"Alright, stop thinking about those things."
Seeing the regret on Oscar's face, Ning Rongrong gently advised.
"Yeah."
Oscar nodded, then frowned. "Speaking of which, before we descended to the lower realm back then, Xiao San's final warning to us was to be cautious, preferably not to use divine-level power, and to stay prepared as a backup force against someone called the Abyss Saint Lord. Do you remember?"
Because time was tight, Tang San still had to hold back the Golden Dragon King, so he hadn't told them the details of his ten-thousand-year plan, only giving them that one instruction.
And after arriving at the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley, they had been healing and recovering the entire time, with very little knowledge of the outside world, let alone classified information like the Abyss Plane, which the Federation had kept under wraps.
Regarding the Abyss Saint Lord, both of them were completely in the dark.
"Of course I remember."
Ning Rongrong nodded. "It must be part of Third Brother's plan. Third Brother has always been one to leave nothing to, ahem, has always been resourceful. That Abyss Saint Lord should be someone he planned to deal with."
The battle with the God King of Destruction was still fresh in their minds, and Ning Rongrong felt it was better not to say "leaves nothing to chance" right now.
"But if it's someone that requires us to handle, that person is clearly a deity. It's unlikely that a god would be born on the Douluo Continent itself. Otherwise, Xiao San would have sent Divine Realm enforcers to deal with it long ago. That means it had to be an outsider. How did Xiao San know back then that a deity would come to the Douluo Continent?"
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong's heart skipped a beat. She exchanged a glance with Oscar, and both fell into silence.
Both of them were deities with broad knowledge, and they had their own speculations about this situation.
After a moment, Oscar scratched his head and laughed. "Forget it. We'll just listen to Xiao San. Are you hungry now? Want me to make something to eat? After all these years of cultivating here without eating, I'm actually a little unused to it."
Although he had lost his body in the Divine Realm, the two of them working together could still cast Resurrection Light. It was simple enough to shape a new body for him.
Of course, this body couldn't compare to his previous one, nor did it have the cultivation of a second-class deity. Right now, he was still at the Limit Douluo level, and that was only after all these years of milking the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley for resources and cultivating diligently to regain his strength.
After all, while the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley was a treasured place, it was far inferior to the resources the Holy Spirit Cult had given the God of Killing. Re-achieving godhood would take him time.
Not that his current strength could be described as merely "Limit" anyway.
"Does the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley even have ingredients and seasonings?"
Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes. "Let's talk about all that after we've settled things with that Huo Yuhao."
"True enough."
Oscar looked toward the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley, where Tang Wutong was currently communicating with the two Old Demons.
Inside the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley, facing the eager gazes of the two Old Demons, Tang Wutong said flatly, "Go back and tell Huo Yuhao that this place belongs to me, the Butterfly God. If he wants the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley, he'll have to trade something suitable for it."
"Butter, Butterfly God?"
Hearing the words "Butterfly God," the two Old Demons instantly ignored everything else, their minds going blank.
Wasn't that the divine seat of Tang Wutong's ancestor?
They looked again at Tang Wutong. Now that she was no longer concealed by golden light, her features were fully revealed, and indeed, she was exactly the Butterfly God Tang Wutong recorded in Shrek's historical texts.
"Ancestor! It's really you, Ancestor!"
The Devouring Old Demon nearly wept with joy, if a spirit body had that function, that is.
The Desire Old Demon dropped straight to his knees. "Ancestor, Shrek Academy has been destroyed by the Federation and saddled with eternal infamy. Please save Shrek! And please save us, grant us release."
Tang Wutong had already seen their memories, and she believed they understood what she meant.
But facing their pleas, Tang Wutong's expression flickered for only an instant, showing no intention of agreeing.
Compared to Ning Rongrong and Oscar, her view of Shrek Academy was simpler. She felt that even if Shrek was destroyed, it didn't matter.
The reason for this perspective had to do with her identity and experiences.
Although she was now called Tang Wutong, she actually identified more with the name Wang Dong'er.
Ten thousand years ago, Tang San had sealed her childhood memories from the Divine Realm, and she had lived on the Douluo Continent for decades as Wang Dong'er.
Because she hadn't died in the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley or fused with Wang Qiu'er's memories, Tang San hadn't pulled that bizarre move of sealing Wang Dong'er's memories and making her live with the self-identity of Tang Wutong.
So the current Tang Wutong had regained her memories while still identifying herself as Wang Dong'er.
Tang Wutong's memories of living in the Divine Realm as Xiao Qi were only about ten years or so, nothing compared to Wang Dong'er's decades of experience. Naturally, her self-identity leaned far more toward Wang Dong'er.
