5
Immortal Lord Ngao Trọng slammed the table so hard it nearly shattered.
He glared at me, unable to believe that the Lord God he had once worshiped was a coward, so easily defeated by hardship.
He charged over, his furious breath washing over my face.
“You must have pulled some kind of trick.”
I smiled and spread my hands in an innocent gesture.
“I didn’t do anything. It’s just that someone as arrogant as you can’t understand other people’s feelings.”
I reached out and easily drew the immortal power that governed all the flowers from him.
This immortal power was gentle and soft. I absorbed it into my body without the slightest effort.
Strangely, just like Mão Nhật Star Lord’s immortal power, it didn’t reject me at all. Instead, it seemed remarkably familiar with me.
The Immortal Lords around us looked at me warily. None of them wanted to wager against me again.
They murmured among themselves.
“The mortal world already has a hierarchy. Without absolute power, it’s hard to escape your fate.”
“Isn’t this unfair to the Lord God? He was the leader of all the gods. Why should he have to scrape by, cowering from death like an insect?”
What tedious chatter.
But after thinking it over, I decided to go easy on them and give them a way out.
“If you think all it takes to reclaim the throne is power, then in the next world, I’ll grant Phục Khải power.”
The Immortal Lords were delighted to hear this and kept saying, “Good.”
I poured a thread of divine power into the Water Mirror.
“In this world, I’ll grant You a peerless gift.”
The Immortal Lords crowded around like flies, staring greedily at the Water Mirror.
But I raised a hand and covered the mirror.
“Who dares wager against me this time?”
They looked at one another, all hesitant.
I waited patiently as they whispered among themselves.
After a while, the God of War stepped forward.
He stood two meters tall, powerfully built, with a pair of Haotian Maces in his hands.
Every step he took made the ground tremble.
I looked up at him, but didn’t feel the slightest pressure.
The God of War looked down at me, trying to overwhelm me with his presence.
He sneered. “War is a man’s romance. With absolute power, you can rule the world. This time, I absolutely cannot lose.”
I admired his confidence, though I had no idea where it came from.
The God of War gazed reverently at the Haotian Maces in his hands.
“My father left these to me. I used to be terrified of his deep, piercing gaze. It was the kind of gaze every man feared in his life, and his praise was what every man longed for most.
“That day, I finally defeated him and earned his recognition. From that moment on, we went from enemies, sovereign and subject, and rivals in love to father and son, and friends.”
I rubbed my arms, feeling cold, and praised him: “You two have such a complicated relationship.”
The God of War looked contemptuous.
He said, “You goddesses are nothing but flowers in a greenhouse. How could you understand our complicated father-son bond?”
I turned away, unwilling to say another word to him.
I never thought that even after becoming a god, I’d still have a day when I wanted to throw up.
I hurriedly urged the Water Mirror forward, bringing it before everyone, and pressed them:
“Look already. Stop talking. I’m begging you.”
The God of War gave a cold laugh.
He thought I’d been moved by the depth of his father-son bond.
In truth, I was just shaken by how cheesy he was.
In this life, Phục Khải had embarked on the path of cultivation.
During the sect’s grand examination, He was discovered to possess a top-grade Heavenly Spiritual Root.
All the Immortal Lords looked delighted.
“It looks like the Lord God will ascend soon!”
“Quick! Get ready to welcome Him!”
I stopped the Immortal Lords, who were eager to leap into action.
“You only noticed that He has a top-grade Heavenly Spiritual Root. Did none of you notice His sect?”
The Immortal Lords rubbed their eyes, then gradually gaped in astonishment.
“The… The Hehuan Sect?”
6
Before ascending, almost every man had dreamed of the Hehuan Sect.
The God of War most of all.
I’d looked into his past. With talent seen once in a thousand years, he was a rare martial arts prodigy.
In the mortal world, he was known as “Long Ngạo Thiên.” Countless resources had been poured into him, helping him ascend within a hundred years.
His wife had once been an elder of the Hehuan Sect.
And yet, after a hundred years had passed, his cultivation was clearly sufficient, but he still couldn’t ascend.
The Heavenly Dao gave him a hint: “Your heart isn’t sincere enough.”
The God of War pondered for a moment, then suddenly understood. He raised his mace and beat his wife to death.
He didn’t care at all that she was carrying his child.
After his wife’s death, the world made excuses for him.
“I heard the child she was carrying wasn’t the God of War’s, so that’s why he was so furious.”
“The God of War is such an honorable man. How could he kill an innocent person? There’s no smoke without fire.”
After killing his wife to prove his Dao, the Heavenly Dao spoke: “Good.”
That day, lanterns and decorations filled the land as everyone rejoiced at the birth of a new powerhouse.
Only the Hehuan Sect, from top to bottom, was draped in funereal white.
From then on, the Hehuan Sect issued a ban.
“No disciple of the Hehuan Sect may ever marry an outsider.”
Before the Hehuan Sect disciples could even react, an uproar broke out outside.
“What gives you the right to stop people from loving whoever they want?”
“Wait until they’re a thousand years old and still can’t find a man willing to marry them!”
