The Divine Realm was an existence of ethereal beauty, a realm painted with hues that mortal eyes could never conceive. Clouds of pure Immortal Qi drifted lazily through an eternally twilight sky, nourishing the divine gardens and palaces that floated like islands in a celestial sea.
For Huo Yuhao, the God of Emotions, this should have been paradise. He had ascended, achieved godhood, and was with the woman he loved.
Yet, a persistent, gnawing sadness coiled in the pit of his soul, a sorrow as profound and chilling as the Ultimate Ice he once wielded.
He sat on a balcony overlooking his own divine residence, a palace of shimmering, emotionally resonant crystal that shifted colors with his moods.
Today, it was a somber, deep indigo. His gaze was distant, lost in the swirling nebula below.
Beside him, a woman of unparalleled beauty leaned against his shoulder, her long, pinkish-blue hair cascading over his arm.
This was Tang Wutong, his wife, a Second-Class God and the daughter of the mighty Sea God, Tang San.
"What's wrong, Yuhao?" Her voice was like the chiming of celestial bells, soft and concerned. "You've been so quiet since you returned."
He forced a smile, a hollow thing that didn't reach his eyes. "Just thinking."
She playfully poked his cheek, but her fingers stopped a hair's breadth from his skin, repelled by an invisible, unyielding force. A flicker of frustration crossed her face before she masked it.
The Chastity Seal. A "gift" from her father, the Sea God.
Tang San had explained it with a benevolent, fatherly smile. It was a test, a trial to ensure Huo Yuhao was truly worthy, that his love was pure and not born of fleeting desire.
Tang San had decreed that until he fully recognized Huo Yuhao as his son-in-law, no physical intimacy was permitted. Not a kiss, not a hug, not even the simple comfort of holding her hand.
Everyone else could touch her. Her father could pat her head, her mother could embrace her, even her 'Uncle Purple', the God of Destruction, could ruffle her hair. But he, her husband, was barred as if he were a leper. For the longest time, Huo Yuhao had accepted it.
'A father's love for his daughter is boundless. It is only natural for him to be protective.'
He had repeated this mantra to himself a thousand times, swallowing the bitterness, the loneliness, the feeling of being an outsider in his own marriage.
But lately, that acceptance had begun to fray. The 'strangeness' he felt wasn't just the seal. It was Wutong herself.
He loved her, of that he was certain. But his love was a fractured, confusing thing. His heart held the memories of two others who were, and yet were not, her.
There was Wang Dong, his bright and vivacious companion at Shrek Academy, the girl who had disguised herself as a boy and stolen his heart.
And then there was Wang Qiu'er, the proud, fierce empress of the Star Dou Great Forest, a woman with the same flawless face as Dong'er but with a spirit of untamed gold. He had loved them both, and their memories were sharp, distinct, and painfully real.
Tang Wutong was supposed to be their fusion, the complete soul. But she felt… diluted. The mischievous spark of Dong'er was there, but softer. The fierce pride of Qiu'er was present, but tempered.
It was as if he was looking at a beautiful, perfect painting of two people he adored, but the painting lacked the raw, chaotic, and vibrant life of the originals.
Something was missing.
Something had been lost in the process.
"Were you at the Divine Realm Committee meeting again?" he asked, changing the subject.
Wutong sighed, a puff of air that smelled of divine orchids. "No, you know we aren't allowed. We're not God-Kings. But Father told me about it. It was another fierce one."
'Of course, it was,' Huo Yuhao thought dryly.
"Uncle Purple is still adamant," Wutong continued, her tone laced with worry. "He insists on using the Divine Realm's central reserves of Immortal Qi to expand the realm's territory. He says it's stagnating, that we need to seek out new worlds and create new opportunities for ascension."
"And your father?" Huo Yuhao asked, already knowing the answer.
"Father says his premonitions are growing stronger. He feels a great catastrophe is looming over the Divine Realm. He believes we must conserve every last wisp of Immortal Qi to weather the coming storm. He says Uncle Purple is being reckless and shortsighted." She looked at him, her beautiful eyes pleading for validation. "Father is right, isn't he? We have to be careful."
