A Tight Timeline

"Did you send the Human-Faced Sea Anemone?"

Ren Tao looked at the White-Haired Woman. Once his mind settled, his thoughts became exceptionally clear, and he quickly untangled the whole chain of events. "As a... welcoming gift for me? Or perhaps you also wanted to see what information you could get out of me?"

"Oh?"

The White-Haired Woman gave a nasal hum, her expression shifting slightly. The wind around them began to slow at the same time, its force easing somewhat.

"A shame. The Human-Faced Sea Anemone had good skills, but up here..." Ren Tao pointed at his head. "It was rather lacking. So it took it upon itself to go trouble the Sea Witch. Should I say you lack an eye for judging others?"

"Hmph!"

The White-Haired Woman blinked and snorted again. "A useless fool, and it even dragged me into your mockery!... Still, there was no helping it. In these waters, it was the only one whose aura aligned with the Rakshasa God's!"

Ren Tao keenly caught a clue. The White-Haired Woman had said its aura aligned with the Rakshasa God's. Did that mean she was acting in the Rakshasa God's name? Even the impression she had given him earlier had led him to mistake her for the Rakshasa God. So she did not want anyone discovering her true identity!

Following that line of reasoning, Ren Tao glimpsed a possibility.

"The Divine Realm surely isn't one solid slab of iron, either. The Asura God and the Sea God are probably in the same camp. Calling them a wolf and a jackal working together wouldn't be going too far. So, big sis... my lady, you belong to another camp, right?"

"What else?"

The White-Haired Woman seemed moved by Ren Tao, though not by his words, but by his inner thoughts. She could clearly see the course of his reasoning and knew he had already found the heart of the matter.

With a light wave of her hand, the wind stopped. She relaxed and leaned against the boulder behind her, an intrigued look appearing on her face.

"I am the answer!"

Ren Tao wasted no words. All the groundwork and reasoning had already been laid bare when the White-Haired Woman examined his thoughts, so he went straight to the conclusion.

"What are you talking about?"

The White-Haired Woman brushed aside a stray lock by her ear, looking somewhat dismissive-or perhaps merely pretending not to understand.

"I said, I am the answer! Among countless, endless dreams, there is only one road to truth. Only that road leads to the true future. All the others are history marching backward, meaningless losses on the road to falsehood, destined to be cast aside by the age and become the dust of history."

"I really don't understand."

The White-Haired Woman seemed a little flustered. She shifted her sitting position, still felt uncomfortable, and finally stood up altogether. "Do you even know what you're saying?"

"Why are your thoughts completely different from your words? In your mind, I can't see the slightest sign of a path leading to the bright future you describe!"

"Exactly!"

Ren Tao looked at the White-Haired Woman with a broad smile. This was the limitation of her horizons. After experiencing the Industrial Revolution and the Information Age, humanity's understanding of itself and its development had far surpassed that of the eras of Douluo and the Tang Sect. In modern society, anyone seeking dictatorship and dominion would only be regarded as a madman.

A harmonious society was the mainstream, and as a member of one, Ren Tao only wanted to work hard at living.

To achieve something of his own and receive the corresponding rewards, without dreaming of "uniting the world under one rule for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations." He just wanted to live happily, with family, friends, and someone he loved.

What more could a man ask for?

Of course, the prerequisite was having the ability to defend his dreams and ideals.

After examining Ren Tao's thoughts, the light in the White-Haired Woman's eyes gradually froze. She waved her hand irritably. "Go out first. I need some quiet!"

Ren Tao glanced at her and slowly turned away. The White-Haired Woman was so disoriented now that she could not even concentrate enough to think.

It's perfectly normal to have your worldview overturned. But what you don't know is that when I first arrived, the Douluo World shook all my beliefs to pieces, too!

Ren Tao stepped out of the Desolate World and appeared before Jin Hai, Yin Zhang, and the other soul beasts. Just then, the White-Haired Woman's voice came through again.

"I'll give you five minutes. After five minutes, I'll launch my attack. Whether you can stomach it will depend on your abilities!"

"A god's gift never comes without a price. Only those blessed enough to bear it can call it a gift. For those who cannot, it is a disaster!"

Calm briefly returned to the circular Ocean Trench.

Ren Tao immediately sprang into action, rapidly delivering a long string of instructions to Jin Hai, Yin Zhang, the electric jellyfish, the Giant Python, and the Giant Crocodile.

"Don't ask me why. Hear me out first. To begin with, I need everyone's names!"

"Ah, oh!"

The Giant Python and the Giant Crocodile quickly shut their gaping mouths, swallowing back the words they had been about to say. They had heard the White-Haired Woman's final two statements very clearly, and only Ren Tao knew the inside story. For now, they could only choose to trust and obey him.

"Jin Hai!"

"Yin Zhang!"

You two don't need to tell me! You're wasting time!

Ren Tao turned his gaze toward the Giant Python. It was the largest and looked very imposing, so he reckoned it could contribute a good deal.

"Ran Laowu!"

