Word Count: 3,339 Words
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Star Luo City, Star Emperor Grand Hotel.
Inside the lavish suite, two beautiful figures, one radiant gold and the other jade green, looked remarkably at ease. Ling Qiuxi sampled the southern continent's specialty fruits while Dugu Lin wandered leisurely through the room, pausing now and then to test the softness of the large circular bed in the inner chamber.
With the defense of Star Luo City concluded, there was no need for them to remain cramped in the harsh conditions of a military camp. The Star Luo Empire had respectfully ushered them into the top-floor suite of its most luxurious hotel, treating them with all the ceremony befitting national heroes.
The disparity in military strength between the two nations had been so overwhelming that the Star Luo Empire had nearly fallen into despair, agonizing over whether to hand over White Tiger Duke Dai Hao in exchange for the lives of millions of civilians. Yet after a single night, the Sun Moon Empire's army of six hundred thousand had gone up in smoke.
Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei was overjoyed. To the Sun Moon Empire, Dugu Lin and Ling Qiuxi were butchers, but to Star Luo, they were national saviors descending on seven-colored auspicious clouds. He gathered a great heap of Heaven and Earth Treasures from the imperial vault, packed them into two Starlight Sapphire Storage Spirit Guidance Devices, and personally presented them to the two women, barely restraining himself from kneeling on the spot in gratitude.
Of course, one of them was the Emperor Destiny Beast of the Star Dou Forest and the other was the master of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Neither cared much for Star Luo's three melons and two dates. What concerned them far more was Ling Bai's reaction.
"Hey, stop digging through everything. When he comes back, how are we supposed to talk our way out of this?"
Ling Qiuxi watched Dugu Lin rummaging through every corner for all manner of curious little props and finally could not hold back any longer.
Dugu Lin's hands paused, and she answered with complete seriousness, "Quibbling is pointless. Better to act first. I'm looking for whips, candles, chains, things like that. You should leave now and come back tomorrow to check whether I'm still breathing."
"Are you seriously preparing to die..." Ling Qiuxi stared at her, utterly stunned.
Bang—
The door was suddenly pushed open from outside, and both women's expressions shifted in an instant. Dugu Lin moved like a phantom, sweeping the toys under the bed in one fluid motion, while Ling Qiuxi gave two dry coughs and arranged her face into the very picture of innocence.
Ling Bai stepped into the top-floor suite and immediately spotted two beautiful, delicate faces practically screaming 'three hundred taels of silver were not hidden here.' A helpless smile surfaced on his lips.
"Darling, you're back~"
Dugu Lin's voice turned soft and sultry as she made her way over, each step a languid sway, and pressed her lush, serpent-soft body against his. As a supreme master of poison, she needed only a single thought to release a rich, intoxicating fragrance from her skin, a scent that stirred desire of its own accord.
"It smells so good..."
Ling Qiuxi sniffed the air without thinking, and a rosy flush crept over her cheeks. Ling Bai's two Martial Spirits, however, were both immune to deadly poison, so Dugu Lin's little trick had no effect on him whatsoever. He flicked her smooth, white forehead in mild annoyance.
"You've got some nerve, dragging Qiuxi along to sneak into the Sun Moon legions and spread poison. If I had arrived a step later, the two of you..."
Ling Bai's gaze suddenly fell on the Black Dragon Reverse Scale resting against Ling Qiuxi's prominent chest. If he had arrived a step late, what then?
It seemed they would have been just fine!
"You're quite good at choosing teammates, I'll give you that. Found the most reliable backup possible..." Ling Bai rubbed his brow. "But you need to think about the future. Heavenly punishment is real. Ten thousand years ago, Dugu Bo slaughtered Jialing Pass, enraging Heaven and Earth, and the Dugu family suffered a bloodline curse for ten thousand years.
What's done cannot be undone. I only worry that one day, the Jade Phosphor Serpent poison will invade your descendants once again."
Their unauthorized departure from the city to release the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison had irritated Ling Bai at first, yet a quiet sense of being moved had followed close on its heels.
Tang San's divine soul injuries were gradually recovering, which meant Ling Bai needed to become a God as quickly as possible. He simply did not have the time to slowly educate and reform the people of the Sun Moon Empire, and so it was best not to wantonly slaughter their armies.
