Thinking about his possible future success with Herta, Lu Jingming felt great.
He waved cheerfully and left the lab.
When the door closed and he was gone, Herta slowly raised her hand, touching her lips and muttering, "What a strange feeling…"
She shook her head, trying to dispel the odd sensation, and tossed the gem into the Herta's magic mirror.
…
…
In the Divine Realm's Phoenix Valley, above a magma lake, a tall, handsome red-haired youth sat alone.
A melancholy aura surrounded him as he gazed blankly at the sky, lost in memories.
"He's still the same… Who knows how many years it's been since he left this lake?"
Nearby, a pink-haired girl and a handsome youth watched the brooding Phoenix God, Ma Hongjun. The girl sighed.
"Fatty… sigh," said Food God Oscar.
Compared to Ma Hongjun, Oscar felt lucky.
He, too, was only a second-class god and couldn't bring family to the Divine Realm, but at least Ning Rongrong had ascended with him. He hadn't suffered Ma Hongjun's heartbreak, being separated from his beloved forever.
Ma Hongjun had nearly inherited the first-class Fire God's position, but due to his own laziness, he failed. Instead, he settled for the second-class Phoenix God.
That one step made all the difference.
He couldn't take people with him—not even his beloved Bai Chenxiang, or the man who raised him, Flender.
Oscar and the others couldn't truly understand his pain, but they could imagine it.
Since ascending, Ma Hongjun had hidden in the Phoenix Valley's magma lake, training madly to numb himself and escape his pain.
But sometimes, like now, he'd fall into memories and couldn't escape.
There were plenty of great goddesses in the Divine Realm. With his status and a God King as his brother, he could easily find another companion.
But since ascending, he never left the magma lake and had no social life apart from his old friends.
"Let's go. In this state, he won't talk to us," Oscar sighed.
They'd hoped to invite him out, but it was pointless.
Ning Rongrong looked sad—she, too, had suffered loss, but at least she still had someone; Ma Hongjun had no one.
As Oscar and Ning Rongrong turned to leave, neither noticed a red gem quietly falling into the magma lake.
Nor did Ma Hongjun, lost in his pain.
Thus, he didn't notice the purple Honkai energy gradually merging with the fire spirits in the lake, then entering his body with each breath.
Who knows how long passed before Ma Hongjun came to his senses.
"If only, back then, Third Brother had helped me bring Chenxiang to the Divine Realm—he had the God King's authority to do it!"
He was startled by the thought and shook his head, trying to drive it away.
He knew, rationally, that failing to bring Bai Chenxiang was his own fault, not Tang San's.
Tang San had already broken the rules helping the Shrek Seven Monsters ascend; the God of Destruction resented him for it.
Even his own master, Yu Xiaogang, hadn't made it—how could he expect Tang San to bring Bai Chenxiang?
He understood all this, but that thought was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, sending ripples through his heart.
…
Meanwhile, the Haste Gem had fully dissolved into purple Honkai energy, merging with the lake and being absorbed by Ma Hongjun.
Herta, using her ability to observe parallel worlds, watched the whole process with satisfaction.
Ma Hongjun, as Phoenix God, was fire-attribute—perfectly compatible with the Haste Gem.
And with such a gaping flaw in his heart, it wouldn't be long before a Herrscher persona emerged.
Thus, in the Divine Realm, a powerful Flame Herrscher would soon be born.
Ma Hongjun was a second-class god, but after years of training, he'd reached first-class strength.
Once Herrscher-ized, with molecular control, he could break through to God King power.
Herrscher transformation would bring him a Herrscher weapon, and his power would soar to the top of the Divine Realm.
And this was the gift Lu Jingming had prepared for Tang San.
Naturally, he wasn't helping the enemy—after becoming a Herrscher, Ma Hongjun would no longer be himself.
He would inevitably clash with the Divine Realm, and even if suppressed, Lu Jingming's goal would be achieved.
One day in the Divine Realm equals a year below; subduing a God King-level being is no easy feat.
There were five God Kings in the Divine Realm, but Tang San, the Evil God Ji Dong, and the Kind God Lie Yan were all new; only Destruction God and Life Goddess were truly old and strong.
Because of Ma Hongjun's identity, it would mainly be Tang San and his allies who acted, while Destruction and Life would likely watch.
By the time the Divine Realm suppressed the Flame Herrscher, Lu Jingming's plans on the lower plane would be complete.
With Herta blocking Divine Realm observation, there would be a long gap in their monitoring of the Douluo Continent.
A show in the Divine Realm was brewing, but Lu Jingming wasn't rushing to plant a second World Tree.
First, he wanted to raise the overall strength of both Douluo Continents.
Some contamination points were just too strong, especially the one modeled after his Haiyuan City.
He could handle one or two, or ask Jingliu for help, but the more strong fighters existed, the faster the planet would evolve and the quicker he could condense his god position.
With that in mind, he decided to host a grand tournament centered on the simulated universe.
He already had a clear plan for the event.
Through generous prizes, he could indirectly empower some strong people and have them work for him.
A hundred-thousand-year soul bone or Stigmata, or simply raising the age of a soul ring—these could make someone much stronger.
For example, Sword Douluo with a hundred-thousand-year soul bone or Stigmata would undergo a tremendous power-up and help clear more contamination points.
