I'm Here, You're Here

Two thousand years ago.

He had been reborn into Douluo Continent with the memories of his past life.

A lone orphan, without father or mother, wandering the desolate mountains and wilderness.

He had nearly perished amid the chaos of that era.

Fortunately, the previous Hall Emperor of Spirit Hall had been traveling outside at the time and happened upon him, swaddled in his blankets. Moved by pity, he—

—brought him back to Spirit Hall, raised him with great care, and treated him as his own.

As time passed, he learned that he had traveled to Douluo Continent two thousand years early. Later, at the age of six, he awakened two top-tier god-grade martial souls.

Innately full soul power, his talent surpassed all others of his age.

He broke through to Soul Emperor at ten, reached Title Douluo at thirteen, and entered the realm of a level ninety-nine Ultimate Douluo at seventeen.

By then, his cultivation had reached perfection.

The door to the divine trials had already opened for him. All he needed was to receive the baptism of a divine position from the God Realm, and he could ascend in a single step—become a god and transcend the mortal world!

The Hall Emperor of Spirit Hall who had raised him had poured his life's efforts into nurturing him. His greatest wish was to see him become a god and grant Spirit Hall a deity of its own.

Yet when faced with a divine position within arm's reach, Qin Zheng refused without hesitation.

At that time, he was indeed the most gifted person on the entire continent.

But that was only at that time.

After becoming a god, never mind the distinctions among divine ranks—even those few God Kings would never simply watch Qin Zheng interfere in the affairs of the lower realm.

And if he could not stop those deities, then two thousand years later, once Tang San and Qian Renxue were born and he ascended to the God Realm, would Spirit Hall's fate not be annihilation?

He had survived only because of the old Hall Emperor's grace. If becoming a god meant he had to watch the old Hall Emperor's descendants be slaughtered and Spirit Hall perish, then he would rather not become a god!

At the time, he told the Hall Emperor before everyone.

"Master, I have yet to acquire all the soul rings for my second martial soul. The time is not ripe. In fifty years, your disciple will naturally pass the divine trials and set foot in the God Realm."

That was what he said.

But fifty years later, once the old Hall Emperor died, who would be able to control him?

The old Hall Emperor looked deeply at him at first, but ultimately chose to silently agree.

Yet time was merciless, and human lives were fleeting.

In no more than ten short years, the old Hall Emperor who had carefully nurtured him exhausted his lifespan and passed away peacefully.

Spirit Hall underwent a change in leadership. The new Pope took office, full of ambition, seeking to control all of Spirit Hall and wield supreme authority.

But Qin Zheng was the personal disciple of the previous Hall Emperor, an Ultimate Douluo unrivaled across the continent. His status stood above all others.

His seniority, strength, and foundations crushed everyone of that era.

The new Pope had no authority to command him.

To avoid conflict, and to quietly await the changes ordained by fate while forging a divine position of his own, he retreated from the world in secret.

From then on, he excavated a forbidden ground ten thousand zhang beneath the earth and forged the Black Dragon Jade Coffin, which would not decay for a thousand years.

He exhausted the world's ultimate dragon attributes, fused them with the supreme origin of his two god-grade martial souls, and used the special method innate to god-grade martial souls to seal himself in slumber.

He left behind only an ancient ancestral decree: if Spirit Hall faced the danger of destruction and its descendants found themselves in a hopeless situation, they could activate the Young Lord's token and unseal his sleeping body.

He would wait for Tang San's era and rewrite Spirit Hall's destiny.

He would reverse the fate of Douluo Continent!

This was a colossal gamble, staking the ages themselves and his own future.

Everything was only theoretically possible.

No one could guarantee that he would still awaken two thousand years later.

After all, he was still human, not a god.

But today, he had won that gamble!

After two thousand years of slumber, he returned in a single day!

Qin Zheng slowly clenched his long fingers, and the vast soul power dormant for a thousand years roared back to life.

Like a dark giant dragon that had slept for eternity suddenly opening its eyes.

Boundless dragon might swept through the entire secret chamber. A torrent of black energy surged and churned, as though it could devour the sun and moon and overturn mountains and rivers!

Yet it had precisely avoided Qian Renxue.

Then.

