"Lord Gu Yuan is right." Hu Lingyue bowed in agreement, then added,
"Reporting to Your Lordship: for the past ten thousand years, we have followed the orders our master gave before entering her slumber and never stopped laying the groundwork across the continent. Today, we have people placed among the military leadership of all four great empires."
"Of the three major sects in the Heaven Dou Empire, two are led by direct disciples of our Spirit Hall. Nearly half the imperial family's retainer corps in the Dou Ling Empire are ours. Even Mingde Hall in the Sun Moon Empire has our people concealed within it, responsible for relaying core intelligence on Soul Tools."
"On the surface, these forces belong to the continent's great sects and empires, but in their hearts, they serve Spirit Hall. For ten thousand years, they have secretly built up their strength and gathered Soul Masters driven out by Shrek, all waiting for our master to awaken and summon them to her banner."
At those words, a glimmer finally lit in Qian Renxue's eyes.
She had never imagined that these people would spend ten thousand years carrying out the instruction she had given before entering her slumber. While she slept, they had silently laid out such an enormous game.
"Good." A note of approval entered Qian Renxue's voice.
"You've done very well."
Ye Fantian rose to his feet and said solemnly, "Reporting to the young mistress: here in the core of the Dragon Graveyard, we have seventeen Titled Douluo, one hundred and twelve Soul Douluo, and more than three thousand Soul Saints and Soul Masters of lower ranks.
"The Angel Legion is at full strength, with one hundred members, every one of them elite. Their cultivation is at least Soul King level, and they are ready to fight at any time.
"Outside, we control nine more Titled Douluo among our hidden forces, and our total number of Soul Masters exceeds ten thousand. At a single word from the young mistress, they can assemble at any time!"
Seventeen Titled Douluo!
Even at Spirit Hall's height ten thousand years ago, that number would have been terrifying.
And that was not counting the ten thousand Soul Masters outside, or the network of forces spread throughout the three great empires.
After lying low for ten thousand years, Spirit Hall had not vanished. Instead, it had secretly amassed such terrifying strength, unseen by anyone.
The spirits of those in the hall rose higher and higher. It was as if they could already see the day Spirit Hall reclaimed the pinnacle of the continent and washed away ten thousand years of humiliation.
Gu Yuan gave a slight nod, unsurprised by the results.
The Dragon Clan's Dragon Graveyard was one of the greatest cultivation grounds in the world. The dragon qi here nourished Soul Masters' cultivation beyond compare. That it had produced so many powerful figures over ten thousand years was exactly what he had expected.
"We have everything we need." Gu Yuan spoke slowly, drawing everyone's emotions back in check.
"But it is not yet time for us to reveal ourselves completely. We know nothing about this era. If we act rashly, we'll only alert the enemy and put the Tang Sect and Shrek on guard ahead of time. We might even draw Tang San's attention from the Divine Realm."
At his words, the others quickly calmed down and nodded in agreement. They all knew that Tang San was now the Sea God and Asura God of the Divine Realm, as well as its enforcer. If he detected their presence, he would surely bring down divine punishment upon them—and that would spell their destruction.
"Then, Lord Gu Yuan, how should we proceed?" Hu Lingyue asked with a bow.
Qian Renxue looked at Gu Yuan beside her, a questioning look in her eyes. Gu Yuan gave a slight nod and continued.
"First, we learn about this era," Gu Yuan said gravely.
"We need to see for ourselves and understand how Soul Tools have developed, what the current Soul Master system is like, the true strength of Shrek, and the details of the Body Sect, Mingde Hall, and the other forces. Intelligence is only intelligence. We can make the most accurate judgments only after seeing things with our own eyes."
"We wait for the right moment. Two hundred and forty years will be enough for us to complete all our preparations, and enough for my origin to fully recover. By then, Douluo Continent will be ours to grasp in the palm of our hand."
Gu Yuan laid out the plans for the future with clear, methodical precision, step by step.
Those in the hall listened, their blood surging with excitement. They bowed and accepted their orders. "We will obey the commands of Your Lordship and our master!"
Qian Renxue looked at them and spoke, her voice carrying unquestionable authority. "From this day on, everyone in the Dragon Graveyard will continue cultivating according to the original plan and consolidate their strength. No one is to leave without permission. Our forces outside will remain concealed. No one is to make a move without my orders."
"Yes!" they answered in unison.
"All right, you may leave." Qian Renxue waved a hand.
They bowed once more, then filed out. Soon, only Qian Renxue and Gu Yuan remained in the hall.
A brief silence settled over the great hall. Only the distant roars of dragons seeped faintly through the heavy doors.
