Looking at the silent Rong Lingji, Huo Yuhao was actually quite surprised.
Originally, he had only detected the presence of a Spirit Soul contract on Rong Tianling, so after returning to reality he casually checked some records to see if Rong Tianling's Spirit Soul had any connection to the Spirit Transmission Tower. He hadn't expected there to be one—and to hook a big fish at that.
He might not recognize others, but the name Rong Lingji was familiar to him. This was the son of Rong Nianbing and Long Ling, and the only descendant of Rong Nianbing mentioned in Ice Fire Magic Chef.
He hadn't expected this person to be on the Douluo Continent.
"You must have already been prepared to meet me, right?"
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes. "After all, news about Na'er and me is common knowledge. Under these circumstances, having Rong Tianling participate in the selection and use power from another system was bound to attract attention."
"Haha, that's true. But I didn't expect you to come straight to my door."
Rong Lingji let out a dry laugh, glossing over the previous matter, his expression gradually turning serious.
"It's just that I don't have you as a friend in the Divine Realm, yet you clearly know me and were able to pinpoint me with just a name. Have we met in the Divine Realm? Lord Fire God!"
He emphasized the words "Fire God" heavily.
As Rong Nianbing's child, he was extremely familiar with the Seven Elemental Gods. Neither Huo Yuhao nor Gu Yuena matched any of the Seven Elemental Gods he knew.
Of course, he couldn't rule out the possibility that the Elemental Gods had changed after he left the Divine Realm. But Rong Lingji felt that was unlikely—the time between his leaving and the Divine Realm's troubles was very short. The probability of two first-class deities changing simultaneously was simply too low.
So the question remained: who was Huo Yuhao, who clearly knew him? Which deity was he?
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow and smiled. "This is indeed our first meeting. We've never met before."
Rong Lingji stared at him for a few moments, then looked away.
"Never mind. A guest is a guest. Come in and sit down. It's not right to talk standing up."
He turned and walked toward the wooden cabin, pushing the door open.
Huo Yuhao followed him inside.
The cabin's interior was much larger than it appeared from outside.
Living room, kitchen, bedroom—all fully equipped. Though simply decorated, everything exuded a lived-in feel.
Two blankets of different patterns were draped over the fabric sofa. Two photos stood on the TV cabinet—one of Rong Lingji holding a little girl, the other a solo shot of the girl after she had grown up. It was unmistakably Rong Tianling.
Huo Yuhao's gaze lingered on the photos for a moment before he thoughtfully looked away.
Rong Lingji poured two cups of tea and set them on the coffee table.
"Have a seat." He sat down on the sofa and casually picked up the remote to turn off the TV, which was still replaying the War Temple selection matches.
Huo Yuhao sat across from him and heard Rong Lingji say, "When I first learned that two reincarnated deities had appeared on the Douluo Continent, and that they were the Seven Elemental Gods, I was very surprised. After all, before I left the Divine Realm, the Seven Elemental Gods hadn't changed. You bear no resemblance to the Elemental Gods I know."
"And after learning more details about you, I became even more certain that you're not the Elemental Gods I know. So I've been very curious about your origins, and I've considered whether I should make contact with you as a member of the Divine Realm."
"But I don't know your character. Reaching out rashly means risk, so I've never made up my mind. It wasn't until recently, when the Federation released information about the Abyss Plane and began the selection, that I prepared to make contact. Tianling wanted to emerge into the world, so I got ready. After all, the Abyss threat is there. I figured you wouldn't ignore it either. With a common enemy, it seemed like we could talk."
Rong Lingji raised his teacup and looked at Huo Yuhao.
"Now that you've come alone and your words and actions show no intention of making an enemy of me, I'm even more at ease. But before that, can you tell me which deity you really are?"
Huo Yuhao smiled slightly and said frankly, "Huo Yuhao is my real name. There is no deity with my name in the Divine Realm. You definitely wouldn't recognize me, Lord Rong Lingji."
This meant a divine official?
Rong Lingji thought of the online descriptions of Huo Yuhao and found it hard to believe.
A reincarnated divine official whose cultivation hadn't even reached Limit, yet could contend with a true deity whose cultivation had been suppressed by the plane? Was that possible?
Rong Lingji stared at Huo Yuhao for a few seconds, trying to find any trace of a joke on his face.
But Huo Yuhao's expression was calm—too calm to be lying.
"This truly is a strange matter."
No matter how many questions Rong Lingji had, Huo Yuhao showed no intention of continuing.
Instead, Huo Yuhao countered, "You're curious about my origins, Lord Rong Lingji, and I'm equally curious about why you're on the Douluo Continent and why you're staying in this remote corner."
