Far away, Aglaea—who had successfully avoided the killing strike—fled at undiminished speed with the still-shaken Ma Xiaotao and Han Ruoruo, vanishing beyond the horizon in an instant.
Their hearts were heavy. The dangers and strangeness of this world far exceeded their imagination.
…
The smoke of the Battle of Luoxia Plain had not fully dispersed. The blood-reek and lingering soul power in the air were nothing compared to the silent turbulence inside the Spirit Empire's central command tent.
Bibi Dong had pursued Tang San and the others. The terrifying aura of the Rakshasa God receded into the distance, leaving behind a power vacuum instantly filled by another godly presence—more resplendent and upright, yet equally cold.
Qian Renxue, clad in the resplendent Angel God set and holding the Angelic Holy Sword, stepped toward the throne of supreme authority.
She did not deliberately release pressure, but the holy aura of the Angel God flowed naturally like sunlight, dispelling what little gloom and malice remained on the battlefield—and inspiring awe and… belonging from the souls of countless Spirit Hall spirit masters and soldiers.
This was the light they had worshiped for countless years—the embodiment of their spiritual totem.
Behind her, the six worships with Golden Crocodile Douluo at their head stood in solemn silence, like six mountain ranges. Their vast soul power remained sheathed, yet the formless pressure already made several Titled Douluo of the Elder Hall—like Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei—find breathing difficult.
"Her Majesty pursued the enemy. Before departing, she entrusted command of the legions to this god."
Qian Renxue's voice was cool and calm, echoing through the silent tent. There was no rousing declaration, but it carried an unquestionable resolve.
She gave no chance for doubt—she set the tone in the voice of divine decree.
Her gaze swept the crowd's varied expressions and finally landed on Hu Liena, who stood at the fore of the Elder Hall's people, face complicated, lips pressed tight.
"Saintess Hu Liena."
Qian Renxue spoke.
Hu Liena trembled slightly, raised her head, and met the golden, heart-penetrating eyes that seemed to see through all.
She saw calm, saw dignity, and also felt an… indescribable pressure.
She knew this Angel God was her teacher's biological daughter.
In this moment, all struggle and unwillingness turned into a silent sigh.
What right did she have to contest?
With what could she contend? Faith? Strength? Righteousness? Before the Angel God, this saintess seemed so powerless.
This was not merely a shift in power. It was the continuation of a twenty-year mother-daughter feud. She, the disciple, had always been only a bystander.
She slowly lowered her head and answered clearly, submissively: "I obey the divine edict."
The simple words represented the Elder Hall's concession.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei exchanged glances and saw deep helplessness in each other's eyes.
Their fealty to Bibi Dong stemmed mostly from respect for her strength and fear of her iron will.
But before Qian Renxue, the situation was different.
She was the incarnation of the Angel—Spirit Hall's ultimate faith. The Worship Hall's absolute support cemented an unshakable foundation.
Resist?
That would mean opposing the root of Spirit Hall—and instant annihilation.
The two men bowed silently, joining the Elder Hall's other Titled Douluo in tacit submission.
The transfer of power settled in a few words—so calm it was chilling.
Satisfied, Qian Renxue withdrew her gaze. Hu Liena's sense of the times did not surprise her.
She began issuing clear, efficient orders:
"Golden Crocodile Worship."
"Present."
Golden Crocodile Douluo answered in a deep voice.
"You will sit in the central army and direct the whole. Within three days, clear all remnants on Luoxia Plain and thrust our spear straight at the Star Luo imperial capital."
"As you command."
"Hu Liena."
"Present."
"You are familiar with front-line affairs. Assist Golden Crocodile Worship. Coordinate the corps and the Seven Great Sects."
"…Yes."
Hu Liena bowed again. Her heart was a mix of bitter flavors, yet she knew this was both an opportunity and a test from Qian Renxue.
Orders flowed like quicksilver, spreading throughout the army.