This even led to Tang Wutong struggling to adjust to her identity after returning to the Divine Realm, occasionally even avoiding Tang San. After all, in Wang Dong'er's eyes, her only family were her two fathers. She had no idea why her biological parents, who had ignored her for decades, suddenly existed. She wasn't close to them at all.
In the years since returning to the Divine Realm, if it hadn't been for Xiao Wu's tireless efforts to comfort her, Tang Wutong probably still wouldn't have been able to integrate into Divine Realm life.
And in the eyes of this Wang Dong'er-core Tang Wutong, what exactly was Shrek Academy?
First, one had to look at the people.
This time, without meeting Huo Yuhao at Shrek, her relationships with others were different too.
Xiao Xiao: A close friend, one of her harem members from when she disguised herself as a man, ahem, the friend she most wanted to bring to the Divine Realm. But she was only a second-class deity and could only watch helplessly as her friend aged and died in the mortal world.
This actually made her a latent supporter of the God King of Destruction's plan to expand the Divine Realm. When the God King of Destruction sent people to capture her, she didn't even resist, not that resistance would have mattered against a first-class deity.
Zhou Yi: The old witch who only knew high-pressure education and expelling students. A useless rat that made Tang Wutong grind her teeth in hatred.
Without Huo Yuhao's initial beating and advice, in the eyes of the still-arrogant Wang Dong, Zhou Yi was simply a lunatic whom she would never acknowledge. On the very first day of school, she had gone up to argue with Zhou Yi and nearly got expelled. The grudge was set, and their subsequent interactions were naturally unpleasant.
Elder Xuan: An irresponsible teacher who nearly got her and Xiao Xiao killed. A Level 98 Super Douluo who couldn't protect anything. A useless drunkard. A spy planted in Shrek by the Holy Spirit Cult.
For Tang Wutong, whenever she was with Elder Xuan, it was her unlucky day. He was like a cursed star, as if destined to bring misfortune to everyone traveling with him, and even her own fortune couldn't suppress it.
Elder Mu: A respected elder. The only conscience among the pavilion elders.
From her evaluations of these four people, one could easily see Tang Wutong's view of Shrek Academy.
There were good friends she cherished, respected elders she admired, and precious memories she held dear, but there were also people and things she could never forgive.
One could say her view of Shrek was mixed.
If Xiao Xiao and the others were gone, leaving only people like Elder Xuan and that old witch, Tang Wutong felt that Shrek Academy's destruction wouldn't really matter. That would mean Shrek had already become hell.
After all, there were times when she, a Shrek student herself, had entertained the thought of calling her two fathers to come beat up Elder Xuan and the others.
So, when she first heard the news of Shrek Academy's destruction, after the initial shock, Tang Wutong had remained remarkably calm.
After all, the Seven Old Demons' military training of generations of Shrek geniuses, as seen in their memories, clearly showed that they were essentially the same as the old witch and others in Tang Wutong's memories. In her eyes, they were just upgraded versions of the old witch, PLUS versions of Elder Xuan. If today's Shrek teachers and students were all like these people, then their destruction was truly deserved.
Besides, she had already helped Shrek ten thousand years ago.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was something she had found and given them. The new legend of attaining godhood was something she had left behind.
With so much ancestral legacy already bestowed, she wasn't a babysitter. Why should she keep taking care of them?
If Shrek still existed, she might have helped out for old times' sake. But Shrek Academy had already been destroyed. Anyone expecting her to clear Shrek's name and rebuild it could go dream on.
Helping the Seven Old Demons find release was even more impossible.
So, as the two Old Demons stared at her with hopeful eyes, waiting for her next words, Tang Wutong directly transmitted her voice: "Your military training disgusts me. I don't want to help you. If Shrek's core is the same way, then let it be gone."
She didn't say this aloud, out of consideration for her two elders.
The two Old Demons were completely dumbfounded.
What? Even the ancestor looked down on their military training?
No, that wasn't the point. The point was that the Butterfly God didn't care about Shrek's survival?
They had originally believed that with the Butterfly God's descent, Shrek's revival was assured. They had thought that with the ancestor's return, they would finally be released.
But now...
"Ancestor! How, how can you say that?"
The Desire Old Demon's voice trembled. "How can you watch it be destroyed and remain unmoved?"
"What else should I do?"
Tang Wutong's cold voice transmitted directly. "Isn't ten thousand years enough? Or do you think Shrek should be immortal like the gods? Heh, let me tell you, even the gods cannot live forever."
In that moment, the gods who had perished in the Divine Realm, figures of her old friends like Xiao Xiao from ten thousand years ago, flashed before her eyes. A complex expression crossed Tang Wutong's face, and she spoke her final words.
"Nothing is eternal. Stop clinging to delusions!"
The moment her voice fell, the two Old Demons felt the world spin around them, and they were ejected from the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley.
