Sea God Poseidon was speechless.
The moment his own High Priestess saw Qian Xunji, the Asura Successor, and realized she could not defeat him, she summoned him to fight in her stead.
Back when Qian Xunji was merely the Asura Successor, he had not dared do anything to him, afraid that Asura, that madman itching to retire, would strike him with the Asura Blood Sword.
That was before.
The current Qian Xunji was no longer merely an Asura Successor.
Asura Successor ≠ the next Asura God.
Following a vote and resolution by the Five Great God Kings of the God Realm Supreme Committee,
Qian Xunji had already been designated as the next Asura God.
He was only one step away from inheriting the Asura God Position: converting the Soul Power within his body into divine power.
For a workaholic like Qian Xunji, if he truly wanted to convert his Soul Power into divine power, it would not take much time at all.
Did they think his eighty percent Asura Divine Power Affinity was just for show?!
And this workaholic drew in lightning and devoured it every day, absorbing the energy of the sea.
Sea God Poseidon seriously suspected that Qian Xunji had yet to inherit the Asura God Position because he felt his foundation was not stable enough to inherit the Godhood's power perfectly.
"Sea God Excellency, it has been a long time." Qian Xunji greeted him with a smile, his manners impeccable.
Poseidon smiled as well, his tone gentle. "Greetings, Asura Successor."
Poseidon's sudden change in attitude was puzzling.
Qian Xunji did not dwell on such unnecessary matters.
The Sea Soul Masters had long grown accustomed to Sea God Poseidon addressing Qian Xunji as the Asura Successor, and did not detect the shift in his tone.
But the Tang Family of the Clear Sky Sect were utterly stunned by the scene.
Qian Xunji, the Pope of Spirit Hall, actually dared to greet Sea God Poseidon as an equal.
And Sea God Poseidon, of all people, was actually speaking with him so calmly.
"What does Asura Successor mean?" Tang Xiao desperately wanted an answer.
Being attentive, he knew that words spoken by a deity were never ordinary.
Not long after Qian Xunji inherited the position of Pope of Spirit Hall, he left Spirit City. More than five years passed, yet he never returned even once.
No one knew his whereabouts. It was as though he had vanished.
Now, he had appeared upon the sea, and even his appearance had changed dramatically.
A change in appearance was only a minor matter.
What truly mattered was the oppressive aura around Qian Xunji, stronger even than that of Tang Chen, Qian Daoliu, and Bo Saixi, the three Limit Douluo powerhouses.
In just over five years, a Spirit Douluo had grown powerful enough to surpass Limit Douluos. It was practically a miracle.
"Qian Xunji must be hiding an enormous secret." This was the shared thought of the Tang Family.
They desperately wanted this secret that could rapidly raise one's cultivation and strength.
"Sea God Excellency, your believers went to the continent and abducted Spirit Masters. Do you not have anything to say about that?"
The moment Qian Xunji opened his mouth, he labeled the Sea Soul Masters of Sea God Island as human traffickers.
Having witnessed Qian Xunji's actions in Heaven Dou City, Sea God Poseidon knew that if he did not explain himself, his believers' lives would certainly not be spared today.
Qian Xunji loathed human traffickers deeply. When he dealt with them and their families, he uprooted them completely, leaving not a single one alive.
Poseidon hurriedly said, "Slander! This is absolutely slander! I merely had the High Priestess go to the continent and bring back those talented individuals I had chosen, those with the potential to become gods, so they could be trained on Sea God Island."
"There was absolutely no abduction of continental Spirit Masters."
"I am the dignified Sea God, and my believers are kind and upright. How could they engage in such human trafficking?"
"Asura Successor, you should know that among my believers, there are no criminals, much less fallen ones."
Sea God Poseidon was terrified that his failure to explain clearly would lead Qian Xunji to massacre Sea God Island, his inheritance ground.
This fellow had a record. He had slaughtered every last one of the hundreds of thousands of fallen people in Slaughter City.
He had wielded his sword with a blank expression, slaughtering the fallen. His icy gaze and thick killing intent made him seem like an Asura god of slaughter.
Qian Xunji gleaned useful information from Poseidon's words and thought, The talented individual with the potential to become a god must refer to Tang Hao.
