The Conflict of Light and Darkness

The mist in the bathroom had yet to dissipate. Qian Renxue changed into a clean, pale gold dress, and while water droplets were still dripping from the tips of her hair, she hurried toward Qian Daoliu's quiet room.

"Grandfather!"

She pushed the door open and entered. Her voice carried the clarity of one who had just undergone body tempering, tinged with a hint of urgency. Her eyes, bright as stars, she spoke quickly: "The Whale Rubber... it's real! I have never felt my soul power flow so smoothly. My bones are tough, and my blood and qi are surging like a river! Lu Jing did not lie to us!"

Qian Daoliu stood with his hands behind his back by the window, the setting sun gilding his golden hair with a layer of dark gold.

He turned slowly, his golden pupils reflecting his granddaughter's flushed, excited face. He nodded calmly: "I see it. The Life Essence circulating throughout your body cannot be hidden from my eyes."

He paused, his calm voice carrying a penetrative quality that seemed to see through all things, and reminded her: "Although this child's origins are a mystery, he spoke no falsehoods this time. Since he has bestowed such an opportunity upon you, you should return the favor and treat him well."

Qian Renxue nodded in agreement, but then she heard her grandfather's tone shift, carrying an unprecedented gravity: "Xue'er, there is one more thing. If my judgment is correct..."

His gaze seemed to pierce through the walls, landing in the direction of Lu Jing's room, and he said softly: "The World-Destroying Black Lotus he possesses—its status likely surpasses that of our clan's Six-Winged Angel."

"What?!"

Qian Renxue's beautiful, delicate face was instantly filled with disbelief. Her voice rose sharply as she exclaimed: "How is that possible?! The Six-Winged Angel is formed from the bloodline of the Angel God; it is holy and supreme! He is merely a mortal, how could his martial soul..."

"That is precisely what is so baffling."

Qian Daoliu frowned slightly, recalling the profound darkness of Lu Jing's martial soul, which seemed capable of ending all things. He said, "That darkness is of the utmost purity, carrying the chaotic origin of destruction from when the world first began. Not to mention the Angelic Divine Light, even if I were to exert my full strength, I fear I would struggle to completely dispel the origin power of that lotus shadow."

Qian Renxue bit her red lips tightly. Her beautiful eyes were a mix of shock and skepticism. The pride in her bones made her instinctively resist this judgment that overturned her understanding: "I don't believe it! How could a divine inheritance be weaker than a nameless lotus?"

Watching her stubborn expression, Qian Daoliu shook his head helplessly: "Words are pale; facts are the proof."

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he made a decision: "Before you set off to infiltrate the Heaven Dou Empire, I will arrange a martial soul spar between you and Lu Jing. Keep it controlled. Do you dare to experience it for yourself?"

The indomitable light in Qian Renxue's eyes flared, and she immediately replied: "Why wouldn't I dare! I must see how his Black Lotus can suppress the Angelic Divine Radiance!"

At the same moment, inside Lu Jing's room.

"Hoo..." Having just finished his conversation with Wang Dong'er, Lu Jing closed the door. Before the exhaustion could fade, a familiar and boisterous voice exploded in his mind:

"Holy crap! Xiao Jing! Xiao Jing, are you okay? I've finally recovered! Where the hell did we get exiled to? A bunch of gloomy palaces... the flavor of this soul power field is all wrong!"

The massive spiritual projection of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm tossed and turned in his sea of consciousness, its icy-blue compound eyes darting around, filled with the confusion and agitation of one just waking up from the impact of the Whale Rubber.

"This is Martial Soul Hall."

Hearing the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's question, Lu Jing did not hide it and replied.

"Martial Soul Hall? Why does that name sound so familiar? It's like I've heard it somewhere before."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm frowned, and after a moment of recollection, it seemed to realize something and shrieked: "Wait... Martial Soul Hall? Xiao Jing, this is fucked up! Didn't Martial Soul Hall get ground into dust by that brat Tang San and the two great empires ten thousand years ago? Their ashes should be cold by now! How is there still a lively one here?!"