Huo Yuhao nodded mechanically. "Your father is wise."
Inside, he was ambivalent. The God of Destruction's plan wasn't without merit. A stagnant pool eventually turns foul. Expansion meant growth, dynamism, new life. Tang San's premonition was… debatable.
A feeling, a sense, with no concrete evidence.
It was a perfect excuse to consolidate power and keep the realm's most precious resource under his direct control.
But it didn't matter what Huo Yuhao thought.
He was Tang San's son-in-law. His wife was Tang Wutong. His faction was chosen for him the moment he fell in love. It was a natural choice, a path of least resistance. Or so he had told himself.
"I'm glad you understand, Yuhao." Wutong smiled, relieved. "Sometimes I worry… Uncle Purple and Aunt Green were always so kind to me when I was little. It's hard seeing him and Father at odds like this."
He patted her arm, the Chastity Seal stopping his hand just shy of contact, an eternal, frustrating gap. "Don't worry. They are the two most powerful God-Kings. They won't come to blows. They'll resolve it."
After a while longer, Wutong, sensing his continued melancholy, left him to his thoughts, returning to her own chambers within the palace.
The moment she was gone, the forced smile on Huo Yuhao's face crumbled, replaced by a mask of profound exhaustion and sorrow. The indigo of the palace deepened, swirling with shades of grey.
'This isn't right. Nothing about this feels right.'
He stood up and walked back into the heart of his residence, into a private chamber shielded by his own divine power.
It was a simple, unadorned room. In the center, a single object floated in the air: a vertical, Eye of Destiny.
It was fashioned from a light that seemed to contain all the colors of creation, and it pulsed with a gentle, rhythmic beat, like a celestial heart.
This was his Divine Tool, the Eye of Destiny. It was an artifact born from the power of destiny that merged with that of Qiu'er when she was a Three-Eyed Golden Lion and also his Eye of Life, nurtured by his journey and solidified upon his ascension.
'If I cannot find the truth in the present,' he thought, his jaw tightening with resolve, 'then I will find it in the past.'
He had never attempted such a thing before. Gazing into the river of time was a perilous act, even for a God.
But the strangeness, the heartache, the feeling of being a puppet in a play he didn't understand… it was too much to bear. He needed answers.
Why did Qiu'er have to die? Why did his beloved teacher, Electrolux, have to sacrifice himself? Why did his reunion with Dong'er feel so… incomplete?
Placing his hands on either side of the floating eye, he closed his own.
His divine consciousness, the immense spiritual power of the God of Emotions, poured into the artifact.
He didn't focus on his own past, but on the threads of fate that surrounded him, the ones that had guided him, shaped him, and ultimately brought him here.
He focused on the Douluo Planet, seeking the genesis of his journey, the moment the gears of destiny began to turn around a new, unsuspecting star.
The Eye of Destiny flared with brilliant light, and the chamber dissolved. Huo Yuhao's consciousness was flung backward, not through his own memories, but through the cold, objective lens of fate itself.
He saw the Douluo Planet, a vibrant sphere of life. He felt the plane's consciousness, a vast and ancient will, stirring.
It had sensed the birth of a new 'Star of Destiny,' a child destined for greatness, one who would shape the era.
But the vision was hazy, indistinct. The plane itself shielded its chosen child.
Then, his perspective shifted. He was looking down from the Divine Realm, through the eyes of another. He saw a man with long, sea-blue hair, his handsome face filled with a calculating light. It was Tang San. The Sea God had also sensed the new star, but his vision was equally cloudy. He couldn't pinpoint the child, only that a great destiny was unfolding.
'So, he didn't know it was me from the start,' Huo Yuhao realized with a jolt. 'My early encounters… they were truly my own.'
The meeting with Brother Skydream, the fusion with the Ice Empress, his discovery by his teacher, Elder Yi… these were his own fortuitous encounters, his own luck, his own destiny. A small part of him felt a wave of relief. But it was short-lived.
