Chapter 53: All Sides Move

[Douluo Calendar, May 13, 2025. The Heaven Dou Empire sent young scholars to visit the Star Luo Empire, under the guise of academic exchange, but in reality, to suppress Star Luo's prestige.]

[The Star Luo Emperor flew into a rage and ordered top talents trained by the Royal Academy to face them in duels. Few victories, many defeats.]

[The scholars of the Heaven Dou Empire returned in triumph.]

…

"Heh, Heaven Dou is nothing more than a pawn of the Spirit Hall. Without them, the empire would've long been wiped off the map. And now, because of Spirit Hall, they're acting high and mighty over the Star Luo Empire!"

In reality, Bibi Dong sneered coldly as she commented.

This was simply the truth—Heaven Dou's ability to contend with the Star Luo Empire was entirely due to soul masters.

And naturally, Spirit Hall had contributed the most to that strength.

Seeing Heaven Dou basking in their petty victory, Bibi Dong felt nothing but contempt.

"Heaven Dou, Star Luo… once I break through Level 100 and become a god, they'll all be beneath me!"

A deep glint flickered through Bibi Dong's eyes.

She had gained some insights from the simulation, which helped her suppress the turmoil caused by Zhou Sheng'an's impact.

Now, with that knowledge feeding back into reality, she could neutralize the disturbance.

This was the benefit of the simulator for goddesses.

Though she couldn't directly absorb all the knowledge, skills, and experience like Zhou Sheng'an, at her level, what mattered most was a kind of "conceptual enlightenment."

For example, now that she had "figured it out," she wouldn't suffer from the backlash of divine inheritance anymore.

As she was thinking, her body suddenly twitched.

The pride on her face instantly disappeared, replaced by gritted teeth and a look of fury.

Ever since Zhou Sheng'an humiliated her with those tentacles, her body had felt strange—occasionally convulsing involuntarily.

Just like just now...

"No matter what, I absolutely cannot forgive Zhou Sheng'an!"

…

Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, in the princess's chamber.

"Could it really be true? That our Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire, and even Spirit Hall all collapsed because of one person? And now things have flipped—our Heaven Dou Empire is getting so strong."

Princess Xue Ke yawned as she looked at the words on the simulator.

Her spiritual power was too weak. After her first simulation, the overwhelming influx of information had knocked her out cold. That scared her so much that now she only followed the event logs to go through the plot.

In any case, with her ability, she couldn't absorb much memory anyway.

So, she might as well just treat it as entertainment.

Still, the updated events were just too outrageous.

She hadn't even gotten over the last simulation when now Heaven Dou Empire had risen to prominence again!

They'd even forced that bully of a boss into submission?

And now they'd gone to the Star Luo capital to mock them right in their faces!

You could only say—the tables had turned!

It felt genuinely invigorating to read.

"So sleepy… Should I tell Father tomorrow? No, he definitely won't believe me. He might even think I'm sick. What about Big Brother? He doesn't have time either… sigh, guess I'll just talk to my teacher."

Princess Xue Ke rubbed her eyes and soon fell asleep on the bed.

Thanks to her dear big brother Qian Renxue pampering her, she'd grown up without a care in the world and couldn't endure the slightest hardship. She hadn't even realized how precious the simulator was for someone like her.

…

At Moon Pavilion.

"No doubt, getting close to Zhou Sheng'an will be extremely difficult. And I'm definitely not the only one using this simulator. Then… could I perhaps leverage the Heaven Dou Empire, and use Zhou Sheng'an as the key to bring the Clear Sky Sect back into the world?"

Tang Yuehua rested her chin on her hand, gazing wistfully at the sorrowful beauty reflected in her dressing mirror.

As the Clear Sky Sect's representative in the outside world, she had long been pondering how to reintroduce the sect without drawing Spirit Hall's wrath.

Years of contact with the Heaven Dou Empire had left her mentally and physically exhausted.

The condition Emperor Xue Ye had offered for protection was shocking—he wanted her to become his consort in the Western Palace, and for the Clear Sky Sect to fully submit to the Heaven Dou Empire. Only then would the royal family be willing to shield them from Spirit Hall.

Tang Yuehua refused.

She had always seen things clearly. It wasn't that she couldn't part with her body.

Rather, she knew full well that the Clear Sky Sect was full of stubborn mules. If they found out she'd married Emperor Xue Ye, the first thing they'd do upon resurfacing would probably be to storm the palace and kill him.

But besides the two empires, what other force in this world could oppose Spirit Hall?

Even if the Upper Three Sects joined forces, they still wouldn't be a match.

Yet now, the seemingly unstoppable Spirit Hall had actually been wiped out… all because of one man.

...Zhou Sheng'an!!!

"The next simulation… perhaps I could try investing in him, helping him grow! But now, with the Heaven Dou Empire flaunting their power and joining forces with Spirit Hall, Zhou Sheng'an likely won't get the chance to rise."

Tang Yuehua shook her head slightly.

…

Atop Pope Hill, inside a room in the Worship Hall, two Qian Renxues were deep in discussion.

"How many people have you won over?" asked the dark Qian Renxue with interest.

"The platinum bishops—around fifty to sixty percent. The elders—thirty to forty percent.

 As for the rest, they don't want to get involved in faction struggles and prefer to stay neutral," Qian Renxue said with a smile. This time, her simulation execution had been much more precise!

The dark Qian Renxue asked, "There must've been people who reported to Bibi Dong, right? Did you kill them?"

"That's all I could do. After all, in the simulation, I can't let Bibi Dong become aware of my plans. In reality, I'm going to make sure she has no one left to use—then I'll push her off the throne!"

Qian Renxue curled her lips into a smile and said softly, "Still, it really is difficult to win over those high-level figures."

"If you just let Grandpa act, would Bibi Dong even have a way out?" the dark Qian Renxue scoffed.

Qian Renxue didn't answer. She truly hated Bibi Dong, but she couldn't bring herself to commit something as outrageous as matricide.

…

[Douluo Calendar, May 27, 2025. While Zhou Sheng'an was drilling troops in the Zhu Nation, he encountered the returning scholars of the Heaven Dou Empire. They challenged him to friendly sparring, including mock battles and soul power duels.]

[Zhou Sheng'an won eighteen matches in a row. The Heaven Dou scholars departed in shame.]

[Zhou Sheng'an's fame spread far and wide!]

[Upon hearing of this, the Star Luo Emperor rewarded him with ten thousand taels of gold and countless treasures. Zhou Sheng'an shared the treasures with his soldiers, winning their hearts. His popularity in the army now surpassed that of the emperor.]

[You were heartbroken for a long time, and went to ask Zhou Sheng'an why he was so close to Empress Zhu.]

[Zhou Sheng'an replied: "Empress Zhu showed me great kindness and pulled me out of the mire. I had no way to repay her. Since she wanted a token of loyalty, I gave it to her."]

[You were overjoyed and asked: "So that means, Teacher doesn't like her at all?"]

[Zhou Sheng'an shook his head and said: "There's no emotion involved. I told her that clearly."]

…

Perched on a tree branch, Zhu Zhuqing kicked her legs back and forth, a smile blooming on her face.

That was great!

Teacher hadn't fallen for Empress Zhu—he just slept with her!

If Zhu Zhuqing cared that much about this kind of thing, she never would've ended up with Dai Mubai in the original story.

"It's just a bit unfair… clearly, the one Teacher owes most is me…"