Deep within the frost-warded sanctum of his private cultivation cavern in Crimson Zenith City, the atmosphere was a terrifying portrait of absolute, contradictory extremes.
Zhang Tian sat cross-legged, suspended a few inches above the glacial stone by the sheer, repulsive force of his own spirit power. His eyes were closed, his brow furrowed in profound concentration. In his left hand, an orb of brilliant, emerald-green Life Spirit Energy pulsed with the warmth of a thousand suns, radiating the essence of absolute creation. In his right hand, a sphere of pitch-black, suffocating Death Energy—the raw, untamed manifestation of his newly condensed Eighth Spirit Ring—swirled like a bottomless abyss, hungering for termination.
For the past several hours, Zhang Tian had been meticulously, painstakingly attempting the impossible. He was attempting to forcibly fuse the absolute laws of Life and Death.
He slowly, agonizingly brought his hands together. The moment the emerald light brushed against the pitch-black void, the cavern did not explode. Instead, a terrifying, silent distortion occurred. The two supreme energies began to devour each other, breaking down their foundational laws to birth something entirely new. A sliver of dull, grey energy materialized between his palms.
The very second that grey energy formed, Zhang Tian's spiritual sea, which boasted the vast, impregnable defenses of a Limit Douluo, violently screamed in warning. The grey energy was primordial. It was a chaotic, origin-level force that sat on a conceptual tier far, far higher than anything he had ever manipulated. His Purple Demon Eyes, attempting to peer into its structure, throbbed with blinding pain, entirely unable to analyze or understand the profound depths of its existence.
'It is too unstable,' Zhang Tian realized instantly, severing the connection without a moment's hesitation.
He threw his hands apart. The grey sliver collapsed, dissipating harmlessly into the air, though it left a strange, heavy static in its wake. Zhang Tian exhaled a long, measured breath, allowing the sweat to bead on his forehead.
'The fusion of absolute Life and Death creates a primordial genesis energy that I simply cannot control at my current stage,' Zhang Tian analyzed, his mind immediately cataloging the failure not as a defeat, but as a future milestone. 'My mental energy is vast, but my physical and spiritual vessel as a Level 80 Spirit Douluo is insufficient to forcefully bind these two opposing elemental attributes into stability. I would need to reach the absolute apex of the Limit Douluo realm, refining my Spirit Power to its ultimate density, before I dare to attempt forging that primordial energy again.'
Putting the grand ambition of fusion aside, Zhang Tian did not remain idle. For the next several weeks and extending into the months while his clone acted as an ambassador in the Star Dou Great Forest, his true body remained occupied with intensely training his newly acquired Death Laws, attempting to fully understand its vast variety of applications in combat, suppression, and soul manipulation.
The primary reason he was training with such ascetic, relentless dedication—rather than continuing to luxuriously enjoy the beautiful, voluptuous bodies of his wives and sluts like Ah Yin, Zhu Zhuqing, Zhu Zhuyun, Zhu Wanyue, Ning Rongrong, Bibi Dong, Liu Erlong, and Xiao Wu—was not out of a sudden loss of desire. It was out of absolute, strategic necessity.
Through the intricate, continent-spanning network of his concealed Blood Silver Grass, specifically the deep roots hidden across the Star Luo Empire, Zhang Tian had received a flurry of alarming intelligence.
The Star Luo Empire was frantically, aggressively assembling its massive standing armies, fortifying their borders as if expecting an invasion. But more importantly, the apex powerhouses had vanished. The plant network confirmed that Tang Chen, Tang Hao, Tang Xiao, and Tang San had completely disappeared from the mainland. Furthermore, they had not left alone. A massive, elite contingent of the younger generation had been taken with them.
Zhang Tian sorted through the intercepted names in his mind. 'Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Oscar... the remnants of the Shrek group. Many of the surviving, talented members of the Clear Sky Sect. Even the elite scions of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, such as Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianxin, along with members of the Imperial Family of Star Luo, like the Crown Prince Dai Weisi, and various other highly talented youths from noble families.'