As he himself grew stronger, the planet would evolve faster—a win-win.
For Haiyuan City now, those resources were renewable, so prizes could be given freely.
And a tournament would help pass the time during this quiet period.
The simulated universe created a hyper-realistic virtual world, attracting not just soul masters, but nobles and merchants.
They could sample virtual delicacies and see fantastical sights.
It also became a stage for showing off—exclusive fashion and titles made gatherings a parade of wealth.
Many entertainment features were added, including virtual games.
Wealthy non-soul-masters loved these games. In real life, they had to bow to higher nobles or soul masters, but in the simulated world, they could use money to buy status and power.
Even strong soul masters who didn't spend money could lose to them in-game.
This gave them a true sense of pride.
As a result, the simulated universe brought huge revenue to Haiyuan City.
Lu Jingming imported all kinds of games from his previous world, and with Douluo's population starved for entertainment, they lined up to pay.
In a way, this was a good deed. With virtual amusements, bored nobles no longer bullied commoners, and the atmosphere improved.
Before, nobles bullied the weak for fun. Now, with better entertainment, they had no reason for such risky behavior.
Shrek's monitoring team found their job much easier.
Previously, they traveled the continent punishing abusive nobles. Now, they could focus on evil soul masters.
As Lu Jingming said, many bad behaviors come from boredom. Give people something to do, and they won't bother with cruelty.
Of course, some psychopaths still existed, but they were in the minority and easier to spot and deal with.
…
At the moment, Shrek's Xiao Xiao and Ma Xiaotao were playing a fighting game called "King of Fighters."
Xiao Xiao played Athena; Ma Xiaotao played Mai Shiranui, with Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming, and others watching.
With her superior skills and reactions, Ma Xiaotao won with a smooth combo and was more excited than after a real duel.
She finally understood why everyone played games after training.
If not for Wu Ming dragging her in, she would have missed out on all this fun.
Xiao Xiao was a bit frustrated. She was a skilled gamer, rarely losing to friends, but here, she lost to everyone—even Han Ruoruo, a first-timer, whose soul master-level reflexes carried her through.
Xiao Xiao missed Wang Dong, who had left Shrek Academy to search for Huo Yuhao.
After Huo Yuhao was expelled and taken by Snow Empress, Wang Dong left in anger.
Jiang Nannan rarely stayed at the academy, preferring the Jade Chamber.
Xu Sanshi had a girlfriend, Bei Bei had left to find Tang Ya, and He Caitou had returned to the Soul Tool Department.
The Shrek Seven Monsters' reserve team was all but disbanded.
The former official members had mostly graduated or left.
Now, only Ma Xiaotao and Xi Xi remained.
Xiao Xiao, as the Sea God Pavilion Master's disciple, still enjoyed special training, but she often missed Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong.
Despite her disappointment with the academy's actions, she didn't leave—without a powerful background, her parents wouldn't allow it.
Besides, Shrek did invest in her growth, hoping the new generation would flourish.
Without Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao joined a new group and got along well with the inner court sisters.
She could still see Wang Dong in the simulated universe, though he was in low spirits after failing to find Huo Yuhao, even with the sect's help.
Xiao Xiao worried but could do nothing as a mere Soul Elder.
At that moment, while watching Ma Xiaotao and Wu Ming play, Xiao Xiao noticed a red dot in her field of vision—a new email.
Curious, she opened it and was shocked—it was an announcement from the simulated universe.
"Sister Xiaotao, look at your email!" Xiao Xiao cried out.
"Battle Royale Tournament? What's this?" Ma Xiaotao, Han Ruoruo, and the others immediately checked.
["Dear users, the simulated universe will host a Battle Royale Tournament on June 10th. Rules, entry requirements, and prizes are as follows—"]
"June 10th, that's next month! What's going on? A hundred-thousand-year soul bone! Has he gone mad?" Ma Xiaotao was stunned by the prizes.
Regardless of the tournament format, just the prizes were enough to shock anyone—first place got a hundred-thousand-year soul bone and Stigmata, runner-up and third place could get ten-thousand-year soul bones, Stigmatas, or high-level soul tools.
Even Shrek Academy would be reluctant to offer such prizes.
But this was just a virtual event prize.
Such rewards would make the soul master world go wild—even Title Douluo would be tempted.
Knowing the simulated universe was run by Haiyuan City and Lu Jingming, Ma Xiaotao was shocked by his generosity.
"Entry requirements: under 20, teams of seven, up to 100 teams. Xiaotao, we must tell the academy to sign up right away."
Han Ruoruo instantly made the call.
Regardless of Lu Jingming's motives, Shrek couldn't miss out—these prizes were just too good.
"With the age and team limits, I bet the top prize is just for show. Who could beat St. Freya Academy's monster team?"
Wu Ming folded her arms, unimpressed.
Since she, Han Ruoruo, and Ma Xiaotao were too old, they couldn't enter.
And she couldn't imagine any under-20 team beating St. Freya's monsters.
So in her view, the amazing prizes were just a gimmick, likely to end up with St. Freya's team anyway.
"Even if we don't win, second and third prizes are great. We can't pass this up," Han Ruoruo said.
Besides, other academies and sects would join. This time, entry wasn't limited to soul master academies.
That meant the competition would be fiercer than ever, since some sects were even stronger than the academies.