***ANNOUNCEMENT***
The next novel is coming soon!
After DD2: Glory of the Unrivaled Angel and Legend of the Dragon King: True Self, Tong Yuze is taking us back to the era of Unrivaled Tang Sect in a new adventure with a rather different approach.
This time, Sun Moon takes center stage!
Name:Douluo: God of Machinery
「 An Unrivaled Tang Sect (Douluo Dalu 2) Fanfiction 」
The first 12 chapters are already up on my Patreon, and you can read them without a paid subscription, so feel free to give the story a try and see what you think.
I'm also bringing back the Founder Tier for a limited time, for anyone who wants to support this story from the start and read ahead.
Founder gives you the same benefits as my highest tier at a 30% discount, and you keep that price for as long as you stay subscribed.
That includes all the advanced chapters of DD2: God of Machinery, 50 advanced chapters of Legend of the Dragon King: True Self, 75 advanced chapters of BTTH: From Genius to Invincible, the completed DD2: Glory of the Unrivaled Angel, and any future projects added later.
I hope you'll give this one a chance, and I'd love to hear what you think.
You can find the first 12 chapters and the Founder Tier here:
[email protected]/kisshot
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Word Count: 3,715 Words
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Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu Imperial Palace.
Xu Tianran paced anxiously through the great hall of the Imperial Palace, encased in his Humanoid Spirit Guidance Device. Below the dais, the civil and military officials stood in silence. Whether the Sun Moon Empire could turn defeat into victory now rested entirely on Xu Zhanlong, and the Sun Moon Emperor was desperate for word from the front.
"Report!
Your Majesty, Sunrise City has fallen. General Xu Zhanlong sacrificed his life for the nation!"
A Sun Moon Empire soldier dressed as a commoner stumbled into the palace. The instant he laid eyes on Xu Tianran, he dropped to his knees and delivered the report in a trembling voice.
Xu Tianran's eyes sharpened. His Humanoid Spirit Guidance Device flashed, and he appeared before the soldier in an instant. He seized the front of the man's robes and demanded coldly:
"If Imperial Uncle is dead, then he's dead. How many of the Angel Empire's Titled Douluo fell? Holy Evil Douluo most of all. Is he dead or not?!"
Agitation had stripped Xu Tianran of all restraint. The aura of a Titled Douluo surged from him, and the powerful Destruction aura of the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon pressed down until the soldier could barely draw breath. The man forced his words out through the suffocating weight:
"Holy Evil Douluo seems to have mastered the power of space and time. General Xu's contingency failed to inflict any casualties on the Angel Empire.
Sunrise City's soldiers are either dead or have surrendered. The Angel Empire is taking full control of the city. The Angel Empress ordered that not a single civilian be harmed. That was how this subordinate managed to disguise himself as a commoner and slip away during the chaos..."
"Trash!"
Xu Tianran kicked him over without holding back in the slightest. The soldier died on the spot in the royal court, and the civil and military officials fell even more silent, terrified that the cornered emperor might execute them next.
Jing Hongchen stood at the head of the officials. Only the Illustrious Virtue Hall Master, with his high rank and heavy authority, dared step forward.
"Your Majesty, there are no longer any major cities between Sunrise City and Mingdu to serve as cover. Once the Angel Empire finishes reorganizing, their grand army can reach Mingdu by tonight. Mingdu has no city walls. This minister believes we must consider our next step.
Do we fight, or do we surrender?"
"Surrender? I am the Son of Heaven of the Empire. I will never surrender!"
Xu Tianran's eyes burned bloodshot. His flawless plan of destruction had collapsed into total ruin, and he knew the Angel Empire would never spare him. Desperation twisted into malice:
"My beloved ministers, Mingdu still has one final Spirit Guidance Legion. You will all show the Empire's unyielding backbone and charge out of Mingdu with me!"
The civil and military officials of the Sun Moon Empire shuddered as one. Mingdu had become little more than a delicate mousse cake waiting for the Angel Empire to consume, and many of them had already accepted their fate. But Xu Tianran had gone mad and meant to drag them all down to the Yellow Springs with him!
A sharp gaze swept across the assembled ministers, and Xu Tianran sneered. "Are my beloved ministers unwilling? It doesn't matter. I will help you."