They had all been gathered, packed onto massive, reinforced seafaring vessels, and escorted directly across the treacherous ocean by Tang Chen.
Zhang Tian knew exactly where they were going. They had fled to Sea God Island.
'Tang Chen is playing his final, desperate hand,' Zhang Tian deduced, his icy blue eyes staring into the shadows of the cavern. 'He knows he cannot defeat me or the Spirit Hall on the mainland. So, he has taken the absolute best of their remaining potential to the sanctuary of the ocean to seek divine trials for quick growth of these individuals.'
The strategic implications were massive. Zhang Tian knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Sea God legacy was very likely to fall directly into the lap of Tang San. The boy was a child of destiny, and the God Realm's politics heavily favored his rise.
'Tang San is already a Spirit Douluo,' Zhang Tian calculated. 'Once he officially begins the Sea God Legacy trials, he will undergo an explosive, unnatural period of growth. He will definitely reach the realm of a highly powerful Titled Douluo, or even push into the Super Douluo realm, the very next time I see him on the battlefield during the inevitable war between the Spirit Hall and the Star Luo Empire.'
Even though Zhang Tian held a deep, freezing animosity towards Tang San, he was far too intelligent to let arrogance blind him. He absolutely could not look down on Tang San's terrifying potential and his sheer, desperate combat strength. The potential of the boy's Twin Spirits was undeniable, even if Tang San's personal innovation of techniques or his overarching control over his powers could not hold a candle to Zhang Tian's own flawless mastery.
And considering that Tang San was currently sitting safely upon Sea God Island, surrounded by the ocean and an army of Sea Spirit Masters, there was absolutely nothing Zhang Tian could practically do to strike at him or weaken him there. A preemptive naval invasion would be a logistical nightmare and a foolish waste of resources.
He simply had to be perfectly prepared for any and all possibilities when the boy returned.
'The Sea God will undoubtedly interfere to protect his investment,' Zhang Tian thought, his mind running through the divine variables. 'The Sea God will likely condense Tang San's Ninth Spirit Ring with a pure, God-Bestowed Spirit Ring. That divine energy will definitely cleanse and rid all the hidden, unstable dangers lurking within his mutated Deathly Sea Vine martial spirit. And as for that damned Clear Sky Hammer... since it is being directly, shamelessly supported by the Asura God, it will also grow exponentially stronger.'
Furthermore, Zhang Tian remembered the ultimate prize of the island. 'Tang San will inevitably claim that Divine Artifact. The Sea God Trident. A weapon that weighs a hundred and eight thousand catties. It can be considered quite a powerful artifact in this world.'
Thus, Zhang Tian had to prepare. He had to forge new, devastating techniques specifically designed for the absolute possibility that Tang San becomes a Super Douluo wielding a divine weapon the next time they clash.
Zhang Tian knew his own Death Attribute had to be refined to such a pure, dense level that it should easily be able to cause absolute, conceptual suppression over Tang San's Deathly Sea Vine, ensuring that he absolutely could not be harmed by Tang San's own Death Attribute attacks.
While Zhang Tian meditated in the freezing north, the reality he envisioned was currently playing out thousands of miles away, beneath a brilliant, azure sky.
Sea God Island was a breathtaking paradise of lush, vibrant greenery and pristine, white-sand beaches, surrounded by the endless, sparkling expanse of the ocean.
However, at the very center of the island stood a massive, towering peak—the Sea God Mountain. Rising straight up the face of the mountain was a sprawling, impossibly long flight of white marble stairs, bathed in a constant, majestic, and suffocating golden light.
This was the Sea God's Light.
Standing at the base of the mountain, positioned elegantly near a crystal-clear pool, were two figures of immense, legendary power.
Bo Saixi, the High Priestess of the Sea God, was an incredibly, breathtakingly beautiful woman. She wore an immaculate, flowing white and red gown with long, elegant sleeves that were heavily adorned with intricate, wrought silver patterns resembling crashing waves.
