Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

She couldn't wait any longer.

Once this thought arises, it is like a stone thrown into a still lake, creating ripples that never cease on the surface.

Eva couldn't wait any longer.

Qian Renxue has already become a god, Bibi Dong is approaching that threshold, while she is still standing on that path that is not yet fully formed.

Eva closed her eyes, sinking her consciousness deep into her body. The nascent divine essence, already integrated into her soul, was slowly rotating there, like a star encased in a translucent crystal shell.

It wasn't fully formed yet; the light at the edges was still flowing, as if something was slowly brewing inside.

She could sense the fragments of rules she had already mastered.

True beauty is the purity captured in the most essential form of things. External beauty is the light and color that can be seen by the eyes, confirmed by the senses, and measured and described. Inner beauty is the character, will, and unspeakable profundity hidden beneath appearances. False beauty is the illusion that disguises itself as beauty and needs to be identified.

But not enough.

She knew that these were only a part of the goddess of beauty's authority, and that the true goddess of beauty should possess much more—the beauty of all things, the beauty that exists in every corner of the world, regardless of status.

The beauty of growth, that vibrant flow from budding to full bloom.

The beauty of aging lies in the lines and sediment that are honed by time.

She needs more time to understand those rules, but there isn't enough time left.

The news of Qian Renxue's ascension to godhood will soon spread to every corner of the continent. Bibi Dong will not slow down her pace because of the birth of the Angel God. On the contrary, she will be even more eager to complete her divine test.

If Bibi Dong were to enter the realm of gods before her, the Fairy Tale Empire would face an opponent with two gods in charge.

By then, no matter how many Title Douluos she has or how elite her army is, she will not be able to bridge the gap at the level of gods.

Eva opened her eyes, her gaze falling on the courtyard shrouded in night outside the window.

Moonlight spilled onto the bluestone ground, gilding the low holly bushes with a thin layer of silvery light.

She made a decision.

The following morning, the core administrative level of the Fairy Tale Empire received a brief but clear announcement. Lady Eva would temporarily suspend the handling of daily administrative affairs, delegating power to the various administrative supervisors, each fulfilling their duties and responsibilities, with major decisions to be submitted to her for final approval.

When the news spread, some people were surprised, some were puzzled, and some secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Those managers who had been cautiously operating under Eva's authority quickly adjusted their pace after the initial surprise and began running their departments according to the new instructions.

In the meditation room deep within the palace, Eva had been sitting alone for a long time.

She sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of the desk, her legs crossed and her hands resting lightly on her knees. Her posture appeared no different from usual, but the aura emanating from her was shifting in a slow and steady rhythm.

She could sense that the nascent divine essence was slowly rotating deep within her consciousness, and the light at its edges was growing brighter at a speed she could clearly discern.

Those fragments of rules that she had once only vaguely perceived were now becoming clearer in her mind. She began to capture the laws of beauty scattered throughout the world.

True beauty is found in the essence of things, while external beauty emerges from light, shadow, and color.

She sensed that the beauty of all things pervaded every corner of the world, without distinction of rank or status, like an invisible net covering the entire continent.

The beauty of growth flows in the tender shoots breaking through the soil, while the beauty of aging settles on the rock surfaces smoothed by time.

Each rule, in its own way, reveals its form of existence to her.

Eva's breathing became increasingly even, and her consciousness, like a slowly stretched thread, was extending into the depths of those rules.

She didn't know how long the process would take, but she knew she couldn't stop.

She could only keep moving forward, step by step, following each rule until she touched that complete realm belonging to the goddess of beauty.

Meanwhile, deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, at the bottom of the Lake of Life, Gu Yuena experienced a completely different scene.

She floated in the center of the water shrouded in a deep blue light, her long silver hair gently swaying in the water, her purple eyes gazing in a direction she could not see with the naked eye.

Another god has been born.

Gu Yuena could clearly sense the divine aura that was slowly stabilizing in the distant sky. Its pure and sacred quality was different from any of the divine auras she had sensed before, but it was still a divine aura, still carrying that sense of existence that transcended the mortal realm.

Gu Yuena's brows furrowed slowly.

How many times is this already?

She couldn't remember very clearly.

The aurora borealis that blanketed the sky in the far north, the nine-colored radiance swirling above the Starry Sky Forest, the divine aura slowly taking shape deep within the Dragon Realm, and now this angelic divine might emanating from the south-central part of the continent.

One by one, as if something was quietly loosening in the underlying structure of this continent, causing doors that had been closed for countless years to open one after another.

A strong sense of dissatisfaction welled up in Gu Yuena's heart.

She was once the most powerful being on this continent.

She waited so long, endured so long, lying dormant at the bottom of the Lake of Life, bearing the old wounds repeatedly eroded by divine power, waiting for the day they would slowly heal.

She thought she would cross that threshold before everyone else; she thought the position of Dragon God would ultimately belong to her; she thought that at least one of the pillars of light from which those gods were born should have risen from above her head.

But now, one after another, beings have entered the divine realm before her, as if lining up to pass by her, while she can only float in this dark water, watching those pillars of light light up one after another, and then stabilize one after another.

Gu Yuena's fingertips tightened slightly in the water, then slowly relaxed.

After a moment of turmoil in her heart, the dissatisfaction did not, as she usually did, forcefully suppress it back into her heart.

