Location: Spirit Hall – Sanctum of Silence
The torches within the stone chamber flickered uneasily as Qian Renxue paced before a vast, sealed archive. Her angelic features were stern, brows drawn low, golden eyes sharp with unease.
For weeks now, strange fluctuations in the Divine Realm had disrupted her connection to the seraphic plane. Three gods had vanished. Domains collapsed. And whispers of a shadow-king ascending reached even her holy ears.
But what disturbed her most… was the name.
Ren.
A name that didn't belong here. A name that shouldn't exist in this world.
And yet… here he was. Conquering cities. Gathering goddesses. Amassing power that even the gods struggled to track.
"Who are you really?" she muttered, raising her hand toward the lock-seal etched with sacred runes.
With a wave of divine energy, the ancient archive opened — a chamber so forbidden, even the Pope of the Spirit Hall feared its depths.
Scrolls written in languages older than the Douluo plane sat preserved in stasis. But one scroll shimmered faintly — as if alive.
She took it.
Unrolled it.
And froze.
"The Shadow Monarch — the eternal conqueror of realms. Born of crimson eyes and eternal dusk. He walks through worlds, never dying, only reborn… until the Infinite Path is complete."
Renxue's blood ran cold.
This wasn't just a man. This was something written into prophecy. Something that should never have been awakened.
Elsewhere – Slaughter City
Ren stood atop the execution altar, the entire city of murderers kneeling beneath him.
Where once chaos reigned, now only obedience remained.
Every challenger who dared test him now served in shadow — powerful spirit masters turned into dark knights bound to his will. Their abilities preserved, enhanced, and twisted by his dominion.
Behind him stood a dozen women — powerful, graceful, deadly. Soul beasts, commoners, assassins. All marked by beauty and strength, all reborn in power through the Pocket Hunting Dimension and forged by his will.
Among them, Zhu Zhuqing knelt, crimson-eyed and robed in shadow, no longer the abandoned heiress — now the Phantom Empress.
Beside her stood Xiao Wu, reborn from soul and body alike, her ears twitching not with prey instinct, but predatory confidence.
Ren turned to face them all.
"The Spirit Hall and Heaven itself denied you strength," he said. "They locked you behind names. Classes. Status."
"But I don't see titles. I see potential. And I will forge you all into legends."
His shadow army roared.
Spirit Hall – Cathedral Throne Room
Tang San, now a recognized genius of the outer sects, arrived at the temple, summoned by urgent request.
He hadn't seen Qian Renxue — disguised as Xue Qinghe — in weeks. But what met him now chilled him to his core.
She looked different. Cold. Focused. Desperate.
"We have a problem," she said without pretense. "And it's not a spirit beast. Not a rival clan."
Tang San frowned. "Then what is it?"
She unrolled the ancient scroll before him.
He read it.
And for the first time in his life… Tang San felt fear.
Location: Divine Realm – Aether Citadel
The gods gathered.
Their thrones dimmed.
"He's taken Destruction," murmured the Goddess of Wisdom.
"Life and Time as well," said the God of War. "He didn't kill them. He converted them."
"A heretic among gods," said another.
"We must act now."
But as they argued, the air shifted.
And from the edges of the realm, black mist crept into the citadel.
A voice echoed through every plane, every realm, every soul.
"You can't stop me."
"I am already here."
End of Chapter 47