Chapter 1183: Soul Land, the Grand Reunion (Finale) |
On Planet Douluo.
The city of Star Luo, named after the ancient Star Luo Continent tens of thousands of years back, was now a modern metropolis. It was one of the top ten cities on the entire planet, usually ranked fourth or fifth.
From above, towering buildings seemed to form an endless forest of steel and concrete. Yet the city did not feel cold or harsh; every connection between structures was alive with greenery, filling the city with vitality.
In one fifty-three–story apartment building, unit 3805 on the thirty-eighth floor was a modest home of about a hundred square meters. It had a twenty-square-meter living room, three small bedrooms, and a large balcony that opened to every room. From the balcony, one could see the skyline, and at night, the millions of lights of Star Luo.
Inside, the man of the house sat idly on the sofa, watching TV. In the open kitchen, his beautiful wife was cooking dinner, wearing a nice apron.
Dinner was simple: braised chicken wings, stir-fried greens, and soup. This family followed a strict rule: Always eat fresh, never waste food. The two parents felt that this was the best for them and the children.
"Dear, dinner's ready. Call our son," the wife said with a smile.
"Alright!" he answered cheerfully, standing up and heading to the second bedroom, their six-year-old son's room. Their older daughter was not home right now—in fact, she was rarely home at all.
"Zhanji, dinner time," the father called while knocking on the door.
"Yes, come eat—"
But just as the mother stepped out of the kitchen with the plate, her face suddenly turned pale. The plate slipped. Thankfully, her husband's reflexes were lightning-fast, almost inhuman. He caught it instantly, before the chicken was ruined.
"Wutong, what's wrong?" he asked, startled.
But then he felt it too. His expression froze.
His wife's eyes reddened with tears. "They're back… They've finally come back… Finally!" She collapsed into his arms, sobbing.
"Mom, why are you crying? Who's back?" the little boy asked, clutching her apron.
The father answered softly, "Your grandparents. Remember what Mom told you about your name? When your grandma was sick, we hoped she would recover, and that's why she gave you that name."[1]
The mother lifted her tearful eyes. "Call Yingying back! Our family… we can finally reunite!"
"And Zhanji? Should he come?"
She nodded. "Yes. Later, we'll seal these memories."
"Alright."
He waved his hand. Golden light enveloped the three of them… and they vanished.
***
Before a vast palace, immortal energy shimmered in rainbow hues.
A man and woman were waiting there.
The man wore pale-golden robes and had a violet halo behind his head. His aura was tremendously majestic and imposing. The woman wore a silver gown and had a green halo behind her head; she looked bright and radiant.
Their auras were complete opposites, yet hand in hand they stood harmoniously.
The man trembled; the woman soothed him silently.
Suddenly, golden light flared and three figures appeared. It was the family of three from Star Luo City. The little boy instantly gaped, wide-eyed, at the fantastical scene.
The gold-robed man rushed forward, his voice trembling. "Sister… brother-in-law."
The woman embraced him, tears streaming. "They're back! Father and Mother are finally back! He… He found Mother! Where's Xuanyu?"
The silver-gowned woman answered gently, "We've called him and Xiuxiu, they'll be here soon. And this must be Zhanji?" She looked at the boy.
The mother nodded. "Zhanji, greet your uncle and aunt."
The boy looked up at the impossibly handsome man and the halos behind them. "Hello Uncle, hello Aunt. I'm Huo Zhanji. Why are your heads glowing?"
The gold-robed man smiled. "Those are our divine seats. Your aunt is the Goddess of Life, and I am the God of Destruction."
"Gods? You mean gods are real?"
"Of course. Your parents are gods too." He glanced at the couple. "Seriously now, why make Zhanji live as a normal kid?"
The father shrugged and chuckled helplessly. "Your sister wanted him to grow up like this. She said it would make him a better person in the future. I mean, you're one to talk… Remember how you and Xuanyu grew up in ordinary families?"
At that moment with two more flashes of light, three more figures appeared. It was a young-looking couple followed by a lively young woman.
"Dad, Mom, what's so urgent?"
"Yeah, why call us so suddenly?" asked the young woman, Dai Ying.
The silver-robed woman took a deep breath and replied in a now-steady voice, "Your grandparents are coming back."
The golden-robed man whispered, "Our family… Finally, finally together again."
The mother cooking braised chicken just a minute earlier was Butterfly God Tang Wutong. The father, the God of Emotion Huo Yuhao. Their daughter was Dai Ying, their son Huo Zhanji.
The gold-robed man was the God of Destruction, Tang Wulin. The silver-gowned woman was the Goddess of Life, Gu Yuena. The young couple were their son Tang Xuanyu and his wife Bai Xiuxiu.
"They're here!"
Shooting stars blazed across the sky.
"Father! Mother!"
From the golden radiance, two figures emerged—Tang San and Xiao Wu, smiling through tears.
The family, at last, was reunited.
