Chapter 341: Tang San's Conspiracy
The rear iron sphere collided with the front sphere, and in the next instant, the Soul Chasing Twin Spheres suddenly exploded.
A massive purple toxic mist spread rapidly, engulfing Xiao Hongchen.
However, his defensive soul barrier blocked the mist, preventing any direct harm.
But what followed was far more dangerous countless black threads shot toward him like a deadly tide.
These black threads were actually Bone Melting Divine Needles, which in Tang San's past life, were designed to penetrate protective energy shields while also being highly venomous.
In an instant, hundreds of black needles wrapped around the defensive soul barrier.
A series of sharp cracking sounds echoed as tiny black holes appeared across the surface of the barrier.
Moments later, cracks spread across the entire shield it was about to shatter completely.
Xiao Hongchen's face twisted in shock.
After all, Sun Moon Empire's soul engineer rankings were far more rigorous than Shrek Academy's.
This meant that even at the same level, a soul tool produced by the Sun Moon Empire was far superior in quality compared to those made by Shrek Academy.
Thus, Sun Moon Empire's soul tools were also more expensive.
Both he and Jiang Nannan were Soul Emperors, meaning she should only be using sixth ranked soul tools.
But her soul tool easily countered his own, proving that Shrek Academy's soul tool technology had advanced significantly.
Still, even in danger, Xiao Hongchen remained calm.
After all, he had plenty of defensive soul tools, all powered by sealed Milk Bottles to maintain their energy.
Just as he prepared to activate another defense, something unexpected happened.
The golden trident emblem on the Soul Chasing Twin Spheres suddenly flashed in the air.
A brief golden light flickered but he didn't even see it.
Suddenly, his entire body froze.
He felt as if he had been transformed from flesh and blood into a wooden puppet.
Completely immobilized, he could only watch helplessly as the poison mist and black threads surged toward him unable to resist at all.
The Referee Intervenes
The referee's expression changed drastically.
He couldn't allow Xiao Hongchen to be seriously injured.
If Xiao Hongchen fell here, it would be a devastating loss for the Sun Moon Empire.
Although he wasn't as talented as Huo Yuhao, Xiao Hongchen was still one of the strongest young soul engineers in the empire and was destined to become a future pillar of the nation.
If an empire wanted to remain strong, it had to protect its geniuses.
After all, the older generation of powerful figures would eventually die, and the future of the empire depended on its rising talents.
As for Shrek Academy's motto "There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters" the referee found it laughably ridiculous.
Throughout history, nearly every powerful figure had started as a genius.
A weak martial soul meant a weak future.
Even Tang San, whom Shrek Academy idolized, was a genius from the start.
Without hesitation, the referee acted instantly.
A brilliant flash of purple lightning flickered as he teleported in front of Xiao Hongchen and grabbed him, pulling him away from the battle.
The Bone Melting Divine Needles suddenly lost their target and scattered to the ground.
A moment later, the tournament stage was covered in black holes, with wisps of green smoke rising from each one a sickening stench filling the air.
"What a Vicious Weapon..."
The referee frowned deeply as he gazed at the corroded battlefield.
"If Xiao Hongchen had been hit, even if he didn't die, he'd be crippled," he muttered.
Xiao Hongchen felt his body relax he was no longer paralyzed.
But now that the referee had pulled him out of the battle, he realized...
He had lost the match.
His face twisted in frustration.
Turning to Jiang Nannan, he demanded:
"What kind of soul tool was that? Why couldn't I move?!"
He still believed it was some special soul tool that had caused his paralysis.
Jiang Nannan's expression remained icy.
"No comment."
She then looked at the referee.
"Referee, based on the current situation, I assume I've won?"
The referee sighed and nodded.
"I declare Shrek Academy the winner."
Mixed Reactions from the Audience
Most of the audience fell silent.
After everything that had happened with Xuanzi, they hated Shrek Academy and didn't want to see them win anything.
However, a few gamblers who had bet on Shrek Academy were cheering loudly.
Shrek Academy's Waiting Area
Cai Mei'er breathed a sigh of relief.
She muttered to herself:
"Tang San's hidden weapons are truly incredible...
Shrek's reputation was built by Tang San thousands of years ago...
