As expected of my daughter.
Seeing how wary and serious Lan Fozu was, how she was thinking for the sake of both mother and daughter, the Demon Empress felt a wave of satisfaction.
Although her daughter was kind and innocent, she had not gone to extremes.
She still possessed the necessary sharpness 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, "There are three foreign gods standing behind Su Ming."
"Moreover, one of the divine authorities behind him happens to conflict with our family's enemy, Tang San. Their conflict is irreconcilable, and they are bound to fight to the death."
"So from this standpoint, our family's ultimate goal is the same as Su Ming's."
Hearing this, Lan Fozu asked in confusion:
"What if Su Ming gives up that conflicting divine authority and chooses the other two gods? Wouldn't that eliminate his conflict with Tang San?"
The Demon Empress explained calmly, "That is because the divine authorities of the gods behind Su Ming complement one another perfectly."
"And that child has grand ambitions. From his words, all I saw was ambition that he made no effort to conceal."
"Therefore, he will absolutely not submit to another or make peace with Tang San."
At this point, 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 likely be unwilling to let such an unforeseen variable appear on Douluo Continent."
"That Tang San has even sent the divine officials under him 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 claims or the ambition he had displayed.
Do not look at what a person says; look at what a person does.
Even the Demon Empress understood this principle perfectly well.
When Su Ming reincarnated and descended upon Douluo Continent, the three gods who descended alongside him had not hesitated to expend their own power to keep Tang San and the God Realm from discovering him, allowing for his subsequent growth.
That point alone was enough to reveal what truly mattered.
Thus, 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 opposed to Tang San and the God Realm, and would inevitably have to deal with them in the future, that was enough.
As for whether Su Ming would ultimately honor his oath and resurrect her, the Demon Empress did not care.
The Demon Empress was exceptionally clear-headed.
If Tang San was dealt with and she successfully avenged her husband's death, then she would die without regrets.
It was precisely because she harbored 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 proper arrangements as well.
She would leave behind sufficient power and protection for her daughter, sheltering her and allowing her to grow up safely and strong.
And the reason she had her assume human form and cultivate anew, rather than remain in the ocean,
was because the Demon Empress knew perfectly well how deeply the Deep Sea Demon Whale Clan was hated by the other races of the sea.
She could not rest easy letting her innocent and weak daughter live alone in the deep sea.
People said the human world was filled with deception and intrigue, but in truth, the world of Soul Beasts was equally cruel.
Going to the human world, with treasures that could conceal her identity as a Soul Beast for protection, would actually be safer.
Having Lan Fozu follow Su Ming 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 had puzzled her daughter and soothing her emotions, the Demon Empress did not immediately go looking for Su Ming.
Instead, she simply spent an entire day with her daughter.
Both the Demon Empress and Lan Fozu treasured this time deeply.
Because neither of them knew whether this would be the last time mother and daughter ever saw each other.
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 Spirit Ring."
Sitting cross-legged, Su Ming slowly opened his eyes.
Feeling the rising Soul Power within his body, he was thoroughly satisfied.
With his talent and the support of his resources, if he did not become a Titled Douluo before turning twenty, he might as well find a rope and hang himself.
I need to think about which Soul Beast to use for my second Spirit Ring. When the Demon Empress comes to sacrifice herself, I can have her capture it for me as well.
Then, Su Ming took out the Sea Soul Beast illustrated guide he carried with him and began flipping through it.
As far as he was concerned, he already had several candidates in mind for his second Spirit Ring.
What Su Ming needed to do now was choose the best of the best and select 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, would it not be as easy as taking candy from a baby?
"Overlord Horseshoe Crab, Mirror-Shadow Jellyfish, Nether Ghost Octopus... These Sea Soul Beasts are all good, but in the end, I can only choose one." Su Ming muttered.
With the Demon Empress's help, the range of choices had suddenly broadened considerably.
Unexpectedly, Su Ming had fallen victim to indecision as well.
The ocean was far vaster than the land, and the number of Soul Beasts it contained was equally immense.
Although people of this era had explored the ocean very little and knew scarcely anything about Sea Soul Beasts, quite a few extraordinarily powerful Sea Soul Beasts had still been discovered and studied.
At that moment, Su Ming paused, his fingertip stopping on an illustration that filled an entire page.
It depicted a massive sea python covered from head to tail in dark-blue scales.
A spiraling horn grew from its head, and beneath it was written: "Abyssal Sea Dragon, dragon subspecies. At the Ten Thousand Year level, it may enter the Tsunami Abyss."
At the sight of that name, Su Ming's eyes lit up.
"The Abyssal Sea Dragon is one of the rare dragon subspecies among Sea Soul Beasts 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 Spirit Ring are mostly area-control or water-attribute enhancements. It is highly compatible with Kyogre, and I might even obtain one of those exceptionally troublesome mechanic-type abilities."
Looking at the page, Su Ming had already reached a conclusion. "Unfortunately, only a Spirit Ring provided by a Ten Thousand Year Abyssal Sea Dragon can display its overwhelming advantages."
"As for a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, it is still too early for that. It definitely will not work as my second Spirit Ring, but it should be perfectly fine as my fourth Spirit Ring."
Su Ming had originally been choosing a target for his second Spirit Ring, yet he had unexpectedly settled on his fourth Spirit Ring's target in advance.
Then, Su Ming continued searching for a target for his second Spirit Ring that appealed to him.
Before you continue