With the successive fall of two Titled Douluos, the tide of battle shifted dramatically. Under the cover of the remaining three Titled Douluos and a group of high-level soul masters, the Spirit Hall forces temporarily withdrew, lowering their banners in retreat.
In this engagement, thanks to Fang Chang's presence, the Heaven Dou Empire had gained an absolute advantage in high-level combat power, even managing to slay two of the enemy's Titled Douluos.
However, among the ordinary soldiers, despite achieving a phased victory, the Heaven Dou Empire had suffered devastating losses—over ten thousand troops had perished.
In contrast, Spirit Hall's casualties were far fewer, estimated at less than a thousand. This stark difference highlighted the overwhelming impact soul masters had in warfare.
The Heaven Dou Empire, lagging behind in both the quantity and quality of soul masters, had no choice but to compensate for this disadvantage with sheer numbers and lives on the front lines.
Once the battle concluded, the Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo approached Fang Chang, clasping their fists in respect. Had it not been for his intervention today, the battle would have undoubtedly ended in a one-sided slaughter.
Both of them bore severe injuries. The Sword Douluo's face, arms, and chest were marred by gruesome wounds, while the Bone Douluo fared even worse—his body was covered in injuries, one arm hung limply at his side, blood dripping unceasingly from it.
As for Fang Chang, though he hadn't sustained any substantial injuries, his appearance suggested otherwise.
After directly blocking the Holy Dragon Douluo's energy blast, his clothes were charred black, emitting a foul, burnt stench, and were stained with large patches of blood—whether his own or the Holy Dragon Douluo's was unclear.
Seizing the opportunity, Fang Chang decided to play the role of the wounded, clutching his chest as he coughed violently, even spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The Heaven Dou Royal soul masters nearby were alarmed. They were already severely outmatched in terms of Titled Douluo-level combatants. If something were to happen to Fang Chang and the other two now, it would spell absolute disaster for their side.
A Heaven Dou Empire military officer quickly stepped forward. "Lord Spider God Envoy, are you alright?"
"I'm... cough... fine," Fang Chang replied, feigning pain even as he spoke. "However, I'm afraid I won't be able to participate in the upcoming battles for now. I need to return and recuperate."
This...
Hearing Fang Chang's words, the expressions of both the Heaven Dou officers and the Sword and Bone Douluos darkened.
Yet, they all sighed inwardly. After all, Fang Chang had no deep ties to the Heaven Dou Empire.
Though the Spider God Cult had been established as the state religion, that was merely a political maneuver by Emperor Xue Ye to secure their allegiance.
Fang Chang had no obligation to risk his life for them. The fact that he had joined the battle and helped slay two of Spirit Hall's Titled Douluos was already an act of extraordinary generosity. How could they expect him to continue fighting while injured?
Exchanging glances, the Sword and Bone Douluos saw the same resignation and bitterness in each other's eyes. The weight on their shoulders had just grown heavier.
Nevertheless, they mustered their spirits and stepped forward to bid Fang Chang farewell. "Lord Emissary, please focus on your recovery. We will hold the line here."
Fang Chang looked at them with a hint of apology, coughing twice more. "Cough cough... It's my failing that my body isn't strong enough. Spirit Hall will likely send even stronger opponents next time. Brother Bone, Brother Chen... you must take care."
After exchanging a few more polite words, Fang Chang activated his blood-red wings and soared northward into the sky.
The ordinary soldiers of the Heaven Dou Empire watched as their hero departed.
Their thoughts were simpler than those of the higher-ups. To them, this Spider God Envoy had fought valiantly despite his injuries, slaying two Titled Douluos for their sake. That alone made him a hero of the empire.
And even as he left, he still worried about the battlefield—such selflessness! Many among them began to nurture a new thought: once the war was over, they too would join the Spider God Cult.
Fang Chang flew swiftly toward the Sunset Forest without looking back.
His original goal had been to instigate war before anyone could ascend to godhood, using the conflict between the two empires and Spirit Hall to weaken the human soul masters and clear the path for his eventual unification of the continent.
For this plan to succeed, the three factions needed to remain as evenly matched as possible, ensuring the war would drag on and inflict maximum casualties.
But now, due to his involvement, Spirit Hall's strength was declining too rapidly. The scales of victory were tipping too far, deviating from his original design.
Moreover, Spirit Hall was running low on available Titled Douluos. If this continued, Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu—those two monsters—would have no choice but to intervene personally.
Against them, Fang Chang currently had little confidence in victory. There was no need to take such risks.
After weighing his options, Fang Chang chose to temporarily withdraw from the battlefield, operating in the shadows instead. From there, he could eliminate key figures on both sides, steering the war according to his plans.
Not long after his departure, Qian Daoliu arrived at the front lines upon hearing of his side's defeat. He had intended to confront this "Spider God Envoy" who had repeatedly humiliated Spirit Hall, only to miss him yet again.
In his fury, Qian Daoliu struck the Sword and Bone Douluos with two palm strikes, worsening their injuries, before being driven back by the combined efforts of thousands of Heaven Dou soul masters.
Qian Daoliu was seething. Their once-flawless plans had been repeatedly disrupted by the sudden appearance of this so-called Spider God Envoy.
Most infuriating of all was the mysterious disappearance of Qian Renxue. Were it not for his ability to confirm that she was still alive somewhere in the world, he might have already stormed into the Heaven Dou camp in a murderous rampage.
Almost simultaneously, Fang Chang landed deep within the Sunset Forest. After washing off the grime of battle in a nearby pond, he returned to his lair.
Qian Renxue had been imprisoned here for nearly ten days. Though fully conscious, she had refused to speak or consume the food and water delivered by the spiderlings, sustaining herself only by occasionally nibbling on wild berries growing within the cave.
As usual, Fang Chang found a spot to lie down, ignoring her just as she ignored him—a test of endurance to see who would break first.
But this time, whether out of sheer boredom or starvation, Qian Renxue finally cracked, breaking her silence with a sharp question: "What is your purpose in capturing me?"
Given her status and intellect, she knew Fang Chang wouldn't have gone to such lengths just to kill her. He undoubtedly had some ulterior motive.
"Oh? Has our esteemed Miss Qian Renxue finally deigned to speak?" Fang Chang couldn't resist teasing her.
Qian Renxue turned her head away, lapsing back into stubborn silence.
Several hours later, she spoke again. "Hey, you villain—what exactly are you trying to achieve by holding me here?"
The question had tormented her for days. Moreover, even with her level-70-plus Soul Sage physique, being trapped here without her soul power for so long had pushed her to her limits.
"You want to know?" Fang Chang deliberately strung her along before delivering the punchline: "I won't tell you."
"You—!" Qian Renxue's fists clenched tightly within their silken bindings before helplessly relaxing again.
Over these days, she had gradually come to accept reality: in her current state, she was utterly powerless against Fang Chang, completely at his mercy.
Her silence amused Fang Chang. He could see she was on the verge of breaking—the perfect time to begin brainwashing her.
As a transmigrator, he understood this world's rules all too well: beasts could not ascend to godhood.
Even if he used his system or other methods to forge his own divine position, upon ascending to the divine realm, he would inevitably face the united opposition of the gods.
No matter how powerful he might become as a... spider, he could never withstand the combined might of so many deities.
To change this outcome, he needed to recruit as many gods as possible to his side. Each additional deity aligned with him would increase his chances of survival in the divine realm.
The existing gods of the upper realm were beyond his reach—he had no means to contact them, and they would never side with him.
Thus, his only option was to target humans like Qian Renxue, those with the potential to ascend to godhood.
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Sorry for the delay. My 10+ years laptop finally decided to take a break.