Qian Renxue turned to Gu Yuan. A complex emotion flickered in her golden eyes.
She fell silent for a moment before finally speaking. Her voice was much gentler than it had been when addressing the others, and carried a hint of obsession she could barely conceal.
"When I made a divine soul pact with you, I agreed to work with you and help you recover. Besides reforging my godhood, restoring Spirit Hall, and taking revenge on Tang San, there was one more condition. You haven't forgotten it, have you?"
Gu Yuan looked at her, understanding in his eyes, and nodded slowly. "Of course not. You want me to help you bring your mother, Bibi Dong, back to life."
At the name Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue's body trembled slightly. Her fingers tightened sharply around the armrest.
She had once hated her mother—hated her coldness, her obsession, and the fact that she had never given Qian Renxue even a trace of motherly affection.
But only after the battle at Jialing Pass, when Bibi Dong had shielded her and taken Tang San's fatal strike in her place, then died in her arms after saying "I'm sorry," did Qian Renxue understand the sorrow and helplessness that had filled her mother's life.
Whenever Qian Renxue dreamed of Jialing Pass during her ten thousand years of slumber, the image that always flashed before her eyes was Bibi Dong's final gaze, weary and filled with remorse.
Bringing Bibi Dong back to life had long since become an obsession carved into her bones. It was also one of the most important reasons she had agreed to work with the Dragon God all those years ago.
"You promised that once you recovered, you would help me bring her back to life." Qian Renxue's voice tightened slightly. Hope and unease mingled in her golden eyes.
"Now that you've awakened, can you still keep that promise?"
Gu Yuan looked at the obsession in her eyes. After a moment's silence, he spoke slowly. "Since I made a divine soul pact with you, I would never break my word. Though Bibi Dong died, her divine position shattered, she was still a deity who had attained the Rakshasa Godhood. The origin of her divine soul far surpasses that of an ordinary Soul Master. When she fell, you exhausted your last reserves of divine power to protect a wisp of her remnant soul, didn't you?"
Qian Renxue lifted her head abruptly, shock flashing in her eyes.
She had never told anyone about this. When Bibi Dong fell, overcome by grief, Qian Renxue had used the shattered origin of her Angel God to forcibly gather a wisp of Bibi Dong's dissipating remnant soul and seal it deep within her own divine soul. Even through ten thousand years of slumber, she had never let her guard down for a moment.
"Don't be surprised." Gu Yuan smiled faintly.
"I am the Dragon God, and I control the universe's most primordial laws of life and destruction. The aura of the Rakshasa God's remnant soul lies deep within your divine soul. I could see through it at a glance."
Qian Renxue steadied herself and hurriedly asked, "Can that wisp of her remnant soul bring her back to life?"
"Yes." Gu Yuan gave her a definite answer. "With that remnant soul, all her divine soul imprints and memories of her origin have been preserved, giving us the foundation we need to revive her. I can forge a new body for her and restore her divine soul. But there are two problems we must solve."
"Tell me." Qian Renxue asked at once, her eyes full of urgency.
"To bring her back completely, restore her to her peak strength, and even reforge her godhood, we must find the Rakshasa God Fragments scattered across Douluo Continent, as well as the origin imprints of her Twin Martial Souls. Without them, even if I can revive her, she'll be no more than an ordinary Soul Master, unable to regain the strength she once had."
The urgency in Qian Renxue's eyes gradually eased at Gu Yuan's words. She knew he was telling the truth.
Bringing a deity back to life had never been easy.
"Then what should we do?" Qian Renxue asked gravely.
"First, we do what we agreed on before." Gu Yuan stood and walked up to her, his gaze deep.
"We'll catch up with this era and learn everything we can about the continent, preparing for what comes next. We'll search for Bibi Dong's Rakshasa God Fragments and Martial Soul Origin imprints scattered across the land. As we travel, we can also see whether we can make the preparations needed to bring her back to life."
Qian Renxue looked up at Gu Yuan, determination flickering in her golden eyes.
She slowly rose to her feet. Angel Divine Power flowed faintly around her, and golden light from outside slipped through the cracks in the hall doors, falling across her like the dazzling Angel God who once stood atop Spirit City.
"Good," Qian Renxue said, each word clear and firm.
"Then let us go out and see what Douluo Continent has become after ten thousand years. And see just how much Shrek is worth."
"When we return, it will be the day she comes back to life."
Gu Yuan looked at the renewed light in her eyes, gave a slight nod, and let a faint smile curl his lips.
The storm that would sweep across Douluo Continent had quietly begun to gather from this moment on.
And two hundred and forty years later, the Peerless Tang Sect era was destined to be turned upside down by their return.
Before you continue