"Yes, from the very beginning I never thought Xue Beng's plan could succeed." Tang San spoke up. "Spirit Hall has infiltrated the Heaven Dou Empire far too deeply. Even if Xue Beng managed to reclaim the throne, it would be nearly impossible for him to stabilize everything in a short time."
"The goal Zhu Zhuqing and I had was for the sake of the divine trials—to make the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect interfere as little as possible, allowing Xue Beng to turn the Heaven Dou Empire into a river of blood with all its factions."
"But I didn't expect Xue Di to appear and completely disrupt my plan." Tang San sounded quite helpless. "The reason Zhu Zhuqing and I agreed to let Xue Beng act was mainly because of Zhu Zhuqing's divine trial, as well as my need to raise my own strength."
"That Zhu Zhuyun—was she one of your people?" Tang Chen asked.
"Yes, Zhu Zhuqing's puppet." Tang San smiled. "The Star Luo imperial succession is brutal, which is why Zhu Zhuqing acted against Zhu Zhuyun. Although she managed to escape for a while, she was eventually captured."
"Because she could already see that the plan wouldn't succeed, Zhu Zhuqing used Zhu Zhuyun to carry out the second plan—essentially the backup plan Zhu Zhuqing and I had prepared."
"In the end, it still involves the divine trials." Tang San sighed at this point. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can no longer be pulled to our side. I suspect that Sea God Island's incident—the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King suddenly attacking Sea God Island—has something to do with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"Of course, I have no evidence. But after this event, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will most likely involve itself deeply in the Heaven Dou situation."
"We also need to raise our strength as quickly as possible. Whether it was Xue Beng seizing power or the second plan Zhu Zhuqing is carrying out now, both are tied to the divine trials of Zhu Zhuqing and myself."
"So the purpose of your plan to occupy the Barak Kingdom is…?"
Tang Chen and Bo Saixi looked at each other.
He said so much, yet they still had no idea what he was talking about.
Seeing the confusion on their faces, Tang San explained, "If there had been more time, I wouldn't have agreed to Zhu Zhuqing's method. It truly goes against humanity and will very likely push the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect completely toward the Heaven Dou Empire."
Tang San paused briefly before continuing, "Dugu Bo should have already withdrawn from the Barak Kingdom. The outcome afterward will be that the 96th-level Dugu Bo used the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison to massacre the entire Barak Kingdom."
Dugu Bo's strength had genuinely surprised Tang San.
When Zhu Zhuqing was controlling Zhu Zhuyun,
through their mental resonance, he had received the information Zhu Zhuqing sent over.
Dugu Bo had actually reached level 96.
However, once his poison lost its effect, Dugu Bo became nothing more than a venomless snake. Under the pressure of the Heaven Dou army and the martial soul fusion technique of the former Heaven Dou Emperor and Empress (both at level 94), he could only flee in panic.
"So we need to reach the Barak Kingdom as quickly as possible—before the people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire can react. I need to use countless streams of blood to forge my strength."
"Right now, even against the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and his wife fighting desperately, I still don't have absolute confidence."
Earlier, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and the Demon Empress were on land, unable to display their true power. But in the sea, things would be completely different.
If only he could have killed them back then—but with so many Limit Douluo present, killing a quasi-god-level sea soul beast was simply too difficult.
Having missed the chance to kill the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King once,
completing the eighth trial this time would likely be even harder.
"Level 95 is still not enough."
After hearing Tang San's explanation, Bo Saixi and Tang Chen fell into silence.
"Tang San, you…" Tang Chen's voice trembled slightly. No wonder Tang San hadn't finished speaking earlier. Even he—who had once been the King of Slaughter—couldn't help but feel shaken upon hearing Tang San's words.
The Barak Kingdom had over ten million people!
"A man without ruthlessness cannot stand." Tang San said coldly. "We have no time left. Besides, the one who massacred the Barak Kingdom with the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison was Dugu Bo—what does that have to do with me, Tang San?"
This life had changed far too much.
Gu Yuena from the Star Dou Great Forest had appeared ahead of schedule, and the other ferocious beasts were rampaging freely.
Ning Rongrong seemed to possess god-level strength.
Xue Di had already become a god.
The seal in the Far North could break open at any moment.
