Upon hearing this, Lu Jingming's smile faded slightly. Indeed, Qian Renxue had suffered greatly. Even after inheriting the Angel God position, she had lost the grandfather who loved her most, while her relationship with her mother grew increasingly strained.
After all, the Angel God and the Rakshasa God were natural enemies. If not for the bond of motherhood between Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong, and the sliver of familial affection that tethered them, their meetings would be fights to the death.
Faced with this situation, even with her attainment of godhood, the pressure on Qian Renxue had not lessened but increased. She didn't know how to handle her relationship with Bibi Dong, nor how to lead the Spirit Hall forward.
Spirit Hall was now split in two, one faction following Bibi Dong and the other following Qian Renxue, and conflicts were gradually accumulating.
Having seen an old friend, Qian Renxue briefly lowered her guard, but she didn't say much. Her moment of low spirits was fleeting, as other people like Shui Bing'er were present besides Lu Jingming.
Even if she wanted to pour out her inner pain, it would have to wait until they were alone. In front of outsiders, she needed to maintain the majesty and nobility of a god.
Qian Renxue adjusted her emotions, shifting her gaze from Lu Jingming to the people beside him. She was not unfamiliar with Firefly and Castorice.
But when her eyes landed on Jing Liu and Gu Yuena, a turbulent storm immediately surged in her heart.
First was Lu Jingming himself.
Qian Renxue clearly sensed that the Soul Power fluctuations emanating from Lu Jingming were unequivocally at the Titled Douluo level.
"This... how is this possible?" Qian Renxue exclaimed inwardly.
She remembered clearly that when they first met in Heaven Dou City, Lu Jingming was merely a Soul Emperor.
How long had it been since then?
At most, only a few years.
Her rapid attainment of godhood relied on Spirit Hall's accumulation of a thousand years, the inheritance of the Angel God's position, and the hundred-thousand-year Sacred Mark obtained from the Survival Tournament. One could say she stood on the shoulders of giants to achieve godhood in just a few years.
But what about Lu Jingming? If she recalled correctly, Lu Jingming was not yet twenty, yet he had reached the realm of Titled Douluo before that age.
A Titled Douluo under the age of twenty.
If this news were to spread, it would silence all powers and geniuses across the entire Douluo Continent. This had already broken all known laws and understandings in the continent's history.
How terrifying was his talent truly?
However, what made Qian Renxue even more shocked were the two women beside Lu Jingming.
The white-haired, red-eyed woman, merely standing there, was like an peerless divine weapon that had retracted all its sharpness yet still inspired chilling dread. An indescribable, keen Sword Intent permeated her surroundings. This Sword Intent far surpassed that of the Sword Douluo she had known; the difference was vast, like heaven and earth.
And the silver-haired, purple-eyed woman with an ethereal and mysterious aura also gave her a sense of unfathomable depth, as if she were facing a boundless and infinite starry sky, containing unimaginably mighty power.
Qian Renxue had inherited the position of a Rank 1 God, the Angel God.
Although her Divine Power had not yet been fully integrated due to the recent inheritance, and her realm had not reached the standard of a Rank 1 God, her strength, bolstered by the divine position, far exceeded that of an ordinary Rank 3 God and even allowed her to challenge higher ranks.
Yet, these two individuals before her gave her a subtle sense of pressure.
What did this mean? It meant the strength of these two people was very likely above her current level.
This was simply unbelievable.
She was already a god; how could there be existences in the mortal world that surpassed her in life level and power?
Unless... they were also not mortals of this realm, or possessed inheritances and power comparable to or even surpassing that of a god?
Qian Renxue's gaze towards Lu Jingming became incredibly complex, filled with shock, inquiry, and even a hint of disbelief.
She had initially thought that after becoming a god, she had at least surpassed Lu Jingming in personal strength. But now, it seemed her friend had not only progressed at a divine speed, defying common sense, but was also surrounded by powerhouses whom she, the Angel God, felt wary of.
"Brother Lu... you truly are... surprising and... shocking every time you appear."
Qian Renxue could only utter this sigh in the end, her inner turmoil lingering.
A layer of mist seemed to perpetually shroud Lu Jingming. Just when you thought you saw clearly, you discovered it was merely the tip of a deeper, more profound mystery.
