"That's right, Grandfather Tang Chen was just that gifted!" Tang Xiao said excitedly inside the Clear Sky Sect.
The Second Elder beside him chimed in, "If the old man were still holding down the fort for the sect, no petty scoundrels would dare set their sights on our Clear Sky Sect anymore..."
Everyone throughout the Clear Sky Sect was excited as well.
Thanks to Qian Daoliu's monologue, people had already learned about the three Peerless Douluo of the past.
They respectively represented invincibility on land, in the sky, and in the sea.
But after two monologues in a row, even if Tang Chen truly never got a monologue of his own, the world could still appreciate just how formidable he was.
He had led the Clear Sky Sect to its peak and become a Peerless Douluo through his own talent.
Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi, on the other hand, had both relied on outside help, making it plain at once who stood above the rest.
Sea God Island, Sea God Hall.
Tang Chen really was extraordinary... After all these years, Bo Saixi's feelings had never changed.
If Tang Chen, like her and Qian Daoliu, had relied on a god's legacy to become a level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo, Bo Saixi would never have thought highly of him, much less gradually fallen in love with him.
It was precisely because everything Tang Chen had came from his own talent and his own efforts that Bo Saixi had gradually fallen in love with him.
[As all three of us were level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo, we naturally wanted to see who was stronger. Of course, we also meant to test each other.]
[And so, the three of us fought a great battle that lasted three days and three nights.]
[During those three days, the Six-Winged Angel's golden light made the sky shine, but it could never match the impact the Clear Sky Hammer's thunderous roars had on me.]
[Qian Daoliu's Martial Soul and mine were both among the finest in the world, and both could be considered gifts from the gods.]
[At the same time, thanks to the rewards from our Godly Examinations, our Soul Ring Configurations had both become eight black and one red.]
[Tang Chen's Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul, by contrast, was not top-tier, and his Soul Ring Configuration was only that of an ordinary Titled Douluo.]
[But what of his strength? If those special factors were set aside, he could hold a clear advantage over both Qian Daoliu and me.]
[Although I ultimately defeated them both in turn by relying on the advantage of fighting on Sea God Island and the sea's support, Tang Chen's performance left a different impression on my heart.]
[At the same time, a question arose in my heart.]
[I was born in the sea and raised in the sea. Lord Sea God's favor had granted me power beyond the reach of ordinary people.]
[Yet Tang Chen showed me through his actions that a mortal, relying on his own will and talent, could also stand shoulder to shoulder with a divine emissary.
[In some ways, he was even closer to being a god than Qian Daoliu and me. For true gods never relied on external things; their strength came from themselves.]
[Divine representatives like us had long since lost any possibility of becoming gods!]
[But Tang Chen was different. He still had more possibilities before him!]
Grandpa had lost from the very beginning. Qian Renxue, whom Xue Ye had summoned back to the imperial palace, couldn't help grumbling to herself.
She hadn't expected her grandfather's love to be the kind that ended before it had even begun.
Anyone with any sense could see Bo Saixi's attitude toward Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu when she first met them.
After all, her attitude had become even clearer after she fought each of them.
In Spirit Hall's Worship Hall, the enshrined elders looked at one another in dismay.
Fortunately, the Great Enshrined was still in seclusion. Otherwise, they wouldn't have known what to say.
Deep in the Star Dou Great Forest, Tang Hao gazed excitedly at the Heavenly Screen and exclaimed, "That's my grandfather for you!"
He hadn't expected his grandfather to have had a chance of becoming a god.
If anyone else had said it, Tang Hao might not have believed them, but this was the Sea God's high priestess speaking.
At the same time, Bo Saixi's monologue gave countless people across the world another profound understanding of just how remarkable Tang Chen's talent was.
[After that great battle, neither Tang Chen nor Qian Daoliu left Sea God Island. Instead, they stayed there for a while.]
[It was during that time that both Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu confessed their love to me and began courting me.]
[By then, both their wives had long since passed away. It was only natural for them to develop feelings for a woman at the same level as themselves.]
[Qian Daoliu came from the noble Angel Clan, and, just like me, he was a god's representative in the mortal world.]
[Perhaps, in some people's eyes, Qian Daoliu and I were the better match.]
[But compared with Qian Daoliu, I simply had stronger feelings for Tang Chen, and eventually fell in love with him.]
[He always had a tenacity that refused to admit defeat, a drive that carried him forward no matter what. I couldn't take my eyes off him.]
[And so, I chose Tang Chen.]
[But I was proud by nature, and I had no experience with love, so I was unwilling to reveal my feelings directly, and did not do so.]
[So one day, in front of Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu, I said, "I'll accept the love of whoever reaches level one hundred."]
[Qian Daoliu was also a god's high priest, so he naturally knew that people like them had no way to become gods from the start. This was an indirect rejection of him.]
[At the same time, those words covertly conveyed my love to Tang Chen, who had the best chance of becoming a god through his own strength.]
[Qian Daoliu naturally understood what I meant. He chose to give up and prepared to leave Sea God Island and return to Spirit Hall.]
[But Tang Chen seemed to misunderstand me. I had thought he would realize it was a hint meant for him alone.]
[After all, given the talent he had shown, the legend of becoming a god might have been possible for him to realize.]
"It wasn't a misunderstanding..." Tang Yuehua, master of Moonlight Pavilion, said with a sigh.
She hadn't expected her grandfather to have had such an experience with love.
Was it really a misunderstanding?
More likely, it was just as Qian Daoliu had said in his monologue: he was too proud, so he wanted to accomplish it before responding to that love.
Suotuo City, Crystal Orchid Grand Hotel.
Lying on the bed, Xiao Wu asked curiously, "Brother, why was Tang Chen so awkward about it? Wouldn't it have been better to just get together? Why did he have to play dumb?"
"And Bo Saixi too. Since she liked him, wouldn't it have been better to tell him directly? Why did she have to go through all that?"
As Xiao Wu saw it, since they liked each other, they should have confessed their feelings and gotten together sooner.
Just like her and Brother.
Although Xiao Wu had been too shy to announce it outright...
"The pretensions of the strong, I suppose," Su Ming said, giving his opinion as he stood by the window.
Bo Saixi had her pride, but Tang Chen had his own pride too.
And it was precisely because of their pride that they had ended up with a peculiar kind of pretension.