The Demon Empress traversed a portal across time and space with a clear goal.
Guided by a deep blood-and-soul resonance, she easily found this parallel world's herself—also a Demon Empress, still carefully sheltered by her husband, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King—still lost in a false peace.
No words. No reminiscing. Not even a heartbeat's hesitation.
Under the other's shock, fear, and disbelief, the frenzied Demon Empress struck.
The authority to manipulate electromagnetism exploded in an instant. An invisible field sealed the sea area, imprisoning that naïve Demon Empress and her enraged, protective husband—this world's Deep Sea Demon Whale King.
"No—who are you?! Why—"
This world's Whale King roared, struggling, but the law-level electromagnetic binds were not something brute force could resist.
The Demon Empress's searing white eyes looked coldly at the giant beast whose appearance and aura matched her husband. There was no love—only a bone-scraping obsession and madness.
"You are not him…"
Her hoarse voice, threaded with chilling menace, carried through the sea.
"My husband is the only one. To resurrect him, you… will all be my food."
Next came an even more terrifying devouring.
The massive Deep Sea Demon Whale body manifested. Lightning and darkness crossed, becoming a black hole that swallowed everything.
In despairing screams and struggles, this world's Demon Empress and Whale King were mercilessly torn apart and disassembled by the Demon Empress from the parallel world—reduced to purest life essence and energy to be ravenously absorbed.
She did not stop.
She felt the Herrscher of Thunder core within her shudder under the immense energy—one final step from full activation and perfection.
The chance came soon.
Not long ago, Osial, the Vortex Demon God who had fought Sea God Island and been repelled, dragged his ruined body—along with a trove of accumulated marine malice—back to his deep-sea lair to heal.
Like the most patient hunter, the Demon Empress lay in wait.
At Osial's weakest and least wary moment, she struck a killing blow.
A silent plasma whale-song swept out, laced with hallucinatory infrasound and energy-igniting electromagnetic force, instantly scrambling Osial's senses.
Then geomagnetic manipulation triggered submarine volcanic eruptions. Chaotic undercurrents and corrosive acid-lightning shrouded everything.
Osial didn't even see his attacker clearly before the core of negative energy he'd accumulated over years was pierced by claws wrapped in liquid mercury and thunder.
"Roar—!!!"
Osial's last unwilling bellow sounded as the colossal malice was devoured like a breached dam.
The demon-god's origin became the final straw.
"BOOM—!!!!!!!"
An indescribable brilliance of lightning exploded from the Demon Empress, illuminating the abyssal dark.
The spiral narwhal horn on her brow blazed with dimension-piercing light. The plasma strands behind her cheered like living things.
The complete Herrscher of Thunder descended.
She felt the vicious curse born from the Dragon God—that had shackled the soul beast race for a million years—shatter like brittle glass before this complete, otherworldly Herrscher authority.
Her life-form transcended the plane's limits, becoming a truly terrifying, godlike-yet-not-god existence that held ultimate dominion over electromagnetism.
Yet upon that pinnacle of power came her daughter Lan Fozi's boundless despair.
Forced to absorb this world's counterpart's soul and memories, Lan Fozi's consciousness was in chaos, her heart riven.
She watched her mother devour her father, watched her grow ever stronger—ever stranger, ever madder.
"Mother… stop… we can't…"
Lan Fozi pleaded weakly, tears mixing with seawater.
The Demon Empress glanced at her coldly. No warmth flickered in those white eyes—only uncompromising command:
"Not enough. If you want revenge—if you want to resurrect your father—you need more power. Become stronger. Otherwise, you're not even qualified to stand beside me."
At that moment, the Demon Empress snapped her head up, her white eyes seeming to pierce endless water and space, locking onto the continent.
There, Rakshasa, Angel, mysterious powers, and the newly ascended Sea God shone like beacons in the night.
Naked greed surfaced beneath the shattered whale-bone mask.
"Gods… what a delightful scent…"
She licked nonexistent blood from the corner of her lips.
"If I devour them… none shall oppose me. Sea God Tang San… Poseidon… wait for me. I will come for you soon, to settle all blood debts."
Her dead husband's obsession—revenge upon the Sea God—had fused with her soul, becoming her sole meaning.
Now, she needed one last reserve.
And the chaotic god-war far away had become, in her eyes, a feast prepared for her… a blood-soaked banquet.
She would wait—wait for the gods to exhaust each other. Then she would become the final reaper, paving her stairway to vengeance with divine blood.
The deep sea's darkness could not hide the madness forged of hatred and thunder, about to pounce upon the world.
…
Above the Spirit Empire's camp, a brilliant blue divine light fell like a meteor—yet in the moment of descent, it hushed, coalescing into two graceful figures: Hysilens in Sea God regalia and her companion Cerydra.
Hysilens did not flaunt her divinity, but the innate pressure of a god instantly alerted everyone in the command tent.
With a flash of gold, Qian Renxue appeared before Lu Jingming. The Angelic Sacred Sword remained sheathed, but her sharp divine sense locked firmly on Hysilens, golden eyes wary and appraising.
A stranger radiating vast divine power had arrived; she couldn't be careless.
"Who goes there?"
Qian Renxue's voice was cold and authoritative, carrying the Angel God's majesty.
Before Hysilens could answer, Lu Jingming chuckled softly behind her and placed a calming hand on Qian Renxue's tense shoulder.