Seeing the undisguised shock and complexity in Qian Renxue's eyes, Lu Jingming knew it was time to drop more weighty information.
He waved his hand, signaling Shui Bing'er and the others to temporarily withdraw. The reception hall instantly became much emptier, leaving only him, Gu Yuena, Jing Liu, Castorice, Firefly, and the uneasy Angel God, Qian Renxue.
As for Vita, who had come with them, Lu Jingming had kept his promise and granted her temporary freedom, allowing her to explore this world, which was equally novel to her.
"Sister Xue."
Lu Jingming's voice regained its usual composure. He picked up the teapot and personally poured a cup of clear tea for Qian Renxue, his movements calm and deliberate.
The curling steam of the tea slightly neutralized the stifling divine aura in the air.
"The vastness of the world is far greater than what you and I currently see."
Qian Renxue took the warm cup of tea, the heat of the porcelain transferring to her fingertips, but her mind grew even more tense because of Lu Jingming's opening line.
Her golden eyes, imbued with divine radiance, stared intently at him, awaiting the moment of truth.
"First, I need to tell you a truth."
Lu Jingming set down the teapot, meeting Qian Renxue's gaze with composure. His voice was calm and steady, yet carried the certainty of a factual statement.
"We—I, Gu Yue, Teacher, Castorice, Firefly, and even those mysterious Titled Douluo who suddenly appeared and disrupted the Spirit Hunting operation—we are not people of this realm."
Qian Renxue's pupils constricted abruptly. The fingers clutching the teacup tightened involuntarily, the knuckles turning slightly white.
"Not of this realm... what does that mean?"
Her voice remained outwardly composed, but a slight tremor betrayed the turmoil within.
Lu Jingming slowly rotated the teacup in his hand, a slight, enigmatic smile curving his lips:
"Sister Xue, with your current divine status and sense, scanning the entire continent is not difficult. Have you truly not noticed any anomaly at all?"
"How could the so-called hidden sects completely conceal themselves from a god's gaze? Those transcendental soul tools, the Simulated Universe and the Sacred Marks, and those powerhouses who appeared out of nowhere earlier... The root of all this cannot be found in this world. With your wisdom and that of the new Empress, have you never considered... the possibility of visitors from beyond the boundaries?"
Unless blinded by romance, it was impossible for the now-gods Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong to know nothing.
Qian Renxue was silent.
She had indeed searched, using her Divine Sense to scan the continent, but she could not find the exact origin of Lu Jingming and his companions.
Bibi Dong had also expressed her doubts about this.
All these signs that defied logic had long pointed to the most daring and incredible speculation.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the churning emotions, and asked in a low voice, "So, you... are visitors from other worlds, other planets?"
As a god, she naturally knew that Douluo Star was not the only one; the universe was vast and boundless.
Lu Jingming slowly shook his head. He was not surprised that Qian Renxue knew the concept of a planet. That Douluo Continent was a sphere was no secret to a god, and even Titled Douluo could discern the truth of the world.
"Not in the usual sense of an otherworldly or extraterrestrial civilization, Sister Xue. We are from another parallel universe's Douluo Star. We are also beings of the Douluo Continent, also Soul Masters. It's just that our era is... ten thousand years after your world."
"That is a Douluo Continent that flows parallel to your world on the river of time, yet is distinctly different. You can understand it as... a mirror image, a parallel spacetime derived from certain different key choices."
He stopped keeping her in suspense and began to articulate the concept of a parallel world clearly and concisely, describing that future world where Soul Tool technology shone brightly and the power structure had changed drastically.
He did not elaborate on the specific historical process but emphasized the connection between the two worlds—same origin yet different currents, similar yet different.
Qian Renxue's mind was violently shaken.
Parallel world? Ten thousand years later? This was even more unbelievable than hearing that Lu Jingming was a reincarnated god.
But considering the era-transcending soul tools Lu Jingming possessed, the crowd of strong yet unknown individuals around him, and the completely foreign Martial Souls of Xuan Zi and others who suddenly appeared on the continent... all these illogical points seemed to find their answer in this astounding explanation.
