Oscar and Ning Rongrong were both struggling desperately, having burned every last shred of their energy, channeling it all together to sustain the divine power being released by the two god-level beings that had descended upon them. But as the saying went, human strength had its limits. No matter how resolute their willpower, their energy was ultimately finite. The chance for resurrection lay right before their eyes, yet the Soul Power they were releasing could no longer sustain it. The two deities could detach at any moment.
What were they to do? What were they to do? Ning Rongrong and Oscar gazed anxiously at each other, both biting down hard on the tips of their tongues, using the sharp pain to squeeze out their very last reserves of energy.
At a time like this, they had already exhausted every idea they could think of, yet the divine possession on their bodies continued to slip away.
It wasn't that Oscar and Ning Rongrong didn't want to use Oscar's sausages to replenish themselves. It was just that, in the same way Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower enhancements couldn't affect Tang San, their Martial Soul Fusion Technique had already reached a divine-level effect. And that divine-level power rendered all of their own enhancement abilities completely useless — whether it was Oscar's sausages or Ning Rongrong's tower boosts. Neither worked.
At this moment of utmost crisis, something suddenly appeared from every direction throughout the council hall — countless tiny white points of light, so fine they were barely more than threads, materializing silently. These white specks drifted gently, converging on a single target: Tang San's body lying on the ground.
From outside, the soldiers could see the layer of red light that shrouded the council hall pulsing gently, and it was within those rhythmic pulses that the fine white light emerged.
The white light drifted slowly toward Tang San's body, each thread individually faint, but thousands upon thousands merging together into a force that absolutely could not be ignored.
Pop — the deities behind Ning Rongrong and Oscar finally dissolved into scattered points of light and vanished. Both of their bodies swayed at the same time and they crumpled to the ground. They had completely exhausted their potential and every last drop of energy. Now they had nothing left — only a single breath remaining.
Xiao Wu let out a grief-stricken cry and was about to lunge forward. The wound on Tang San's chest had not yet healed, and his golden heart still hadn't reconnected with all of his meridians.
"Nobody move," the Great Master barked suddenly, stopping Xiao Wu in her tracks. The excruciating physical agony and mental anguish had drained all color from her face, and she finally collapsed. But she refused to fall unconscious, her eyes locked unblinkingly on Tang San's body. Until the very last moment, she would not give up.
The Great Master spread his arms and held back Tang Hao as well. "No one move. Don't get close to Xiao San."
Everyone's gazes had gone somewhat blank. By now, they too had noticed the changes occurring on Tang San's body. The fine white light had been so incredibly subtle that without close observation, it was impossible to detect. Of course, most of those present were powerhouses of the Soul Master world and could see it. But they had initially assumed it was an effect produced by Ning Rongrong and Oscar's Martial Soul Fusion Technique. Now, however, it was clear that was not the case.
Because even though Ning Rongrong and Oscar had collapsed unconscious, those delicate white threads of light still persisted, continuing to seep drop by drop into Tang San's body, merging at the wound on his chest.
Around that golden heart, every meridian was still in the process of reconnecting. Though the speed was much slower than when Oscar and Ning Rongrong had been guiding it, the fact that the process was still ongoing proved there was still a chance.
"That is…" Tang Hao's eyes contracted sharply. A thought had already taken shape in his mind. He exchanged a glance with the Great Master, and almost in unison, the two of them said: "The power of faith."
Yes — those delicate white threads of light were none other than the power of faith from the million-strong army of the Tian Dou Empire. The faith of a single person was negligible, but a million was an entirely different matter. Moreover, the devotion of this entire army toward Tang San was absolutely unwavering. Even if there had been any impurities, they had been completely filtered out by the strange layer of red light outside. The power of faith that had entered the council hall and merged into Tang San's body was the purest form of energy.
This power of faith now took over from the Martial Soul Fusion Technique of Ning Rongrong and Oscar, continuing the repair of Tang San's body drop by precious drop.
"Quick — let us continue praying for Xiao San," the Great Master called out, pressing his palms together, his face filled with emotion.
Everyone made the same gesture. For this final chance, for Tang San's resurrection, they began their most heartfelt prayers.
Time trickled past. The rate at which the wound on Tang San's chest healed was clearly much slower than when the two deities had been releasing their resurrection light, but it never stopped. As long as this process of resurrection continued, there was still hope for everything.