The Abyss plane had terrifying existences at the level of first-level gods and half-step God Kings.
If he couldn't recover to the God King realm, let alone revive his parents—he wouldn't even be able to protect his current loved ones. What would be the point of him, Tang San, coming back at all?
The people who died in the Barak Kingdom were not meaningless. They were sacrifices made for a better future. They were worthy. I, God King Tang San, will give the highest respect to those who have died.
"Is it really necessary to go this far?" Even Bo Saixi, having thought of Tang San's method of cultivating his martial soul, vaguely guessed some of the truth. Despite being the Great Priestess of Sea God who had seen countless deaths, she still felt her heart palpitate.
"Senior Bo Saixi, I hope you can understand our situation." Tang San's face showed reluctance, but he still gritted his teeth. "No matter what, there simply isn't enough time. To be honest with you—there are gods on the Douluo Continent."
"Not just the Xue Di we just met, who has already advanced to become a first-level god."
"There is also one inside the Star Dou Great Forest."
"And Ning Rongrong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is very likely a god as well. If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect gets involved…"
"What we'll face next could be Xue Di, Ning Rongrong, and the Star Dou Great Forest."
"At least three gods. If Zhu Zhuqing and I don't become gods quickly…"
"We probably won't have any chance of turning things around."
"There are actually so many god-level beings on the Douluo Continent?" Bo Saixi and Tang Chen both looked shocked.
"That's right. Explaining the specifics would take more than a few words." Tang San took a deep breath. "But I need to use becoming Sea God as a stepping stone to advance and obtain the Asura God position. Otherwise, facing such a dire situation will be extremely difficult."
"Doesn't the Divine Realm care?" Bo Saixi frowned slightly.
As the Great Priestess of Sea God, she still knew quite a few things. Gods could not remain on the Douluo Continent for long periods.
"The five great God Kings of the Divine Realm, along with the first-, second-, and third-level gods, have no time to spare. They are sealing an extremely terrifying existence. All I know is that this existence seems to have some connection with Gu Yuena from the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Gu… Gu Yuena!?"
Tang Chen and Bo Saixi could not possibly be unfamiliar with the name Gu Yuena.
Back during the Soul Master Tournament, she had overwhelmingly suppressed Tang San.
"She is a god—the Beast God of the Star Dou Great Forest?"
"I don't know. But if they join forces, we have to move fast." Tang San had never felt such urgency before. If he hadn't analyzed it earlier, it wouldn't have felt so bad—but now that he had, good grief, it was a nine-in-ten chance of death, if not outright certain doom.
If the Divine Realm found out about Sea God's matter, they probably wouldn't help him at all.
At best, the only one who might help would be the Asura God.
Having chips in hand was the safest option. The best way was to become a god first.
By then, once Bo Saixi was gone and the tea cooled, who would still speak up for him?
Just as Tang San analyzed the situation and felt more and more alarmed,
a streak of golden light tore across the sky.
It came hurtling toward them at extreme speed, the flight path sparking with sizzling crackles of fire.
A clear yet furious voice resounded through heaven and earth.
"Tang San, I've finally found you."
"How dare you—that was millions of lives!"
A massive angel phantom appeared in the sky. Golden radiance illuminated the gloomy clouds, turning them dazzling and magnificent.
An extremely terrifying energy locked onto Tang San.
Feeling this aura, Tang San's expression changed dramatically.
"Not good!"
Why did this guy have to appear right now?
"Give me the Asura God Sword—you two get out of the way." Without giving Tang Chen and Bo Saixi time to react, the Asura God Sword in Tang Chen's hand let out a sword cry and flew into Tang San's grasp.
Blood-red killing aura began surging from the sword body. At the same time, the golden angel phantom on the opposite side erupted with waves of sharp, chilling energy.
Almost at the exact same moment,
the blood-red and golden lights collided. Chaotic, interwoven energy raged outward in all directions.
It split the entire sky in two.
"Divine Skill—Angel Judgment"
"Divine Skill—Asura Judgment"
The terrifying auras clashed violently.
Waves of angel and Asura energy surged forth, like the confrontation of eternal enemies.
Even far away in the sealed lands of the Divine Realm, the Asura God sensed the anomaly.
(End of chapter)