Douluo: Martial Soul White Tiger, I am the White Emperor of Heaven

Upon hearing this, Tang Wulin's face revealed a complex smile, a smile containing satisfaction, heaviness, and endless感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep emotion). "My path... is a path that constantly expands." He raised his hand, palm upward, a glimmer of light appearing within it, a light that seemed to hold the birth and death of countless stars, the growth and withering of grass and trees, the rise and fall of civilizations. "I try to understand, to connect, to become the 'being' of all things. The joy of every life, the memory of every civilization, every confirmation of a tiny existence, all make this net a little stronger. But it's like building a city on sand; every wave (referring to nothingness) washes over it, and I need to expend enormous effort to repair and reinforce it."

He dimmed his light, his gaze becoming profound: "So, your path has shown me another possibility. If I can become a 'net' covering existence, you might become an 'anchor' anchoring time. Perhaps our paths can resonate with each other."

Qian Renxue nodded silently. The breadth of Tang Wulin's path and the depth of her own path formed a wonderful contrast and complement.

“Three days later,” she repeated the time, both as a confirmation and as a farewell.

“Three days from now,” Tang Wulin nodded, “the passage will open for you. Take care, Qian Renxue.”

"Take care of yourself, Tang Wulin."

Over the next three days, Qian Renxue, with Tang Wulin's assistance, made preparations. The ritual to seal the divine position took place in a tranquil hall, a solemn and perilous process. She needed to personally compress and condense her surging divine power and perception of the divine position into a tangible "divine core," sealing it deep within her consciousness. As the last rune fell, the vast power receded from her body like a tide, leaving only a trickle flowing through her meridians. A long-lost sense of "weight" and "limitations" belonging to mortals clearly returned. She could feel hunger, exhaustion, and even subtle changes in the air's temperature.

Tang Wulin handed her a prepared travel bag containing everything befitting her status in this era: the traveler "Xueyan's" identity documents, currency, a map, several sets of ordinary clothes, and some basic information.

At dawn on the third day, as the morning light began to peek through the air, Qian Renxue—now Xueyan—stood before the passage leading to Douluo Continent. She wore simple white travel clothes, her long hair tied back, and no longer possessed any divine aura. Only her eyes remained clear and deep, reflecting the weight of countless ages.

“Remember,” Tang Wulin concluded, “this trip is only for finding and anchoring. Do not change the fundamentals unless absolutely necessary. What you see, experience, and feel will all be part of your future.”

“I understand.” Xueyan nodded, then resolutely turned around and stepped into the swirling nebula halo.

…………

The entrance to the divine realm wasn't a physical entity, but rather a swirling, nebula-like halo. Standing before it, Qian Renxue could feel a familiar pull—the call of her homeland, mixed with a sense of alienation accumulated over millennia. She reached into her bag, her fingertips touching the cool metal surface. There lay the identification Tang Wulin had given her: a wandering scholar's badge and a small bag of currency used in this era.

“Remember,” Tang Wulin concluded, his figure appearing hazy in the glow of the passageway, “you are now Xueyan, twenty-four years old, a traveling scholar from the far north. Your parents were scholars who disappeared during the initial investigation of the Abyss Rift. This background is enough for you to travel reasonably in various places without attracting excessive attention.”

Qian Renxue—now Xueyan—nodded. She took one last look at the God Realm, the place she had protected for thousands of years, then turned and stepped into the halo of light.

The feeling of passing through the divine realm portal was completely different from flying or teleporting. It was a feeling of being stripped away, not physically, but existentially. She felt her identity as the "Angel God" being wrapped and compressed layer by layer, stuffed into a locked box deep within her consciousness. Divine power receded like the tide, leaving only the most basic trace—roughly equivalent to a level 60 Soul Master. This was the limit of the sealing ritual; any less and she could no longer maintain her life form. At the same time, a long-lost feeling returned.

The sound of a heartbeat. The subtle murmur of blood flowing. The rhythm of her lungs expanding and contracting. Having been a deity for millennia, she had long forgotten these fundamental aspects of life. A deity's body is a perfect energy construct, incapable of fatigue, illness, or physiological limitations. But now, she could clearly feel the effects of gravity on her body, the stimulation of the cool morning air entering her nasal cavity, and even the slight twitching in her stomach caused by tension.

At the other end of the passage lies a forest in the northern part of the Douluo Continent.

As Qian Renxue stepped out of the halo and her feet touched solid ground, a cacophony of scents washed over her. The earthy smell of soil, the sour odor of decaying leaves, the faint fragrance of wildflowers in the distance, and something... amiss. An indescribable sense of thinness, as if the world's "concentration" had been diluted. It was the effect of the abyssal rift, something Tang Wulin had warned her about.

She looked around. The forest seemed ordinary, with oak, maple, and pine trees growing together, sunlight dappling through the leaves. But upon closer inspection, she could spot something amiss—the shadows of some trees were pointing in the wrong direction, several plants that should have been green had an unhealthy grayish-blue hue, and ripples almost invisible to the naked eye occasionally flashed through the air.

“The spacetime structure is no longer stable,” she muttered to herself, an instinctive perception anchored in time. “No wonder the God of Destruction said there were only ten years left.”

Following the map given to her by Tang Wulin, she headed towards the nearest town. After walking for three hours, a small town came into view. Compared to ten thousand years ago, the architecture had changed drastically. Houses were mostly built of synthetic materials, with streamlined shapes, and most roofs were equipped with solar panels. Vehicles that did not require soul power to run on the streets, and people wore simple and practical clothing, yet the colors were unusually vibrant.

A sign stands at the entrance of the town: "North Wind Town - Abyss Observation Outpost No. 3".

Several people in uniform were checking passersby at the town entrance. Their uniforms were dark blue, with a badge on their chest: an eye staring at a spiraling fissure.

"Identity document." A young woman stopped Qian Renxue, her tone polite but firm.

Qian Renxue handed over the visiting scholar's badge and identification documents. The woman took them and scanned them with the device in her hand. The device emitted a soft green light.

"Xueyan, a scholar from the far north," the woman read the information on the screen, "What is your purpose in coming to Northwind Town?"

“Academic investigation,” Qian Renxue replied as expected. “I am writing a paper on the impact of the abyssal fissures on the surrounding ecological environment and need to collect first-hand data.”

The woman nodded; this was quite common here. Ever since the first abyssal rift appeared deep within the Star Dou Great Forest thirty years ago, scholars, soul masters, and curious individuals from all over the continent have flocked to various observation points. (End of Chapter)