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Bo Saixi seemed to sense his arrival, standing quietly before the Hall, her sea-blue eyes gazing at him calmly, with a hint of inquiry.
Just as Xuan Ming was about to speak, a gentle yet undeniable golden divine thought suddenly descended, directly interrupting his intention.
It was Sea God Poseidon.
"Do not speak at this time," Poseidon's divine thought conveyed a clear message. "Even if you must speak, wait until everything has settled."
Xuan Ming was startled and looked towards the statue.
Poseidon's divine thought continued, his tone complex: "Tang Chen's matter is already a foregone conclusion. If you tell her the truth now, stating that you intend to kill him, given Bo Saixi's character, how would she cope? She is the High Priest of Sea God Island and cannot leave without permission. Informing her now would be tantamount to placing her in the torment of knowing her beloved friend will die yet being powerless to stop it. What kind of torture is that?"
"Wait until the matter is concluded, when the deed is done, then inform her of the outcome. At that time, though there will be sorrow, at least she will be spared the long wait and the agony of powerlessness. The shock will be great, but it is still better than the slow torture of the present moment."
Xuan Ming fell silent for a moment.
He understood the Sea God's meaning. Telling Bo Saixi now would be to make her suffer prematurely without being able to change anything, which would be cruel. Informing her afterward, though the outcome would be the same, at least the process would be less agonizing.
He glanced at Bo Saixi, who stood before him with a calm expression, seemingly unaware of the divine thought's descent, and a complex emotion flickered in his heart.
Finally, he nodded and replied to the Sea God's divine thought: "I understand."
Since he had decided to be this "villain," since he greedily wanted to grasp everything, then the corresponding responsibilities and consequences would be borne by him alone. Indecisiveness and overthinking were enough.
He gave Bo Saixi a slight nod, not mentioning Tang Chen's matter, but merely exchanged a few usual words before turning and leaving Sea God Temple.
Bo Saixi watched his retreating back, a faint, imperceptible hint of doubt flashing in her sea-blue eyes, but she did not ask further.
Xuan Ming returned to the foot of Sea God Mountain and reunited with Bibi Dong, who was at her peak, and Gu Yuena, who was waiting nearby. Hu Liena and others were still undergoing their second God Test, while Snow Empress and the other fierce beasts were arranged by Gu Yuena to remain on Sea God Island.
Without extra words, dark red light surged around Xuan Ming, activating Evil God's Leap, and precise spatial fluctuations enveloped the three of them.
The next moment, the surrounding scenery twisted and changed, directly transporting them from the sea breeze-swept island back to the solemn and majestic Spirit City.
Departing from Spirit City was much faster than flying from the distant Sea God Island. Moreover, having been away for a long time, Bibi Dong also needed to show herself to stabilize the situation and understand the recent developments on the continent.
After a brief exchange, Bibi Dong went directly to the Elder Palace to convene a meeting.
Xuan Ming, meanwhile, flickered again, ascended Supreme Pontiff Mountain, and arrived before Angel Divine Hall.
The golden trident, the Sea God Trident, still stood firmly in the center of the square in front of the Hall, unmoving. However, the ground around it was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, clearly indicating that many had tried to move it, all ending in failure.
The moment Xuan Ming approached the Offering Hall, several powerful auras suddenly locked onto him.
Led by the Third Elder, Azure Luan Douluo, the figures of the four Elders—Guang Ling, Fierce Lion, Qian Jun, and Demon Subduer—appeared almost simultaneously, forming a fan shape around Xuan Ming, their expressions grave, filled with vigilance and hostility.
They could feel the unfathomable aura emanating from Xuan Ming, far more terrifying than when he left months ago!
Xuan Ming, however, seemed oblivious, walking directly towards the Sea God Trident.
Under the tense gaze of the Elders, he grasped the trident shaft with one hand, and the divine weapon, weighing 108,000 jin, was effortlessly lifted by him, as if he were merely picking up an ordinary weapon.
Just as he lifted the trident and was about to turn and leave, the heavy doors of the Offering Hall slowly opened.
It was not the High Priest Qian Daoliu who emerged, but Qian Renxue, dressed in a palace gown, her demeanor even more noble and sacred.
Her aura was much deeper than before, and although her spirit power fluctuations were still somewhat unstable, she had already broken through the bottleneck of Rank 90, officially entering the realm of Titled Douluo.
Clearly, she had only recently completed her breakthrough.
