The Divine Realm.
At that moment, every god present wore an exceptionally grim expression.
The space-time turbulence was about to sweep the Divine Realm away. It seemed the outcome was already decided—how could they not panic?
What was more, the Golden Dragon King showed signs of stirring. God King Tang had no choice but to leave the God of Emotions, Huo Yuhao, here to support the Divine Realm while he went alone to check on the Golden Dragon King.
As he watched God King Tang walk away, a strange look flickered through the God of Emotions' eyes.
The Butterfly Goddess, Tang Wutong, stood beside him, resisting the space-time turbulence with everyone else. Huo Yuhao turned to look at her.
She was always so delicate and beautiful, like a porcelain doll carefully carved by hand. Every one of her behaviors and thought patterns seemed shaped according to the sculptor's design.
With such a perfect wife, parents and a family of his own, and a father-in-law and mother-in-law who held high positions in the Divine Realm, the God of Emotions ought to have been content with his life.
But as time went on, he kept feeling as though he had forgotten something.
Now, faced with the space-time turbulence, amid the collisions of countless planes, he seemed to remember—
He had forgotten the pain of losing his family in his youth, forgotten Elder Yi's death, forgotten the destruction of his teacher's keepsake in the Valley of Love and Emotion and the hundreds upon hundreds of times he had been slaughtered. He had forgotten the vow he made in his heart on the day Tian Meng captured the Ice Empress.
I want the heavens to never again obscure my eyes; I want the earth to never again bury my heart...
Noticing that something was wrong with the God of Emotions, Tang Wutong came over and asked gently, "Honey, what's wrong? You look so pale. We have to hold on until Dad gets back. If you can't hold out on your own, you can use Haotong Divine Power too."
Haotong Divine Power! When Huo Yuhao heard those words, his sorrow reached its peak. At this point, he was probably the only one who still called this divine power by its original name.
The pale-faced God of Emotions shook his head at the Butterfly Goddess beside him and opened the Eye of Destiny on his forehead.
"I'm fine, Wutong," he said. "I was just wondering—do you believe there are worldlines where we take a different path?"
Tang Wutong was startled. Not only by what he had said, but by the calmness in his voice, which now carried a clear note of distance. Ever since they had ascended to the Divine Realm, Huo Yuhao had cared for her in every little detail. When had he ever spoken to her like this?
But Huo Yuhao had no time to concern himself with her feelings. He saw something—the place his Eye of Destiny gazed upon held another worldline of Douluo Continent.
According to the Divine Realm, every plane had countless possible paths of development. But once the future was determined, the other possibilities collapsed and gradually disappeared. Clearly, the worldline he saw was a version of Douluo Continent that had already collapsed.
Because he had become a god and reached where he was now, that possibility had been erased.
Though he had no idea how that plane would develop in the end, Huo Yuhao decided to take a gamble. He would not go on living the life arranged for him by that pure and flawless God King Tang.
He would use the Eye of Destiny to stir that collapsed worldline. If it revived under the influence of the Power of Destiny, it would overwrite the world that had now been set in stone and awaken the version of himself who had been completely rejected before he could change his fate!
"Come on," he murmured.
The Eye of Destiny on his forehead blazed with light. Stirring a worldline was no easy task, so he immediately ignited his divine soul and poured all his divine power toward that point.
Tang Wutong cried out in alarm, "What are you doing?! Without your power to sustain it, the Divine Realm will...!"
But Huo Yuhao smiled, utterly at peace.
"Wutong. No, Dong'er, Qiu'er—we'll all start over. This time, let's do it right."
"If there really is another chance, let's not..."
The sound of the Divine Realm collapsing swallowed the rest of his words.
The Divine Realm was destroyed in the space-time turbulence, but this was not the end. It was a brand-new beginning. The worldline he had stirred was now shining brilliantly under the influence of Huo Yuhao's Power of Destiny.
The overwriting had begun.
The Star Dou Great Forest.
A thin, black-haired boy leaned against a tree, apparently just waking up. Tiny flecks of ice clung to his hair, eyelashes, and narrow shoulders, as though he had just encountered an ice-type Soul Beast. Yet beside him lay a ten-year Wind Baboon.
That's right. This boy was Huo Yuhao, who had just fused with the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.
Normally, after receiving such an enormous power, he shouldn't have woken up so soon. He should have remained unconscious until Bei Bei and Tang Ya arrived. But a powerful surge of Soul Power seemed to have roused him early.
The surge gave him an intense headache. He could only just make out that whoever had released it was incredibly powerful, and that its nature was very similar to his own Soul Power—but a hundred times purer.
How could Huo Yuhao, at this point, know anything about gods and the Divine Realm? All he could conclude was that another powerful Soul Beast must be nearby.
Though his whole body ached, he forced himself to his feet at once. He couldn't stay here any longer!
But he had barely taken a few steps when a tremendous force slammed him into a tree again. Leaves rustled down around him as his back struck the tree's roots, making him wince in pain.
Instinctively, Huo Yuhao reached for the White Tiger Dagger at his waist, but something pinned his arm down with a claw, leaving him unable to move.
"Human," said a woman's voice from right beside him.
"So you're human. Did that silkworm offer itself to you to escape?"
Huo Yuhao looked at the Soul Beast holding him down.
