Old Man Ren Woxing

Outside Vast Sea City, Ren Tao stood on a mountaintop, light blazing in his eyes. His divine sense pierced through space, spreading toward Vast Sea City dozens of miles away.

Although he was not in the sea, and his ripple detection faced many obstructions, the Golden Thread Map he had previously left inside the Crystal Orbs still allowed him to pinpoint their owners' locations.

"Xue Beng and Dai Rong have finally met?"

Smiling, he walked briskly down the mountain. E Laosi stood there like a statue, waiting for him in the standard posture of a servant.

"Master, did everything go smoothly?"

After ten days of observation, E Laosi had quickly integrated into human society. Coupled with his innate talent for acting, he now looked like a worldly human steward, without a trace of the dominance and majesty of a hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast.

"Very smoothly. Everything is going according to plan!"

Ren Tao was clearly delighted, even beginning to whistle. "Next, go look around on your own, then return to the Ghost Sea Region and meet up with Sister Shui and the others. Remember, tell them everything you've seen and experienced here. Don't leave anything out!"

"Yes..."

E Laosi habitually bowed his head and bent at the waist, then realized something was wrong. He raised his head in astonishment. "Wait! Boss, what do you mean? There are still plenty of big things coming. How can you do without me? Sister Shui and the others will curse me to death. No, I'm not going back!"

"What could possibly happen next? Is there anything I can't handle?"

Somewhat displeased, Ren Tao put on a stern face. "Or do you simply not trust me as your big brother?"

"No, big brother, you're not telling the truth. The most terrifying human skill is lying, and you're obviously lying right now!"

E Laosi stiffened his neck and stood his ground against Ren Tao.

Having experienced the complexities of human society, along with repeated lessons from being swindled by unscrupulous merchants, he had clearly matured.

"Ah, what a headache!"

Ren Tao pressed a hand to his forehead. "The truth is that staying here will only make trouble for me, all right? Without you, I can still fly. With you along, I'll have to run. Tell me, isn't that trouble?"

"Then I understand." E Laosi quickly changed tack, pulling out a roll of paper and handing it to Ren Tao. "This is the escape route map I made. I'll hide in the coastal waters and wait for you, big brother, so I can help you get away! That's my only demand. If you don't agree, I'm not leaving!"

"An escape route? You can draw something like that?"

Looking surprised, Ren Tao spread out the paper and could not help laughing. What on earth had he drawn?

"All right, I understand. Hurry up and go! We agreed-you're not allowed to come back!"

With that, Ren Tao spread the wings on his back and shot into the air with a whoosh. After another circling turn, he vanished into the clouds and mist.

At that moment, he had already sensed a divine sense locking onto him.

While he scanned the Crystal Orbs with his divine sense, anyone whose spiritual power had reached the vast expanse realm could also trace him in reverse.

That meant this person could only be Bibi Dong.

Ren Tao stretched out his body, moving as swiftly as a streak of light. He rapidly changed direction and darted repeatedly through the clouds, not to evade Bibi Dong's probing, but to draw her away from her many guards and ultimately lure her to a location of his choosing.

He had scouted it out over the previous few days. The place was called Liupan Mountain.

Mountains surrounded it on three sides, while the side facing the sea consisted only of sheer cliffs. It was the terrain most favorable to Ren Tao.

After all, meeting Bibi Dong today would inevitably involve an exchange of blows. Even if they were only testing each other, Ren Tao would not allow himself to be put on the back foot.

About an hour later, Bibi Dong's figure appeared in his field of vision.

She was not dressed in the elaborate finery studded with hundreds of gemstones described in the book. In fact, how ridiculous would it be to set gemstones-not even tiny diamonds-into clothing? They would probably drag your trousers down.

At this moment, Bibi Dong wore only a well-fitted white robe and a relatively plain crown set with red, white, and blue gemstones. She carried no scepter. Walking among the sheer cliffs, she seemed to be strolling through a quiet courtyard, her hands clasped behind her back. The lofty peaks of her chest stood proud, dazzlingly conspicuous.

It was not that her clothing was revealing, but that her cleavage was too pronounced. Yes, Ren Tao had tested this: even when faced with a woman for whom he felt nothing, beautiful cleavage could still steal a straight man's gaze.

Bibi Dong seemed entirely unconcerned by Ren Tao's gaze. They were extremely far apart, but their extraordinary divine perception had already outlined each other's every movement-even every change in expression-with perfect clarity.

"I am Bibi Dong. You may address me as His Holiness the Pope!"

"I am Old Man Ren Woxing!"

Refusing to show weakness, Ren Tao announced a name that rang loud and clear.

Only a towering figure like this could stand proud over the martial world in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. As for little Linghu, he fell short by far more than a little.

"Ren Woxing?"

