The Plot Begins

The years on the Douluo Continent had always passed faster than one might imagine.

Two hundred years slipped by in the blink of an eye.

To Soul Beasts and gods who could live for hundreds of thousands of years, two centuries were no more than a fleeting moment. But on the Douluo Continent, where mortals held sway, they were enough to turn the world upside down and reshape its order.

Two hundred years ago, Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue had left the Star Dou Forest with the Immortal Herbs and resources bestowed upon them by Gu Yuan. Under the name of Douluo Hall, they had placed their first piece on the board in a northern border city of the Heaven Dou Empire.

No one had expected this little-known, tiny faction to unleash a storm that swept across the entire continent in a mere two centuries.

They had followed Gu Yuan's carefully laid plans to the letter. From the very first branch hall, they had made "free Martial Soul Awakening for commoners" part of Douluo Hall's very foundation.

Regardless of wealth, status, or family background, anyone could receive free Martial Soul Awakening at Douluo Hall. Those with exceptional talent could even receive full sponsorship from the hall, along with cultivation techniques and Soul Ring resources.

This rule spread like a prairie fire, blazing across the entire Douluo Continent in an instant.

At first, Douluo Hall had been suppressed for taking a bite out of the major factions' share. But before absolute strength, such resistance could be snuffed out with a flick of the finger.

Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue had casually dealt with anyone foolish enough to oppose them. From then on, no one dared cause trouble for Douluo Hall openly.

Ever since the Spirit Hall had fallen, commoner Soul Masters had remained at the bottom of the continent for ten thousand years. They had not even been given the chance to awaken their Martial Souls, much less obtain cultivation resources.

Shrek Academy accepted only monsters, while the major sects and nobles held a firm grip on Soul Master resources. For a commoner Soul Master to rise above the rest was harder than climbing to heaven.

The arrival of Douluo Hall had given them their only glimmer of hope.

In just fifty years, Douluo Hall's branch halls had spread to every city in the Heaven Dou, Spirit Dou, and Star Luo Empires. Even remote villages and towns had Awakening Masters stationed there.

Countless commoner geniuses who would otherwise have been overlooked were discovered and cultivated by Douluo Hall. They grew step by step into powerful Soul Masters, their loyalty to the hall etched into their very bones.

By the hundredth year, Douluo Hall had more than tens of thousands of registered Soul Masters. Its number of Titled Douluo was truly terrifying, while Soul Douluo and Soul Saint were too numerous to count.

The pieces that the remnants of the Spirit Hall had spent ten thousand years positioning in the shadows had all come into the open. The military and courts of the three great empires were filled with Douluo Hall's people. Even Mingde Hall of the Star Luo Empire had entered into a partnership with them.

In the hundred and fiftieth year, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect officially announced that it was joining Douluo Hall.

Aromatic Silk Beauty had broken the generations-old Martial Soul limitation of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. Moreover, with the nourishment of Immortal Herbs, the next two generations of sect masters had each evolved their Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, making the sect one that truly possessed the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. Its support abilities had multiplied several times over, and it could even amplify a Limit Douluo beyond their rank.

The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's arrival was like giving Douluo Hall a pair of wings. Countless sects ostracized by Shrek came flocking to join, and Douluo Hall's influence grew explosively.

Today, two hundred years later, Douluo Hall was no longer the tiny faction in a border city that it had once been.

It stood as an equal to Shrek Academy and had become one of the continent's recognized powerhouses. Its reputation among the people had long since surpassed that of lofty Shrek.

In the hearts of commoner Soul Masters, Douluo Hall was their sacred land, their only refuge. The words "Douluo Hall" had long surpassed the Spirit Hall of old, becoming a faith etched into the hearts of countless people.

After creating all this, Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue had not once involved themselves in worldly affairs.

A hundred years earlier, the two of them had entrusted Douluo Hall's daily operations entirely to a carefully cultivated council of core elders. They only sent down their divine consciousness from afar to guide its course when the continent's balance of power underwent a major upheaval.

At this moment, they were inside the Temple of Eternal Annihilation, the most central part of Douluo Hall's headquarters, in secluded cultivation to solidify their God King foundations.

Qian Renxue had fused with the God Core of the God of Eternity. Using the Angel God's origin as her foundation and the laws of eternity as her framework, she had forged a true God King foundation.

She had pioneered her own path to godhood. Her Twelve-Winged Eternal Angel unfolded its wings, powerful enough to illuminate the entire Douluo Continent.

She was drawing on the faith of the countless commoners across the continent who worshipped Douluo Hall, tempering her divinity bit by bit and perfecting every detail of the laws of eternity until her God King realm was utterly complete, without a single flaw.