Two black shadows appeared silently at Xu Tianran's side. Intense light flickered across their Humanoid Spirit Guidance Devices.
The left and right Shadow Guards, Shadow Douluo Xue Chen and Dark Douluo Gu Xin!
Hummm—
Just as Xu Tianran believed the situation settled, figure after figure descended from above. They wore Humanoid Spirit Guidance Devices as well, but of an entirely different design. The exclusive emblem of the Sun Moon Imperial Academy was engraved upon their gold-red breastplates. There were dozens of them in all, led by two Class 9 Spirit Guidance Masters, and their dark cannon muzzles trained on Xu Tianran and the two Shadow Guards.
The two Titled Douluo were fiercely loyal. They moved at once to shield Xu Tianran with their bodies.
The Sun Moon Imperial Academy was all but synonymous with Jing Hongchen. Watching the mightiest man in the Sun Moon Empire turn against him, Xu Tianran lost the last threads of his reason. His terrifying gaze fixed on the rotund Illustrious Virtue Hall Master like a beast hungering for flesh. If looks could kill, Jing Hongchen would have died eight hundred times over.
Jing Hongchen met that clenched-teeth glare with a proud smile of his own. "A wise man submits to circumstance. Your Majesty should not persist in hopeless resistance.
Oh, and Your Majesty had best not pin any hopes on the Mingdu Spirit Guidance Legion outside the palace. Its commander was once a student of the Sun Moon Imperial Academy. I personally guided his studies and supported his entry into the military.
Jiayi, do it."
"Understood, Hall Master!"
One of the Class 9 Spirit Guidance Masters was Lin Jiayi, Director of Teaching at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy. The moment Jing Hongchen gave the order, dazzling light erupted inside the palace hall, and cannon fire swallowed Shadow Douluo and Dark Douluo whole.
The aftershocks gradually dispersed. Xu Tianran lay gravely wounded. The dignified ruler of a nation sprawled on the floor like a dead dog, still alive only thanks to the numerous Class 9 Defensive Spirit Guidance Devices on his body. Blood streaked his face, and his eyes brimmed with hatred.
Jing Hongchen had taken control of the court with ease. He waved a broad hand. "Bring him. We are leaving the city to welcome the Angel Empire!"
Not a single official of the Sun Moon Empire dared disobey. Lin Jiayi seized Xu Tianran, and the rest abandoned all resistance. They waited ten miles outside Mingdu for the Angel Empire's arrival.
The sun sank in the west. Golden radiance split the sky and poured down through the clouds. In the distance, the torrent of troops drew closer and closer to Mingdu, and brilliant angelic wings unfurled high above. Jing Hongchen could not help smiling.
Outside Star Luo City, Ling Bai had promised that he would remain Dean of the Sun Moon Imperial Academy and Illustrious Virtue Hall Master, while his granddaughter Meng Hongchen would become Sanctuary Master of the Mingdu Angelic Sanctuary.
With the Angel Empire unifying the two continents, the Hongchen family's influence had not weakened. If anything, it had grown stronger. Jing Hongchen was a clever man, and he understood the proper choice.
"We respectfully welcome the Angel Empire!"
The civil and military officials bowed and kowtowed toward the Seraphim in unison. With that gesture, they declared the Sun Moon Empire's surrender and accepted the Angel Empire's complete reconstruction.
"It has been a long time, Hall Master Hongchen. Your bearing remains as impressive as ever."
Ling Bai descended to the ground and greeted Jing Hongchen with a smile, fairly satisfied with what the man had done.
"Holy Evil Douluo is merciful and tolerant. I will not fail the heavy trust placed in me."
Jing Hongchen bowed with utmost reverence. The difference in status between them was vast. Ling Bai stood at the peak of the Douluo Continent as Holy Evil Douluo, a figure of faith written into the laws of the Angel Empire. Jing Hongchen was merely a subordinate trying to survive, his fate to be rolled round or pinched flat at Ling Bai's whim.
"Let's go. Enter the city."
Ling Bai cast a calm glance at the half-dead Xu Tianran in Lin Jiayi's grasp, then rose into the sky once more.
Lin Jiayi scratched his head blankly. Jing Hongchen smacked him, hating iron for not becoming steel, and muttered in a low voice:
"What are you standing there for? Didn't you understand Holy Evil Douluo's meaning? Hurry up and deal with him!"