A majestic, golden crown rested upon her head, shaped like a radiant halo that perfectly matched the long, intricately carved golden scepter she held gracefully in her hand. Her hair was a cascading waterfall of pure, vibrant ocean blue, falling heavily down her back and pooling upon the ground.
But it was her eyes that truly captured the soul—they were a clear, piercing blue that seemed far deeper than the oceans themselves, and within their tranquil depths, they seemed to encompass the vast, ancient experiences of the world.
Her figure was exceptionally voluptuous, her curves carrying the mature, divine grace of a supreme sovereign.
Standing beside her was Tang Chen, the Limit Douluo of the Clear Sky Sect, his dark robes a stark contrast to her radiant presence.
Together, they were quietly watching the brutal, agonizing struggle unfolding on the massive staircase above them.
The entirety of the younger generation brought from the mainland was currently attempting their first, unifying trial: traversing the steps on the Sea God Mountain under the crushing pressure of the Sea God Light within a one-year limit. The golden light acted like a physical, gelatinous ocean, increasing the gravitational and spiritual pressure exponentially with every single step ascended.
Tang San was currently the highest among them, but his struggle was immense.
Because he was the one who had miraculously triggered the legendary, unprecedented Nine Trials of the Sea God, a golden brand shaped like a trident burned brightly upon his forehead. The sheer magnitude of his trial had been profoundly shocking for Bo Saixi and the other seven Sea God Divine Pillars. They had never, in their wildest dreams, imagined that a terrestrial Spirit Master from the mainland would be the destined future Sea God.
Consequently, Tang San's burden was the heaviest. He had to climb more than five hundred steps to pass his first trial.
Currently, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and a thin sheen of blood oozed from his pores, staining the white marble beneath his boots. He had barely managed to climb a hundred and five steps. It showed that while his physical physique—tempered by spirit bones and immense suffering—was incredibly strong, it was still not overly, absurdly strong enough to shatter the divine pressure with ease.
Tang San sat cross-legged on the 105th step, entirely ignoring the groans and curses of his companions below him. He didn't care about their petty squabbles. His deep purple eyes were closed, his mind entirely focused on his own internal cultivation.
He was actively manifesting thin, pale violet strands of his Deathly Sea Vine, forcing them to push against the golden light. He was intensely remembering the flawless, absolute control Zhang Tian exercised over his Blood Silver Grass, and Tang San was desperately, obsessively trying to mimic that level of microscopic control to enhance his own spirit ring abilities and alleviate the crushing pressure.
Below him, the marble stairs were a chaotic theater of intense, sweaty political rivalry.
Dai Mubai, bearing a pitch-black brand on his forehead signifying the Black Level Six Trials, was currently gritting his teeth on the fiftieth step. His muscular body trembled, his blonde hair plastered to his forehead.
"You look like a beaten dog, Mubai!" a sneering, arrogant voice called out from a few steps below.
Dai Weisi, the Crown Prince of the Star Luo Empire, was struggling on the forty-fifth step. He also bore a black brand, though his was for the Black Level Five Trials. His royal garments were ruined with sweat, but his arrogance remained entirely intact. The two royal brothers of the White Tiger lineage absolutely did not have a good relationship with each other. The vicious, murderous succession war of their family had merely been paused, not forgotten.
Dai Mubai slowly turned his head, his dual-pupiled eyes glaring down at his older brother. "I might be a beaten dog, 'Crown Prince', but at least I am a dog that stands higher than you. Keep barking from the bottom of the stairs."
"Do not get arrogant just because you took a few extra steps!" Dai Weisi snapped back, his face flushing red with exertion and anger. "Your effort here is useless. You can never catch up to the resources and the political backing of the true throne! I will break your legs once we leave this sacred ground!"
"Why wait?" Dai Mubai growled, a faint, illusory white tiger roaring behind him. "Come up here and try it right now, coward!"
