyu asked.
"Divine Ancestor, I hope to use your Realm Passage to travel to Douluo Continent," Qian Renxue said. "I want to defeat the successors of the Sea God and the Shura God and settle a debt."
Qian Hanyu nodded. "Very well. I'll notify the Offering Guardian at my Inheritance Ground—your grandfather—and have him meet you."
"Thank you, Divine Ancestor."
Holding the Divine Seed, Qian Hanyu looked deeply at her successor. "This is an Angel God Seed, but it cannot make you the Angel God on its own. You must either refine it, defeat me, and take my place, or accept my inheritance." She paused. "But this Divine Seed's Attribute is opposite to mine. That gives us an entirely new possibility."
"An entirely new possibility?" Qian Renxue asked.
Qian Hanyu tossed the Divine Seed back to her. "If you'd brought a sacred-Attribute Angel God Seed, it would be pointless. You would have to choose one of the two paths to become the Angel God. But with a Divine Seed of the opposite Attribute, you can first refine the Attribute within it, then inherit my Divine Throne and fuse the two Divine Seeds of the same origin into one. I don't know how powerful the resulting Angel God Seed might become. Perhaps it could even surpass the Main God rank and make you a Divine King."
"Then why don't you try it, Divine Ancestor?" Qian Renxue asked.
"Xue'er, our experiences are different. You are both sacred and fallen, both light and dark. You're compatible with both Divine Seeds, and better suited than I am to take that step. I imagine that's why the Eternal God King had you bring this Divine Seed to me." Qian Hanyu considered it for a moment as she spoke.
"Divine Ancestor, if I inherit the Divine Throne, will Grandfather still have to sacrifice himself?" Qian Renxue asked.
Qian Hanyu said, "That is the duty of the guardian who presides over the Divine Trial. But you needn't worry too much. His divine soul will remain after the sacrifice. Once you have enough Divine Power, you can bring him back."
"But then why did Grandfather..." Qian Renxue remembered how Qian Daoliu had disappeared completely after she became a god.
She and Qian Hanyu understood almost at once.
In her Previous Life, the Old Coot Sea God had overseen her Divine Trial when she became a god. After Qian Daoliu sacrificed himself, his soul had fallen into the Sea God's hands. Of course nothing good had come of it.
So it was you again, Sea God.
Qian Hanyu clenched her fists. "Xue'er, go to the Lower Realm and face my Divine Trial without fear. I'm here in the Divine Realm. I won't let that despicable Sea God or the Shura God scheme against you."
"Thank you, Divine Ancestor," Qian Renxue said.
With that, Qian Hanyu opened the Realm Passage in the Angel God Palace and let Qian Renxue enter.
Douluo Continent, Spirit Hall
Pope Qian Xunji held a sheet of paper bearing a person's details. Qian Daoliu stood behind him, reading it too.
The sheet showed a portrait of a six-year-old girl with wine-red hair, along with her information. She was Bibi Dong, an unparalleled Talent discovered among those whose Martial Souls Spirit Hall had awakened that year.
Qian Daoliu studied the sheet gravely. "The Death Spider Emperor and the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor. Two of the most evil Martial Souls, both in one person."
"Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power. Heaven has given me a precious disciple!" Qian Xunji's eyes blazed with excitement.
Qian Daoliu glanced at him. "Her Martial Souls are the exact opposite of our Six-winged Angel. A Martial Soul can influence its bearer. The Soul Devouring Spider Emperor cultivates by devouring souls, while the Death Spider Emperor can accelerate its cultivation through slaughter and death. If a Soul Master with Martial Souls like these goes astray and grows powerful, she'll be a terrible scourge. But an Evil Martial Soul doesn't make someone an Evil Spirit Master. Guide her well and keep her from abusing her Martial Souls' gifts, and she could become a pillar of Spirit Hall."
"You needn't trouble yourself over that, Father. I have my own ways of guiding her," Qian Xunji said offhandedly.
Qian Daoliu was about to say more when a Divine Decree descended from the Divine Ancestor. He had no choice but to leave for the Angel God Palace.
Qian Xunji watched his father go and chuckled. Restrain his promising future disciple? No. He had a bold plan.
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