Poseidon had Bo Saixi bring Tang Hao back to Sea God Island for proper training, then have him undergo the Sea God Divine Trial and inherit the Sea God Position.
Setting aside Poseidon's desire to pass on his Godhood and leave the God Realm,
he wanted Tang Hao to receive the Sea God Divine Trial and inherit the Sea God Position through it.
What a beautiful dream.
Others might have been one thing.
But this was someone from the Tang Family of the Clear Sky Sect, and Tang Hao was someone deeply entangled in karma with Qian Xunji's original body.
Qian Xunji had not forgotten how Qian Xunji died in the original Douluo story.
If Tang Hao had not hammered him into a bedridden state, how could Bibi Dong possibly have taken the opportunity to kill him?
In the span of a single thought, Qian Xunji decided that in this game, he would not be a mere spectator. He would enter it as a player.
I am Qian Xunji. Tricking Tang Hao is something I must do.
"My dear grandnephew Tang Xiao truly has excellent talent. He is mature, steady, and possesses fine character. If Sea God Excellency wishes to nurture him as an inheritor, he is indeed an excellent choice."
Qian Xunji turned to Tang Xiao and patted his shoulder encouragingly. "You are fortunate to have earned the Sea God's favor. Receive the God Trial, inherit the Godhood, ascend to the God Realm, and contribute to the God Realm."
Tang Xiao did not know whether he should be happy.
Qian Xunji had misunderstood and believed he was the one favored by the Sea God, leaving him unable to voice his grievance. Yet the verbal praise warmed his heart.
Ever since Tang Hao awakened the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul at the age of six and possessed innate full Soul Power, Tang Xiao had never received praise from his family or clan.
As the elder brother, he should not have envied his younger brother, who was more outstanding than himself.
"Qian Xunji, I am the man favored by Lord Sea God."
Tang Hao raised his head, his eyes bloodshot and his face unwilling. He pressed his lips together stubbornly and stared directly at Qian Xunji.
"Who are you? You look so coarse and rugged. How could Sea God Excellency, such a handsome god, choose someone as ugly and ill-tempered as you to be his inheritor?"
"Sea God Excellency is immensely powerful and holds an extraordinary position in the God Realm. He is not someone a mere mortal like you can cling to for connections and borrow power from."
Qian Xunji's words exalted the Sea God while belittling Tang Hao.
The Sea God might not have any thoughts about it, but Tang Hao certainly would.
Then the fool would have a sudden flash of inspiration.
Had he not done precisely that in the original story, causing the death of his wife Ah Yin and nearly starving Tang San to death?
He even had the achievement of directly angering his father to death.
Upon hearing this, Bo Saixi looked at Qian Xunji. Rarely, there was no anger in her eyes; they were filled with agreement and appreciation.
This bastard finally said something human, she thought.
Bo Saixi strongly agreed with Qian Xunji. Tang Hao's coarse appearance was simply too unpleasant to look at.
Sea God Poseidon was so handsome. How could he possibly have such an ugly inheritor?
Bo Saixi made up her mind. During the God Trial, she would absolutely not go easy on Tang Hao. She would give it everything she had and protect the Sea God Position from him.
Poseidon glanced at Qian Xunji. The curve of his raised lips was harder to suppress than the recoil of a full-auto AK.
He truly had not expected this Asura Successor's tongue to be so sweet.
He loved hearing those words.
Tang Hao was indeed somewhat ugly, and his character was not particularly good either.
Talent was merely the ticket to becoming a god. Character was the crucial final leap.
Those with wavering wills or flaws in their character could not pass the Seven Emotions Trial of the Ninth God Trial.
Perhaps I should learn from Asura. Instead of giving the complete nine trials at once, I can give one trial at a time. Whoever passes all nine God Trials first shall become the next Sea God, Poseidon thought.
After all, he was only a First-Level God. His inheritor did not need the recognition of the God Kings of the God Realm, as Asura's did, before he could formally pass down the Godhood.
Just as Qian Xunji had said, Tang Hao's elder brother Tang Xiao was indeed steady and far more sensible and responsible in his dealings with others.
Before you continue