Chapter 497: Advertisement, Reputation in Ruins
After being sucked into the mysterious space, Tang Hao and Ah Yin were shocked to discover that their situation was far worse than simply losing their powers. Even their physical bodies had regressed to that of five or six year old children, becoming as weak as ordinary infants.
Life and Death Arena.
This was an extremely powerful ability related to time manipulation.
Zhu Zhuqing had spent years honing her skills before finally developing this move. Now, she had perfected it to the point where it could be instantly activated, rendering anyone weaker than her completely helpless.
If someone equal to or stronger than her was caught in the Life and Death Arena, they would only have their strength severely suppressed. However, if they were weaker like Tang Hao and Ah Yin time itself would affect them to an extreme degree, regressing their physical bodies.
Zhu Zhuqing stood within the Life and Death Arena, completely unaffected as its creator.
With just a flick of her fingers, two beams of energy shot out, striking Tang Hao and Ah Yin.
"BAM! BAM!"
Both collapsed to the ground, completely incapacitated.
The surroundings began to distort, shifting back to reality.
The moment they returned, Tang Hao and Ah Yin's bodies reverted to their original states, but the damage they had suffered remained, leaving them half dead and barely clinging to life.
Originally, the Life and Death Arena would trap someone indefinitely until one party perished.
However, after years of refinement, Zhu Zhuqing had mastered its mechanisms and found a way to manually release it without requiring death.
"BZZZ!"
At that moment, the Seagod's Trident, which had fallen to the side, suddenly glowed with divine light, releasing an immense and terrifying aura!
This was a manifestation of the Seagod's power.
If someone were wielding it, the divine energy would have a medium through which it could act, making it difficult for Zhu Zhuqing to suppress.
However Tang San was still stuck in the Divine Realm and had no way to directly control the weapon from afar.
So, despite the faint attempt to resist, the trident's power fell just short.
Zhu Zhuqing simply raised her hand.
Dark red energy surged forth, morphing into a giant feline paw print, pressing down onto the Seagod's Trident, completely sealing its power.
The divine glow instantly faded.
The once mighty Seagod's Trident had once again turned into nothing more than a hunk of scrap metal.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced down at the heavily injured Tang Hao and Ah Yin, contemplating for a moment before flicking her fingers, sending two beams of energy to temporarily stabilize their injuries, keeping them alive for the time being.
Then, with a simple wave of her hand, both she and everything around her vanished.
Inside the Ship
Casually throwing Tang Hao and Ah Yin into the ship's prison, Zhu Zhuqing returned to the lounge, holding the now dimmed Seagod's Trident.
Ning Rongrong, Huo Wu, and Shui Bing'er immediately gathered around, examining the once legendary weapon with curiosity.
"So this really is the Seagod's Trident…" Ning Rongrong muttered, shaking her head. "And in this world, Tang San actually inherited the Seagod's position? What a joke. The heavens must be blind."
"Someone like him actually became a God King?" Huo Wu sneered. "Are the gods in the Divine Realm all blind?"
"Or maybe… they're just as rotten as he is?" Shui Bing'er suggested.
The three women paused for a moment.
Then, unexpectedly, they nodded in agreement what Shui Bing'er said made perfect sense.
How could anyone expect the Divine Realm to produce good gods?
For a world that had elected Tang San as a God King, wouldn't it be completely logical for all the other gods to be just as awful?
"By the way," Huo Wu turned to Zhu Zhuqing, "why did you capture those two instead of just getting rid of them?"
"Is it because one of them is Alan's twin?" Ning Rongrong asked.
In this world, "twins" referred to parallel versions of the same person from different dimensions in other words, the same individual existing in different realities.
"No, that's not the reason."
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head.
She explained, "Those two aren't just ordinary minions. They're Tang San's parents. If we killed them, Tang San would definitely retaliate without hesitation. For now, keeping them imprisoned prevents him from acting recklessly."
"So that's how it is."
The three women immediately understood.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm…
At the very moment Tang San sensed the Seagod's Trident being sealed, he nearly smashed his desk into pieces in rage.
"Damn those invaders!"
"They dare imprison my parents?! They are already seeking death!"
Tang San felt like nothing had been going his way recently.
First, his "dog training" plan had been exposed by the mysterious Q&A event.
Then, the fusion of two Divine Realms resulted in his authority being cut from 1/5 to 1/10.
And thanks to the exposed footage, the other God Kings had started guarding against him, limiting his influence in the Divine Realm.
If he weren't already a dual God King, with sheer power keeping him in his position, the other God Kings might have already removed him entirely.
And now
His "vegetable garden", also known as Douluo Continent, had been invaded by the parallel world's forces.
The first team he sent was wiped out.
Then he sent his own parents, and they got captured!
Tang San felt like even fate itself was against him.
Where was the justice in this world?!
Hadn't he, Tang San, worked tirelessly as a benevolent God King, maintaining cosmic peace and ruling fairly?
Hadn't he only ever bent the rules a little and always within acceptable limits?
And yet those ignorant fools still dared to call him a hypocrite?!
He slammed his fist on the table, fuming with rage.
"How dare they slander me?! Slander!"
I, the pure and noble Tang San, am a selfless protector of the universe!
How could I possibly be a scheming villain?!
Back on Douluo Continent…
The airships from White Cloud City had now fully spread across the continent.
Flying openly over major cities, without a shred of secrecy, they dominated the skies with their massive, island sized bodies.
Looking up, the people of Douluo 2 were completely stunned.
They had never seen such advanced soul technology before.
Where did these ships come from?
Who had invented such terrifying soul devices?!
The purpose of these airships was clear intimidation and retrieval of stolen property.
Though only a handful of people had physically stolen the books, those individuals belonged to powerful factions.
When they returned, they had distributed the stolen knowledge among these groups, meaning almost every major force in Douluo 2 had received stolen property.
So the ships did not immediately open fire.
Instead, they broadcasted a message, using speakers loud enough for everyone in each city to hear:
"You have been caught."
"Return the stolen books immediately and compensate us for damages, or we will use force."
At the same time
Massive screens on the undersides of the airships began playing footage.
The recordings showed every moment of the theft from the time the thieves left their hotel to their break in at the White Cloud City library.
Even though they had covered their faces, the recordings also showed their identities before they masked themselves.
These weren't nobodies.
These were high ranking soul masters, leaders of major factions, and widely admired figures.
Countless ordinary people stared at the screens in absolute shock.
The mighty heroes they had worshipped… were nothing but petty thieves.
Their idols had collapsed before their very eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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