"Boss Mubai is right!" Ma Hongjun chimed in from the fortieth step. The fat youth was panting heavily, bearing a Purple Level trial brand. "Don't let that stuck-up crown prince talk down to you, Boss! He's just jealous that you're stronger!"
"Save your breath, fatty," Oscar advised from the forty-second step, wiping sweat from his eyes. "We need every ounce of energy just to stand."
The tension was incredibly high. Dai Mubai and Dai Weisi would constantly clash against each other, verbally berating one another whenever the other failed a step or slipped backward. They would almost come to physical blows on the stairs, but they absolutely didn't dare to truly fight. This was the sacred Sea God Island, and their lofty identities as princes of an empire were really not something the devout people on this island held in any high regard. A brawl here would result in immediate, severe punishment from the High Priestess.
To the right of the royal dispute, another fierce rivalry was playing out under the crushing light.
Yu Tianheng, bearing a Black Level trial brand, stood on the forty-eighth step, his arms trembling as blue lightning sparked weakly around his skin.
"You are struggling, Tianheng," Yu Tianxin mocked from the forty-first step, bearing a Purple Level brand. "Is this the vaunted strength of the main branch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon? How pathetic."
"Shut your mouth, Tianxin," Yu Tianheng gritted out, glaring downward. "I am pushing my limits. You are just hiding behind the Crown Prince's skirts."
It was a true reflection of the mainland's fractured politics. The youths had naturally separated into distinct factions on the stairs. Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Yu Tianheng firmly supported Dai Mubai, treating him as their leader. Conversely, Yu Tianxin and the various other descendants of the noble families from the Star Luo Empire who had triggered Purple Ranked trials mostly rallied behind Dai Weisi, forming a conservative, elitist bloc.
While the younger generation engaged in their exhausting, petty squabbles on the mountain, a far more terrifying, earth-shaking display of power was occurring on the expansive, wave-battered training grounds near the base of the island.
Tang Hao and Tang Xiao were not climbing stairs. They were engaging in brutal, high-intensity sparring sessions against the apex protectors of the island—the Seven Sea God Pillars.
It was a staggering clash of differing martial philosophies.
Tang Hao, fully recovered from his exploded rings thanks to the miraculous, divine-tier healing herbs provided by the island, swung his massive, dark Clear Sky Hammer. He fought alongside his brother, Tang Xiao, their movements perfectly synchronized after decades of shared blood.
They were currently facing off against the combined might of all seven protectors.
Sea Dragon Douluo, a towering, immensely powerful man at Level 95 Super Douluo, roared as his Sea Dragon spirit generated massive, swirling typhoons of high-pressure water.
Beside him, Sea Spear Douluo, a Level 94 Titled Douluo, thrust his golden Sea Lance, sending piercing beams of condensed aquatic energy tearing through the air.
Sea Fantasy Douluo (Level 93) wove mind-bending, disorienting mist with his Illusion Sea Serpent, while Sea Star Douluo (Level 93) attempted to bind the brothers with massive, regenerative spectral tentacles.
Sea Ghost Douluo (Level 92) darted through the shadows with his Devil Sea Fish spirit, attempting assassinations, and Sea Woman Douluo (Level 93), a beautiful half-mermaid, half-human, played a haunting melody on a spectral flute that sought to disrupt their spiritual seas.
Yet, the two brothers from the Clear Sky Sect were an unstoppable force of nature.
"Clear Sky Nine Absolutes - Quake!" Tang Xiao bellowed, his hammer glowing deep blue as he smashed through a massive water dragon, the sheer concussive force dispersing the typhoon entirely.
"Deathgod Domain!" Tang Hao roared. The thick, white mist of pure killing intent exploded outward, violently suppressing the oceanic environment. The terrifying aura shattered Sea Fantasy Douluo's illusions and forced the agile Sea Ghost Douluo out of the shadows.
Tang Hao swung his hammer, executing a flawless, consecutive chain of the Disorder Splitting Wind technique. He didn't aim to kill, but the sheer, overwhelming physical pressure forced Sea Spear Douluo and Sea Star Douluo to desperately cross their weapons just to block the blow, sending both Titled Douluos skidding backward across the sand.
