"When the long Coiling Dragon Staff sheathed its cold, murderous gleam,
And the smoke of battle cleared, only then did his gaze upon the mortal world become visible;
He held power enough to overturn the continent,
Yet never pressed the weight of tyranny upon ordinary shoulders,
Formation Break shattered more than the defenses of the mighty,
It also shattered the towering walls built by the world's injustice;
His Quasi-God might could shake the firmament to pieces,
Yet his heart held the hearth fires of countless ordinary homes,
Having witnessed noble families crushing one another, having witnessed displacement in troubled times,
He wished to wield the authority in his hands to keep the hearth fires of all living people burning;
The Qiangu bloodline held more than wild dreams of supremacy,
Authority upon his shoulders was a weighty responsibility,
Blades and spears fell silent, strife slowly withdrew,
Upon the turbulent land,
He gave the displaced people of the world a peaceful patch of sky;
Martial might was his armor, not a weapon of plunder,
Though his sharp brilliance blazed ten thousand fathoms,
Deep in his heart, he still kept a gentle kindness for all."
Clear voices reading aloud drifted through the window, as though the tranquil campus had gained a sacred atmosphere.
Inside the classroom, the teacher at the lectern wore a fervent gaze, and a devout smile appeared on their face. "Children, it was the Benevolent Father who granted us human rights, the Benevolent Father who transformed our black-and-white lives, the Benevolent Father who bestowed upon us the gift of life."
"Praise the Benevolent Father."
"Praise the Benevolent Father!"
Time flowed on, and fifty springs and autumns had passed.
The people of the Sun Moon Federation worshipped Qian Gu Fenfeng ever more intensely. Of their own accord, they revered him as the Benevolent Father of the entire Federation, whose personal name must not be spoken directly.
The smoke of bygone battles gradually faded, and statues of Qian Gu Fenfeng rose from the ground one after another.
Among them, the most imposing was the colossal stone sculpture in the capital's Federal Parliament Square.
In the statue, Qian Gu Fenfeng wore the crisp robes of the Federation Council Chair. He did not brandish the Coiling Dragon Staff in a display of ferocious might, but merely rested one hand lightly at his waist, his gaze overlooking the entire city, his expression calm and grave. Behind him, the Coiling Dragon Staff slanted down to the ground, its edge restrained. No longer a weapon of battlefield slaughter, it had become a symbol of protection for the people.
Statues of him were also erected in all the major cities and towns. Some stood before city gates, where passing travelers could lift their heads to gaze upon them; others stood in town centers, surrounded by bustling streets and alleys, with the sounds of everyday life around them day after day.
People who had lived through the wars between noble families and the slaughter of battle passed beneath the statues. Some bowed in greeting; others stopped to gaze. In the eyes of the world, he was the mighty figure who had set chaos right, the guardian deity who sheltered the Federation's people.
Yet the statues were cold and voiceless, standing silently in every corner of the continent.
Beneath the glory praised by countless voices, no one could see that behind these statues revered by the masses lay buried the blood and remains of countless annihilated noble families.
Undercurrents still flowed slowly beneath the surface.
Inside a secret chamber in the Qiangu Family's ancestral residence.
Qian Gu Fenfeng slowly opened his eyes, divine light flowing within them, and exhaled a breath of stale air.
"Ah, I still haven't touched the Divine Origin Realm? The domain of gods remains within sight, yet beyond reach..."
Then he circulated the Soul Power throughout his body, and an ineffably mysterious aura surged forth.
Douzhan Saint Method!
This method was Qian Gu Fenfeng's greatest achievement in nearly fifty years.
He had created it by observing the Abyss Plane's invasion and combining what he saw with the Coiling Dragon Staff's unyielding, evil-breaking properties. When he circulated the method, every swing of his staff would cause abyssal energy to be suppressed by the Heavenly Awakening Sacred Golden Dragon (Break Evil Dragon) within the Coiling Dragon Staff and channeled back to nourish him, strengthening his Martial Soul's foundations. Ultimately, in theory, it could transform into a God Level Martial Soul.
