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

……

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Xuanming quickly raised his hands in surrender, "Xue'er, can we not bring this up again? We can talk about this later, and I'll definitely make it up to you later, okay? Right now, we're talking about serious matters, about the future of the Douluo Federation!"

Qian Renxue took a few deep breaths, her chest heaving violently. She stared intently at Xuan Ming for a long while, then stomped her foot angrily and sat back down.

"Okay, let's get down to business."

"Let's talk about Douluo Star."

Although Qian Renxue was emotional, she remained very clear-headed when it came to serious matters.

"As everyone knows, four gods have the greatest influence on Douluo Star right now."

She held up a few slender fingers and listed them one by one, "First, naturally, is you, the 'Grim Reaper' who brought down divine punishment and destroyed millions of troops from two great empires overnight. Your reputation is built on blood; no one dares to disbelieve you, and no one dares to defy you."

"The second one is me, the Angel God. The Spirit Hall is founded on the faith in angels, a tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years and is deeply ingrained in people's hearts."

"The third one is my... mother, Bibi Dong, the Goddess of Asura. Although she has become a god now, her image in the mortal world is more that of the iron-blooded empress."

"The fourth one is Poseidon, the god of the sea."

At this point, Qian Renxue frowned slightly, "My mother didn't care about faith, but what about the Sea God?"

"Although Poseidon is low-key, the position of Seagod Island in the hearts of ocean soul masters is unshakable. Moreover, you want me to lead the Douluo Federation, how do we resolve the issue of faith?"

"Could it be that in the future Federation, people on land will believe in angels and gods, while people by the sea will believe in sea gods?"

"Isn't this a sign of division? Isn't this a potential threat to future wars?"

Qian Renxue's voice grew increasingly stern, "You once taught me that different beliefs will inevitably lead to war! This is an inherent part of human nature! If there are two equally powerful and independent belief systems within the Federation, even if we are currently suppressing them, after hundreds or thousands of years, the people below will definitely fight tooth and nail for legitimacy!"

"At that time, the so-called Douluo Federation will become a breeding ground for civil war!"

Xuanming listened and remained silent for a moment.

Qian Renxue's words make a lot of sense. Religious wars are often more brutal and protracted than wars over interests. If the issue of unifying beliefs cannot be resolved, the Douluo Federation will indeed find it difficult to maintain its existence for long.

"This problem is actually very easy to solve."

"How do you plan to resolve this? Are you going to kill Poseidon?" Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow. "While I wouldn't mind, are you willing to do it?"

Xuanming was speechless and didn't reply. "It's simple, just hang me at the highest point, isn't that enough?"

"You?" Qian Renxue was taken aback.

“That’s right.” Xuanming nodded. “Whether it’s the Sea God or the Angel God, in the end, they are all my underlings. I am the Supreme God King, the Lord of the God Realm, and the leader of all gods.”

"As long as everyone on earth realizes this—the angels are my messengers, and the sea god is my subordinate. They merely represent different facets of the Supreme God's will."

"Since everyone believes in the same source, does it really matter which branch you believe in?"

"Just like a country, there are generals in charge of the army and admirals in charge of the navy. The common people admire the generals, and the fishermen admire the admirals. This is not a conflict. Because everyone knows that these two generals are loyal to the same emperor."

"Once the absolute position of the Supreme God, which is myself, is established, and the Angel God and the Sea God are demoted to subordinate gods or guardian gods, the conflict of faith will naturally be resolved."

Qian Renxue nodded thoughtfully, but then raised a question: "But if we keep two factions, won't there still be competition between them?"

"Competition is good."

Xuanming said meaningfully, "If there were truly no more struggles, and everyone only had the same voice and the same thoughts, it would become a stagnant pool. What vitality would such a human society have?"

"Maintaining appropriate healthy competition within a unified framework is more conducive to the progress of civilization."

"The Church of Angels and the Church of Sea God can supervise each other and compete to see who contributes more to the Federation and who is better able to comprehend the will of the Supreme God. As long as this competition is kept within a certain range, it is not only harmless but also a good medicine."

"What we need to do is not to eliminate differences, but to manage them."

