Star Luo City.
Inside the Cao Clan residence.
"Senior, may I ask your esteemed name?"
"Senior, please have some tea."
"This is royal-exclusive fine wine, offered especially to honor you."
Heavenly Water Douluo held a bottle of wine and poured out a cup.
The fragrance of wine instantly spread everywhere, even stirring the cravings of Cheng Gang and the others.
Listening to the splashing, they could not help swallowing.
Hollow Bamboo Douluo refused to be outdone.
His tea was royal-exclusive too!
It had been roasted through more than six hundred intricate processes, producing a pure, rich fragrance and a sweet, delicious taste.
"Cao Clan Head, why isn't the senior saying anything?"
Cheng Gang and the others looked helplessly at Cao Xiang, but Cao Xiang had no explanation either.
What was going on?
Wasn't he a little too cold and aloof?
Still, they could understand. After all, powerful people had their tempers.
Cao Yu watched what was happening outside with his little eyes wide open and chuckled merrily.
Were these people idiots?
Forget it. He would leave them alone.
Being in his mother's arms was still the best.
Smooch, smooch.
"Little Yu, are you hungry again? Sigh! I really don't know what to do with you."
Luo Lingyun held him in her arms.
A moment later,
Having eaten and drunk his fill, Cao Yu reckoned things could not go on like this.
"Oh, I've got it!"
A Gold Soul Coin appeared in Cao Yu's hand, then vanished.
The next instant, the gold coin appeared in the Shadow Clone's hand.
"Go and complete your mission."
The Shadow Clones shared a mental connection with him.
To a certain extent, Cao Yu could control their actions.
But there were exceptions.
Their obsession with Gold Soul Coins and their way of fighting, for example, seemed to be directed by a preset program controlling the Shadow Clones.
These were things Cao Yu could not interfere with.
Outside.
The Shadow Clone raised his head to stare at Cheng Gang and the others. They slowly turned around, breaking into cold sweats from fright.
Terrifying!
That gaze looked as though he wanted to kill them.
They felt as if they were sitting on needles.
They made to flee, but then remembered Blood Crow Douluo's miserable state.
They sat back down.
Trembling, they picked up their wine cups and drank, feigning composure.
Don't panic. Stay steady!
"Who are you?"
Wine spilled from the cup onto the table. Heavenly Water Douluo stood up, bowing at the waist, and spoke respectfully and ingratiatingly.
"Senior, we are all national protectors of the Star Luo Empire. My name is Xu Tianshui. You can call me Xiao Shui."
Fuck!
Shameless old bastard!
Cheng Gang and the others' eyelids twitched as they looked at Heavenly Water Douluo with contempt.
Cao Xiang could not help wondering in astonishment whether this was still the national protector he had pictured.
Heavenly Water Douluo did not care at all. He even meekly held up a cup of wine and presented it to the Shadow Clone.
"Senior, please have some wine. It's royal-exclusive, and it tastes wonderful."
He did not take it.
The next instant, the Shadow Clone said something shocking.
"Is Tang San still around?"
What?
Heavenly Water Douluo's heart trembled, and the wine in his hand spilled.
That's a lot to take in!
"Ancestor Tang San left the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago."
"Senior, do you know Ancestor Tang San?"
He felt as though he was about to suffocate.
Without answering that question, the Shadow Clone turned his gaze away from him.
"Leave. Do not disturb my young master."
"Yes, yes. Senior, we'll leave right away."
Heavenly Water Douluo buried his questions in his heart, turned around, signaled Cheng Gang and the others with his eyes, smiled at the Cao Clan Head, then promptly left the Cao Clan.
"Hey, Xiao Shui, does that senior really know Ancestor Tang San?"
"What did you call me?"
"Hmm?"
In midair, killing intent erupted.
Heavenly Water Douluo's white beard fluttered in the wind, his imposing presence requiring no anger.
Mysterious Water and Hollow Bamboo Douluo were still grinning as they watched Cheng Gang.
A good show is about to begin.
Fight!
"Sir! Xiao Gangzi just has a foul mouth. Please don't take it to heart."
Cheng Gang quietly put some distance between them.
Heavenly Water Douluo smiled and ignored him.
"Do you think the senior really knows Ancestor Tang San?"
They shook their heads in unison, then nodded.
"It's probably all but certain."
"The other nine may be just as Cheng Gang said, all Limit Douluos too!"
"Impossible!"
"Since when did Limit Douluos become common goods?"
Mysterious Water and Hollow Bamboo Douluo retorted.
"Then there's only one possibility. Do you think the young master they mentioned is a reincarnated deity?"
"I've read some secret records of the Douluo Continent. They record that above Limit Douluos are deities, just like Ancestor Tang San."
"But ten thousand years later, scarcely anyone has become a god."
Cheng Gang and the others nodded, gazing into the distance as though pondering something.
Wasn't rank supreme on the Douluo Continent? Why had they become Soul Masters?
Wasn't it to become Titled Douluos whose names resounded across the continent?
Yet only when they achieved that goal one day would they discover that their desires did not stop there.
Titled Douluos would die, and Limit Douluos would also reach the end of their lives.
Only by becoming gods could they possibly endure for eternity!
Just like Ancestor Tang San.
Unfortunately, tens of thousands of years later, the path to godhood seemed increasingly elusive.
"Heavenly Water, I agree with that point, but what does it signify?"
Scarlet, chaotic shadows flickered in Cheng Gang's eyes. As though a sore spot had been touched, he radiated anger for no reason.
"Heh! There are only two paths to becoming a god: establish yourself as a deity or inherit a divine seat. Even Ancestor Tang San needed to inherit someone else's divine seat, let alone you and me."
"Didn't that one from Shrek fail?"
"The secret records say the number of deities is very likely limited. So how does one inherit a divine seat? There are currently two conjectures."
Heavenly Water Douluo deliberately kept them in suspense and coughed twice. Cheng Gang had no choice but to take a flask of fine wine from his robes.
He showed no restraint.
He drained it in one go.
"Refreshing!"
Cheng Gang's heart bled.
That son of a bitch didn't even leave me a little.
Mysterious Water and Hollow Bamboo Douluo grinned even more broadly.
"Ahem! First, a deity voluntarily abdicates."
"As for the second... ahem!"
"Tell us already! What's the second? At worst, I'll give you a few more bottles of fine wine when we get back."
Now you're getting it!
"The second, naturally, is a deity reincarnating!"
"You mean the young master the senior mentioned could very well be a reincarnated deity?"
"Otherwise, would so many powerful people be protecting him? Only a reincarnated deity would receive such treatment."
"Besides, they know Ancestor Tang San. Perhaps they became gods in the same era."
Heavenly Water Douluo thought it over and decided to thoroughly investigate which ancestors had become gods ten thousand years ago once he returned.
Cheng Gang's eyes rolled, and he said loudly, "Then does that mean there's another divine seat available to inherit now?"
"In theory, yes, but a reincarnated deity will return to the Divine Realm sooner or later." Heavenly Water Douluo nodded.
Return to the Divine Realm?
Cheng Gang's gaze sharpened as he hardened his heart. "At worst, we can kill him. Then won't the divine seat naturally be ours?"
"Utterly foolish! Can you defeat those seniors?"
Cheng Gang came to his senses and instantly backed down. It seemed he had been indulging in wild fantasies.
Mysterious Water and Hollow Bamboo Douluo still stared at him as though looking at an idiot, their gazes meeting in midair.
This guy is so stupid!
Yes, really stupid.
Just like an idiot.
"Mysterious Water, Hollow Bamboo, enough! Do you have a problem with me? I've been watching you for ages. You keep looking at me like that. Do you want a fight?"
Mysterious Water and Hollow Bamboo Douluo smiled without speaking.
At that moment, Heavenly Water Douluo broke the stalemate.
"We can only befriend him, and even protect him. When he returns to the Divine Realm, perhaps he'll remember our kindness and find us a few divine seats to occupy."
"What if he isn't a deity?"
"I think he is a god! Have you forgotten? I have another identity: the Star Luo Empire's astrologer!"
(P.S. The ability to divine does exist on the Douluo Continent. For example, the Goddess of Life divined the Divine Realm's fortunes for Huo Yuhao. Of course, Heavenly Water Douluo's is a weakened version, capable only of observing the fortunes and luck of individuals and a nation.)
That's three updates.
(End of chapter)