"Elder Yi, can you sense the will of the plane?"
Su Wen narrowed his eyes.
Atop a massive tree in the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest, he could see human buildings from afar—a glimpse of how tough things had gotten for the soul beasts.
And as for Beast God Di Tian, gone was his old pride. He now stood, almost like a bodyguard, at Su Wen's side, stunning Bi Ji and the other beasts.
Furthermore, Azure Luan offered a sliver of primordial gold from the bottom of the Lake of Life in her Pokeball, for Di Tian to help restore the forest's vitality.
Even that tiny portion was larger than the current entirety of the Star Dou Great Forest…
"I'm here…"
Electrolux (Yi Lao) emerged into Su Wen's mental sea, using the mark he'd left there.
At once, he looked around curiously.
His brows creased slightly, "Ten thousand years have passed, but the original timeline never managed to suppress the evil soul masters. The Authority of Death remains riddled with holes. These people's use of flawed death laws is outright insane…"
"Authority of Death, Law of Death." At these words, even the normally clueless Di Tian shuddered.
"And as for the will of this world… tsk tsk…" Electrolux shook his head with regret, "It's long vanished. Only fragments of leftover energy drifting about—probably just scraps…"
"Looks like it's been devoured by Tang Hao," Su Wen shook his head.
That's right. Across the continent, whether human or from the Abyss, no one can stand in his way.
But… when the God Realm vanished, somehow Tang Hao clung to the Douluo plane's will—consuming it step by step with help from Tang San before he died.
"But don't worry. I sensed Tang Hao's aura, too," Electrolux mused, stroking his chin. "Completely devouring the will of the world is no small feat. Tang Hao may have killed it, but digesting it will take time. Otherwise, when you rampaged through Shrek Academy earlier, it should have shown up."
"True enough," Su Wen nodded. He wasn't worried, just a bit sorry for the world's will.
Being taken over was disgusting.
And don't forget, there was still Ah Yin in the golden tree.
A true husband-and-wife powerhouse; unchallenged in Douluo.
Su Wen thought a moment, then let it go.
Coming ten thousand years into the future, he was here for the Heart of the Dragon God—for Gu Yuena, this meant an epic boost, possibly to main god-level power, especially since it was a supreme artifact.
Second, of course, was for battle armor.
Battle armor had a terrifying upper limit; even at the god-king level, it could be tempered into a supreme artifact.
Third, he wanted some top-grade soul beasts from the new era: the Golden Lion Mastiff, Lan Fozi, and the like.
Lastly, if he could kill Tang Hao, he wouldn't hesitate.
But priority one was to go to the Star Luo Continent.
Second, he needed to visit Heaven Dou City—to look for Zhen Hua, the continent's only divine craftsman and maker of untold four-word battle armors.
"When do we head for this Dragon Valley you spoke of?" Gu Yuena asked eagerly.
"Let's wait a bit…"
Su Wen pondered. "Let me train a little first…"
—
Inside the Golden Tree—
Tang Wulin looked lost and dumbfounded. You want me… to kill that man?!
His worldview was shattering.
Even today's number-one, Yun Ming, was beaten up and strung along by that man—a being who led over a dozen super beasts and could flatten the entire Alliance alone.
Now, you want me to kill him?!
Shouldn't you get to know me first, boost my trust with gifts and special events, have some secret story reveal, and only later give me this kind of quest?
Why are you dropping it on me from the start?! I refuse!
"Relax, you're Tang Wulin… his son. Tang family blood runs in your veins, and with Golden Dragon King blood too. Once the final seal breaks, and you devour the Silver Dragon King, you'll stand at the top as a true god!" Tang Hao encouraged him.
The world's will was difficult, but most of that was because the God Realm had disappeared. With Tang San's help, he'd have digested it long ago.
For now he hadn't fully assimilated it and mostly remained asleep—he'd only just woken when Gu Yuena reappeared and Su Wen made a stir.
He'd had a hand in Shrek trying to keep Gu Yuena, of course—the Silver Dragon King was his Tang family's daughter-in-law by arrangement, and had to join Shrek to cultivate a relationship with his grandson, and eventually be "sacrificed"… ahem. It would be a huge loss if someone else got hold of that "big chunk of meat".