Xuanming walked up to Qian Renxue and took her hand.

"So, Xue'er, your task is very important."

"You not only need to manage your Angelic Cult well, but also learn how to coexist with the Sea God's faction, and even use their power to strengthen the Federation."

"This is the demeanor a true god-king should possess."

Looking at Xuan Ming so close to her, and feeling the awe-inspiring confidence and domineering aura emanating from him, Qian Renxue's little bit of resentment finally dissipated completely.

She had to admit that the man was really charming when he was seriously discussing business.

"understood."

Qian Renxue slapped his hand away and gave a haughty snort, "I don't need you to teach me how to do things. It's just balancing tricks, right? I have that kind of skill." "However..."

She changed the subject, a sly glint in her eyes, "Since you want to be the supreme god, you need a prestigious title, right? You can't expect the people below to just call you Xuanming, can you?"

"Name?"

Xuanming was taken aback. He really hadn't thought about this question.

In the mortal realm, he was known as the "God of Death." After becoming the God-King, he was called "Your Majesty the God-King" or "Supreme God" by the people of the divine realm.

"What do you think?" Xuanming asked in return.

Qian Renxue's eyes darted around, and a mischievous smile curled at the corner of her mouth.

"Since you like meddling in other people's business so much and like having everyone under your thumb... how about calling yourself the God of Creation and Order? It will make you seem powerful and give you a sense of authority."

"Creation and Order..."

Xuanming pondered the words for a moment, then shook his head. "Too vulgar. Besides, I didn't create the world; I only did some repairs."

"It doesn't need to be so complicated, nor does it need to have so much profound meaning."

"One word is enough."

"sky."

"Heavens?" Qian Renxue was stunned.

"That's right, it's the sky."

Xuanming turned around and looked at Qian Renxue, his eyes flashing with an almost indifferent divine light. "For mortals, there is no need to know what the God King is called, nor is there a need to understand what order or creation is. Those concepts are too complex and too distant."

"All they need to know is that there is a sky above them."

Xuanming extended a finger and pointed upwards.

“God is watching what you do.”

"The will of Heaven is difficult to defy, and it cannot be defied."

“This is the ultimate reverence,” Xuanming said calmly. “No matter where they are or what gods they believe in, as long as they look up, they can see the sky. As long as they live, they must live under the sky’s protection.”

"I am that sky. I am everywhere, supreme."

Qian Renxue stared blankly at Xuan Ming.

She originally thought "Creation and Order" was arrogant enough, but she didn't expect this man to be even more arrogant and haughty than she imagined.

He defined himself directly as the "concept" itself.

No more explanations are needed, no more reasoning is required. Because Heaven doesn't need to reason with people; if Heaven had feelings, it too would grow old; Heaven has no favorites, but always sides with the virtuous.

The Xuanming of today is no longer the Xuanming who used to talk to mortals about logic and the pros and cons.

He is the true God, the one who sets the rules and defines the world—the Heaven.

"Although... it sounds very domineering."

Qian Renxue snapped out of her daze, her expression suddenly turning somewhat strange. She looked Xuan Ming up and down, then pointed at herself, her tone carrying a hint of inexplicable shame and mockery.

"But don't you think something's a bit strange?"

Xuanming asked in confusion, "What's strange about it?"

“You are ‘Heaven’,” Qian Renxue said, pointing at Xuanming, then at herself, “and I am ‘Angel God’.”

“Angel… messenger of heaven.”

A slight blush rose to Qian Renxue's cheeks, her eyes flickering. "According to this logic... am I your messenger? Am I one of yours?"

“Even… in the original context of the word, aren’t angels specifically there to serve ‘heaven’?”

In the past, everyone called them "angels," because they were messengers of light.

But now that Xuanming has defined himself as "Heaven," she, the "Angel Goddess," has suddenly transformed from an independent deity of faith into Xuanming's "private property."

This feeling...how can I describe it?

There was a sense of shame at being completely possessed, and also a strange...sweetness?
Looking at Qian Renxue's inexplicably shy appearance, Xuanming suddenly wondered if his brain was outdated.
Why does she make such connections? And why does she always think of such inappropriate things? (End of Chapter)