"Oh, oh!"
Lin Jiayi grunted twice in acknowledgment, dragged Xu Tianran to a secluded spot, ended his life, and tossed some loose dirt over the corpse.
The final emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran, was buried outside Mingdu, his eyes left wide open in unfulfilled grievance.
After hastily dispatching Xu Tianran, Lin Jiayi chuckled and flew toward the Angel Empire's legion to reunite with his younger sister, Demon Dragon Douluo Lin Jiaran.
Lin Jiayi felt endlessly grateful for the choice Lin Jiaran had made all those years ago. Three years had passed, and he had not advanced a single step. He remained the Academy's Director of Teaching.
Lin Jiaran, on the other hand, had become Spirit Guidance Hall Master of the Angel Imperial Family and the pioneer of the Angel Empire's Spirit Guidance Devices. Her status was lofty, and the Empress valued her deeply. Her personal life flourished just as well. She had accepted Vice Hall Master Xuan Ziwen's proposal, and the two of them poured their combined talents into the future of Spirit Guidance Technology.
At the head of the grand army, Ling Bai and Jing Hongchen discussed the future of the former Sun Moon Empire.
"Hall Master Hongchen, now that the Angel Empire has unified the continent, the name Sun Moon Imperial Academy is no longer fitting."
"What does Holy Evil Douluo intend?" Jing Hongchen asked cautiously.
"The Sun Moon Imperial Academy will be renamed the Imperial Technology Academy. Illustrious Virtue Hall will become Hongchen Hall. Your position remains unchanged. You will continue serving as both Dean and Hall Master."
"This... this... this..."
Jing Hongchen was overjoyed beyond words. His short, plump limbs waved about in unrestrained excitement, the sight strangely comical in its contrast.
Illustrious Virtue Hall had been named in commemoration of Kong Deming, the Father of Spirit Guidance Devices. Renaming it Hongchen Hall meant that future generations would remember the Hongchen family instead. For Jing Hongchen himself, and for the entire Hongchen lineage, this was supreme glory!
"Holy Evil Douluo, the Hongchen family is willing to go through fire and water for the Angel Imperial Family. We will not hesitate!"
Jing Hongchen surrendered his heart wholly to the Angel Empire in that moment, unable to stop himself from imagining the Hongchen family's brilliant future. Meng Hongchen would take charge of the Mingdu Angelic Sanctuary, Xiao Hongchen would inherit his own position, and the siblings would lead the Hongchen family to its peak!
Jing Hongchen's joy was written all over his face. Ling Bai smiled faintly. Harvesting the faith of the Sun Moon Empire would prove far more difficult than it had been with the three great empires.
Raising Jing Hongchen up and preserving his status served two purposes. First, it would pacify the people and set a model for others to follow. Second, it would leverage Jing Hongchen's influence to promote the Angel Empire while supporting the series of policies Ye Guyi had formulated.
Free Martial Spirit awakenings. The Empire providing the first spirit ring. Subsidies from the Angelic Sanctuary for one-ringed Spirit Masters through three-ringed Spirit Elders under the age of twenty. Encouragement of intermarriage between the two nations...
With several measures advancing in tandem, the continent that had stood divided for thousands of years would gradually merge until no distinction remained.
The Angel Empire entered Mingdu without obstruction. Jing Hongchen arranged accommodations for the Empire's upper echelon, then privately invited Ling Bai to visit the Hongchen family's ancestral estate under the pleasant pretext of thanking Holy Evil Douluo for his grace.
The Hongchen family's ancestral estate had stood for a thousand years. Thanks to the metal-controlling nature of the Three-Legged Golden Toad, every generation of Hongchen descendants had been an important force within the Sun Moon Empire.
Inside the ancestral estate, Jing Hongchen laid out a banquet. Sun Moon Empire specialties flowed out in an endless stream. Ling Bai met Xiao Hongchen as well, who showed no reserve whatsoever and immediately began pouring out his grievances.
During the Spirit Master Tournament finals, the Angelic Sanctuary had simply up and left. The Sun Moon Imperial Academy waited foolishly for an entire day, only for the referees to shove a championship trophy into their hands. It was a title unique in history, won because the opponent had forfeited.