The combination of Tang Hao and Tang Xiao was incredibly, terrifyingly strong, enough to systematically defeat all Seven Pillars of the Sea God in a structured spar. They utilized their profound techniques and their heavy Spirit Ring abilities to suppress the oceanic masters, though they meticulously ensured to pull their punches at the last second, absolutely not causing any severe or lasting injuries to their hosts.
This brutal sparring was immensely helpful for the Sea God Divine Pillars as well, forcing them to adapt their fluid, aquatic styles against the absolute, crushing blunt force of the mainland's greatest weapon.
Normally, the proud, isolated Sea God Divine Pillars absolutely wouldn't be training with outsiders from the Douluo Continent like this, acting as though they were merely whetstones for polishing the mainlanders' techniques. But they were doing this willingly, with absolute devotion, because the Sea God himself had sent down a direct, undeniable divine command.
The Sea God had ordered them to actively assist the Clear Sky Sect in growing stronger, to prepare for a holy war to completely clear up the Angel God's lingering faith from the continent, and to serve as the unyielding vanguard to help the new Sea God successor establish his absolute faith and dominion over the entire mainland.
Back at the serene pool near the mountain, Bo Saixi watched the sparring in the distance, a soft, melancholic smile touching her beautiful lips.
"I must confess, Tang Chen," Bo Saixi whispered, her voice carrying the soothing melody of the ocean waves. She turned her deep blue eyes toward him. "I never imagined that we would be meeting each other so soon after I finally managed to save you those few years ago from the vile possession of that filthy, evil bat. I thought you would remain on the mainland until you fully healed and helped settle your Clear Sky Sect."
Tang Chen let out a long, heavy sigh, the sound carrying the profound exhaustion of a man who had fought the world and lost.
"I never imagined it either, Saixi," Tang Chen responded, his dark eyes filled with a bitter regret. "I spent my entire life searching for a God's legacy to match yours, to prove myself worthy of standing beside you. I never imagined that the legacy I found would be laid with such a horrific, malicious trap. And now..."
He looked down at his calloused hands. "Now, I am exactly like you. You are the eternal High Priestess bound to the Sea God's God Position. And I have officially become the High Priest bound to the Asura God's God Position. We are both trapped by the very heavens we sought to conquer."
He turned to look at the golden stairs, watching his great-grandson bleed. "I deeply wanted to stay on the mainland. I wanted to help completely settle my Clear Sky Sect, to personally remove all the looming threats for them before I ever dared to come back here and meet you with my head held high. But the situation on the mainland is simply too complicated, too terrifyingly unstable now."
Tang Chen's face darkened, the memory of the absolute defeat burning his pride. "Despite my own formidable strength, or even the combined, historic strength of the entire Clear Sky Sect and our vast alliances, our clan simply cannot rise on the continent without facing absolute, existential risks. And it is entirely due to those overwhelming risks that I was forced to bring everyone here. To use your island to help them grow stronger, and also... to humbly seek your direct assistance in clearing away these absolute threats for my Clear Sky Sect. The Spirit Hall is one thing. But that Zhang Tian's faction... they are monsters."
Bo Saixi raised an elegant eyebrow, genuinely surprised. The gentle sea breeze caught her long blue hair, making it dance around her voluptuous figure.
"I am surprised, Tang Chen," Bo Saixi noted, her tone laced with deep curiosity. "You are a man who has always stared death in the face without blinking. Yet, you speak of this youth named Zhang Tian—who I hear seems to be the grandson-in-law of our old, stubborn friend Qian Daoliu—with such profound, genuine threat in your voice. Is a mere boy truly that dangerous?"
Tang Chen's expression turned remarkably solemn, devoid of any of his usual arrogance.
"His brilliance goes far, far beyond anything I have ever seen or even imagined possible, Saixi," Tang Chen told her earnestly, his voice dropping to a grim whisper. "Whether it is his mastery of techniques, his intellect, or his raw, unadulterated power... both have been polished to an extent that defies mortal logic."
