With the Vortex Demon God Osial gone, the heavy overcast that had lingered over Seagod Island for so long began to stir and part.
A long-lost shaft of warm, golden sunlight speared through the clouds like a trumpet of victory, falling straight upon Bo Saixi's face. Though pale and tired, it remained resolute and dignified—now haloed in sanctity.
Lowering her scepter, she surveyed the ravaged seascape and finally settled her gaze on the three unknown saviors. Drawing a breath—voice weakened by the fight yet retaining a high priestess's poise and sincerity—she said:
"You three, we owe this battle to your aid. Please, come ashore with me, and allow Seagod Island to offer its humble hospitality."
At that, Hysilens's lashes trembled. She drew her gaze from the calming sea and inclined her head to Bo Saixi.
Her black hair, under the brightening sun, gleamed like deep-sea pearls—mysterious and soft. The violet gradient at the tips seemed ever more dreamlike.
Cerydra flicked her dampened sleeve, her delicate face unreadable—as if the cataclysmic battle hadn't impressed her. If anything, she looked more curious about the talk to come.
Skirk had already stowed her icy blade, returning to her cool, ethereal composure.
Bo Saixi led the three guests and Shark King Xiao Bai as streams of light to the island, alighting before the Seagod Temple.
Though the island had not been directly struck, the demon god's oppressive presence had left its people and spirit masters shaken.
On the square, the Seagod's soft light fell, seeking to soothe the wounds and unease of war.
Before Bo Saixi could speak, Cerydra idly rolled an obsidian-like piece between her fingers, lids barely lifting. In a casual yet undeniable tone, she broke the brief calm:
"Don't celebrate too soon. That big fellow's only been knocked back into the sea to slumber. It's not dead."
Her words were a dash of cold water into hot oil, tightening the atmosphere anew.
"A level-100 true god isn't so easily slain. When it's drawn enough power from the deep and repaired itself, it will return. It's only a matter of time."
Bo Saixi showed little surprise—if anything, sober agreement.
She sighed softly and nodded:
"You speak truth. With the Seagod's power, this is not the first time I've repelled it. But before long, it reappears."
Her eyes swept over Hysilens and Skirk, then returned to Cerydra, both grateful and probing.
"Even so, Seagod Island will remember your kindness. Without you, I do not know if we could have held on today."
She paused, turning to the core question:
"Only… forgive my bluntness. Your powers far transcend the norm, your realms unfathomable—especially this lady's oceanic authority, so pure and akin to, yet distinct from, the Seagod's. In this Douluo Continent, figures such as you cannot be unknown. Might I ask: where do you come from?"
A high priestess had to know.
These three were saviors, yes—but also unknown variables.
Hysilens and Cerydra exchanged a glance, making no move to hide the truth.
Hysilens's voice was clear as her music. "High Priestess, do not worry. We are not natives of this world."
"Not of this world?"
Bo Saixi blinked.
"Indeed," Cerydra said, the piece dancing in her fingers. "We were swept here by a temporal rift. In terms you'd grasp—we are travelers from beyond this world."
Bo Saixi and Xiao Bai were both startled.
Beyond the world?
Then Skirk's cool voice sounded. She looked to Bai Xiuxiu, who had followed quietly and now tensed at the mention of origins.
"Xiuxiu, it's time. Tell them the truth. It's your story to tell."
Skirk disliked talking—and if not for Xiuxiu's pleading, she would never have waded into another world's turmoil.
All eyes turned to Bai Xiuxiu.
With eyes so like Xiao Bai's, the girl drew a deep breath—as if steeling herself—and stepped forward. Facing Bo Saixi and Xiao Bai, her voice trembled, yet carried clearly:
"Like you two… I—I'm also not of this world. Where we come from is also called Douluo Continent. It has similar seas, lands, spirit masters, and spirit beasts… but it is Douluo a full ten thousand years later."
"Ten thousand years later?!"
Xiao Bai cried out. Bo Saixi's pupils shrank.
Struggling to calm herself, Bai Xiuxiu continued:
"Yes. The timelines differ, but in essence it's… a parallel world. And my true identity is…"
She raised her head and met the human-formed Xiao Bai's eyes—now full of shock and uncertainty—and said, one word at a time:
"I am, ten thousand years later, the daughter of Xiao Bai, Queen of the Demon-Soul Great White Sharks. I am the princess of the Demon-Soul Great White Shark clan—Bai Xiuxiu."
"What?!"
The words fell like thunder.
Bo Saixi snapped her gaze to Xiao Bai, disbelief written plain.
As for Xiao Bai, she was struck senseless.
Her beautiful blue eyes went wide, her mouth parted as she stared at the girl whose features resembled her by six or seven parts—though softer and sadder. Her mind emptied.
D-daughter? My… my daughter? From ten thousand years hence? Another world?
The shock was too great; even a hundred-thousand-year beast's mind balked. It seemed absurd, baffling, unreal—yet from deep within her blood, a subtle tremor rose, making it impossible to reject outright.
The square before the Seagod Temple fell silent, save for the soft moan of wind in the colonnade.
