"Ask away."
Gu Chensha's tone was calm, yet it was as if he had been waiting for her to ask for a long time.
With his permission, Zhu Zhuqing stopped hesitating.
It wasn't as if he was asking her to take off her clothes or do something embarrassing. She only wanted to ask about the questions that had been bothering her.
She asked, "Teacher, you're a Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast from the Star Dou Great Forest. How do you know so much about the human world?"
"Are you... really just a Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"
She paused. A hint of panic flickered in her voice, and she hurriedly added, "I know I shouldn't doubt you. You saved my life and gave me a new beginning. I should trust you unconditionally."
"But there are things I just can't understand."
"I want an answer."
"You held that question in for three days before finally asking. I thought you'd wait until you became a Soul Elder before you dared to bring it up."
Gu Chensha chuckled softly. There was no hint of displeasure in his voice; instead, it held a touch of approval.
"You did nothing wrong, and there's no need to blame yourself."
"Trust has never meant following blindly, no matter what. Wanting to know the truth is only natural."
"You guessed right. These things aren't something a Soul Beast born and raised on Douluo Continent could possibly know."
His voice gradually grew somber, bearing the weight of five hundred years and the Devil Emperor's distinctive defiance.
"What you're about to hear may sound unbelievable, but every word of it is true."
"My soul actually comes from Another World."
"...Another World?"
Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful eyes widened slightly.
"That's right. With the power of that world, I can see where this continent is headed. I can predict many things that haven't happened yet."
"Five hundred years ago, I crossed over to this world and was reborn as a newly hatched Man Faced Demon Spider."
"After living for five hundred years and cultivating for two hundred thousand, I became the Devil Emperor they speak of. I've also watched this continent's predetermined fate unfold for five hundred years. I grew tired of it long ago."
Zhu Zhuqing's mouth fell slightly open, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Crossing over?
Rebirth?
She had never heard those words before. They were completely beyond anything she knew about the world.
But the voice in her sea of consciousness sounded utterly serious, without the slightest hint of a joke.
So she had no doubts at all—only overwhelming shock.
"As for why I sacrificed myself to you, you can think of it as a coincidence."
"You happened to wander into the Star Dou Great Forest and found me gravely injured. I had no choice but to sacrifice myself to you."
"That's what you saw, and what Hu Liena has always suspected."
He gave a scornful laugh. "But let me tell you this: not just anyone is worthy of receiving a sacrifice from me, Gu Chensha."
"I spent five hundred years in the Star Dou Great Forest. I saw countless cowards bow their heads to fate. But you were the only one who refused to turn back or accept your lot, even when you were at the end of your strength and every path ahead led to death."
His voice paused, carrying an undisguised loathing.
"I'd never sacrifice myself to a useless theorist like Yu Xiaogang, all reputation and no ability to take control of his own fate."
"If I ran into someone like that, I'd drag out his guts, tie them in a knot around his throat, then toss him far away like the stinking fly he is, so he wouldn't sully the place where I fell."
He said nothing more about Another World's details, speaking instead in a grave tone.
"When you're strong enough to stand at the pinnacle of this continent, I'll tell you everything about Another World."
"For now, you only need to know that I mean you no harm. Everything I've given you is to help you take control of your own fate with your own hands."
His voice carried a power that could shake the heart.
"If you're willing, I'll... help you become a god!"
"...Teacher, you mean... become a god?"
Zhu Zhuqing's voice trembled uncontrollably.
Become a god...
That was a realm beyond Titled Douluo, one that existed only in legends.
Forget becoming a god—even becoming a Titled Douluo would be enough to free her from the Zhu Family's fate, abolish that damned inheritance system, and make those who had once bullied and hunted her pay for it.
She looked at her hands, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"I... can I really do it?"
"Of course you can."
Gu Chensha's tone was firm as a nail driven into wood.
"You're the one I, Gu Chensha, chose. You mustn't doubt yourself, not even for a moment!"
"When the day comes that I help you become a god, I'll gain the freedom I want, too."
"Then I'll seek true transcendence and pursue true immortality."
The Devil Emperor's words held an edge forged over five hundred years, along with a power that could shake the heart.
Zhu Zhuqing felt a surge of warmth rise from deep within her.
She had once thought that escaping her fate was already the greatest wish she could ever hope for.
But now someone was telling her she could become a god, that she could take control of her entire life.
Then she remembered what he had said: once he helped her become a god, he would gain his freedom and seek true transcendence and true immortality.
For some reason, an inexplicable pang of bitterness stirred in her heart.
So... he would only help her until she became a god?
Would he leave the day she ascended?
What am I thinking...
Zhu Zhuqing came back to herself and shook her head hard, pushing away those chaotic, unwelcome thoughts.
Her cheeks warmed slightly. She hurried to change the subject, hiding her lapse.
"Teacher, wouldn't becoming a god... make you immortal?"
"Becoming a god? That's only the starting point on the long road to immortality."
Gu Chensha shook his head without explaining the intricacies.
The so-called "gods" of this world were nothing but prisoners, driven by their own world's laws and locked away in the seemingly sacred, splendid cage called the Divine Realm.
That was nowhere near the transcendence and immortality he had pursued for five hundred years.
Besides, she hadn't even become a Soul Elder yet. It was too soon to talk about such things.
"For now, we need to keep our feet on the ground."
"Next, I'll ask you a few questions. They concern your choices of Soul Skills, Martial Soul Evolution, and even the limits of your future potential."
At his words, Zhu Zhuqing immediately refocused and replied earnestly, "Yes, Teacher."
"First, have you given any thought to choosing your Soul Rings?"
"Choosing Soul Rings..."
Zhu Zhuqing's delicate brows drew together slightly. The question had clearly caught her off guard.
It wasn't that she had never thought about it. But the supposedly thorough "thought" she'd given the matter before seemed laughably shallow beside the path to godhood her teacher had laid before her.
After a moment's thought, she chose to be completely honest.
"In the teachings I received, the most common approaches to Soul Ring combinations are 'stacking similar traits' and 'complementing attributes.'"
"For example, Agility Attack-type Soul Masters mostly choose Soul Rings from agile Soul Beasts to boost their speed. That's stacking similar traits."
Before you continue