He recalled the battle, the image burned into his retinas. "During our siege, he stepped onto the battlefield. As a mere Spirit Saint, he already possessed the power to completely, flawlessly counter the Great Sumeru Hammer launched by my grandson Tang Hao—and Tang Hao had initiated it by violently detonating multiple ten-thousand-year Spirit Rings! Zhang Tian countered it with his own Self-Created technique. It was a massive, controlled explosion built from the flawless fusion of multiple ultimate elements, taking the form of a strange, towering lotus."
Tang Chen shook his head in disbelief. "It was truly a shocking, terrifying technique. It was far more complex, whether in terms of sheer ingenuity or raw, destructive power, compared to my own techniques. And you know the strength of those techniques, Saixi. My grandson's attack was unleashed at a level that even a Level 98 Super Douluo would have to unleash a powerful defensive ability to block it. Yet, a Spirit Saint blocked it without taking a step back and that too with that powerful explosive attack which was not a defensive attack, but more of an offensive attack."
He looked directly into her ancient, ocean-deep eyes. "If that Zhang Tian safely reaches the Titled Douluo level... there is an incredibly high, terrifying chance that he can unleash his attacks to directly threaten and even kill an expert at the absolute level of a Level 99 Limit Douluo. He will rewrite the hierarchy of power."
Tang Chen's voice hardened into absolute resolve. "Thus, it is imperative that we deal with him quickly and decisively. Because if we don't... once he fully grows up, he will be absolutely impossible to defeat. He will be completely invincible below that of a true God."
Bo Saixi was quietly, deeply amused. She looked at this rugged man whom she had secretly harbored deep, affectionate feelings for in her heart for decades. To see Tang Chen—a man known for his invincible heart, a warrior whose great talent was already recognized as being at the absolute peak of the world—actually praising this young man, who was merely the age of his great-grandson, so highly and with such genuine fear, was a testament to the boy's incredible existence.
"You give him high praise, my old friend," Bo Saixi smiled softly, reaching out to gently touch Tang Chen's arm, offering him a comforting warmth. "But you must not worry so much. You are not fighting alone anymore."
She turned her gaze toward the vast, sparkling ocean, her posture straightening into the majestic, unyielding stance of a High Priestess.
"Once Little San's urgent, foundational trials that have to be completed here on the mountain have been successfully done," Bo Saixi told him, her voice ringing with absolute, divine certainty, "then the entire, overwhelming might of Sea God Island will mobilize. We will immediately go to the mainland. We will make absolutely sure to utterly destroy this Zhang Tian and his entire faction, along with the foundations of the Spirit Hall, exactly as explicitly ordered by the Sea God. This combined crusade should ensure that there is absolutely no threat to your Clear Sky Sect any longer."
Despite her confident, commanding words, a brief shadow of deep melancholy passed over Bo Saixi's beautiful features.
"Though I must admit," Bo Saixi whispered softly, her eyes lowering slightly, "it makes me a little melancholic. To think that you and I would eventually have to march together to completely destroy our old friend Qian Daoliu's Spirit Hall, and permanently end his Angel God's legacy... it feels like a tragic end to our era."
Tang Chen placed his large, calloused hand over hers, offering a grim nod of solidarity. "It is a heavy tragedy, Saixi. But the absolute command of your Sea God is something you simply have to accomplish."
He looked up at the sky, his eyes narrowing as he felt the heavy, invisible chains of his own destiny. "And as for me... naturally, I have to do it as well. Because I have also received the direct, unquestionable command from the Asura God to eradicate the anomaly. We are merely weapons in the hands of the divine gods."
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels [Villain: Manipulating The Heroines Into Hating The Protagonist] and [Harem Master: Seduction System].
Also, check out 20 Chapters Ahead for this fanfic on my P.atreon. [Check Out Art Of Characters On My Patreon. It's Free To View btw.]
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