The vision shifted again. He was now seeing through a new lens, one filled with youthful curiosity and a nascent affection.
He was looking out from within the soul of Wang Dong at Shrek Academy. He was seeing himself. And he felt the chilling presence of another consciousness lurking behind Dong'er's, a divine sense that was watching, observing, analyzing.
It was Tang San. He had placed a part of himself within his daughter to guide her, protect her, and… to observe.
He couldn't pierce the veil of the Douluo Planet's protection directly, but he could use his daughter as a proxy. He had found his Star of Destiny.
And the scheming began.
The Eye of Destiny showed him Tang San's thoughts, not as assumptions, but as recorded echoes in the river of time. He saw the Sea God's satisfaction upon realizing Huo Yuhao's potential.
'This boy… his destiny is immense. He could be the key. The key to revitalizing my Tang Sect on the continent.'
He saw Tang San subtly influencing events, nudging things along, not with overt power, but with whispers of fate. But the true horror began when the vision showed him the Star Dou Great Forest.
He saw the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, the beautiful and proud creature of destiny, the true inheritor of the Golden Dragon's power. And he witnessed an act of divine violation.
He watched as Tang San, with cold, meticulous precision, took a sliver of his daughter's divine soul—the part that would become Tang Wutong—and fused it into the soul of the newborn beast.
'He didn't just want a son-in-law,' Huo Yuhao's divine soul trembled with rage. 'He wanted the Golden Dragon bloodline for his own lineage! He stole the fate of the Soul Beasts, grafted his own daughter onto their destiny, just to possess that power!'
The appearance of Wang Qiu'er, identical to Wang Dong'er but more mature, her powerful Golden Dragon martial soul… it wasn't a coincidence. It was a meticulously crafted plan.
Qiu'er was never truly her own person; she was a vessel, an incubator for his daughter's divine sense and a tool to acquire a legendary bloodline.
The visions flooded him, one after another, each more damning than the last. He saw his own trials, his moments of deepest despair, reframed as cold-blooded training.
He was in the Yin-Yang Love Querying Valley, a test supposedly set by the heavens. He felt the agony, the despair, the hundreds of times he was 'killed' by the illusions, the psychological torment that nearly broke him.
And he heard Tang San's voice, a ghostly echo speaking to himself in the Divine Realm.
'Without wind and rain, how can one see the rainbow? He must be tempered. He must be broken and reforged. This new Star of Destiny must be completely loyal, a tool worthy of my daughter.'
It wasn't a trial from the heavens; it was a torture chamber designed by his future father-in-law to train him like a dog.
He saw his quest for revenge against the Duke's Mansion and Dai Hao, his biological father.
He saw how events were manipulated, how his righteous anger was slowly eroded, replaced by a forced understanding and reconciliation. He was guided to not only forgive Dai Hao but to accept his lineage, to become Dai Yuhao.
Why?
The vision showed him Tang San in the Divine Realm, standing beside a burly man with wicked eyes. Dai Mubai, the original Evil-Eyed White Tiger, Tang San's brother-in-arms.
'By making the boy accept his heritage,' Tang San's echo explained, 'we bind him closer to us, to our family, to my good brother Mubai's line.'
It was another chain, another layer of control.
Then came the sharpest pain, a betrayal so deep it felt like a physical wound even to his divine soul. He saw his teacher, the venerable Electrolux, the Holy Necromancer, Elder Yi. The one person who was entirely outside of Tang San's grand plan. A variable. A threat.
The vision took him to the Clear Sky Sect. He saw Tang San, long before Huo Yuhao's arrival, using his divine power to subtly place the Manifold Frigid Jade Essence Bed in the sect's treasury, knowing that one day, Huo Yuhao would be led there.
He knew about the Snow Empress sleeping in Huo Yuhao's soul.
He knew the bed's extreme Yin energy would cause her soul origin to go berserk, threatening to kill them all from the inside out. And he knew there was only one being present who had the power and the will to stop it: Elder Yi.
He witnessed the scene again, not through his tear-filled eyes, but through the cold eyes of fate. He saw Elder Yi, without hesitation, ignite his divine spark, sacrificing himself to save his student.
