But I Was Here First!

"That's what happened."

Sea Witch spoke in a fluster, her full breasts heaving.

Tucked beneath her arm, Lin Mo struggled to lift his head and look at the gentle woman who had appeared before them, dressed in robes whiter than snow, her bearing otherworldly.

"It is indeed the Sea God's Nine Tests."

Bo Saixi's expression was complicated, her cool fingers hovering before the trident mark on Lin Mo's forehead.

She slowly shook her head. This was her destiny to begin with; there was nothing to say.

"Is he your child?"

Bo Saixi smiled gently, revealing a rare hint of teasing.

"Mm..."

"My baby's name is Lin Mo. He's three this year, has a gift for reading minds, and his Martial Soul is a flute of the same origin as mine."

Sea Witch smiled shyly, but still explained to Bo Saixi.

"Put him down first. Isn't the child's neck uncomfortable?"

Watching Lin Mo struggle to adjust his position, Bo Saixi shook her head helplessly.

A grown woman, and she couldn't even look after a child properly.

"Hello, pretty lady!"

"Are you Mommy's friend?"

Once set down, Lin Mo blinked his big, clear eyes and looked gratefully at Bo Saixi.

"Little Mo!"

"Don't be rude!"

Sea Witch reached out a finger to block Lin Mo's mouth and hurriedly pulled him into her arms.

"Uh..."

Bo Saixi was rather speechless.

She glanced at Sea Witch, who had stuck her finger into Lin Mo's mouth, and wondered how this child had survived this long.

Was it because mermaid hybrids had such tenacious vitality?

"Urk~"

Gagging from the finger thrust into his mouth, Lin Mo hurriedly tugged at Sea Witch's finger.

"All right, all right, let the child go!"

"He is the Sea God's heir. He can call me whatever he likes. There's no need for formalities."

"Don't hurt him."

Bo Saixi swept her sleeve, knocking Sea Witch's hand away.

"Urk~"

"Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo~"

Lin Mo panted and spat a few times. Taking advantage of Sea Witch releasing him, he darted behind Bo Saixi and hugged her thigh.

"Huh?"

"Did I hurt you?"

Sea Witch gave Lin Mo a distressed look, at a loss for what to do.

"Your nails..."

Lin Mo curled his little tail around Bo Saixi's fair calf and pointed aggrievedly at Sea Witch's long nails.

She had practically deep-throated him!

"Sorry, sorry, Little Mo. I'm sorry. It's Mommy's first time being a mommy..."

Sea Witch was filled with guilt.

"Forget it. It's my first-uh... third time being a son, too. I'll forgive you this once!"

His previous incarnation and the Golden Dragon King had both been orphans, so naturally they didn't count!

"All right, all right, Sea Maiden Douluo. Let me look after the Sea God's heir from now on. You can take him back when he's a little older."

Bo Saixi glanced gently at Lin Mo with her beautiful eyes. He could still joke at a time like this; it seemed he was just as restless a character as Sea Witch.

"Ah..."

Sea Witch bit her lower lip and glanced reluctantly at Lin Mo. He was clearly her baby!

"Mommy~"

Lin Mo gazed into Sea Witch's eyes, his own brimming with tears.

"If you two disagree, you can pretend I never said anything."

Bo Saixi pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Really?"

"No, no, forget it."

Sea Witch's delighted expression froze, and she immediately looked aggrievedly at Lin Mo, who kept waving his hands.

"Uh..."

"I'm going to become the strongest Sea God!"

"I'll cultivate hard and protect Mommy!"

"I really want to stay with Mommy, but for our future, I have to give some things up!"

Lin Mo clenched his little fists and spoke earnestly.

Heh heh~

Bo Saixi gave a polite smile. Wonderful. Sea God Island had gained a little overlord; there would be plenty of fun ahead.

"Sea Maiden Douluo, go notify the other Six Sacred Pillars first. I'll have some things to tell all of you afterward."

"Little Mo, here on Sea God Island, the time allowed for our islanders' trials is ten times that given to Soul Masters from the mainland. Even so, I still suggest you wait until you're six before undertaking the trial."

Bo Saixi spoke seriously.

"But I don't have a time limit~"

Lin Mo asked innocently in return.

"My first trial is to climb 333 steps, with no time limit."

Lin Mo was rather puzzled, too. Would the Sea God really be so generous to a child of unknown origins like him?

"Lord Sea God told you about the trial himself?"

Bo Saixi's eyes widened in disbelief.

Logically, shouldn't a Sea God Trial only be established after she sought instructions from the Sea God?

"Yes, and he left me a suggestion, too."

[Suggestion: Cultivate diligently. If you need a Soul Ring, go ask Bo Saixi.]

Lin Mo told her frankly.

"Divine-Given Soul Rings for all of them?"

Bo Saixi sucked in a breath of cold air!

Could the child before her be Lord Sea God and Sea Witch's child?

"I don't know, but the suggestion told me to ask Sister Bo Saixi."

"Come with me."

Bo Saixi nodded, then signaled that Sea Witch could go notify the others.

But I was here first!

Sea Witch felt rather wronged, and even felt she had been played. But she could hardly disobey Bo Saixi's orders. She turned and left in utter sorrow...

After absorbing six Divine-Given Soul Rings, I've now become a rank 39 Soul Elder...

Another two days of cultivation, and I'll be able to absorb another Soul Ring!

In Life's room, Phantylia slowly opened her eyes as she sat cross-legged in meditation on the bed.

Since gods could increase the age of Soul Rings, she had simply cultivated both Martial Souls at once, absorbing four Soul Rings to reach rank 30 before continuing to absorb another two.

"What's wrong? Tired?"

Beside the bed, the green-haired woman looked at Phantylia with a gentle smile.

"I'm all right. Not very tired."

Phantylia shook her head.

(The setting is that one day in the Divine Realm equals one year in the lower realm, but the length of one day in the Divine Realm is comparable to one year in the lower realm.)

"You're very gifted, Long'er. You actually fused the Power of Destruction and the Power of Life together instinctively. Your future is bound to be limitless."

"But there's something you must keep in mind, Long'er. Precisely because of that, you must carefully learn how Mommy and Daddy control the attributes of destruction and life."

The Goddess of Life spoke softly. Phantylia's gift had granted her the possibility of fusing destruction and life, but if Phantylia's control was insufficient, the backlash would be even fiercer when the time came!

"Mm-hm, I will."

Phantylia nodded, though she actually didn't care in the slightest.

If she died, she died. Everything would be absorbed by the main body after the avatar's death anyway.

With the main body's immortality, fully fusing life and destruction would only be a matter of time.

Of course, Jin Li's main body was a Soul Beast (?) and couldn't possess Martial Souls, so when the time came, the avatar's Martial Souls would either transform into weapons, transform into bloodlines, or simply dissipate.

"Mommy, I'm done cultivating. I want to go play with Uncle Asura!"

Phantylia jumped off the bed and shook Life's arm, pleading.

She didn't know how closely Asura monitored the lower realm, but with her by his side, she supposed the Asura God ought to rein himself in somewhat.