Tang Chen's awakening was an immense morale boost for the Clear Sky Sect. The five elders, who had been fighting Tang Xiao over the Teyvat Fried Egg, all stopped.
"Brother Hao! Well done! Once the old sect master returns, he'll deal with your previous actions himself."
Tang Xiao's words made the five elders' faces darken.
The images on the Sky Screen had disappeared by then. Tang San and the others from the Clear Sky Sect were worried about what would happen next to Tang Chen and Tang Hao.
Qian Daoliu's expression was also grim. With Tang Chen back at the Clear Sky Sect, he might come into conflict with Spirit Hall, so Qian Daoliu had to prepare in advance.
In the Divine Realm, Asura God could only lament the loss.
"Though he barely passed the Eighth Trial, his body had already reached its limit. There was no chance he'd make it through the Ninth Trial. Sigh!"
As Asura God sighed, the Sky Screen's evaluation of Slaughter City was updated.
[Slaughter City was originally a place of inheritance for Asura God. Because Rakshasa God resented Asura God, she infused it with her evil thoughts] [The fact that Slaughter City could not be entered or exited at will, and that it suppressed magic, had accidentally turned it into a natural prison] [Fallen criminals consumed one another there while keeping Slaughter City running. Together with Spirit Hall's pursuit of the fallen, this prevented Fallen Soul Masters from spreading on a massive scale] [As a place of inheritance for Asura God, Slaughter City had the God King Asura God as its backing. However, due to the instability of the King of Slaughter, contamination by Rakshasa God's evil thoughts, its fixed location, and various other factors, it ranked seventh]
The Sky Screen's evaluation of Slaughter City was still mostly positive. But the Slaughter Envoys there were at a loss.
The King of Slaughter had left. They couldn't hold the fort on their own, so all they could do was pray to Asura God.
They had only just learned that Asura God stood behind Slaughter City. Before this, they had only heard rumors that it was a domain left behind by a god; they didn't know the details.
Asura God was also keeping an eye on Slaughter City. He was considering whether to intervene or simply let things take their course.
As he pondered, the Sky Screen's reward was issued.
[Congratulations to Slaughter City for making the list. Reward: Slaughter Puppet]
A puppet that looked eight parts like Asura God landed in his hands, and he understood how to use it.
It was similar to his clone and possessed eighty percent of his strength. If sent to the mortal world, its power would be suppressed to level 99.
Asura God was quite pleased with the reward, so he sent the Slaughter Puppet to Slaughter City to become its new King of Slaughter and keep watch over the place.
The new King of Slaughter was even stronger than Tang Chen had been when the Blood Red Nine-headed Bat King possessed him.
After Tang Chen left Slaughter City with Tang Hao, he headed for the Clear Sky Sect.
Tang Chen understood his own condition well. He was at the end of his rope and had, at most, three days left to live.
He had considered spending those three days visiting Sea God Island to see Bo Saixi one last time, but Tang Hao had persuaded him to give up the idea.
Returning to the Clear Sky Sect and finding a way to leave behind Asura God's inheritance there was what he ought to do.
Meanwhile, Bo Saixi's heart on Sea God Island had long been in turmoil. Her prayers were only a pretense; most of her attention was fixed on the Sky Screen for news about Tang Chen.
When she saw Tang Chen awaken, Bo Saixi let out a breath of relief. She believed in him. As long as he woke up, the rest wouldn't be a problem.
"Bo Saixi!"
The sudden voice made Bo Saixi shudder.
"L-Lord Sea God..."
"As High Priestess of the Sea God, do you even still acknowledge me as your Sea God?"
Sea God Poseidon appeared before Bo Saixi as a divine projection. Bo Saixi prostrated herself on the ground, trembling all over and not daring to utter a word.
"Hmph! Get up. I'll deal with you later!"
Only then did Bo Saixi dare to rise and follow behind Poseidon's divine projection.
Poseidon came before Scaramouche and Little Durin. Both of them looked him over.
"Scaramouche, he's so strange. Is he a projection?"
"Probably what they call a divine thought. It's a way to transmit consciousness and energy over a great distance. Some books in this Douluo Continent mention it. That's the conclusion I reached through analysis and verification."
"Oh, I see. You're amazing, Scaramouche."
Poseidon gave a slight bow. "Mr. Scaramouche, I am Sea God Poseidon. The Sky Screen has taught me a little about you. Your experiences have certainly been... eventful."
"Let's skip the pleasantries. I'm sure you know why we're here, so please give us a clear answer."
"Establishing an Akademiya Branch on Sea God Island is no problem, but I do have one question. I hope you can enlighten me, Mr. Scaramouche."
"What is it?"
"What is the Akademiya's purpose? Is it to spread faith?"
"You're overthinking it. If Lesser Lord Kusanali wanted faith, she wouldn't go through all this trouble. She's establishing an Akademiya Branch simply because she has too much free time."
"Scaramouche, that's not a very nice way to put it. Lesser Lord Kusanali is the God of Wisdom. She must be doing this to promote wisdom!"
"That's why I say she has too much free time. Trying to introduce Sumeru's whole system in a place completely lacking a scholarly atmosphere is just a thankless task."
Poseidon was relieved. The Akademiya really had no intention of competing with him for faith. Even if the branch inevitably drew away some of his believers once it was established, that was within acceptable limits.
In truth, if Nahida really wanted to take people's faith, she could use dream preaching to claim most of it.
But Nahida wouldn't do that. The Seven Archons of Teyvat needed faith, but at the same time, they didn't need it that much. It was strange.
The Sky Screen continued updating, and Qian Daoliu grew somewhat tense.
[Sixth place: Spirit Hall]
When Qian Daoliu saw Spirit Hall ranked sixth, a trace of dejection crossed his face.
"Sigh! Did Spirit Hall lose to Sea God Island because I lost to Bo Saixi?"
"Grandpa, you don't need to blame yourself. This probably wasn't your fault."
"Xue'er, you don't need to comfort me. I'm fine."
He was fine for now, but the Sky Screen's next update struck him like a thunderbolt, leaving him rooted to the spot.
[Affiliation: Angel God (Deceased)] [Inherited Martial Soul: Six-Winged Angel] [High-tier Combatant: Qian Daoliu] [Martial Soul Level: 99] [Identity: Grand High Priest of the Angel God] [High-tier Combatant: Golden Crocodile Douluo] [Martial Soul: Golden Crocodile King] [Martial Soul Level: 98] ...
Qian Daoliu and Qian Renxue paid no attention to the other information. All their focus was fixed on the words "Deceased."
"I don't know! This can't be true! How could the Divine Ancestor have fallen?"
Qian Daoliu refused to accept this truth, but the truth remained the truth, whether he accepted it or not.
Qian Renxue thought that the revelation of Angel God's death might deal a fatal blow to Spirit Hall's system of faith.
The worst possibility was that Spirit Hall would completely collapse, and that was something she absolutely could not bear to see.
In fact, Golden Crocodile Douluo and the other Worship Hall elders really did feel as though their faith had crumbled.
Before you continue