And he heard Tang San's righteous, benevolent voice echoing from the Divine Realm.
'It is a noble sacrifice. This way, the boy loses a potentially troublesome influence and learns another painful lesson about loss, strengthening his emotional core.'
Huo Yuhao's divine form convulsed. He wanted to scream, but no sound came out. 'He… he murdered my teacher! He orchestrated the death of the man who guided me, who believed in me, all to remove a piece that didn't fit his board!'
But the final straw, the revelation that shattered the last vestiges of his love and respect for the Sea God, was the truth behind the sacrifice of Dong'er and Qiu'er.
He saw himself on that desperate day, holding the fading soul of Wang Dong'er. He saw Wang Qiu'er arrive, her golden eyes filled with love and resolution. He had always believed her sacrifice was her choice, a tragic and beautiful act of love.
The Eye of Destiny showed him the truth.
Tang San, from the Divine Realm, used the divine sense he had planted in Qiu'er to ensure that once she is sacrificed…she would merge back to Wang Dong'er to create Tang Wutong.
It wasn't just her choice; it was a choice heavily coerced by a god. And for what?
The vision showed him the aftermath. Tang San retrieved the incomplete soul of Wang Dong'er. He then took the now-ownerless body of Wang Qiu'er, a body that housed the true Golden Dragon bloodline and the destiny of the Soul Beast Empress.
And he performed a divine fusion, merging the two. He revived his daughter, not just as she was, but as an upgraded version, a new being named Tang Wutong, now possessing a fused Martial Soul that contained the power of the Golden Dragon Martial Soul he had coveted all along.
Qiu'er's entire existence, her love, her sacrifice, was nothing more than a stepping stone for Tang Wutong's perfection. Dong'er's temporary death was a necessary step in the procedure.
'He… killed them both… for this.'
Something inside Huo Yuhao did not just snap.
It vaporized.
The indigo and grey of his palace instantly turned pitch black, shot through with veins of violent, blood-red light. The sorrow that had coiled in his gut was burned away by an inferno of pure, unadulterated rage.
The connection to the Eye of Destiny severed, and he fell to his knees in the center of his chamber, his body shaking uncontrollably.
"THAT BASTARD!"
The roar was not of sound but of pure spiritual force, a blast of emotional energy that shook his divine residence to its foundations. Instantly, seven figures of light materialized around him, their forms shimmering with alarm and fury.
"Yuhao! What's wrong?!" a panicked voice cried out. It was Brother Skydream, his first and most loyal companion.
"This killing intent… It's immense!" the Ice Empress hissed, her beautiful face a mask of cold fury.
Soundlessly…He showed all his spirits those visions.
The Snow Empress, her form radiating an absolute zero coldness that mirrored Huo Yuhao's heart, stared at him. "He…" she stated, her voice trembling with suppressed rage. "He…used me to kill Elder Yi."
"And even Qiu'er!" a new voice shrieked, a spectral mermaid princess shimmering with tears of rage.
"That manipulative god! He played us all, and especially you, like fiddles on a string!" the Star Anise Mysterious Ice Grass raged.
The six-eyed Evileye Tyrant Emperor, however, was silent for a moment, its massive central eye glowing with a terrifying, analytical light. "He didn't just play us. He stole from us. He stole our destiny, our comrades, our lives… all for his own selfish gain. He stole Qiu'er, the hope of the Soul Beasts, and killed Elder Yi, our benefactor."
Huo Yuhao looked up, his eyes no longer the eyes of the God of Emotions. They were twin voids, swirling with a storm of hatred that threatened to consume reality itself. "He made me his dog," he whispered, his voice dangerously calm.
"He trained me, tortured me, broke me, and remade me into what he wanted. He murdered my teacher. He murdered the woman I loved to empower the other woman I loved, creating this… this stranger I now call my wife. He stole the destiny of the Soul Beasts for his grandchildren."
The spirits raged, suggesting vengeance, suggesting exposing Tang San to the Divine Realm. But they all knew it was futile.
