At this moment, Tang San wasn't even thinking about the relationship between this Asura God's power and himself, or whether eliminating it would have any effect on his body. All he could think about was that Xiao Wu couldn't be harmed—even if it cost him his life, he would never allow this Asura God's energy to hurt her.
Tang San's reaction couldn't be called slow, but everything had come far too suddenly. From the moment the Asura God's power surged into Xiao Wu's body to the instant Tang San reacted and rushed to her aid, only a brief second had passed. But for the power of a god, that single second was more than enough.
To Xiao Wu, the Asura God's power felt cool and gentle, with only a slightly faster speed than expected. But in Tang San's perception, this Asura God's power was filled with destructive force. Xiao Wu's Soul Power rose to meet it, but it couldn't provide the slightest resistance. That terrifying Asura God's power pierced through Xiao Wu's Soul Power like sharp needles, penetrating straight into her meridians.
At this point, Tang San's Sea God divine power finally caught up. But by the time it arrived, the Asura God's power had already split into ten thousand streams, simultaneously surging into different meridians throughout Xiao Wu's body. It clung to her meridians and instantly merged with them, actually fusing into one with Xiao Wu's own meridian network. Tang San had already gathered his momentum, prepared to envelop and destroy it with his divine power, but now he had no way to proceed—unless he was prepared to destroy all of Xiao Wu's meridians. Otherwise, there was absolutely nothing he could do about the Asura God's power that had merged into Xiao Wu's body.
How could this be happening? Tang San screamed inwardly. All he could do now was rapidly flood his Sea God power into Xiao Wu's meridians as quickly as possible, protecting them for fear that the Asura God's power would suddenly erupt and destroy her body.
But to Tang San's surprise, the Asura God's power that had split into countless streams, once merged into Xiao Wu's meridians, immediately began a process of integration with them. There was no sign of any eruption, nor did even the slightest killing intent spread outward. Tang San watched helplessly as Xiao Wu's originally pale golden meridians—tinged with a sacred aura—were gradually transformed by the permeation of the Asura God's power into a dark crimson, a dark crimson filled with cold and killing intent.
What… what exactly was this…
Even though Tang San was extraordinarily brilliant, he was momentarily stunned. He could clearly feel that his heart-to-heart connection with Xiao Wu—which had been faint and intermittent, requiring extreme tension or complete focus to maintain any contact—was becoming remarkably clear. Especially the sensation of blood-bound connection, which was now strikingly vivid. It was as if Xiao Wu had become an extension of his left hand, as if she had become a part of his very body.
When Tang San slowly opened his eyes and gazed at Xiao Wu with utter disbelief, he found himself nearly speechless. Xiao Wu appeared completely unharmed. A faint blush graced her fair cheeks like a ripe red apple, utterly adorable. The energy aura around her body had even broken through to a new level following the integration of the Asura God's power, shattering the bottleneck of the ninety-fifth rank and advancing to the ninety-sixth. Even Tang San needed to probe with his Sea God divine sense to detect the Asura God's power contained within her.
He withdrew his hands and stared fixedly at Xiao Wu before him, feeling an overwhelming dread—the fear that the next instant, Xiao Wu's body might be torn apart by that terrifying Asura God's power. All he could do now was pray. Xiao Wu's body had essentially been permeated by the Asura God's power; even Tang San would be utterly unable to stop it if it erupted.
And just at that moment, no one noticed a dark crimson glow suddenly rising from a corner of the room, drifting gently toward Xiao Wu and Tang San.
Tang San's divine sense stirred slightly, instantly detecting the presence of that aura. He turned to look and saw the Asura Demon Sword—nearly two meters long, which he had long forgotten in the Sea God's Temple—slowly floating toward him and Xiao Wu.
Strangely, the overwhelming urge he had once felt to grasp this sword with his left hand—a desperate desire it had invoked before he had inherited the Sea God's power—was now completely gone.
Tang San was not surprised by this. After all, he had already become the Sea God. The Asura Demon Sword was a weapon passed down from another god's lineage, so it was perfectly natural that it no longer resonated with him.
A flash of blue-gold light appeared in his right palm as the Sea God's Trident materialized in his grasp. A ring of blue-gold light manifested out of thin air beside him and Xiao Wu, and the intense Sea God energy immediately blocked the Asura Demon Sword from approaching.
Xiao Wu's body had already been invaded by the Asura God's energy, and now this Demon Sword was flying over of its own accord. These inexplicable signs left Tang San somewhat bewildered, but the fear in his heart had eased slightly.
"Brother, it seems like it's come for me." Xiao Wu's voice rang out beside Tang San. Having completed her Soul Ring absorption, she had opened her eyes and was staring straight at the Asura Demon Sword, a longing gleam in her gaze. Under the dark crimson light emanating from the sword, faint dark crimson demonic runes shimmered across the surface of her skin.
