We Are Your Steps to Godhood

Yun Jingheng's sword finally lowered slightly, not completely sheathed, but it was no longer pointed at Chen Weitao's vitals. "What do you mean?"

Chen Weitao did not answer immediately.

He withdrew his gaze and looked again at the Mutant wandering in the moonlight outside the window. He stared for a long time, so long that Yun Jingheng thought he wouldn't answer.

Then he spoke, his voice even softer than before, so soft it was as if he were talking to himself.

"The Moon Domain is a demiplane that has been materialized by some kind of force."

He paused, as if choosing his words carefully, "That sea, this sky, this city, the people in the city, the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle —everything exists because of that power. That power is called Godhead Fragment. A fragment of the Yue Shen's Godhead Fragment."

Yun Jingheng's breath hitched for a moment.

Godhood.

Of course he knew this word; all the Soul Master on the continent knew this word.

That is the ultimate dream of all Soul Master, the end of the path of cultivation, and the ladder for mortals to become gods.

Chen Weitao didn't look at him.

He was still looking out the window, at the Mutant, his voice as steady as a frozen river.

"The Yue Shen's Godhood shattered tens of thousands of years ago, and the fragments scattered in the void. They were attracted to this demiplane, condensed, and took shape, thus the Moon Domain was born."

"And every person, every tree, every stone, and even every grain of dust born in the Moon Domain is a manifestation of Godhead Fragment."

Yun Jingheng's grip on the sword tightened suddenly, his knuckles turning white and his nails digging into his palm.

Something seemed to explode in his mind; all the information rushed in at that moment, colliding, shattering, and reforming. Every person and every thing born in the Moon Domain was Godhead Fragment.

Tian Apo is Godhead Fragment.

The middle-aged man riding the ox is Godhead Fragment.

The young guard at the city gate is Godhead Fragment.

Those who wander the streets—the crazed, the mutated, the no longer human—are Godhead Fragment.

Chen Weitao's voice continued, steady as a knife without emotion.

"They are not truly human. They have human forms, human emotions, and human memories, but they are not human. They are fragments of the Yue Shen God's Godhood, vessels nurtured by this demiplane, waiting to return to their original form."

"Return to the main body?" Yun Jingheng's voice was hoarse.

"Return to you."

Chen Weitao finally turned around.

Black eyes met Yun Jingheng's pupils. Those eyes held no malice, no kindness, no superfluous emotions, only an almost cruel calm, as if announcing a long-determined ending that no one could change.

"You are the master of the Moon Domain, the successor to the Yue Shen God's Godhood. Our existence is meant to be absorbed by you, to merge with you, and to become a part of you. That is why I have been preventing you from entering the Moon Domain Realm."

Yun Jingheng's mind went blank for a moment. "What did you say?"

"Once you enter, the Godhead Fragment will come to you on their own. I, and everything in this demiplane, will vanish like bubbles, becoming the ladder for your ascension to godhood."

Yun Jingheng gritted his teeth, his jaw muscles tense like stone. "You've been trying to stop me, but I still came in."

"Yes."

Chen Weitao's voice returned to calm, "Because I didn't expect you to shatter a Soul Douluo with three Level 6 Fixed Soul Guidance Cannonball, and I didn't expect the shockwave of the explosion to send you flying a full five kilometers."

"I never expected there would be a Moon Domain rift at the end of that five-kilometer stretch, and I never expected that you would fly into that rift during its mere three seconds of existence."

Yun Jingheng was silent for a moment, then asked, "Was that Soul Douluo one of yours? Did you tear open that rift?"

"No, that crack opened up on its own in the Moon Domain because it sensed your approach."

"The Moon Domain is calling you, actively tearing open a rift to pull you in. All I'm doing is—"

Chen Weitao paused for a moment, then said, "All I did was come in to find you and then rescue you."

"Wait... help?"

Yun Jingheng's voice changed; it was filled with confusion.

I thought you were the villain, but you're telling me you came to save me?!

Chen Weitao nodded, his movements so subtle they were almost imperceptible.

"Yes, someone wants to replace you and become the Yue Shen."

ha???

Moonlight streamed in through the broken window, falling between the two people like a silvery-white dividing line.

Yun Jingheng stood on one side of the dividing line, Chen Weitao stood on the other side.

Neither of them looked at the other; they were both looking out the window at the wandering Mutant and at the distant pillar of light that was still spewing out dark red light.

Chen Weitao's voice came from the silvery moonlight, "The Moon Domain has a master. After the Yue Shen fell, the master of the Moon Domain has been changing. There are no true successors, only proxies."

"The Moon Domain needs someone to keep it running, someone to prevent the Godhead Fragment from scattering too far, and someone to safeguard everything before the true successor arrives."

He paused.

"Those people are called God Servant."

Yun Jingheng frowned slightly.

Are God Servant, those who serve God?

He didn't speak, waiting for Chen Weitao to continue.

"There are divine servants within the inner circle of the Moon Domain, not just one, but a group. They are among the earliest fragments of divine positions to be born in the Moon Domain, earlier than anyone you've seen, earlier than anyone else."

"They know who they are, they know the meaning of their existence, and they know that they will eventually be absorbed by you."

"Most of them accept this fate, knowing from the day they are born what they are meant to live for."

He stopped and looked out the window at a Mutant crouching against the wall.

The Mutant hugged his knees, emitting low whimpers, like a baby crying or an old man sighing.

"But one of the God Servant was unwilling to accept this."

Chen Weitao's voice finally showed some fluctuation, a more complex vibration that seemed to suppress all emotions to the lowest frequency.

"He doesn't want to be absorbed by you, doesn't want to become a stepping stone for your ascension to godhood, doesn't want to wait tens of thousands of years only to end up disappearing. He wants to live, he wants to become a god."

Yun Jingheng gripped the Moonlight Sword tightly.

"He started planning. When you were still very young, before you even existed, when... Zhao Yunhong was born."

"All the Godhead Fragment in the Moon Domain can sense the presence of the Yue Shen's successor, just as migratory birds know where the south is, just as rivers know where the sea is. He has been waiting, waiting for an opportunity."

"What opportunity?"

"You die."

Chen Weitao turned to look at Yun Jingheng, "Once you die, the Moon Authority will be forcibly vacated."

"The Godhood of the Yue Shen Goddess cannot be without a master. If you die, the authority will automatically seek the largest Godhead Fragment in the Moon Domain as the new successor. That successor will become a human, and then a god."

"That God Servant is the largest fragment in the Moon Domain. He doesn't need to absorb everyone or fuse all the fragments; he only needs you to die to become a god."

"And that Soul Douluo you encountered... was sent by him to kill you."