Bibi Dong could scarcely believe her eyes. Three days had passed, and both she and Qian Renxue had fully recovered their strength, their immense divine power restored. Yet never in her wildest calculations had she expected to see Tang San here on this battlefield — the Sea God who should have been utterly annihilated.
"I knew he wouldn't die so easily." For some reason, seeing Tang San once more brought Qian Renxue an inexplicable sense of relief.
Meanwhile, before the Martial Soul Empire's main camp, Hu Liena — who had looked all but soulless these past days — trembled with emotion the instant she caught sight of that blue-robed figure. He — he wasn't dead. He had returned.
"Surprised, are you?" Tang San offered a faint, unhurried smile, as though he had already forgotten the gruesome end he had met at Bibi Dong's hands three days ago. Neither Bibi Dong nor Qian Renxue wore their divine armor sets — they had never imagined that the Tian Dou Empire's side still harbored any power capable of resistance.
Bibi Dong let out a cold snort. "What of it? We killed you once; we can kill you again. It seems I was too careless after all. I should have obliterated your body from this world entirely back then. I simply never imagined that your shattered divine soul would have a chance to reassemble. I always thought you were clever, but now I see I was wrong. If I were you, I would never have appeared on this battlefield again."
Tang San smiled with elegant composure, as if he had reverted to the very image he had carried when he first walked out of the Moon Pavilion. "A pity you are not me. So I won't make the same choices you would. You're probably about to ask why I didn't hide within Jialing Pass and ambush you after you pushed deep into enemy territory — am I right?"
Bibi Dong's expression shifted. "You can read my mind?"
Tang San shook his head. "I can't. I'm not yet capable of reading a god's thoughts — not even yours, tainted as your aura is with the filth of evil. I simply understand the dark workings of your mind. The reason I chose not to ambush you is that I didn't want to soil my own clear divine soul with something so underhanded. Had I done so, I likely wouldn't be strong enough to defeat even one of you. But now things are different. What you face now is a Sea God who has reached the pinnacle. I may die, but I will make absolutely sure you leave this world alongside me."
Bibi Dong laughed — though with her current appearance, the sight was hardly pleasing to behold. "Tang San, are you trying to crush me psychologically? So what if you've reached the pinnacle? You think that alone makes you my equal? Very well — then let me show you what the true power of the Shura God looks like."
Waves of purple-black energy surged skyward. Bibi Dong's form shimmered, and in a flash of violet light, two identical bodies materialized in midair. The Shura God armor snapped into place over both in an instant, and the horrifying divine power of the Shura God exploded outward, blotting out the morning sun and plunging the entire sky into sudden darkness.
At the same moment, the resplendent Angel God armor enveloped Qian Renxue's body. Her gaze had turned cold as ice. "Last time, she killed you. This time, the one who finishes you must be me — and only me."
Facing the simultaneous deployment of two gods' armor, the crushing pressure forced streams of blue energy to pour from Tang San's body, swirling around him and scattering motes of sapphire light like distant stars. The Sea God armor materialized — but this time, it appeared directly in gold, with no need for the Golden Trident to serve as a conduit for the transformation. Tang San proved to the mother and daughter before him, through action rather than words, that everything he had said was no empty boast.
The Shura Demon Sickle and the Angel Holy Sword both pointed at Tang San, while the Sea God's Trident in his hands rose slowly above his head. His eyes blazed with a light of absolute reverence as he gazed down at the weapon, and his divine sense expanded outward in every direction — boundless, like the ocean itself.
From Tang San, both Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue sensed an aura of utter emptiness. He was standing right there before them, exerting not the slightest pressure through his Sea God power, yet somehow both the Shura God and the Angel God felt their divine souls suppressed, as though pinned beneath an immense weight. Their divine senses could no longer link seamlessly with their own divine power.
Bibi Dong understood: Tang San had not been exaggerating. In terms of realm, he had indeed surpassed both her and Qian Renxue.
Behind Tang San, the Sea God's Eight Wings underwent a transformation. The four feathers on each side fused together — the original eight wings merging into two colossal golden pinions that spread wide enough to cover nearly his entire back. The instant those great wings unfurled, the purple-black sky darkened by the Shura God's energy was instantly restored to blue. Boundless blue light seemed to fill every corner of the heavens. When Tang San had gazed reverently upon the Golden Trident, he had already issued his call — a call to the power of the ocean. This blue radiance was drawn from the sea itself.
