Luck Stolen, Tang San Vomits Blood

Sea God Island, inside the exclusive cultivation chamber deep within the Sea God Hall.

The golden divine light was so dense it felt tangible, rendering the entire space into a glorious sanctuary.

Tang San sat cross-legged at the very center of the divine radiance. The Sea God Trident hovered before him, its blades shimmering with majestic divine might that resonated with the soul power surging throughout his body.

The Eighth Sea God Trial had reached its most critical moment.

The soul power within him was circulating at an unprecedented, frenzied speed, drawing upon the origin power of his Blue Silver Emperor martial soul and Clear Sky Hammer martial soul.

However, just as he channeled all the power within him, preparing to launch a final assault on that last barrier—

A sudden, inexplicable palpitation seized his heart without warning!

It was not the stinging pain of a soul power backlash, nor the weakness of mental exhaustion.

It was a... profound sense of emptiness, impossible to describe in words, originating from the deepest depths of his soul!

It felt as if something innate, something inextricably linked to his destiny and forming the very foundation of his life, was being forcibly ripped away by an invisible hand reaching across endless time and space!

"Pfft—!"

Tang San's entire body shuddered violently. A mouthful of golden blood sprayed out uncontrollably, splashing onto the floor before him and instantly corroding the hard stone slabs into tiny pits.

The massive soul power that had been circulating smoothly within him instantly lost control, rampaging through his meridians like a wild horse that had broken its reins.

The crisis of a cultivation deviation was imminent!

"Not good!"

Tang San was terrified. He forcibly suppressed that soul-tearing sense of emptiness, exerting every ounce of his strength to regain control over his runaway soul power.

He bit the tip of his tongue hard, the sharp pain helping him regain a sliver of clarity.

Daring not to strike at the bottleneck again, he could only wretchedly guide that violent energy, forcing it to circle within his body as he attempted to pacify it.

This process was far more perilous than any battle he had ever fought.

It was unknown how much time had passed before the violent soul power finally calmed, returning to his dantian.

Inside the cultivation chamber, the golden divine light had dimmed by more than half.

Tang San's face was as pale as paper, his body soaked in cold sweat as if he had just been fished out of water, gasping for air.

Ignoring his internal injuries, he immediately calmed his mind and frantically inspected his body.

His meridians were damaged, but not severely. His soul power had been heavily depleted, but his foundation remained intact.

Though his sea of consciousness had been stirred, it had quickly returned to calm.

Everything seemed to be a normal reaction before a cultivation deviation.

But... something was wrong!

That feeling! That sense of emptiness, as if a piece of his soul had been gouged out, still lingered in his heart—unbearably clear and undeniably real!

Tang San reached out with trembling hands, staring at his palms.

He discovered with horror that the sense of intimacy he felt with the world, that subtle feeling as if the world revolved around him, was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In the past, when he cultivated, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth would actively gather toward him;

Whenever he encountered a crisis, he would always find a way to turn danger into safety;

He could always easily obtain opportunities and treasures that were beyond the reach of ordinary people.

He had always believed this was his talent, the result of his own hard work.

But only now, as this invisible halo was being forcibly stripped away, did he realize with terror that it was not talent at all, but something more ethereal, yet undeniably real—

Luck!

His innate, extraordinary protagonist luck was being forcibly extracted by someone!

This realization struck him like a bolt of lightning from the heavens, slamming into his crown and leaving him completely stunned.

How could this be?

How could something like luck be artificially deprived and suppressed?

"No... that's impossible..."

Tang San muttered in a daze, his eyes filled with incredulous fear.

He suddenly looked up and grabbed the Sea God Trident hovering before him. This was the divine artifact left behind by the Sea God; it was his greatest reliance!

However, the moment his hand grasped the trident, a violent tremor surged from the shaft!

Hum, hum, hum—

The divine artifact, which had always been in perfect harmony with his mind and moved at his command, was now vibrating violently in his grasp, emitting uneasy and anxious wails like a trapped beast sensing its natural predator!

The dazzling divine light on the blades flickered, becoming extremely unstable.

The reaction of the Sea God Trident completely shattered the final line of defense in Tang San's heart.

Even the divine artifact was issuing a warning!

His luck really was in trouble!

"Tang San! What happened to you?!"

At that moment, the door to the cultivation room was shoved open, and an anxious figure rushed inside.

Yu Xiaogang had heard the commotion within and, sensing something was wrong, had burst in immediately.

When he saw Tang San looking so utterly soul-lost, his face as pale as a ghost, he was struck with sudden alarm.

"Teacher..."

Tang San slowly raised his head to look at his teacher. Those eyes, which had always been filled with confidence and resolve, now held only endless bewilderment and terror.

"What happened? Your injuries..."

Yu Xiaogang stepped forward quickly, his heart aching as he looked at the pool of golden blood on the floor.

Tang San did not answer; he merely gripped the Sea God Trident in his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.

He gritted his teeth, each word squeezed out from between them, his voice so hoarse it sounded inhuman.

"My destiny... has been suppressed by someone."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang was struck as if by lightning, freezing in place.

He widened his eyes, looking at Tang San in disbelief, wondering if he had misheard.

Suppressing destiny?

How could something that only existed in ancient myths and legends possibly happen in reality?

But when he saw Tang San's expression of near-total despair, and the Sea God Trident trembling and wailing in his hands, a piece of intelligence that had just arrived from Martial Soul City—which he had previously dismissed as absurd—suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Purple Gold Marriage Contract... ancient Celestial Master... eighteen layers of betrothal gifts...

Yu Xiaogang's face turned even paler than Tang San's. His lips quivered, and his voice trembled.

"Is it... the second betrothal gift from that mysterious Celestial Master?"

BOOM!

Yu Xiaogang's guess was like a spark, instantly igniting the powder keg of "fear" in Tang San's heart, detonating it completely and transforming it into a monstrous, maddening killing intent!

Shen Yichen!

It was that name again!

So that was it! The root of all this was actually the second betrothal gift that man, whom he had never even met, had sent to Hu Liena!

"AAAAAAHHH--!!"

Tang San suddenly threw his head back and let out a beast-like roar. His eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins, and endless killing intent and resentment surged wildly from within him!

By what right?!

That guy named Shen Yichen, by what right?!

By what right could he use a mere betrothal gift to snatch away everything that should have belonged to him?!

"No matter who you are! No matter how strong you are!"

Tang San gripped the Sea God Trident tightly, his face, twisted by extreme rage, filled with madness and ferocity.

"A Broken Cauldron, and you think you can suppress my fate? You think you can sever my path to godhood?!"

"Dream on!"

"The destiny of Tang San is held only in my own hands! No one is allowed to block my path! If a god blocks me, I kill the god! If a Buddha blocks me, I kill the Buddha!"

He slammed the Sea God Trident in his hands heavily into the floor before him!

CLANG--!

With a deafening sound of metal striking stone, the incredibly hard floor of the hall was cracked into a spiderweb of fissures by the blade of the trident!

A cold, bone-chilling, and emotionless killing intent erupted from Tang San, sweeping outward in a violent wave!

The temperature inside the entire cultivation room seemed to plummet to the freezing point in that instant!