What... is going on here?
What exactly did the Ice Dragon King and Qian Renxue talk about? It feels... completely different from what I expected.
Just as he was racking his brains trying to figure it out, an ice-blue figure silently appeared beside him again.
The Ice Dragon King is back.
She glanced at the freshly formed teeth mark on Xuan Ming's shoulder, then at his bewildered expression, and roughly guessed what had just happened.
Chapter 478 Return to the Moonlight Pavilion
"What? Got bitten?" The Ice Dragon King's voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.
Xuan Ming snapped out of his daze and looked at her with a hint of helplessness, " Sister Bing, what exactly did you say to her?"
"It's nothing," the Ice Dragon King shrugged, looking completely innocent. "I just analyzed your personality with her and gave her some encouragement."
"Encouragement?" Xuan Ming's lips twitched. "You call this encouragement?"
"Otherwise what?" The Ice Dragon King walked to his side and said with amusement, "Do you really think that Qian Renxue came to you because she really wanted an answer from you?"
She says she wants an answer from you, but in reality, no matter what answer you give, she won't listen at all.
"That girl is one of the most stubborn people I've ever met. She only believes what she wants to believe and only does what she thinks is right."
The Ice Dragon King stared intently in the direction where Qian Renxue had disappeared, his gaze becoming somewhat profound.
"She came all this way not to get a result, but to find peace of mind."
"She can't bear to part with you, that's true. But she's also proud and doesn't want to cling on relentlessly. So, she needs a reason, a reason that will allow her to keep going."
"This reason is your attitude."
"As long as you can't bear to part with her, as long as you try to persuade her to stay, even just saying 'I don't want her to leave' is enough for her. That gives her the confidence to keep going."
The Ice Dragon King turned to look at Xuan Ming and pointed out incisively, "Unless one day you can tell her face-to-face, clearly and explicitly, that you don't want to see her again and tell her to get lost, she will never truly leave."
Xuan Ming fell silent. He knew he could never say those words.
The Ice Dragon King sighed softly and continued, "To Qian Renxue, you are different from others. You are the friend who accompanied her through the longest and loneliest years, and the person with the deepest emotional entanglement with her."
"From childhood to adulthood, from the Heaven Dou Imperial City to the Spirit Hall Empire, you schemed against each other, guarded against each other, supported each other, and tormented each other. But precisely because of this, neither of you can let go of the other."
"In the end," the Ice Dragon King shook his head, his tone tinged with helplessness and a hint of indulgence, "You two are nothing more than two equally love-starved and equally awkward children. To expect any normal emotional development between you is nothing short of wishful thinking."
Xuan Ming listened to the Ice Dragon King's words, his heart filled with mixed emotions, and in the end, he could only manage a bitter laugh.
Perhaps she's right.
Just then, the Ice Dragon King changed the subject, reminding him, "Alright, the matter in the Divine Realm is temporarily settled. However... the matter in the Mortal Realm doesn't seem to be completely resolved yet, does it?"
"Hmm?" Xuan Ming, somewhat puzzled.
The Ice Dragon King looked at him, a meaningful glint flashing in his icy blue eyes.
"Don't you plan to... go back to the Douluo Continent for a visit?"
"For example... Tang Yuehua from the Moonlight Pavilion?"
"Since you came to the Divine Realm, and then expanded Divine Realm, the flow of time has changed. In the mortal realm... far too many years have passed."
Some people and some things are destined to have an ending.
After hearing the Ice Dragon King's words, Xuan Ming's heart was gently touched by something.
Tang Yuehua...
That gentle, water-like woman who taught him manners and tranquility.
Time in the Divine Realm is out of sync with that in the mortal realm. He witnessed one earth-shattering transformation after another here, but how many years have passed in the mortal realm in comparison?
Yes, some people and some things are destined to have an ending.
"Let's go." Xuan Ming nodded to the Ice Dragon King. "Let's go back and take a look."
The Ice Dragon King smiled and didn't ask any further questions. She knew that this ending was one that Xuan Ming had to personally bring to a close.
Without alerting anyone, the two of them flashed and easily passed through the barrier between the Divine Realm and the Mortal Realm, silently descending upon the Douluo Continent once again.
The moment Xuan Ming set foot on this long-lost land, he clearly sensed the difference in the world.
The free-floating energy of heaven and earth in the air was many times more concentrated than when he left.
The elemental forces that were previously only perceptible through meditation are now almost actively penetrating into the body.
The sky seemed higher and bluer, and the earth seemed more substantial and full of life.
He could foresee that, under such an environment, the cultivation speed of both human Soul Master and Soul Beast on Douluo Star would experience an explosive increase.
Perhaps in a few hundred years, the once extremely rare Titled Douluo, or the terrifying Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, will no longer be such rare occurrences.
This is a brand new era, an even more glorious era ushered in by him and Gu Yuena.
Xuan Ming did not linger in the wilderness. His divine sense instantly locked onto the location of Heaven Dou City. The next moment, he and the Ice Dragon King appeared directly above that familiar yet unfamiliar city.
Today, Heaven Dou City is no longer the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Both empires ceased to exist long after that earth-shattering "divine punishment."
The complete collapse of the army shattered any remaining hopes for war.
In the long years that followed, the Spirit Hall Empire, under the leadership of Qian Renxue, unified the entire continent in a relatively peaceful manner.