Tang Wutong also returned to Ning Rongrong and Oscar's side.
"It's done. If they want to negotiate later, I'll handle it personally, since I'm only a wisp of divine consciousness anyway."
"This..."
Ning Rongrong and Oscar hesitated.
If something happened to Tang Wutong in the Divine Realm, this wisp of consciousness was her only hope of resurrection.
"It's settled. After all, I'm the one who conveyed the message to Huo Yuhao in the name of the Butterfly God." Tang Wutong smiled slightly, then turned to Oscar, curious. "Uncle Oscar, how's your recovery?"
Oscar gave a wry smile and shook his head. "I can only say it's passable. Although my divine consciousness survived the ordeal, it was damaged. Its intensity dropped by a full tier, and it's hard to recover."
The Golden Dragon King's attack wasn't something you could just shrug off. Even with Tang San's rescue, while his divine consciousness had been preserved, it had been wounded, dropping a whole level, leaving only one percent of its original strength.
Limit Douluo cultivation plus third-class deity divine consciousness, that was his current power.
As for his divine seat, the Food God's divine seat didn't contribute much to combat. It was originally a support divine seat, great for enhancing support abilities, transforming his spirit abilities into divine abilities. But its combat boost wasn't significant.
Hearing this, Tang Wutong nodded thoughtfully and looked at Ning Rongrong.
Although Oscar's strength was certainly enough to dominate the current Douluo Continent, if they were talking about who was strongest among them, that might not necessarily be the case.
After all, during the Divine Realm War, Ning Rongrong had only been caught in the crossfire. She was still a second-class deity. Even if she was a support-type who wasn't skilled in combat, her foundational abilities were right there.
Think of it like a support-type Limit Douluo. Could an ordinary Title Douluo match them? The gaps in spirit power, spiritual power, spirit power quality, law comprehension, all of these would make a normal Title Douluo despair.
And just how massive are the foundational gaps between a second-class deity and those below? Using second-class deity divine consciousness as an example makes it clear.
A second-class deity's divine consciousness can encompass the entire Douluo Star.
Not a single continent, not a single sea, the entire planet.
From one end of Douluo Star to the other, from the Extreme North to the Abyssal Deep, from the Douluo Continent to the Xingluo Continent, everything could be covered by a second-class deity's divine consciousness.
What did this mean?
It meant that if Ning Rongrong wished, she could perceive everything happening in every corner of Douluo Star. She could lock onto every living being's aura, condition, and location.
And the space of the Douluo Continent was undoubtedly fragile to her. With the aid of her divine consciousness, she could freely traverse the entire Douluo Continent, appearing anywhere she wished.
If she used second-class deity divine consciousness to attack someone's Sea of Spirit, the power was equally imaginable.
No gimmicks, just pure stats.
Ning Rongrong might not be a fighter, but as a raw stat monster, she was certainly qualified.
However, Aunt Rongrong was injured. She needed to use power to suppress her wounds, and couldn't easily exert her full strength, otherwise her life would be in danger.
Tang Wutong sighed inwardly.
Ning Rongrong, who most resembled a proper second-class deity, actually had the most troublesome condition.
She herself was just a wisp of divine consciousness, so no need to elaborate. Oscar had already paid his price, his strength had dropped significantly, but he had no other injuries. Meanwhile, Ning Rongrong was afflicted with the God King of Destruction's law-level power. With second-class deity strength, it was nearly impossible to expel. Her injuries could only be worn down slowly over time.
The three of them, all second-class deities, couldn't even assemble a single fully-functional second-class deity among them. Now that was something.
"I wonder what that Huo Yuhao outside and his companions are like. Will their condition be better than ours?"
Inside the virtual space, Huo Yuhao controlled the two Old Demons who had just been ejected, making them confess their experience in full detail.
When he learned that the being inside was the Butterfly God, Huo Yuhao's expression nearly cracked.
It was actually Tang Wutong?
Encountering Tang Wutong, or rather, Wang Dong'er, in the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley, while Gu Ruiqiu, the Auspicious Beast, was outside the valley competing.
Honestly, the scene was a bit bizarre, giving Huo Yuhao a strange sense of déjà vu, like he had stepped into a bootleg copy of the Qiankun Questioning Love Valley instance.
Tang Wutong was still chasing him!
But so what?
It wasn't Blue Silver Entanglement chasing him after all.
Besides...
Huo Yuhao glanced at Elder Electrolux, Emperor Tian, Snow Empress, and Gu Yuena, all recovering beside him from their injuries.
Even if he really did enter the Ru Kun Questioning Love Valley, what did he have to fear?
The debts of the Divine Realm were in the past. He had no need to hide.
The world was vast, and he could go anywhere.
***
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