After learning Rong Lingji was here, he knew there had to be another reason for the other's presence on the Douluo Continent—it wasn't just some lower-realm training.
After all, Rong Lingji could be considered Rong Nianbing's eldest son, and Rong Nianbing had become a deity before Tang San.
Calculating by the Divine Realm's time—one day above, one year below—Rong Lingji was no longer young. Even with the worst talent, he should have at least become a deity by now.
Such a person didn't need to train on the Douluo Continent, and Tang San wouldn't allow him to stay here long and disrupt his arrangements.
So the reason Rong Lingji remained on the Douluo Continent was worth investigating. Surely he hadn't also been elbowed down to the mortal world by Old Gold?
If that were the case, Old Rong would probably skin Old Gold alive after finding out.
"There's nothing much to hide. I'm just unlucky, that's all."
Rong Lingji snapped back to the present and sighed. "After my father left the Divine Realm, my many siblings went down to various planes for training."
"But I was different. I was born early. My cultivation had already reached the divine level. Most subordinate planes of the Divine Realm have restrictions on divine-level beings. There wasn't much place for me to train."
"Moreover, as the saying goes, the eldest son is like a father. When my father left, it was naturally my responsibility to look after the family. So I spent most of my time in the Divine Realm, ready to help my siblings if anything happened."
"But living like that for too long inevitably gets boring. So I occasionally applied to the Divine Realm Council to seal my cultivation and travel to the lower realms, to enrich my life."
"Then, two thousand years ago, because I was very interested in someone my father had once mentioned, I applied to the Divine Realm Council for permission to go to the Douluo Continent and came here."
Rong Lingji paused, then said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "But then, I'd only been in the lower realm for a short time—about two months—when I found I could no longer contact the Divine Realm. Later, the Divine Realm completely vanished from this star region, so I was stuck on the Douluo Continent."
Having grown up around Rong Nianbing, he hadn't inherited a divine seat to give himself trouble. He had simply broken through the divine level through his own cultivation. The environment of their homeland, the Yangguang Continent, was better than the Douluo Continent—it was possible to break through to the divine level there. But without inheriting a divine seat, he had lost a shortcut to rapidly advancing his cultivation.
The Divine Realm disappeared. He had no divine seat. His strength was inferior to the Plane Lord's. His cultivation was suppressed below the divine level by the Plane Lord. He couldn't even rely on his strength to leave the Douluo Continent and return to the Yangguang Continent.
It was like being exiled to the frontier. He had drawn the short straw.
Hearing Rong Lingji's words, Huo Yuhao's thoughts raced.
Someone Rong Nianbing had once mentioned—could it be him?
Moreover, losing contact with the Divine Realm meant the space-time turbulence had arrived. Rong Lingji had been on the Douluo Continent for only a few months when this happened. When he came down, the God King of Destruction had probably approved his request, right?
After all, after the God King of Destruction's coup, Tang San had been imprisoned for over half a year. The God King of Destruction had clearly been handling affairs during that time, which equated to over a hundred years in the mortal world.
If so, it made sense that Rong Lingji was here and Ah Yin and the others hadn't bothered with him.
Huo Yuhao's mind was churned, but his face remained impassive.
"So after staying on the Douluo Continent, you just started living in seclusion?"
"What else?" Rong Lingji smiled bitterly. "Can't go back, can't leave. In those first few years, I still hoped the Divine Realm would reappear. Eventually, I gave up. Since I couldn't leave, I had to accept it."
He paused, looked out the window, and sighed. "I had no desire to get involved in the rights and wrongs of the Douluo Continent, so I simply hid in this corner, waiting for the end."
Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment.
You're getting all sentimental. Compared to the deities who were elbowed to death by Old Gold, you're incredibly lucky.
After a long while, he spoke. "You're actually very lucky. You left the Divine Realm at a critical moment and escaped the space-time turbulence and the Golden Dragon King's chaos."
Huo Yuhao didn't hold back and gave Rong Lingji a general account of the Divine Realm turmoil.
Information exchange required reciprocity.
A glint of interest flashed in Rong Lingji's eyes. He had shared his story in such detail and mentioned the Divine Realm's disappearance multiple times precisely to trade for information about it.
Now it seemed Huo Yuhao was indeed someone worth talking to.
After hearing his "fellow countryman" from the Divine Realm's account, Rong Lingji's understanding of the situation became much clearer, and he was secretly horrified.
Thankfully, he and most of his family had left the Divine Realm and gone to other planes. Otherwise, they'd all have been cannon fodder!
"So, you reincarnated because of the Golden Dragon King's chaos?" Rong Lingji looked Huo Yuhao up and down and sighed. "Facing a God King and surviving—that's no small feat."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
He didn't linger on this topic and directly changed the subject.
