After a thousand slaps, Niu Tian's rugged face had swollen so much that his eyes were squeezed shut. His massive frame swayed—whether from rage or from actually being slapped into a daze—and he fell heavily to the ground...
"..."
Exerting a little more force with his foot to stomp Titan into unconsciousness as well, Baili Du let out a long breath. He looked up at the snowy sky with a pleasant mood, appearing to peer through the heavens to see the man who believed he held everything in the palm of his hand.
"This is just the beginning. Wait for me in the God Realm, my dear 'father-in-law'..."
He quickly adjusted his mindset and walked toward Clear Sky Castle. Having come all this way, it would be a pity not to take a look.
In a corner of the third floor of Clear Sky Castle, there was someone who had witnessed everything. She was an "important guest" whom Baili Du had specifically "protected."
A cold sneer tugged at the corners of his mouth as he flashed to the third floor.
Click, click, click...
Baili Du's figure appeared at the top of the stairs, walking slowly and with an oppressive weight toward the little girl curled up in the corner. His shadow gradually enveloped her.
The rhythmic clicking of his soles on the floor made the little girl tremble with terror. She instinctively held something up to block him, her exquisite little face covered in tear stains, yet the blue-gold trident mark on her forehead remained motionless.
"You... don't come over... don't come over... Daddy, save me... Mommy, save me..."
To a certain "kind and good father," the truth he wished to conceal was clearly more important than his daughter's life.
Baili Du crouched down. Even in a crouch, his tall, slender frame was much larger than this child. He looked with indifference at this person who, in the script titled [The Unrivaled Tang Sect] written by Tang San, would eventually become his "wife." His heart remained undisturbed.
A broken mirror is hard to mend, let alone a heart that has already been scarred a thousand times over.
A "stitched-together" monster? A schizophrenic? A "Daddy's girl"?
It seemed any of those descriptions could fit her.
Wang Dong? Wang Dong'er? Tang Wutong? Xiao Qi?
To be frank, even he—her former husband—didn't know which name should truly be used to address her. But what he did know was that Wang Qiu'er was absolutely NOT a part of Tang Wutong!
[Author's Note: Looking at the Douluo side stories, it feels like Qiu'er "won" over the Tang Princess. I originally wanted to set it that way, but it would make Snow Emperor and Liya difficult to handle. So, for now, the Tang Princess remains the Tang Princess, and the Qiu'er belonging to God King Yuhao will be resurrected.]
He didn't want any further entanglement with this woman, nor did he want his current self in this era to have any emotional ties with her.
Though he knew she was merely a tool, he felt no pity; if Tang Wutong still had the shamelessness to pester the Huo Yuhao of this timeline, there was no telling what he might do.
For now, he still had principles; he wouldn't be so disgraceful as to bully a child. He gave an extremely contemptuous smile, his voice filled with mockery, and patted the little girl's cheek without a hint of mercy.
"Miss Tang Wutong, what makes you think that I, Huo Yuhao, a dignified God King, wouldn't be good enough for a mere Second-Class God like you?"
Naturally, she couldn't understand these words. After a sharp scream, she lost consciousness.
"..."
Looking expressionlessly at the unconscious girl, he scanned the third floor of the castle. Tang San had left quite a few "goodies" here: the Sea God Pillars used to collect Power of Faith and condense God-Bestowed Soul Rings, the access point to the Sea God Inheritance Space, and the Asura God's Great Evil-Sealing Array... If he had put this much effort into the Tang Sect, the sect wouldn't have decayed to its current state.
After some thought, he decided they should be completely destroyed. Without hesitation, Baili Du stomped his foot onto the floor of the third story.
BOOM!
In an instant, the entire third floor of Clear Sky Castle was blown apart by his step. Gazing at the ruins, Baili Du's mouth curved into a satisfied arc.
"!!! Ngh..."
Before he could enjoy the moment, a massive pain from his lower abdomen surged through his entire body. Even though he had been tormented countless times by Tang San and was somewhat immune to pain, he couldn't help but crouch down, panting heavily.
The spatial-attribute third Soul Core in his lower abdomen had originally been a pure silver, but since his escape from the Reincarnation Hurricane and Spacetime Turbulence, it had been tainted by that power, turning the same silver-gray.
Baili Du had a feeling that the only reason he had survived until now was likely because of this thing...
But the power contained within it was far too terrifying! That was the power of Spacetime Turbulence generated after the explosion of a nascent God Star. Even if he only held a portion of it, it wasn't something a mere God King could easily endure.
"Hah... hah..."
Frowning deeply, he mobilized his Divine Consciousness to reinforce the seal on the third Soul Core.
It looked like he would have to head to the God Realm earlier than planned; four years might be too long to wait... Thinking of this, he couldn't help but recall the root of it all.
He didn't actually care that much about the destruction of the [Great God Circle] and the [Dragon God Realm]. What he found suspicious was why they were destroyed.
In truth, Tang San and Lan Xuanyu's confidence in establishing a God Star hadn't been without reason. Even the antithesis of the Creation God, the God of Heavenly Punishment, had turned into the God of Heavenly Protection and joined the Great God Circle. Even if the Universal Law was harsh, it should have shown some respect to the brother of the Creation God.
But why did that Giant God of the End blow them up along with the God of Heavenly Protection? What exactly was the origin of that Giant God of the End?
And why... was he the only one left alive?
It might have been because he fled right at the start, unlike the other God Kings who chose to fight. But Baili Du felt that against an entity that could one-punch a Supreme God King like the Dragon God, a minor Emotion God King shouldn't have been able to escape its range no matter how far he ran...
Yet, somehow, only he survived... Lan Xuanyu didn't count, as he had been snatched away on a whim.
To be honest, even now he didn't understand why such a tragedy occurred. He only had a faint inkling that it might be related to the Tang Family.
This was merely his speculation: perhaps the actions of the Tang Family had finally exhausted the Universal Law's patience, leading it to release an unstoppable enemy to wipe out the Great God Circle and the Dragon God Realm in one fell swoop.
As for why he was still alive, it might be the last chance given by the Universal Law—to let someone not named "Tang" save everything.
He shook his head and stood up. He could only take it one step at a time. He felt that even if he completely defeated the Tang San of this era, it wouldn't be the end of it.
Estimating that the Tang San in the God Realm would soon discover what happened at Clear Sky Castle, Baili Du clutched his stomach, tore open a Gate of the Dead, and entered the Spectral Plane.
Once here, even if Tang San used the God Realm Hub to dig three feet deep into the Douluo Continent, it would be impossible to find him.