A championship did not always represent honor. The crowd's eyes were sharp. Everyone knew the Sun Moon Imperial Academy never stood a chance against the Angelic Sanctuary, and that trophy was nothing more than something the other side had discarded.
Halfway through the banquet, Ling Bai remembered someone. "Why hasn't Meng come?"
Xiao Hongchen's eyes darted guiltily left and right. "You showed up so suddenly. Meng's still getting dressed. Don't worry about her!
Hey, those golden frog legs are great. Hurry up and try some!"
The sheer clumsiness of the deflection was breathtaking. Ling Bai understood the art of leaving things unsaid, however, and did not call him out on the spot.
The banquet ended and the night deepened. Xiao Hongchen pulled Ling Bai along to stay the night at the ancestral estate. He had probably drunk himself into high spirits, because he gripped Ling Bai's hand tightly, eyes brimming with tears, and said:
"Brother-in-law, Little Meng has missed you terribly. She's already in her twenties and still doesn't have a boyfriend. She always says that after meeting the best, no one else can stir even the faintest ripple in her heart!
Come on. We're here!"
The two stepped into a room lit by dim, hazy lamps. The atmosphere was shadowed and subdued. Paintings of the Three-Legged Golden Toad decorated the walls alongside an ingeniously crafted Spirit Guidance pendulum clock. Refined details lay hidden within an otherwise ordinary space.
Xiao Hongchen spoke with weighty undertones. "Brother-in-law, this room was hurriedly renovated. The sink is set at a comfortable height. The bathroom is oversized, with two handles installed.
The balcony has a huge floor-to-ceiling window. There's a mirror on the ceiling. The kitchen has anti-slip mats, and the sofa is waterproof.
Rest well. Good night."
The more Ling Bai heard, the more wrong it sounded. None of those features sounded the least bit proper. Xiao Hongchen, however, had already greased his heels and slipped away.
Ling Bai pushed open the bedroom door. Starlight spilled through the lattice window, pooling brightly across the sheets of a luxurious round bed. He stopped dead in his tracks.
A woman lay half-reclined amongst the pillows.
Meng Hongchen's soft brows lifted as she watched him enter. The silver light traced the smooth lines of her face and caught on lips painted a deep rouge, glistening where she had just wet them. A flush of heat crept down her jaw and into the hollow of her throat. A few beads of sweat clung to her collarbone, betraying the nervous anticipation that had kept her waiting. The air in the room hung close and warm, thick with perfume and the intoxicating scent of heated skin.
She looked lush and entirely decadent resting on her side. The fabric draped across her body rose and fell with each slow breath, tracing the heavy swell of her breasts, the deep, soft tuck of her waist, and the generous curve of her hips in a perfect, unbroken line. She was the kind of woman whose body announced itself simply by existing in a room, unhurried, unashamed, and shaped as though designed specifically to be touched.
Ling Bai had only one thought as his gaze swept over her. Well now. You really did deliver Meng Hongchen straight into my bed.
A soft, sultry laugh slipped from her painted lips, and Meng Hongchen dragged her tongue slowly across her lower lip. The gesture was bold, practiced, and unmistakably seductive. She had always been a hopeless face-con, and the first Spirit Master Tournament had ruined her for any other man. One look at Ling Bai back then, and her mind had simply short-circuited. He had thoroughly conquered her heart the very moment she first laid eyes on him.
When the Angel Empire marched against the Sun Moon Empire and her grandfather, Jing Hongchen, turned to play the inside man, no one had been more thrilled than her. She had begged both her grandfather and her brother, pleading for the chance to finally make this long-held fantasy a reality.
Xiao Hongchen wanted nothing more than for his little sister to be happy. Ling Bai was the only man he would ever acknowledge as a brother-in-law, so he had agreed without a second thought.
Jing Hongchen, however, was far more pragmatic. If Meng Hongchen could forge an intimate physical bond with Ling Bai, then even if she never became his official wife, the status of a favored concubine would be more than enough to secure the Hongchen family's glory.
