The Divine Realm.
Outside a towering, majestic palace.
A figure holding a fish fork, with long blue hair... in short, an especially effeminate figure, gazed solemnly at the Douluo Continent beneath the clouds.
"Brother San, what are you looking at?" A woman in a pink dress approached and hugged her husband's arm.
These two were the new Sea God and Asura God, the pure and immaculate—Tang Buddha—and his wife, Star Fury sword sheath—Lady Wu.
Tang San sighed deeply. "One day in the Divine Realm is one year in the mortal world. How glorious the Tang Sect I founded once was. Sadly, as the years passed and times changed, it fell into decline."
"To think that I, one of the Five Great God Kings of the Divine Realm, a God Realm Enforcer, can't even intervene in a mere lower realm. It's all because the God of Destruction watches me far too closely. Otherwise, I'd lend the Tang Sect a hand no matter what."
Xiao Wu comforted him. "Times move forward, and the Tang Sect's talents have dwindled. Its decline was inevitable. Brother San, don't take it so much to heart."
Not take it to heart?
How could I possibly not take it to heart?
As the Tang Sect's most loyal dog... no, its loyal follower.
Tang San only hoped that the Tang Sect he had founded would continue rising like steam toward the sun.
Only Xiao Wu could get away with saying that. Had anyone else said it, Tang San would have drawn the Asura Sword long ago. If he didn't chop them into eight pieces within three seconds, his name wasn't Tang Buddha.
"Times move forward? Talents have dwindled? Heh..." Tang San gave a crooked smile. "Just you watch, Xiao Wu. I've already found a way to revive the Tang Sect."
"For ten thousand years, I've kept watch over Douluo Star. Effort never betrays the determined, and at last, I've waited long enough to see a new star rising."
"And this rising star is even the Douluo Continent's Child of Destiny. If I don't bring him under my command and train him into the most loyal dog... no, a devoted subordinate, wouldn't my ten-thousand-year plan go straight down the drain?"
"As it happens, Xiao Qi has recently become especially interested in matters on the Douluo Continent. Why not arrange for her to descend to the mortal world, meet him, and form a bond?"
"But to make absolutely certain I secure him, I must think of a way to keep him firmly tethered."
"And not long ago, an auspicious beast bearing the soul beasts' destiny was born among them. If I could seize the destiny it carries..."
I've got it. Why not split Xiao Qi into three...
Since Xiao Wu was still beside him, Tang San didn't dare voice that last thought.
Just as Tang Buddha was indulging in wild fantasies.
He suddenly sensed that a portion of the rising star's destiny had actually drained away.
And he couldn't trace that lost portion of destiny at all.
"Aah!!!"
"Who? Who was it?!"
"You dare damage the rising star's destiny and ruin my ten-thousand-year plan! Whoever you are, you've already given me cause to kill you!"
Tang San's face twisted as he roared in fury.
"Brother San, calm down. What happened..."
Before Xiao Wu could finish.
Tang San's eyes turned bloodshot, and he panted like an ox as he said in a low voice, "My Star Fury sword sheath... no, my beloved Xiao Wu, hurry and help me..."
Meanwhile.
On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Chen Mo rested briefly beside a stream.
A plump Soft Bone Rabbit roasted over the fire in front of him.
Soon, as an enticing aroma wafted up, the Soft Bone Rabbit was ready, its fat sizzling.
Chen Mo tore off a rabbit leg and took a bite.
"Delicious!"
He had to admit that while bunnies were certainly cute, they were also very tasty.
After finishing the roast rabbit, Chen Mo took out the item reward the system had given him earlier.
His one and only Prism Ball.
He was on the Douluo Continent, not the Beast-Taming Continent.
A guaranteed contract and no side effects were certainly great attributes, but what damn use were they to him?
Surely he couldn't wait until everyone else had activated their martial souls and charged at him before throwing out the Prism Ball to summon a captured soul beast to fight?
Thinking about it that way... it actually seemed pretty good.
If he could capture a hundred-thousand-year soul beast and release it during battle, the spectacle would surely be explosive!
"All right, I've rested enough. It's time to leave the Star Dou Great Forest." Chen Mo stood up, about to leave.
On a distant tree, a Mandala Snake that had been coiled there for a long time opened its cavernous, bloody maw and suddenly shot out to bite Chen Mo.
Little did it know that Chen Mo had already detected its movements. He leaped backward, evading the ambush.
"Hiss—" Furious that its ambush had failed, the Mandala Snake flicked its tongue, preparing to attack again.
"A thousand-year Mandala Snake. Interesting..." Green light gleamed in Chen Mo's eyes as he activated his martial soul, the Jade-Eyed Three-Flower Pupils.
Two soul rings, one purple and one black, circled beneath his feet.
"You'll make a perfect test of how strongly the Jade-Eyed Three-Flower Pupils suppress snake-type martial souls."
"First Soul Skill—Three Blooms of Azure Radiance!"
Chen Mo's First Soul Skill was an amplification skill.
Once activated, it provided three layers of mental enhancement, each increasing his mental power by 100%. If his enemy was a snake-type soul beast or a soul master with a snake-type martial soul, that effect increased by another 50%!
"Soul Burst!"
Chen Mo focused his gaze and unleashed an immense mental impact on the Mandala Snake.
This was a soul skill he had created himself under Du Busi's relentless prodding.
The principle behind the move was very simple.
It gathered all his Spiritual Power into a single point to launch a mental attack.
It left foes dumbfounded and damaged their brains, killing without a trace!
There was a single bang.
The thousand-year Mandala Snake's head burst like fireworks.
A purple soul ring appeared above its corpse.
"Is this thousand-year Mandala Snake a fake? It's so weak, it couldn't even take one attack from me. And here I was, preparing for close combat." Chen Mo looked at the Mandala Snake's corpse with disdain.
As for that thousand-year soul ring, he didn't even spare it a glance.
After all, his second soul ring was already at the ten-thousand-year level. How could a thousand-year soul ring possibly catch his eye?
Just as Chen Mo let his guard down.
A sound came from the woods behind him.
"Who's there!"
"I didn't expect us to meet again so soon. Looks like fate has brought us together."
Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Huo Yuhao emerged.
Chen Mo swept his gaze over them.
By now, Tang Ya had talked Huo Yuhao into joining the Tang Sect.
"Were you following me?"
There was no way they could have tailed him.
With his current strength, only someone at the Soul Emperor level or above could follow him without being detected.
These three weren't capable of that yet.
Bei Bei was on edge, ready for battle.
To kill a thousand-year Mandala Snake single-handedly.
That showed just how formidable the boy before him was.
So he didn't dare relax in the slightest.
Tang Ya hurriedly waved her hands and explained, "We came here following this Mandala Snake. We didn't expect to run into you again."
"I didn't realize you were so strong. You actually dealt with this thousand-year Mandala Snake all by yourself."
Chen Mo didn't want to waste words. He turned to leave.
"Wait!"
"You seem very strong. Have you joined any sect or organization?"
Tang Ya hurriedly asked.
Without even turning his head, Chen Mo said, "What's it to you?"
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to invite you to join our sect, little brother."
"Have you ever heard of the Tang Sect?"
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