Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

Ning Rongrong certainly wanted to see Ge Duo.

That thought surfaced the moment Rapunzel mentioned Godot's name, like a seed that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time finally being watered and trying to sprout from the soil.

But she also knew that now was not the time.

They once stood on the same side, but now they belong to different camps.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is searching for a new place within the Fairy Tale Empire's system. This process requires time, patience, and for her to do the right thing at the right time, rather than acting on a momentary emotional impulse to go and say things that have been overdue for too long to someone she hasn't seen in a long time.

"Let's forget about it." Ning Rongrong put down her teacup. "We just arrived in Mingyue City today, and there are still many things to take care of. Let's talk about it after we've settled down."

Rapunzel glanced at her but didn't ask any further questions.

She could sense that Ning Rongrong had something on her mind, but she clearly wasn't planning to reveal it at this time.

Rapunzel adopted a more relaxed tone: "That's true. It's true that there are a lot of things to do when you arrive in a new place. Once you're settled in, you can come over anytime. I don't usually use the room behind the clinic; we can just move a table in and use it as a tea room."

Ning Rongrong smiled and said, "You've thought of everything."

"After spending too much time in the North, you have to learn to find a comfortable place to stay."

Rapunzel picked up the teapot and poured half a cup of hot water for Ning Rongrong. "Otherwise, facing those wounded patients and medicines every day will make life too dry, and you'll become listless."

Ning Rongrong picked up her cup again, but this time she didn't rush to drink. She just watched the thin layer of steam floating on the surface of the water slowly rise in the night.

She could feel something taut on her shoulders, which had been pressing down because of the journey and adapting to the new environment, gradually relaxing.

The two sat under the osmanthus tree for a while longer, chatting about everyday life in Mingyue City.

Rapunzel mentioned that there was a shop on the street in front of the clinic that sold pretty good red bean cakes, and that the market in the west of the city would have caravans from even more distant places bringing some rare items on the first and fifteenth of each month.

Ning Rongrong listened quietly, nodding occasionally and asking a question or two about the details, as if she was using those fragmented pieces of daily information to fill in the incomplete outline of the city in her mind.

Rapunzel looked up at the sky; night had completely fallen, with a few scattered stars floating in the deep blue above. "You should go back. It's your first day in Brightmoon City; you'll probably have a lot to take care of tomorrow."

Ning Rongrong also stood up: "You're right. Let's stop here for today. I'll come back to see you in a few days when I've taken care of things on my end."

Rapunzel escorted her to the entrance of the clinic.

Ning Rongrong walked back along the path she had come from in the twilight, turning back to look at her after a few steps. Rape was still standing on the steps in front of the clinic, the glow of the lanterns casting a warm, gentle light behind her.

Ning Rongrong withdrew her gaze and walked back along the street to the courtyard in the east of the city.

When she pushed open the courtyard gate, the lights in the front hall were still on. Ning Fengzhi was sitting behind his desk organizing the last few files at hand. Hearing footsteps, he looked up and asked, "You're back? Did you see Le Pei?"

Ning Rongrong paused slightly. She looked up at Ning Fengzhi, a hint of surprise flashing in her light brown eyes: "How did Father know?"

Ning Fengzhi placed the file in his hand on the table, a faint smile on his lips: "Mingyue City is only so big, and Le Pei just happens to be in that direction."

Ning Rongrong sat down on a chair by the door, her hands folded on her knees. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "I stayed at the clinic for a while and we chatted about recent events. Rape said... Teacher Geduo is also in Bright Moon City. And her cultivation has progressed."

Ning Fengzhi's expression didn't change much. He picked up the slightly cooled tea beside him, took a sip, and then gently put it down.

“She is indeed in Brightmoon City. I heard that after Lady Eva’s affairs came to a temporary end, she found a quiet place in the west of the city to go into seclusion. I’m not sure exactly how far things have progressed.”

He looked up at Ning Rongrong: "You want to see her?"