Tang San was a God-King, the head of the Divine Realm Committee, a pseudo Asura God. His power was absolute, his reputation impeccable.
Who would believe the words of a new, First-Class God against him?
It was the Evileye Tyrant Emperor who spoke, its voice low and guttural with ancient power. "Direct revenge is impossible. He is too powerful. His influence is too deep. But you… you possess a unique tool. The Eye of Destiny."
All eyes, spectral and real, turned to the floating artifact.
"Destiny is an elusive concept," the Tyrant continued, its voice resonating with forbidden knowledge. "It flows like a river, but it also has eddies and currents that can defy the normal laws of time. You are the God of Emotions. Your spiritual power is your greatest weapon. If you were to use your entire divine cultivation, all the power of a First-Class God, and channel it through the Eye of Destiny… and if you were to draw upon the immense reserves of Immortal Qi that the God of Destruction wishes to use for expansion…"
A horrifying, brilliant, and insane idea began to form in the minds of all present.
"You could potentially create a paradox," the Evileye Tyrant finished. "You could connect your divine consciousness to the power of destiny itself and send it back along the river of time. Back to your childhood on the Douluo Continent. Back to before the leash was ever fastened around your neck."
The chamber fell silent. The idea was beyond audacious. It was a rebellion against the very laws of reality.
Huo Yuhao stared at the Eye of Destiny. The rage in his heart was so vast, so all-consuming, that this insane plan sounded like the only sane option left. He could go back. He could save them. He could save Qiu'er. He could save Elder Yi. He could live a life that was truly his own.
But then, a devastating thought struck him. He looked at the seven shimmering forms of his companions, his family.
"If I do that… if my consciousness goes back and rewrites the past… this present will cease to exist. This reality will be erased by the new timeline." He looked at them, his heart aching with a new kind of pain. "You… all of you… you would be destroyed by the flow of time. You would cease to be."
Skydream Iceworm trembled but floated forward. "But… but you could find us again, Yuhao! You know where we are! We could be together again! It would be us!"
"He's right," the Ice Empress said, her voice firm. "A life lived in this gilded cage, as the pet of a deceitful god, is no life at all. Your heartache over Qiu'er and Elder Yi has been a shadow over us all. If this can quench that fire, we are willing."
"We are your comrades," the Snow Empress stated simply. "Our fate is tied to yours. We will not have you suffer this lie."
They all voiced their agreement, their willingness to sacrifice themselves for his chance at a true life. Their loyalty was a balm on his burning soul, but it also filled him with an unbearable sorrow.
Huo Yuhao shook his head slowly, a single, crystalline tear tracing a path down his cheek. 'No. I can't.'
He couldn't do it. He couldn't live with himself knowing he had erased them. The Skydream who had been with him from the absolute beginning, the proud Empresses who had become his mentors and friends, all of them.
Their deaths would become a new heartache, one that would never be fulfilled, a wound that would fester for eternity.
To save two loved ones by erasing seven others? It was a price he was unwilling to pay. He would not become a monster to fight a monster.
And then, a new plan began to form in the depths of his mind. A plan born of sacrifice, love, and the ultimate act of vengeance. A plan that would give his past self a chance, without erasing those who stood beside him now.
He wouldn't tell them. He couldn't. They would never agree.
He looked at them, a genuine, though tragic, smile gracing his lips for the first time in what felt like an eternity. "You are right. It is the only way." He projected an aura of grim acceptance, of embarking on the path the Evileye Tyrant had suggested.
Inside, his mind was racing, solidifying the details of his true plan. 'I will not send my consciousness back. I will not overwrite my younger self, I will not commit the sin of erasing his existence and experiences to impose my own. He deserves to live his own life, to forge his own path.'
'Instead… I will sacrifice everything. My cultivation, my divine soul, my very existence in this timeline.'
His plan was this: He would use the same method, channeling all his power and the Divine Realm's Immortal Qi into the Eye of Destiny
But he wouldn't send his consciousness. He would send the Eye of Destiny itself, as a divine artifact, back to his six-year-old self, at the moment he awakened his Spirit Eyes.