Lu Jing rubbed his temples, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile he had expected all along. He responded in his consciousness: "Exactly as it sounds. We passed through a spatial turbulence and fell into the Douluo Continent of ten thousand years ago. Right now, we are in the Worship Hall of Martial Soul Hall."

"...???"

The clamor in the sea of consciousness fell into sudden, dead silence. A moment later, the voice of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm shot up, as sharp and shrill as a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "What the hell?! Time-space... travel?! Ten thousand years ago?! Little Jing, are you sure you didn't fry your brain absorbing that Whale Rubber?! How the hell is this possible?! Even if spatial turbulence is ridiculous, it shouldn't be ridiculous enough to tear the timeline apart! I've lived for a million years and I've never seen such a mess!"

Its ice-blue spiritual form trembled frantically, clearly overwhelmed by this off-the-charts premise to the point of logical collapse.

Lu Jing couldn't be bothered to explain further, simply saying indifferently, "It is what it is. Stop howling and save your energy. Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. Recovery is the priority."

He ignored the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's continuous muttering and its attempts to "argue the time paradox" in his sea of consciousness, walking straight to the bed to lie down.

The exhaustion of his body intertwined with the settling sensation of the Whale Rubber tempering his physique, and he soon drifted into a deep slumber.

The next morning.

Knock, knock, knock.

The rhythmic knocking awakened Lu Jing.

He pulled open the door to find Qian Renxue standing in the morning light, dressed in a long golden gown. Her smile was bright, carrying a hint of eager edge.

"Awake?"

Without waiting for an answer, she reached out and grabbed Lu Jing's wrist with irresistible force. "Come with me. There's something I need your cooperation with."

Her tone was light and casual, yet it couldn't hide the irrepressible desire for a challenge deep within her eyes.

Lu Jing let her lead him away, asking, "What is it, Sister Xue'er?"

"Just a small matter."

Qian Renxue walked with a light step, her golden hair fluttering in the breeze. Without looking back, she said, "Grandfather ordered it. It won't take long; he just wants to clarify one thing."

She didn't elaborate, pulling Lu Jing quickly toward an empty martial arts arena behind the Worship Hall.

The grounds were vast, paved with hard obsidian. Qian Daoliu, dressed in a grey robe, stood quietly at the edge of the arena, his robes motionless in the morning wind.

Seeing the two arrive, he nodded slightly.

"Grandfather." Qian Renxue let go of Lu Jing and stood still.

"Great Enshrined." Lu Jing bowed.

Qian Daoliu's gaze swept over them calmly, his voice low and steady: "No need to be nervous. It is merely to let Xue'er verify a hypothesis—a friendly spar purely involving the power of Martial Soul origins. Stop when the point is made. I am here; I will not let you get hurt." His final sentence was both a guarantee and a setting of the rules.

Lu Jing turned his gaze toward Qian Renxue, only to see her beautiful violet eyes fixed on him, burning with an incredibly intense competitive fire and a near-obsessive desire for verification.

He knew her pride, and he understood even better that in this situation, only by letting her experience it for herself could he dispel her intense skepticism.

He nodded, crisp and decisive: "Alright."

As the words left his lips, Lu Jing's gaze turned abruptly calm. The air above his head twisted silently, and a phantom image of a lotus, jet-black as if carved from ink jade, instantly manifested—the World-Destroying Black Lotus had appeared!

The lotus pedestal was as deep as an abyss, its petals swirling with a will of destruction that signaled the end of all things. A deep purple soul ring pulsed slowly beneath his feet.

"A thousand-year soul ring? How is this possible?!"

Qian Renxue's pupils constricted. Stung by that aura of pure darkness and destruction, her innate pride was fully ignited!

With a sharp cry, brilliant golden holy flames soared into the sky!

Three pairs of massive, pure white wings unfurled behind her with a boom, every feather flowing with holy radiance like liquid sunlight.

A scorching, luminous aura swept across the arena, attempting to dispel the darkness. Two yellow and one purple soul ring rose from beneath her feet, the might of a Soul Elder fully revealed.

The collision of light and darkness was silent, yet heart-stopping!