Tang San's Misgivings

The diary's complaints covered all sorts of things. Grumbling about Third Brother San was just a small part of the everyday chatter mixed into it.

If he openly spoke ill of Tang San, Shrek's "glory gu" might well kick in, so he had to mix truth with lies in many matters: eight parts truth and two parts falsehood.

Just as Shen Yichen had expected, his little scheme had already begun to take effect...

In Shrek City, Zhang Lexuan supported Mu En by the arm. The two looked as natural as a granddaughter taking her grandfather out for a stroll.

As they slowly approached the city gate on the side facing the Star Dou Great Forest, their steps gradually slowed, and their casual, on-and-off conversation came to a halt.

A sharp light flickered in Mu En's eyes. With a gentle wave of his hand, a barrier like a curtain of light instantly enveloped them both. For a moment, it was as though they had vanished from the world.

Zhang Lexuan was just about to speak when Mu En gently shook his head at her.

Immediately afterward, an aged voice rang out from deep within Zhang Lexuan's mind.

"Lexuan, let's communicate directly through Spiritual Power."

Zhang Lexuan's eyes widened in surprise. She had thought she was already being careful enough, but Mu En was even more cautious than she was!

Still... that was even better!

Before long, Zhang Lexuan had recounted the diary's contents to Mu En in full. Even the meaningless daily entries Shen Yichen had written were repeated without a word left out.

Mu En nodded solemnly. "No wonder you were so cautious, girl."

This was the Sea God's dark history, after all.

Although, in a sense, everyone in Shrek was a believer in the Sea God, no matter how solid as a rock that faith had once been, the passage of time had now left it teetering on the brink.

Mu En didn't believe everything written in the diary was true, but neither did he believe Lord Sea God was as loving and selfless as the legends claimed.

Since he wasn't a saint, they had to be on guard!

Mu En waved his hand, dispelling the barrier, and sighed softly. "Girl, next time, let's go farther away. A trip to the Star Dou Great Forest to admire the natural scenery would be quite nice..."

Next time, there would be no need to set up a barrier that was like covering one's ears while stealing a bell.

If a god truly intended to investigate, the barrier he had set up would be as ridiculous as a sign saying, "There are no three hundred taels of silver buried here."

However...

Mu En and Zhang Lexuan were both overthinking it.

At this very moment, Tang God King's great hand had no attention to spare for two ants like them.

—Divine Realm—

Tang God King's brows were nearly knitted together.

A rising star of fortune was about to appear on the Douluo Continent in the lower realm. He had foreseen this a long time ago.

This rising star was immensely important, for it concerned his Ten-Thousand-Year Grand Plan!

But not long ago, the fate of the Douluo Continent had suddenly become unclear. What had once been a distinct course was now as though viewed through frosted glass: rough, blurry, and unpredictable.

Perhaps... this was a counterattack from Douluo Star's world consciousness?

Although being unable to see the road ahead was somewhat troublesome, following his earlier arrangements shouldn't lead to any major problems.

At present, the biggest problem was...

Tang God King had discovered that he could no longer ferry away the soul of the Child of Luck's mother?!!

According to his earlier calculations, the Child of Luck's mother was due to pass away around this time.

He would make preparations in advance and receive her soul as soon as she died. At best, he could make the Child of Luck owe him a favor; failing that, he could use her as a bargaining chip to threaten him.

Yet even when he used Sea God Divine Power, he couldn't budge Huo Yun'er's soul in the slightest.

"This... can't be right, can it?"

A breeze blew through the Divine Realm, and cold sweat broke out on Tang San's forehead. For no apparent reason, a measure of awe and fear arose in his heart.

Could the world consciousness's backup plan truly be so terrifying? Could the Child of Luck's fortune really overwhelm the Divine Realm?

This was Tang San's first time manipulating fate and secretly scheming against a world.

Could it be that the other god kings refrained from doing so because there were things they feared?

Tang San didn't know, but from where he stood, the unknown alone was terrifying enough!

"For now... I'll follow the original plan and disregard the unexpected..."

With his current status and position, he no longer dared to go all in, wagering his wealth and fate on a chance at a better future.

As long as nothing went wrong with his move involving Xiao Qi, everything would be fine in the broad scheme of things.

Now that things had come to this, that was the only way Tang San could comfort himself.

Shen Yichen didn't know that the diary system protected its host's mind and soul from every angle.

If he had known, he would surely have been even more unrestrained!

With an Indestructible Diamond Body and an impregnable mind, even at level ten, he would have dared to take a Golden Cudgel and wreak havoc in the Divine Realm!

"Come here, little Yichen, let Grandma give you a hug~"

As she spoke, she scooped up the little white-haired bundle and tucked him into her arms.

As usual, she affectionately nuzzled her grandson's cheek.

Shen Yichen reached out and wrapped his arms around his grandmother's neck. He felt no resistance at all to her affection.

Just as he had written in the diary, once Tang Hao confirmed Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer and Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, he had fully accepted Tang San as his own child.

Likewise, after Shen Yichen became certain of his family's wholehearted love for him, he had fully accepted them as his own family!

He also believed that even if Grandma knew he was a transmigrator, she would still accept him as her grandson!

"Little Yichen, Xuan Zi has already gone to the Star Dou Great Forest to bring back your Soul Ring. In just a few days, my good grandson will be a Soul Master..."

Shen Yichen poked his little head out of Elder Lin's arms. "Grandma, I heard Whale Rubber can improve physical condition and raise the maximum age of the Soul Ring one can absorb. Don't I need to eat some?"

"Whale Rubber..." Elder Lin rubbed Shen Yichen's head. "If my good grandson wants a thousand-year Second Soul Ring, you can eat some Whale Rubber then. It won't matter if your First Soul Ring is a little younger."

"But... isn't a higher-aged Soul Ring better?"

"Then tell me, my good grandson, do you think there's a big difference between a three-hundred-year Soul Ring and a nine-hundred-year Soul Ring?"

Shen Yichen blinked. No... there isn't?

Elder Lin pinched Shen Yichen's little cheek. "For the same Soul Skill, there's almost no difference in effect between a nine-hundred-year Soul Ring and a three-hundred-year Soul Ring. It's just that a nine-hundred-year Soul Ring contains more Soul Power, so absorbing one would raise your level by one or two more than a three-hundred-year Soul Ring would."

"However, a Soul Master capable of absorbing a nine-hundred-year Soul Ring as their First Soul Ring must have consumed a great many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. As things stand, there's no definitive evidence that those one or two levels of Soul Power actually came from the Soul Ring."

"That conclusion was reached simply by applying the difference between a ninety-thousand-year Soul Ring and a thirty-thousand-year Soul Ring to nine-hundred-year and three-hundred-year Soul Rings."

If someone could absorb a nine-hundred-year First Soul Ring, their family was bound to be rich or noble, and their own talent was probably quite good too. No one would use such a Qilin Prodigy for an experiment.

Shen Yichen nodded his little head in understanding. He had roughly grasped it: absorbing Soul Rings above one's limit early on probably brought benefits, but those benefits were out of proportion to the risks.

Take Wang Dong, for example. Even with a thousand-year Second Soul Ring, she wasn't noticeably stronger than other Soul Grandmasters. From the Soul Ancestor or Soul King stage onward, the only use of a thousand-year Second Soul Ring was probably to Show Off in Front of Others...