A Millennia-Long Plan Hijacked

"That was deliberate on our part."

Di Tian said with certainty.

The gathered beasts looked at one another. If that was the case, then it really was possible to make the Auspicious Beast appear to be alone.

"So now that we've confirmed the God of the Sea will definitely come, all we need to do is wait here for him and deliver a fatal blow when he makes his move."

Xiong Jun's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He could not be bothered to think about anything else, but fighting a god was naturally of great interest to him.

"So I'm the bait, then?"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion suddenly spoke up. She was not completely ignorant.

"In a sense, that is indeed the case. But no matter what, we are your closest family, and we will always protect you."

Di Tian's voice was somewhat heavy. To be honest, he did not want things to be this way either. If possible, he would have preferred to serve as the core of the formation himself.

But no one knew how much divine power the God of the Sea had left behind. After all, that fellow had remained on Douluo Continent until the very limit before ascending to the God Realm.

They had to keep the God of the Sea here in one go and not allow even a trace of power to escape. Otherwise, the random attacks of a god were not something the Soul Beast race could endure in its current state.

If it were Di Tian, the God of the Sea would not make a move anytime soon. His previous display had been enough to make the other party wary.

What they wanted was an overwhelming victory, one that crushed all resistance. They could not afford to drag this out.

"Fine."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lay on the ground and said nothing more. She had merely foreseen that someone wanted to harm her; it did not mean they had truly hurt her, so she was not overly worried.

"Then what we need to discuss next is exactly how to deal with the God of the Sea."

"A Soul Beast has broken through and become a god?"

Uncertainty filled Tang San's eyes. The previous Asura God had told him why Soul Beasts could not become gods. If a Soul Beast had become a god, it meant that a new Dragon God had appeared. This incarnation of divine power alone could not defeat the Dragon God.

"Not necessarily. Perhaps someone from beyond this world helped them increase their strength."

Er Ming still remembered that towering phantom, as well as the pillar of light that had pierced heaven and earth in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Someone from beyond this world?"

Tang San pondered for a moment and thought of the God Realm, which he could no longer contact.

According to Er Ming, his true body could still communicate with Douluo Continent, but it was extremely difficult. And the situation facing the God Realm should not have been too serious, merely troublesome, yet they still had not managed to resolve it.

Could it be that Douluo Continent had been targeted by another plane? Was that why they wanted to sever the connection between the God Realm and Douluo Continent?

Tang San thought this because he had also considered how to raise the planar level of Douluo Continent: by devouring other planes to enhance its source power.

The first step was to hide the God Realm. The many lower planes in the universe were highly sought after, but with the God Realm around, those "hungry wolves" had only dared to watch greedily and never cross the line. Only when the God Realm disappeared would they grow bold enough.

The second step was to send his parents to help him oversee Douluo Continent and assist with this plan.

The third step was naturally to deliberately lure those planes into discovering Douluo Continent, then use his preparations to make Douluo Continent devour them in turn.

What had happened on Douluo Continent was not much different from his millennia-long plan. The God Realm had been cut off, that phantom was the overseer, and it had even made humans and the Soul Beast race wear down each other's strength. All that remained was to devour Douluo Continent, and the plan would be perfect.

The more Tang San thought about how someone had hijacked his millennia-long scheme, the darker his expression became.

"What is your name?"

Tang San suppressed the surging fury in his heart and turned toward the High Priest, whose face was filled with fanaticism.

"Honored God of the Sea, I am your servant, Poseinan."

Tang San's expression turned strange as he thought of the previous God of the Sea and the High Priest he had encountered. Still, he said nothing and merely waved for the man to come closer.

"Poseinan, gather the Soul Masters on Sea God Island. I need you to fight for me and win victory for me."

"By your command, God of the Sea! I shall lead your people to come before you."

Poseinan replied with a bow, an unusual light flashing in his eyes.

"Brother Sky Dream, do we really have to go to the Far North Land? Wouldn't it be fine to wait until Master returns?"

Huo Yuhao spoke to Sky Dream Ice Silkworm within the Sea of Spirit, his face full of worry.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was conflicted as well. With Yuhao's master around, they would naturally be very safe. After all, Ice Empress should not be able to defeat him. But his goal was not merely to help Yuhao obtain a second martial soul. If he used his life to force Ice Empress's hand, given her temperament, she would likely detonate herself outright. Even if she did not, he would not be able to speak with her.