Dugu Lin had keenly sensed the contradiction between Ling Bai's own needs and the logic of Star Luo's desperate defense. In her eyes, the terrifying wide-area lethality of Ultimate Poison was the only way to break the deadlock, and so she had risked her life to unleash the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison.
Invaders were not worthy of sympathy. Ling Bai had always been decisive when it came to killing, and the annihilation of so vast an army would serve as a stark warning to the Sun Moon Empire. What truly worried him was Dugu Lin herself, and whether she or her bloodline descendants might draw down heavenly punishment a second time.
Dugu Lin did not argue. She merely gazed at him with a quiet smile, her eyes filled with a rare, lingering tenderness. Like a woman deeply in love, she appeared a little shy, a little coy, yet entirely brimming with happiness. For the first time, she truly felt that genuine, warm affection.
Her tortuous path through childhood had forged a twisted personality. Whenever she shared intimate moments with Ling Bai, she always demanded torment, suffocation, and pain. In truth, these tendencies stemmed from a psychological need to feel needed.
Children who suffered when young often grew up longing to be disciplined by their partners in intimate relationships. In her world, being disciplined was the same as being treasured.
Ling Qiuxi lifted her chin, a pink blush spreading across both cheeks. She shifted half her body in front of Dugu Lin as if to shield her and declared with notable loyalty, "We only did it so you could gather faith and condense your God Position without worry. If I hadn't been with her, she would have been blasted to ashes by spirit cannons by now."
"You withheld the truth from me, and you still have the nerve to talk back?"
Ling Bai reached out with sinful hands, pinched Ling Qiuxi's cheeks, and tugged them gently to either side.
"If the two of you had only discussed this with me beforehand... The Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison is far too identifiable. We could have disguised it as the Body Sect's intrinsic body poison, shifted the blame onto them, and wrapped everything up neatly!"
Both women instantly stared at him with dot-like eyes. Dugu Lin in particular fell into deep reflection. She had always considered herself ruthless and utterly devoid of moral boundaries, yet here stood a mastermind behind the scenes even more skilled at framing others!
Ling Bai released Ling Qiuxi, gathered both women into his arms, and guided them toward the inner chamber. "Before coming to the Star Emperor Grand Hotel, I already spoke with Xu Jiawei. We've aligned our story from top to bottom. The official account is that the Star Luo imperial family brought forth an Ultimate Poison they had treasured for ten thousand years, and with the Angel Empire's reinforcements, turned defeat into victory. That narrative will scrub your controversial actions from the historical record."
"Mm."
Both women nodded softly. Reputation was as fleeting as passing clouds, and the slaughter of six hundred thousand soldiers would invite condemnation and praise in equal measure. Ling Bai was shielding them from that storm.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Ling Qiuxi's delicate brows knit faintly. Without quite noticing how it had happened, the three of them had ended up seated on the round bed, and a wandering hand had already found the slender, supple curve of her waist and begun to misbehave.
The golden dragonwoman twisted in protest and tried to wriggle free, but the grip only tightened. Dugu Lin, by contrast, melted into the touch without hesitation. The serpent woman parted her robes and bared her full, milky breasts, pressing herself against Ling Bai's chest as she claimed his mouth in a deep, greedy kiss. Her tongue slid hot and insistent against his while she rocked her hips, grinding her slick heat against his thigh in a slow, shameless rhythm. Her jade-green eyes overflowed with infatuation.
"Enjoy yourselves. I'm leaving, bye-bye!"
Ling Qiuxi tried to retreat in earnest. She and Ling Bai had not yet crossed that final threshold, and even a spirit beast found this kind of play far too unrestrained.
"Hold her down."
Ling Bai gave a cold snort and smacked Dugu Lin's perky rear. The snake woman moaned in delight and took the order without hesitation, coiling around Ling Qiuxi like a great python. Her soft, bare curves pressed flush against the dragonwoman's back, and their two flushed, peerless faces hovered mere inches apart.
"We're comrades! I protected you when we broke out of the Sun Moon camp!"
Ling Qiuxi cried out in heartbroken indignation. The bond of shared hardship they had only just forged had crumbled to pieces in less than a day!
"Don't worry. I'll send you straight to the heavens..."
Dugu Lin breathed out a thin curl of pink mist. The sweet, cloying fragrance seeped into Ling Qiuxi's lungs like warm honey, and her breathing turned heavy and ragged. A soft, helpless whimper escaped her lips, and the mental defenses she had so painstakingly built shattered in an instant, crumbling like a dam before a flood.
