Huo Yuhao walked over to Na'er and Gu Yue, and with a wave of his hand, ripples like water suddenly stirred in the surrounding space.
The light around the three of them distorted for a split second, and the air emitted a slight hum. Immediately afterward, their figures vanished abruptly from the office as if sucked into an invisible vortex.
When the scene before their eyes cleared once more, what met their gaze was an entirely different world.
Towering ancient trees rose from the ground, their lush branches and leaves forming a canopy that blocked out most of the sky. Only a scattering of tiny light spots filtered down through the gaps, dancing upon the thick layer of fallen leaves.
From the distance came the faint, low, and prolonged roars of Spirit Beasts, intermingled with the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the treetops, all exuding a rich and primitive vitality.
The three of them had already appeared within a lush, verdant primeval forest.
However, this was not a true primeval forest, but rather the Myriad Beast Platform researched and created by Gu Yue.
It was an independent space painstakingly crafted using the core of a Small World as its Foundation.
This realm was originally one of the trump cards Gu Yue prepared back then to deal with humans, intending to use this as a Foundation to control human forces in the future and carve out a sliver of survival for the Soul Beast Clan.
But times had changed. Huo Yuhao had already become a God King, and the destiny of the Soul Beast Clan had also taken a new direction. Thus, this Myriad Beast Platform had lost its original heavy significance.
Huo Yuhao did not linger long. He merely glanced around his surroundings before once again driving the power of space, and the figures of the three distorted and vanished once more.
When they reappeared, they had already arrived at the true core area of this Small World.
A circular body of water spread out before them like a mirror. The lake surface was emerald green and crystal clear, reflecting the light of the sky and the shadows of the trees without a ripple, exuding a tranquility isolated from the rest of the world.
On the lakeshore, two figures were sitting directly on the ground in a leisurely posture.
Sensing the sudden appearance of unfamiliar Qi fluctuations around them, the two abruptly opened their eyes, their gazes like lightning, instantly locking onto the direction of Huo Yuhao and his group.
Huo Yuhao was not at all unfamiliar with the appearances of these two, because they were identical to those two Sect Masters of the Clear Sky Sect from Ten Thousand Years ago.
They were precisely Niu Tian and Tai Tan, whom Tang San had thrown from the Divine Realm down to the Douluo Continent Ten Thousand Years ago. Once the two Sect Masters of the Clear Sky Sect, they had now become the masters of this small realm.
The gazes of Niu Tian and Tai Tan first landed on Gu Yue and Na'er. These two were familiar collaborators of theirs, so seeing them here was not surprising.
Afterwards, their line of sight slowly shifted toward Huo Yuhao, their eyes carrying obvious scrutiny and guard. They clearly did not understand why the Silver Dragon King would bring this human to this secretive core area.
Because of the past incident where Tai Tan had made a move against Huo Yuhao, Tai Tan's immediate reaction at this moment was that the Silver Dragon King was preparing to "dispose of" this human right here.
A trace of excited light even flashed across his eyes, as if he had already prepared to take action.
In contrast, Niu Tian, acting as the older brother, was ultimately much steadier.
He did not rush to conclusions, but instead lingered on Huo Yuhao for several breaths longer. The more he looked, the tighter his brows furrowed.
He acutely perceived something amiss: although the three of them stood side by side, the positioning of Gu Yue and Na'er clearly centered around Huo Yuhao.
Niu Tian took the lead to speak, his tone carrying undisguised skepticism: "Silver Dragon King, why did you bring a human here?"
Meeting Niu Tian's eyes full of confusion, Gu Yue and Na'er did not rush to answer.
Instead, Huo Yuhao spoke up a step earlier: "The two of you have already stayed on the Douluo Continent for more than Ten Thousand Years, haven't you?"
As soon as these words came out, even Tai Tan, whose mind was typically simple, sensed that something was wrong.
His expression changed abruptly, and he suddenly turned his head to look at Gu Yue, his tone instantly carrying anger: "Silver Dragon King, did you sell out our brothers?!"
His thought process was very simple: if the Silver Dragon King hadn't leaked the information, how could a human possibly know the background of the two brothers?
Huo Yuhao glanced at Tai Tan, his gaze calm and waveless, yet carrying a condescending scrutiny.
He did not explain anything. The next instant, an aura tyrannical enough to be suffocating suddenly burst forth from within his body, like a volcano that had lain dormant for Ten Thousand Years erupting violently, overwhelmingly pressing down upon Tai Tan alone.
