"Xiao San!"
At the edge of the terrifying battlefield, in a safe zone, a beautiful woman with long, silky sea-blue hair and clear, bright blue eyes gazed anxiously at the figure of Sea God Tang San.
She wore an elegant blue-gold gown, its hem adorned with delicate golden ribbons. A faint, calming fragrance lingered in the air, highlighting her otherworldly, breathtaking beauty.
She was none other than the divine sense avatar of Tang San's mother, Ah Yin.
According to her son's meticulous plan, she had descended onto Douluo Continent with this wisp of divine sense, slowly and steadily refining the origin power of the Golden Tree. Her goal was to gain the core life position of Douluo Star, and with that as a foundation, ascend to the rank of a first-level god.
Due to the restrictions of Divine Realm laws, gods cannot directly interfere with the lower world in their true forms, so she could only send this split-off divine sense.
However, because she was only an avatar, refining the Golden Tree—an existence far beyond a second-level god—progressed extremely slowly.
Much of her ability to do this was thanks to Shrek Academy's tradition over the millennia. Each generation of Sea God Pavilion's master, at the end of their life, would willingly merge their life, soul power, and even soul origin into the Golden Tree.
Using the already human-infused power as a primer and bridge, she was able to gradually erode and refine the core of the plane.
According to Tang San's original plan, once the time was ripe, her true body would find an opportunity to descend onto Douluo Continent, and ultimately complete the Golden Tree's refinement, replacing it as the plane's core.
Her husband, Tang Hao (Tang San's father), would also refine the will of Douluo Continent, becoming the master of the plane.
Through this, both husband and wife would ascend to first-level gods together.
To help his parents advance, Tang San had truly racked his brains and strategized far ahead.
From Tang San's perspective, everything he did was for his family's future and to make his own faction stronger.
Essentially, these were decisions based on family and faction interests, making it hard to judge with simple good or evil.
In the end, many things in the universe are simply about different standpoints. You can't easily label Tang San as an absolute villain.
Ah Yin's avatar radiated intense blue-gold light. Countless thick Blue Silver Emperor vines shot out, madly growing and weaving into a sturdy barrier, struggling to block the devastating aftershocks from the two terrifying beings fighting ahead.
Her combat strength wasn't great, but as a god's avatar, she could at least ensure her own safety for now.
Ah Yin's stunning face was filled with worry and anxiety, her gaze fixed on her son's fighting figure.
She could clearly feel the immense pressure her son's divine sense was enduring. The enemy's power was extremely suppressive and full of malicious corrosion toward the Golden Tree's life energy.
But she could not intervene, nor even be distracted.
She had to focus all her attention on maintaining the refinement of the Golden Tree's origin.
This was the most critical step of the entire plan—a supreme opportunity Tang San had won for her, even at the cost of defying the Divine Realm's rules.
If this process was interrupted, not only would all previous efforts be wasted, but the Golden Tree's own will might violently counterattack, with unimaginable consequences.
"Xiao San… you must be careful…"
Ah Yin silently prayed in her heart, her crystal-blue eyes filled with deep maternal worry and determination.
She could feel the pressure her son was under—the enemy's power was filled with absolute malice toward life itself.
Tang San clearly sensed the emotions his mother sent, his gaze sharpening further.
In his hands, the Sea God Trident danced like a raging dragon, the techniques of the Golden Thirteen Strikes executed with ease and at the highest level.
He fully mobilized the immense sea of life energy, sometimes forming an indestructible blue barrier, sometimes unleashing wave after wave of furious attacks, constantly wearing down and resisting Phantylia's seemingly endless torrent of destruction.
"Trying to ruin my mother's chance? Whoever you are, wherever you're from, it's impossible."
Tang San's divine voice was cold and resolute, echoing through the boiling space.
The sole purpose of this divine sense avatar was to protect his mother Ah Yin's avatar, ensuring she could refine the Golden Tree's origin without distraction.
The fate of Shrek City, the soul beast invasion—none of that was his priority right now.
Of course, over the years, his secret guidance of the Sea God Pavilion to help Ah Yin refine the Golden Tree was part of the plan.
