The Third Numbered Douluo of All Villains. Dugu Yan: Grandma, you're still alive?

"Emperor Qingtian has arrived! The Empress has arrived!"

"We pay our respects to Your Majesty and the Empress!"

"No need for formalities, please be seated."

Only Qian Heqing and Gu Yuna were in attendance; the other Empresses were not present.

Before long, the banquet officially began, and the various delicacies made Dugu Yan swallow her saliva repeatedly.

Halfway through the wine.

Qian Heqing, dressed in brocade robes, raised his glass and walked forward a few steps. Standing at the edge of the dais, he looked down upon the crowd and spoke: "Everyone, the Immortal Court's expedition will not cease! Let us strive together!"

His voice was high-pitched, wild, and boundless! It carried a domineering aura that seemed to swallow the world!

After downing the cup, Qian Heqing continued: "The construction of the three World-Crossing Gates has exhausted almost all the resources of our Immortal Court! Fortunately, all our efforts have yielded the results they deserve! The three gates have successfully connected to three parallel worlds!"

"Douluo World No. 1, led by the Venerable Dugu Xue, has achieved the greatest results! They have already begun cooperating with their counterparts in that world, and at this very moment, they are working in unison to gather resources and build a gate! The complete connection of the two worlds is not far off! When that time comes, it will be the moment for our Immortal Court's army to set out! Also, this Dugu Yan is a visitor from that very world. Everyone, do not let our first guest from another world suffer any grievances in the Immortal Court."

The crowd cast curious gazes in her direction. Dugu Yan was too nervous to speak, her smile somewhat stiff.

Qian Heqing set down his glass and continued: "Douluo World No. 2 was led by Great Elder Tang Ming of the Haotian Clan, but... they were unlucky. No sooner had they crossed over than they encountered a War of Gods! Great Elder Tang Ming sacrificed his life to reopen the gate and send Dai Muhei and Qin Riyue back, while he himself fell in that foreign world! Our Immortal Court will certainly launch another expedition to Douluo World No. 2 to bring Great Elder Tang Ming's remains home!"

The crowd sighed in lament, yet they were united in their resolve.

"And then there is Douluo World No. 3, which finally established contact with the main world three days ago!"

At this point, Qian Heqing paused. The wild, domineering aura around him vanished, replaced by a touch of pity as he sighed: "I am currently considering whether to completely eradicate all life in Douluo World No. 3! And then build a new world upon the ruins!"

"Completely eradicate?" Everyone present gasped, whispering among themselves.

Someone stood up, cupped their hands, and asked: "Your Majesty, may I ask what happened in Douluo World No. 3? To make you want to wipe out every living soul in a world?"

Qian Heqing sighed and gestured for Gu Yuna to explain on his behalf.

Gu Yuna walked to the edge of the dais and stood beside Qian Heqing, explaining: "Venerable Seven Kill, Xie Peng, and San Huo have suffered seven assassination attempts in the mere half-day since they entered Douluo World No. 3! And these people were all Evil Soul Masters!"

"What? Evil Soul Masters? And seven waves of them in just half a day!"

Gu Yuna's tone remained calm. After the murmurs below subsided, she continued: "When Venerable Seven Kill and his team stepped into Star Luo City in the Star Luo Empire, they hoped the situation with the Evil Soul Masters would be better! However, they discovered that the situation was not only worse, but increasingly severe! The entire empire, from the lowest-level soul masters to the nobility, and even the ruler of the Star Luo Empire, Emperor Dai Hao! Every single one of them is an Evil Soul Master! They use the essence and life force of others as nourishment to increase their soul power! The entire Star Luo City is no different from the City of Slaughter decades ago; every corner is filled with violence and death, and the entire city is repulsive! The common people within the empire are less than one in ten! They are kept like livestock by the empire, forced to labor! And in the end, they are still drained of their life force and essence by the Evil Soul Masters!"

"This... this..."

An entire nation, all Evil Soul Masters! Such an empire was beyond their imagination!

Gu Yuna continued: "Venerable Seven Kill had Xie Peng and San Huo split up to gather intelligence, but they nearly met with disaster! The methods of the Evil Soul Masters are endless! Finally, they obtained an even more desperate piece of information: the inherited martial soul of the Martial Soul Hall is not the holy and radiant Angel! It is, in fact, a dark, evil Twelve-Winged Fallen Angel!"

"Twelve-Winged Fallen Angel?!" The crowd could not believe it!

"Haa~" Gu Yuna took a deep breath and spoke again: "Furthermore, the Lake of Life at the heart of the Star Dou Forest, a lake that should have been teeming with life, is now a lake of blood! Even my counterpart, the Silver Dragon King, died there; her massive dragon bones have been weathering for tens of thousands of years!!"

Finally, Qian Heqing concluded: "The two great empires, the Martial Soul Hall, the soul beast clan—everyone is a villain! Such a world no longer has any reason to exist!"

The crowd looked grave, and Dugu Yan was so frightened her face turned pale.

The people of an entire Douluo Continent were all Evil Soul Masters! Could such a world really exist? Dugu Yan found it hard to believe, and even harder to accept!

But, having crossed the barriers of two worlds to reach the Immortal Court of another Douluo Continent, she could not help but believe in this world of villains!

An old man stood up and asked: "Your Majesty, there are still common people alive in Douluo World No. 3. If we completely eradicate all life, what will become of these commoners?"