It had dreamlike, pale-gold fur like crystal, the body of a lion, and the claws of a dragon. Its eyes were gold, each with a pinpoint of red. Most unusual of all, it had a third eye on its forehead, completely blood-red. That red eye was fixed on Huo Yuhao, making him shiver.
This was another Soul Beast he couldn't possibly afford to provoke!
Brother Sky Dream's sudden appearance had already frightened him half to death. How many years of cultivation did this one have? Huo Yuhao couldn't assume every Soul Beast would be as kind to him as Brother Sky Dream.
In the Sea of Consciousness, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was clearly at a loss too. Was the person he had just chosen really going to be eaten by a Soul Beast? That didn't make sense! He had been sure he'd hidden himself well while escaping. How had another powerful Soul Beast followed him?
When Huo Yuhao didn't answer, the big cat with three eyes tilted its head and brought its nose closer, as if it were about to eat him. Its breath was burning hot, prompting Tian Meng in the Sea of Consciousness to groan in despair:
"How does this thing have fire attributes too?! Little Yuhao, looks like your big bro's out of luck. We're both finished here today."
Huo Yuhao squeezed his eyes shut in fear and complained in the Sea of Consciousness as well. "Brother Sky Dream, I don't want to be eaten! I haven't avenged my mother yet... And don't just keep yelling—help me think of something!"
Just as the boy and the silkworm were at a loss, the big cat seemed to notice something about Huo Yuhao. Its red eye blinked, and it looked somewhat surprised.
"Spiritual type?" it asked.
"Yes," Huo Yuhao answered at once. As long as they could communicate, they could work something out.
"Hmm... Strange. Very strange." The big cat gave him another once-over. "This thing on you..."
The big cat—or rather, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion—was deeply confused.
She shouldn't have been here at all. She hadn't even been interested in chasing that giant silkworm when it escaped. Her food consisted only of light-attribute Soul Beasts, and that silkworm had nothing but ice elements and spiritual power about it. It wouldn't have tasted like much.
But not long ago, a powerful surge of the Power of Destiny had suddenly rippled out in the direction the silkworm had fled. This had shocked her. As the Emperor Lucky Beast, she was especially sensitive to fortune and the Power of Destiny. So while Di Tian and the Scarlet King were still searching for the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, she had bounded off in that direction.
A human. This Power of Destiny had come from a human.
What was more, the spiritual power within that Power of Destiny was very similar in nature to the spiritual power of the human boy before her. But he looked so weak. Could he really be carrying such a powerful force of destiny?
Other thoughts began to form in her mind.
She had lived for over ten thousand years and had watched the Star Dou Great Forest grow weaker ever since those few humans had instantly become gods and ascended ten thousand years ago. It was in dire need of fortune.
"I won't eat you," the Three-Eyed Golden Lion said. "But there's one condition."
"Please, tell me!" Huo Yuhao hurriedly replied.
Just moments ago, Tian Meng had suggested temporarily possessing Huo Yuhao to escape. But if he did that, the other Ferocious Beasts would immediately locate Tian Meng. It was the worst possible option.
"You have to stay in the Star Dou Great Forest," she said.
"Uh..." Huo Yuhao hesitated. "Senior Soul Beast, is there no other choice?"
"You want to bargain with me?"
"No," Huo Yuhao said, shaking his head. "If this is my only way to survive, I have no choice. But there's something I must do in the human world... I haven't avenged my mother yet."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shook her fur, seemingly unconcerned by his words.
"What's the big deal? You can cultivate in the Star Dou Great Forest until you have seven or eight rings, then go take your revenge. It'll be easier that way."
Huo Yuhao seemed to be swayed. In his Sea of Consciousness, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hurriedly said:
"No, Yuhao, don't forget I'm still inside you! Every Ferocious Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest, except for the one in front of you, wants my life. What do you think they'll do if they find out I'm inside you? The weaker Ferocious Beasts might not be able to tell where your Soul Skills come from, but do you think Di Tian won't know?"
The words jolted Huo Yuhao. He had almost forgotten why Brother Sky Dream had insisted on becoming his Wisdom Soul Ring.
Tian Meng continued at once, "Try negotiating again. If you cultivate in this forest for decades until you have seven or eight rings, without talking to people and only interacting with Soul Beasts, you'll be no different from one of them by the time you come out—except you'll have a human form! This girl seems reasonable, and she needs you. She definitely doesn't want you dead."
"Just soften your tone. A man must know when to yield..."
"Who are you talking to?" the Three-Eyed Golden Lion asked, watching Huo Yuhao stare blankly as he spoke with someone in his Sea of Consciousness.
"No one!" Huo Yuhao said. "I was thinking, since you need me to stay in the Star Dou Great Forest, there must be a reason... Otherwise, I'd already have become lunch for your Soul Beasts. Could I meet that need by returning to the Star Dou Great Forest regularly?"
The big cat paused. "I suppose that could work. But you're so weak. You won't survive long in the human world, will you? You'd be safer in the Star Dou Great Forest."
Huo Yuhao gave a bitter smile. "You keep saying I'm weak. Why do you think I'd be safe in the Star Dou Great Forest? I nearly got killed by that baboon just now... And I'll do my best to grow stronger."
The beautiful golden Soul Beast before him seemed to fall into thought. But she didn't ponder for long. She raised her head as if she had made up her mind, then said:
"Wait a moment. I have an idea."
Before you continue