And now, thousands of years later, we still rely on his weapons to win."
Hearing this, Xu Sanshi sat up from his stretcher and said:
"Dean Cai, this victory isn't just because of the Soul Chasing Twin Spheres it's also thanks to Nannan's courage.
She deserves full credit for this win."
Cai Mei'er nodded in agreement.
"You're right, Sanshi.
Nannan was incredibly brave.
When we return to Shrek Academy, I will personally recommend that she receive a special reward at the Sea God's Pavilion meeting."
Jiang Nannan had been thrown into the deep end.
She had never practiced the Meteor Throw technique before today.
To ensure success, she had rushed into close range, which was risky but effective.
Sun Moon Empire's High Platform
Xu Tianran, the Regent of Sun Moon Empire, frowned deeply.
"Xiao Hongchen lost?"
Then he turned to Jing Hongchen.
"Hall Master Hongchen, when did Shrek Academy's soul tools become this advanced?"
Jing Hongchen had just been relieved that Xiao Hongchen wasn't seriously injured.
But when he heard the regent's question, he immediately straightened up and responded:
"Your Highness, according to our research, Shrek Academy remains far behind us in soul tool technology.
That wasn't a soul tool.
From my observations, that was a Tang Sect hidden weapon."
Xu Tianran's eyes narrowed.
"Tang Sect hidden weapons…?
I remember that one of the participating teams this year is Tang Sect.
It looks like they came fully prepared even bringing ancient weapons."
Jing Hongchen nodded.
"They are nothing to fear.
As long as Huo Yuhao steps in, everything will be fine.
Please, Your Highness, just wait and watch."
Sun Moon Academy's Waiting Area
Huo Yuhao stood calmly, his golden aura shimmering faintly, protected by the Destiny of the Plane.
He had seen every detail of the fight between Xiao Hongchen and Jiang Nannan.
And without a doubt
If it had been just the Soul Chasing Twin Spheres, the battle wouldn't have played out this way.
Something else was at work here.
At this moment, Electrolux's voice echoed in Huo Yuhao's mind: "I sense a divine consciousness imprint on those iron spheres, and the source of this presence is the golden trident mark. If I recall correctly, in the history of Douluo Continent, the Sea God Tang San wielded a golden trident. However, this divine consciousness is extremely weak it has only barely crossed the threshold from spiritual consciousness to divine consciousness. It's even weaker than mine. Strange, I have a feeling that the owner of this divine consciousness is deliberately trying to avoid detection, which is why it has been divided into such a minuscule fraction."
Just moments ago, within Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, Electrolux had detected the changes outside and immediately locked onto the Soul Chasing Twin Spheres.
Huo Yuhao thought to himself, Trying to avoid detection is the right move. Now that Tang Hao and Ah Yin's scandal had been exposed, the God of Destruction would not let this opportunity slip by. After all, what Tang Hao and Ah Yin had done violated the laws of the God Realm, making them a perfect target for the God of Destruction's retaliation. Most likely, Tang San had already lost control of the God Realm's Core.
Of course, this conclusion wasn't just speculation. There was another key piece of evidence Tang San had ceased his attacks on the Plane's Will. Given Tang San's character, the safest course of action would have been for Tang Hao to devour the Douluo Star's Plane Will, ensuring absolute control. Yet ever since that scandal broke out, Tang San had completely ignored the Plane's Will and even increased the frequency of his patrols near Douluo Star.
According to the Plane's Will, in the past, Tang San would never have come so close to Douluo Star in person.
If he still dared to act recklessly, he'd just be handing a knife to the God of Destruction, giving him a perfect excuse to attack. While it wouldn't be fatal, it would definitely damage Tang San's image in the God Realm.
Electrolux continued, "But this divine consciousness gives me an extremely odd feeling. And Yuhao, I can also sense traces of the faith energy you previously absorbed from it."
Huo Yuhao, protected by the Plane's Destiny, could now observe that divine consciousness himself. Staring at the golden trident mark floating in midair, he found himself just as puzzled as Electrolux.
Instinctively, he asked the Plane's Will, "What's going on?"
The Plane's Will immediately responded, "This is one of Tang San's divine consciousness nodes. Their function is simple they help him collect faith energy from human soul masters.