And Meng Hongchen had clearly prepared with meticulous care. A slim, black silk slip dress clung to her curves like it had been poured on, the fabric catching starlight with a liquid sheen. The neckline plunged low, so much that the full weight of her bosom strained the delicate material to its limit, threatening to spill free with every eager breath. The hem barely kissed her upper thighs. Black stockings wrapped her legs in a smooth, lustrous second skin, the lace tops biting gently into the soft flesh of her inner thighs where the dress rode up. That thin strip of bare skin between stocking and hem looked like an absolute dare. Her stocking-clad toes curled faintly against the sheets. Everything about her had been calibrated to drag his gaze exactly where she wanted it.
Now that her prey had finally walked through the door, Meng Hongchen swung her legs off the bed and slipped one foot into a crimson stiletto, then the other. The thin heels added several inches, bringing her nearly level with Ling Bai.
She rose and crossed the room toward him. The gown swayed against her thighs with each step, shadows sliding over the dark stockings as the red heels clicked softly against the floor.
Reaching him, she held his gaze, lifted both hands to her shoulders, and slowly pushed the thin straps down. The slick silk surrendered instantly, sliding past her waist and hips to pool gracefully at her feet.
Underneath, she wore nothing but pure black lace that looked entirely too small for the job it had been given. The delicate cups were fighting a losing war against the lush, heavy flesh they were meant to contain, her pale mounds brimming generously over the scalloped edges. Her skin was startlingly white against the dark, sheer fabric, making the deep, plunging cleavage utterly mesmerizing. She made no move to cover herself; instead, she arched her back slightly, presenting her bounty to him with breathless pride. Every rise and fall of her chest tested the structural integrity of that flimsy garment in ways its maker had never intended.
Stepping perfectly into his space, she pressed her warm, barely-clad body tight against the man she adored. As she caught his intoxicating scent again, a ragged breath escaped her lips, and her eyes grew delightfully glassy, hazy with raw, unhidden desire.
"Ling Bai, thank you for sparing Grandpa in Star Luo City. Thank you for keeping the Hongchen family whole. The Angel Empire has united both continents now. You must be so happy.
Tonight may be the only chance I'll ever have. Let me spend it with you. Don't think about anything else. Just... use me however you please. I've dreamed of this for so long..."
Meng Hongchen rested her head against his chest, her skin growing feverishly hot. She had cast away both her pride and her dignity, asking only for this single night, a desperate chance to live out the fantasy she had carried for years.
Then she felt a large hand settle against the small of her back. His fingers trailed up her spine with practiced ease, found the clasp, and popped it open. The tension released and the delicate lace fell slack. She felt her ripe softness spill free against his chest, bare and heavy and warm.
A wave of giddy joy flooded Meng Hongchen's mind. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and crushed her lips to his with reckless abandon. But how could a girl running on years of fantasy and zero experience match a man who could navigate a woman blindfolded? He stole the rhythm from her in moments, kissing her deeply until she was dizzy and pliant. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her cleanly off her feet and carried her into the bathroom.
Water began to fall, drumming steadily against the tile as thick steam rose and coated the floor-to-ceiling glass.
Beyond that pane, two silhouettes moved in the haze. One was tall and broad-shouldered, unhurried, utterly in control. The other was pinned facing the glass, her back arched sharply as he pressed into her from behind. Her head fell back against his shoulder. Water traced shining paths down her throat and over her bare breasts, which were crushed flat against the cold, wet pane. Condensation smeared where her heated skin met glass, leaving slick prints of flesh and steam that bloomed and faded and bloomed again with every movement forced against her.
Her hands blindly found the two metal handles set into the wall, fingers gripping tight to anchor herself. Steam curled around the sleek curve of her hip as he hitched one of her thighs high around his waist. Each deep, powerful drive pinned her harder to the glass. Her soft bounty shifted and spread with the relentless rhythm, painting fresh wet marks against the window as fast as her ragged breaths could fog it over.
The drumming water was nowhere near loud enough to cover her. Her voice slipped through the heavy steam, climbing higher and sharper each time, tangling with the wet, heavy percussion of bodies meeting without restraint. Meng Hongchen trembled wildly against the glass, her entire frame shuddering under the sheer force of him. Her cries lost all remaining composure as the rhythm built to a fever pitch, granting her nothing resembling mercy. They climbed, wavered, and finally broke open in a shattering, full-body release that left her sagging boneless against the pane.
Inside the steam-filled room, two bodies moved seamlessly as one beneath the falling water, the deep, heavy night quietly closing around them...