Qin Zheng withdrew his soul power and slowly rose to his feet. His tall, erect frame stood straight, black dragons coiling around him, his presence looking down upon the world.

He stepped before Qian Renxue, who was still kneeling on the ground, and gently placed his broad palm atop her head.

The gesture was gentle and indulgent, carrying the warmth of an elder that had endured across the ages.

Gentle soul power slowly entered Qian Renxue's body, soothing away all the grievance and chill in her heart.

"Get up."

Qin Zheng's voice was warm and calm, yet it carried supreme authority.

"Tell me, what is Spirit Hall's current situation? And why were you driven into such desperate straits, forced to travel far from home?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue slowly stood and looked up at the handsome, imposing ancestor before her. Her eyes reddened slightly as she laid bare all the grievance and helplessness in her heart, as well as Spirit Hall's current circumstances.

From her mother Bibi Dong's cold calculations, to her grandfather Qian Daoliu's choices for the greater good, and then to her being forced to infiltrate Heaven Dou Empire and her fate of disguising herself for life, she recounted everything one by one.

Her tone was soft, yet filled with bitterness. After finishing, she looked cautiously at Qin Zheng, a trace of hope in her eyes.

She hoped this supreme ancestor could change her fate.

After hearing everything, Qin Zheng's previously calm expression furrowed slightly.

A faint cold glint and disappointment flashed through his eyes.

Before sealing himself away, he had left Spirit Hall countless reserves, plans, and contingencies, pouring endless effort into them.

All so Spirit Hall could firmly suppress every power on the continent and dominate the landscape of this realm.

Yet a thousand years later.

The supreme foundation he had once established had actually fallen to such a state!

Bibi Dong remained stubborn and cold, letting her hatred spill onto Qian Renxue.

The Grand Worshipper still clung stubbornly to old ways, bound by the so-called greater good.

Dignified Spirit Hall had actually fallen so low that its young mistress had to infiltrate an empire for the grand plan.

Ridiculous!

Tragic!

Pitiful!

Back when he had roamed the continent, empires had bowed and submitted, great sects had trembled in fear, and no one had dared defy Spirit Hall in the slightest!

Yet now, the younger generation had been forced into such a predicament!

Looking at the petite girl before him, her eyes filled with grievance, obedient and helpless, Qin Zheng felt a deep frustration at their failure to live up to expectations.

Seeing her ancestor frown, Qian Renxue's heart tightened slightly. She asked in a small voice.

"Ancestor, is it... is it because this junior has done poorly, or has Spirit Hall's current state disappointed you?"

Qin Zheng withdrew the coldness from his eyes and gently shook his head. Raising a hand, he ruffled her golden hair, his tone calm.

"It has nothing to do with you."

"It is the incompetence of the later generations that squandered the foundation I left behind."

"But it matters not."

He raised his eyes toward the outside of the secret chamber. His voice resounded throughout the entire underground forbidden ground, carrying an aura that looked down upon eternity.

"Now that I have awakened, all injustice and grievance shall vanish."

"There is no need to infiltrate Heaven Dou, nor endure in the depths of the palace."

"From this day onward, with me here, no one can force you in the slightest, and no one can harm you in the slightest!"

"Nor does my Spirit Hall need to bow beneath anyone, endure in silence, lie low, or compromise for survival!"

"A thousand years of accumulation—today, we rise again! I have returned, and this Douluo Continent remains the domain of my Spirit Hall!"

His calm words contained the power to overturn heaven and earth.

As though he were merely stating an established fact.

There was not the slightest exaggeration—only absolute control and confidence.

Qian Renxue stared blankly at the black-robed youth before her. All the despair, grievance, and confusion in her heart vanished completely in that instant.

She did not know why. Though she had only just met this ancestor, though she had never experienced such protection before.

Yet upon hearing those words.

She chose to believe him completely, without reservation.

Somehow, she knew that this ancestor would surely do as he said.

"Ancestor..."

She murmured softly, finally lowering all her defenses.

Qin Zheng lifted his gaze toward the secret chamber's exit, his dark eyes fathomless as he spoke calmly.

"A thousand years have passed."

"Come. Follow me out."

"Let me see what Douluo Continent has become after all these millennia."

"And what kind of prodigies have emerged, forcing Spirit Hall to send its young master to secretly infiltrate the Heaven Dou Empire."