"For you?" Tang San turned to look at Xiao Wu. Suddenly, a thought struck him. Xiao Wu, like Ning Rongrong and Oscar, had just reached the level of a Titled Douluo, and his own aura resided within her. Could it be that after the Asura God realized Tang San could not serve as his successor, and sensing that Xiao Wu already possessed considerable strength along with traces of his power, the god had deliberately guided his evolved Asura Domain to merge into Xiao Wu's body, so she could receive his inheritance instead? If that were the case, it would actually be a good thing.
From a personal standpoint, Tang San had never been particularly drawn to the Asura God. His choice to inherit the Sea God's mantle was naturally because he had passed the Sea God's Eight Trials, but it also had much to do with his impression of the Asura God.
After all, in order to inherit the Asura God, his great-grandfather had sacrificed his life and still failed. Moreover, the Asura God's power was too domineering, brimming with unparalleled, razor-sharp killing intent. The stronger the power, the harder it was to control—nothing compared to his familiarity with the Sea God's divine power.
Now, discovering that the Asura God appeared to have chosen Xiao Wu, Tang San felt it should be a good thing, yet he simply couldn't bring himself to feel happy about it. Becoming the Asura God was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous undertaking. Although Xiao Wu's strength had already been elevated to a considerable degree, she was still quite far from godhood. And during this process, even the slightest mishap could spell catastrophe—how could she withstand the Asura God's piercing killing intent? One had to consider that the more powerful the god, the more dangerous the inheritance. Though Xiao Wu's temperament was gentle yet resolute, could she truly complete the inheritance of this incomparably sharp divine throne?
Tang San's mind fell into turmoil. With his god-level power, he could certainly prevent the Asura Demon Sword from reaching Xiao Wu—as long as he continuously wielded the Sea God's Trident, he could easily block the sword, which was merely drawn over by energy resonance. After all, he was a true god standing right here, while the Asura Demon Sword merely contained a fraction of the Asura God's power.
But this was absolutely an opportunity for Xiao Wu. Tang San was certain that the sword's approach held no ill intent toward her. If it had, the Asura God's power that had previously surged into her body could have easily killed her—and even he himself had been unable to stop it. There would have been no need to additionally guide this Demon Sword to find her.
Tang San looked at Xiao Wu, his expression turning grave. "Xiao Wu, just now the Asura Domain energy that evolved from my Killer God Domain flowed into your body. You must have felt it—that cold energy. This Asura Demon Sword is a supreme treasure left behind by my great-grandfather Tang Chen, a divine artifact on the same level as the Sea God's Trident. Now it's flying toward you, which means it may bring you the chance of an Asura God inheritance. However, the Asura God is an extraordinarily powerful deity—a god who governs slaughter. Completing his inheritance is undoubtedly incredibly dangerous. My great-grandfather spent his entire life trying and failed. I'm afraid you could be in danger. Whether to accept it or not—that's your decision to make."
Tang San truly didn't know what he should do. This Asura Demon Sword was a double-edged sword for Xiao Wu, and it was better to let her decide for herself.
Hearing Tang San's words, Xiao Wu's eyes lit up immediately. Almost without hesitation, she said, "Brother, I accept."
Tang San hadn't expected Xiao Wu to give him an answer so quickly and couldn't help but say, "Xiao Wu, you need to think this through carefully. The difficulty of the Asura God's inheritance may be even greater than my Sea God's. You witnessed the Sea God inheritance yourself—you were by my side for nearly every step. Have you truly made up your mind? Once you accept a god's inheritance, you must see it through to the end. There won't even be a chance to regret it."
Xiao Wu said resolutely, "I accept. Brother, listen to me—receiving the favor of a god is probably even harder than a god's inheritance. You've already become the Sea God. If I want to be with you forever in the future, I must also become a god. How could the path to godhood ever be free of danger? Besides, I don't know if I'll ever find another god's inheritance. I don't want to leave you. I want to stay with you forever. Let me try. With you by my side helping me, I'll definitely have a chance. Otherwise, the Asura Demon Sword wouldn't have chosen me."
Gazing at Xiao Wu's determined eyes, Tang San slowly nodded. A thought turned in his mind—after all, this Asura Demon Sword was something his great-grandfather Tang Chen had obtained after years of cultivation. According to his great-grandfather's final words, the sword itself represented that a portion of the Asura God's inheritance had already been completed. Under these circumstances, Xiao Wu's chances of passing the inheritance were indeed quite significant. What she said made sense. With himself by her side, if danger arose, he could help her.
