On the other side.
The figures of the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction slowly coalesced in the Forest of Life.
As soon as they landed, the tension around the God of Destruction eased somewhat, and he let out a long breath.
"I knew something felt off." The God of Destruction rubbed his brow and said helplessly, "That kid actually has a powerful backer."
"That was just a single gaze, yet the pressure..."
Even when he had faced the Dragon God back then, he had never felt such a chill in his heart.
The Goddess of Life gently took his hand and comforted him. "All right. Fortunately, that child is a good person, and the mysterious god protecting him meant no harm."
"Let things be as they are. As long as we can all leave each other in peace, that's enough."
The God of Destruction nodded, then suddenly thought of something. "But..."
The Sea God and the Angel God were both First-Level Gods. There was no way someone could steal her divine authority so silently.
Could Asura be involved in this, too?
The Goddess of Life sighed helplessly. "Forget the karmic ties between Lin Ze'an and Spirit Hall. Even putting that aside, the Angel God is a First-Level God of the Divine Realm.
"Even if she has fallen, her divine authority can't just be stolen by someone for no reason."
"They've crossed the line. If they can use such methods to erode the Angel Godhood today, tomorrow they'll dare to target the foundations of other gods."
In the innermost chamber of the Pope Palace, Bibi Dong sat alone in the shadows.
She closed her eyes in thought, replaying the horrifying scene from outside the Pope Palace over and over in her mind.
"Lin Ze'an..."
Though no one had said anything at the time, both she and that old geezer Qian Daoliu knew full well just how terrifying that scene had been.
Among those Lin Ze'an had punished were even Soul Saints.
Killing them all at once would have been easy. But extracting their Soul Power and Martial Souls at the same time was another matter entirely.
Besides, Lin Ze'an was only a Soul Elder right now...
At that thought, Bibi Dong opened her eyes, a cold glint flashing through her dark purple gaze.
She opened her palm. A wisp of Rakshasa Divine Power churned in it, yet it couldn't recreate that bizarre effect at all.
Just then, the shadows in the corner of the chamber suddenly twisted, and an ancient mirror inlaid with skull patterns appeared without a sound.
Deep-purple ripples spread across the mirror's surface, and a cold, hoarse voice slipped into Bibi Dong's ear. "Bibi Dong."
She whipped around. In the mirror was a woman covered in savage wounds, her breath faint and ragged.
The woman wore a tattered dark-purple divine robe, and divine blood seeped constantly from her wounds.
"Rakshasa God?" Bibi Dong froze at the sight and asked hesitantly, "What happened to you...?"
"You useless fool!" The Rakshasa God in the mirror suddenly flew into a rage. "Don't even think about doing anything to that kid!"
Damn it! If this woman hadn't told her about Lin Ze'an, she wouldn't have...
The sudden scolding left Bibi Dong stunned. "Wha...?"
"Shut up!" the Rakshasa God roared before she could finish.
Then she broke into a violent coughing fit, spitting out several mouthfuls of divine blood. "I meant to use my divine power to guide that kid down the path of slaughter, but before my power could even get near him..."
As she spoke, a trace of fear crept into her voice. "A terrifying force rebounded it, and the backlash left me in this wretched state."
This was unbelievable. What kind of power was that? Even a God King shouldn't be completely unable to sense its source.
Bibi Dong's pupils contracted sharply. "Are you saying Lin Ze'an has a god behind him too? Like me, he's the successor to a god?"
How old was that kid? How could he be so lucky?
At that, the Rakshasa God scoffed. "You certainly have a wild imagination."
"Enough. I'm going into seclusion to recover. Don't try anything with that kid again."
As soon as she finished speaking, the mirror fell still.
After the Rakshasa God's presence had completely faded, Bibi Dong stood alone before the mirror, staring at her reflection.
"Heh... Did you think I didn't know what you'd done to me?"
In the blink of an eye, several days passed on the Douluo Continent without anyone noticing.
Another exhausting day. At long last, his cultivation was over.
Lin Ze'an had just lain back in the bathtub and closed his eyes to rest when Ghost Leopard's respectful voice sounded outside the door. "Elder."
Amid the hazy steam, Lin Ze'an's eyelashes did not stir. He simply asked softly, "What is it?"
Ghost Leopard's voice came through the door. "The guards came to report that a Titled Douluo calling himself Dugu Bo wishes to see you."
The water rippled faintly. Lin Ze'an slowly opened his eyes.
Dugu Bo? He was probably here because of his granddaughter. He'd nearly forgotten about that.
At the thought, he scooped up a handful of water and splashed it over his face, waking himself up a little. "Show him in. Have him wait in the reception hall."
A short while later, Lin Ze'an slowly took his seat at the head of the room.
Before long, Dugu Bo walked in with a green-haired girl.
Seeing them, Lin Ze'an rose to his feet. "Senior Dugu, it's been a while."
At a glance, Dugu Yan seemed to be in much better shape than the last time he'd seen her. She looked almost alive now.
Then he turned to Dugu Yan with a smile. "This must be your granddaughter, Dugu Yan, right?"
Dugu Bo nodded. He looked around at the decor and smiled helplessly. "Who would've thought? You're already an elder at such a young age."
"With the way you've decorated this place, I'd have thought I'd walked into the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace."
After the three of them had taken their seats, Dugu Bo finally said, "I heard what happened to your family... My condolences."
He hadn't expected that, so soon after they parted in Sunset Forest, the poor kid would suffer such a tragedy.
"I didn't want to disturb you these past few days, in case you were feeling low."
Lin Ze'an nodded gently. "Thank you for understanding, Senior Dugu. Don't worry. Grief will pass in time."
At that, Dugu Yan suddenly stood up and bowed solemnly to Lin Ze'an. "Thank you for saving my grandfather."
She lifted her eyes and looked at him gratefully. "I'll have to rely on you to deal with the poison in my body, too. If there's ever anything you need from me, Dugu Yan, just say the word."
Lin Ze'an froze, then quickly raised a hand to motion her to stop. "There's no need for that. Please, get up."
He said helplessly, "Senior Dugu has helped me, too. It's only right that I take care of your health."
With that, Lin Ze'an stood and walked over to Dugu Yan. "Let me examine your condition first."
"Pardon me," Lin Ze'an said softly, lightly touching Dugu Yan's brow with his fingertip.
The next moment—
Emerald-green light of life flared, instantly washing over Dugu Yan's entire body.
Dugu Bo quickly rose and asked, "How is Yan Yan?"
However, Lin Ze'an didn't answer. Instead, he furrowed his brow.
Something wasn't right with Dugu Yan's condition. Why was the poison inside her like this?
He looked at Dugu Bo, studying him from head to toe as he thought about the reason.
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