Without his divine means, those rank-99 Limit Douluos alone could never truly merge their souls and powers into the Golden Tree and continue protecting Shrek Academy in another form.
This was essentially a tacit exchange—he granted the Pavilion Masters a chance to guard Shrek after death, in exchange for their cultivation and soul origins, all of which would fuel Ah Yin's refinement of the Golden Tree.
After all, for those already near death, merging with the Golden Tree let them continue contributing to Shrek Academy and aid a god—a great honor and the best ending in their eyes.
When he transplanted the Golden Tree to Shrek Academy, it was always with the intention of using the accumulated luck and power of countless soul masters to nurture it.
The Golden Tree became Shrek's foundation, helping its rise, while the strength and souls of generations of Shrek's powerhouses, in turn, fed the Golden Tree and indirectly benefited Ah Yin.
A win-win in Tang San's eyes.
"This sea of life will be your grave," he thought, his killing intent boiling as Phantylia tried to ruin his plan.
Sensing Tang San's murderous determination, Phantylia only laughed more excitedly and twistedly, her attacks growing fiercer, like endless crashing waves.
"Heh… Struggle, resist. The flower of destruction that blooms in despair is the most beautiful and tragic."
The sea of life roared under divine will; stars of destruction fell in the hands of the Lord of Ravager.
Two god-level beings from separate worlds and systems, each at the pinnacle of their own power, fought to the death in Douluo Star's most sacred place.
Tides surged, light and darkness clashed madly. Every collision was more than an energy exchange—it was the direct, brutal struggle of laws and wills.
The battle between Sea God Tang San and Phantylia had reached its fevered peak.
Inside the Golden Tree, what should have been a sea of infinite, holy life had turned into a hellish battleground of ultimate, opposing forces.
Purple-black flames of oblivion and blue Sea God power raged like two irreconcilable dragons, each clash making the space tremble and wail with fearsome resonance.
"Boom—!"
Phantylia elegantly waved her arm, sending thousands of purple-black fire whips, like sinister, barbed brambles, lashing at Tang San from all directions.
These were no mere lashes—they twined and writhed like living, evil tentacles, weaving a massive net that rained corrosive, soul-destroying black fire down upon Tang San.
Tang San's face was grave, the Sea God Trident spinning into countless dazzling golden afterimages.
Each afterimage struck precisely at the energy nodes of the net, blue Sea God power surging like wild deep-sea waves, tearing at the net's bonds with hissing burns, evaporating vast swathes of the life sea into chilling voids.
"Interesting!"
Phantylia stood at the heart of her destructive storm, an energy fan with strange patterns appearing in her hand, waving it with a cat-and-mouse smile, as if watching a show.
"Your power system is somewhat like this world's mortals and soul beasts, but… purer? With a… distasteful flavor. How annoying."
"Demon, you will not succeed," Tang San's voice rang out, stern and dignified.
"No matter who you are or what your goal is, I will not allow you to taint the Golden Tree."
By now, with his divine insight, Tang San had noticed many oddities.
Phantylia was neither human nor soul beast of Douluo Star, nor any known Divine Realm race—her existence was strange, more like a pure energy consciousness born for destruction.
Her will was so purely destructive, it seemed her very purpose was to end all things.
Though only a divine avatar, Tang San instantly saw her target was also the Golden Tree's core.
He had his own reasons for wanting his mother to refine the Golden Tree—to help his parents become greater gods, but also to better guard Douluo Star.
Of course, that was only his own perspective.
This evil being, however, radiated overwhelming malice; if she succeeded, Douluo Star would face unimaginable catastrophe—a red line for him.
He was further troubled: somehow, his link to his true self in the Divine Realm was completely severed by a powerful force—this avatar's power would only decrease with use, with no way to replenish it.
This battle had to end fast, and the price would be high.
But for his mother, for Shrek, for Douluo Continent, he had no choice but to fight to the end.
"What a righteous, protective god you are… How touching," Phantylia laughed, her silver-bell voice chilling to the soul.
"Pity. What you see as defilement and destruction, I see as the highest art. Destruction is beauty, decay is eternity—let me show you the ultimate art."