That was not the pressure of a Titled Douluo, but rather the Divine Might belonging to the level of a God King, as vast as the firmament covering the heavens, and as heavy as falling stars.
Tai Tan didn't even have time to react before his legs suddenly buckled, and his entire body heavily hit the ground with a "thump".
That Divine Might precisely enveloped him alone, locking him down firmly from head to toe, as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on his spine, making even lifting his head an extravagant hope.
His thick arms propped against the ground, veins bulging, as he tried his utmost to prop up his body, yet he couldn't move even a single finger by a fraction. He could only maintain that humiliating posture, and even breathing became difficult and heavy.
Niu Tian's expression at the side changed drastically. He was not unfamiliar with such an aura; back in the Divine Realm Ten Thousand Years ago, he had felt the same level of Divine Might from those God Kings.
Yet he never imagined that Huo Yuhao could actually erupt with such pressure. Had he already attained divinity?!
But hadn't the Divine Realm disappeared for many years already?
Without a Legacy for a Divine Position, how on earth did he attain divinity?
Innumerable questions churned within Niu Tian's mind, but at this moment he could no longer afford to think deeply.
The facts laid out before their eyes were crystal clear: Huo Yuhao was no longer an existence they could afford to provoke.
Niu Tian hurriedly reined in his focus, a nervous expression on his face, a trace of awe welling up in his eyes, as he lowered his head and respectfully said: "My second brother is reckless and has offended Your Excellency with his words. I ask the God King to spare his anger."
Huo Yuhao glanced at him indifferently and did not make things difficult for them much. He had never intended to take Tai Tan's life in the first place.
Thus, he slightly reined in his focus, and the Divine Might pressing down upon Tai Tan slowly receded like a receding tide, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Tai Tan lay flat on the ground, his chest heaving violently as he gasped heavily for breath, then couldn't help but let out a fit of violent coughing.
After a long while, he finally caught his breath and slowly raised his head to look at Huo Yuhao.
Only, the look in his eyes at this moment had completely changed flavor. There was no longer any of his previous casualness and audacity, replaced instead by a cautious prudence, with a lingering trace of fear even hidden deep within his eyes.
Huo Yuhao looked at them and asked in a flat tone: "How much do you know about Tang San's plan?"
Hearing this, a blankness flashed across Tai Tan's eyes, and then he turned his head to glance at Niu Tian, clearly knowing nothing about this.
Meanwhile, Niu Tian fell silent for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly as if trying to gauge the intention behind Huo Yuhao's question, and then cautiously asked: "What does 'plan' refer to, as Your Excellency mentioned?"
Huo Yuhao did not beat around the bush and asked straightforwardly: "What did Tang San ask you to descend to the Lower Realm for?"
Niu Tian pondered slightly and replied truthfully: "Ten Thousand Years ago, Wutong sneaked away to the Lower Realm, and the Sea God dispatched the two of us brothers to follow secretly and protect her safety."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
A child of tender years could actually easily "sneak away" to the Lower Realm, yet the Divine Realm was completely oblivious to it? To truly think the Divine Realm was a place one could come and go from as they pleased!
If not for Tang San secretly acquiescing and deliberately letting her pass, how could Tang Wutong possibly have been able to leave?
However, he did not voice these words aloud. He merely nodded and continued to ask: "Afterwards, when Tang Wutong achieved Ascension to the Divine Realm, why didn't you follow her back?"
Hearing this, Niu Tian was silent for a moment before saying: "Later, an accident occurred in the Divine Realm, and we could no longer contact the Divine Realm. Even the Sea God's transmissions were cut off."
"Without guidance or orders, the two of us brothers could only remain in the Lower Realm, trapped here until this day."
Huo Yuhao paid attention to his expression and tone when speaking, judging that what Niu Tian said should be true.
But afterwards, he pondered slightly. Judging by the timeline, the incident in the Divine Realm did not seem to have happened that early.
That spatial turbulence which caused the Divine Realm to disappear theoretically shouldn't have occurred right after Tang Wutong returned to the Divine Rank.
When Huo Yuhao looked at the two of them again, a trace of a bizarre expression inevitably welled up in his eyes.
A thought popped into his mind: why did it feel as though Tang San had forgotten about the two of them?
God King Tang was busy with a myriad of state affairs and tangled matters; could it be that he had thrown these two loyal followers to the back of his mind and thus left them behind in the Lower Realm?
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but secretly shake his head in his heart.
If that really was the case, then these two waiting from Ten Thousand Years ago all the way until now could indeed be considered somewhat "pitiable".
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.