Qian Gu Fenfeng stretched his muscles and joints, roused his spirits, and walked out of the secret chamber. He immediately came face-to-face with Qian Chenyue and Leng Yaozhu.
"Fenfeng! You're finally out!" Leng Yaozhu threw herself into Qian Gu Fenfeng's arms, parted her little lips, and planted a smacking kiss on his cheek.
Beside them, Qian Chenyue gave Leng Yaozhu a disdainful glance. Pouting, she hurried to his other side and wrapped herself around Qian Gu Fenfeng's arm, her face flushing as she said softly,
"It's been so long since we went shopping as a family. Fenfeng, every day you're either cultivating or handling government affairs. You don't have any time to spend with us anymore."
Qian Gu Fenfeng's expression was indulgent. He patted Leng Yaozhu's back and stroked the head of the little kitten that was Qian Chenyue, saying,
"All right, all right. I'll take you both out for a proper shopping trip."
"Yay!" As she spoke, Leng Yaozhu took Qian Gu Fenfeng's hand. "Fenfeng, you have no idea how quickly commerce has developed in the Federation over the years. Four major shopping streets have sprung up in Mingdu, and three of them are named after us."
"Oh? Which ones?" Leng Yaozhu pulled Qian Gu Fenfeng along, while Qian Chenyue followed behind, tightly clasping his other hand, her wide eyes fixed on him alone.
"Heavenly Dragon Street, Heavenly Phoenix Street, and Angel Street, of course. There's also Heavenly Peace Street, symbolizing a prosperous nation and a peaceful people."
The three chatted and laughed along the way.
Mingdu's neon lights washed over the buildings lining the shopping streets, amid streams of traffic and bustling crowds. The lights of hovercars trailed shimmering light and shadow. Street-side shops stood packed together like scales on a fish or teeth on a comb, with milk tea shops, accessory stores, and soul-tool-themed creative merchandise shops lining the streets.
Qian Gu Fenfeng had changed out of his solemn council attire into a simple black casual jacket. The Quasi-God pressure that ordinarily awed the Federation was entirely restrained, making him look no different from an ordinary mature man. Only the sharpness settled deep in his eyes was difficult to erase completely.
Two women accompanied him, one on either side.
Qian Chenyue wore a plain, long dress, her long hair falling smoothly, a black leather belt fastened around her slender waist, small enough to encircle with a hand. With battlefield slaughter shed, her bearing was quiet and distant, gentle and captivating.
On his other side, Leng Yaozhu wore a flame-red trench coat, dazzling and flamboyant. The Heavenly Phoenix Douluo's splendor could not be hidden, and her every step carried its own presence.
A jewelry display window caught Leng Yaozhu's attention, and she quickly stopped. Looking at the necklaces set with soul-tool crystals inside, she turned back and raised an eyebrow at Qian Gu Fenfeng. "Look. Aren't they pretty?"
Qian Gu Fenfeng stepped forward, swept his gaze over the window, and smiled faintly. "Buy one if you like it."
Standing nearby, Qian Chenyue's gaze fell upon the creative merchandise shop next door. Its shelves held figurines of Douluo figures from various eras, including miniature statues of Qian Gu Fenfeng. She tapped the glass with a fingertip. "I never imagined they even sold merchandise of you."
Looking at the finely crafted figurines, Qian Gu Fenfeng shook his head somewhat helplessly.
As they passed a street-side beverage shop, Leng Yaozhu took the initiative to buy three drinks and handed two over. Qian Chenyue accepted hers and sipped it, her cool eyes and brows softening a little.
The lights of the bustling city enveloped the three.
They rode shared bicycles, enjoying the leisurely beauty of the city at night.
In the eyes of the outside world, Qian Gu Fenfeng was the iron-fisted supreme ruler, the lofty legend depicted in the statues.
But at this moment, there was no Coiling Dragon Staff, no parliament or halls of government, no maneuvering between noble families-only three ordinary people on a brilliantly lit street.
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