Ning Rongrong lowered her eyes: "I haven't decided yet. Let's talk about it in a few days."

Ning Fengzhi didn't press further, but simply nodded slightly; he had already gotten the answer he wanted.

……

In a relatively quiet area on the west side of Brightmoon City, a courtyard surrounded by high walls was hidden in the depths of the night.

The courtyard was small, and the surface of the blue brick wall was covered with a fine layer of moss, which gleamed with a moist sheen under the moonlight.

There were no trees planted in the yard, only a few neatly trimmed low shrubs arranged along the base of the yard wall, like a row of silent guards.

Ge Duo sat alone on a futon in the center of the room, her deep purple dress spreading out around her like a lotus leaf dyed by the night.

She lowered her eyes slightly, holding in her hand the nascent divine essence that she had obtained by spending a huge amount of reputation points on the system's exchange interface.

This nascent divine essence was very small, only the size of a thumbnail, and its entire body had an almost transparent texture. Inside, extremely fine silver patterns flowed slowly, like an ancient river that had been compressed countless times and meandered within it.

Its surface shimmered with an extremely soft halo, not bright, yet it appeared exceptionally clear in the dim candlelight.

Gedo held it in her palm, feeling the slightly warm energy seeping into her skin from the crystal's surface, slowly spreading upwards along her meridians.

The feeling wasn't intense; it was more like a warm current, repeatedly refined, merging with the soul power within her body at an extremely stable rhythm.

Gothia paid a lot of reputation points to exchange for it, but the deal was not a loss for her. Her deal with Xisu yielded a reputation point return that exceeded her expectations, and the resources that Eva had allocated to her since the great victory in the North had also accumulated into a considerable reputation point reserve.

Even Rapunzel, the little girl who had cut her hair at the Yin-Yang Well for so many years, shared some of the reputation points she had earned during the Northern War with her.

Gothia had actually been exchanging for the prototype of a godhood for quite some time. The initial payment only used a portion of her reputation points, and Rapunzel made up for the subsequent reputation points.

She hadn't originally intended to accept it.

While Rapunzel was transferring money on the system panel, she was also testing a new potion. The moment she sensed the system notification, she almost poked the pestle in her hand into the charcoal ash at the bottom of the furnace.

But after Rapunzel finished sending the message, she only said, "Consider it repayment for the tuition you paid for teaching me alchemy all those years," and then logged off, giving her no further chance to refuse.

When Ge Duo recalled that incident, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

She looked at the nascent divine essence slowly merging into her body in her palm, feeling that power rearranging the energy structure within her body in a way she did not yet fully understand.

She didn't know how long this process would last, but she could feel the door becoming clearer and clearer. The light shining through the crack in the door was still very faint, but it had already allowed her to see the area behind the door that she had never truly touched before.

The nascent divine essence began to slowly dissolve in Gedo's palm, turning into tiny silver specks of light, like stardust scattered by the wind, merging into her skin, seeping into her meridians, and converging towards the core of her body along the paths she had cultivated for many years.

Godot closed her eyes, feeling the silver specks of light rearranging themselves within her body in some ancient way.

The soul power within her body seemed to be infused with a completely new existence; the power that had already undergone countless temperings began to recombine in a way she had never experienced before.

Gedo felt her senses extending outwards, not the kind of active perception she was familiar with, which was achieved through soul power or mental power, but a passive expansion of perception, like the skin itself slowly growing new tendrils.

She exhaled softly, and the breath condensed into a fine white mist in the air, as if there was something more ancient in addition to the air she had just exhaled.

Gedo could sense that the nascent divine spark was undergoing a deep fusion with the soul power within her body. The silver patterns, like fine threads woven into some ancient structure, were slowly reshaping her core.

She needs time.

This process won't be quick, and she's unsure how long it will take her to finish.

Gedo opened her eyes and looked at her outstretched palm. The nascent divine spark in her palm had completely dissolved, leaving only a few faint silver traces flowing on her skin, like the last bit of water remaining on a stone slab after being washed by rain.

