Xiao Wu buried her head in Tang San's chest, her soft hair brushing against his lapel, her voice carrying a hint of coquettishness. "Of course I missed you. Think about it, how long has it been since you spent some proper time with me?"
Hearing this, an apologetic look appeared on Tang San's face, and he reached out to gently stroke Xiao Wu's back. "There have been too many matters in the Divine Realm lately. I'm sorry, Xiao Wu."
Xiao Wu raised her head from his embrace, looking straight at Tang San, her tone turning a bit more serious. "There are so many people in the Divine Realm, and you can grab a handful of gods of all sizes at any time. You don't have to do everything yourself."
Tang San shook his head helplessly, a hint of unspeakable exhaustion in his voice. "There's no other way. Those two, Kindness and Evil, have only recently been promoted to God Kings. Many things are still in the adjustment phase, and they can't take over many affairs for the time being."
"You also know Life's personality; she has always preferred not to get involved in affairs. As for Destruction..."
He paused here and sighed softly. "He stares at me all day now, with his mind entirely set on vying for power and benefit. He wants to stick his hand into everything and grasp every bit of authority. If I make even the slightest misstep, he will seize upon it and not let go."
"But the Divine Realm can't just grind to a halt. The various God Positions, the diversion of faith from the Lower Realm, the maintenance and operation of the Divine Realm's Laws... every single matter is laid out there. So... I can only work a bit harder."
Listening to his words, Xiao Wu's brow furrowed slightly, a layer of heartache appearing in her eyes.
She raised her hand, her fingertips gently touching the space between Tang San's brows, smoothing out his furrowed lines bit by bit. "Third Brother is just too responsible, taking everything onto his own shoulders."
Tang San was slightly taken aback by her action, then smiled. "Alright, get up quickly. If other gods see us like this, I'm afraid we'll be laughed to death."
Hearing this, Xiao Wu was in no hurry to get up. Instead, she deliberately sat down a bit lower, gently swaying her body, and pouted, her tone carrying a hint of willful coquetry. "You are my husband. What do they have to laugh at?"
Although she said so, she stood up afterward, tidied her skirt, and reached up to tuck back her stray hairs.
Her expression turned more solemn as she looked at Tang San and said, "Alright, Third Brother, I won't disturb you anymore. Don't overwork yourself."
Tang San smiled and nodded. "Mm."
Only then did Xiao Wu turn around, looking back with every few steps as she walked out of the divine temple.
Tang San watched her figure depart, and only when that touch of pink completely vanished at the end of his vision did he slowly withdraw his gaze.
The gentle smile on Tang San's face receded slowly like the ebbing tide, and his finger tapped lightly on the armrest of his divine throne.
In the next instant, his Divine Sense sank into the God Realm Central Hub once more, and the core network woven from countless golden streams of light unfolded in the depths of his consciousness.
His perception extended rapidly along the streams of light, passing through layers of the Divine Realm's Law barriers, and precisely locked onto the azure planet below.
It was indeed the Douluo Continent!
The affairs of the Divine Realm were incredibly complex, where a single move could affect the entire situation; it was not easy to change anything in a short time.
But fortunately, his arrangements in the Lower Realm had already been laid out. He wondered how that child of destiny he had chosen was doing now.
Were the various hidden threads and setups he had arranged progressing along the expected trajectory?
Was the great cause of reviving the Tang Sect already progressing steadily?
Tang San's Divine Sense swept across one region after another—Star Luo, Heavenly Soul, Sun Moon...
Information along the way fell into his perception one after another, like leaves drifting down from the sky.
Among them, the fragments related to the youth named Huo Yuhao were singled out with extra attention, gathered, and pieced together strand by strand.
A moment later, his expression became rather "colorful."
On his originally calm and composed face, a hint of confusion first appeared, which then turned into surprise, and finally into obvious astonishment.
His brow furrowed bit by bit, and the calm curve that had just been hanging on the corner of his mouth vanished completely, replaced by an indescribable, complex expression.
"What is going on?!"
He couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, his words echoing for a moment in the empty divine temple, carrying a rare hint of losing his composure.
