Only a very small number of beings were qualified to know the connection between the land beneath their feet and the stars above their heads.
When Zhu Ziyang first realized he was living on a giant sphere, he was incredibly shocked, incredibly conflicted, yet also felt it was perfectly reasonable, as if it should have always been that way.
Douluo Star—this was the name of the sphere where the Douluo Continent, as mentioned by the God of Death, was located. It was an ordinary yet not-so-ordinary planet under the star-filled sky known as the Dragon God Realm. The Douluo Continent was merely one of many continents on Douluo Star, albeit the most special one.
The God of Death told him that whether it was the Douluo Continent, the Martial Soul Continent, or the other five continents on Douluo Star, they were all originally parts of a single continent, which they called the Continent of Gods. During the great calamity of the God Realm, the War of Gods caused the Continent of Gods to split into seven continents, leading to the current configuration of land and sea on Douluo Star.
The God of Death also told him that Douluo Star was once the main star of the Dragon God Realm, a truly divine star.
Generally speaking, the existence of any planet cannot be isolated, which is why the starry sky became the main unit composing the universe. And under one starry sky, there are often hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of planets, so planets are the basic units that constitute the universe and the main carriers of cosmic life.
Therefore, the structure of the universe is very simple: countless planets form a starry sky, and countless starry skies form the universe. It's that simple.
But is that truly the case?
The God of Death stated directly that it was impossible; this was only a possibility in an ideal state. The true universe is actually a void. Within this void exist countless faint lights—these are the starry skies. Beyond these countless lights is an endless black, which is called the Abyss.
Thus, the true universe is actually like a painting. The canvas is gray, representing the void. The main color on the canvas is black, representing the Abyss. The paintings on the canvas are scattered, not-so-bright, yet indispensable points of light, representing the starry skies.
This blunt description greatly impacted Zhu Ziyang's worldview, but the God of Death stated that this was something he must accept to bear the God King Position.
The Dragon God Realm, where Douluo Star is located, is an unremarkable one among countless starry skies. The highest level of life there is only the God King level. Such starry skies are innumerable in the universe, like grains of sand in a desert—small and numerous. And beings at the God King level can merely step into the void; freely roaming the universe is practically impossible.
The God of Death once told Zhu Zi Yang with a smile that he was both lucky and unlucky.
He was lucky because he was born on Douluo Star; as long as he successfully inherited the God of Death God Position, he would possess God King-level strength, receiving his reward without needing arduous cultivation.
He was unlucky because he was born on Douluo Star. The Douluo God Realm's cultivation system had a significant flaw: God Positions could rapidly elevate a God's strength to a certain realm, but this was actually a cultivation system long since eliminated in the greater universe. True Gods should experience an ascension in life level, not merely an accumulation of cultivation levels.
For the Gods of the Douluo God Realm, the God Position was both a crown and a shackles. It restricted their ascension to higher life levels. Therefore, the God of Death warned Zhu Ziyang, hoping he would not over-rely on the power of the God Position. If possible, before his own life level cultivated to the God King level, it would be best not to use the power of the God Position. Only then could he avoid being bound by the God Position.
"The God Position guarantees your lower limit, but the upper limit of a true God should not stop there," the God of Death said.
In the Dragon God Realm, the only God with the most hope of breaking through the God King level and entering a realm beyond was the Dragon God. However, the Dragon God was not a native of the Douluo Starry Sky. He came from the void and happened to witness the birth of the Douluo God Star. That was at the beginning of the second epoch after the Douluo Starry Sky was formed. The accumulation of one epoch allowed the Douluo Starry Sky's laws to successfully nurture a God Star. The Dragon God's arrival happened to coincide with the birth of the God Star.
Thus, the God King-level Dragon God and the newborn God Star reached an agreement. The Dragon God was responsible for teaching the young native Gods on the God Star, while the God Star provided a God Realm for him to contemplate the path beyond the God King level. In this way, the Douluo Starry Sky henceforth became the Dragon God Realm.
After the Dragon God and the God Star reached their agreement, he very responsibly taught the eight native Gods, like an old father, even though the Dragon God himself was only just an adult at the time. The eight young native Gods also relied heavily on the Dragon God and listened attentively to his teachings.
Just like that, about fifty thousand years passed. The eight native Gods of Douluo Star all came of age. Under the witness of the Dragon God and the God Star, they each married, establishing the foundation and origin of the Douluo God Realm. They were known as the Eight Kings of the God Realm!
The origin of the Eight Kings of the God Realm is actually very simple.
Just like that, about fifty thousand years passed. The eight native Gods of Douluo Star all came of age. Under the witness of the Dragon God and the God Star, they each married, establishing the foundation and origin of the Douluo God Realm. They were known as the Eight Kings of the God Realm!
The origin of the Eight Kings of the God Realm is actually very simple.
At the beginning of the Douluo Starry Sky's creation, Douluo Star was born at the center of the starry sky. Above Douluo Star, a spring eye appeared, from which two diametrically opposed origins continuously gushed forth. They quickly formed a Taiji symbol around the spring eye, equally dividing Douluo Star and the Douluo Starry Sky into two halves. Finally, the original spring eye also split into two, moving up and down to become the two "fish eyes" of the Taiji.
