Zichuan's mouth twitched. Feeding him resources was one thing, but now this guy was even arranging a wife for him?
God of Destruction, just how afraid were you that I'd die single? Or did you resent the fact that "Tang San has a wife and daughter" so deeply that you had to compete with him even in this regard?
"No, Old Zi, I'm only six and a half..." Zichuan tried to struggle.
"What's wrong with six and a half? Settle it first! Feelings can be cultivated!"
God of Destruction did not care in the slightest. "You're the son of a God King, a future God King. What's wrong with having a few more wives? The Great Dao should not be so narrow, nor should one's companions on the path be so few! I'm doing this for your own good!"
Zichuan pressed a hand to his forehead, utterly speechless. What the hell was this?
Just as he was about to sternly refuse—though he was a little curious inside—a burst of hurried, chaotic footsteps suddenly came from the distant forest.
There were also the sounds of weapons clashing and soul skills erupting, interspersed with angry shouts and screams, along with a girl's cry—filled with panic and despair, yet still distinctly young and clear.
The sounds came from roughly the direction indicated by his Godly Trial.
God of Destruction chuckled in his mind. "See? Speak of a wife, and a wife arrives. Isn't this fate? Go on, kid. Save the beauty, and pass your Godly Trial while you're at it. I picked her for you. You're guaranteed to be satisfied."
Zichuan rolled his eyes, but he knew there was no time to waste. He stuffed the rest of the roasted meat into his mouth in a few bites, clapped his hands, and stood up.
A dark red glow silently surfaced in the depths of his eyes. Starting from the roots, his hair was dyed dark red. Destruction Form, activate! A cold and violent aura spread out from him.
His figure flashed. Like a panther in the night, he raced silently toward the source of the sounds. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw flickered indistinctly at his fingertips.
Meanwhile, in a forest clearing some two or three li away from Zichuan, a brutal pursuit was underway.
There were only a few people fleeing, and most of them were injured. Protected in their midst was a little girl who looked to be around ten years old.
She wore her long, deep-blue hair in a high ponytail. Her hair clung to her somewhat pale little face from running and sweat. Her oval face should have looked lively and adorable, but it was now streaked with tears, fear, and defiance.
She wore a simple blue cloth dress, already torn in many places by branches and stained with mud and blood. She clutched an ancient-looking but dim sleeve arrow tightly in her hand. Her Soul Power fluctuations were weak; she was only level eighteen.
She was Tang Ya, the last sect master and sole inheritor of the Tang Sect after ten thousand years.
Three figures stood before her. One was an elderly woman with graying hair, a wrinkled face, and blood at the corner of her mouth. She gripped a dragon-headed cane, while two yellow and two purple Soul Rings circled her body. She was clearly a Soul Ancestor!
Yet at this moment, her aura was weak. A bone-deep wound marked her chest, blood pouring from it. She was obviously at the end of her strength. She was the Tang Sect's last old servant.
The other two were middle-aged men wearing the Tang Sect's standard gray training outfits. Each had only two or three Soul Rings, with Soul Power around level twenty or thirty. They too were covered in wounds and barely holding on.
They were the Tang Sect's last disciples—or rather, servants.
There were more than ten pursuers. They wore uniform black training outfits, with an emblem of a bleeding fist embroidered on their chests—the Iron Blood Sect!
Their leader was a tall, thin middle-aged man with sinister eyes. Two yellow and two purple Soul Rings circled him. He was a four-ringed Soul Ancestor!
He held a Ghost Head Blade, its edge dripping with blood, and wore the cruel smile of a cat playing with mice.
The remaining pursuers ranged from the twenties to the thirties in Soul Power. Soul Grandmasters and Soul Elders were mixed among them, surrounding Tang Ya's group completely.
"Old hag Tang, stop struggling." The sinister Soul Ancestor licked the blood from his blade and chuckled.
"The Tang Sect is long finished! If you know what's good for you, hand over that little girl. Our Young Sect Master happens to need a child bride. She's a little young, but she'll be useful after a few years of raising. As for you old bones, cripple your own cultivation and perhaps we'll spare your worthless lives."
"Pah! Tie Bi, dream on!" the old woman shouted sharply. Though her aura was weak, her gaze remained fierce.
"Even if the Tang Sect has declined, we will not allow traitors like you to humiliate us! If you want to lay a hand on Little Ya, step over my corpse first!"
"Stubborn fool!" The sinister Soul Ancestor Tie Bi's expression darkened. "You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish! Brothers, attack! Other than that little girl, kill them all!"
"Kill!" The Iron Blood Sect members answered in unison. Their Soul Rings lit up, and all manner of soul skills crashed down upon Tang Ya's group! Blade light, sword shadows, wind blades, and fireballs instantly swallowed them.
The old woman roared, and her fourth Soul Ring suddenly lit up. Her dragon-headed cane erupted with dazzling light, transforming into a barrier as she tried to block the attacks.
But her injuries were too severe, and her Soul Power was exhausted. The barrier shook violently beneath the barrage and was instantly covered in cracks.
"Grandma!" Tang Ya cried, trying to rush forward, but the other two wounded Tang Sect disciples held her back tightly.
"Miss, run!"
Bang! The barrier finally shattered. The old woman spat out blood and staggered backward.
The aftershock of several attacks slammed viciously into her and the two disciples. The two men died on the spot, while the old woman was sent flying into a tree, barely clinging to life.
"Grandma!!" Tang Ya broke free and threw herself beside the old woman, tears pouring down her face.
Tie Bi carried his Ghost Head Blade as he slowly approached. Looking at Tang Ya crying her eyes out, a lecherous gleam flashed through his eyes. "Little girl, stop crying. Come with Uncle, and you'll eat well and live well from now on..."
Zichuan stood in the shadows at the edge of the battlefield, the lingering fragrance of roasted meat still in his mouth.
The Iron Blood Sect's arrogant shouts, Tang Ya's group's desperate resistance, the old servant's shrill roar, and the piercing clash of weapons mixed with the forest's grassy, earthy scent and the rusty smell of fresh blood, all flooding over him at once.
He watched the spectacle with amused interest while pricking up his ears to catch those scattered fragments of conversation.
"Old hag Tang! Hand over the Tang Sect's secret arts, and we'll give you a quick death!"
"Never! The Tang Sect's... cough... inheritance cannot fall into the hands of traitors like you!"
"Little girl, come back with us. Serve the Young Sect Master well, and we might leave your Tang family a little bloodline... heh heh."
"Get lost! Even if I die, I won't let you have your way!"
Tang Sect? Iron Blood Sect? A pursuit? A little girl with Blue Silver Grass as her martial soul?
Several keywords linked together, and a name flashed through Zichuan's mind like lightning—Tang Ya!
The final sect master of the Tang Sect, who had appeared in The Unrivaled Tang Clan with stubbornness and sorrow, carrying the Tang Sect's last hope, and who later became Huo Yuhao's "sister-in-law"!
So it was her. No wonder she had appeared near Sunset Forest.
The Tang Sect had long-standing ties with Dugu Bo and even the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Although ten thousand years had passed and the Tang Sect had fallen into decline, perhaps some ancient records had survived.
Perhaps the Iron Blood Sect had chased Tang Ya here by sheer coincidence, or perhaps it was some unseen pull of fate. Several thoughts ran through Zichuan's mind before he quickly dismissed them.
Who cared? In any case, this little girl was now connected to his Godly Trial.
"Kid, see that little girl with blue hair?"
God of Destruction's voice rang out in his mind, carrying the smug satisfaction of See? What did I tell you?
"Tang Ya, the current sect master of the Tang Sect, though this sect master is practically a bare commander now. Her martial soul is Blue Silver Grass. Tsk, tsk, a useless martial soul. No wonder she's in such a miserable state."
He paused, and his tone suddenly gained the excited, malicious fervor of someone discovering a new continent. "But did you notice? Her surname is Tang! Her martial soul is Blue Silver Grass!"
Before you continue