"But Yuhao, do you really trust that master of yours?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm hesitated for a while before finally deciding to persuade Huo Yuhao to go to the Far North Land alone.

Huo Yuhao fell silent. He was a spiritual-type Soul Master, and he had grown up learning to read people's expressions in the Duke's Estate. He had vaguely noticed the sudden shift in the other party's attitude when he took him as a disciple.

He simply could not understand why that person had chosen him. Was it because he was supposedly a Child of Destiny? Then why had this so-called destiny made him lose his mother? "Of course I trust Master. He has no reason to deceive me. The gap between us is far too great."

Huo Yuhao smiled as though he knew nothing.

"Yuhao, I'll tell you the truth. Our target for obtaining your second martial soul this time is Ice Empress—the Ice Empress ranked seventh among your humans' Ten Great Fierce Beasts."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm seemed to sense something. After hesitating, he still told Huo Yuhao the truth.

"What? We're going after Ice Empress?"

Huo Yuhao could no longer maintain his calm expression. Having attended classes for some time, he understood the significance of the Ten Great Fierce Beasts. Not to mention that a group of Titled Douluo had recently died at the hands of Fierce Beasts.

"Brother Sky Dream, what exactly are you planning to do?"

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and tried hard to calm the turbulent waves in his heart. He believed Sky Dream Ice Silkworm would not send him to his death voluntarily. At the very least, the other party did not want to die either.

"Well... and then..."

Huo Yuhao scratched his head. What the other party had said was highly tempting: a second martial soul of ultimate ice, a soul bone nearing four hundred thousand years, and an initial soul ring nearing four hundred thousand years. Any one of those would make Titled Douluo fight to the death over it. And judging by the steps, it seemed they had a good chance of succeeding.

"But Brother Sky Dream, it seems I don't really need to obtain a second martial soul right now."

Ever since Er Ming had taken him as a disciple, he lacked almost nothing. All he needed was to cultivate properly and advance toward that man's level. There was no need to risk losing everything just to gamble on a chance at success. He could grow steadily by following the proper path.

"Of course, I'm not saying we shouldn't go. I know you have your own reasons for wanting this too, Brother Sky Dream. But it won't be too late if we go after we become stronger. At most, it'll only take a few decades."

Huo Yuhao laid out the pros and cons for Sky Dream Ice Silkworm. He had already seen hope for revenge, and he did not dare gamble.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fell silent. He really had been too anxious. But with the outside world changing so quickly, he still desperately wanted to see his Bing Bing.

"Yuhao, Yuhao! A transfer student suddenly joined our class, and he's actually even more handsome than me."

Wang Dong's voice came from farther and farther away, until her complaining stopped right in front of Huo Yuhao.

"Can Shrek Academy still admit students at this point?"

Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and looked at Wang Dong in confusion. He had returned to cultivate after class, while Wang Dong had been dragged out shopping by Xiao Xiao.

"Where am I?"

Lu Wu slowly opened his eyes, only to find that he seemed to be inside a cave.

"Fuck, why am I not human anymore?!"

Lu Wu quickly realized that he no longer possessed a human body. Instead, he had four limbs like those of a wild beast.

Crunch, crunch.

Lu Wu struggled to stand upright, only to discover that something beneath his feet seemed to have been crushed. He lost his balance and fell directly onto his backside, producing an even crisper sound.

Lu Wu lowered his head to look beneath himself and found shattered eggshells all over the ground. When he carefully lifted his backside, another crunch rang out.

"I remember that transmigration novels where you become a strange beast always have the protagonist eat their own eggshells to replenish their strength."

Lu Wu hesitated. His shell had just been stepped on, not to mention crushed beneath his ass. How had his predecessors ever managed to bite into eggshells off the ground? Did they not find them dirty? After some time getting used to it, Lu Wu finally managed to control this newborn body. At the very least, he would no longer suddenly fall while walking.

Lu Wu looked toward the place where he had just been. It seemed to be a large pool of bluish-brown water, but the water appeared to have dried up long ago, leaving the surface utterly parched.

"Looks like this body has great potential. I remember that in novels, this kind of situation is usually meant to improve one's potential starting from the egg."