Yuanen Yehui's gaze turned hazy for a moment.
That familiar figure snapped her dark longsword with a flick of his fingers. She had grown into a young woman in her twenties, yet on his face there wasn't the slightest trace left by time, as if it had been frozen. In fact, his every movement now contained an added divine charm—he was impossibly handsome.
"B-Boss?!" Yuanen Yehui said in disbelief.
A large hand reached out and ruffled her purple hair. In ten years, she had gone from a short-haired tomboy to a long-haired, stunningly beautiful young lady. Her Fallen Angel martial soul made her even more devilishly alluring, but her looks really were top-tier.
"Sorry. I spent some spare time these years becoming a god and lost track of how much time had passed…" Su Wen's handsome face showed a trace of apology as he petted the girl's head like a cat.
"It's not late. You're never late…" Yuanen Yehui's purple eyes grew a little dazed. Like a kitten, she rubbed her soft cheek against Su Wen's hand.
"Buzz…"
Under everyone's dumbstruck stares, the demonic aura on Yuanen Yehui grew weaker and weaker. The black markings on her skin completely faded away.
"You are the master of this planet?"
Alba's gaze gradually grew serious. This planet was vast and boundless. Its true ruler, someone on the same level as himself, would not be weak. The other party's godlike power also made him unsure where he stood.
To retreat, or to fight to the death?
He hesitated, then asked.
But that tall, straight figure still had his back turned to him, his gentle, apologetic gaze focused entirely on soothing Yuanen Yehui, who had thrown herself into his arms and was weeping with joy.
"Hey…" Alba frowned.
He couldn't sense even a shred of respect directed toward him.
They were both plane-level rulers—gods in their own right. He, the Demon King, acknowledged the other side's strength and had shown him some face. If the other party refused that goodwill, then humph…
Yet Su Wen remained immersed in the joy of reunion.
"Insignificant human, it seems you have no wish to accept my goodwill. In that case…" Alba no longer hesitated. A surge of thick, dark energy roiled under his feet as he took on the posture of a demon god, gathering billowing black mist. At this moment, by wielding the authority of the Demon Plane, his confidence returned.
He looked down in disdainful amusement at the distant, seemingly tiny figure.
"Die, human."
"Boss, he…" Yuanen Yehui shrank into Su Wen's arms, looking adorably pitiful as she pointed cautiously behind him.
The smile faded from Su Wen's lips. He cast a faint glance over his shoulder.
He raised his hand and made a gripping motion.
In that instant, the Demon King's massive body froze. It was as if an invisible giant hand had gripped his neck, not even giving him a chance to twist or struggle. His pupils shook violently, blood flowed from them, and then his body shattered inch by inch.
In this universe, he was annihilated into ash.
The countless demon army members froze at the sight, terrified out of their wits. They scrambled madly back toward the Gate of Demons.
"Heh, the Demon Plane." Su Wen shook his head.
Once, he might have been quite interested in this plane, even wanted to study it a bit. But now…
He waved his hand.
By his side, a woman in red appeared, her long dark-violet hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. In her eyes there was only reverence for Su Wen.
She bowed slightly. "Yes, my Lord."
A huge, pitch-black vortex appeared behind her. She lightly pointed it toward the Gate of Demons, and the vortex erupted with a terrifying suction force, swallowing the entire Demon Plane.
"Long time no see, Gu Yue, Na'er, and… Yehui." Crimson Mother (Shen Hong) chuckled softly and nodded to the three girls.
…
"That's how it happened."
After Gu Yue gave a simple rundown of the events, she stared quietly at Su Wen. He was reclining in a lounge chair, rubbing his forehead. Thankfully, he had inherited the godhood in time. Otherwise, in a few more years, things would have become troublesome.
After all, Tang Hao was still lurking on this continent.
That guy's hatred toward him ran very deep.
If Yuanen Yehui had died, fragments of her soul would have drifted across the Douluo Star. If he didn't arrive in time and those fragments were discovered by Tang Hao first, it would have been a serious problem.
"This is my fault. I didn't explain things clearly to you." Su Wen said, full of apology.
"It's fine. We'll always believe in Dad." Na'er stayed by his side pouring tea and water, the very picture of a considerate little cotton-padded jacket.
"You're already ninth-rank mecha masters?"
Su Wen took a light sip of the tea Na'er handed over and mused.
"Of course. You've been gone all these years, but we haven't been slacking. We're also three-word battle armor masters." Gu Yue's tone carried a trace of pride.
"Um…" Gu Yue's eyes darted around, then she carefully scooted closer and asked, "Su Wen, did you really become a god? Wasn't this continent's God Realm swept away by the time-space turbulence, you…"
"You don't have to have a God Realm to become a god." Su Wen said lightly. "The God Realm is just a platform. Someone like Yun Ming, that kind of heaven's chosen, could also rely on this world itself to prove his way and become a god."
His words were vague and elusive.
Gu Yue looked a little dazed.
"So you proved your way and became a god on your own?" Her red lips parted slightly as she stared at him in astonishment.
"No, I inherited the God of Time and Space's god position." Su Wen took another sip of tea with a smile.
