The Sea God Trident waits on Sea God Island for the new inheritor to draw it after passing the many trials, but to attempt the trials, one must first obtain the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud to activate the requirements—that is, to gain Sea God's favor.
This Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is not only a "pass" for the god trials, but later it fuses with the head soul bone to form the Hanhai Skull, which in the original makes it even easier for Tang San to master the Sea God's authority.
It's a companion artifact to the Sea God's position.
One could also tamper with it.
I wonder, ten thousand years later, when Tang San the God King is wielding a full set of counterfeit equipment, could he still confidently call himself the Sea God…
With Su Wen's current strength, he can't perform "Heavenly Forging" to replicate the Sea God Trident from Sea God Island, but reproducing the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is easy… After all, at its core, it's still a soul tool.
With the Eye of Destiny, he analyzed it in seconds, then started to carve out the core array.
In the original, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is dubbed a "god-level" item, but to Su Wen, it barely reaches level nine. Its core is just the Sea God's divine power inside and a trace of Sea God's divine sense, as if a coordinate left on the continent, waiting to be triggered.
As for the core array, it's as crude as an eighth-level soul tool's core…
In just a few days, Su Wen finished copying the core array, using deep-sea silver from ten thousand years in the future to craft an exact replica of the shell.
Even the most important Sea God's divine sense was transferred into the new version, using the shielding effect of the Poké Ball world.
"Hmm…"
Su Wen opened his hands, looking at the two Vast Sea Cosmic Shrouds in his palms, nodding in satisfaction.
The new Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, aside from that trace of divine sense, was entirely new. Su Wen even aged it for authenticity—unless the Sea God himself appeared, no one would notice a thing.
In fact, the original Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud was nurtured by the Sea God's own divine sense, a bit of godly spirit left for the next inheritor to smoothly take over the Sea God's position.
With these tricks, even Tang San might wonder if he inherited a fake Sea God's throne…
"Next, I'll put it back."
Su Wen let out a long exhale.
Big Eye's terrifying spiritual power had already spread throughout the entire Heaven Dou City, and the so-called secret treasure chamber of the royal family was like a sieve. All he had to do was freeze time and quietly swap in the new one.
"Heavenly Forging is still out of reach, sigh… Old Du was right, I can't slack off," Su Wen sighed.
"The third millennium Poké Ball, I'll put aside for now. Three months have passed in a flash—it's time to return."
…
"Buzz…"
As a ripple spread through the surrounding space—
Su Wen stepped through.
At the same time—
"It's done!"
Big Eye finally let out a breath, although her tone was tired. Clearly, fooling the time-correction was no easy feat…
"Exhausted?" Su Wen raised his brow.
"Not that bad. Just a little time correction," she said seriously. "Don't forget to rename me—Xuan Ji is such a nice name. 'Big Eye' sounds like a joke…"
"Uh." Su Wen's mouth twitched.
He'd forgotten about that.
But fine, a name change is worth it if he can fleece Tang San across ten millennia.
"My faith power has weakened," Su Wen muttered as he sensed changes in his body.
The strength of faith depends on the believer's own strength.
Quality over quantity.
That's why he sought out the Devil Orca King, but apparently, those guys either couldn't resist messing with the Demon Soul Great White Sharks and got wiped out, or their fate was sealed from the start…
Fortunately, in the time archive from ten thousand years ago, they were still alive, so his effort wasn't wasted.
As for other changes—
Su Wen grinned. He was curious what effect the (counterfeit) Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud would have on Tang San.
…
God Realm.
A seven-colored halo shrouded the majestic palace, surrounded by divine attendants, the atmosphere intense. In a garden inside the palace, Tang San seemed unfocused for a moment, as if something slipped through his fingers, but he just couldn't grasp it. The feeling was maddening, yet he was powerless.
"Father, where were we? Right, I've already sent mother to the lower realm, we…"
"Mother? Xiao San, what nonsense are you spouting today?" The middle-aged man glanced at Tang San in surprise. "Back on the Douluo plane, your mother was taken away by some mysterious person. Even after you became a god and searched the realms, there's been no news. Are you secretly planning to get me a new wife? I said before, my love for your mother is…"
"Ah, right." Tang San frowned, patting his head.
