The False God Arrives

The world has lost its way, and demons run rampant. Ordinary people without spiritual power live miserable lives, helpless before their oppressors and trapped in desperate straits.

Ghosts and monsters walk the earth. The gods are dead.

With no other options, humanity began trying to create new gods in the face of a hopeless future.

But with fate against them and too eager to succeed, they kept creating all sorts of abominations.

Lu Qinglian was one of the best among them.

As a child, Lu Qinglian had no parents in her village. One day, starving, she sneaked onto the altar and stole some food.

“She has received food from Heaven! This girl must be Heaven's chosen one, the hope of our people!”

Lu Qinglian: “?”

Heaven didn't send it. I stole it.

Chosen one, my foot.

Later, she realized that if she played the goddess, she would always have food, so she kept up the act.

But as a genuine fake god, Lu Qinglian knew her place. She put on a show of divine power, but never got involved in trouble. She was content to enjoy her peaceful life.

Until one day, a handsome boy, covered in wounds, ran to the foot of the altar. He seemed to want some of the offerings.

“Go ahead and eat.”

Seated on the altar, Lu Qinglian looked at the pitiful boy before her, reminded of herself long ago. “Don't be afraid.”

“It's my gift to you.”

The boy looked up at the girl on the high altar.

That day, he saw a god.

The boy Lu Qinglian took in was named Chu Huan.

Grateful for the meal she'd given him, he stayed by her side, never leaving her. As the years passed, his spiritual power grew stronger and stronger until no one within a hundred miles could match him.

The two of them eventually left the little village.

Lu Qinglian became the god of the world.

But only she knew that Chu Huan had dealt with every demon and monster along the way. She was still just an ordinary person who loved to eat, drink, and have fun.

Only much later did Lu Qinglian slowly understand...

She wasn't the god.

Chu Huan was.

All these years, she had passed herself off as the real thing and taken his place.

So, when war engulfed the three realms and humanity faced extinction, Lu Qinglian sang out boldly, leaping from the altar into an endless sea of flames and shouting,

“The world has lost its way. I give my life to the Way.”

And with that, she died.

At last, Lu Qinglian had returned what belonged to Chu Huan.

She changed her appearance and started a new life in a place she'd already prepared. But she found that her new life was neither comfortable nor peaceful.

Because she had already become the god of humanity.

And, more than that, his god.

He and the rest of the world were searching for her.

From childhood, Chu Huan had carried the prophecy that he would save humanity, along with the countless calamities the prophecy brought upon him.

While fleeing as a child, he had nowhere to go. He took shelter in a temple and met a girl with no spiritual power, who gave him the only warmth and protection he had ever known.

Later, Chu Huan learned that Lu Qinglian had taken his place and was deceiving the world.

But he helped her keep the lie watertight.

He thought they could live like that forever, but she gave his place on the altar back to him.

Chu Huan no longer wanted to become a god. He only wanted to be her devotee.

He would search the highest heavens and the deepest depths of the underworld. Even if the gods had to die, he would bring her back to life.

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Reader's guide:

1. Low-martial-arts setting with high-fantasy elements, with a mountain of original worldbuilding.

2. Two powerful leads. They fake their deaths and reveal their identities early on, then team up as champions later.

3. One-on-one romance, both leads' first relationship, happy ending.

Theme: The world has found its way. I give myself to the Way