The Divine Son descended

Tang Wulin's consciousness sank into boundless darkness, hazy and confused. Am I... dead? A faint thought drifted through the void. He could not feel his body, only a deathly silence.

Outside the Divine Realm Core, the gods wore grave expressions. Kindness and Evil were pouring all their strength into the Power of Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil, laying seal upon seal over Tang Wulin's body with their God King-level might, trying to suppress the savage killing intent and origin of destruction within the Divine Core. Yet they all knew this was only a stopgap. The Golden Dragon King's origin power clung like a festering infection to the bone, battering the seals without cease.

Tang Wutong trembled all over as she sobbed, clutching Tang San's sleeve. "Dad, Mom... it's all my fault. I didn't watch over my little brother..."

Xiao Wu stood beside them, her face as pale as paper, both hands twisting the hem of her dress. She had witnessed firsthand the terror unleashed when the Golden Dragon King Divine Core erupted. That destructive aura, powerful enough to tear heaven and earth apart, was now raging inside her newborn son. Fear and anguish engulfed her like a rising tide, and tears slid down her cheeks in silence.

Tang San held Xiao Wu tightly in his arms, his voice low but carrying unquestionable resolve. "Don't cry, Xiao Wu. There has to be a way. We will never give up on Wulin."

His gaze sharpened, and blue-gold light began flowing slowly around him—he had switched from the Asura God's position to that of the Sea God. The Asura God's killing aura was far too domineering. If it entered Wulin's body now, it would only provoke a backlash from the Divine Core. Only the gentleness and tolerance of the Sea God's power might win the child a sliver of hope.

He carefully laid his palm against Tang Wulin's burning little face. Sea God divine power became thin, flowing streams, tentatively seeping into that tiny body in an attempt to soothe the raging energy. Yet the instant it made contact, he felt a destructive repulsive force that left his arm faintly numb.

"We have to find a way to suppress it completely." Tang San drew a deep breath.

Tang San's mind raced, fine beads of sweat gathering on his forehead—Tang Wulin was running out of time. The Power of Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil wielded by Kindness and Evil could only seal it temporarily, and that seal could take effect only once. Worse still, the Divine Core's divine power was pouring endlessly into every limb and bone of Tang Wulin's body, forcibly binding itself to his bloodline.

Fortunately, Tang Wulin's Divine Sense was astonishingly powerful. He had reached the peak of a Second-Level God at birth, secretly startling even Tang San. It was this powerful Divine Sense, together with his fierce will to live, that sustained his constant resistance against the Divine Core's corruption.

But Tang Wulin was simply too young. He possessed powerful Divine Sense without any way to use it properly. If its power spread involuntarily, it would not only harm his spiritual origin but might also sever the path ahead of him.

Tang San's brows knitted tightly, his fingertips hovering over Tang Wulin's brow. Forcibly remove the Divine Core? Forcibly suppress his Divine Sense? With the power of three supreme gods, it was not impossible, but Wulin would die instantly. The Divine Core had long since become the Golden Dragon King's curse, carrying boundless rage and resentment. It seemed to have fused with Tang Wulin's own origin power. It could not be eradicated, only suppressed—but for how long?

"Father-in-law!" Huo Yuhao's urgent voice rang out. "I examined him with my Divine Sense. The Divine Core's power is too domineering. It keeps battering the seals, and I'm afraid they won't hold much longer! If we want to keep it from erupting, we'll have to... we'll have to put him somewhere with no divine power at all."

Tang San's eyes suddenly lit up. "Yes! Without outside divine power drawing it forth, the Divine Core will be difficult to activate!"

He took a deep breath and spoke to Xiao Wu beside him, his voice filled with indescribable bitterness. "Xiao Wu, this child... can no longer stay with us. Only somewhere without divine power can he truly be safe. Divine power is everywhere in the Divine Realm. If he stays here, he will only bring about his own destruction."

"The natural energy of the mortal world is less than one ten-thousandth of that in the Divine Realm. It won't easily trigger the Divine Core's energy. I'll add multiple layers of seals around the Divine Core and seal Wulin's vast spiritual origin as well. The seals will gradually loosen as his power grows, allowing him to slowly merge the Golden Dragon King's origin with his own strength and make it his own."

Tang San's voice grew quieter and quieter, every word cutting into his heart like a knife. Xiao Wu abruptly raised her head, her vision blurred by tears. "You mean... we have to send Wulin to the mortal world?"

Tang San closed his eyes briefly, then nodded with difficulty. "It's the only way."

Tang Wutong held her little brother's cold hand, sobbing too hard to speak clearly. "Dad, he's still so little..."

Tang San reached out and gently stroked Tang Wulin's pale little face. His trembling fingertips betrayed his reluctance to part with him. "To keep him alive, we have to do this."

Xiao Wu clenched her teeth, tears brimming in her eyes. Though every part of her heart resisted, she knew this was the only way to save her child's life. When she nodded, a glint of resolve flashed through Tang San's eyes, and he hesitated no longer.