Heaven Dou City was able to peacefully integrate into this new empire without experiencing any further turmoil.
Xuan Ming's gaze finally settled on an elegant courtyard in the city.
Moonlight Pavilion.
Even as empires changed and imperial power shifted, this place remained the same school that taught etiquette and music.
Perhaps, for many reasons, the former nobles, whose glory days are over, used this place as a gathering place to huddle together for warmth and reminisce about the past in order to maintain their last shred of dignity.
Xuan Ming's figure silently passed through the pavilions and towers of the Moonlight Pavilion, finally arriving outside the familiar room where he had spent a long time.
He didn't knock; just like many years ago, he gently pushed the door open and went inside.
Inside the room, incense wafted gently, and the sound of a zither filled the air.
Tang Yuehua sat upright behind the guqin, her eyes gently closed, her ten fingers gracefully plucking the strings.
More than a decade has inevitably left its mark on her face.
She was ultimately just an ordinary person without Soul Power, and no matter how well she took care of herself, she couldn't resist the erosion of time.
Moreover, over the years, the empire has collapsed and the world has undergone tremendous changes; one major event after another has kept her constantly worried.
Over the years, she has become noticeably more haggard. Fine lines have appeared at the corners of her eyes, and a few strands of silver can now be faintly seen in her once jet-black and lustrous hair.
Xuan Ming stood there quietly, without saying a word, simply watching her and listening to her play.
The music carried a sense of nostalgia, a touch of melancholy, and a lingering, deep longing.
The music ended, but its lingering melody remained.
Tang Yuehua slowly opened her eyes and let out a long sigh. She habitually raised her head and looked out the window, but her gaze froze completely the next second.
A familiar figure stood by the window.
Long silver hair, icy blue eyes, just like back then.
Tang Yuehua's lips trembled slightly, and tears welled up in her eyes without warning.
She even wondered if she was hallucinating from missing him too much.
She didn't even dare to make a sound or blink, for fear that this fragile dream would shatter.
So many years have passed, a full ten years.
Xuan Ming vanished as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth, leaving no trace. She had imagined their reunion countless times, yet on countless nights, she had also despairingly believed that they might never see each other again.
Just as she stood there, tears streaming down her face, at a loss for what to do, that figure moved.
Xuan Ming slowly walked forward and stopped in front of her. He didn't say anything, but simply opened his arms and gently embraced the woman who had cared for him for more than ten years.
A warm and firm embrace, a familiar and reassuring scent...
All of this felt so real.
Tang Yuehua could no longer hold back. She buried her face in his shoulder and burst into tears, turning all the longing, worry, and grievances of the past ten years into hot tears.
Xuan Ming didn't say anything, but gently patted her back, letting her vent.
For a long, long time.
As Tang Yuehua's crying gradually subsided, she sobbed and raised her tear-streaked face.
Xuan Ming lowered his head and gently wiped away the tears on her face with his fingers, his voice soft yet firm.
"I'm back."
"Just as I said."
"I've taken care of everything."
Chapter 479 Whether the melon is sweet or not, you'll only know after you eat it.
After a brief moment of excitement, a strong sense of panic instantly gripped Tang Yuehua's heart.
She instinctively broke free from Xuan Ming's embrace, turned away in a disheveled state, and nervously twisted the hem of her clothes with both hands.
Her image was reflected in the mirror.
Fine lines around the eyes, gray strands in the hair, and the weariness of age that no amount of skincare can conceal...
Xuan Ming, on the other hand, was still so young, his handsome face unchanged, as if time had stood still for him.
Between her and him lay not just a decade or so of time, but an insurmountable chasm between mortals and gods.
Looking at Tang Yuehua's trembling back, filled with inferiority and sadness, how could Xuan Ming not understand what she was thinking?
He didn't say anything like "I don't care," because he knew that such words would only seem weak and powerless at this moment, or even like a condescending act of charity.
He simply walked forward quietly and embraced her from behind once more.
Before Tang Yuehua could cry out in surprise, a warm and boundless divine Divine Power, like the gentlest tide, instantly surged into her limbs and bones.
This power exceeded all her understanding of energy.
It's not just about repairing, it's about rebuilding!
Every inch of her skin, every bone, every cell was undergoing a tremendous transformation under the baptism of this power.
The mortal body, tempered by Divine Power, is rapidly transforming into a divine body!
And her soul, illuminated by that pure white Godhead power, was forcibly elevated and condensed into an eternal and indestructible divine soul!
A meteoric rise!
For Xuan Ming now, forcibly creating a deity is as simple as breathing, as easy as turning one's hand.
When Tang Yuehua came back to her senses from that wonderful, reborn feeling, she subconsciously raised her hand and saw her skin, which had become fair, delicate, and flawless.
The bronze mirror in the room clearly reflected her appearance at that moment.
She returned to her peak form from when she was twenty, even... younger and more energetic than she was then.
A powerful, unprecedented sense of control surged within him, as if he could control everything.
She was stunned.
"This..." She opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.
"This is my own decision," Xuan Ming's voice rang in her ear, carrying an undeniable air of dominance, "But you cannot refuse."
Tang Yuehua turned around, somewhat amused and exasperated, and looked at him. "You're... making things difficult for me."
"That's right." Xuan Ming nodded, saying matter-of-factly, "Whether a forced relationship is sweet or not, you'll only know after you've tasted it."