As a god, her understanding of the world far surpassed that of mortals. She could grasp the meaning in Lu Jingming's words and understood what a parallel world was.
"So... those who rescued the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and helped the remnants of Heaven Dou break out..." Qian Renxue's voice carried a hint of dryness she herself didn't notice.
"That's right." Lu Jingming nodded in confirmation.
"They are exactly from the world I belong to—top powerhouses from the Douluo Continent ten thousand years in the future. The leader, the one with the Taotie Martial Soul, is named Xuan Zi, the pillar of the Shrek Academy, the top academy of the later era. They arrived in this world through a spatial-temporal passage earlier than us."
Qian Renxue fell silent, digesting this information that threatened to overturn all her existing knowledge.
It turned out that the opponents she faced were far more than just the Star Luo Empire and the surviving sects; they included a group of interveners from the future who knew the script.
This perfectly explained why her meticulously planned, almost flawless operation had failed at the last moment.
She had hidden herself so well, and was on the verge of inheriting the Heaven Dou Empire's throne and taking an empire without effort, yet someone had interfered at the last moment, causing the plan to deviate.
She had previously wondered where she had shown a flaw, but now it seemed it was a mechanical deus ex machina from a future parallel world.
Understanding this, the sense of frustration and unwillingness in Qian Renxue's heart actually dissipated quite a bit. At least the problem was not with her; this was not a fault of battle. Faced with people from the future who were familiar with history, even the most meticulous plan was but a fleeting cloud.
Just as Qian Renxue's heart was surging, Lu Jingming drew his final card, presenting his long-brewed true intention.
"Sister Xue."
Lu Jingming's voice carried a guiding power.
"The vastness of the world far exceeds our current imagination. A single world is but a speck of dust in the boundless multiverse. Does the ambition of the Spirit Empire to unify the continent seem a bit... limited, when viewed on this grand scale?"
His gaze became incredibly profound, as if reflecting countless stars, filled with a tempting allure that captivated the heart.
"Two parallel spacetimes have already converged. Who can say there won't be a third, a fourth, or even infinite worlds awaiting connection? The future conflicts, opportunities, and challenges will no longer be limited to one continent, one planet, or even one universe. Therefore, I hope to forge an unprecedented alliance with you, and with the Spirit Empire you represent."
"Alliance?" Qian Renxue raised her eyes, divine light swirling in her pupils, indicating her inner turmoil.
"Yes, an alliance that transcends world boundaries and points toward the sea of stars."
Lu Jingming's voice was not loud, but it carried the lofty pitch of building a grand scheme.
"What I pursue has never been the gain or loss of a single city or territory, but the drawing of a magnificent blueprint that spans the multiverse. The Douluo Continent before us, both past and future, is merely the foundation and starting point of this blueprint."
"And you, Qian Renxue, your own power and the forces under your command, are qualified to become a shining and brilliant corner of this blueprint."
He leaned slightly forward, his tone becoming incredibly sincere and powerfully infectious:
"Ally with me, and what you gain will be more than just assistance to deal with the current situation. You will receive the complete knowledge system, advanced technology, and infinite resources from a highly developed civilization. This will greatly accelerate the sublimation of the Spirit Empire and even... help you explore realms higher than that of a Rank 1 God."
"While other powers are still scurrying for continental hegemony, your gaze will have already transcended the mortal world and been cast toward the boundless sea of stars. When the bugle call sounds for the conquest of all worlds, I hope the ally standing beside me is you."
Qian Renxue felt her heart rate involuntarily quicken.
Lu Jingming's words were like a key, opening a door that had confined her thinking.
Multiverse? A blueprint spanning all heavens? The scope and depth of this ambition completely surpassed the dream of unifying the continent held by all previous Popes of Spirit Hall.
If all this were true, then the struggles confined to Douluo Star did indeed seem small in scope, like that of a frog in a well.
The terrifying potential Lu Jingming displayed, the powerhouses around him that even she felt wary of, and the vast resources and profound knowledge represented by his other world... all made this alliance proposal utterly irresistible.
She gazed at Lu Jingming. That extraordinarily handsome face was indeed moving, but what attracted her more was the ambition, capable of swallowing stars, and the unshakeable confidence burning in those deep red pupils.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi