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Leaving the Lake of Life, Xuan Ming's mind stirred slightly, and space folded beneath his feet.
In the next moment, a salty sea breeze brushed against his face.
The three of them were already standing above the vast ocean.
In the distance, a lush island shrouded in a sea-blue divine force barrier looked like a brilliant emerald set in the green waves.
Sea God Island.
Ten thousand years had passed, and this place remained a Holy Land for the faith of the Sea God, yet it had also gained an air of mystery that kept Mortals at bay.
Since the Douluo Federation entered the "Age of Mortals" five thousand years ago, Sea God Island and Spirit City's Pope Mountain—the former site of the Angel God Temple—had simultaneously announced their closure, becoming true forbidden zones of the gods.
Although the Church still preached, collected wealth, and vied for power in the Mortal World, that was merely a secular institution.
The true core power—the Angel God Temple guarded by Qian Renxue's former Consecration Group and veteran divine officials like Ning Fengzhi, and Sea God Island guarded by the Seven Sacred Pillars and Xiao Bai—had long since transcended the secular World.
Here, only those who had reached the rank of Level 99 Limit Douluo and possessed pure faith were qualified to set foot and seek the legendary guidance of the gods.
As for other Mortals, even the Federation Chairman, if they dared to trespass, they would be ruthlessly blocked by that layer of Sea God divine force.
Of course, to Xuan Ming, this layer of divine force wasn't even as thick as a piece of window paper.
He didn't even lift a hand; he just took a step, and the divine force barrier, which was strong enough to withstand a Demigod's attack, automatically split open a gap to welcome the arrival of this supreme Dominator.
"Splash—!"
Just as they stepped onto the beach, the calm sea surface suddenly exploded.
A vigorous white figure burst out of the water, drawing a graceful arc in the air before landing steadily on the sand.
It was a massive Devil Spirit Great White Shark, radiating divine force fluctuations no weaker than a Second-level God.
The moment she landed, a flash of white light transformed her into a tall, beautiful woman with long wavy hair.
"Xuan Ming! You're finally back!"
Xiao Bai looked delighted and strode forward with her long legs to give him a hug. But after two steps, she suddenly seemed to remember something, her footsteps halted abruptly, and the smile on her face froze.
No.
The current Xuan Ming was no longer the young Spirit Master who had brought Xiao Wu and the others to Sea God Island for training all those years ago.
He was the Lord of the God Realm, the Primal God, the... Heavens.
Moreover, standing beside him was that silver-haired, purple-eyed Lord Dragon God with a terrifying pressure—Gu Yuena.
Xiao Bai's face instantly turned pale, her knees buckled, and she knelt down with a "thud," bowing her head and trembling: "Xiao... Xiao Bai greets Your Majesty, greets Lord Dragon God... Just now, Xiao Bai was momentarily excited and offended the Heavenly Countenance. Please forgive me, Your Majesty..."
Seeing this once lively and spicy shark now scared like this, Xuan Ming couldn't help but find it a bit amusing.
He walked forward, reached out, and pulled Xiao Bai up from the sand.
"Enough, don't do this with me."
Xuan Ming helped her pat the sand off her knees, his tone gentle. "I didn't like it before, and I don't like it now. No matter who I am, no matter how much time passes, we are friends. Back then on Sea God Island, you helped us a lot."
Xiao Bai looked up, somewhat overwhelmed by the favor, and glanced cautiously at Gu Yuena beside him.
Gu Yuena smiled slightly and nodded at her: "Don't be formal. Since Xuan Ming considers you a friend, then you are our friend."
Hearing the affirmation from Lord Dragon God, Xiao Bai finally breathed a long sigh of relief and patted her chest, saying, "You scared me to death... I thought you were going to punish me for the crime of disrespect."
"Am I that scary?" Xuan Ming was speechless.
"You're very impressive now." Xiao Bai regained some of her former liveliness and grumbled, "The people from the Church outside use your name to scare people every day, saying that if they don't behave, 'Heaven' will send a bolt of lightning to strike them dead."
Xuan Ming smiled and didn't respond, but instead asked, "How have you been all these years?"
"Pretty good."
Xiao Bai pointed to the sea behind her. "Ever since you set the rules back then and Lord Bo Saixi became a God King, this ocean has been much more stable than before. That couple, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, also became gods, so no one is stirring up trouble in the sea. We Sea Spirit Beasts are living quite comfortably."
Speaking of this, her expression suddenly became somewhat complicated.
"It's just... on the human side, development has been incredibly fast."
"Those guys working on Soul Tool Technology, I don't know how their brains are wired. A thousand years ago, the Douluo Federation actually developed a Super Soul Tool Cannon with power reaching the Divine Rank! They even named that thing 'Heavenly Execution'."
"'Heavenly Execution'?" Xuan Ming raised an eyebrow. "Meaning acting on behalf of Heaven?"
"Exactly." Xiao Bai curled her lips. "Using your banner, they say it's the will of 'Heaven,' but in reality, it's used to intimidate those disobedient factions and powerful Spirit Beasts."
"Originally, I couldn't stand it and wanted to step in. But that old fox Ning Fengzhi... cough, the old Federation Chairman Ning sent word saying that this is humanity's own developmental process, and gods shouldn't interfere at will. He said even if someone were to intervene, it would have to wait until 'Heaven' speaks."
"But these years..." Xiao Bai felt a bit aggrieved. "Bibi Dong is busy managing the God Realm, Qian Renxue follows her everywhere, and Lord Bo Saixi is also helping. As for the other gods in the God Realm, they all say Douluo Star is your private domain, and jurisdiction lies with you and Lord Dragon God."
"I saw that Lord Dragon God hadn't made a move, so I thought you guys considered this normal development, so... I didn't dare to act rashly."
Xuan Ming turned to look at Gu Yuena.
Gu Yuena shrugged: "Indeed. The development of civilization inevitably comes with the innovation of weapons. As long as they don't use that 'Heavenly Execution' thing to destroy the World or slaughter Spirit Beasts, I can't be bothered to care. After all, survival of the fittest is also a natural Law."
"However..." Gu Yuena's tone shifted. "Now that you're back and see this situation, do you plan to intervene?"
Xuan Ming fell silent for a moment, his gaze deep as he looked toward the distant continent.
"Intervene? I definitely have to intervene a bit."
"However, not directly, and not by me."
"I just met an interesting little fellow in the Star Dou Great Forest. His name is Huo Yuhao, a child of destiny. You should have heard his name from the Church's side, right?"
"Huo Yuhao?"
Xiao Bai thought for a moment and nodded. "I've heard of him. The Sea God Church has listed him as their number one heretic, saying that the spirit soul thing he created is a desecration of the Sea God and you. They even sent several Titled Douluo to hunt him down a while ago."
"Desecration?" Xuan Ming gave a cold laugh. "A bunch of followers who use my name for personal gain and feign compliance while acting in opposition—they actually have the nerve to say others are committing desecration?"
He turned around, looking in the direction of the Sea God Temple, and then seemed to see the distant Angel God Temple through space.
"I want to see who will emerge victorious: these decadent followers who use a chicken feather as a command arrow, or a young man who dares to act in a Heaven-Defying manner and wants to break the old order."
"If Huo Yuhao wins..."
"Then it proves he is qualified to take the baton of this era. A new era will be pioneered by him and managed by him."
"But if he loses..."
"Then it shows that this World is rotten to the core and beyond saving."
"Since it's beyond saving, then I can only... perform another Heavenly Punishment, flip the table completely, and reshuffle the deck."
Xiao Bai trembled all over and subconsciously shrank her neck.
She was all too familiar with this tone.
Ten thousand years ago, Xuan Ming had used this tone to casually wipe out millions of troops and end a chaotic era.
It seemed that this time, the Douluo Continent was about to undergo another upheaval.
"Then... do you need me to do anything?" Xiao Bai asked cautiously.
"You don't need to do anything."
Xuan Ming waved his hand. "Just watch. This is a war of Mortals, and also a gamble between the old and new eras. Unless that kid Huo Yuhao is about to be killed, no Divine Rank power is allowed to interfere.
"Pass my order to Ning Fengzhi and the group of consecrators under Qian Renxue."
"They shouldn't interfere recklessly either. Human matters are to be decided by humans, unless humans really can't handle it anymore."