Under the Angel God's radiance and iron hand, the Spirit Empire's army was quickly reformed and unified—becoming an even more efficient war machine with a clearer aim.
Qian Renxue left the tent and gazed toward the Star Luo Empire. No joy of a victor shone in her golden eyes—only resolve.
"Unifying the continent is only the beginning…"
She spoke in her heart.
"Lu Jingming, did you see? I will have my own strength, my own world. Only then am I worthy to stand with you—to witness the vaster sea of stars."
...
On the main battlefield, the Star Luo coalition and Heaven Dou remnants—bereft of peak power and broken in morale—collapsed quickly before the Spirit Empire's crushing advance.
Prince Xue Xing and Prince Xue Beng were cut down in the chaos, marking the total extinction of Heaven Dou's last bloodline and resistance. The Heaven Dou Empire, passed down for generations, was officially no more.
After the battle, Qian Renxue made a decision that surprised many—she spared Princess Xue Ke, who had long since lost her freedom and been kept under guard in the rear.
Looking at the timid girl, eyes full of fear, the ice on Qian Renxue's heart-lake rippled with the faintest of waves.
She recalled how, disguised as Xue Qinghe, this innocent, lively younger sister had trusted and adored her without reservation.
"Take her down. Keep her properly. No neglect."
Qian Renxue waved her hand, voice cool, settling Xue Ke's fate.
She was not truly merciful. But to this harmless sister who had given her a brief, illusory warmth, she was willing to stay her hand.
A swan that cannot fly, caged in a exquisite prison to live out her days—that was the best end.
If necessary, erase her memories—let her forget national hatred, live quietly as a commoner. Not difficult.
This trifling softness was negligible beside the path before her and the starry sea she sought.
With the interior consolidated and the exterior swept clean, Qian Renxue's gaze turned to the continent's final end—Star Luo City.
Unification was already foregone.
…
In the Spirit Empire's central command tent—the symbol of highest power—Qian Renxue was discussing concrete plans to advance on the Star Luo capital with Golden Crocodile Douluo, Hu Liena, and others.
Suddenly, the space inside the tent rippled faintly, like rings on water.
The next moment, a figure appeared in the very center of the tent without warning—as if he had always been there.
It was Lu Jingming.
He still wore simple clothes, his face holding a touch of laziness and a smile as if he saw through everything.
His arrival was so abrupt, yet so natural, that even the elite guards outside the tent sensed nothing.
"It seems you've already taken control of the situation."
Lu Jingming's eyes fell directly on Qian Renxue at the main seat. His tone was familiar—like greeting an old friend.
Qian Renxue was unsurprised by his sudden appearance. A trace—so faint even she did not notice—of a smile flashed in her golden eyes.
She nodded slightly. "Merely the trend of the times."
Lu Jingming smiled, let his gaze sweep across the mixed expressions in the tent—lingering a heartbeat on the taut-faced Hu Liena and the shifty-eyed Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo—then looked back at Qian Renxue and said evenly:
"In that case, only one last obstacle remains before you can truly control this world and step toward a wider heaven and earth—"
He paused. His voice was not loud, yet it boomed like thunder in everyone's ears.
"…your mother—Bibi Dong."
"Hiss—"
Gasps erupted through the tent.
The worships, led by Golden Crocodile Douluo, flashed sharp light in their eyes, faces grown even more solemn.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo blanched and lowered their heads, not daring to look at Qian Renxue's face.
Hu Liena, standing below Qian Renxue, shivered, fists suddenly clenched so hard her nails nearly pierced her palms.
Mother and daughter.
This was the Spirit Empire's ultimate taboo.
It was an unhealed scar between Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong—thorned with resentment, indifference, and tangled emotions.
All who knew the truth kept this secret locked deep in their hearts, never daring to mention it—for fear of enraging either party and inviting annihilation.
And this young man dared to lay it bare, so casually, before all.
Everyone's hearts leapt to their throats as they risked side glances at Qian Renxue, bracing for the incoming wrath of a god.
