"However… which godhood should I choose?"
Staring at the blue light screen before him, Tang San's eyes gleamed as his fingers tapped rhythmically on the table.
The monstrous genius born of ten thousand years of the Douluo Plane's accumulated fortune could not be casually assigned a divine position — that would not serve his interests.
He had planned for millennia, not to end up with some third- or second-class godhood. That would be of little use to him — and a waste of all the plane's effort.
The fortune gathered over ten thousand years by a plane was not something to trifle with.
Back when he ascended to the God Realm along with the other five Shrek monsters, all of them became second-level gods. If not for his help, aside from Oscar and Ma Hongjun, the other three probably wouldn't have even reached that rank.
Xiao Wu had it the easiest — she became his sword sheath and slipped into a loophole of the God Realm's system.
But now, none of them were of much use to him anymore. The gap between second-level and first-level gods was just too great.
He had wanted to arrange for them to advance further, but there were simply too few first-level god positions, all of which were already occupied by other gods — he had no opportunities.
And Ma Hongjun? He was hopeless. He couldn't endure the inheritance of the Fire God, and had to settle for the lesser, secondary Phoenix God's position.
In the God Realm, the rank of one's godhood directly determined their power and status.
"Rong Nianbing… the God of Emotion."
Tang San muttered softly, his eyes narrowing, a cold glint flashing within them.
"To leave the God Realm? It won't be that easy. You'll have to leave something behind."
Rong Nianbing had mentioned to him several times before that he wanted to leave the God Realm — to wander the universe with his many wives and enjoy life.
But Tang San had always persuaded him otherwise. His influence in the God Realm was too small; he couldn't compare with an old god-king like the God of Destruction. If he lost one of the few "friends" he had, his situation would only worsen.
But now… things were different. A "friend" could never compare to a "son-in-law" personally raised and obedient to him. So, he decided to change his approach — he'd let Rong Nianbing leave, but not without leaving something valuable behind.
"God of Destruction, just you watch. The Douluo Plane, the God Realm — they will all fall into my hands."
"And as for you, you've long since set yourself on the path to death."
Tang San snorted coldly, his heart full of murderous intent.
Ever since ascending to the God Realm and inheriting the positions of Sea God and Asura God, the God of Destruction had looked down on him, opposing him at every turn. How could he tolerate that?
He, Tang San, had only ever oppressed others. When had anyone ever dared to oppress him?
But the God of Destruction commanded too many powerful followers — Tang San couldn't act against him openly, and could only grow his influence in secret.
"Once the God Realm bears the surname Tang, we'll see how I deal with you."
"Now that Da Ming, Er Ming, and my parents are in the Douluo Plane, that child blessed with the plane's fortune can't possibly escape the palm of this God King."
"Still… I'll need to find a way to make the most of Wutong's potential. Ideally, she should quickly form a bond with this child of fortune."
"All this is for the Tang family's future. It's for her own good. I'm sure Wutong won't blame her father."
Tang San thought to himself, nodding approvingly, as if his twisted reasoning made perfect sense.
With a wave of his hand, a streak of blue light entered the glowing screen, sending ripples across it before calming once again.
Then, with another gesture, the blue screen vanished beneath several other planar projections, disappearing completely as if it had never existed.
Tang San's figure blurred into a streak of blue light — and he was gone.
Moments later, a beam of violet light descended upon the spot Tang San had just stood.
"Ha. Tang San… you really are a sanctimonious hypocrite."
It was none other than the God of Destruction.
Ever since discovering Tang San's secret meddling in lower realms, the God of Destruction had been watching him closely — and sure enough, Tang San had made another move barely a day later.
"As expected. But you'll never imagine that I'm a step ahead of you."
Within his regal purple robe, a pair of crimson eyes glowed faintly.
"Child of fortune, or anomaly? Hard to say… but since I've already placed my bet, I won't let you seize the advantage, Tang San."
As one of the original deities from the dawn of the God Realm, the God of Destruction understood many things far better than Tang San ever could.
His crimson eyes gleamed with fathomless depth. Raising a hand, he summoned a staff — deep violet, exuding raw, chaotic destructive power.
"To prevent you from playing dirty, Tang San… I'll simply strike first."
He knew Tang San's character too well — the man would never fight fair. Thus, he'd prepare his defenses in advance.
The enemy was in the open; he was in the shadows. The advantage was his.
The God of Destruction's gaze sharpened — the same blue light screen Tang San had just hidden reappeared before him.
In an instant, he swung his staff, sending forth a brilliant bolt of violet lightning.
The lightning morphed midair into a miniature staff etched with strange patterns — a smaller version of his own weapon.
"Go."
At his cold command, the small staff shot forward with a whoosh, piercing the blue screen and vanishing into it.
"Boy," the God of Destruction murmured, a faint smirk tugging at his lips,"Don't let this god-king down…"
Meanwhile, at the Clear Sky Sect.
Inside the great hall, the atmosphere was heavy.
Poison Undying (Du Busi) sat at the head seat, his gaze sweeping over the gathered members as he spoke solemnly.
"Everyone, what are your thoughts on this bounty?"
A bounty notice lay on the long table before him.
The target was the hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo that had been auctioned off at the Starlight Auction House — and the bounty amount was seventy-five million gold soul coins, exactly half of what it had sold for.
"Sect Master, I was planning to act last time," said Lang Ya, standing to the right. "But you hadn't arrived yet, and I didn't want to alert anyone, so I held back."
"I've since confirmed through the auctioneer that the embryo was purchased by the Mingde Hall, and was secretly delivered back there immediately after the auction."
"You've done well," Du Busi nodded approvingly.
He hadn't expected Lang Ya to seize the embryo alone anyway — anyone who could afford such a thing must have powerful backing.
"Seventy-five million gold soul coins — bold, but not enough. Whoever posted this bounty must have ulterior motives."
Elder Jin lifted his teacup, took a calm sip, and said indifferently,
"Indeed. The embryo sold for one hundred and fifty million, and this bounty is only half that. The person behind this isn't serious — they're just daydreaming."
The deep, gravelly voice of the Dragon Arm Douluo rumbled from the side, full of irritation.
"And whoever's behind it — even the Heaven Soul Empire couldn't trace them. That alone means something shady's going on."
Elder Jin gently set down his cup, his eyes gleaming as he tapped the table.
"Regardless of their intentions, genuine or not… this is something our Clear Sky Sect absolutely cannot ignore."
Du Busi's gaze swept across the hall once more, his tone low and decisive.
(End of chapter.)