"If that's the case, you must be careful." As he spoke, Tang San put away the Sea God's Trident, turned, and appeared at Xiao Wu's side. His divine sense locked firmly onto the Asura Demon Sword. Though he knew the sword was unlikely to harm Xiao Wu, this concerned his beloved's life, and he remained extremely vigilant, ready to respond at a moment's notice.
With the Sea God's Trident no longer blocking its path, a flash of red light and the Asura Demon Sword arrived before Xiao Wu. A wondrous scene unfolded: when the sword drew within three meters of her, its crimson glow flashed and the massive blade transformed into nine streams of dark crimson energy. They drifted upward and flowed into Xiao Wu's body from different points along her frame.
Instantly, a layer of dark crimson demonic runes surfaced across Xiao Wu's originally fair and delicate skin. These runes did not appear directly on her skin, but rather hovered as a thin layer of luminous energy about an inch above its surface. Tang San could clearly sense the terrifying aura contained within this energy—the icy killing intent was enough to make even him, the Sea God, furrow his brow.
Xiao Wu, however, felt no discomfort. She simply sensed nine cool streams of energy flowing into her body, indescribably pleasant. Soon, those nine streams merged into her body, and the dark crimson runes on her skin gradually faded, dissolving inward. Nothing else changed.
Seeing Xiao Wu's body return to normal, Tang San finally let out a breath of relief. At least for the moment, she was fine. He hurriedly asked, "Xiao Wu, has any voice or prompt appeared in your mind?"
Xiao Wu shook her head. "No! I just felt those streams of energy were cool, and then they merged into my body. Nothing special. No prompts at all."
Hearing Xiao Wu's response, Tang San couldn't help but laugh bitterly. The Asura God truly didn't follow any conventional path—even the method of selecting a divine successor was this bizarre. However, from the current situation, since Xiao Wu's body had fused with his energy, there shouldn't be any major problems. At the very least, this was a prelude to the inheritance. It was likely that Xiao Wu's own strength hadn't yet reached the necessary level, which was why she hadn't received any prompt from the Asura God.
Judging by the situation before him, Tang San's assessment seemed entirely reasonable. However, he had overlooked one thing: although a portion of energy had previously transmitted from his Asura Domain into Xiao Wu's body and merged with her, his Asura Domain on the Clear Sky Hammer hadn't disappeared—it still existed. In truth, Tang San's judgment was incorrect. The Asura Demon Sword merging into Xiao Wu's body was by no means as simple as he had imagined. It was just that, with the circumstances at hand, there was no way for him to discern the truth.
Tang San took Xiao Wu's hand and examined her body. He found that her meridians, blood, and muscles had all turned a dark crimson, but beyond that, there was nothing unusual. After the color change, her body was being quietly nourished by the Asura God's divine power, everything progressing in a positive direction. Tang San checked several times before confirming Xiao Wu's condition—there was no need to worry for now.
And so, the last of the Shrek Seven Devils to become a Titled Douluo had finally emerged. In terms of Soul Power, Xiao Wu had even surpassed Dai Mubai, who had reached the ninety-fifth rank, becoming the strongest of the Shrek Seven Devils in Soul Power second only to Tang San.
"Xiao San, let's hurry and leave. We can't let anything happen at Jialing Pass." Seeing that Xiao Wu had also completed the inheritance process, Dai Mubai suggested. They had all heard Tang San and Xiao Wu's conversation. Seeing that another companion had received a god's favor, Dai Mubai couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. But now wasn't the time to dwell on matters of godhood—everything would have to wait until the Spirit Empire was destroyed.
Tang San nodded. "Let's go."
As he spoke, he walked up to the seven guardian Douluo of the Sea God's Seven Sacred Pillars. "Elders, I leave Sea God Island in your care. There's no telling when we'll be able to return, but rest assured—I've left a strand of divine sense atop Sea God Mountain. If anything happens, you need only call out from the central platform here, and I will hear your voices."
The seven guardian Douluo bowed in unison. "We respectfully send off the Sea God."
Blue-gold light bloomed from Tang San's body, forming a massive halo that enveloped himself and his companions. With a flash of light, their bodies vanished. In order to return to Jialing Pass as quickly as possible, they didn't even have time to bid farewell to Xiao Bai.
However, Tang San's first destination after leaving Sea God Island was not a return to Soul Land.
Purple Pearl Island.
Ji Xiang stood on the beach, his gaze fixed on a wooden sign thirty meters ahead. His entire focus seemed concentrated in his eyes, where a faint layer of purple light shimmered deep within.
Suddenly, Ji Xiang's figure shifted, and his entire body began to flash rapidly in place—executing none other than Tang San's own peerless movement technique, the Ghost Shadow Phantom Trail.