On the contrary, it gradually transformed in the process of churning, becoming a more calm and meticulously crafted calculation.

She thought of Xisu.

That being who inherited the complete authority of the Dragon God deep within the Dragon Realm. She thought of the impending conflict between the new Dragon God and the gods of the Divine Realm.

Those high and mighty god-kings will not tolerate a new dragon god rising peacefully on the Douluo Continent; they will inevitably take action.

As a newly born dragon god, Xisu possesses the complete dragon god position and the support of the dragon realm, and she will not easily back down.

Once these two forces collide, regardless of who wins or loses, it will be a shockwave powerful enough to shake the very foundation of the entire continent.

Gu Yuena lowered her eyes, looking at her blurry reflection in the water, her purple eyes reflecting a slowly forming expectation.

If the new Dragon God and the divine realm are both severely damaged, then she can appear at the right time and in the right place, as the Silver Dragon King, to take over the cracks and gaps left by the aftershocks.

A faint smile slowly appeared on her lips, a smile that wasn't quite a smile, but more like a certainty that had been repeatedly confirmed.

All she had to do was wait, continue to recover, and watch as the gods lit up before her one by one, and then walked their own paths.

Then, the moment she is ready, her opportunity will arrive.

……

Meanwhile, in the government hall of Brightmoon City, another change is quietly unfolding in a more stable manner.

After news of Mrs. Eva's temporary suspension of official duties spread, a brief period of adjustment occurred within the government system.

Those matters that originally needed to be reported directly to Mrs. Eva were now distributed among various supervisors, and decision-making power was redistributed within a few days.

Ning Fengzhi gradually came into the view of the Fairy Tale Empire's power during this adjustment period.

He had been playing a coordinating role between Eva and various forces since the Comprehensive Alliance era, and his sense of proportion allowed him to find a suitable footing at any negotiating table.

Initially, he was not assigned many tasks, mainly assisting in the administrative integration of cities that had been transferred from the northern region of the former Star Luo Empire to the Fairy Tale Empire.

During the handover of those cities, many trivial but troublesome details arose, such as different tax systems, different garrison formations, and different interests between local powerful families and old nobles.

Ning Fengzhi's handling of these matters gradually changed the opinions of the managers who were initially hesitant about him.

He will not forcefully push forward any particular plan, nor will he rush to express his opinion amidst disputes among various parties.

After all parties have stated their demands, he will calmly reiterate those demands and then propose a compromise that can accommodate the needs of most parties.

Those solutions are not perfect, but they are often acceptable to all parties.

Two months later, Ning Fengzhi had completed most of the city integration work he was involved in, and he had also established sufficient working relationships with the government officials in the process.

He began to be invited to meetings that were not originally within his job scope.

The tasks of allocating grain and fodder, stockpiling wartime supplies, and planning trade routes with newly incorporated areas were assigned to him one after another.

Ning Fengzhi neither declined those tasks nor actively sought more.

He simply quietly did everything well, ensuring that every file was clear and traceable, and that every meeting was completed on schedule.

His efficiency in handling affairs and his stable emotional state gradually made him a person that supervisors would actively seek advice from when encountering complex problems.

The position of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School in the Fairy Tale Empire gradually became more stable during this process.

Initially, it was only integrated into the Fairy Tale Empire's system as part of the remnants of the Comprehensive Alliance, but Ning Fengzhi's personal abilities are slowly changing this position.

On the other side of the same city, the situation of the Haotian Sect presents a completely different picture.

They are also in the Fairy Tale Empire, but a growing gap is emerging between their development pace and that of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

The Haotian Sect was known for its martial prowess during the era of the Comprehensive Alliance.

Their sect believes in the supremacy of strength, and most disciples are accustomed to solving problems with their fists and soul power.

This made them invincible on the battlefield, but also made them somewhat clumsy in peacetime administrative coordination.

The administrative tasks that should have been assigned to them were mostly taken over by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School during the allocation process.

The Fifth Elder sat in the council hall of the Haotian Sect's temporary headquarters. His white beard trembled slightly from clenching his teeth, and his thin hands pressed firmly on the table. His tone was clearly irritated.

"It's Ning Fengzhi again. He's in charge of allocating grain and fodder, selecting officials for the newly incorporated regions, and even reviewing the budget for city defense repairs."

The Seventh Elder sat opposite him, his fingers gently tracing the rim of his teacup, his voice remaining steady:

“He is indeed more suited to those things than we are. He processes those files much faster than we are, and he knows the ins and outs of those officials and nobles.”

Chapter 578 Strength and Tranquility

"Then all we can do is fight?" The Fifth Elder's voice rose a few decibels, then he seemed to realize that his voice was too loud and lowered it again.

"When those government officials encounter problems, the first thing they think of is to ask the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School for help. In their eyes, our Haotian School is just a bunch of brutes who only know how to swing hammers."

The Second Elder sat in a corner of the council hall, his figure somewhat blurred in the candlelight. His cloudy eyes were half-closed, as if he were dozing or listening to them talk.

The Fifth Elder's chest heaved a few times, clearly indicating that he still had something to say, but after opening his mouth, he ultimately remained silent.

He realized he had said enough, and continuing would only be repeating the same complaints.

The council chamber fell silent for a moment.

The Second Elder finally slowly raised his eyelids.

His cloudy eyes gleamed faintly in the candlelight, like an old beast awakening from a long slumber, beginning to re-examine the world before him.