"Sister Xue, relax. She's one of ours."
Qian Renxue blinked, glanced back at Lu Jingming's ever-placid smile, and relaxed slightly—though the surprise in her eyes did not fade.
One of ours? A stranger—and a god?
Lu Jingming stepped around Qian Renxue, approached Hysilens, and openly admired her, smiling:
"Congratulations on shedding that negative-energy shell and being truly reborn. Hysilens, the Sea God regalia suits you."
A subtle smile glimmered in Hysilens's ocean-deep eyes. She nodded slightly:
"I didn't expect this world would hold a god-position inheritance suited to me."
She paused, glanced at the still-wary Qian Renxue and the others in the tent, and got straight to the point:
"I sensed violent god-war fluctuations. I came to see. What's your plan?"
Only now did Qian Renxue, Golden Crocodile Douluo, and the rest fully grasp that this newly ascended Sea God stood on Lu Jingming's side.
Their eyes toward Lu Jingming grew deeper—more reverent.
Just how many hidden cards did this man still hold?
At that moment, Cerydra stepped forward beside Hysilens, meeting Lu Jingming's eyes.
"Lu Jingming, the Knight of the Ocean is free. Tell me—how do I break my shackles?"
Her question was direct and sharp—regal.
Had anyone else demanded so, Lu Jingming would have delivered a thorny retort. But Cerydra?
No problem.
He looked at Cerydra—this 2D waifu who had once ruled with an iron hand in his memories—with a smile.
He didn't mind their breaking free of the Holy Grail's bonds—even if the Grail system was created by him and The Herta.
His forbearance came from nostalgia—and absolute confidence in his own strength.
He believed that whether Hysilens or the ambitious Cerydra, they would ultimately find their places on his path, not become his enemies.
"Simple."
Lu Jingming pointed toward Slaughter City.
"There's a god-position there for you—Asura God."
He explained in detail.
"Defeat the negative-energy bearer wielding the Asura Demon Sword. Gain the sword's recognition. With the legalistic authority you command, inheriting the Asura God—arbiter of slaughter, judgment, and law—is perfect."
Cerydra's eyes lit up.
She was decisive and ruthless—a steel-blooded empress who would sacrifice even herself for law and order.
The Asura God's domain—absolute judgment and law—was a perfect match for her essence.
In Lu Jingming's blueprint for a future empire, a law-wielding, impartial god was essential—and Cerydra was the ideal choice.
A razor-sharp light flashed in Cerydra's eyes: hunger for power—and determination to claim the Asura position.
But Lu Jingming cautioned seriously:
"Don't underestimate him. That negative-energy being is called Kevin. Even as a copy, he surpasses the Vortex Demon God Osial you fought before. With the Asura Demon Sword in hand—even you as Sea God, Hysilens—might not win easily."
Cerydra, however, smiled in confidence.
Not blind self-belief, but absolute trust in Hysilens at her side.
She looked to the black-haired goddess with the trident, her tone firm:
"No matter. Hysilens is a war goddess—my invincible Knight of the Ocean. In raw combat, even a demigod of strife might not best her. I trust her blade to cut any obstacle from my path."
Hysilens said nothing—just gripped the Sea God Trident tighter, blue divine power rippling, her actions speaking support.
Among the Golden lineage, recognized as a combat ace, she had the right to such confidence.
Lu Jingming smiled at the well-matched pair, not denying Hysilens's might.
But he knew Kevin's depths—a savior who once bore an era's fate. His combat power was no trivial matter.
"So be it. Go test yourselves."
He gave precise coordinates for the mountain range where blackened Kevin lurked near Slaughter City.
"Defeat him, and you'll not only earn your god-position. The feedback will be enough to nudge this planet to its final evolution—which favors my next plans."
He watched Hysilens and Cerydra turn to divine light and streak toward the slaughter-stained mountains, eyes gleaming with expectation.
After they left, the tent quieted for a time—but the concern between Qian Renxue's brows only deepened.
She dismissed the attendants, leaving only herself and Lu Jingming.
"Xiao Ming."
Her soft voice carried rare confusion and fatigue.
"The Spirit Empire's army is under my control now, and Grandpa Golden Crocodile supports me. But you know—the Elder Hall and Hu Liena—they bow only to circumstance. If… if she returns—given her nature and strength—the empire will split in an instant."
She raised those brilliant golden eyes to Lu Jingming, full of complex feelings:
"I don't want her to die. Whatever our grievances or the coldness and hurt between us—she is still… my mother. That's a line I cannot cross."
This was Qian Renxue's inner conflict.
She craved power, wanted to realize her ambitions, and longed to keep pace with Lu Jingming to see a vaster world—but blood-ties and the remnant of filial feeling would not allow her to bear killing her own mother.
Lu Jingming smiled gently at her rare vulnerability, a reassuring power in it.
He walked to her side, voice even and clear:
"I understand. I've never planned to kill her."
He paused, then analyzed:
"Bibi Dong is indeed mad—her mind twisted by hatred and Rakshasa power—but not irretrievably."
His gaze seemed to pierce hearts.
"She isn't without bonds. Toward you—though she appears cold and even hateful—that comes from her inability to face her own humiliation and pain, not true absence of feeling. Otherwise, she wouldn't have given birth to you. As for Hu Liena—their master-disciple bond is one of the few lights in her dark heart."