"Of course I know."
Poseidon's expression was cold, his voice decisive:
"But the safety of the Divine Realm takes precedence over everything.
Sea God Island is my foundation in the lower realm. Rather than wait for their army to grind it to dust, I would rather seize this opportunity to stake everything on one battle.
Bo Saixi is the High Priest I chose. Bearing Sea God Divine Power is her destiny."
Poseidon was certainly no fool.
As far as Poseidon was concerned, Sea God Island was going to be lost anyway.
Since that was the case, he might as well use Bo Saixi as cannon fodder to probe this Xuanwu.
In any case, Poseidon was confident that he could retrieve the Sea God Trident before Bo Saixi died!
Douluo Star was so vast, after all. Could he not simply find a more distant continent later and establish the Sea God Inheritance anew?
"What courage."
The Rakshasa God gave a sinister laugh, the barbs in his words softening considerably.
All the gods of the Divine Realm knew that Poseidon was cutting off his own arm to offer the God Realm Committee a pledge of allegiance.
Once the Sea God High Priest fell, the foundation of faith the Sea God had accumulated on Douluo Continent over ten thousand years would be nearly halved.
Since he even dared to stake a Super Divine Artifact, they naturally could find no further fault with which to attack him.
"Granted."
Seated high in the place of honor, the Asura God swept his blood-red eyes over everyone and said coldly:
"Poseidon, the God Realm Committee permits you to tear open a World Barrier Passage and send down the Main Divine Artifact itself, along with thirty percent of your Divine Power of Laws.
But remember, you must not violate the rules by directly unleashing world-destroying authority in the mortal realm. Your priority is to ascertain Xuanwu's true depth."
"As you command!"
Poseidon bowed, then immediately returned to the Sea God's Divine Throne.
A strand of Divine Sense became a streak of light and shot straight toward Sea God Island in the lower realm.
Above Sea God Island, on Douluo Star.
Bo Saixi hovered over the summit of Sea God Mountain, her face full of worry.
Just then, a strand of Divine Sense plunged straight into Poseidon's Sea of Consciousness.
Bo Saixi's delicate body trembled slightly, her face filled with shock:
Lord Sea God... is going to grant me the use of a Super Divine Artifact?
Bo Saixi drew a deep breath, calmed her surging emotions, and looked toward the battle ahead.
Before Sea God Island's Island-Guarding Formation, two figures faced each other in midair.
Sea Dragon Douluo was covered in tough, deep-blue dragon scales. His formidable level 95 Soul Power formed a roaring dragon phantom around him as he stared fixedly at the white-robed young man several meters away.
"You insolent wretch from the Xuanwu Empire! You actually dare claim you can defeat me within ten moves!"
Sea Dragon Douluo's voice boomed like a great bell, his fighting spirit rising:
"I have roamed the Ocean for decades and fought a hundred battles. Let me see just what gives this Bright Phoenix of yours the right to be so arrogant!"
Ye Shaozhe stood in the air with his hands behind his back, his white robes snapping in the fierce sea wind, a detached, derisive smile on his handsome face:
"So the Titled Douluos of Douluo Continent truly see no farther than the bottom of a well.
Sea Dragon Douluo, I am only giving you a chance to attack because you, too, are level 95.
Otherwise, with such crude cultivation methods that you have not even condensed a Soul Core, why would I need ten moves to kill you?"
What was a Soul Core?
"Arrogant brat, take this!"
Sea Dragon Douluo roared, and the Seventh Soul Ring beneath his feet erupted with black light:
"Martial Soul Avatar-Sea Dragon Avatar!"
Roaring waves rose from the sea, transforming into an enormous azure dragon a hundred meters long that tore through the air and charged straight at Ye Shaozhe.
Ye Shaozhe remained calm and did not retreat so much as half a step. A brilliant platinum phoenix mark suddenly lit up between his brows.
"Light Domain, open."
As he uttered those words casually, a sea of flawless platinum flames instantly unfurled behind Ye Shaozhe.
Ye Shaozhe turned his palm slightly, and a blazing, dazzling Bright Phoenix soared into the sky from his hand.
The purifying divine light stirred up by the mere beating of its wings completely evaporated Sea Dragon Douluo's towering waves!
Their battle instantly reached a fever pitch.
Yet no one had anticipated that, while the Sky Screen's focus was entirely fixed on this wagered battle at Sea God Island.