What? Ren Tao raised an eyebrow. Is that a name or a ranking?

"E Laosi!"

Got it. A ranking!

Ren Tao turned to the electric jellyfish. "And you?"

"Shui Ling'er. You can call me Sister Shui!"

The electric jellyfish delivered the words so fast they were barely intelligible.

So you're the leader. Ren Tao gave Sister Shui a long look. "Everyone, spread out now. I've already surveyed the terrain and energy distribution here. What we need to do now is put everything into resisting the energy eruption. As long as you can buy me time, I'm confident I can swallow all the radiating energy. Then we'll be able to preserve not only the entire outer sea, but this Ocean Trench as well.

"Of course, that's the ideal outcome. If it proves impossible, abandon this Ocean Trench and keep the radiation contained within a ten-li radius. I'll clean it all up afterward and give you back a clean bay!

"Start preparing now! Follow my instructions..."

Ren Tao moved swiftly. There was no time for democratic elections or soliciting opinions, and he really had scanned the entire Ocean Trench within a ten-li radius several times. The Evil Spirit Orca's innate ripple-scanning ability was already outstanding, and combined with the Evolution System's sensitivity to energy, it made him the one present who understood the situation best.

"Once we begin, I'll patrol the perimeter. That won't be me slacking off. If any energy leaks out, I need to devour it immediately. I can also use Devouring Golden Threads to draw out and redistribute your energy. I'm making that clear beforehand!"

"Oh." Jin Hai's and Yin Zhang's eyes flickered, but neither spoke. E Laosi spoke up. "How can I be sure you won't secretly siphon off my soul power? This is too dangerous!"

"Then what do you suggest?"

Ren Tao knew they were merely strangers who had crossed paths. Asking them to entrust their backs to him really was asking too much.

"I-I-I... will-will-will... dooo it!"

Sister Shui's gentle voice rang out, accompanied by a humming vibration in the air that sounded like harmonized accompaniment. "I'll coordinate the soul power. That should put you at ease, right?"

(Some words omitted here.)

As Shui Ling'er spoke, her tentacles rapidly extended, wrapping once around each hundred-thousand-year soul beast. Glimmering with faint blue-violet light, they quickly bound the auras of the five soul beasts together.

They quickly finished their preparations. All five soul beasts revealed their true forms and took positions at different points around the circular Ocean Trench, ready to face battle at any moment.

The five minutes had not yet elapsed. There was still a little time...

Ren Tao frowned, then suddenly realized he had overlooked something critically important-

Time!

The White-Haired Woman's warning had been right. The Asura God could join forces with the Sea God at any moment, so he had to move up his seizure of the Asura Sword, lest a long night breed too many dreams.

Yet the timeline toward the end of Douluo Continent was extremely tight. Ren Tao had always assumed he still had time to fully coordinate relations between the ocean and the land.

Now he suddenly realized there was little time left.

After Tang San met Tang Chen, the Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall seemed to have already gone to war. The Shrek Seven Devils first rushed to the battlefield to show off, and then Tang San returned to receive his inheritance.

But by then, Qian Renxue had already become a god.

It's a bit muddled... Mainly, the original story's later portion had been rather rushed. The author had been eager to wrap it up, so one event followed another without any room to breathe.

With the Angel God ascending and Bibi Dong close behind, would the Spirit Hall Empire win without a fight once Tang San was no longer there to stop it? Or would it unleash an even greater catastrophe?

With two gods risen, who could rival them? Since the sea had no god, the mother and daughter could send their armies out to sea in a matter of minutes. Defeating Tang San would instead make them the greatest beneficiaries.

But can I become a god before they do?

The answer was no! Never mind the many materials he needed to prepare for the second stage. More importantly, beyond that lay a third stage that had yet to unlock!

"Fuck!"

Ren Tao's expression changed abruptly, anxiety flooding his heart.

As his thoughts churned, he suddenly heard Shui Ling'er's voice.

"B-be... care-care-careful!"

The seabed shook. The ground at the center of the circular Ocean Trench rapidly bulged upward, surging seven or eight meters high in the blink of an eye and still rising fast. As it rose, the dazzling five-colored light flowing over it distorted, like a membrane of light stretching ever thinner. Vast, violent energy, like an underground volcano, was already on the brink of eruption.

"Move!"

Ren Tao shouted, abruptly unleashing Devouring Golden Threads. Along the edge of the circular Ocean Trench, inside the five soul beasts' positions, they formed an encircling ring.

They spread rapidly, thrusting toward the five-colored membrane at the center.

He had to devour the first wave before the eruption and effectively reduce the tremors and impact. Otherwise, if the five soul beasts were scattered by the shock, maintaining their formation to contain the energy afterward would become difficult!

I finally sorted out where the story goes from here. So happy!

Now I can bring the earlier foreshadowing into play, too. I'm such a clever little thing!

Everyone, stay mindful of epidemic prevention. My residential compound was locked down today, so I won't even be able to go out for the New Year.

Just as well-I can settle down and write!