That hidden weapon you just saw is one of the objects carrying a divine consciousness node. Inside, there are small amounts of golden ancient tree powder, which nourish the divine consciousness and prolong the object's existence.
All other objects carrying these divine consciousness nodes were also infused with the same golden ancient tree powder during their creation.
Every now and then, Tang San secretly inspects them to monitor the progress of faith energy collection. These objects carrying divine consciousness nodes are scattered across the Douluo Continent."
Huo Yuhao was stunned.
Wait… collecting faith energy from human soul masters?!
First of all, human soul masters were nowhere near as numerous as sea soul beasts. For Tang San, his main sources of faith energy would still be the sea soul beasts and the Sea God's lineage.
However, in his pursuit of higher divine status, Tang San would never ignore even the smallest amount of faith energy.
And if what the Plane's Will said was true…
Then after ten thousand years of accumulation, the faith energy Tang San had gathered from human soul masters alone would be a staggering amount.
After all, over ten thousand years, countless people had worshipped Tang San.
Thanks to Shrek Academy, the so called sanctuary of soul masters, Tang San's legacy was constantly being promoted.
Before Tang Sect declined, the propaganda was even more intense.
Since Douluo Continent was a world where strength ruled, a deified Tang San presented as an all powerful, benevolent figure was worshipped by many.
Even in Soul Land 3, when soul masters resisted the Abyssal Saint King, the moment they saw the highly praised Tang San appear, they were overwhelmed with emotion even though their bodies couldn't even move.
To them, Tang San was the first and greatest saint of Douluo, the pure hearted Tang God King.
In many people's hearts, the arrival of the Tang God King meant that the sky was clear again, that Douluo Star was safe, and that the seemingly invincible Abyssal Saint King would be obliterated.
Suddenly, a thought struck Huo Yuhao.
"Wait… you just said that Tang San checks the progress of faith energy collection every now and then.
Does that mean he's storing all this faith energy on Douluo Star itself?"
"Correct. This faith energy is meant to help Ah Yin completely refine the Golden Ancient Tree and help Tang Hao fully replace me as the Plane's Will.
However, they can only use it after they completely erase my consciousness and the consciousness of the Golden Ancient Tree," the Plane's Will immediately replied.
Huo Yuhao frowned.
"I have a question how do you even know what this faith energy is being used for?"
It made sense that the Plane's Will knew about Tang San's actions, since it had been resisting Tang Hao's refinement all this time.
However, given Tang San's devious nature, he would never willingly reveal the purpose of this stored faith energy.
The Plane's Will responded helplessly, "Tang Hao got drunk while refining me and blurted it out. That's how I learned about the divine consciousness nodes and their hidden purpose."
"According to Tang Hao himself, it was divine liquor from the God Realm, created by one of the God Kings.
I never thought there could be alcohol strong enough to make even gods drunk."
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but scoff internally.
By now, he was certain that the alcohol Tang Hao drank was brewed by Ji Dong the Second Generation God of Evil, now a God King.
Currently, Ji Dong was the only God King in the entire God Realm who could create divine liquor capable of intoxicating gods.
After all, in his previous life, Ji Dong had been a world renowned master bartender and liquor connoisseur, known as the God of Wine.
But Tang Hao… was utterly unreliable.
Getting drunk and accidentally spilling Tang San's deepest secrets?
Truly, a disaster of a father.
But in fairness, this wasn't the first time Tang Hao had screwed over his own son.
Even back in Soul Land 1, he had already sabotaged Tang San multiple times.
"Yuhao, you might be able to steal all the faith energy Tang San has accumulated over the past ten thousand years.
Ever since the God of Destruction took Tang Hao and Ah Yin away, Tang San erased his own imprints from the divine consciousness nodes to avoid being detected.
As a result, these nodes now only function to collect faith energy and defend themselves if attacked.
Once collected, the faith energy is transferred into a half plane created by Tang San, which is attached to Douluo Star.
That half plane contains ten thousand years' worth of faith energy from human soul masters.
If you break the seal on any one of these divine consciousness nodes, you can enter that half plane and steal all the stored faith energy greatly increasing your strength."
"What's the method to break the seal?" Huo Yuhao asked.
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