Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

……

"What? You got bitten?" The Ice Dragon King's voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.

Xuanming snapped out of his daze and looked at her with a hint of helplessness: "Sister Bing, what exactly did you say to her?"

"It's nothing." The Ice Dragon King shrugged, looking completely innocent. "I just analyzed your personality with her and gave her some encouragement."

"Encouragement?" Xuanming's lips twitched. "You call this encouragement?"

"Otherwise what?" The Ice Dragon King walked to his side and said with amusement, "Do you really think that Qian Renxue came to you because she really wanted an answer from you?"

"She says she wants you to give her an answer, but in reality, no matter what answer you give, she won't listen at all."

"That girl is one of the most stubborn people I've ever met. She only believes what she wants to believe and only does what she thinks is right."

The Ice Dragon King stared intently in the direction where Qian Renxue had disappeared, his gaze becoming somewhat profound.

"She came here not to get a result, but to find peace of mind."

"It's true that she can't bear to part with you. But she's also proud and doesn't want to cling on relentlessly. So, she needs a reason, a reason that will allow her to keep going."

"This reason is your attitude."

"As long as you can't bear to part with her, as long as you try to persuade her to stay, even just saying you don't want her to leave is enough for her. That gives her the confidence to keep going."

The Ice Dragon King turned to look at Xuanming and pointed out incisively, "Unless one day you can tell her face to face, clearly and explicitly, that you don't want to see her again and tell her to get lost, she will never truly leave."

Xuanming fell silent. He knew he could never say those words.

The Ice Dragon King sighed softly and continued, "To Qian Renxue, you are different from others. You are the friend who accompanied her through the longest and loneliest years, and also the person with the deepest emotional entanglement with her."

"From childhood to adulthood, from the Heaven Dou Imperial City to the Martial Soul Empire, you have schemed against each other, been wary of each other, supported each other, and tormented each other. But it is precisely because of this that neither of you can let go of the other."

“In the end,” the Ice Dragon King shook his head, his tone tinged with helplessness and a hint of indulgence, “you two are just two equally love-starved and equally awkward children. Expecting any normal emotional development between you is wishful thinking.”

Xuanming listened to the Ice Dragon King's words, his heart filled with mixed emotions, and in the end he could only let out a bitter laugh.

Maybe she is right.

Just then, the Ice Dragon King changed the subject, reminding him, "Alright, the matter in the God Realm is temporarily settled. However... the matter in the Mortal Realm doesn't seem to be completely resolved yet, does it?"

"Hmm?" Xuanming was somewhat puzzled.

The Ice Dragon King looked at him, a meaningful glint flashing in his icy blue eyes.

"Aren't you planning to... go back to Douluo Continent for a visit?"

"For example... Tang Yuehua from Yuexuan?"

"Since you came to the God Realm and then expanded there, the flow of time has changed. In the mortal realm... far too many years have passed."

"Some people and some things are destined to have an ending."

After hearing the Ice Dragon King's words, Xuanming's heart was gently touched by something.

Tang Yuehua...

That gentle, water-like woman who taught him manners and tranquility.

Time in the divine realm is out of sync with that in the mortal realm. He experienced one earth-shattering transformation after another here, but how many years have passed in the mortal realm?
Yes, some people and some things are bound to have an ending.

“Let’s go.” Xuanming nodded to the Ice Dragon King. “Let’s go back and take a look.”

The Ice Dragon King smiled and didn't ask any further questions. She knew that this ending was one that Xuan Ming had to personally bring to a close.

Without alerting anyone, the two of them flashed and easily passed through the barrier between the God Realm and the Mortal Realm, silently descending upon the Douluo Continent once again.

……

The moment Xuanming set foot on this long-lost land, he clearly sensed the difference in the world.

The free-floating energy of heaven and earth in the air was many times more concentrated than when he left.

The elemental forces that were previously only perceptible through meditation are now almost actively penetrating into the body.