Yet, against all expectations—
Qian Renxue, seated on high, wore perfect calm. Not even her gaze rippled—as if Lu Jingming had merely remarked, "Nice weather today."
No fury, no gloom—only unfathomable serenity.
Even Golden Crocodile Douluo, seasoned in storms, shot Lu Jingming a look of surprise and curiosity.
Who was this youth? What was his relation to the young mistress? Why could he touch taboos so lightly and draw no ire?
But the other message in Lu Jingming's words shocked them more—he intended to move against Her Majesty Bibi Dong?!
"No."
Hu Liena could no longer bear it. She stepped forward sharply, forgetting even her awe of Qian Renxue, her voice trembling with agitation:
"Teacher… Her Majesty is the Spirit Empire's rightful sovereign—the supreme Rakshasa God. Are you… are you going to slay a god and rebel?!"
She could accept Qian Renxue temporarily taking command by virtue of strength and faith—that was, after all, an internal transition within Spirit Hall.
But to point the spear at Bibi Dong—to upend her position—this she could never accept.
To her, Bibi Dong was not only her monarch but the mentor who granted her rebirth and strength.
As Hu Liena spoke, Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo also moved a step forward. They kept silent, but the soul power coalescing around them and the vigilance in their eyes made their stance plain.
The air in the tent grew taut. Even the air itself seemed to congeal.
Facing the sudden tension, and the hostility and resolve burning in Hu Liena's eyes, Lu Jingming merely chuckled lightly.
The sound broke the heaviness—with an ease that was almost infuriating.
"Relax."
He waved a hand, gaze passing over Hu Liena and the elders, his tone both soothing and indisputable.
"Bibi Dong, for all that, is Sister Xue's biological mother. We're not about to commit a heaven-defying matricide."
He called Qian Renxue "Sister Xue," intimate and natural, sending another jolt through the crowd.
"What she is to do has never been slaughter, but…"
Lu Jingming looked to Qian Renxue, voice steady and firm.
"…to take back what should have been hers, and to make that empress—blinded by hatred—surrender the power she cannot rightly wield. Nothing more."
His words smoothed Hu Liena's terror, yet plunged them all into deeper confusion and struggle.
Surrender power… to her teacher, how is that any different from death?
…
Elsewhere, the marks of a god-battle had reshaped the land.
Bottomless rifts, vitrified soil, and crackling embers of energy in the air all testified to the ferocity of the fight.
At the center, purple, gold, and blue forces still clashed madly.
Bibi Dong, clad in Rakshasa God armaments—the purple divine armor flowing with the world's ultimate evil—looked every bit a world-ending queen stepping from the abyss.
Behind her loomed a colossal, ferocious Rakshasa avatar—the visage of the first Rakshasa God. Its every roar and swing carried mountain-cracking might. Merged with Bibi Dong, each of her blows bore power far beyond an ordinary second-tier god.
"Barrier of Prohibition and Extinction."
Bibi Dong's cold shout. An unseen divine barrier instantly sealed all surrounding space.
Jing Yuan's golden thunder, drawn by his formation blade, slammed into an invisible wall. Its power was greatly reduced.
Xiao Wu's lightning-quick assaults were stalled by layer upon layer of spatial walls, unable to get close.
"Nether Rakshasa."
The giant Rakshasa scythe swung again. Purple light rained from the sky, condensing into a hundreds-meter violet blade spanning heaven and earth, shrieking as it split souls, and it hacked down at Jing Yuan and Xiao Wu.
This strike was even more violent than before, flooded with the venom and madness Bibi Dong unleashed at the death of Yu Xiaogang.
Jing Yuan's face grew solemn. The Lightning-Lord roared, gathering myriad golden bolts upon its weapon, and met the strike boldly.
Xiao Wu cried out, gathering all her divine power to a point—Soft Bone Exploding Kill kick—driving into the giant blade's flank.