Chapter 575 The Ninth Test of the Angels

Wuhun City, Hall of Offerings.

Qian Renxue stood in front of the angel statue, her back straight as a sword.

Today she changed back into a plain white cultivation robe, exactly the same as the one she wore when she first stepped into the depths of the Hall of Offerings.

But the feeling of standing here now is completely different.

She could feel the space around her responding to her in extremely subtle ways. The rules and patterns that she had only vaguely sensed before were now as clear as a map unfolded before her.

Qian Daoliu stood slightly behind her, his deep blue robe gleaming softly in the golden light.

His gaze fell on Qian Renxue, his eyes, weathered by time, swirling with incredibly complex emotions.

Qian Daoliu wanted to look at Qian Renxue a little longer, to remember what she looked like at this moment, and to etch her image into the depths of his memory in his final moments.

He also wanted to see Snow White again.

The child who traveled alone in the far north, the girl who rejected the path he had laid out and chose to forge a new one with her own two feet.

Qian Daoliu wanted to know where she was now, whether she was alright, and whether she had found what she was looking for in that snowstorm.

But there wasn't enough time.

Qian Renxue's understanding of the power of the Angel God's rules was already complete and profound. That power flowed so smoothly within her body, as if she had been waiting for this moment to arrive.

The rules awaited her, the divine position awaited her, and the entire angel statue emanated a steady pulse, like breathing.

Qian Daoliu could sense the call of those rules more clearly than anyone else.

As the high priest of the angel god, his connection with the will of the angel god had never been so close as at this moment.

The door had been pushed to the last crack; with just a gentle push, it would open completely.

He raised his head, his gaze falling on Qian Renxue. Her face was exceptionally clear in the golden halo, her brows and eyes carrying a serenity that had been accumulating for too long.

She felt his gaze, turned her head slightly, and their golden eyes met.

"Are you ready?" Qian Daoliu asked, his voice steady, yet carrying a subtle solemnity.

Qian Renxue slowly raised her head, and the moment she turned completely towards him, Qian Daoliu saw that her eyes were no longer ordinary gold, but rather like pure gold that had been melted down, radiating a light full of sacred aura.

The light wasn't dazzling, but it carried a kind of insight that seemed to penetrate all appearances, making people involuntarily want to look away.

"Yes, I'm ready."

When Qian Renxue spoke, her voice lacked the usual human emotional fluctuations, instead possessing a more indifferent and cold flatness.

It was as if something was slowly taking over the place that originally belonged to emotions within her, making her expression more concise and direct.

Qian Daoliu noticed that change.

As she approached the final stage of the divine trial, divinity was becoming active within her, but she had not yet fully mastered that power and was unable to find a balance between divinity and humanity.

Those qualities belonging to angels and gods are emerging in her: pure, vast, and with a sense of distance that is detached from the warmth of the mortal world.

But Qian Daoliu was not worried.

That's just part of the process. Once the divine test is over and she truly enters the realm of the gods, those temporarily suppressed emotions will find their place again.

She will learn how to switch freely between these two states.

Qian Daoliu looked at her, at those pure golden eyes, and suddenly felt that all the emotions that had been churning in his heart for so long settled down at this moment.

His voice was softer than before when he spoke: "I have waited for more than a hundred years... and I am finally about to witness the birth of the Angel God."

The moment he finished speaking, Qian Daoliu was enveloped in golden light.

Golden light surged from his body, like molten gold being ignited, flowing and rising along the edge of his deep blue robe.

Immediately afterwards, nine spirit rings rose up in neat rows from beneath his feet, each spirit ring radiating a bright halo of golden light.

At the same time, three pairs of pure white wings silently unfolded from behind him.

The wings were not as enormous as those on the angel statues, but they possessed a unique, warm texture that had been honed by the passage of time.

Tiny golden specks swirled along the edges of each feather, slowly dissipating in the halo of the hall, like stardust blown away by the wind.