I've Been Targeted

The Divine Realm.

Cloud seas stretched vast and boundless, immortal light cascading down. In an eternal tranquility unchanged for ten thousand years, only the Ascension Staircase, where those ascending from the lower realm were received, suddenly erupted in a blinding flash of white light.

To the gods of the Divine Realm, this phenomenon was all too familiar—another cultivator from the lower realm had broken through the hundredth-level divine threshold, ascended to godhood, and successfully risen to the Divine Realm.

But the light of ascension, which should have lasted half a quarter-hour to stabilize the new god's divine nature, flickered for only an instant before abruptly vanishing.

Nothing like this had ever happened in the Divine Realm in ten thousand years. And whenever it did, there could only be one explanation: something had gone terribly wrong with the ascension.

The instant the white light faded, before Qian Chongguang could even plant his foot firmly on the white jade platform of the Ascension Staircase, a crimson torrent carrying the ferocity of an endless sea of blood surged toward him! Before he could react, an arm covered in Asura demonic markings clamped around his neck like pincers forged from ten-thousand-year-old dark iron.

The force was so tyrannical it crushed all hope of resistance. It tightened without pause, as though it would snap his neck the next second, yet somehow precisely left him his final breath, not even allowing him to pass out.

The one who had struck was the God Realm Enforcer, one of the five Supreme God Kings—the Asura God.

His blood-red, slit-pupiled eyes, stained by slaughter across the heavens, brimmed with a chill capable of freezing the soul. They locked firmly on Qian Chongguang in his grasp.

"Having fun?"

The Asura God's voice was like a grinding wheel from the depths of the underworld. Every word carried a viciousness that could crush the soul. "You've wrecked my plans again and again, ruined the script I painstakingly laid out. You miserable ant, you're truly courting death!"

He truly hated Qian Chongguang to the core. He had never imagined that the Angel Clan of Douluo Continent still concealed such an old monster, one who had lived for who knew how many years and, step by step, had wrecked the plan he had schemed over for tens of thousands of years beyond recognition.

Qian Chongguang's face had turned purple from the chokehold. His whole body writhed in agony, a pitiful sight, yet not a trace of fear showed in his eyes.

That was right. He was a transmigrator.

A transmigrator who had arrived years before the original story began, reincarnating into a direct-line member of Spirit Hall's Angel Clan—and, by seniority, Qian Daoliu's own grandfather.

At first, he had planned to use his foreknowledge and wits to seize every opportunity on Douluo Continent and raise Spirit Hall to unprecedented heights. But an accident had shattered his dreams completely.

It was simple: just as he had infiltrated the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, intending to claim the treasure trove for himself, a mysterious force struck without warning and blasted him out of the area. His soul was gravely injured on the spot, leaving him on the brink of death. He had nearly been torn to pieces by the surrounding Soul Beasts.

From that moment on, Qian Chongguang understood that everything was being laid out for Tang San.

Why had the shameless Asura God resurrected Tang San, whose defeat was already certain, at the end of Douluo I?

Quite a few readers thought Tang San was the Asura God's own grandson.

After escaping the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well with his life hanging by a thread, Qian Chongguang became even more certain that Tang San was the Asura God's own grandson.

Just think about it. Why had no one discovered the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well in tens of thousands of years? This world was never short of Soul Masters traveling the continent, yet only Dugu Bo had eventually found it—and even after finding it, he had no idea how to make use of the superb medicinal herbs covering the mountainside.

On top of that, his memories were full of far too many inconsistencies.

For example, Chen Jianjun, the father of the current Sword Douluo Chen Xin, somehow didn't know Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu, even though they were his contemporaries. What, was the Seven Kill Clan some hermit clan from a backwater mountain village?

And Bibi Dong and Yu Xiaogang had gone to Sea God Island, yet Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu only learned of Bo Saixi's existence later. Meanwhile, Bibi Dong hadn't even appeared in Spirit Hall, while Tang Chen had already lost his mind in Slaughter City.

All these illogical discrepancies had only one explanation: someone had tampered with their memories.

A God King's divine will reached everywhere, almost controlling every person and event in the plane. They could alter mortal memories at will.

And only the lofty God Kings could do such a thing.

One could say that, in the eyes of the gods, almost no living creature could hide from them.

Unless they were in a divine trial ground, carrying a divine artifact, or protected by some other special circumstance.

So he chose to fake his death and lie low, no longer revealing himself as he plotted in secret.

