The Divine Realm, the Stargazing Platform.
Clouds and mist swirled as the vast river of stars flowed silently. Tang San stood upon the platform, Sea God's Trident in hand, his expression dark and his eyes bloodshot.
Tang San thought about what he had seen earlier. He truly could not understand it.
Huo Yuhao, a bearer of great fortune chosen by the plane's Heavenly Dao, was losing his fortune far too quickly.
So quickly that if Tang San did not intervene personally, this pawn would become completely useless before long.
This left Tang San deeply puzzled. Huo Yuhao was clearly a son of fortune born of the Douluo Plane's Heavenly Dao, which refused to let his parents take its place.
It wanted to use Huo Yuhao's hands to help it escape this crisis.
Yet Tang San had long since seen through everything the Douluo Plane had done.
From beginning to end, he had never feared the Heavenly Dao's arrangements. Instead, he intended to turn its scheme to his own advantage and nurture Huo Yuhao along the way.
He would use Huo Yuhao's fortune to revive the Tang Sect and gather every usable force. He could even help his parents seize the position of the Douluo Plane's life core and the identity of its plane lord more quickly.
But what was going on now?
Huo Yuhao's fortune and opportunities were inexplicably dwindling. Tang San had investigated again and again, yet could find no cause.
He had even briefly suspected that the Heavenly Dao had discovered his scheme and voluntarily abandoned Huo Yuhao, but on closer thought, that seemed unlikely.
His father had the Heavenly Dao so thoroughly entangled that it could not free itself. Where would it find the strength to concern itself with the outside world?
Besides, creating a son of fortune had already cost the Heavenly Dao considerable effort.
Tang San's brows knitted tightly. After pondering for a moment, he recalled something highly suspicious.
Not long ago, the Douluo Plane's Heavenly Dao had abruptly weakened once.
As for why he could be certain Huo Yuhao was the son of fortune, it was because the wisp of divine sense he had left between Wang Dong's brows had awakened after Huo Yuhao entered Shrek Academy.
He had followed the presence and discovered that his silly daughter actually shared a dorm room with Huo Yuhao.
Moreover, the timing of Huo Yuhao's loss of fortune almost matched the Heavenly Dao's weakening.
Following Tang San's habitual way of thinking, a year in the lower realm amounted to a day in the heavens. With the two events less than an hour apart, he naturally concluded that Huo Yuhao's loss of fortune had severely injured the Heavenly Dao.
"No. If the child of destiny becomes useless just like this, how will my Tang Sect flourish? How will I control this pawn?"
With that thought, Tang San tightened his grip on the Sea God's Trident once more.
After thinking for a moment, Tang San sighed and decided to help Huo Yuhao, lest some further unforeseen change occur.
"So be it. Today, this God King will lend you a hand."
He closed his eyes and, through the wisp of divine sense between Wang Dong's brows, entered Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's room once again.
Inside Huo Yuhao's room, a wisp of blue-gold light quietly seeped from between Wang Dong's brows and flowed soundlessly into Huo Yuhao's body.
The instant the blue-gold light entered him, an overbearing force drove the impurities accumulated in Huo Yuhao's body over many years out of him.
The effect was several times more intense than when he had taken the Mysterious Water Pill after defeating Xu Sanshi.
"His physique has been reshaped. But he only has one Martial Soul. That's a problem."
After all, according to the arrangements Tang San had made for him, this youth would definitely possess Twin Martial Souls in the future.
Thinking this, Tang San fell silent for a moment, then spoke as though he had made up his mind:
"So be it. This God King will use this wisp of divine sense to shape the beginnings of a Martial Soul for him. I hope you won't disappoint me."
As his words fell, a layer of gentle blue light shone from Huo Yuhao, enveloping his entire body.
The light was dazzling, yet it did not wake the soundly sleeping Wang Dong.
Tang San had deliberately employed a special method. Even if someone shouted and screamed inside the dorm room, not the slightest sound or disturbance would be detected outside.
About an hour later, the blue light enveloping Huo Yuhao completely dissipated.
That wisp bearing Tang San's divine sense was also exhausted, and the remaining divine sense between Wang Dong's brows vanished along with it.
The Divine Realm, the Stargazing Platform.
Tang San stood with his hands behind his back, murmuring under his breath.
"Alas, shaping a Martial Soul is ultimately too taxing on the spirit. A wisp of divine soul was barely enough to mold a rudimentary form.
"But as a son of fortune, with this seed in place, Huo Yuhao shouldn't find it difficult to condense his second Martial Soul later."
With that thought, he turned around. His gaze swept over the vast river of stars, and a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.
"I hope nothing else goes wrong."
"If this God King discovers who has been meddling behind the scenes, you will have already chosen the path to your own death."
Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy.
Inside the dorm room he shared with Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong rolled over groggily, and his nose suddenly twitched twice.
An indescribable stench shot straight into his head, jolting him awake from his sound sleep.
"Holy shit, what's that smell?"
Smelling it, Wang Dong could bear it no longer. He abruptly sat up, covered his mouth and nose, and cursed loudly.
"Who the fuck is trying to kill me?"
Covering his nose, he looked around for the source of the smell. After scanning the room, his gaze landed on Huo Yuhao, and his entire body froze.
Huo Yuhao's bedsheet had turned completely black. His body and bedding were covered in dark stains, giving off a nauseating smell.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao, the culprit, was still sleeping soundly, with even a trace of a smile on his lips, utterly unaware of what was happening around him.
Wang Dong's face twisted as he stared at the sleeping Huo Yuhao. Does this guy have no sense of smell? Can't he smell his own body?
With that thought, he could stand it no longer. He lifted his leg and delivered a flying kick squarely to Huo Yuhao's backside.
"Aah-!"
Huo Yuhao had been dreaming that he was lying in a golden sea, warm and wonderfully comfortable.
Then Wang Dong kicked him awake. A sharp pain throbbed through Huo Yuhao's backside as he looked around in bewilderment.
Rubbing his backside, he sat up and looked at Wang Dong resentfully.
"Wang Dong, what are you doing? I was sleeping perfectly well. Why did you kick me?"
"Take a look at what you've done!"
Hearing Huo Yuhao's complaint, Wang Dong pointed beneath him and spoke indignantly.
Following Wang Dong's finger, Huo Yuhao looked down and froze.
"What happened? Why is there so much filth on me?"
Hearing Huo Yuhao's bewildered voice, Wang Dong rolled his eyes and said,
"How would I know what happened? You were already like this when I woke up."
Smelling the stench coming from Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong involuntarily took two steps back.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao scratched his head sheepishly, his face blank with confusion.
"You're asking me what happened, but I don't remember either. All I remember is lying in a golden sea, and then I woke up like this..."
Hearing this nonsensical explanation, Wang Dong waved a hand to indicate that he should stop dwelling on why, then continued,
"All right, all right, stop thinking about it. Hurry up and take a bath.
"Look what time it is. That old woman Zhou Yi's class is about to start. Do you want to go smelling like that?"
"Oh, okay. I'll go take a bath right away."
With that, Huo Yuhao had no time to say anything else. He grabbed a change of clothes and rushed out of the dorm room.