Bibi Dong paused. Though she did not understand its significance, she found it impressive nonetheless. "Extraordinary indeed! Would you be interested in joining my Spirit Hall Empire? Choose any noble rank beneath that of emperor!"

What generosity, big sister!

Though they stood on opposing sides, Ren Tao could not help seeing this female boss from the original Douluo novel in a new light. Had this been his previous life, he would surely have rushed over at once to cling to her powerful coattails!

Unfortunately, his present roles as the Evil Orca King and a member of the Sea Soul Beast Alliance would not permit it!

Ren Tao's favorable impression of her multiplied, yet he could only refuse despite being deeply moved. His resolve began to slide. "Aren't you here for the Million-Year Soul Bone? A noble title in exchange for a soul bone, with my devoted service thrown in as well. What a fine calculation."

"Heh!"

Bibi Dong broke into a smile, and her radiant beauty immediately shone forth. All manner of gentle, lovely impressions washed over him: nobility, elegance, serenity. The original novel had not been wrong about that. Yet beyond these qualities, Ren Tao sensed something else-a loneliness far surpassing that of her peers.

Standing at the summit and looking down upon the world, with only ordinary people around her-this was the chief reason Bibi Dong possessed such bearing.

"The Million-Year Soul Bone is useless to you, or you would have absorbed it long ago. Your purpose is simply to lure us into competing for it, so you can see who has the ability to unite the Douluo Continent, and who can truly afford your price. Or perhaps no such person exists within the three great empires, in which case you will act yourself and contend for the world. Am I right?"

Ren Tao did not want to answer.

Am I supposed to say I'm here to cut off the gods' inheritances, and that all of you had better sit tight until I finish evolving?

However, ending the strife across the world and securing a place for sea soul beasts in the division of power within the Douluo World were indeed among his goals.

So from Bibi Dong's perspective, she was not wrong.

"I am not boasting. Within the three great empires, no one except me can unite the Douluo Continent, end its fragmentation, and bring the world an age of peace and prosperity."

Unfortunately, you lost to a cheat called Tang San. Without him, you probably really could have succeeded.

Ren Tao curled his lip. "Anyone can talk big. How many can actually deliver?"

"Tell me, what do you truly want? So long as it lies within my power, I will grant it!"

I want to stop Spirit Hall from founding a nation, but you've already done it. I want to stop the Heaven Dou Empire from sending troops to Jialing Pass, but that isn't under your control. I want to lure Tang Chen here. He should originally have arrived while tracking Hu Liena, but who knows whether he's here yet?

"You have a student named Hu Liena. Has she come too?"

After pondering for a long time, Ren Tao still could not find a reason to cooperate with Bibi Dong at this stage. Circumstances left him no choice. To delay her ascent to godhood and prevent the tragedy at Jialing Pass, he could only make Heaven Dou, the Star Luo Empire, and the Spirit Hall Empire all suffer devastating losses. Only then could he buy himself time to grow.

And if Qian Renxue alone became a god, things would be much easier to handle.

Given her tendency to do things backward and her inability to distinguish the urgent from the trivial, she probably could not stir up any great waves.

"Hu Liena? If you want her..."

Bibi Dong had clearly misunderstood Ren Tao's meaning. Habitual thinking was to blame. In her eyes, Ren Tao was deeply calculating and unfathomably mysterious. If he mentioned Hu Liena out of nowhere, he must have some ulterior motive. "You would have to ask her own opinion. I cannot decide for her."

Fine, then there's nothing to discuss.

Ren Tao sighed. "As things stand, there's no possibility of cooperation between us, at least for now. In that case, Your Holiness, will you attack directly to seize the soul bone?"

"Competing for the soul bone was one of the tests you set, wasn't it?"

Bibi Dong's smile remained faint, but a hazy layer of violet began to emerge in her eyes. An aura radiated from her body that even Ren Tao found dangerous.

"Since you began this game, I will naturally play along!"

"Just what I wanted!"

Ren Tao answered swiftly. His Blood Sea Pagoda domain erupted in an instant, enveloping everything within thirty meters in a blood-colored mist.

"You released a domain, yet revealed no soul rings. You... aren't human. No wonder you have no use for a soul bone."

Bibi Dong's pupils contracted. Her startling words laid bare Ren Tao's origins outright.

There was no necessary connection between releasing a domain and revealing soul rings. Ren Tao felt she must have some other means by which she had seen through his identity.

"That depends on how you define 'human'!"

Ren Tao answered coldly. By then, soul rings had begun lighting up around Bibi Dong, and she simultaneously revealed the true form of her First Martial Soul-

The Death Spider Emperor.

Hard at work writing.

Personally, I feel the pacing of these last few chapters has been pretty good!

Cheering myself on!