However, after hearing Jiang Qingtong's words, Fate's (OC) gaze on her suddenly grew complicated.
The divine aura it had held before vanished entirely, replaced by an odd, almost twisted expression.
Seeing this change in its face, both Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong instinctively took a few steps back.
Without warning, Fate lunged right up to the two of them, gave each a sharp flick to the forehead, and scolded:
"You're asking why I only showed up now? Did you two forget what happened the moment you first arrived on the Douluo Continent?"
The moment they first arrived?
Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong blinked, trying to recall the events from back then.
It had been eight years—who could remember clearly?
They only vaguely recalled being run through by some soul beast.
Wait… could it be—?
Seeing their expressions, Fate continued:
"Looks like you've remembered? That's right—you were run clean through by a soul beast! If I hadn't immediately used my power to grant you the Mirror Flower, Water Moon martial soul and revive you, you'd have been dead long ago!"
It clasped its hands behind its back, pacing through the air before them.
"Creating a martial soul like Mirror Flower, Water Moon already cost me a great deal of power. Reviving you from death consumed even more. Do you think I'd have gone into such a long slumber otherwise? First rule after transmigrating—be wary of your surroundings! That's transmigration common sense!"
Common sense, my foot!
Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong frowned slightly, watching Fate pace in front of them and ramble on. Somehow, the awe they'd felt earlier was completely gone.
Still, they both realized now—those two times their soul power had resisted Ye Xishui's suppression of their evil fire… that had probably been this guy's doing too.
Jiang Shengyu asked in a low voice,
"You're… this weak?"
To his surprise, Fate didn't erupt in anger. Instead, it sighed helplessly, its expression visibly turning bitter.
Hands still clasped behind its back, it looked upward as if weighed down by endless years, and spoke slowly:
"This goes back ten thousand years. In that era, human Limit Douluo hadn't yet reached the strength they have today. Many savage beasts still slumbered. At that time, I—"
"Stop!"
Both Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong cut it off in unison.
"Skip to the short version."
"Ahem! In short—I was originally the rules of the Douluo Continent itself. Then, ten thousand years ago, a soul from another world became a god."
"Becoming a god wasn't unprecedented on the Douluo Continent. At first I didn't care. The God Realm and Douluo Star are indeed connected, but as the world's governing rules, I had no conflict with the God Realm."
"But after that otherworlder entered the God Realm, he repeatedly used divine power to meddle with Douluo Star, disrupting my plans for it. His power had already reached that of a Supreme God—I could not contend with him. This caused me to grow weaker and weaker."
"Over the years, I tried many ways. Eventually, I succeeded in nurturing a Child of Destiny—Huo Yuhao. He was meant to bear the task of rebuilding Douluo Star's order."
"Unfortunately… that otherworlder discovered him and began laying his own plans around him."
"So I had to think of a way to break the stalemate! I thought—if he came from another world, then I could find another otherworlder myself, couldn't I? After years of saving up power, I brought the two of you to Douluo Star!"
"Learning from the lesson of Huo Yuhao, I granted you the Mirror Flower, Water Moon martial soul, hiding you from heavenly calculation so you wouldn't be noticed at once."
"Alas… fate toys with people. Huo Yuhao touched the mental restriction deep in that man's daughter's soul, drawing his attention. He's already discovered you!"
Doing all of this had all but exhausted Fate's power.
Perhaps in some parallel world, subtle disturbances left Fate too weak to bring in outsiders at all, causing events to return to the original Soul Land II plot Jiang Shengyu knew.
The two had been listening like it was just a story—until that last line made a chill run down their spines.
"You mean… we've been targeted? By him? Now?"
Right now, one of them was at three rings, the other at four.
How were they supposed to fight a God King?
And even with Fate's help—look at the state this guy was in!
Seeing their agitation, Fate reassured them:
"Don't worry. He has indeed noticed you, but he hasn't yet marked you as enemies. Rather, he sees you as another pair of Children of Destiny, following in Huo Yuhao's footsteps."
With a wave of its finger, ripples spread outward, forming images in the air—scenes of Wang Dong and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion in action.
"Because of that, he's chosen to have his daughter try to win you over."
Fate looked back at the pair, testing the waters:
"You… wouldn't be swayed by such a soft approach, would you?"
It had pinned its last hopes on Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong.
If they failed too, then Fate's end would only be a slow fade into nothingness, the original rules of Douluo Star dispersing as the world changed masters.
At Fate's question, the two of them fell into an odd silence.
Alarmed, Fate stepped forward, grabbing Jiang Shengyu's shoulders and saying to Jiang Qingtong:
"Look—didn't I find you a handsome man?"
Then it grabbed Jiang Qingtong's shoulders and said to Jiang Shengyu:
"And you—look at this beautiful wife I found you! You two are enough for each other! That guy's daughter has zero competitive edge! Don't fall for it!"
"So you split me into two people, and I'm supposed to thank you for it?" they asked in unison.
"If I hadn't, you wouldn't have been able to withstand my power—you'd be dead…"
Fate looked at them and went on:
"Anyway, in your original world, you were already hit by that ultimate transmigration weapon—truck-kun! Your bones were smashed to dust! Blood everywhere! Bits of you embedded in the pavement so deep they couldn't even scrape them out! I'm the one who saved you!"
"You don't have to describe it in that much detail—we really didn't want to know."
Fate looked at them solemnly.
"Right now, we're grasshoppers tied to the same rope!"
Coming from that ten-thousand-voices-singing voice of its, the phrase just sounded… wrong.
"Correction—grasshoppers don't live long. You should say we're on a united front," Jiang Shengyu said, raising a hand.
There was no way he'd be taken in by Tang San. Call that winning over? More like trying to train a dog!
Since he'd arrived in this world as a so-called Child of Destiny, couldn't go back, and had no desire to be anyone's pet, the only option was to resist.
Seeing Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong choose to stand with it, Fate finally relaxed.
"Don't worry. The Mirror Flower, Water Moon martial soul is my masterpiece. The talent I've given you is unprecedented—even Huo Yuhao can't compare!"