Acting Separately

Huang Tian steadied herself beside him, her silver eyes sweeping warily over their surroundings as her powerful mental energy spread out in an instant.

"Is this... really another world?" Huang Tian took a deep breath. She could clearly sense that this world was the Douluo Continent, yet her instincts told her something was different. After all, their journey to the Divine Realm had not been a dream.

Qian Xunji did not answer. His gaze passed over the bustling crowd and settled on the magnificent palace at the end of the street. Its distinctive Swan crest and lavish architecture made it unmistakable: this was Heaven Dou City.

"Huang Tian, welcome to the Surface World."

Qian Xunji straightened his collar.

"This is Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire."

Qian Xunji led Huang Tian through the crowd for a while before picking a rather upscale hotel. After putting down a few Gold Soul Coins, they took a luxurious suite on the top floor.

As soon as they entered, Qian Xunji shut the door behind them. A thread of pure golden Soul Power shot from his fingertip, instantly wrapping the room in a barrier.

"We'll stay here for now." Qian Xunji walked to the window and looked at the crowd below. Then he turned and sat on a soft leather sofa.

"We've come to a whole new world. Tell me what you think."

Huang Tian went to the window, her dragon eyes overlooking the vast human city. It had been a long time since she had stood in the capital of a human empire without a care.

"I don't know." Huang Tian shook her head, an unusual trace of uncertainty and curiosity in her voice.

"I want to see this world first. See its Star Dou Forest, and see... that so-called Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King."

Qian Xunji turned the teacup in his hands as he warned her:

"You can look, but there's something you need to know. The passage opened by the Divine Realm is extremely unstable. It can only accommodate the two of us, body and soul. No matter how many subordinates you bring under your command here, you won't be able to take them back. And only my Oath of the Angel can open the passage."

Huang Tian turned and looked at him for a long moment, then nodded silently. She knew perfectly well that Qian Xunji held the reins of this alliance.

"Good." Qian Xunji set down his teacup and leaned forward. Watching Huang Tian, he suddenly asked,

"Since you can't take anyone back, let's try another approach. Huang Tian, can you devour this world's Di Tian?"

"What?"

Huang Tian shuddered. Devour Di Tian?

Both stood at the pinnacle of the Dragon Clan with eight hundred thousand years of cultivation. She was the Silver-Eyed White Dragon Empress, wielding ultimate light and space; he was the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, wielding ultimate darkness and space. If she could truly devour him and fuse light and darkness within herself, her strength would undergo a transformation. Even her bloodline might advance another step.

Once the initial shock passed, Huang Tian's breathing grew heavy. The craving for power in her dragon blood made the prospect impossible to refuse.

She closed her eyes and considered it carefully. When she opened them again, a dangerous gleam shone in their depths. "Light and darkness share the same origin. If we find a chance to severely wound him, I can use the power of my eight-hundred-thousand-year essence to suppress him... It's worth a try!"

"Good. That's the spirit." Qian Xunji smiled in satisfaction.

"Then conceal your presence and scout the Star Dou Forest. Gather some resources from this world while you're there. As for Di Tian, trying to devour him alone would be too risky. I'll round up a few helpers and create an opening for you when the time comes."

Huang Tian paused, her face full of disbelief. "Helpers? You've only just arrived in this world. You don't know anyone here. Where are you going to find helpers?"

A mysterious smile tugged at Qian Xunji's lips. "Leave that to me. You'll find out when the time comes."

With a flick of his wrist, Qian Xunji sent a golden feather radiating a sacred aura drifting toward Huang Tian. "If anything happens, or your life is in danger, channel Soul Power into it to contact me."

Huang Tian caught the feather. Without another word, she lightly brushed a hand across her neck. An inverted triangular silver-white Reverse Scale came loose, and she tossed it to Qian Xunji.

"My Reverse Scale. It works the same way."

With that, Huang Tian became a streak of white light, slipped straight through a gap in the window, and vanished silently into the skies above Heaven Dou City.

Qian Xunji was alone in the room.

He did not act right away. Instead, he left the hotel and made the rounds of several underground markets and Soul Master taverns in Heaven Dou City. With his powerful mental energy and a few Gold Soul Coins to open doors, he soon worked out where they stood in this world's timeline.

The timelines line up perfectly! Tang San is twelve right now, busy fighting monsters and leveling up at Shrek Academy.

That meant Tang San would soon hunt a Man Faced Demon Spider in the Star Dou Forest and obtain the External Soul Bone known as the Eight Spider Lances. It was an absurdly powerful piece of equipment.

An External Soul Bone? Heh heh heh. Giving something that good to a weed-wielder would be a complete waste. Qian Xunji chuckled inwardly.

Those eight spider legs would look far better on my Qian San's Blue Silver Spider. No rush. Once I've taken care of business, I'll snatch that toy out from under Tang San's nose.

Qian Xunji paid for his drinks and left the tavern.

"Now, time to visit an old acquaintance."

Spirit City, Worship Hall.

As Spirit Hall's sacred ground, the Worship Hall was always shrouded in an aura of untouchable majesty. Even Pope Bibi Dong rarely set foot there.

Late that night, the towering statue of the Six-Winged Angel in the hall cast a gentle golden glow.

Beneath the statue, an old man in a plain gray robe knelt on a cushion, eyes closed in devout prayer. He was Qian Daoliu, master of the Worship Hall and a rank ninety-nine Peerless Douluo.

God of Angels, please watch over Xue'er. Let her accomplish her great task soon and return safely... Qian Daoliu prayed silently.

Just then—

Qian Daoliu's eyes flew open. His terrifying mental energy as a Limit Douluo swept through the entire hall like a storm!

Someone had entered!

Without a rank ninety-nine Peerless Douluo like him noticing, that person had bypassed every restriction surrounding the Worship Hall and appeared inside like a ghost!

"Who's there?"

Qian Daoliu sprang to his feet and turned, fixing his gaze on a corner deep in the statue's shadow.

"Only a handful of people on the continent have the power to slip into the Worship Hall unnoticed. Who exactly are you?"

His voice boomed through the hall. He had already begun gathering his Soul Power, ready to strike at any moment.

But when the gray-robed figure slowly stepped out of the shadows, Qian Daoliu froze.