The sky seemed higher and bluer, and the earth seemed more substantial and full of life.

He could foresee that, under such an environment, the cultivation speed of both human soul masters and soul beasts on Douluo Star would experience an explosive increase.

Perhaps in a few hundred years, the once extremely rare Title Douluo, or the terrifying 100,000-year-old soul beasts, will no longer be such rare occurrences.

This is a brand new era, an even more glorious era ushered in by him and Gu Yuena.

Xuanming didn't linger in the wilderness. His divine sense instantly locked onto the location of Tiandou City, and the next moment, he and the Ice Dragon King appeared directly above that familiar yet unfamiliar city. Tiandou City was no longer the capital of the Tiandou Empire.

Both empires ceased to exist long after that earth-shattering "divine punishment."

The complete collapse of the army shattered any remaining hopes for war.

In the long years that followed, the Martial Soul Empire, under the leadership of Qian Renxue, unified the entire continent in a relatively peaceful manner.

Tiandou City was able to peacefully integrate into this new empire without experiencing any major upheavals.

Xuanming's gaze finally settled on an elegant courtyard in the city.

Yuexuan.

Even as empires changed and imperial power shifted, this place remained the same school that taught etiquette and music.

Perhaps, for many reasons, the former nobles, whose glory days are over, used this place as a gathering place to huddle together for warmth and reminisce about the past in order to maintain their last shred of dignity.

Xuanming's figure silently passed through the pavilions and towers of Yuexuan, and finally arrived outside the familiar room where he had spent a long time.

He didn't knock; just like many years ago, he gently pushed the door open and went inside.

Inside the room, incense wafted gently, and the sound of a zither filled the air.

Tang Yuehua sat upright behind the guqin, her eyes gently closed, her ten fingers gracefully plucking the strings.

More than a decade has inevitably left its mark on her face.

She was ultimately just an ordinary person without soul power, and no matter how well she took care of herself, she could not resist the erosion of time.

Moreover, over the years, the empire has collapsed and the world has changed dramatically. One major event after another has kept her constantly worried.

Over the years, she has become noticeably more haggard. Fine lines have appeared at the corners of her eyes, and a few strands of silver can now be faintly seen in her once jet-black and lustrous hair.

Xuanming stood there quietly, without saying a word, just silently watching her and listening to her play.

The music conveyed a sense of nostalgia, melancholy, and a lingering, deep longing.

The song ended, and the lingering sound lingered.

Tang Yuehua slowly opened her eyes and let out a long sigh. She habitually raised her head and looked out the window, but her gaze froze completely the next second.

A familiar figure stood by the window.

Her long silver hair and icy blue eyes are just like they were back then.

Tang Yuehua's lips trembled slightly, and tears welled up in her eyes without warning.

She even wondered if she was hallucinating because of excessive longing.

She didn't even dare to make a sound or blink, for fear that this fragile dream would shatter.

So many years have passed, more than a decade.

Xuanming vanished as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth, leaving no trace. She had imagined their reunion countless times, yet on countless nights, she had also despairingly believed that they might never see each other again.

Just as she was standing there, tears streaming down her face, at a loss for what to do, that figure moved.

Xuanming slowly walked forward and stopped in front of her. He didn't say anything, but simply opened his arms and gently embraced the woman who had cared for him for more than ten years.

A warm and firm embrace, a familiar and reassuring scent...

All of this felt so real.

Tang Yuehua could no longer hold back. She buried her face in his shoulder and burst into tears, turning all the longing, worry, and grievances of the past ten years into hot tears.

Xuanming didn't say anything, but gently patted her back, letting her vent.

A long time, a long time.

As Tang Yuehua's crying gradually subsided, she sobbed and raised her tear-streaked face.

Xuanming lowered his head and gently wiped away the tears on her face with his fingers, his voice soft yet firm.

"I am back."

"Just as I said before."

"I have taken care of everything." (End of Chapter)