The emperor's first appearance

"My surname is Ning."

Ning Jiao finally gave his answer.

"Good."

Tang Hao nodded, his eyes narrowing.

"Hahaha! Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has Ning Jiao, just as Spirit Hall has Bibi Dong!"

Ning Fengzhi laughed heartily and stepped forward to pat Ning Jiao on the shoulder in gratification.

"By the way, Your Excellency Haotian, I never imagined your daughter was already so grown up. With cultivation like hers at such a young age, her future is surely limitless!"

Ning Fengzhi smiled meaningfully at Tang Hao.

"Hmph, that needn't concern you, Sect Master Ning."

Tang Hao's expression darkened. Of course he could tell that Ning Fengzhi was using Tang Lan to threaten him.

"All right, child, we can discuss our matters later. For now, let your uncle secure another opportunity for you."

Ning Fengzhi shook his head with a smile, his gaze slowly settling on Xiao Wu.

At the same time, Xiao Wu shuddered violently and lowered her head, her face deathly pale.

"As expected of His Excellency Haotian, to possess such methods."

Ning Fengzhi wore a half-smile, seemingly praising him but actually mocking him.

With his experience, he had understood Tang Hao's plans as soon as Sword Douluo told him Xiao Wu's true identity.

"Sect Master Ning, leave the younger generation's affairs for them to resolve themselves."

"She's Xiaolan's friend. It isn't what you think."

Tang Hao frowned slightly, and the atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

"One Soul Bone, over fifty thousand years old."

Ning Fengzhi shook his head and named his bottom-line price, staring into Tang Hao's eyes.

"Deal."

Tang Hao gave Ning Fengzhi a long look.

"Xiaolan, Xiao Wu, come with me. I have some things to tell you."

Tang Hao lingered no longer, vanishing instantly with the two girls.

"Let's go too. We can talk outside."

Ning Fengzhi nodded mildly, and Chen Xin took him and the Ning siblings away as well.

"???"

Zhu Zhuqing stared blankly at the ruins of the Training Arena before her. How had she suddenly ended up all alone?

Boom!

In the Divine Realm, Phantylia's expression darkened as she trimmed her flowers and plants. Because of that thunderous crash, she had snipped the little flower before her clean through the middle!

"Who's there!"

Phantylia stormed into the house, only to find Destruction in the living room, looking grave.

"Where's your mother?"

Destruction asked in a low voice.

"She went to the Goddess of Flowers to buy me some flowers. What's wrong?"

Phantylia sat down casually across from Destruction and asked curiously.

"A monster has appeared in the lower realm. His future is somewhat difficult to predict..."

"But that has nothing to do with you. How is your cultivation progressing?"

Destruction shook his head gravely and turned to asking about Phantylia.

"Same as always. Fusing destruction and life was difficult to begin with. I'll leave it to fate."

Phantylia spoke with blithe resignation.

"Ah, keep working at it. If things truly become impossible in the future, your mother and I will extract both essences from your body together. You'll survive, but I'm afraid your cultivation will be stuck at Third-Level God forever."

Destruction sighed softly. Because the two essences within Phantylia were still relatively balanced, they would have to be extracted together.

"Listen to that, just listen. Now that's what it means to be a second-generation god~"

Phantylia said teasingly.

"You little brat!"

"I'll wait a little longer for your mother. Tell me, how are things between you and the Angel God now?"

Destruction scolded her with a laugh, then started another topic.

But bringing this up made him want his good brother Asura to strike his scepter again. That damned Asura couldn't possibly have been unaware of that old shut-in's personality, yet he had still bundled his child off to her!

By the time he and Life learned about it, Phantylia and Qian Lingsu were already very, very close!

At the thought, the corner of Destruction's mouth twitched involuntarily.

"What relationship could we possibly have~"

Phantylia's gaze wandered, and her expression suddenly turned unnatural. Why did this scene feel so familiar!

"Watch yourself, brat. That old woman has been single for nearly ten thousand years..."

"Don't do anything foolish before your cultivation is high enough."

Destruction spoke earnestly. Though he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run over all these years. Once that old woman, the Angel God, got going, wouldn't she suck his adopted daughter dry?

(Regarding the issue with Life and Destruction, consider it a personal setting adjustment. This book will definitely have multiple heroines, or all the women as heroines. Although I haven't decided whether to include Life yet, there's no harm in patching this in advance. If I include her later, I can do so directly; if not, this little change won't have much impact.)

"Not listening, not listening~"

Phantylia shook her head repeatedly. Her approach to romance was to let the water flow and the channel form naturally. If she truly couldn't restrain her feelings, she certainly wouldn't chicken out.

She just didn't know whether the Angel God would stand on her side if they really did this and that...

"Old man, what did you mean by that monster in the lower realm?"

Phantylia began changing the subject.

"In a lower plane beneath our Divine Realm, a monster walking the Path of the Emperor has appeared."

Destruction sighed softly, not continuing to harp on Phantylia's private life.

"If he truly succeeds in walking that path, even without the Divine Realm, he can occupy the Douluo Plane and become a god in his own right."

"And when that happens, a god walking the Path of the Emperor will inevitably come into friction with the Divine Realm."

Destruction gave Phantylia a meaningful look.

"Asura says he's still searching for his successor, but he shuts himself in his room all day. Most likely, he's already found one."

"And Evil found a successor not long ago as well. Lately, he's been following Kindness around, stepping up the search for her successor."

"But regardless, we have already envisioned you as the leading figure of the Divine Realm's next generation."

"Let me make this clearer. Unless this lower-realm being on the Path of the Emperor is kept in check, he will inevitably come into conflict with you in the future."

Destruction spoke gravely.

"But aren't gods forbidden from interfering with the lower realm?"

"Even if you know, what can you do? You can't just go down there and beat him to death!"

Phantylia began pondering. Since when had the Douluo Plane had a monster walking the Path of the Emperor? And from the sound of it, Destruction seemed quite optimistic about this person's chances of succeeding?

"Gods may not interfere with the lower realm, but they may maintain order there."

"That person's appearance will inevitably shake the order of the Douluo Plane, and even the Divine Realm. We gods have the right to warn him."

Destruction glanced at Phantylia. If it weren't for you, brat, would I really have nothing better to do than target a being from the lower realm?

"He devoured an entire Soul Beast forest in a short time. His crimes are so heinous that all the bamboo in the world would not suffice to record them. If he truly keeps growing, perhaps the entire Douluo Plane, and even the Divine Realm, will end up buried in his maw."

Destruction continued looking for excuses, while Phantylia's expression suddenly turned peculiar.

"Such a thing actually happened!"

Phantylia's expression grew conflicted. It sounded as though Destruction was talking about Blue Sky, but Blue Sky wasn't walking the Path of the Emperor. His path was order, as well as dreams.