And within that eye, he would imprint everything. He would pour all his knowledge, all his pain, all his love, into the form of a book. A book of fate.
It would contain everything: cultivation methods, but also methods to help his spirits, the blueprints for Soul Tools up to Grade 12, the long-lost knowledge of how to create Soul Spirits and the binding contracts, detailed information on every fortuitous encounter, the locations of every rare herb and metal, including the precise path through the poison array of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
It would hold profiles on every major player, their strengths, their weaknesses, their progression. It would detail the schemes of the Holy Spirit Cult, the ambitions of the Sun Moon Empire, the inner workings of Shrek Academy.
Most importantly, it would contain the unvarnished truth about Tang San. Every scheme, every manipulation, every lie. It would be a guide, a warning, and an arsenal. It would give his younger self the tools to not only survive but to thrive.
To save Wang Dong'er from being a pawn, to give the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, Qiu'er, a chance at her own life, to warn Elder Yi before he ever set foot in the Clear Sky Sect.
It would be a request, a plea from a future self to his past, to cherish their comrades, to forge unbreakable bonds with Brother Skydream, the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, and all the others.
To ensure his younger self understood, he would splinter off a final, tiny wisp of his divine sense. It would carry no memories, no personality, only a single purpose: to appear before the six-year-old Huo Yuhao, explain how to access the book within the Eye of Destiny, and then dissipate, its energy feeding back into the artifact, completing the sacrifice.
He would not be taking over a body. He would be giving a gift. The ultimate gift, bought with his own life. His younger self would still have to learn, to train, to control his powers from scratch. He would have the knowledge, but not the experience. He would have to live his own life, make his own choices, and become his own man. A better man. A freer man.
"I must act now," Huo Yuhao announced, his voice ringing with false purpose. "Tang San is still occupied in the Divine Realm Committee Chamber, arguing with the God of Destruction. The Divine Realm Central, where the Immortal Qi is densest, will be less guarded."
He turned to his companions, his heart a maelstrom of love and sorrow. "Wait for me. I will find you all again."
It was the cruelest lie he had ever told.
Without another word, he dissolved into a stream of emotional energy and shot out of his palace. His power as a First-Class God allowed him to move like a ghost through the Divine Realm. He bypassed patrols and security arrays, his mind, filled with the knowledge of the realm's workings, guiding him flawlessly.
He soon arrived at the heart of it all: the Divine Realm Central. It was a swirling vortex of pure, liquid light, a sea of the most potent Immortal Qi. This was the source of the gods' power, the energy Tang San wanted to conserve and the God of Destruction wanted to use.
Huo Yuhao hovered before it, the Eye of Destiny materializing in front of him. This was it. There was no turning back.
'Brother Skydream, Ice Empress, Snow Empress… my friends. Live well in the new reality I am about to create. I hope he cherishes you as much as I have.'
'Elder Yi. Qiu'er. In this next life, live. Please, just live.'
'Tang San… I will not just kill you. I will tear down the grand stage you have built, brick by brick. My past self will be your undoing.'
He placed his hands on the Eye of Destiny. He pulled upon his divine core, unleashing the entirety of his cultivation as the God of Emotions.
The power surged, a tidal wave of spiritual and emotional energy. Then, with a silent roar that echoed in the very fabric of reality, he plunged the Eye of Destiny into the swirling vortex of Immortal Qi, opening a channel and siphoning the forbidden power.
The Divine Realm trembled.
Light, pure and impossibly bright, erupted from the chamber. The Eye of Destiny began to vibrate, its structure warping as it absorbed power far beyond its limits. It began to connect not with Huo Yuhao's consciousness, but with the elusive, omnipotent concept of destiny itself. It was locking onto a target.
A small, shivering boy, beaten and left for dead in a woodshed in the Duke of the White Tiger's mansion, hundreds of years in the past on this Douluo Planet.
The process had begun. And by the time anyone in the Divine Realm realized what was happening, it would already be far, far too late.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Blood Silver Emperor", "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon