The Divine Realm.
Inside the Sea God Mansion, in a secret chamber.
A white-haired figure sat cross-legged atop a stone platform, eyes tightly shut. Cold, murky red killing intent churned around him like rising and falling waves, shrouding the entire chamber in a suffocating pressure.
It was Tang San.
At that moment, the power of the Asura God Position was stirring restlessly inside him, constantly trying to break free of its restraints and devour his consciousness completely.
At a certain moment, Tang San abruptly opened his eyes.
His killing intent became almost tangible in an instant, a flash of dark red light flickering through his eyes.
But the next moment, blue-gold divine power surged, forcibly suppressing it.
The white faded from his hair, restoring its usual blue. Tang San's gaze was calm, but he unconsciously furrowed his brow, confusion rising in his eyes.
Had he just... suddenly spaced out?
He seemed to have dreamed, too.
He dreamed that... just after he had taken his teacher as his master, he suddenly wrote out the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record in its entirety and handed it to someone. Then that person brought him to Xiao Wu, where he could only watch helplessly as the other person toyed with her, utterly powerless.
Tang San rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
That strange dream had stirred his emotions, causing the Asura God Position to lose control again.
The dark red killing intent stirred restlessly. Tang San drew a deep breath, summoned the Sea God Trident, and slammed it hard against the ground, forcing it back down.
Tang San tried to recall the dream, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make out the other person's face.
In his memory, that person seemed veiled in gauze, or deliberately obscured by something, leaving only the blurry outline of a dark shadow.
Beyond that, the other details were fading bit by bit. All that remained was a vague impression, along with the still-crystal-clear helplessness of watching Xiao Wu being toyed with by that shadow while he stood by, unable to do anything...
Tang San's emotions wavered again.
He drew a deep breath, but a suspicion had quietly taken shape in his mind.
It was probably a hallucination caused by the Asura God Position's rampage.
After all, how could he possibly have such a strange dream? It wasn't as though he had some peculiar fetish, right?
Tang San shook his head and steadied himself. Then he raised his hand and summoned a massive screen of light.
On the screen, the Douluo Plane floated quietly in the vast cosmos, its azure and emerald hues interwoven beneath swirling clouds, beautiful and majestic.
Tang San skillfully zoomed in, again and again, until he finally focused on a location in the Star Dou Empire.
There, a young man who had just finished chopping wood was working hard at his cultivation.
With Innate Soul Power of only level one, he was mocked by everyone in the Duke Mansion, yet he was the Child of Destiny of this world, carrying an immense weight of its fortune.
Sensing the fortune so dense it seemed ready to spill out of the screen, Tang San relaxed slightly.
As long as his ten-thousand-year plan went smoothly and he claimed this fortune, the problem with the Asura God Position would be greatly alleviated. By then, he would be a true God King!
A spark of anticipation rose in Tang San's heart. He watched the Child of Destiny for a little longer, then withdrew his gaze and prepared to turn his attention to the Clear Sky Sect.
But the next moment, his finger froze.
Frowning, he seemed to notice something. He enlarged the screen again and fixed his gaze on a spot on the Douluo Continent.
There... was Shrek City.
The image of the entire city appeared clearly on the screen, with its buildings and streets in full view.
But... the traces of energy were gone.
Tang San's expression changed.
"Why is such a huge area empty?!"
He extended his senses once more, probing that region with his divine consciousness, but... it was still empty.
There was no flow of fortune, no energy fluctuations, nothing he should have been able to sense.
The entire Shrek City seemed to have become a magic-free zone, like a white blotch suddenly appearing on a colorful painting—pristine and utterly empty.
Tang San had only encountered this sort of situation in some low-level planes without cultivation systems, where energy was scarce.
But even low-level planes had basic energy cycles. How could Shrek City simply have a huge empty patch like this?
Something had clearly covered it up!
Tang San's emotions grew unsteady.
First he dreamed of Xiao Wu being toyed with, then the Asura God Position took the chance to bite back, and now the ten-thousand-year plan he valued above all else seemed to be in trouble—especially since he had only recently sent his mother into the Douluo Plane...
Tang San couldn't take it anymore.
In the next instant, his figure vanished from the secret chamber.
Outside Douluo Star, in the cosmos.
Tang San appeared out of thin air, his sea-blue divine robe glimmering faintly in the starlight.
He gazed down at Douluo Star. His eyes took on a purple hue as he channeled his divine power into the Purple Demon Eye, sharpening his vision so he could observe Shrek City with his naked eyes.
At a glance, everything looked normal.
Shrek City sat there intact, its buildings clearly visible. There were no gaps or abnormalities. He could even see some students from Shrek Academy sparring in the Soul Fighting Arena, their Soul Power released with crystal clarity.
But when he switched back to his divine senses...
That blank patch was still there, like a glaring, unnatural white blotch embedded in a colorful canvas.
Even the Shrek students sparring there seemed less like they were fighting and more like they were dancing, putting on some ridiculous pantomime. He couldn't sense their Soul Power at all.
Tang San fell silent for a moment, then flashed back to the secret chamber.
He did not act again.
Gods were forbidden from interfering in the lower realm. That was one of the Divine Realm's rules.
Though he had never taken that rule too seriously, a certain God King cared deeply about it.
Tang San lifted his gaze and looked through the secret chamber's thick walls toward a certain direction in the Divine Realm.
There, wisps of purple destruction drifted through the void, faint and indistinct, like a watchful gaze—or a warning.
Tang San looked away, his brow slightly furrowed.
After a moment's thought, he raised his hand. A message traveled along a hidden connection, passed through the Divine Realm's barrier, and landed in a certain place in the Douluo Plane.
...Whatever was going on, he'd let Da Ming and Er Ming investigate first.
Elsewhere, in Destruction Castle.
Seated upon his throne, the God of Destruction watched the Douluo Plane on a screen of light, a thoughtful glimmer in his eyes.
He wasn't paying special attention to it on purpose.
He simply wanted to retire, so whenever he had some free time, he would glance over the many planes under the Divine Realm's jurisdiction, looking for promising candidates compatible with the God of Destruction Position.
Normally, when he observed these planes, each had its own energy cycle, a riot of colors, each different from the next.
But today, blank spots had suddenly appeared in the Douluo Plane.
They were so conspicuous that it was hard not to notice.
After a little thought, the God of Destruction sent a wisp of divine consciousness outside the Douluo Plane to keep an eye on things.
He had no intention of interfering. After all, according to the Divine Realm's unwritten rules, this plane fell under Tang San's jurisdiction.
Still, there was no harm in watching a little.
Perhaps he'd be in for a surprise?