What followed was a slow, breathless ascent. They climbed the high mountains together, swept across endless plains, and lost themselves in the murmuring streams where life seemed to whisper of its own beauty.
The room filled with the soft, wet sounds of skin against skin and the muffled, ragged cries of two peerless beauties undone in turn. They moved in feverish, trembling waves, slick and shivering, arching and gasping beneath two pairs of sinful hands, surrendering by degrees until nothing remained of either of them but pure, molten sensation.
Two hours later, Ling Qiuxi lay utterly boneless against the sheets. The Golden Dragon, ancestor of strength, could not lift a single finger. A faint, lingering flush drifted beneath her usual icy elegance, lending that frosty beauty a touch of mortal warmth. She looked like an angel fallen from heaven, one who had shed her wings for love and blossomed into her tenderest, most beautiful form.
"Tch. You two are... nothing special," she muttered breathlessly.
"You rolled your eyes back seven times, and you're still talking tough?"
Dugu Lin poked the taut arch of her foot.
Every part of Ling Qiuxi had gone soft as water, yet her mouth remained surprisingly stubborn. Each inch of her was unbearably sensitive, but she clenched her jaw and insisted she felt nothing.
"No matter. We'll just keep going, then."
Ling Bai's fingers traced over the springy, fair skin of her thigh. Ling Qiuxi recoiled as though struck by lightning, jerked her calf back, and huffed indignantly, "I'm not playing anymore! All you ever do is bully me!"
The golden dragonwoman yanked the blanket over her head, but not before shooting Ling Bai one fierce glare. Ever since the Star Dou Forest, this scoundrel had done nothing but bully her. Her first time, and he hadn't shown a shred of restraint!
Dugu Lin brushed a hand through her short jade-green hair and smoothly took up the baton Ling Qiuxi had passed her. Her watery eyes shimmered with a hazy sheen, and her enchanting face flushed a lovely peach-red, longing tinged with sensuous, springtime warmth.
"Darling, I truly envy the girls around you. They have normal hearts. They can be with you the way ordinary people are together. No matter what I do, I can never manage that.
Pain and turmoil have lived in every moment of my existence. I've grown so used to them that I never know when they'll erupt next.
Qiuxi was right. My original plan was to die beneath the Sun Moon Empire's artillery fire, so I wouldn't burden you. I was willing to be the blade you pointed outward."
"No one ever decreed that a flower must grow into a sunflower or a rose. You can be a datura, entirely your own."
Ling Bai gazed at the woman who was both unhinged and fragile, his eyes gentle as a still lake. "Don't dwell on those troubling thoughts. Angelic Sanctuaries have already been established in every city, and the master of each principal city's Sanctuary must be someone I trust.
Heaven Dou City, the former imperial capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire and now Angel Holy City, the capital of the Angel Empire, is yours. It also happens to be quite close to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."
"Mm~ enough serious talk. I've prepared so, so many toys. You have to use every single one of them on me..."
...
Early the next morning.
Ling Bai stepped out of the Star Emperor Grand Hotel looking refreshed and clear-headed. Xu Jiujiu had been waiting for some time. With the war over, the eldest princess of the Star Luo Empire had changed back into a splendid court dress and seemed to have taken particular care with her appearance, looking every inch the picture of noble grace and regal poise.
"Holy Evil Douluo…"
Xu Jiujiu pressed her crimson lips together, her expression complicated. "Is there really no room to negotiate the matter you raised yesterday? We can erect statues in your honor. Please, allow my imperial brother to remain the emperor of the Star Luo Empire."
"Princess Jiujiu, if the Star Luo imperial family's stance does not change, then I apologize, but once the Angel Empire flattens the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Luo Empire will be our next enemy."
Ling Bai's tone was calm and even, yet anyone could sense the unquestionable resolve beneath it. The day before, while discussing how to cover up the two women's poisoning of the army, he had explicitly told Xu Jiawei that the continent must be unified under a single emperor.
"So cold and detached…"
Their gazes met, each finding their own reflection in the other's eyes. Then Xu Jiujiu suddenly laughed and shook her head.
"My imperial brother has already agreed to abdicate. The pressure of the battle to defend Star Luo City weighed on him like a mountain. Even if the Angel Empire had not demanded unification, he would have stepped down of his own accord and handed the nation over to the descendants of the Star Crown lineage.
In a way, you've liberated us. My imperial brother said being emperor is nowhere near as satisfying as being a sect master. There is no such thing as a ten-thousand-year imperial house, only ten-thousand-year great clans. He intends to lead the imperial family back to the sect's old grounds and rebuild the Star Crown Sect."
Ling Bai nodded. "Your brother's willingness to abdicate is a great fortune for the people of Star Luo. Out of gratitude to the Star Crown Sect, the Angel Empire shall confer the title of Star Crown Duke upon its sect master, hereditary in perpetuity.
Miss Xu, the Angelic Sanctuary in Star Luo City currently lacks a hall master. Would you be interested in the position?"
"Miss Xu?" Xu Jiujiu paused for a moment, then her smile bloomed as brightly as a passion flower. "I remember. Back in the Luminous Mystic Forest, that was exactly what you called me.
In my heart, Death Abyss Douluo has always been the benefactor who saved me in that forest. Ning Bai has boundaries he steadfastly defends. He was never some unforgivably heinous Evil Spirit Master."
"Thank you."
Ling Bai did not deny his identity as Death Abyss Douluo, merely smiling as he accepted Xu Jiujiu's praise.
"Then I shall respectfully obey. Moving forward, you'll have to take good care of Star Luo City's Angelic Sanctuary."
Xu Jiujiu spoke as if half in jest.
"For the sake of its hall master, the standing of Star Luo City's Angelic Sanctuary will certainly not be low," Ling Bai assured her.
Looking back, the contrast was almost absurd. Princess Wei Na, who had been little more than a stranger to Death Abyss Douluo, had ultimately severed her own heart meridians and died with bitter resentment in her chest.
Yet Xu Jiujiu, who truly shared ties with Death Abyss Douluo, had become hall master of Star Luo City's Angelic Sanctuary, while her imperial family withdrew peacefully from the struggle for power.
Both were princesses of their respective nations, yet their fates were worlds apart.
Once the details of the two empires' integration had been finalized, Ling Bai tore open space and led everyone back to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
…
Three days later, Jianmu Douluo and the others who had gone to support the Dou Spirit Empire returned in triumph after annihilating the Sun Moon Empire's legions, bringing back excellent news.
Since the Dou Spirit Empire's imperial bloodline had been completely severed, leaving only a single princess: Xue Lingxun, who had married into the Xuanwu Sect, the empire's ministers, together with the academies and sects within its borders, had jointly submitted a petition requesting that the Angel Empire take full control of the Dou Spirit Empire.
Most of these academies and sects belonged to the group Ling Bai had rescued from the Sun Moon Empire. This was their way of repaying his life-saving grace.
Xue Lingxun recognized the Angel Empire's overwhelming power and understood that the unification of the Douluo Continent's three great empires was an unstoppable tide. Speaking on behalf of the Dou Spirit imperial family, she voluntarily renounced her right to inherit the throne and threw her full support behind Angel Empire rule.
Soon after, she secretly dispatched someone to deliver a letter, requesting that the Angel Empire secure a future for Xu Sanshi. When parents truly loved their children, they laid profound, far-reaching plans for their futures.
Angel Empress Ye Guyi discussed the matter with State Preceptor Ning Fengya and Holy Evil Monarch Ling Bai. Together, they decided to confer the title of Dou Spirit Duke upon Xu Sanshi, hereditary in perpetuity. However, just like the Star Crown Duke, the Dou Spirit Duke would be strictly forbidden from touching any imperial military authority.
Granting ducal titles to the former imperial families showcased the Angel Empire's benevolence to the people of both nations, allowing them to accept the new rule far more readily.
Ye Guyi also issued several new policies designed to benefit the nation and its people, safeguarding the interests of Spirit Masters and commoners alike. Across all three empires, from the highest officials to the lowest citizens, everyone complied without exception.
Commoners were the easiest people to satisfy. So long as they had enough food to fill their bellies, warm clothes to wear, and a roof over their heads, they were content. As for who actually sat on the throne, it truly was not all that important.
And so, the era of three great empires standing in opposition on the Douluo Continent came to an end. The Angel Empire unified the land. Angelic Sanctuaries rose one after another across the continent, and Heaven-Bestowed Spirit Rings began to steadily replace traditional spirit rings.
The renown of the Holy Evil Monarch, Holy Evil Douluo Ling Bai, spread to every corner of the Angel Empire. Statues of him were erected within the Angelic Sanctuaries, and all living beings bowed in worship!