Seeing Xiao Bai dumbfounded, Bai Xiuxiu's long-held tears finally fell.
She began her story—a tale of sorrow and despair.
Ten millennia hence, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's consort, the Demon Empress, took revenge—unleashing a bloody massacre upon the Demon-Soul Great White Sharks… The clan was butchered; her mother fell in battle… The tribe was nearly wiped out, with only Xiuxiu left alive by a thread.
Her voice caught, the tale broken—yet each word bled. The marrow-deep grief moved all who heard.
Bo Saixi's face grew mournful; she felt the truth of that despair.
Compassion flickered in Hysilens's eyes; even Cerydra's toying hand slowed.
And Xiao Bai—listening to the fate of herself and her clan in another world, and to the sobs of the girl calling herself her daughter—the initial absurdity and awkwardness began to give way to a fierce empathy and a pain beyond words.
However abrupt it seemed, and though reason protested the impossibility, that stirring—perhaps of shared blood echoing across time—made detachment impossible.
She hesitated, then stepped forward to the girl.
Seeing the tear-streaked, fragile face, Xiao Bai awkwardly patted her shoulder—voice less breezy than usual, touched by rare gentleness and a hint of awkward care:
"D-don't cry. I… it sounds really… strange, but if it's true—that's too cruel… I—I'm here, aren't I? And the clan's here too… Don't be too sad."
It wasn't polished comfort, but it was Xiao Bai's own warmth and candor.
Feeling this unfamiliar yet longed-for care, Bai Xiuxiu froze—then, like a burst dam, her emotions surged. She could no longer hold back and threw herself into Xiao Bai's arms, sobbing, as if to expel all grievance, fear, and sorrow at once.
Xiao Bai stiffened, then relaxed, gently wrapping the trembling girl.
The skies over Seagod Island cleared completely. Sunlight bathed the mother and daughter embracing across time—warm and peaceful.
As Bo Saixi watched them, thoughts churning—glad for their bond yet weighted by responsibility—a vast, majestic intent seeped into her mind like gentle seawater.
It was a presence she knew intimately—the Seagod's divine sense.
It spoke little, only imparted a message.
"Hysilens bears pure oceanic authority, highly compatible with My godseat. Should she accept the divine trials, the Nine Trials of the Seagod will pose little difficulty. She could inherit My station. Then the crisis of Seagod Island would be resolved."
The will paused, heavy:
"That sea demon god is born of the ocean's rancor and chaos. So long as the sea endures, it is near-indestructible. Driving it back is easy; sealing it is hard; slaying it, harder still. Help from without cannot last. To uproot this calamity, a new Seagod must arise—wielding full divine authority to rule the ocean and purge its filth."
The oracle swept away Bo Saixi's worries—yet stirred grief.
She understood.
Hysilens and the others had already given aid; they would not stay forever as guardians.
Relying on outsiders was only expedience.
For lasting peace over the seas and island, a true god must be born to hold the oceanic authority.
And the Seagod's Nine Trials… their last gate required the High Priestess to serve as key—with her life and soul—to open the path to godhood.
This had been her fate since taking the post.
A complicated light crossed Bo Saixi's eyes—reluctance for life, regret for unfinished matters—but above all, a settled resolve.
Over two centuries lived, a lifetime guarding this island and its faith—perhaps it truly was time to meet the destined end.
She thought of the man once hailed with her as unmatched across sea, land, and sky—the one who wielded the Clear Sky Hammer, the heroic Tang Chen.
Fate had long told her he was likely gone.
And the city that worshiped the Angel God—the High Priest Qian Daoliu's aura had recently vanished as well, likely sacrificed for godly succession.
The three towering figures of an age—now, only she remained.
Old comrades had either fallen or faded. The roaring sea she had protected, the island she had tended—perhaps they no longer needed a guardian of the old era.
Better to kindle a new god's fire with what remained of her life—to win a truly bright future for Seagod Island.
Having thought it through, her last hesitation disappeared. Resolve took its place.
She straightened her slightly disheveled robes and turned solemnly to Hysilens.
Under puzzled looks, Bo Saixi performed Seagod Island's highest courtesy to Hysilens.
"Lady Hysilens."
Her voice was clear and weighty, echoing before the temple.
"I, Bo Saixi, High Priestess of Seagod Island and the Seagod's representative upon earth, beseech you—accept the Seagod's Nine Trials, and inherit the Seagod's divine seat!"
All but Cerydra were stunned—including Bai Xiuxiu, who had just stopped crying, and Xiao Bai, still digesting the word "daughter."
Even Hysilens blinked—starlit depths stirring in her eyes.
She did not answer at once, but turned instinctively to Cerydra.
Though powerful, she preferred the counsel of this wise, decisive queen in matters that shaped the future.
Cerydra met Hysilens's glance, tilting her delicate chin. The flame on her crown seemed to burn more tightly.
She had already sensed someone contacting Bo Saixi. To bypass them and speak privately could only be the island's patron deity. And she had learned this was the Seagod's inheritance ground.
The truth was simple then: the island, hounded by the vortex demon and ever on the brink, had no new Seagod. Now, she had arrived—with Hysilens—at precisely this juncture.