Aside from the rights it granted, the pact also specified obligations that had to be fulfilled.
Obligation one: Ocean Cleanup.
Plankton in the ocean, the remains left behind by some Soul Beasts after death, and the garbage humans left in the ocean all needed to be cleaned up.
Azure Sea Killer Whales fed on plankton, which, in a sense, counted as fulfilling this obligation.
Obligation two: Maintaining Ocean Balance.
Excessive hunting in the ocean could very well damage its ecosystem.
The Evil Spirit Orcas were among the Soul Beasts that hunted other Soul Beasts most ruthlessly. For them, killing was not simply about filling their bellies; it was more about enjoying the slaughter and seizing territory.
After the Azure Sea Killer Whales were born, the Evil Orca King needed to observe their lives regularly. In a sense, she had used her own method to temporarily suppress indiscriminate slaughter in the ocean and maintain its balance.
Obligation three: Godhood.
Although Poseidon had already become a god, he had not fulfilled his obligations as the Sea God.
The ocean gave the Sea God channels through which to spread faith, and even bestowed power and fortune upon Poseidon, yet the Sea God had failed to maintain ocean balance or expand faith in the ocean.
Balance meant ecological balance and had nothing to do with good or evil. Take wolves and sheep on a grassland as an example.
Suppose the wolves and sheep could only stay on the grassland and could not leave.
Too many wolves would eat all the sheep, and then the wolves would gradually die out for lack of food.
Too many sheep would eat all the grass, and without grass for food, the sheep would likewise die out.
So if a grassland god existed, what that god needed to do was balance the numbers of wolves and sheep, rather than let them multiply unchecked or even wipe out one side.
The responsibilities the Sea God needed to shoulder were similar: balance the numbers of different creatures in the ocean and prevent any one side from growing too dominant and disrupting the ecological balance.
Yet to leave a trial for his successor, Poseidon had simply allowed the Evil Spirit Orcas to grow dominant. That alone made him utterly unfit for his position.
As for spreading faith in the ocean? After becoming a god, Poseidon had never spread faith in the ocean at all. Whether it was him as the Sea God or the ocean itself, their renown was limited to coastal regions and the sea.
To put it plainly, although gods ostensibly amounted to incarnations of concepts, not every concept lacked thoughts of its own and merely obeyed a god's will.
The Sea God represented the ocean, but the ocean was not the Sea God. When the Sea God proved unfit, the ocean would seek new candidates for godhood as well.
After experiencing the rights and obligations of the Ocean Pact, Tang Mo let out a long breath. He had considered that the ocean possessed a will of its own, but he had never expected it to harbor the idea of inciting its own subjects to compete for a divine seat.
Just as he was reflecting on this, he suddenly raised his head and looked into the distance. Through the power of the Ocean Pact, he could sense two completely different auras rapidly approaching Vast Sea City from the sea.
"Your Eminences, something's happened." Tang Mo rose, appeared soundlessly beside Yue Guan, and called out a warning.
"Hm?" At his words, a little more surprise entered Yue Guan's gaze as he looked at Tang Mo. If Tang Mo had not suddenly spoken, he actually would not have noticed his approach immediately.
Even with the vast majority of his attention focused on Gu Rong, it should have been impossible for him to remain completely unaware of a mere Soul Grandmaster approaching him.
This was the ability of Tang Mo's second Soul Skill. He had named it Water Mirror. The Water Mirror could appear in the outside world or condense within his Inner Scene.
Once formed, the Water Mirror could seal away his aura, scent, and other elements that might attract attention, truly allowing his feet to land without a sound and his movements to leave no trace.
Furthermore, the Water Mirror could serve as a medium for holding nonphysical things. Things such as souls could be sealed within it.
After appearing in the outside world, the Water Mirror could even slowly release the aura sealed inside it, passing the false off as the real.
By using the Water Mirror to absorb someone's aura, then placing it somewhere and slowly releasing that aura, he could create the illusion that the person had remained in that place all along.
Even Titled Douluo, so long as they did not specialize in mental abilities, could forget about spotting anything amiss in a short time when faced with this method of passing the false off as the real.
After all, unless they specialized in mental power, Titled Douluo relied entirely on sensing auras to determine whether anyone was nearby.
Tang Mo's sudden appearance not only astonished Yue Guan; even Gu Rong, known as the most uncanny of the Titled Douluo, and Gui Mei, who appeared and vanished like a ghost, had failed to detect Tang Mo's presence immediately.
"You must be Spirit Hall's newly risen prodigy, young friend Tang Mo. I am Gu Rong. I've long heard of you." Even after catching sight of Tang Mo with his own eyes, Gu Rong could not detect the slightest aura from him. Shocked, he promptly swallowed his pride, wanting to build a good relationship with Tang Mo.
A Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster could completely conceal his aura and even fool the senses of three Titled Douluo. What did that mean?
It meant his talent was nothing short of monstrous. If they could not befriend him, their only option was to kill him.
But Tang Mo had Spirit Hall behind him, and now had two Titled Douluo protecting him at his side. Even if Gu Rong wanted to strike, he would first have to weigh whether he was up to the task.
"Hello, big brother. My name is Ning Rongrong." Ning Rongrong greeted Tang Mo, her little face slightly flushed.
Tang Mo looked at Ning Rongrong, who showed none of her Little Demoness demeanor and instead seemed somewhat shy, his face full of question marks.
Just as the atmosphere grew a little strange, Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, stepped out from behind Gu Rong, strode up to Tang Mo, and extended her hand to him.
"I am Xue Qinghe, crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. Might I have the honor of becoming your friend, Brother Tang Mo?"
Watching Qian Renxue put on the manner of someone who honored the worthy regardless of rank, Tang Mo reached out and shook her hand.
But the instant their palms touched, Tang Mo noticed something amiss: a layer of disguise covered her body, and her hand was rather small.
Although a faint fragrance from fine incense lingered around her, Tang Mo could sense a natural fragrance hidden beneath it that no perfume could replicate.
Tang Mo no longer had the slightest recollection of when Qian Renxue had entered the Heaven Dou Empire disguised as Xue Qinghe. But now, he could be certain that the person before him was Qian Renxue, not the original Xue Qinghe.
"Hello, Angel Young Master." Using Sound Transmission, Tang Mo sent his words into Qian Renxue's mind.
Qian Renxue's movements faltered slightly, and she nearly failed to maintain the smile on her face. But she soon recovered the composure of someone in authority.
"What exactly were you referring to when you said something had happened, Brother Tang Mo?" Qian Renxue changed the subject without betraying anything.
"Two groups of extremely powerful Soul Beast auras are coming from the distant sea. They'll reach the coast of Vast Sea City very soon." Tang Mo's tone was calm, but his words were like a bomb, instantly throwing everyone present into turmoil.
Tang Mo had not said two beasts, but two groups. In other words, two Soul Beast populations might be heading here.
As for whether Tang Mo could have been mistaken, everyone present had considered that possibility too. After all, even the Titled Douluo had not detected any approaching Soul Beasts, yet Tang Mo, a mere Soul Grandmaster, had sensed them. No matter how they looked at it, it made no sense.
But Tang Mo did not look like a brat who would joke about information like this.
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