In the waters northeast of Xuanwu Continent, only eight hundred nautical miles from the northern coastline of Douluo Continent's Heaven Dou Empire.
A covert advance fleet appeared, consisting of twelve Phantom Dragon Warships whose hulls gleamed with a cold, eerie light.
Their prows were carved with ferocious Nine-Headed Demon Spiders and savage Bone Dragons, and the entire fleet was shrouded in a gray-white mist that could distort Spiritual Detection.
Without a sound, they sped toward Douluo Continent.
On the flagship's deck stood a man with his arms folded across his chest.
Dark-purple arcs of lightning flickered faintly around him, along with a savage, destructive draconic might.
This man was Xu Yu, deputy commander of the Xuanwu Empire's Surprise Attack Legion on this mission!
Xu Yu was a level 93 Titled Douluo with the title "Heaven Destroyer." His Martial Soul was the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon, and he came from the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Sect.
Yet at this moment, Xu Yu stood angled slightly to one side. As he looked toward the graceful figure at the bow, apprehension and wariness rose in his heart.
A young woman in magnificent robes stood at the bow.
She possessed an almost perfectly beautiful face. Her skin, whiter than snow, had a sickly pallor in the sea mist; her figure was alluring and seductive, and her long hair cascaded like a waterfall to her waist.
Yet between her brows gathered a cruelty and madness sufficient to freeze heaven and earth.
She was Bibi Xi, the youngest final disciple of Death God Douluo Ye Xishui.
A peak level 95 Power Attack System Titled Douluo, titled "Death."
What made the entire younger generation of the Xuanwu Empire turn pale at the mere mention of her was that she possessed the rare Twin Martial Souls:
The Death Spider Emperor and the Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor!
Although Xuanwu Continent offered no soil in which Evil Soul Masters could survive.
Bibi Xi had also cultivated through legitimate means after becoming Ye Xishui's disciple.
Yet the peculiar nature of her Martial Souls and her brutality in battle still made others unable to help feeling afraid.
"Deputy Commander Xu Yu."
Bibi Xi did not turn around. Her voice was seductive to the bone, yet carried a chill that made one's hair stand on end.
Xu Yu's back stiffened almost imperceptibly for an instant. Cupping his fist, he said gravely:
"Lady Bibi Xi, the fleet is advancing at full speed. We are at most four hours from the defensive fortresses along the Heaven Dou Empire's coastline.
The Third Prince, Lord Lu Wudao, has held the attention of every watching eye from Douluo Continent and the Divine Realm at Sea God Island. These natives know nothing of our movements."
Bibi Xi began to laugh softly. At first, her laughter was lilting and pleasant, but it grew increasingly shrill, carrying a hint of hysteria that sent a chill down one's spine.
She raised her slender, delicate hand. In her fair palm rested an exquisitely carved Thunder-Patterned Jade Pendant.
Set into a recess in the pendant was, unmistakably, a miniature portrait.
The portrait depicted a handsome young man with a proud, aloof expression, wearing the sect emblem of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon at his waist.
"Yu Xiao Gang... my Xiao Gang..."
Bibi Xi gently caressed the portrait with her fingertips. An utterly sick obsession and fervor surfaced in her eyes, her voice murmuring like someone talking in a dream:
"Those old things in the Thunder Dragon Sect who refuse to die said you were useless, said your Mutated Thunder Dragon was a disgrace... but what do they know?
They understand nothing of your grand ambitions and far-reaching plans, nothing of your loneliness and nobility!"
The corner of Xu Yu's mouth twitched. He forced his gaze away, not daring to take up that thread of conversation at all.
Among the upper circles of the Xuanwu Empire, who did not know that Bibi Xi was a madwoman through and through?
This beloved disciple of Death God Douluo possessed peerless talent and was ruthless and vicious. Countless powerful people had died at her hands.
Yet several years ago, she had happened to meet a man named Yu Xiaogang from Xuanwu Continent's Thunder Dragon Sect, who had awakened a Mutated Martial Soul.
From then on, she had fallen utterly into an incomprehensibly feverish, pathological state.
If anyone dared spare Yu Xiaogang an extra glance, Bibi Xi would gouge out their eyes.
If anyone dared utter a word of mockery about Yu Xiaogang in private, she would extract their soul and refine their spirit.