The sky remained blue, but the sun had vanished. The Sea God's colossal divine power had forcibly blocked its rays. Just this single act alone was enough to visibly dim the Angel God armor on Qian Renxue's body.
Bibi Dong moved first. Her two silhouettes streaked forward, trailing twin ribbons of purple shadow. A vast tide of malevolent energy surged upward from below, surging toward Tang San's body as though intent on devouring both him and every trace of blue in the sky above.
Though Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong were far from cordial, she knew that without her participation, Bibi Dong would struggle to defeat Tang San. Unifying the continent was not Bibi Dong's dream alone — it was the dying wish her grandfather had left her. She would not — could not — betray that.
Fusing herself with her sword, Qian Renxue merged body and blade into one, transforming into a colossal golden longsword that charged straight at Tang San. The mother and daughter completed their three-pronged assault in seamless coordination. It was clear that after multiple clashes, Qian Renxue's mastery of Angel divine power had reached an entirely new level.
Yet Tang San showed not a trace of fear. Compared to three days ago, he was far more composed now. A cold light flickered through his eyes. The Golden Trident in his hands swept upward in a casual arc, and ring after ring of golden halos drifted outward, heading straight for Qian Renxue at the front. Simultaneously, Tang San swayed in midair and split into two shadow-figures, paying no attention to the halos' effect — instead, both avatars charged headlong at the two Bibi Dongs closing in from either side.
Hummmmm — the Angel Holy Sword in Qian Renxue's grip began to vibrate violently. An indescribable sensation washed through her body, and she realized with shock that her limbs had gone rigid, locking her in her forward-lunge posture, suspended motionless in midair.
Under normal circumstances, she could have drawn upon the Solar True Fire to break free of this restraint. But right now, she had no access to sunlight, and her own internal energy could not shatter these bonds in an instant.
Indeterminate Tempest — for the first time, Tang San had used the first strike of the Golden Thirteen Trident to pin down a god. With his realm and divine power having thoroughly surpassed Qian Renxue's, this was well within his capability. Had Bibi Dong not been there and he could have faced Qian Renxue alone, he might have succeeded without even needing to blot out the sun. Of course, the Indeterminate Tempest could not hold Qian Renxue for eight seconds — at best, a single breath's duration. But for Tang San, that single breath was more than enough.
The Sea God's Trident met the Shura Demon Sickle. With a deafening clash of steel, the trident's blade locked tight against the sickle, Tang San's two avatars and Bibi Dong's two bodies facing off against one another. Golden light and purple-black radiance erupted almost simultaneously.
The trident, by its very nature, held an inherent suppression over most other weapons — and the sickle was no exception. Its ability was to lock down an opponent's weapon. The two figures Tang San and Bibi Dong had each created — one was their true body, the other was condensed from their god-level Martial Soul. Only those who possessed Twin Martial Souls possessed such power.
But what actually happened defied every onlooker's expectations. The Golden Trident had clearly locked onto the Shura Demon Sickle — yet in the very next instant, the situation reversed.
Twin beams of golden light shot skyward. The Golden Trident was launched straight up into the heavens, soaring aloft like two golden dragons before tumbling away at an angle.
Bibi Dong smiled inwardly with cold satisfaction. Tang San, oh Tang San — yes, your divine soul is stronger than mine, but I accepted my inheritance at level ninety-nine, and my divine power runs deeper than yours. Now let's see how you plan to contend with me.
The purple-black Demon Sickle surged toward Tang San's chest once more. With the experience of three days ago, there was no doubt — the Sea God armor could not withstand this terrifying divine weapon.
The instant the Golden Trident went flying, Tang San's body seemed to spin on the axis of its own momentum, twirling like a top. Both his figures executed the exact same motion, and within that rapid rotation, they evaded Bibi Dong's first strike.
Bibi Dong's reflexes were devastatingly fast. The Sickle having missed, she instantly pivoted into a sweeping horizontal slash aimed at his waist. And in that very instant, from each of the two spinning Tang San figures, a tiny speck of golden light was flicked outward — each no larger than a water droplet — hurtling toward Bibi Dong's two bodies.
Bibi Dong's free hand shot up almost instinctively to intercept the golden mote, while the Demon Sickle in her other hand continued its arc toward Tang San without pause.
"Careful — don't catch it!" Qian Renxue had finally regained the ability to move. Seeing those two points of golden light streaking toward Bibi Dong, she screamed the warning before she even realized it. Her body rocketed forward in the same instant, slamming into Bibi Dong's side and sending her flying sideways. The body she chose to shield was Bibi Dong's true body — not the one formed from her Martial Soul.
Even Qian Renxue herself did not understand why she had done it. In that split second, the only image that had surfaced in her mind was the vision of Bibi Dong's face that had appeared before her during her ascension to godhood. All of it had been pure instinct.
*Fsssh* — a soft sound. The other Bibi Dong figure, the one conjured from her Martial Soul, froze solid in midair. On her upraised hand, a small hole appeared — and the golden mote had already pierced her forehead, sinking silently into the space between her brows. Her head flashed gold. The next instant, with a thunderous boom, it shattered into dust.
On the other side, Bibi Dong's true body, knocked sideways by Qian Renxue's charge, felt the golden speck graze her cheek and sail past, missing her by a hair's breadth. It whisked by Qian Renxue's head as well, slicing through a swath of golden hair like a pair of scissors. Qian Renxue, too, had escaped by the narrowest of margins.
An icy chill seized Bibi Dong's entire body. Her hand closed around Qian Renxue's arm, and she towed the younger woman backward a full kilometer in a streak of lightning.
She could not bring herself to believe what had just happened. In that last instant, she had felt the unmistakable touch of death. That body born from her Martial Soul, though formed of divine power and divine soul, was no different from her true body in any respect — its offensive and defensive capabilities were identical. Had Qian Renxue been even a heartbeat later, or had she not shoved Bibi Dong aside, her true body would have met the same fate — obliterated in midair without a trace.
Golden light flickered. The two Tang San figures merged back into one. Across the waistplate of his Sea God armor, a massive gash had been carved open. The skin beneath had not been cut, but it glowed with a faint violet sheen — the corrosive evil of the Shura God power seeping into the wound.
Tang San gazed at the visibly shaken Bibi Dong in the distance and let out a quiet sigh. "Blood is thicker than water. I underestimated the bonds of family. She is your daughter, after all. I had expected her to use the opportunity to strike at me instead. If both you and I died, then this world would have been hers. Qian Renxue — you've made me miscalculate."
Tang San's demeanor appeared casual, but every move he had made had been guided by meticulous, unforgiving precision — even Qian Renxue's last-second intervention. His Indeterminate Tempest had timed her recovery to the exact moment he needed. He knew full well that the relationship between Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong was toxic to the point of mortal enmity. His spinning evasion had maximized his avoidance of the Demon Sickle, while simultaneously launching the Guanyin Tears — drops of divine power refined to their purest essence. The Sea God never lacked for water, and these two Guanyin Tears, condensed from every ounce of his divine power, were the quintessence of that element — not so easily deflected. Qian Renxue had suffered from them before, which was precisely why she had recognized them on sight.
Had Qian Renxue lunged at Tang San instead, he would have killed Bibi Dong cleanly, and he would still have had a trump card in reserve: his divine soul and true body could freely swap places, something not even Bibi Dong could achieve. His Indeterminate Tempest could only hold Qian Renxue for that single breath — provided she did not rush to save Bibi Dong and instead attacked his true body. In that scenario, Bibi Dong would have died, and Tang San's Martial Soul avatar would have been destroyed. His strength would have been greatly diminished, but against Qian Renxue — who was already visibly weaker than Bibi Dong and into whose heart he had already planted the seed of defeat — he would have stood a very good chance. At the very least, mutual destruction was well within reach.
But all of that had been undone by Qian Renxue's instinctive reaction. Bibi Dong had indeed been hurt — the destruction of her Martial Soul avatar had damaged her vitality. But Tang San, having discharged two god-level Guanyin Tears, had suffered a steep drop in divine power, and the wound at his waist would continue to hamper his performance. Neither side had come away with a clear advantage, and in a one-versus-two fight, any injury to Tang San was an exceedingly dangerous liability.
The two figures merged into one. Tang San transferred the Sea God's Trident to his left hand and swept his right across the wound at his waist, wiping away the residual Shura God power. Behind him, those colossal golden wings spread wide, and a portion of the blue light saturating the sky flowed through the wings and into his body.
The dark purple aura around Bibi Dong had visibly dimmed. She looked at Qian Renxue beside her, and a complex kaleidoscope of emotions flickered through her eyes.