At dusk, at the Tang Family Blacksmith Shop in Holy Soul Village.
On the wooden bed in the back room, Tang San slowly opened his eyes.
The swelling on his face had not completely gone down.
The blood at the corner of his mouth had dried into a dark-red scab.
Even the slightest movement sent pain shooting through his body.
His vision was blurry for a few moments before gradually coming into focus. The first thing he saw was the blackened beam overhead.
The air was thick with the smell of rust mixed with cheap alcohol.
It was the smell he had woken up to every day as a child.
How nostalgic.
"Ugh..."
Tang San let out a low groan, his eyes clouded with confusion.
Where was he?
Hadn't he just been in the Divine Realm—
Suddenly, a hand clamped down on his shoulder, squeezing so hard it nearly crushed his bones.
"Little San! You're awake!"
Tang Hao's stubbly face loomed close, his eyes bloodshot.
"Tell me quickly! Who attacked you? Was it someone from Spirit Hall? What did that person look like?"
"Huh?"
Tang San stared at him, dumbfounded.
An attack?
What attack?
He looked blankly at the disheveled man before him, his expression anxious.
In his memories of childhood, Tang Hao had always been cold and distant, never sparing his son so much as a second glance.
But now, Tang Hao's hand gripping his shoulder was plainly trembling.
This urgency, this anxiety...
How many years had it been since he'd seen his father show him an expression like this?
Tang San looked past Tang Hao's shoulder and surveyed the room.
Two old iron hammers hung on the mottled earthen wall. The wok on the stove had a chunk missing, and a stack of chopped firewood sat in the corner.
The shabby little house felt as unfamiliar as a memory from the distant past.
And in truth, it was indeed a place he had lived in long ago.
"?"
At last, realizing something was wrong, Tang San lowered his head and looked at his hands.
They were pitifully small, with short, chubby fingers.
"!!!"
Tang San's pupils suddenly contracted.
He recognized those hands.
This was his five-year-old body.
But—he clearly remembered being in the Divine Realm, plotting how to further strengthen the faith Douluo Continent placed in him.
He had held the godhood of both the Sea God and the Asura God.
He should have been seated on the supreme throne of the Divine Realm, basking in the glory of the entire Douluo Continent looking up to him.
How could he have suddenly returned to the age of five?
A dream?
Impossible. Ever since becoming a god, he had hardly dreamed at all.
Tang San closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
The experience of two lifetimes and the composure of a God King came into play.
In a mere instant, he suppressed the storm raging in his heart.
The corners of his mouth slowly curved upward.
He had been reborn!
This wasn't a dream, the work of inner demons, or an illusion.
He could clearly feel the Martial Soul still dormant within him, the meridians he had yet to cultivate, and the limitless potential contained in this five-year-old body.
He had truly traveled back to his childhood!
Tang San almost laughed aloud.
He had once stood at the very pinnacle of the entire Douluo Continent.
With the godhood of both the Sea God and the Asura God, he had ruled the Divine Realm and commanded the four seas.
No one understood better than him what was about to happen in this world. No one knew the road to the summit better than he did.
And now, that road lay before him once more—and it was clearer than the first time, because he had already walked it.
"Xiao Wu, Teacher, Fatty..."
Tang San silently recited those familiar names, the corners of his mouth lifting without him realizing it.
He remembered Xiao Wu's silky hair, Grandmaster's stern gaze, and every day and night the Shrek Seven Devils had fought side by side.
At this point, none of them had met him yet.
But he had known them for a lifetime.
Before long, they would meet again!
As for the meaning of this rebirth, Tang San didn't need to think twice.
Heaven had given him another chance so he could do better than in his previous life.
He could avoid the wrong turns he had taken before.
He could seize the opportunities he had missed before.
He could wipe out the enemies he had failed to eliminate before, root and branch!
The God King had returned. The sky over Douluo Continent still belonged to him, Tang San!
"Little San! Little San!"
Seeing his son lost in thought, Tang Hao furrowed his brow even more deeply.
"Did you hear what I said? What happened? Who did this to you?"
Tang San quickly composed himself.
Now was not the time to think about the future.
Besides, having just been reborn, he couldn't remember what his "former self" had gone through.
"Dad?"
Tang San put on an appropriately confused expression. With his face covered in bruises and swelling, he looked like an ordinary five-year-old who had been frightened.
"What are you talking about? What happened?"
Tang Hao's gaze sharpened. "You don't remember?"
Tang San shook his head blankly, his voice weak and hoarse.
"I don't remember anything. I woke up here."
No one was more skilled at pretending than he was.
"..."
Tang Hao fell silent.
He stared into Tang San's eyes for a long while.
They held only confusion and bewilderment. He didn't look like he was lying.
After a moment, Tang Hao slowly released his grip on Tang San's shoulder.
"Little San... get some rest."
Tang Hao stood up and turned toward the door.
When he reached it, he paused.
He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he only left him with, "Remember to put some medicine on your face," before lifting the curtain and stepping outside.
Tang San watched Tang Hao's back disappear beyond the curtain, the confusion gradually fading from his face.
Once he was sure Tang Hao had gone far away, he slowly sat up.
His five-year-old body was still a little clumsy to move.
But his eyes no longer held the clear innocence of a child.
They held the calm and depth of a man accustomed to power.
Tang San closed his eyes and cleared his mind. A vast, intricate web of deductions slowly unfolded in his thoughts.
It was every step he had taken in his previous life.
Awakening his Martial Soul in Holy Soul Village, apprenticing himself to Grandmaster at Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy, Shrek Academy, the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament, Slaughter City, Sea God Island, Godhood Inheritance...
Every milestone, every date, appeared clearly in his memories.
In one year, he would awaken his Twin Martial Souls—Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer.
That was where his ascent to the peak began, and the foundation of his future ascension to godhood.
"In my previous life, I reached the throne of the God King starting from the lowly Blue Silver Grass. In this life, armed with a God King's knowledge and experience, I have absolute confidence that I can go even further."
As for the reason behind his rebirth, Tang San had no intention of investigating it.
Perhaps it was a space-time turbulence. Perhaps there had been a change in the Divine Realm...
None of that mattered.
What mattered was the result—he was back, and he had all the memories of the future!
"In this life, I will reclaim the summit."
Tang San murmured to himself. A glint that did not belong in a five-year-old child's eyes flashed in his gaze.
God King Tang had returned.
But this time, he had no idea what he was up against.
It was the Avengers—a gathering of the boundless resentment of every victim he had once oppressed on the Douluo Continent and in the Divine Realm!