Although Li Chang'an wasn't particularly well-versed in matters of the Divine Realm, there was one thing he was absolutely certain about: the gods had long since excluded both the Rakshasa God and the Angel God from their ranks.
Before Bibi Dong could speak, Li Chang'an threw out two heavy-hitting questions: the Spirit Hall hadn't received the inheritance of the Angel God for tens of thousands of years, and the Rakshasa God had perished even earlier…
These two points left Bibi Dong momentarily unsure of how to respond.
"So you're saying, Chang'an… if I ascend to godhood, it'll still be nearly impossible for me to gain a foothold in the Divine Realm?" she asked after a long pause.
Li Chang'an shook his head. In truth, Bibi Dong not only had no place in the Divine Realm—if it weren't for him altering the plot, she would have been shattered by the Divine Realm during the final battle through Tang San's hands. She never would've made it there in the first place.
"Teacher, don't worry. I'm telling you this not to scare you. Just remember this: the Divine Realm no longer walks the same path as us. Even if we're going to flip the table one day, that's a matter for ten years down the road. I've already laid out a long-term plan for it."
Challenging the Divine Realm wasn't just about flipping a table. It involved gathering every usable force, dealing with the fallout of divine rules collapsing, preventing the Divine Realm from targeting their allies prematurely, and making sure he himself wouldn't be suppressed. The complications were endless.
And his plan was still in its infancy. Many layers still needed refining—after all, it was a battle against the heavens. Prudence was a must.
"Well then," Bibi Dong gave a helpless chuckle, "I always thought becoming a god was the end of the road. Looks like it's only the beginning." But she never said she was afraid.
__
Later, under Orleans' guidance, Li Chang'an and Bibi Dong arrived at the territory of a demonic whale. Though not the infamous 990,000-year one, this one had cultivated for 460,000 years—a terrifying creature in its own right.
Thankfully, Li Chang'an had the Oceanic Domain. Working together with Bibi Dong, it only took half an hour to bring the beast down.
The battle was intense.
The sea was stained red, and the terrifying pressure forced nearby spirit beasts to flee in panic. Even among oceanic spirit beasts, a 460,000-year-old demonic whale was a top predator—few dared to get close.
During the fight, Li Chang'an briefly reached out and grabbed Bibi Dong's hand. It was a natural move in the heat of battle, meant to steady her as they coordinated their attacks.
---
After absorbing the 460,000-year soul bone, Li Chang'an didn't even have time to test his new soul skill before activating his domain ability to urge the Sea God Vessel to return at top speed.
Because in this deep-sea region, the strongest race was the demonic whales—and having slain one today, if that one showed up, things could get really troublesome.
But Li Chang'an was determined—the 990,000-year demonic whale? He was going to take it. No way he'd leave it for Tang San—that would be brain-dead behavior.
Sure enough, just as they were rushing back to shore, the sea behind them surged with an overwhelming pressure. Dark clouds blocked out the sun.
Luckily, with both Li Chang'an and Bibi Dong aboard, keeping the Sea God Vessel safe wasn't an issue.
Once back on shore, the two didn't dawdle. Bibi Dong grabbed Li Chang'an's hand, and with a spatial jump, they returned straight to the Spirit Hall.
They'd been away for seven days. A lot needed handling. Bibi Dong didn't keep Li Chang'an around and simply waved the disciple away.
Li Chang'an left the Pope's Hall grinning like a fool. The biggest gain from this voyage wasn't the two soul rings or soul bones—it was the progress in his relationship with his teacher.
Bibi Dong hadn't even asked about the soul bone he obtained, and Li Chang'an was smart enough not to bring it up himself. To be honest, he didn't even know how to explain it.
Seventh soul skills were all about Martial Soul Avatars—nothing surprising there—but the soul bone he obtained, the 460,000-year-old demonic whale soul bone, had been marked by the system as assimilatable!
Which meant… it could fuse with his existing torso soul bone from the demonic shark, creating a combo far greater than the sum of its parts.
Naturally, Li Chang'an didn't hesitate. After the fusion, the resulting soul bone reached a whopping 720,000 years of cultivation!
Moreover, his original soul skill that could boost any body part's strength by 200% had evolved into one that granted 600% strength boost to any chosen body part!
Six hundred percent.
You know what that means?
It means that Li Chang'an could fight with Tital Douluo at Level 94 or more maybe.
So of course, he was looking forward to what might happen once he eventually fused with that 990,000-year soul bone.
Having completed all this, his overall strength rose to level 76, and the system interface also underwent changes.
First up, a new item: Soul Bone Fruit. Like before, it could be exchanged with points, and each one would boost a soul bone's quality by 100,000 years. Other fruits like Soul Power Fruit, soul Ring Fruit, Mental Power Fruit, and Luck Fruit all got updated versions too.
Soul Power Fruit (Supreme Edition), Soul Ring Fruit (Supreme Edition)…
The Supreme Soul Power Fruit was potent enough that two of them would raise Li Chang'an by a full level. The Soul Ring Fruit (Supreme) was even more absurd—each one boosted a soul ring's age by 100,000 years.
As for the Supreme Luck Fruit and Mental Power Fruit… they cost a million points each. Li Chang'an, being the broke guy he was, could only laugh helplessly.
After reaching the seventh ring, Bibi Dong had also told him during their return that he could start attempting to condense a second soul core. But he had to figure out a method to prevent core interference—otherwise, it wasn't even an option.
Once he succeeded though, he'd no longer need Soul Power Fruits to level up. At that point, even his breathing would passively absorb the purest essence of heaven and earth.
But that wasn't the priority right now.
Li Chang'an didn't even stop by to see Hu Liena or his shy girl. He made a quick trip home, then shattered space with the Donghuang Bell, teleporting thousands of miles away in the blink of an eye.
With a second jump, he appeared outside Heaven Dou City.
Before leaving, he'd left instructions for Spirit Hall's agents in the city and told his father to wait for him, but it had been too long—and that urgency gnawed at him.
Heaven Dou City was a web of rival forces—Top Three Clans, Lower Four Clans, the Star Luo Empire, and even Spirit Hall all had spies and footholds there. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was based there too.
He had to get there, fast.
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