But for some reason, he was certain they were just talking about his mother—did he remember wrong…?
What a strange feeling.
Tang San shook his head.
He clenched his fist, his expression darkening. "I don't know why, but even though I was personally chosen by the previous Sea God, and he treats me well, when it comes to actual support, it's so perfunctory. I've asked other gods; besides the divine position and artifact, the previous god always provides some other items to help the next inheritor take over more smoothly."
"But him… after leaving the Sea God Trident, he vanished. Even to this day, my control over the Sea God's authority is nowhere near as smooth as with the Asura position. Sometimes I even feel like it's slipping out of my grasp."
"…" Tang Hao opened his mouth but didn't know how to comfort him, so he just quietly watered the flowers in the garden.
…
Shrek Academy.
Mu En frowned slightly.
With hands clasped behind his back, he stood outside the Sea God Tree, quietly observing the ancient golden tree.
Just now, he clearly felt the Golden Tree lose control—the core was forcibly drawn out, vanishing from the tree's consciousness, never to be sensed again.
"Buzz…"
Watching as the Golden Tree gradually emitted a faint golden glow, as if losing its core of life, its vast vitality began to slowly leak outward.
"Teacher, what's happening to the Golden Tree?" Yan Shaozhe was the first to arrive, shocked at the sight.
Soon, several figures arrived in succession. The scene was so astonishing that the entire sky above Shrek Academy was dyed gold; countless people looked up toward the Sea God Pavilion in wonder.
"I don't know…" Mu En shook his head.
Even as a Limit Douluo, he was helpless before this.
This tree is the most vital and ancient thing on the continent. He could barely use it, but not truly control it.
"Elder Mu, leave it to me."
Su Wen's figure appeared at the side.
Seeing this, he made up his mind.
Clearly, Ah Yin had already been sent to the lower world by Tang San and had taken over the core of the Tree of Life, devouring its original spirit and replacing it. Now, with Ah Yin suddenly "gone," the Tree of Life was "dead."
Unless…
"Be careful."
Seeing Su Wen deep in thought, Mu En didn't stop him, only gently reminded him.
"Yes."
Su Wen nodded.
Under the tense gazes of the elders, he entered the golden aura spilled by the Golden Tree and soon vanished from sight.
"Doesn't it seem like… Xiao Wen has changed a lot?" Yan Shaozhe muttered.
"Nonsense. After half a year in the Sun Moon Empire, he's taller, more handsome, stronger, and more stable—a real leader," Xian Liner counted off on her fingers. "Anyway, you've never inherited the Sea God Pavilion, so you don't know what a true Pavilion Master should look like."
Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched. "Whatever. No matter what, Xiao Wen is from the Martial Soul Department."
"Hmph, Xiao Wen is from the Forging Department," Xian Liner shot back.
"…"
The two bickered.
The elders, however, worriedly watched the golden aura swirling within the Golden Tree.
…
Elsewhere.
Su Wen stood in a vast, empty, emerald-green space, the most central spot completely bare, as if a massive blue-silver vine had once coiled there.
"Ah Yin!"
Su Wen called softly.
"Buzz…"
Ah Yin appeared in Blue Silver Emperor form, and the Golden Tree, sensing the familiar aura, immediately guided all its life energy toward her like a lost flock returning home.
Although Ah Yin's cultivation was only a thousand years, the surge of life energy instantly pushed her cultivation up by several thousand years—almost ten thousand.
"Hiss…"
Su Wen frowned slightly.
"You need to control it, not absorb it all. The Golden Tree is the core of Douluo Star. Even in your demi-god form, you had to proceed gradually. At your current level, you'll be overwhelmed if you keep absorbing."
"Yes."
A soft, cotton-like female voice echoed through their mental link.
Life energy rushed in, and with Azure Luan's healing support, Ah Yin's cultivation skyrocketed from a thousand-year (thirty-rank Soul Elder) to twenty thousand years (fifty-five-rank Soul King) in just a few breaths, while she worked hard to regain control of the Golden Tree she once ruled.
With her breakthrough to rank fifty and bloodline improvement, she entered her third stage, drawing even closer to the Golden Tree. The fusion was smoother than ever. All in all, it was a good thing, so Su Wen didn't look too deeply into it.