Bibi Dong had gained control of the Annihilation God Core. Two centuries of tempering had worn away the obsession and ferocity in her heart, making her mind even more unfathomable and her decisiveness in battle even greater than before.

Deep within the temple, she nourished the origin of annihilation with boundless faith, merging the laws of annihilation completely with her divine soul as she steadily advanced toward the future.

To the two of them, the faith of countless commoners was the kindling that tempered their divine positions. Only by fully absorbing both God Cores could they gain the confidence to face Tang San head-on in the final battle against the Divine Realm.

Over those two centuries, the Star Dou Forest had also undergone a complete transformation.

Gu Yuan sat in Life Lake, nourishing the entire Star Dou Forest with the Dragon God Origin. The Soul Beast Clan entered an era of unprecedented prosperity.

Di Tian had broken through the bottleneck of nine hundred thousand years and forged a true divine body. He was now only one step away from the true realm of divine beasts.

Bi Ji, Xiong Jun, Ten Thousand Demon King, and the other Ferocious Beasts had all broken through their limits, their strength surging several times over.

The borders of the Star Dou Forest, once steadily devoured by humanity, had been redrawn. Human Soul Hunting teams no longer dared casually enter the core region. They even had to think twice before venturing into the middle region.

More importantly, Gu Yuena had fully recovered from her injuries with the help of the Dragon God Heart.

The Silver Dragon King had not only healed every injury inflicted upon her by the Five Great God Kings, but had also broken through the limits imposed by her divided divine soul, reaching the Half-Step God King realm.

Together, she and Gu Yuan guarded the Star Dou Forest. They nourished the land with the Dragon God's laws of creation and destruction, not only shielding the Soul Beast Clan from the heavens but also turning the entire forest into a forbidden land that even the Divine Realm's divine consciousness could not easily peer into.

On this day, two figures sat facing each other inside the Crystal Palace beneath Life Lake.

In the seat of honor, Gu Yuan wore a dark brocade robe, his black hair falling loose. Faint nine-colored dragon patterns coiled around him. His deep eyes seemed to contain the cosmos itself; the majesty and vicissitudes of countless ages had settled upon him, growing ever more profound.

Across from him sat Gu Yuena in a long silver-white dress.

Her silver hair flowed like moonlight, and her purple-gold dragon eyes were clear and majestic. The boundless auras of life and creation swirled around her, echoing the dragon might surrounding Gu Yuan until the entire palace was shrouded in the supreme pressure of the Dragon Clan.

"After two hundred years of planning, Douluo Hall has firmly established itself. Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue are close to fully refining their God Cores, and the Soul Beast Clan has completely recovered its strength," Gu Yuena said first, her voice as clear as a spring and carrying the Dragon Clan's unmistakable authority.

"According to the future you foresaw, the timeline has reached that point, hasn't it?"

"That's right. The time has come." Gu Yuan slowly nodded. He lightly tapped the crystal table before him with a fingertip, and a screen of light appeared before them.

The screen clearly showed a forest path leading into the Star Dou Forest, near the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire.

A small figure was walking toward the Star Dou Forest, carrying a crude pack on his back.

He was a boy of about ten, thin and frail, dressed in coarse clothes washed until they had faded. Fading blue-purple bruises marked his face, clearly left by recent bullying.

Yet his eyes were astonishingly bright. Beneath his pale blue pupils lay a tenacity and stubbornness beyond his years. Even with the perilous Star Dou Forest before him, he showed no sign of retreat.

"His name is Huo Yuhao, and he is the child of fate on the Douluo Continent," Gu Yuan said calmly, his voice carrying the tranquility of someone who had seen the future.

"He's the one I told you about before—the one who was supposed to inherit the God of Emotions' divine position in the original course of fate, become Tang San's son-in-law, and secure Tang San's rule over the Divine Realm. According to the timeline, he'll enter the Star Dou Forest today and begin the legend of his life."

Gu Yuena's purple-gold dragon eyes settled on the boy in the screen. After studying him for a moment, she furrowed her brows. "His Innate Soul Power is only level one. His Spirit Eye Martial Soul is a rare spiritual-type Martial Soul, but it's too weak. Without a fortuitous encounter, he'll never amount to much."

Gu Yuena couldn't help marveling that this so-called child of fate had such a poor starting point. It was tragic, to say the least.

But the more blank a slate was, the easier it was to leave a mark on it. In the end, Huo Yuhao would naturally become Tang San's most obedient pawn.

She paused and looked up at Gu Yuan, her tone carrying a hint of coldness. "If he's Tang San's pawn, wouldn't it be simplest to kill him and be done with it? With our current strength, even if Tang San sent down his divine consciousness across the planes, he wouldn't notice a thing."