"Sigh~ This is exactly what I am struggling with! Once we conquer a foreign world, they become my subjects; how could I bear to do it?" Qian Heqing looked conflicted and sighed again: "But! If our Immortal Court wants to conquer Douluo World No. 3, it will inevitably provoke a counterattack! The think tank has analyzed it: once a war between the two worlds begins, the Evil Soul Masters of Douluo World No. 3 will immediately sacrifice those defenseless commoners to boost their own cultivation! These people are doomed to die either way... So, if anyone has a way to save them, please speak up!"

The crowd looked at one another. If the think tank couldn't come up with a solution, what could they possibly suggest?

The murmurs below lasted for a long time. Just then, a young man stood up, cupped his hands toward Qian Heqing, and said: "Emperor Qingtian, I am Tang Si of the Haotian Clan! I have a way!"

"Oh? What is your idea?"

Tang Si said: "If we want to save the common people from the hands of the Evil Soul Masters, we must be even more evil than they are!"

"Preposterous! Our Immortal Court acts with integrity and righteousness..."

Someone scolded, but before they could finish, Qian Heqing waved his hand to interrupt: "Tang Si, continue."

"We first use thunderous, bloody means—more ruthless than the Evil Soul Masters—to control one city! However, our thunderous methods will only target the Evil Soul Masters, not the commoners! Afterward, we continue to communicate with the outside world using the style of the Evil Soul Masters to lower the guard of everyone in Douluo World No. 3! Then, we secretly use the Evil Soul Masters as nourishment to cultivate another batch of Evil Soul Masters, making them fight for us! Or, we establish an Evil Soul Master church and use a 'gu-poison' method to select powerful Evil Soul Masters to serve us! We will use the methods of that world to slowly erode the entire world of Evil Soul Masters. Finally, once we have unified Douluo World No. 3, we will wipe out all those Evil Soul Masters! Purify the entire continent and let the brilliance of the Immortal Court, and your brilliance, Emperor Qingtian, shine upon that world!"

Upon hearing this, someone agreed: "Not bad! Although it will take longer and the methods are a bit cruel, it can protect those common people to the greatest extent."

Tang Si smiled and said: "What does it matter if the methods are cruel? It is the greatest honor for the Evil Soul Masters to contribute their final bit of warmth to the Immortal Court!"

"Good! Compile a detailed plan for this matter and we shall discuss it again at the morning court in three days!" Qian Heqing nodded thoughtfully, thinking to himself: Tang Buddha truly did not disappoint me! Now, let Tang Buddha bring a 'happy life' to the Evil Soul Masters of that foreign world!

The banquet lasted for a long time before it ended.

Qian Heqing and Gu Yuna left the banquet hall together. Qian Heqing kept praising: "That kid Tang Si is a talent worth molding! Even when I mentioned the Evil Soul Masters, my first thought was to exterminate them all! This kid actually wants to cultivate them for our own use, make them fight for our Immortal Court in a foreign world, and then discard them when they are no longer needed! He has a ruthless heart!"

At the same time.

Dugu Yan had already followed Xiao Yi out of the banquet hall. Outside, a steady-looking young man was waiting there.

"Hmm?" At first glance, Dugu Yan felt the young man looked familiar. Her heart skipped a beat, and she shifted her gaze from him to Xiao Yi, looking shocked and uncertain. The young man before her looked almost exactly like the father in her memories!

Xiao Yi smiled and introduced: "Dugu Yan, this is your father in the Immortal Court, Dugu Xin!"

"Gulp~" Dugu Yan swallowed hard, her eyes instantly welling up with tears!

"Yan'er!" Dugu Xin called out softly.

"Dad!" Dugu Yan could no longer hold back, calling out in a low voice as tears rolled down her cheeks the very next moment.

The corners of Dugu Xin's eyes grew moist as well, and he sighed, "Yan'er, you... you suffered in that world!"

"I didn't suffer. Grandpa always took care of me, and... Grandpa and I were both doing very well!"

"Come, let's go home with Dad."

"Mm!"

Xiao Yi watched the two of them leave, sighed in her heart, and murmured, "I want to go back to the Star Dou Forest, too. I miss my mom a little."

On the other side, it wasn't long before Dugu Xin had driven Dugu Yan back home.

Dugu Yan pushed open the Gate of Opening with anticipation, hoping to see her mother the very first moment she stepped inside!

As it turned out, the moment she pushed the door open, what Dugu Yan saw were a middle-aged woman and a young woman.

Two people? Then which one is my mother? The young one?

Dugu Yan hurriedly turned back to look at Dugu Xin, unable to help whispering, "My mother died in childbirth when I was born... which one is my mother?"

Dugu Xin stroked Dugu Yan's hair with a heart full of pity, looked toward the younger woman, and introduced her softly, "She is your mother."

"Yan'er, I am your mother!"

Dugu Yan's eyes grew moist once again, and she threw herself directly into her mother's arms, sobbing uncontrollably, "Mom! I missed you so much!"

"There, there~ From now on, I will be your mother! How about that?"

"Mm-hmm!" Dugu Yan hugged her mother in a spoiled manner, even rubbing her cheek against her.

Dugu Xin wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes, then pointed to the middle-aged woman standing to the side, whose eyes were also filled with tears, and introduced her, "Yan'er, this is your grandmother!"

"Grand... grandmother?" Dugu Yan's eyes widened, and she blurted out, "Grandma! You're alive too?!"

"Hahaha~ This child..."

Dugu Yan realized her words were ambiguous and hurriedly said, "Grandma, I didn't mean it like that! In my world, even my dad never got to see my grandmother... so, I never imagined I would be able to see you in this world!"