Tang Wulin remained in critical condition, barely clinging on thanks to the divine seals of Kindness and Evil. Tang San bit through his fingertip and flicked it. A drop of golden-red blood hovered in the air, radiating immense energy from his God King origin. Guided by his Divine Sense, it drifted slowly toward Tang Wulin.

He handed the child to Xiao Wu and pressed his left hand against Tang Wulin's chest. Blue-gold Sea God divine power surged around him, transforming into ribbons of light that slipped into the child's body like mysterious mist, driving straight toward the restless Golden Dragon Core. The drop of essence blood in the air also sank precisely into Tang Wulin's brow. The little one's body trembled slightly, and the golden light spilling from the Divine Core actually dimmed a little.

Tang San did not stop. Drop after drop of origin Essence Blood flew from his fingertip, forming layered wheels of light in the air before pouring into Tang Wulin's body. This was no ordinary divine blood, but Essence Blood containing his God King origin. Using it as a guide, he laid seal upon seal inside his son, layering them over the two God Kings' earlier Power of Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil and forcibly suppressing the Golden Dragon King Divine Core's raging divine power.

When the eighteenth drop of Essence Blood entered the child's brow, Tang San staggered violently, his face turning as pale as paper in an instant. The expenditure had clearly been immense. A golden stream of air slowly escaped Tang Wulin's mouth and nose. A moment later, he finally let out a faint cry. His bewildered eyes slowly opened, and tears wet his little face—the brush with death had filled this tiny life with lingering terror.

"Wulin!" Overjoyed, Xiao Wu hurriedly hugged her son close, kissing his cheeks again and again. Her voice was choked with tears and excitement. "My son, my precious son..."

Tang Wulin reached out with his plump little hand and instinctively grasped Xiao Wu's finger. That tiny grip brought tears to her eyes at once.

Supported by Tang Wutong, Tang San walked to Xiao Wu's side and looked down at the baby in her arms, the reluctance in his eyes almost spilling over. He turned to Tang Wutong, his voice as soft as a passing breeze. "Give him the Golden Dragon Spear. It was part of the Golden Dragon King to begin with, left behind when he was first sealed all those years ago."

Tang Wutong nodded, took out the Golden Dragon Spear, which radiated immense draconic might, and handed it to her father. Tang San gripped its shaft and lightly tapped it with a fingertip. The Golden Dragon Spear instantly became a ball of golden light, rapidly shrinking until it formed a diamond-shaped mark covered in fine patterns. He gently pressed it onto Tang Wulin's right wrist. Then he touched the child's brow again, quietly infusing it with a wisp of gentle spiritual light.

When everything was done, he drew a deep breath, forced down the aching bitterness in his heart, and sent Tang Wulin, together with his protective cocoon of light, into the spatial passage leading to the mortal world.

At the very instant the cocoon vanished into the far end of the passage—

Rumble!

The Divine Realm shook violently, as though all of heaven and earth were swaying. The Space-Time Turbulence beyond it suddenly went berserk. Its outer layer of energy tore apart, exposing its core. Kindness and Evil had already driven their divine power to its utmost limit, but the instant they saw that core, unprecedented horror appeared on both their faces.

It was not merely the power of time and space, but time and space compressed over untold tens of thousands of years, mingling and solidifying through endless ages into a terrifying force capable of crushing every law.

"No!" Tang San's expression changed drastically. He instinctively tried to shield Xiao Wu and Tang Wutong beside him, but it was already too late.

Amid a deafening roar, that core force slammed into the Divine Realm. Light flashed, and the entire Divine Realm, together with everything within it, vanished without a trace in an instant, as though it had never existed.

Only the passage to the mortal world closed completely at the final moment, sending the infant bearing the Dragon God origin and a God King's protection toward the unknown shore of his destiny.

At the edge of a dense forest on the Douluo Continent, Lang Yue frowned as she looked at the tiny figure crouching on the ground. The child was stark naked, without even a scrap of cloth on him. He huddled in the slightly chilly air, his dark, shining eyes gazing around in bewilderment, a sight that made her heart tighten.

"What kind of parents could be so cruel?" Lang Yue stepped forward, carefully reached out, and picked up the child. She had a full figure, and though her features were not breathtakingly beautiful, they held a gentle warmth. The heat of her palms made Tang Wulin flinch, but he did not cry or fuss.

A handsome man with a little facial hair and the air of someone middle-aged slowly approached from beside her. This was Tang Ziran. His black hair was plain, but his eyes were bright and alert. Looking at the child in Lang Yue's arms, he spoke in bewilderment. "It's so dangerous out in the wild. How heartless would parents have to be to abandon their child here?"

The two exchanged a glance, a strange feeling stirring in both their hearts—as though some unseen voice were telling them that the child's surname should be Tang, and his given name Wulin.

Lang Yue tightened her hold on the child and said softly, "Ziran, shall we adopt him? You know my pharmaceutical research damaged my body when I was younger, leaving me unable to have children... it's always been our regret."