“I’ve heard that Hehuan Sect disciples have to rely on ‘that’ to increase their cultivation…”
“A key that can open every lock is called a master key, but a lock that every key can open is just a broken lock!”
The male cultivators were anxious that they couldn’t find wives, but they still stubbornly insisted, “What’s so great about dual cultivation? It’s better to cultivate on your own! If not for physical needs, we’d actually rather practice dual cultivation with other men!”
The Hehuan Sect decided they had a point, so they shut their doors and cut off contact with the outside world.
After years of keeping a low profile, an extraordinary talent emerged from the Hehuan Sect. Her name was Phù Tang.
She had a once-in-ten-thousand-years talent, yet after a hundred years she still couldn’t ascend—almost exactly the same situation the God of War had faced all those years ago.
The God of War looked at the Water Mirror, a smile spreading across his face.
“Everyone loves the strong. Sooner or later, they’ll all accept her.”
I shook my head.
“They accept you because you’re a man.”
The atmosphere between us immediately grew tense.
When no one was looking, I moved my finger ever so slightly.
The divine power I’d just acquired obediently coiled around my finger.
I thought, I must have stolen this divine power from somewhere else.
7
After failing to ascend for many years, Phù Tang thought it over for a long time and finally came to a realization.
After keeping their doors shut for years, the Hehuan Sect was finally about to reconnect with the outside world.
The sect issued a public announcement: “The Hehuan Sect is now seeking a husband on Phù Tang’s behalf. The requirements are as follows…”
“Cultivation level must be at least Foundation Establishment, age under three hundred, respectable appearance, and good character. Applicants need not belong to any sect; unaffiliated cultivators are welcome…”
Countless male cultivators eagerly wanted to give it a try.
After a brief silence, the Hehuan Sect announced the final requirement.
“He must help Phù Tang kill her husband to prove her Dao.”
Watching the scene in the Water Mirror, the God of War burst out laughing.
“A woman thinks she can imitate me and kill her husband to prove her Dao?”
I asked him, “Why can’t she?”
The God of War gave me a mocking glance.
“A woman’s charm lies in her gentleness and softness. When the time comes, she absolutely won’t be able to bring herself to do it.”
The other Immortal Lords nodded in agreement. “If she’s ruthless enough to kill her own husband, then even if she dares to ascend, the Heavenly Realm won’t accept her!”
I stared at the God of War and asked him, “If you can do it, why can’t she?”
The God of War laughed uproariously. “That’s what we call a man’s sense of romance!”
Phù Tang wore a white dress, a sharp sword strapped to her back, and stood with her arms crossed before the Hehuan Sect’s gates.
The north wind howled, and snowflakes settled on her shoulders.
People at the foot of the mountain looked up at her, their murmurs gradually growing louder.
“…Dream on. You think a few paltry resources are enough to buy someone’s life?”
“Does the Hehuan Sect have no human rights?”
“The Hehuan Sect discriminates against anyone below Foundation Establishment! So what if she’s talented? She only reached this level because they piled resources on her. If I had the same, I could reach it too!”
“Everyone knows what the Hehuan Sect relies on to cultivate. Who knows how many men have had their way with Phù Tang behind closed doors… Now she’s pretending to be pure and above it all. Who knows what people did to her before…”
The Immortal Lords watched this scene, exchanged glances, and burst out laughing.
“These mortals have a point. Too bad the Water Mirror doesn’t show those scenes, or we could broaden our horizons…”
“I bet the reason she advanced to the point of ascending so quickly is that every time, four or five men had their way with her at once.”
“Look at her sword hilt. There’s no ornament on it at all. Guess what she uses that hilt for?”
In the Water Mirror, an elder of the Hehuan Sect was sweating with anxiety, eager to present the sect’s cultivation techniques as proof of their innocence.
The Hehuan Sect’s cultivation techniques had never involved dual cultivation.
They simply followed the Great Dao, doing as they pleased and going with the flow.
It was just that women in this world all cared about the Three Bonds and Five Constants, as well as moral propriety, which made the sect seem so different.
That distinctiveness was branded licentiousness.
Outside the Water Mirror, I drew the sword of one of the Immortal Lords.
I asked him, “Where are the decorations on your sword?”
He looked confused and replied, “I’m a man. Why would I need decorations on my sword? They’d look ridiculously feminine.”
I nodded and tossed the sword back to him.
“I get it. Men have to use smooth swords.
You must have done plenty of shady things with that hilt, haven’t you?
Otherwise, why would no one else think of it, while you’re the only one who comes up with these ideas?
That’s what they mean by ‘the world around you reflects who you are.’”
The Immortal Lord frowned, looking furious.
He asked, “Why take your anger about Phù Tang out on me? Maybe you’ve done those things yourself. If you’re so capable, prove she’s never done them!”
I raised my head.
Phù Tang in the Water Mirror raised her head too.
At that moment, Phù Tang’s voice merged with mine.
“Why should I have to prove anything to you?”
Our words rang out with force, our eyes blazed with anger, and we shared the same name.
Women—women who had been slandered.