Qian Renxue's gaze fell upon Xuan Ming, especially the golden trident in his hand, which exuded a vast aura, her emotions complex and difficult to express.
She found that she was completely unable to clearly perceive Xuan Ming's current spirit power level, which meant that his strength had already far surpassed hers!
How strong had he… become?
"Was your God Test smooth?" Xuan Ming looked at Qian Renxue and asked.
Qian Renxue paused slightly, then nodded, "I just completed the sixth God Test. What about you?"
This golden trident had been here for more than half a year, and her grandfather had confirmed that it was a divine weapon from Sea God Island. Coupled with the golden trident mark on Xuan Ming's forehead, he had most likely obtained the inheritance of the Sea God.
However, when Xuan Ming left Spirit City for Sea God Island, he was only a Rank 70 Spirit Saint with six rings. Now, just over a year later, he was actually stronger than her!
"I'm only on the third God Test," Xuan Ming said.
Qian Renxue was silent for a moment. "Is your assessment difficult?"
Xuan Ming thought for a moment. "I don't know. You know, I don't have a concept of difficulty. There's no 'difficult or not difficult,' only 'can or cannot.'"
Xuan Ming's calm reply left Qian Renxue in a brief silence.
"There's no 'difficult or not difficult,' only 'can or cannot.'"
These words sounded plain, even somewhat arrogant, but Qian Renxue heard in them a nearly absolute confidence and a way of thinking completely different from hers, or rather, from most Spirit Masters.
Simple, pure.
Xuan Ming had always been like this.
After a brief silence, Xuan Ming turned his back to Qian Renxue. "I have other matters. See you again."
"Wait," Qian Renxue suddenly called out to him again.
Xuan Ming stopped and looked back at her. "Is something wrong?"
Qian Renxue clenched her fists, looked into his eyes, and said, "You can… never mind, it's nothing."
Qian Renxue took a deep breath and turned to enter the Offering Hall.
Xuan Ming gazed at the closed Hall doors, said nothing more, turned, and disappeared… into the Supreme Pontiff Palace.
When Xuan Ming returned from the mountain, Bibi Dong had already dealt with the matters of the Elder Palace. However, there seemed to be a problem with the Slaughter City.
"What happened?" Xuan Ming asked.
"The logistics for Slaughter City were supported by Spirit Hall, but ever since the establishment of the Spirit Empire and its standoff with the Two Great Empires, Spirit Hall's supplies to Slaughter City have stopped," Bibi Dong said.
"Gui Mei reported to me that in recent months, there seem to have been problems in Slaughter City. The Slaughter King even dispatched the captain of his enforcement team, a Titled Douluo, to contact the Heaven Dou Empire, demanding that the Heaven Dou Empire provide them with more people and logistics."
"If the Heaven Dou Empire doesn't agree, Slaughter City will cause trouble."
Currently, the Heaven Dou Empire was busy mobilizing troops and preparing for war against the Spirit Empire. If a troublesome Slaughter City were to emerge from behind, facing enemies from both front and back, internal and external troubles, they would truly be in an awkward position.
Therefore, facing the Slaughter King's threat, the Heaven Dou Empire unexpectedly chose to compromise. As for how exactly they would provide those things to Slaughter City, the Spirit Empire's spies had not yet found out, but she could roughly guess.
"You… you don't seem surprised?" Bibi Dong asked, puzzled.
Xuan Ming paused. "When I left Slaughter City, I fed the blood pool of Hell Road to Blood Spear. That thing is the foundation of Slaughter City."
The blood pool of Hell Road was the core energy source that maintained the operation of Slaughter City and controlled the fallen.
Without this source, the production of bloody mary would inevitably plummet, unable to meet the demands of the entire Slaughter City.
Those fallen, dominated by the desire for slaughter and bloody mary, would naturally fall into madness and chaos when their supply was cut off.
To maintain the stability of Slaughter City and secure his throne, the Slaughter King either had to obtain a large amount of Life energy from outside to replenish it, or directly carry out an internal purge to reduce the number of "consumers."
Clearly, the Slaughter King chose to do both.
However, after extensive slaughter, the population of Slaughter City would become insufficient.
What kind of king would he be without subjects?
To continue maintaining the twisted dream kingdom of Slaughter City, the Slaughter King could only find ways to quickly obtain more resources and people.
The Slaughter King dared not provoke the Spirit Empire; after all, if he dared to threaten Bibi Dong, Slaughter City would likely disappear from this World.
But as for the Heaven Dou Empire, the Slaughter King could still bully them.