Tang Ziran hesitated. "But what if his parents come looking..." Before he finished, he looked into the child's clear, slightly timid eyes and finally sighed. "All right, let's take him home first. Every extra moment out here means more danger. If a wild animal or someone wicked found him, the consequences would be unthinkable."

The instant he nodded in agreement, a majestic, sacred voice seemed to come from the void, carrying immeasurable distance and hope. "Thank you both... keep him safe."

The voice vanished in an instant, like an illusion. Tang Ziran and Lang Yue exchanged a glance and saw surprise in each other's eyes, but neither thought further about it, taking it for an echo in the woods. Lang Yue lowered her head to look at Tang Wulin in her arms. At some point, the little one had caught hold of her clothes, and a trace of peacefulness had appeared on his little face.

"We'll call you Wulin, then. Tang Wulin." Lang Yue gently patted his back, her voice full of tenderness. "From now on, we're your family."

Tang Ziran stepped forward and took the child from Lang Yue's arms, carefully wrapping him in his own coat. "Come on," he said softly. "Let's go home."

Sunlight spilled through the gaps between the leaves and fell over the three of them, as though gilding this unexpected meeting with a warm halo. Wrapped in the coat, Tang Wulin wore a faint smile on his little face. The diamond-shaped mark on his right wrist flashed with an almost imperceptible golden gleam in the sunlight, then faded from sight.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

The wind by the lake carried a hint of desolation as it brushed the golden hair at the black-robed man's forehead. He stared hollow-eyed at the lake, which was on the verge of drying up. The Lake of Life, which had once nourished all living things, now held only a stretch of water a few dozen meters long. Fish and shrimp struggled amid the faint remnants of vitality on its bed, a perfect reflection of the Soul Beast Clan's plight.

A woman in an emerald-green dress approached, her voice carrying a sorrow she could not conceal. "Beast God, these are all that remain of us soul beasts. Who... can you still protect?"

Di Tian gave a self-mocking chuckle, the sound heavy with the weight of years. "Ten thousand years... since Spirit Ice Douluo founded the Spirit Pagoda, human technology has come to overwhelm everything. Four-Word Battle Armor, Red-Grade Mecha... the Star Dou Great Forest is gone, and so is our home."

No sooner had he finished speaking than violent tremors rose beneath his feet. The waters of the Lake of Life suddenly began to boil, countless bubbles surging to the surface. The ground shook ever more fiercely, as though a colossal beast were about to burst out from the heart of the earth.

A fervent light suddenly blazed in Di Tian's previously lifeless eyes. He stepped forward and dropped to one knee, his voice trembling with irrepressible excitement. "Welcome back, my liege!"

Boom!

An enormous silver figure a thousand feet long shot skyward from the lake bed, its vast claws tearing through the void and sending spray flying across the sky. Diamond-shaped silver scales covered her entire body, each gleaming with the cold luster of metal. After rising into the air, she crashed heavily to the ground. The towering trees around her were uprooted by the impact, and spiderweb cracks spread across the earth beneath her feet.

The "humans" who had been standing beside the lake revealed their true forms one after another—Ferocious beasts of savage appearance. Now they all prostrated themselves before the silver dragon, trembling and not daring to lift their heads even slightly.

The Silver Dragon King's head slowly lowered, her golden, slit-pupiled eyes sweeping over the prostrate beasts. A deep roar reverberated between heaven and earth, carrying the authority of one long accustomed to command and fury pent up for ten thousand years:

The sound rolled like thunder, making the lake churn once more. Di Tian lay prostrate on the ground, his voice devout and unwavering. "We beseech you to lead us, my liege, and reclaim heaven and earth!"

The Silver Dragon King did not answer. She merely looked toward the distant human cities, a cold resolve flashing through her eyes. Elemental Power, dormant for ten thousand years, quietly stirred around her. The air began to tremble, and the earth resonated in response.

A low female voice echoed through the empty valley with a bone-piercing chill, each word seeming quenched in ice. "They destroyed our home. Then they shall repay us with their world."

Her silver-scaled claws scored deep gouges in the ground. With unquestionable majesty, she turned and headed toward the human cities. Behind her, the ferocious beasts rose one after another, fury suppressed for ten thousand years igniting in their eyes as they followed close behind.

Di Tian watched that enormous silver figure, his voice carrying the resolve of one who had smashed his cauldrons and sunk his boats. "You are right, my liege. How can we speak of conquest without understanding their weaknesses? We will lie in hiding. We will infiltrate. We will make them experience for themselves what it means to lose everything."

The wind wailed, as though mourning their lost home, yet also gathering strength for the storm to come. The silver dragon's figure vanished beyond the horizon, leaving only a cold echo. "From this day onward, their world is our hunting ground."

The beasts' low growls converged into a torrent that spread across the vast earth, carrying the flames of vengeance as they slowly advanced toward the unknown world of humanity.