Qian Daoliu Was Born

Time flew, swift as an arrow. In the blink of an eye, several more decades had passed...

In a four-bedroom home in northeastern Spirit City, Qian Chongling, still dressed in black with his black hair unchanged, quietly watched Qian Xiye and Yang Youxue standing before him.

Their wedding day seemed as though it were still before his eyes, yet now flecks of white had already appeared at Qian Xiye's temples.

"Great-grandfather."

"Great-grandfather," the young couple called.

Qian Chongling nodded, glanced at Yang Youxue's belly, and asked the couple, "Have you informed Xiao Fan?"

Yang Youxue stroked her belly with a smile, happiness filling her face. "Someone has already gone to tell Father."

Qian Chongling smiled faintly. His figure slowly vanished, and he returned to the wicker chair where he usually basked in the sun.

Three months later, an unexpected piece of news threw Qian Chongling somewhat off balance: Qian Bufan was gravely ill.

Douluo Hall.

Qian Bufan lay on his sickbed, his face pallid. With his brows tightly furrowed, Qian Chongling stepped forward and carefully examined him, inwardly shaking his head.

"Natural aging..."

After signing in for so long, Qian Chongling had acquired all sorts of miscellaneous skills. Medicine, chess, painting, calligraphy, and the like were mostly at master level, with a few at grandmaster level. But even judging by his grandmaster-level medical expertise, Qian Bufan was simply suffering from natural aging. In short, no medicine could help him!

"Great-grandfather, Father's condition..." Qian Xiye asked, desperately anxious.

"Xi Ye, I'm all right. What you need to do now is take good care of Youxue," Qian Bufan said. Naturally, no one understood his condition better than he did.

"Second Grandfather, I'd like to speak with you alone for a while."

Qian Chongling nodded, had everyone gathered around leave, and sat beside the bed.

After a moment of silence, Qian Bufan said, "From my earliest memories to today, two hundred and forty years have passed in the blink of an eye."

"Two hundred and forty years? I can't even remember anymore," Qian Chongling sighed.

"Yes. In a few more days, it will be exactly two hundred and forty years."

Qian Chongling fell silent for a moment. Qian Bufan continued, "Ying'er, Xi Ye, Youxue, and I have grown older year after year, yet you only look younger and younger. Anyone who didn't know the circumstances would never believe you were my grandfather."

Qian Chongling smiled. "Perhaps your Second Grandfather is simply good at staying alive."

Looking at Qian Chongling, who appeared no older than eighteen or nineteen, Qian Bufan seemed to realize something. Somewhat stunned, he asked, "Second Grandfather, have you attained eternity?"

What was eternity? Eternity meant godhood! To the Qian Family, the existence of gods in this world was no secret.

After all, the Qian Family's founding ancestor was the Angel God!

Deep within Douluo Hall, where generations of the Qian Family had worshipped, lay the Angel God's godhood inheritance. Ever since their divine ancestor, every generation of the Qian Family had hoped to restore the Angel God's glory. Moreover, apart from Qian Chongling's generation, the family had always continued through a single line of descent, with very few members!

It was not that they were unwilling, but that they were unable. The stronger a bloodline was, the harder it became to pass on, let alone a divine martial soul like the six-winged angel.

Since their divine ancestor, even the three most outstanding successors of the Qian Family had only barely qualified for the Angel Eight Trials. One of them was Qian Chongling's elder brother, Qian Chongguang!

Those granted the Angel Eight Trials would become the next master of Douluo Hall, while only those granted the Angel Nine Trials could inherit the Angel God's godhood. That hairbreadth of difference separated gods from mortals, a gulf as vast as the heavens and the abyss.

Qian Chongling was not surprised to hear this. After all, he had lived for more than thirteen hundred years. Even a peerless Douluo with superior capabilities had a lifespan of only eight or nine hundred years. Qian Chongling had lived nearly half again as long as they could.

It was perfectly natural for Qian Bufan, his grandson, to harbor such a suspicion.

However, Qian Chongling did not answer Qian Bufan directly. Instead, he began recounting the history of the Douluo Continent.

With a hint of a smile, Qian Chongling said, "Our divine ancestor suppressed the evil soul masters and established Spirit Hall, rendering unparalleled service to the countless living beings of the continent. Revered by all, she ultimately became a god!"

"And upon the ocean, there was also a soul master who quelled its turmoil. He spent nearly a thousand years gathering faith and was ultimately honored as the Sea God!"

For descendants of the Qian Family, studying their divine ancestor's achievements was mandatory, so Qian Bufan naturally knew them intimately. Yet when he heard that a soul master upon the seas had also become a god this way, he was utterly astonished.

"In other words, two people have become gods in the past ten thousand years?" Qian Bufan asked.

"Correct. Our divine ancestor and that sea soul master both became gods through faith. Attaining godhood through faith is a shortcut, but at the same time, it is a long road. Only after gathering enough faith can one become a god!"

"But now, there isn't enough faith left!" Qian Chongling said.

Qian Bufan froze, but quickly understood. The continent was the Angel God's domain. How could her descendants steal their ancestor's faith? And the faith upon the ocean had been claimed as well.

"Then are there any other paths?" Qian Bufan asked.

"Attaining godhood through laws!" Qian Chongling said.

"The greatest difference between gods and mortals is that mortals use attributes governed by laws, whereas gods wield the corresponding laws themselves. The Thunder God wields the law of thunder, while the Sea God naturally wields the law of the ocean."

The two stood in a hierarchy, much like internal energy and spiritual energy, with spiritual energy being the higher form.

Qian Chongling said, "When I transform the ultimate light and ultimate fire possessed by my six-winged angel martial soul into the law of fire and the law of light, I will be able to use them to condense a divine seat and attain godhood through laws!"

Qian Chongling sighed. "The burden is heavy, and the road is long!"

Naturally, this was all a bluff. Self-created godhood was most likely impossible in the Douluo World at present, and his martial soul had long since mutated into a sixteen-winged light-dark angel.

As though something had suddenly occurred to him, Qian Bufan spoke again. "Second Grandfather, will I be able to see Youxue's child born?"

"You will! You must trust my medical skills," Qian Chongling said decisively.

Qian Bufan paused, then smiled. "Then I'm sorry for the trouble, Second Grandfather."

Medical skills were something rarely seen on the Douluo Continent. Generally, a healing soul master would simply be brought in to administer treatment.

The days slipped past like a weaver's shuttle. Late one night at the end of October, the time came for Yang Youxue to give birth.

Spirit Hall had even brought in several experienced midwives for the occasion. As for Qian Chongling, assisting with childbirth was rather inconvenient for a man, and he could not leave his current post anyway.

Several days earlier, ordinary medical treatment had ceased to be enough to keep Qian Bufan alive. To sustain his life, Qian Chongling had begun using some of the divine power he had obtained through signing in.

"Xiao Fan, Youxue is going to give birth tonight."

"Mm..." Only after a long while did Qian Bufan manage to squeeze out a sound.

Qian Chongling half-closed his eyes. A descendant of the "Dao" generation was about to be born, yet he could not feel happy at all. Birth, aging, sickness, and death were the natural course of human life, but they were also among the most painful things in the world.

"Wah, wah, wah..."

"The baby's here!"

"It's a boy!"

The infant's cries reached them, mingled with everyone's clamoring voices.

Looking at Qian Bufan, whose eyes were tightly closed and whose lips bore a smile, Qian Chongling said solemnly, "We'll follow your wishes as his grandfather and name him Qian Daoliu!"