"The Heavenly Emperor has arrived?"
Hearing that arrogant barking and the shout that followed, Zhu Zhuqing felt a surge of intense curiosity.
While Zhu Zhuqing pondered, the crowds lining White Jade Heavenly Street ahead suddenly stirred.
The once orderly street instantly became crowded.
Whether proud fairies who looked as cold and aloof as immortals or fierce powerhouses who dominated their own domains, all became incredibly animated, their faces brimming with irrepressible excitement.
"Is it His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor?!"
"Heavens, I actually made it! Last time, I waited three whole years without seeing His Majesty..."
"Quick, quick, move up a little, but don't cross the line. We can't break the rules..."
The sight left Zhu Zhuqing a little dazed.
In her imagination, these powerhouses should have been solemn and imposing, yet the scene before her...
Compared with that Heavenly Emperor Hao, they seemed to be nothing more than ordinary people who adored their idol?
What exactly does 'Heavenly Emperor' mean?
Thinking this, Zhu Zhuqing turned to ask Jiang Wanwan beside her, only to discover, to her surprise, that the space beside her was already empty.
"Sister Wanwan?"
Zhu Zhuqing looked around and soon spotted that familiar red figure in the crowded throng not far away.
Jiang Wanwan stood at the back of the crowd, straining onto her tiptoes with one hand resting lightly against her chest. Two excited flushes colored her cheeks, and her beautiful eyes, usually tinged with languor and pride, shone astonishingly bright.
"Huh?"
Zhu Zhuqing was dumbfounded.
Was this still the Sister Wanwan she knew?
That woman who, though approachable, unconsciously exuded incomparable confidence and pride from deep within?
For a moment, Zhu Zhuqing grew even more curious.
What kind of splendor would the Heavenly Emperor possess, to make even Sister Wanwan lose her composure like this?
Deep within the imperial palace of the Heaven Dou Empire on the Douluo Continent.
Qian Renxue stood alone before a window, gazing at the Heavenly Screen above.
"At last... am I about to see that legendary Heavenly Emperor Hao?"
Qian Renxue murmured to herself, an unreadably complex look flashing through her eyes.
There was curiosity, scrutiny, the pride of the Angel God's successor, and a trace of... faint anticipation.
She very much wanted to know what that being looked like-the one who could casually cleave out a Heavenly River and inspire such fervor among the people of the Shrouding the Heavens World where Zhu Zhuqing was.
Was he majestic as a god? Did he possess an overbearing might that dominated the world?
Shrek Academy.
"The Heavenly Emperor! Is that Heavenly Emperor about to appear?"
A little excited, Ning Rongrong grabbed Xiao Wu's arm beside her and shook it vigorously. "Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu, what do you think Lin Hao looks like?"
"How could I possibly know..."
Xiao Wu's face was also full of curiosity.
But while some looked forward to it, others...
At that moment, Dai Mubai stood a little farther away with his arms folded, his expression gloomy as he stared fixedly at Zhu Zhuqing's profile on the Heavenly Screen, with its curiosity and anticipation...
An inexplicable irritation and... hostility welled up within him.
"Hmph, so we finally get to see that Heavenly Emperor whom Zhu Zhuqing is going to 'serve'?"
Dai Mubai snorted coldly and murmured confidently, "I might not match you in strength, but as for looks..."
"Let me see whether you're even half as handsome as I am!"
Eastsea Academy, Eastsea City.
Tang Wulin cast a somewhat sullen glance at Gu Yue beside him.
Ever since the announcement that "the Heavenly Emperor has arrived" came from the Heavenly Screen, Gu Yue seemed to have become a different person, gripping the corridor railing with both hands, her purple eyes fixed intently on the Heavenly Screen...
She seemed to have completely ignored his existence.
For some reason, this left Tang Wulin feeling rather sour.
He pursed his lips and deliberately spoke in a nonchalant tone. "Gu Yue, what are you so excited about?"
"That Heavenly Emperor Hao suppressed an entire era. An old monster of that caliber must look like an old man with white hair and a face full of wrinkles..."
"He's just an old man. What's there to look at?"
Hearing this, Gu Yuena rolled her eyes at the ignorant Tang Wulin.
As the Silver Dragon King, she knew perfectly well that gods did not age, but she did not know how powerful that Heavenly Emperor Hao, who could disregard two kinds of temporal laws, actually was.
After all, she had never truly seen him make a move.
But Gu Yuena reckoned he probably would not be weaker than a god, would he?
The Shrouding the Heavens World.
White Jade Heavenly Street, White Emperor City.
Just then, a startled cry suddenly came from the very front of the packed crowd.
"Has the Heavenly Emperor arrived?"
Hearing the crowd's cries, Zhu Zhuqing's heartbeat involuntarily quickened.
She rose onto her tiptoes and strained to see.
At last, she saw, at the corner at the far end of the white jade walkway... a swaying, furry black figure appear.
It was a big black dog.
His fur was glossy black all over, and he was as burly as an ox.
Wearing a pair of floral shorts, he stood on his hind legs, head high and chest out, full of swagger, his half-bald tail raised high.
With a swagger that acknowledged neither kith nor kin, he strutted down the middle of the heavenly street, occasionally stopping to bark "Woof!" at the excited crowds on either side. His canine face actually displayed a distinctly human look of smugness and enjoyment.
Those canine eyes seemed to be inspecting his subjects.
Zhu Zhuqing: "...?"
At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing froze, as though a row of black lines had descended over her forehead.
No. Way.
The Heavenly Emperor... was actually a dog???
The thought left her entire body rigid.
Zhu Zhuqing felt only that her dream had shattered...
The Heavenly Emperor Hao Lin Hao she had imagined should have been a mighty figure who stood tall between heaven and earth, whose spirit could swallow the cosmos, and whose martial majesty was unmatched.
He could have been an emperor of unrivaled dominance, an elegant immortal beyond the mortal dust, or an unfathomable recluse...
Even a decrepit old man was something she felt she could accept.
After all, who in this world could escape aging? But at least he would once have possessed peerless splendor...
Yet no matter what, he should not have been a big black dog with a bald tail, wearing floral shorts and walking with such arrogant, smug swagger!
However, just as Zhu Zhuqing's entire worldview suffered a violent blow, and she began questioning her life and even wondering whether the "Heavenly Emperor" might have some peculiar predilections-
"You stupid dog..."
A clear, ringing voice suddenly came from behind the black dog, laughing as it scolded him with a hint of helplessness.
Immediately afterward...
"Awooo-!"
Amid an exaggerated howl of misery, the big black dog who had been so full of swagger a moment earlier traced a black arc through the air, sent flying without the slightest fuss.
Thud!
He landed on the grass beside the heavenly street in a textbook dog-eating-dirt pose.
He even tumbled several more times in a sorry heap, covering himself in grass clippings and dust.
Everyone froze, including Zhu Zhuqing.
Then someone finally failed to hold back and burst out laughing.
"Lord Black Empress is still so..."
Jiang Wanwan smiled and shook her head helplessly.
Zhu Zhuqing was smiling too, and upon hearing Jiang Wanwan's words, she realized she had been mistaken.
So this black dog was not His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, but Black Empress...
Yet very soon, Zhu Zhuqing's smile abruptly vanished.
Her entire gaze was riveted on the figure emerging around the corner of White Jade Heavenly Street.
A man like jade upon the path, a peerless young master!