The Taiji, symbolizing the ultimate truth of the universe, appeared on Douluo Star. The Yang pole was golden, and the Yin pole was purple. The creation and destruction of all things flowed between them. The fish eye of the Yang pole was white, and the fish eye of the Yin pole was green. A simple, unadorned seed appeared at the position of the original eye, sprouting two identical tender shoots: one upward, immersed in the white eye of the Yang pole, and one downward, immersed in the green eye of the Yin pole.
Two ancient trees grew from the two "fish eyes." Their roots were connected, but their branches and leaves were vastly different. The upper one was gray-white, with no flowers or leaves on its branches, and an aura of decay flowed upon it, ushering in the end of time. The lower one was verdant green, with lush and vibrant branches and leaves, and vitality surged upon it, stimulating the rush of time.
From that original spring eye, four unknowable, invisible, unspeakable, and indescribable beings emerged. They were very mysterious; the only thing that could be perceived was their aura: pure and immaculate pink, ink-like black, brilliantly colorful, and cold, hard red. They awakened from the green ancient tree, they frolicked in the golden spring water, they played in the purple spring water, and they rested on the white ancient tree. Between them, good, evil, emotion, and reason circulated.
After endless years, they welcomed their teacher, the Dragon God.
Under the Dragon God's guidance, they quickly mastered their instincts and learned to control their immense power. Eventually, Pink and Black were the first to emerge from the Land of Primordial Beginning, becoming the God Kings who governed the good and evil of living beings: the First Generation God of Goodness and the First Generation God of Evil. Colorful and Red followed closely, becoming the God Kings who oversaw the order of living beings: the First Generation God of Emotion and the First Generation God of Reason, or rather, the First Generation Rakshasa God and the First Generation Asura God. The white ancient tree and the green ancient tree, the golden spring water and the purple spring water, simultaneously emerged from the Land of Primordial Beginning, becoming the four God Kings who commanded the life, death, creation, and destruction of heaven and earth: the First Generation God of Death and God of Life, the First Generation God of Creation and God of Destruction.
Life, death, creation, and destruction are the foundation of the World's existence; good, evil, emotion, and reason are the origin of the World's operation.
After the birth of the Eight Kings of the God Realm, the Douluo God Realm and the Douluo Starry Sky began to develop and expand rapidly. The immense power of the Nine God Kings wantonly spread the divine radiance throughout the starry sky. One by one, native planets swiftly submitted to the leadership of the God Realm, and one by one, newly born Gods greatly enriched the strength of the God Realm. At the same time, various unfamiliar races also surprised the Dragon God's heart.
Soon, the Dragon God's descendants appeared in the Douluo Starry Sky. The Dragon God displayed the Dragon's promiscuity and universal love to the Eight God Kings. He left behind romantic debts with almost every race in the Douluo Starry Sky. However, a God he could truly treat with sincerity never appeared.
At this point, the God of Death couldn't help but complain about the Dragon God's scoundrel behavior. When he descended to the lower realms to harm young females of other races, he would usually change his form. His two most common forms, the Golden Dragon and the Silver Dragon, were precisely the origin of the Golden Bloodline and Silver Bloodline on the Douluo Continent.
Of course, there were also times when the Dragon God's true form descended to the lower realms. In such cases, the descendants he left behind would often inherit more of the Dragon God's bloodline and power, thus possessing better talent and more outstanding strength. Therefore, the descendants left by the Dragon God's true form were given a common title: the Dragon God's Sons.
The exact number of the Dragon God's Sons cannot be determined, but many of them are famous, such as his descendant with the Golden Lion—Suanni, or his descendant with the Heavenly Wolf—Yazi, and also his descendant with the Heavenly Tiger—Bi'an.
Ahem, I've strayed too far.
When the Douluo God Realm reached its peak, it possessed nearly twenty God Kings and governed over three hundred and sixty planets. Before the great calamity of the God Realm, the Gods of the God Realm were all preparing to cross the void and embark on an expedition to the Abyss, attempting to establish contact between the Dragon God Realm and other starry skies.
However, the great calamity of the God Realm caused all of this to become a fleeting dream. The Dragon God sacrificed his God Position, transforming into the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King. Among the Eight Kings of the God Realm, the God of Death and the God of Creation perished, and the God of Emotion's God Position was damaged, while the other five Kings were also severely wounded. The Douluo Dragon race, created by the Dragon God, was also destroyed in one fell swoop. The Nine Dragon Kings and the Dragon God's Sons all fell, and most of the Gods of the God Realm perished. The millions of years of glory of the Douluo God Realm were destroyed in an instant. Douluo Star was even directly cut off from the God Realm, barely preserving itself and the God Realm. But because of this, Douluo Star fell to the level of an ordinary spiritual star, and the God Realm also devolved from ruling the starry sky to merely occupying a small area, becoming a rootless tree.
In short, all beginnings and endings originated from that great calamity of the God Realm hundreds of thousands of years ago. Speaking of which, the Spirit system on Douluo Star also appeared at that time. Countless divine blood was spilled across the entire continent, benefiting humanity, who then gained the bloodlines and abilities of the Gods, thus possessing Spirits.
"Thinking about it now, it's truly a pity," the God of Death said.