"In that case, this humble one will take his leave first." Dong Xun received a satisfactory answer and seemed to be in a good mood, so he left immediately.
He was now anxious to return to Zi Luo Heaven to make preparations to head to the World of Gods and complete the mission assigned by the Heaven-God Alliance.
Dong Xun already made up his mind to gain considerable status within the Heaven-God Alliance so that he would have a backing if he ever encountered a powerhouse in the future.
But after hearing about the Sixteen Heavens, for some reason, he remembered the silver-robed masked figure he met back then.
He was originally from Heavenly Province World but was forcibly sent to Black River World. That silver-masked person even left a small black dagger in his body.
'If there's a powerful person observing my movements, then he's probably involved… I wonder how that person compares to the Sixteen Heavens?' Dong Xun thought to himself.
It was a pity that he didn't know the mysterious figure's appearance, or else it shouldn't be hard to trace his identity.
Only after Dong Xun and Qi Zhi left did Elder Tang gradually relax, and another person slowly emerged in front of him.
If Qi Zhi was here, she would definitely recognize him—this was the man in blue she'd met before who gave her resources and missions.
"You did well." The newcomer nodded with a smile. Evidently, he'd heard the entire conversation between Elder Tang and Dong Xun.
There wasn't much of an expression on Elder Tang's face. He just inquired with a smile, "I wonder… which of the Sixteen Heavens does Your Excellency belong to?"
The newcomer paused slightly, then lifted his head to stare at Old Tang. "You even know about this? You don't seem like someone who came from a small plane."
There was no reason for people inside small planes to be so familiar with forces at the Unified Dao level.
Elder Tang shook his head slightly, as if to indicate this was nothing much. "Of course it's impossible for normal people to control the one behind the Heaven-God Alliance, but if it's someone who's also part of the Sixteen Heavens, having the Heaven-God Alliance do some small tasks for them won't be a problem."
The man in blue looked a little more grave and said darkly, "It would be best not to investigate matters you shouldn't know about."
"Of course." Elder Tang smiled. "I have no intention of going against a powerful figure. Dong Xun is just a child I met in my early years."
He distanced himself from Dong Xun, implying that he would not get involved if a bigshot was interested in Dong Xun.
The man gave him a meaningful glance, then quickly vanished, reappearing in front of several other people.
"Go investigate this person surnamed Tang." He said to several of his subordinates, "Especially what he did before coming to Black River World. Don't leave anything out!"
"Yes!" His underlings hurriedly left, but one person walked up from behind.
"This person might be a variable. Do you want to inform Her Excellency?"
"Forget it. There's no need to trouble My Lord over such a trivial matter." The man thought for a while and finally shook his head. He recalled Mu Qishuang's expression when she assigned this matter. It probably wasn't that important.
...
Just as Dong Xun joined the Heaven-God Alliance and was about to embark on a journey to the World of Gods, the war between the two worlds entered a slight lull and became less intense than at the start.
The greater gods attacked less frequently, but the gods below were still constantly invading the Myriad Heavens with the goal of destroying the Star Rulers' astral worlds. They showed remarkable results.
This was because both sides were far more determined than before, and it was a battle at the greater god level from the beginning.
As a result, after a long period of fighting, both sides' highest-level combatants were somewhat worn-out. Many bigshots even sustained injuries, so the frequency of their attacks naturally declined.
In fact, in terms of high-end combat power, the World of Gods should be inferior. After all, they only had twelve greater gods, while the Myriad Heavens had the "Sixteen Heavens".
But in comparison, the Unified Dao cultivators weren't very united, and Yu Lian had nowhere near the prestige of Austin, Daisy, and the others. She could not directly order everyone to join the war.
For example, Emperor Zhao of God Emperor Heaven, Jiu Po, Si Yun, and others had not taken action so far, but in contrast, Lu Wen was quite active.
It couldn't be helped. As the culprit who killed Valen, he received special treatment from the gods, and some people even came to his Clockwork Heaven directly to cause trouble.
On the contrary, Gu Nan, the Evil God, had such a vicious reputation that ordinary gods were warned off by the greater gods. As a result, not many people dared to harass Gu Nan's Divine Kingdom.
However, the battles between greater gods and Unified Dao cultivators were gradually slowing down, which meant the two sides had now entered a war of attrition. Both sides were throwing away countless lives in hopes of the other side not being able to hold on any longer.
Of course, a large part of the credit for making the greater gods dare not show themselves actually went to Gu Nan. It could be said that the war entered the attrition stage in advance, which was precisely the result of Gu Nan's deliberate manipulation.
"What are you planning?" In Azure Sky Heaven, Mu Qishuang looked at Gu Nan, who was sitting comfortably on a chair, and tilted her head.
During this period, Gu Nan had been staying in Azure Sky Heaven, personally controlling all the plans involving Dong Xun.
Mu Qishuang was just a cover to hide the truth from others. It was impossible for her to realize Gu Nan's intentions perfectly. This matter must be handled by him personally.
"Dong Xun will kill someone he shouldn't have killed." Gu Nan had nothing to hide and answered casually, "When Rolensia finds out, she will definitely send someone to capture Dong Xun and take him back to her Divine Kingdom."
As the executor of Gu Nan's plan, it was certainly impossible to hide Dong Xun's mission details from Mu Qishuang, so she was fully aware that Gu Nan's real target was Rolensia.
"So what?" Mu Qishuang thought about it carefully and didn't understand what the trap was. "And the target is just an insignificant figure. Rolensia could just have Dong Xun killed outside."
"No." Gu Nan said firmly, "Rolensia will definitely capture Dong Xun and kill him with her own hands, and when she does… she will receive a surprise."
Mu Qishuang's eyes narrowed slightly. "Who is this person you're asking Dong Xun to kill…?"
"Rolensia's former teacher."
...
The poisoned apple called Dong Xun was almost ripe. Now, Gu Nan was just waiting for Rolensia to discover it and eat it.
But at this moment, Gu Nan suddenly left Azure Sky Heaven. An unexpected situation just appeared, forcing him to rush to the Gap World.
Gu Nan originally wanted to explore this place—which Lu Wen called the Origin World—after killing Rolensia, but he had to return early now.
The strand of consciousness he left here told him that there was news from Fu Cheng that the first Third Round player had appeared.
Gu Nan's will invaded the Gap World and immediately read all of this player's information, as well as his entire gaming history.
This was a shut-in named Li Han who was obsessed with various role-playing games.
After trying over a dozen different methods, he finally succeeded in raising his in-game avatar to the Third Round—Tier 16—becoming the true King of Gods, progressing far beyond that of other players.
Behind Li Han, the second fastest person had just reached Tier 13.