Gu Yue: "…"
"You still have the mood to tease me?" Gu Yue gnashed her teeth.
She almost wanted to pounce on him and bite him. Her cheeks puffed up in indignation.
"With outside forces closing in, I need to remove all hidden dangers first." Su Wen narrowed his eyes and ignored Gu Yue. "Once that Great Divine Circle is truly formed, those guys will be quite a handful."
The Great Divine Circle, cobbled together from the origins of six or seven God Realms, encompassed an unimaginably vast territory. Once it was formed, Tang San, Tang the God King, would no longer be an ordinary God King Tang, but a star-domain-lord-level existence on par with the Dragon God.
Though for Su Wen—who commanded over twenty Dragon-God-level units of battle power—this still wasn't much of a threat, if he turned his focus to other star domains while Tang San kicked up trouble behind his back, it would still be a major headache.
So the top priority was to settle that group first.
Su Wen pondered for a moment, then opened his palm.
A familiar Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud appeared in his hand—a triangular, gemstone-like artifact.
He would use this to try connecting with Tang San.
"Buzz…"
Su Wen narrowed his eyes.
He poured divine power into it.
Using the extremely weak connection between this artifact and Tang San, he began to search the universe for Tang San's position. He even tried to use his spatial divine power to mend and strengthen that fragile link.
"Buzz… Father, Mother…"
After half an hour, this "communicator" finally emitted a faint signal.
Static crackled—zzzz, zzz—the reception abysmal.
From the other side came a rapidly shifting, broken voice.
"…" Su Wen smiled slightly, rocking gently in the lounge chair without saying a word.
The signal finally stabilized a bit. It was clear the other party had also begun to lock onto the coordinates of the Douluo Star, bringing the communication into a steady state.
"Who is this?" A familiar voice came from within the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, tinged with suspicion and confusion. He could clearly feel the aura of a powerful existence on the other end, but it was neither his parents nor his son.
Yet this Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud was clearly placed in Shrek Academy, with his parents. There was no reason for them to casually hand it to a stranger—unless… something had happened to them.
His ten-thousand-year plan had gone awry.
"Who exactly are you?" Tang San said coldly.
"I am the Asura God's enforcer. I am Tang San, Sea God and God King, once one of this God Realm's strongest. I'm willing to establish a connection with you, but you'd better show some sincerity. If you continue to play deaf and dumb and waste my patience, when I return with the God Realm, you'll be the first one I settle accounts with."
"What a tone, Tang God King." Su Wen laughed.
So, a nest of snakes and rats—he had found himself some like-minded vermin. It seemed this guy had gotten quite full of himself.
Based on the feedback from the spatial authority, the signal originated at the edge of this star domain, in a black hole. With the space power under his control, Su Wen could move freely throughout the entire star domain. Tang San, however, was not so fortunate. A few God Realms were trapped inside that black hole, nearly becoming a burial ground for the gods.
Su Wen's evaluation: trash to the core.
"You finally spoke…" The voice on the other end turned low and cold. "I'll give you a chance. Explain why the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is in your hands. I've already sensed the coordinates of the Douluo Star. If you don't come clean, don't blame this God King for crossing the endless sea of stars to hunt you down!"
"Hahahaha…" Su Wen burst into laughter.
"Tang God King, if you could actually guarantee you'd escape that black hole, your threats might carry more weight. But… a bunch of so-called gods who managed to trap themselves in a black hole really shouldn't be spouting this kind of tough talk. You're just embarrassing yourselves."
"Tang San, you've utterly disgraced the very idea of godhood."
"…"
Silence fell on the other end.
This barbed comment struck right at the heart. It was even more wounding and sent cold sweat down his back.
An indescribable chill rose from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.
How did the other party know about his and the God Realm's situation?
He even knew about the black hole in detail.
A place like this—even gods who were swallowed by it had almost no chance of survival. And yet, the other guy had not only contacted him, but…
"You must be a god as well! Which one of those scum under Destruction are you?" Tang San growled through gritted teeth.
He and the God Realm had been swept away, sharing in its life and death.
But those scum under Destruction…
"Damn animal! You dare threaten this God King? You're courting death!!!"
The fury from the other side all but overflowed. Su Wen chuckled.
Now that was the right flavor.
"What did you do to my parents?!" Tang San shouted.
"Tang San, if all you can do is make such powerless roars, then I'll find this very boring." Su Wen said lazily.
"I hope you can break free of that black hole and come find me."
"Otherwise… this continent will be a tedious place."
"…"
On the other side, Tang San's face flushed bright red, nearly leaping up with rage.
Huo Yuhao, Zhou Weiqing, and the others kept trying to calm him.
"This beast is betting that this God won't make it back. You just wait. But you'll never guess that your own taunting, that active attempt to contact me, has given me a way to lock onto the coordinates of the Douluo Star." Tang San clenched his fists, his face contorted with anger and malice.
"With coordinates, there is hope of escape…"
"Scum, I hope when I stand in front of you, you'll still be able to spew such arrogant words."
Huo Yuhao and Zhou Weiqing exchanged glances and both shook their heads.
Their eyes were filled with unease about the unknown.
...