Watching the meridians on Tang San's cardiac vessels gradually reconnect one by one, everyone in the hall had lost all sense of time. During this stretch, only Xue Beng had stepped out briefly. He had issued a death order to every soldier in the Tian Dou Empire's army — as long as the resurrection process here had not stopped, their prayers for Tang San must not cease. He told the officers and soldiers that this was the empire's last hope. Only if the Sea God was resurrected would they have any chance of defeating their enemies and allowing the empire to endure.
A soft glow flickered throughout the council hall. As the light ebbed and flowed, every change that appeared on Tang San's face sent the hearts of everyone present racing.
Tang San's muscles would twitch from time to time, and especially around the heart, even the faintest tremor pulled at every person's heartstrings.
From day into night, then from night into day, everyone had forgotten the passage of time. They simply prayed in their hearts for Tang San. That faith power, fine as thread, never broke — it continued ceaselessly, merging into Tang San's body.
Finally, that golden heart began to tremble continuously. At first the trembling was faint, but as more and more faith power merged in, the shaking grew stronger and stronger. The wound on Tang San's chest had at last completely healed — bones, meridians, muscles, and most importantly, that heart — all fully restored through the collective power of their fervent prayers.
Oscar and Ning Rongrong had regained consciousness, lying weakly to the side. They had been reduced to ordinary people now, their physical constitution even weaker than that of a common person. But their hearts were filled with satisfaction. As the originators of the resurrection light, they could clearly feel Tang San's life force returning drop by drop, his own bodily functions being awakened. As long as his divine power could be roused, even the most grievous wounds would be meaningless — he would be capable of healing himself.
Every pair of eyes was fixed on Tang San's chest, watching as it began to rise and fall slowly. Tears of excitement welled up in everyone's eyes. They had succeeded — they had succeeded! Tang San had a heartbeat, and he was breathing!
The Great Master, Tang Hao, and Xiao Wu — whose face was as pale as paper and who could collapse into unconsciousness at any moment — all gathered around Tang San. Liu Erlong supported Xiao Wu's body as the group observed the changes in Tang San from the closest possible distance.
Tang Hao carefully placed his fingers on Tang San's wrist, feeling the pulse intently, sensing the condition within his body.
"How is it?" the Great Master asked anxiously.
Tang Hao nodded. "Xiao San's body is recovering rapidly. It's not just from the power of faith — his own strength seems to have been awakened and revived. I can feel the enormous energy within him. Even my Soul Power can't penetrate it. His pulse is growing stronger and stronger. As long as he wakes up, our resurrection process will have been a success."
"No, it hasn't succeeded yet." Xiao Wu's voice came out trembling.
Tang Hao looked at her, puzzled. "You mean…?"
Sorrow still filled Xiao Wu's eyes. "Brother has already become a god. According to what you said, his body has recovered to this extent. If he were truly alive again, he should have woken up by now. He would be able to feel our worry. But he's still unconscious — and that can only mean one thing. We've resurrected his body, but not all of him. His final attack against Bibi Dong was a soul attack. For a god, that means the divine soul. At that moment, Bibi Dong was clearly gravely wounded, and Brother himself was already severely injured. He fell unconscious immediately. It's very likely that his divine soul was shattered by Bibi Dong. For a god, perhaps a broken heart isn't fatal, but a shattered divine soul is…"
"No — impossible. You're talking nonsense!" Tang Hao roared. "Xiao San is alive! Can't you see? He's breathing now — listen, how strong his heartbeat is! My son isn't dead. My son is still alive! Xiao San, hurry and wake up! Hurry and prove to them that you're still alive!"
His words came as a roar, but tears were already streaming down Tang Hao's face. In all his life, he had probably never shed so many tears as he did today. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Two full days and nights had passed, and they had finally completed the resurrection of Tang San's body — yet Xiao Wu's words struck like a bolt from the blue, a blow almost too heavy for any of them to bear. But they all knew that the person who understood Tang San's condition best was undoubtedly Xiao Wu, who had always been at his side. No one knew him better. If even Xiao Wu said so, then…
The council hall suddenly fell silent — a deathly silence. Their eyes were all fixed on Tang San, who now breathed, whose heart beat, whose wound had fully healed. They could even sense the divine aura emanating from his body once more. And yet Tang San still lay there, showing not the slightest sign of waking.
A sense of despair flooded through every mind. They had poured everything they had into this, and in the end it still wasn't enough. Such a blow could shatter even the most unyielding will.