He never expected that youth's strength would so wildly exceed everyone's expectations—including his own.
Even as a late-stage god, Tang Hao had sensed a faint sense of threat from Su Wen—thus he'd ordered Ah Yin to feign weakness and played dead himself.
"Yes, you're his son…"
Old Tang spoke up now as well, gazing gently at Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin: "…"
He was numb.
He was a mere rank-20-something soul master, just joining Shrek Academy—now he's being assigned a "god"-level opponent.
How are the coming years supposed to go…
—
Buzz…
Su Wen sat cross-legged in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Rich vitality throbbed around him.
Inside his dantian, a dense black hole—the first soul core—absorbed energy endlessly, like a bottomless pit.
With a burst of rhythmic pulses, the black hole soul core slowed and faded within him.
He opened his eyes.
"One month—level 32."
Su Wen's expression was wistful.
Who'd have thought that a month of fast training would bring him to rank 32 from 22?
Even if it's low level, this was ridiculous—just goes to show the power of a soul core.
"Three red Pokeballs. I'm rich now."
Spreading his palm, three red Pokeballs floated above, glowing softly.
"But…"
Su Wen's brows furrowed.
A rustling sound, as if space was being torn open—someone in a black cloak appeared in front of him, every inch concealed.
"Nice mood, spoiled…"
"Tsk."
"Who?!"
Di Tian's shout rang out, shaking the entire forest.
The newcomer just laughed. "No need for all the fuss, Beast God. I came to bring good news…"
"What news?" Su Wen studied him.
"Naturally, the destruction of Shrek! I'm a member of the Holy Spirit Cult. My lord, you needn't worry. Since you dislike Shrek Academy, we can work together—win-win!"
"Holy Spirit Cult?"
Su Wen looked intrigued.
"Yes! If you doubt it, I can…" The cloaked figure grew more enthusiastic, boasting of the cult's power and Shrek's enemies—just short of mentioning the godslayer cannon rounds.
"Holy Spirit Cult?"
Su Wen seemed skeptical and raised his brows.
"That's right! If you still don't believe me, I can…" The man grinned.
"And Holy Spirit Cult members dare act insolent in front of me?"
Su Wen's expression darkened.
Ghost Emperor's face froze.
Wait—he… he has a grudge with the Holy Spirit Cult?!
"And you'd dare try to control me?" Su Wen's hint of a smile turned into killing intent, "You're bold, Ghost Emperor!"
Spurt! Ghost Emperor spat out a mouthful of blood, staring at Su Wen in shock.
No, this opponent's spiritual power…
It was immeasurably vaster than he'd thought!
Every escape route was cut off—the entire space sealed!
…
Terror surged in his heart.
Ghost Emperor could only recall Qiangu Dongfeng's look of scornful pity. Face-to-face with a giant, his own weakness was painfully clear.
Everything he'd calculated had been wrong.
This mysterious powerhouse—
Didn't play by any rules at all.
You never said you hated the Holy Spirit Cult!
"No, I said so on the soul train…" Su Wen, as if reading his thoughts, smiled blandly. "Looks like Na Na Li never reported back to you. Never thought the Holy Spirit Cult would keep sending upper ranks right to my door."
"If I said I wasn't from the Holy Spirit Cult after all, would you believe me?" Ghost Emperor forced a smile—uglier than crying.
—
The Next Day
Spirit Pagoda, top floor.
Qiangu Dongfeng sighed in frustration at his report. They had to release all the soul spirits to Di Tian and the Star Dou Great Forest. It was like cutting off a limb for the Tower—but it was better than losing their lives.
But now, what were they supposed to do next?
The Tower was so large…
So much staff—just thinking about it was a headache.
Would he have to lay people off?
"Sigh…"
Just as Qiangu Dongfeng was fretting—
A feeble aura slipped inside and made his pupils contract. "Gui—Ghost Emperor?! What the hell happened to you?!"
He was stunned at the sight: half of Ghost Emperor's body blasted away, surviving only as a spiritual fragment—barely clinging to life, more dead than alive.
Not just "miserably defeated"—he'd nearly had his soul outright destroyed…
"You… don't tell me you really went after that person?"
Ghost Emperor: "…"
Qiangu Dongfeng: 666…