"Rong Tianling isn't your daughter, is she?"
Rong Lingji didn't find it strange that Huo Yuhao had changed the subject. He simply assumed the other didn't want to talk about being elbowed to death by the Golden Dragon King.
After all, being attacked by a God King-level existence and surviving was already a miracle. No one would want to relive such a narrow escape.
"What makes you say that? I've devoted all my knowledge to teaching Tianling. Why do you think she's not my daughter?"
Rong Lingji asked.
Huo Yuhao: "The Douluo Continent's martial soul system is bloodline-based. After the martial soul awakening ceremony, the corresponding bloodline produces the corresponding martial soul. Even if you're not from the Douluo Continent, the awakening ceremony would still produce a martial soul corresponding to your bloodline. If she were your descendant, her martial soul couldn't be Fire Shadow."
A smile tugged at Rong Lingji's lips. "Doesn't this continent have the concept of deities bestowing martial souls? It wouldn't be hard for me to give her a Fire Shadow martial soul, would it?"
Huo Yuhao: "..."
A God-Bestowed Martial Soul always had meaning. What was the point of shaping a Fire Shadow martial soul for a child?
The Sea God martial soul and Angel martial soul were either for priests or inheritors. Tang Wutong's Light Goddess Butterfly also corresponded to the Butterfly God's divine seat. With the Divine Realm gone, what was the point of shaping a Fire Shadow martial soul?
It couldn't be just to hide her identity, could it? Then why not shape the strongest one directly?
From the Angel martial soul and Light Goddess Butterfly martial soul, it was clear that even a God-Bestowed Martial Soul would affect bloodline and cause descendants to manifest the corresponding martial soul. If you truly cared for the child, you should give her the best.
Huo Yuhao was somewhat speechless, but he didn't pursue that line of thought. Instead, he pointed directly at the photos nearby.
"For a family portrait, just the two of you is hardly complete. Your wife didn't come to the Douluo Continent with you?"
"..."
Rong Lingji was supposed to have a wife. As Huo Yuhao recalled, his fiancée was Zha Jiebing, daughter of Zha Ji—Rong Nianbing's teacher's daughter.
Whether Zha Jiebing had become a deity was uncertain, but from what Rong Lingji said, he seemed to have come to the Douluo Continent alone, just for sightseeing.
So how was Rong Tianling born? Did she pop out of a rock?
Or had Rong Lingji inherited his father's tendencies and married again during his years on the Douluo Continent?
Then why wouldn't he include his wife in the family photo?
Has anyone ever told you that you're too perceptive?
Rong Lingji's smile faltered slightly. He glanced at the photo, then back at Huo Yuhao. After a moment of silence, he said, "Yes, Tianling isn't my biological daughter. I adopted her a hundred years ago. My wife and daughter aren't on the Douluo Continent."
He and his wife were no longer young, and they didn't have any so-called "chastity seals." Naturally, they had children long ago.
But the Divine Realm had its own rules.
The Divine Realm wasn't run by the Rong family. They couldn't keep stuffing their descendants into it.
Children born in the Divine Realm could stay with their parents, but if they couldn't become deities, they weren't allowed to cultivate using the Divine Realm's immortal energy to achieve longevity.
(Note: I'm not sure what the original story's Divine Realm rules actually were. If being born in the Divine Realm automatically made one a divine official allowed to absorb immortal energy and stay, then the rule that first-class deities couldn't bring people to the Divine Realm would be a joke—the Divine Realm's population would easily multiply. Yet Tang Wutong did live in the Divine Realm as a child, so I'm supplementing the setting here.)
So Rong Lingji and Zha Jiebing's child also had to become a deity on her own to truly stay with them forever.
Because of this rule, the concept of training in the lower realms existsd. Most of Rong Lingji's siblings had gone to the lower realms precisely to become deities.
Rong Lingji's daughter was naturally among them, and his wife was accompanying her.
This left Rong Lingji stranded in a different plane from his wife and daughter, unaware of their current situation, like a lonely old man.
"A lonely old man like me adopting a child to keep me company—there's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
Rong Lingji spread his hands. "What I'm more curious about is why you care so much about Tianling. She's just an ordinary reclusive Limit."
Limit and ordinary—how did you put those two words together?
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "She's not ordinary. After all, she's destined to be the next War Temple Temple Master."
After becoming a quasi-divine, Yuanen Zhentian was jokingly called the "quasi-divine gatekeeper." Rong Tianling was roughly at that level now. And without obtaining Er Ming's essence blood to break through to quasi-divine, Yuanen Zhentian's chances weren't great.
So, although the final selection hadn't begun yet, in a sense, the outcome was already decided.
***
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