If it were an ordinary person being resurrected, the resurrection light alone could restore the body and then awaken the soul. But Tang San was no ordinary person — he was a god. His divine soul was not something the God of Cuisine and the Nine Treasure Divine Maiden could awaken. Moreover, those two deities hadn't even persisted until Tang San's body was fully restored. At this moment, ripples of despair spread through every heart. They had lost their final hope.
And then, in that very instant, Tang San's body suddenly convulsed violently, instantly seizing everyone's gaze. Tang Hao clutched his son tightly, making one last desperate cry and prayer in his heart. At this moment, he would have traded his own life without a heartbeat's hesitation for the return of Tang San's divine soul.
At that same moment, everyone in the hall suddenly found that they could no longer breathe. An overwhelming sensation of suffocation plunged them into agonizing discomfort.
The scenery around them transformed in that instant. Everything became ethereal and unreal. Blue — it was an endless blue. Even though they were inside this enclosed room, as far as the eye could see in every direction, the view was nothing but boundless azure, as if gazing out from the deepest reaches of the ocean.
Then a wondrous scene appeared before their eyes. They saw Tang San — an entirely blue Tang San.
That Tang San walked slowly out of the infinite azure, his face brimming with emotion. He looked at the crowd but seemed unable to speak, simply approaching step by step. The suffocating pressure combined with an immense force bearing down from the soul kept every person locked in place, staring at that blue figure — until, at last, he walked straight into the body of Tang San cradled in Tang Hao's arms.
Boom — Tang Hao felt his own body blasted backward by an invisible force. The Tang San who had been lying in his arms suddenly floated upward, shifting from a prone position to an upright one, hovering there in the middle of the council hall. The fine white light that had surrounded them vanished almost in the same instant. Whether it was Tang Hao, the Great Master, Xiao Wu, or anyone else in the room — and even the soldiers of the three armies outside who had been praying ceaselessly for Tang San — all of them heard the same voice rise in their hearts at that moment.
"I have returned."
Yes. When the blue Tang San stepped into the council hall, Tang San had returned. Truly returned. That blue Tang San was nothing other than Tang San's divine soul. Divine soul returns to its seat — the Sea God is reborn. Tang San had finally completed this last stage of resurrection.
To resurrect a god in the mortal world was, without question, the stuff of fantasy — the difficulty was beyond imagination. But during this process, Tang San had not only received the Resurrection Light born from the fusion of two divine powers through the Martial Soul Fusion Technique of Oscar and Ning Rongrong, but also the faith power of over a million soldiers within Jialing Pass praying for two days and two nights. His divine-level body had been restored through these means. As for his soul, it had been revived under the guidance of the Seven Sacred Pillar Guardian Douluo of the Sea God, through the collective prayers of trillions upon trillions of marine creatures, drawing upon the wisp of divine consciousness he had left behind atop Sea God Mountain.
Sea God Mountain, the Sea God Temple — these were undoubtedly the places where the Sea God's power was most concentrated. They were the sites of the Sea God's inheritance, which was precisely why the wisp of divine consciousness Tang San had left behind had not fully dissipated in the short time after his original body's death. Of course, this was also thanks to the efforts of the Seven Sacred Pillar Guardian Douluo led by Sea Dragon Douluo. Had they not promptly activated the Sea God Island's ultimate defensive array, channeling the power of the Seven Sacred Pillars and using Tang San's last remaining sliver of divine soul to send out a call across the entire ocean, Tang San could never have been successfully resurrected.
At this moment, Tang San truly stood before them all. The Sea God had been resurrected.
The instant Tang San opened his eyes, every trace of blue within the council hall vanished completely, and the sensation of suffocation dissipated along with it.
Xiao Wu stared intently at Tang San. When she saw the divine light rekindled in his eyes with her own gaze, the faith that had been sustaining her finally released its hold. She let out a soft hum and collapsed unconscious into Liu Erlong's arms. At the same moment, the layer of red light that had been surrounding the council hall the entire time silently vanished, slipping back through the ground into Xiao Wu's body without a sound — unnoticed even by Tang San, who had just returned to life. The cold aura within Xiao Wu disappeared along with it.
A gentle glow shimmered as Tang San's face was etched with deep gratitude. His gaze swept across every person's face. Unknowingly, his fists clenched. "Thank you — thank all of you."
Surging blue light poured forth from Tang San's body, washing over every person present. The gentle power of the Sea God nourished their bodies, sweeping away every last trace of exhaustion and anxiety accumulated over the past two days and two nights.