"Kill him, and there'll be a second Huo Yuhao, then a third." Gu Yuan shook his head, rejecting the idea.

It seemed our Silver Dragon King's wisdom was still as shockingly extraordinary as ever, Gu Yuan sighed inwardly.

"Tang San can only calculate the course of his original fate. But now, his fate should be ours to write. Killing him would be such a waste."

Gu Yuena raised an eyebrow, instantly understanding what he meant. A flicker of realization appeared in her purple-gold eyes. "You mean...?"

Gu Yuan smiled, a glint of deep, assured calculation flashing in his eyes.

"Tang San wants to mold him into his pawn, so we'll make him one of ours. We'll lay out a broader, higher road for him, giving him the strength to break free of Tang San's control. Then he'll become our sharpest blade against the Divine Realm and Tang San."

"This is the God-Making Plan I've spent two hundred years preparing."

The moment the words fell, Gu Yuan raised a hand and snapped his fingers. A streak of white light shot in from outside the hall and landed before them, transforming into a chubby, round, white worm. It was none other than the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

After two centuries of nourishment from Gu Yuan's Dragon God Origin and Gu Yuena's laws of life, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was no longer the cowardly creature of old, a fat worm with a million years of spiritual power but not a trace of combat ability.

A brilliant ice-blue glow swirled around him. His million years of cultivation had become solid and stable, and his spiritual power was boundless. He had even faintly touched the threshold of the divine level.

His once-fragile origin had been completely replenished, and the eight pairs of stubby legs were etched with patterns of ice laws. His strength had increased hundreds of times over in comparison to two hundred years ago.

"Greetings, my two masters!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm swayed his chubby body and bowed respectfully to Gu Yuan and Gu Yuena, his voice brimming with sincere reverence.

Two hundred years ago, Gu Yuan had given him a new life and true dignity. He no longer had to be treated as nourishment. He had remembered this kindness for two whole centuries.

"Sky Dream, the opportunity that belonged to you, the one I told you about back then, has arrived." Gu Yuan looked at him and spoke slowly.

"I need you to become this boy's First Soul Ring, the first foundation stone on his path to growth."

At those words, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't show the slightest resistance. Instead, his little eyes lit up as he swayed excitedly. "Dragon God! Your plan is exactly the same as the one I came up with!"

Even Gu Yuena looked surprised.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hurried to explain. "My master may not know this, but although I reached a million years of cultivation by lying around thanks to the Extreme North Ice Marrow, I still took a shortcut. Even with the Dragon God's help to complete my origin, my Ice Silkworm Clan's talent means I'll never truly become a god."

As he said this, Tian Meng grew bashful and squirmed awkwardly. After all, he was admitting he was a beast who had only ever coasted to victory, which was rather embarrassing.

"So I'd already made up my mind: instead of waiting for the tribulation to arrive and my divine soul to be destroyed, I'd find a host with exceptional talent and a resilient spirit, offer up my million years of cultivation, and become his Wisdom Soul Ring. That way, I can grow alongside my host. When he becomes a god in the future, I can enter the Divine Realm with him and attain eternal life!"

At this point, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm looked at Huo Yuhao on the screen, his eyes shining even brighter. "This boy's Martial Soul is the spiritual-type Spirit Eye. It's a perfect match for my spiritual power!"

Gu Yuan looked at him and smiled faintly. He had known from his memories of the future that the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had made this choice in the original timeline. It had all been part of his plans.

"It's best that you've thought it through." Gu Yuan raised his hand, sending out a radiant stream of nine-colored dragon power. Beside him, Gu Yuena moved a fingertip, and a wisp of the ultimate law of life flowed into it. The two forces merged and entered the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body.

"These two forces will accompany you into that boy's body. Let's make our man even more of a genius! When the plan succeeds, I'll personally restore your physical body."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm trembled violently and bowed deeply to them. "Thank you, my masters! I won't let you down. I'll raise this boy into one of the strongest people on the continent!"

His original plan had only been to survive by clinging to a host. Preserving his divine soul would already have been a blessing.

But Gu Yuan and Gu Yuena had given him the chance to come back to life in the flesh. Their kindness was heavier than the heavens.

"There's no time to waste. We leave now." Gu Yuan rose to his feet, looking toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest.

"He's already entered the Star Dou Forest. Any later, and we'll miss the best opportunity."

The instant the words fell, the three figures vanished from the Crystal Palace.

There was no earth-shaking spatial disturbance. Gu Yuan wrapped Gu Yuena and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in the Dragon God's laws, and with a single flash, they crossed hundreds of miles and appeared on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest.