As everyone went about their duties and exited the conference room…
Xu Cheng sat at the head of the table, deep in thought.
Xiao Hongchen sat casually to the side, "What are you thinking about?"
"The Abyssal Plane," Xu Cheng said calmly.
Xiao Hongchen's smile faded, his expression gradually becoming serious.
Ever since he had advanced to Rank 95 Super Douluo and become the first Grade-10 Soul Engineer, his sights had shifted to a broader world—the universe.
As one of the chief engineers of the interstellar battleship, having personally overseen the construction of Level-11 soul tools, his perspective was anything but shallow.
After encountering the Temple of Destruction and learning from Xu Cheng about the existence of the Divine Realm, he naturally came to understand the looming "crisis" facing Douluo Star: the invasion of the Abyssal Plane.
Of course, "crisis" now had to be placed in quotation marks.
Given the current rapid technological development of the Sun Moon Empire's soul tools, the first interstellar battleship had already been built, and more were sure to follow. The first step is always the hardest, but once it begins, the rest comes like dumplings into boiling water—one after another.
From the perspective of today's Sun Moon Empire, the Abyssal Plane was both a threat and an opportunity.
The Abyssal Plane was home to countless abyssal creatures and a source of Abyssal Origin Power—a massive power bank. Xu Cheng had long stated that this Abyssal Origin would be used to expand the River of Souls, empowering Elder Yi to fully govern the Underworld and absorb all souls from the Divine Realm's subordinate systems. At that point, Elder Yi would truly become… the Lord of the Underworld.
But that's a story for another time.
Xiao Hongchen sighed, "Once we extract that Abyssal Origin Power, a portion should go to the Sun Moon Empire. That kind of power feels like primal chaos—there's even an element of devouring essence. If Sun Moon harnesses it, it won't go to waste."
"Of course. The Sun Moon Empire is my foundation," Xu Cheng smiled, glancing at the ever-nonchalant Xiao Hongchen.
"So… are we still holding the Continental Soul Master Tournament in six months?" Xiao Hongchen scratched his head, clearly unconcerned.
Xu Cheng shook his head helplessly.
But he didn't say anything about what lay behind the Abyssal Plane.
"Hold it—why wouldn't we?"
They were now in space, but the foundation of the Sun Moon Empire still lay on the continent.
Since surrounding the original continent from both the north and south three years ago, both sides had been in a silent standoff, developing independently.
And up to now, Xu Cheng hadn't taken direct action—not only because of Tang San, but also because of Ah Yin on Douluo Star.
Even a Level-11 soul cannon couldn't kill a fully awakened demigod.
Although the Rakshasa God fragment within his spiritual sea had grown stronger, there was still a gap from true demigod power—especially when the opponent had spent years absorbing Douluo Star's foundations…
As for himself…
Xu Cheng clenched his fist.
Rank 98 Super Douluo.
As the ultimate controller of the Temple of Destruction, he had maxed out the rewards—holding three martial souls and abusing his authority to gain over a dozen god-level soul rings.
All of them blood-red.
At first, he'd been cautious, afraid of triggering divine retaliation. But when Destruction never showed up, he let himself go completely.
"I'm just curious how far Shrek has declined…" Xiao Hongchen fiddled with his fingers, bored.
"There's satellite footage. Don't tell me you've never checked," Xu Cheng said irritably.
"Satellites only show overhead views; they can't scan for expert-level soul power signatures. All we can do is analyze from appearances—Shrek is clearly declining. Many teaching buildings are abandoned, and student numbers are less than one-fifth of what they used to be," Xiao Hongchen shrugged.
"Maybe they're going the elite route," Xu Cheng yawned.
"Pfft… elite route? I'll die laughing," Xiao Hongchen sneered.
"Since you sealed off all soul beast sources on the continent three years ago, they've had to rely on artificial soul rings from the Sun Moon Empire. Based on intelligence, they currently produce fewer than 50 ten-thousand-year soul rings a year. In comparison, the Sun Moon Empire produces nearly a thousand annually!"
"There's no helping it. Thanks to artificial soul rings, countless noble forces have defected to the Sun Moon Empire. Even our Royal Academy now enrolls 2,000 students per year, and the acceptance threshold has skyrocketed to Level 21!" Xu Cheng sighed.
"Even the entry bar for Mingdu Soul Tool Academy has risen sharply."
"Shrek's so-called elite path is more of a forced necessity. Even after rounds of screening, less than 10% of applicants remain."
"Heh…" Xiao Hongchen chuckled again.
"No problem. This tournament, I'll fight them with one hand!"
"Can you be serious for a second?" Xu Cheng twitched. "You're a Grade-10 Soul Engineer and want to enter a youth tournament?"
"Hey! I don't like that tone. Let me ask—am I a youth or not?!" Xiao Hongchen stared.
"Oh right… you're also the Dean. Who exactly are you going to represent?" Xu Cheng said expressionlessly.
Xiao Hongchen: "…"
"No matter. This tournament is just to show off the Sun Moon Empire's strength—to accelerate Shrek's slow death, and to sway the remaining neutral factions completely to our side."
"Heh, no problem! This time, we'll show the entire continent what the Sun Moon Empire really means!" Xiao Hongchen grinned.
"Alright, I'm heading out," Xu Cheng waved.
"Where to?" Xiao Hongchen blinked.
"The Underworld…"
The Underworld – Realm of Reincarnation
Beneath a swirling gray sky, there was no sun or moon—only countless floating pale soul flames, flickering like stars.
This was the Underworld, evolved from the undead plane of Electrolux and forged with the authority of the Death God—a place of final rest for the souls of Douluo Star and twelve neighboring planets, and also the starting point of reincarnation.
A dark purple river flowed across the void—within its waters drifted countless blurry faces, weeping or laughing faintly.
This was the River of Forgetfulness, a torrent that devoured memories.
Crimson spider lilies bloomed along the banks, with fresh souls curled within their petals, awaiting judgment from the Lord of the Underworld.
In the depths of the flower field stood twelve massive bronze gates, each engraved with zodiac-like constellations—each gate corresponded to a planet under the Death God's dominion.
At the center of the Underworld—the Judgment Court.
A throne made of bones floated in the void.
Electrolux, wearing tattered gray robes, sat upon it, pale fingers tapping the armrest. Each tap made space itself tremble. His eyes were twin swirling gray vortexes: his left eye reflected the karma of the living, and his right eye consumed the sins of the dead.
Below the throne, thousands of Soul Guides knelt on one knee—once apex beings of their planets, now clad in black armor, their empty eye sockets lit with ghostly fire granted by Electrolux.
Xu Cheng had originally modeled this after the ox-headed and horse-faced guardians of the underworld in his previous world—but now, fantasy had become reality.
One had to admit—Elder Yi's execution ability was terrifying.
Xu Cheng looked behind Electrolux's throne.
There, a massive wheel forged from shattered stardust slowly turned. Around its rim were projections of Douluo Star, the Dragon-Horse Planet, and a dozen others.
With each rotation, countless soul spirits were crushed into light, then reborn into new soul imprints.
This was the Core of Reincarnation—Electrolux had stripped away the Divine Committee's control over reincarnation and rebuilt the laws using undead magic.
Pure souls ascended to the Heaven of Pure Glazed Light at the top of the wheel.
The sinful plunged into the Eternal Hellfire Furnace beneath it.
Most, however, had their memories cleansed in the cycle and were reborn into the world.
At that moment, the gray mist of the Underworld churned violently.
Xu Cheng's figure appeared.
Electrolux smiled.
His proudest disciple—only a step away from helping him restore his physical form.
Upon seeing him, the Soul Guides cast respectful glances. As the disciple of the Lord of the Underworld and a wielder of a portion of its authority, Xu Cheng was honored above nearly all others.
"Teacher, the Abyssal Plane is about to arrive…"
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm
In front of a grand divine palace…
Tang San's expression was one of excitement.
He had held back for three whole days!
Ever since he sent his divine sense to the mortal realm as a commander, three days had passed.
Which meant three years had gone by on Douluo Star.
By now, his divine consciousness must have fulfilled its purpose—leading Shrek Academy and the Clear Sky Sect to once again crush the Sun Moon Empire and unify the continent.
His name would be remembered once more...
Standing atop the clouds, his Purple Demon Eyes pierced through layer upon layer of mist.
Then, suddenly—his pupils shrank.
Above the territory of the Sun Moon Empire, multiple black interstellar battleships were conducting spatial jump experiments, their warped dimensional rifts flashing with blinding blue light.
What made his fury erupt, though, was that amid the surrounding escort ships, the flagship was emanating a terrifying energy wave—one capable of piercing divine-level barriers, and even carried a faint demigod-level aura!
What the hell is this?!!
The Sun Moon Empire was nearly a god-level civilization now.
Where is Shrek Academy?
What about the Clear Sky Sect?What is my divine avatar even doing?!
But in the next moment, Tang San saw clearly—the national fate of the Sun Moon Empire was blazing like boiling oil, rapidly devouring the fortune that originally belonged to the Tang Sect and Shrek. A mysterious figure under the blessing of this national destiny became more and more substantial, while Huo Yuhao's fate line began to drastically shift...
The entire Shrek Academy had shriveled into a pitiful state, completely worn out. And the Clear Sky Sect, where he had entrusted his divine sense, wasn't faring any better. Not only were there half as many strong individuals as he had expected, but almost no new blood remained.
He was certain:
If things continued this way,The fall of Shrek and the Clear Sky Sect was only a matter of time.
"Damn it!!"Tang San roared furiously. The Asura Blood Sword materialized from the void, its blood-red glow slicing a deep chasm through the sea of clouds.
He raised his hand, ready to unleash divine punishment and annihilate those transgressing soul tools along with the Sun Moon Empire—If he didn't act now, they'd soon be on par with the Divine Realm!
This rocket-like acceleration filled him with not just anger, but also deep fear.
If it was just a power struggle with the God of Destruction, he could still accept it.After all, they were all part of the Divine Realm.
But with the rise of the Sun Moon Empire, would the Divine Realm still maintain its superior status in the future?That—was another question entirely.It touched the core of his bottom line.
"Tut-tut, what a temper, Sea God."
A mocking voice suddenly echoed out.
Purple mist of destruction spread through the air as the God of Destruction emerged. With a wave of his sleeve, he effortlessly dispersed Tang San's Asura killing intent.
"What's the matter? Getting nervous just because a few mortals are about to touch the threshold of the Divine Realm?"
Tang San's eyes flared with cold light."Destruction, are you going to indulge these insects in overturning the Divine Realm's laws?!!"
"Laws?"The God of Destruction let out a scornful laugh.Behind him appeared a projected image of the Sun Moon Empire's underground laboratory—tens of thousands of soul engineers working meticulously with advanced instruments, researching and building.
"They rely on wisdom. And you…"He glanced meaningfully at the trident trembling in Tang San's hand,"Only know how to suppress with brute force."
"Soul tool technology is unstoppable. They can lead Douluo Star—and even the future Divine Realm—into true brilliance. Not like us, just lying around here as so-called fake gods of a sub-dimensional realm!"
"Bullshit fake god!" Tang San bellowed."I am a true god! A God King!"
"Heh…"
Before he could finish, the God of Destruction suddenly raised his hand, and a bolt of purple-black lightning blasted straight toward Tang San's face.
Tang San hastily raised his Sea God divine power to block, but was still blasted back three steps.His divine robe was even charred at the sleeve!
"You!"Tang San was both shocked and enraged—He never imagined the God of Destruction had grown so strong.
In their first real clash, he was already at a disadvantage.
"Save it."The God of Destruction laughed, waving away the residual thunder.
"The Divine Realm Council already passed a resolution: We will not interfere in the development of mortal civilizations—unless…"
"Unless you can prove the Sun Moon Empire poses a threat to the existence of the Divine Realm. For example… they develop an anti-god weapon?"
Tang San's face turned ashen.
Of course he couldn't produce such evidence—Those interstellar battleships and Level-11 soul tools were strong, yes, but still far from threatening the Divine Realm.
But he knew better than anyone—
The Divine Realm favored the Destruction faction.
Ever since Kindness and Evil left some time ago, the God of Life had seen through Tang San's true nature.
So this was a blatant political setup!
There were five seats in the Divine Realm Council.
Destruction and Life held two.
Now with Kindness and Evil gone, their successors had inherited their seats.Maybe the former holders had warned them before leaving, because no matter what Tang San said, they now treated him with polite distance.
It was obvious—
They had sided with Destruction.
Which meant…
4 votes to 1.
How the hell was he supposed to win that?!
"Just watch closely."The God of Destruction laughed loudly, turning into mist and dissipating.
"This… is true civilizational evolution—not the trickery of raising faith sheep."
He watched the furious, humiliated Tang San and laughed harder.
In truth, even as a ruler of the Divine Realm, the God of Destruction had some concerns.
But once Xu Cheng revealed the calamity awaiting the Divine Realm in the future—Dimensional storms—and explained the solution…Letting the Sun Moon Empire study spatial power and solve it with science…
He had no reason to refuse.
After all, Xu Cheng was his successor.
Xu Cheng had shown clear traits of a "child of destiny", with foresight and wisdom beyond his years.
The moment the God of Destruction gave Xu Cheng the control of the Temple of Destruction,It meant he had already placed his full trust in him.