The Clear-Headed Demon Empress

As expected of my daughter.

Seeing how vigilant and serious Lan Fozu was, how she was thinking for the sake of both mother and daughter, the Demon Empress felt deeply satisfied.

Although her daughter was kind and innocent, she had not gone to an extreme.

She still possessed the necessary alertness and judgment...

Only then did the Demon Empress feel at ease letting her stay by Su Ming's side.

As she gently stroked her daughter's head, the Demon Empress explained, "The gods standing behind Su Ming are three foreign gods."

"Moreover, one of their divine authorities happens to conflict with our enemy, Tang San. Their contradiction cannot be reconciled; they are bound to fight to the death."

"So, from this point alone, our family and Su Ming share the same ultimate goal."

Hearing this, Lan Fozu asked in confusion,

"What if Su Ming abandons that conflicting divine authority and chooses the other two gods instead? Wouldn't that eliminate his conflict with Tang San?"

The Demon Empress explained calmly, "That is because the divine authorities behind Su Ming complement one another perfectly."

"And that child harbors immense ambitions. From his words alone, I saw nothing but ambition he made no attempt to hide."

"Therefore, he will never submit to another or shake hands with Tang San."

At that, the Demon Empress gave a mocking smile. "Even if Su Ming were willing to give up, Tang San—and perhaps even the God Realm—would not be willing to let such an unpredictable variable appear on Douluo Continent."

"That Tang San even sent one of his own divine officials down to Douluo Continent. Who knows what schemes he is plotting?!"

The reason the Demon Empress saw that Su Ming's conflict with Tang San and the native God Realm could not be reconciled was not merely because of Su Ming's own words and the ambition he had revealed.

Do not look at what a person says; look at what they do.

Even the Demon Empress understood that principle perfectly well.

When Su Ming reincarnated and descended upon Douluo Continent, the three gods who arrived alongside him had not hesitated to expend their own power to keep him hidden from Tang San and the God Realm, allowing for his future growth.

That point alone was enough to reveal the key issue.

So, in a sense, the Demon Empress did not care at all whether Su Ming's proposed cooperation was sincere.

As long as Su Ming stood against Tang San and the God Realm, and was destined to deal with them in the future, that was enough.

As for whether Su Ming would ultimately keep his oath and revive her, the Demon Empress did not care.

The Demon Empress was incomparably clear-headed.

If Tang San was dealt with and she successfully avenged her husband's death, then she would have no regrets even in death.

It was precisely because she held such thoughts that the Demon Empress had agreed so readily to the sacrifice.

As for her daughter Lan Fozu, the only one she could not let go of after the sacrifice, the Demon Empress had made the necessary arrangements.

She would leave behind sufficient power and protection for her daughter, safeguarding her and allowing her to grow safely and strong.

The reason she had her transform into human form and cultivate anew rather than remain in the ocean was because the Demon Empress knew very well how much hatred the Deep Sea Demon Whale Clan faced from other clans in the sea.

She did not feel at ease letting her innocent, weak daughter live alone in the deep sea.

People said the human world was full of deception and intrigue, but in truth, the world of Soul Beasts was equally cruel.

Going to the human world, where she would have treasures to protect herself without exposing her identity as a Soul Beast, was actually safer.

Having Lan Fozu stay by Su Ming's side was both a safeguard and a form of supervision...

"All right, my good daughter. Do you have any other questions?"

After explaining every point that confused her daughter and soothing her emotions, the Demon Empress did not immediately go find Su Ming.

Instead, she simply spent an entire day with her daughter.

Both the Demon Empress and Lan Fozu cherished that time immensely.

Because neither of them knew whether this would be the final time mother and daughter saw each other in this life.

Meanwhile, in Salted Fish Village tens of thousands of miles away.

"Level eighteen. Once the Demon Empress completes the sacrifice, I can add Kyogre's second soul ring."

Su Ming, who was sitting cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes.

Feeling the increase in soul power within his body, he was deeply satisfied.

With his talent and resources, if he failed to become a Title Douluo before the age of twenty, he might as well find a rope and hang himself.

I need to consider what Soul Beast to use for my second soul ring. When the Demon Empress comes to sacrifice herself, I can have her capture it for me while she's at it.

Next, Su Ming took out the Sea Soul Beast guide he carried with him and began flipping through it.

He already had several promising targets for his second soul ring.

What Su Ming needed to do now was pick the best among the best and choose the most suitable, most powerful one.

As for how difficult it would be to obtain, he did not care much.

After all, if he was asking the Demon Empress to act, wouldn't it be effortless?

"Overlord Horseshoe Crab, Mirror-Shadow Jellyfish, Nether Ghost Octopus... These Sea Soul Beasts are all good, but I can only choose one of them." Su Ming muttered.

With the Demon Empress's assistance, his range of choices had suddenly become much broader.

Unexpectedly, Su Ming found himself struggling with indecision as well.

The ocean was far more vast than the land, and the number of Soul Beasts it contained was equally immense.

Although people of this era had explored little of the ocean and knew very little about Sea Soul Beasts, quite a few extraordinarily powerful Sea Soul Beasts had still been discovered and researched.

Just then, Su Ming paused, his fingertip stopping on an illustration that occupied an entire page.

It was a massive sea python covered from head to tail in dark blue scales.

A spiral horn grew from its head, and beneath it was written: "Abyssal Sea Dragon, draconic subspecies, may enter the Tsunami Abyss upon reaching the ten-thousand-year level."

Seeing that name, Su Ming's eyes lit up.

"Abyssal Sea Dragon, one of the rare sea dragon subspecies that possesses water, wind, and ice attributes at the same time. It also commands an extremely troublesome innate ability."

"The soul skills granted by its soul ring are mostly wide-area control abilities or water-element enhancements. Its compatibility with Kyogre is extremely high, and I might even obtain that exceptionally troublesome mechanic-type ability."

Looking at that page in the guide, Su Ming had already reached a conclusion. "Unfortunately, only the soul ring provided by a ten-thousand-year Abyssal Sea Dragon can fully display its overwhelming advantages."

"When it comes to a ten-thousand-year soul ring, it is still too early. It definitely cannot be my second soul ring, but it would be absolutely fine as my fourth."

Su Ming had originally been selecting a target for his second soul ring, yet he had unexpectedly settled on his fourth soul ring in advance.

Next, Su Ming continued searching for a target suitable for his second soul ring.