(The End)
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A word from the author:
Finished! Soul Land V is complete. This should also be the last long entry in the Soul Land series. Yes, really. From 2008 until now, it's been fourteen years. Five great novels, millions of words, exhaustion, melancholy… but above all, a reluctant farewell.
From the start of Soul Land II—The Unrivaled Tang Sect, I had planned the saga with SL IV as the finale. Then, while writing SL IV, I opened the Shenlan world with Seven Divine Pearls, and even planned stories as far as a ninth series. But after long thought, I decided this book should end the main Soul Land story. Whatever happened afterward would happen in the Shenlan series, not Soul Land. I may write some more in the future, or I may take a break. I've left some foreshadowing here; if you're interested, you can check out Seven Divine Pearls.
Either way, this part is done. What do I feel? Relief, and also sadness. It's been fourteen years and over twenty million words. I doubt I'll ever write anything this epic. I'd like to express my profound gratitude to every reader who has supported me over these years. Without you, there would be no Soul Land, and no Soul Land universe. Having grown from Little Tang to Old Tang myself, I have a lot to be grateful for. Soul Land was my creation, but it was you who gave it its soul. It's your love for Tang San, Xiao Wu, Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong, Tang Wulin, Gu Yuena, Tang Xuanyu, Bai Xiuxiu—that has brought it to where it is today.
Perhaps you wonder what stories would have filled books VI through IX. There will be one final side story titled Soul Land Side Story: Soul Land World. It will close the saga and tie the threads. The physical book should be available soon, and starting today, I'll be serializing this side story for free on Qidian. It's a short one, just over a hundred thousand characters long.
After that, in a month, I will begin the second installment of Throne of the Divine Seal: The Bright Moon Overhead. If you've read the Throne of the Divine Seal side story The Guardian God, you may know where that's heading. And if the originally planned SL VI and VII are ever written, they will likely also be named Seven Divine Pearls of Shenlan.
Finally, I'd like to thank every reader. Thank you for supporting Soul Land, and thank you for supporting me.
Tang San bows.
1. His name is 斩疾. The first character means to cut (in the sense of slaying or beheading someone/something, not the usual "cut"), the second means illness/disease. In other words, they gave him this name as an auspicious omen that his grandmother's illness would go away. ☜
the poing team's Thoughts
Note from the poing team: This was written by TJSS in 2022. Here's what happened after that: In January 2023, Tang Jia San Shao launched Throne of the Divine Seal: The Bright Moon Overhead (神印王座II皓月当空) on Qidian. Here's what he notes: "The Bright Moon Overhead is a promise I made ten years ago. After finishing the Soul Land novel series, I always remembered the loose ends left behind in the Throne of the Divine Seal. That's why I wrote Throne of the Divine SealSide Story: The Guardian God, and now this continuation. Throne of the Divine Seal has only this one sequel. I hope everyone enjoys it."
In April 2024, after nearly two decades of continuous writing, he announced that he would take a break once Throne of the Divine Seal II was complete, saying he was physically exhausted and needed time to rest and recover.
On April 26, 2024, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Beijing Writers' Association Council.
In May 2024, Throne of the Divine Seal II came to an end, and TJSS officially paused his writing.
In July 2024, he was elected Part-time Vice Chairman of the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles Council.
On October 10, 2024, he was selected for the inaugural China Online Literature IP Brand List.
*You might see the novel under the name Throne of Seal. We have decided to translate the title differently because 1) it's completely wrong, and 2) it's completely wrong.
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Note from the poing team: Hey everyone, we almost can't believe this is finally done! In all fairness, it's rather short considering the average Chinese novel length (cough NSHBA cough) but the effort we put into it was no less than we'd expend for a whole 5000 chapters. We really hope you enjoyed this and weren't too bothered by the occasional bloopers. We also hope you'll check out some of the other WW novels, they're good stuff ^^
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Note from the penguin: eyyyyyyyyyyy I really can't believe this is over 😭it's been two years since I started working on this, and I'm not gonna lie, at times, it felt like a lot more than what I'd signed up for. But honestly, it was worth the blood, tears, and spit sweat that I put in editing out all the brain farts. There were all the emotional moments, and all the good fights, and all the comedy gold bits (which I really hope I did justice, I spent an inordinate number of hours poring over untranslatable puns 😭). Anyway, all's well that ends well, and this thing sure ended well. Waifu was gotten back, fox was nuked, TS got what he wanted (as he always does) and everyone lived happily ever after... probably. Dunno. Will we ever find out? Maybe.
I'll be waiting for you in the comments of the novel I'm currently editing, An Alchemist's Path to Eternity, and pls check out the other novels in the Penguin's Choice category~
Also, I hope you all leave a comment here with your favorite SL5 moment. Let's do one of them nice throwbacks :3
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Penguin's Choice™ #10: Just A Daoist Who Occasionally Kicks Ass
Solid work by our very own dudemanbro wctan. Fellow Daoist Li Yanchu brings a bit of a modern brain to an ancient world of cultivation~