To Douluo Continent, it was simply a talented young man who had met an untimely end.

Like a pebble tossed into the sea, it could barely stir a ripple.

Of course, Qian Chongguang still had confidence in himself. In the darkness beneath the lamplight, he engaged in a complex, delicate game against the Asura God.

His mentor, Evil Sword Immortal, had once said: "The most important thing for a person is courage and confidence. Even with nothing at all, you can still suppress your opponent and control everything."

To forfeit was to surrender your right to win.

You didn't need strength or resources to win. What mattered most was confidence and courage. Give up and you were bound to lose; try, and you still had a fifty-percent chance.

So he would never give up!

Without relying on the immortal herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, he had still cultivated to level ninety-nine, only a hair's breadth from level one hundred.

He could break through at any moment.

Given his aptitude, Qian Chongguang knew that even if he broke through, he would never reach the God King level. At best, he could become a First-Level God.

So he cultivated other disciplines as well, including, but not limited to, his body, soul, and spiritual power.

Besides that, he hadn't spent all his time cultivating. In the east, where no one on Douluo Continent was paying attention, he had overthrown a principality, then wiped out several neighboring small kingdoms and founded the Flame Will Dynasty.

Like the other four great kingdoms, it still nominally belonged to the Heaven Dou Empire. In reality, though, these five states had long since become kingdoms within a kingdom. Aside from the necessary tributes, they controlled their military, government, and finances entirely on their own. If the Heaven Dou Imperial Family hadn't commanded a powerful army, civil war might have broken out long ago.

Still, that only applied to the other four kingdoms.

In the face of the Flame Will Dynasty, the Heaven Dou Empire couldn't even demand tribute. It had to thank its lucky stars if it wasn't forced to pay tribute under the name of a "reward."

Though he wasn't there in person, he still had a puppet ruler in the open, and two Titled Douluo who weren't to be trifled with.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Family, without a Titled Douluo of its own, could only swallow its anger and turn a blind eye.

Even having the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the Upper Three Sects, as its backer was no use. The sect itself relied on outsiders for its fighting strength.

Besides that, he had established an independent intelligence agency called the Buliangren, whose foundations were no weaker than those of the Upper Three Sects.

Spirit Hall had originally wanted to promote the Buliangren as a fourth great sect, but that hadn't worked out.

Could anyone really expect a secret intelligence organization to step boldly into the public eye?

And there was more—his own household, for instance.

Under his protection, Bibi Dong had barely interacted with Qian Xunji. With his guidance, she hadn't become a Saintess trapped in love and hatred. Instead, she had become the Adjudicator Elder in charge of Spirit Hall's laws, completely avoiding the mad, tragic end she had met in the original story.

Yu Xiaogang had never even gotten the chance to seduce the Saintess. He had simply turned the theories of those who came before him into his own Ten Core Theories.

And that was precisely why Qian Chongguang had been targeted.

The Asura God had originally tempted Qian Xunji into fathering two divine heirs with a single shot. For a direct-line member of the Six-Winged Angel clan, possessing a divine-grade Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul and nearly twenty levels of Innate Soul Power, yet not breaking through to Titled Douluo until the age of fifty, this was an incomparable honor bestowed upon a believer.

With talent like his, he would have struggled even to become an Angel Priest. How could anyone refuse?

He'd give his life and soul for you, Lord God King.

Only after Qian Chongguang wrecked the Asura God's brilliant original plot did the Asura God fear that his old rival, the Destruction God King, would discover what he was doing. He no longer dared to interfere so conspicuously in the continent's development, and could only force Qian Chongguang to break through level one hundred and ascend. He meant to crush this spoiler with his own hands and drag the story back onto the track he wanted.

The timing was perfect: Tang Hao, the guardian, and the Asura God's own grandson were about to be born. If he didn't bring him up now, his own grandson would be done for.

And now, facing the Asura God's murderous fury and interrogation,

Qian Chongguang, his neck still trapped in the god's grasp, didn't beg for mercy in the slightest. Instead, he tugged at the corner of his mouth and gave a look of utter mockery. Slowly, he said, "I've already spent all my money."

The Asura God furrowed his brows, confusion and fury filling his blood-red eyes. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Qian Chongguang met his murderous gaze. His voice was hoarse with suffocation, but he showed no sign of backing down. "You think I'd dare tear up your script without preparing a fallback for today?"

"On the strength of you, you miserable ant?"