It was simply because Huo Yuhao's current growth trajectory deviated far too much from his arrangements.
Huo Yuhao was a chess piece he had personally chosen to revive the Tang Sect. In his design, this youth should have joined the Tang Sect and then led it to greatness once more.
But what he saw now was that Huo Yuhao had not even taken a single step into the Tang Sect, and his interactions with anything related to the Tang Sect were pitifully few.
As for that "Spirit Pagoda," he had indeed vaguely seen its establishment when projecting the future, but the rise of that power should absolutely not have been this rapid.
According to his initial calculations, the Spirit Pagoda should have taken at least another ten years to begin taking shape.
Yet right now, it was already thriving on the continent, with Branch Pagodas springing up one after another, and its momentum almost overshadowing all the established powers.
What made Tang San's heart sink even more was that Huo Yuhao had already left Shrek Academy, without even entering the Inner Court.
This youth should have taken deep root in the soil of Shrek, fusing the two forces of the academy and the Tang Sect into a cornerstone for his future ascent, yet now he seemed to have been gently nudged off that track by an invisible hand.
Shrek had nothing to do with him anymore, and neither did the Tang Sect.
Tang San sat on his divine throne, his fingertips slowly gripping the armrest tighter.
Under these circumstances, how was he supposed to control this chess piece?
What kind of rope could he use to drag Huo Yuhao's thread of fate back to his pre-designed direction?
He fell silent for a moment, then continued to look down, after which his brow relaxed slightly.
He saw a piece of information that put him slightly at ease: Huo Yuhao and Wang Donger had already confirmed their relationship as a couple.
Tang San leaned back against the divine throne and slowly exhaled a breath.
He silently gave his daughter a thumbs-up in his heart; at least his arrangements had not all failed.
Using the wisp of Divine Sense imprint left in Wang Donger's mind, Tang San quickly locked onto her location.
That imprint was embedded in the deepest part of Wang Donger's Spiritual Sea. Normally, it remained completely hidden and would not affect her daily behavior in any way.
But at this moment, with a thought from Tang San, his Divine Sense flooded in like flowing water along the path of the imprint.
In the next instant, Wang Donger's memories over the years were presented before his eyes page by page, like an opened scroll.
He saw her first meeting with Huo Yuhao, and saw every little detail of their time in Shrek Academy.
Tang San watched quietly, but his brow gradually furrowed in the process.
As the daughter of the Sea God, as his, Tang San's, daughter, in his conception, this relationship should have been Huo Yuhao, that poor kid, desperately pursuing Wang Donger.
He had even considered at one point whether he would need to personally intervene when the time was ripe, setting up a few trials for this relationship to see if that kid was truly worthy of his daughter.
But what he saw at this moment was completely different from the direction he had anticipated.
In the course of their relationship, it seemed that his daughter was always the one giving more, accommodating more, and being more at a "disadvantage."
That kid Huo Yuhao actually didn't even want to go to the Clear Sky Sect?
Wang Donger had taken the initiative to invite him, yet he actually made excuses to decline?
What did he want to do?
He is truly out of line.
Tang San's face darkened bit by bit.
Sitting on his divine throne, his gaze turned colder, and the slight gratification he had felt earlier upon seeing that their relationship was confirmed was now replaced by an indescribable displeasure.
Tang San fell silent for a moment. He had just been silently praising his daughter in his heart, but now he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh softly, "Xiao Qi, I gave you a chance, but you're useless."
His tone carried a hint of frustration at her failure to live up to expectations, but immediately afterward, he calmed down and thought about it, and his brow twitched slightly again.
Wang Donger's current behavior might not actually be her own fault. After all, the current Wang Donger was not yet his complete daughter; she only possessed half of Tang Wutong's Soul.
With only half of her Soul in control, it was inevitable that her actions would deviate, and her handling of emotions might not be precise.
This thought turned Tang San's mind in another direction, and he felt that perhaps he should also begin to make preparations.
It was also time to merge these two halves of the Soul into one, allowing the complete Tang Wutong to descend into the world.
Tang San's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of his divine throne twice, as if calculating which point in time would be the most suitable.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.