"Whew…"
Su Wen exhaled a deep breath. With a beautiful woman in his arms, he felt warm energy swirl inside—his soul core spinning at tremendous speed, absorbing energy from the soul core and from the Silver Dragon King.
A hint of joy shone in his eyes.
"Level eighty-three..."
He muttered to himself.
Moreover, his cultivation was climbing even faster now—the Silver Dragon King wasn't just any beast, but a demigod with a unique god-rank and some of the Dragon God's primal divinity.
So after capture, some divine power still remained—and now it was nourishing Su Wen…
"Isn't this nice?" The woman settled in his arms, her eyes soft. She was eternally bound to this man.
A strange, happy feeling.
"Eighty-three, on par with an average soul beast's 75,000-year cultivation. But for you, that's…" Su Wen mused.
"A million!!!" Gu Yuena lifted her head proudly, her snow-white neck stretched, her gaze on Su Wen like she wanted praise.
"A million?!" Su Wen played along, acting astonished.
"Mmm hmm~" Gu Yuena beamed with pride.
Now that she'd become the Dragon God, she was now Su Wen's strongest soul beast by a mile.
Her "Pokéball" now contained a vast sea of rainbow clouds, packed with endless energy. She could cultivate there far more effectively than beneath the Star Dou Forest lake.
But how could she sit still now? With the contract and her wounds finally healed, it was only a matter of time before she returned to her peak Dragon God prime.
"Congratulations, Lord...uh…" In the spiritual sea, Bai Xiuxiu popped up, stammering. Two bosses now?
"Just call me Dragon God." The beauty twirled her hair, her tone calm.
"Okay, yes, Dragon God!" Bai Xiuxiu bubbled, blinking.
Now she was a dragon too, and could clearly feel the pressure of an ancestral bloodline.
"Dragon God!" Xuan Ji echoed politely.
"..."
Big Eyes smacked his lips, feeling sentimental.
First there was Snow Empress the big sister—now a real Dragon God had dropped in, making this little spiritual sea a lively place.
Jiaojiao, the medicinal plant, shrank away, now just feeling ordinary among so many prodigies.
"Not just you…"
At Jiaojiao's side, an azure beauty appeared with a crown atop her green hair—a lovely mixed look of helplessness and admiration.
"We're the same martial soul," Jiaojiao said, opening her fiery petals.
"Mmm."
Li Ya popped up halfway, resting on the water with her chin propped, fish tail visible, staring at Su Wen and nudging Jiaojiao. "Hey—do you like the boss?"
"Me?!" Jiaojiao's petals trembled.
"Obviously! Just admit it already," Li Ya huffed. "Plants like us don't have as much emotion as soul beasts. Even reproduction's solo work, so for me it's more reverence than love." Jiaojiao shook all her petals.
"You're lucky…" Li Ya sighed, casting a glance at Su Wen, surrounded by Snow Empress and Gu Yuena.
Love's hard to explain.
She didn't even know when she'd fallen—it might've been when he wiped her tears, rewarded her with pearls, used his power to save her and her kind; or when they made their contract, her lineage soared, and others looked on in envy...
The luckiest thing in her life had been meeting Su Wen.
But perhaps also the unluckiest.
"Well, you're all strange…" Jiaojiao spread her petals as the fire around her flowed gently.
"Hmph!"
A bamboo segment popped up, crackling with thunder and destruction. "That's only because I haven't recovered my position as Thunder God. When I do—"
"But she's a Dragon God!"
"Uh...I just meant I could fight her, is all..." The purple bamboo faltered. "Okay, having some soup is nice too…"
Gu Yuena gave everyone a once over with a chill.
As she suspected—most of these creatures had suspicious hearts toward Su Wen! Only a few like Xuan Ji, Shi Xu, and silly Bai were 'honest'. The rest were all up to something!
If only they could take form themselves…
Otherwise—
"Teacher, what about the Divine Realm now?" Su Wen asked, focusing on Elder Yi's spiritual marker.
The soul beasts all went silent.
Other than those trying to reclaim godhood through themselves, most focused on becoming gods. Even a secondary god was an instant ascent.
Divine Realm.
Tang San glared at Elder Yi—he wanted to pound him into the ground.
Too cunning.
The old guy was both knowledgeable and devious. Even Tang San, self-proclaimed 'God of Wisdom', sweated.
"Enough, Tang San; some things aren't your concern," Destruction said drily.
"We have every right to choose our own inheritors for our god seats..."
"And with the Dragon God's appearance, restrictions are gone. There are some pretty impressive soul beasts in Douluo now; even some that match my preferences."
"But..." Tang San laughed bitterly. "No beast has become a god in so long—so sudden, isn't it…"
"Didn't you say you have soul beast blood too?" Life frowned.
"Why does it seem like you don't want them to become gods?"
"I..." Tang San was speechless.
Even the Life Goddess, formerly fooled by him, now began to doubt him—was the once-proud Sea God just a slippery liar?
Elder Yi smiled.
Exactly as planned.
Tang San, for all his talk, would lose out in internal politics—no hope of outfoxing him in this arena.
Of course, the Life Goddess was easy to dupe…
"I...have no objection." Tang San put on his trademark wry smile, painting himself as misunderstood.
"Good. The Divine Realm won't stop gods from picking soul beasts as inheritors," Destruction announced.
And as for who to pick—let them compete. There's a golden Behemoth down there... tsk tsk…"
Destruction marveled to himself.
Ji Dong and Lie Yan kept silent; they'd just inherited their positions, without even their predecessor's divine weapons yet.
But the primary gods would be lucky—Emotion God, especially, was desperate to pass on his position and reunite with his wives…
"What about the Gold Dragon King?" Ji Dong coughed weakly.
"What about him?" Destruction retorted. "Keep him sealed up, of course. If he got loose, he'd instantly go after the new Dragon God."
"The Dragon God's now too weak—the position is there but the power's not… can't handle that beast."
"Oh…" Ji Dong acknowledged his mistake, shrinking back.
But this had tipped off Tang San.
Could he join forces with the Gold Dragon King?
Or secretly open a rift to let him out? But if he had to suppress him again, the price would be massive...
And as master of the Divine Core, Destruction would hold him even more accountable.
Yet right now… even Tang San found his own power stretched—he couldn't handle Su Wen down below.
If those soul beasts all became gods, the Divine Realm might be flipped upside down.
Was it worth it—all for Su Wen?
"Sea God, don't forget your promise to hand over your god seat," Destruction warned.
"Of course. As long as they pass my trial, I'll hand it over," Tang San replied coolly.
"If they fail, I won't accept trash."
"Heh. Tang San, can you truly claim your own talent is better than those sea beasts?" Destruction mocked. "With your gifts, you barely qualified for one god—Shura had to forcibly make you a double god. Without Xiao Wu, you couldn't have handled it."
"The real Executor is Xiao Wu. Not you! Just a Sea God, and you act up in front of me?"
The atmosphere froze.
Elder Yi watched with glee.
Life seemed hesitant, Ji Dong and Lie Yan kept silent.
"Hmph!"
Tang San's face flushed with rage, but he could only storm out.
He couldn't win in words or force.
Today he'd been thoroughly humiliated.
"Knew he'd dodge the promise," Destruction huffed but didn't pursue.
Passing down a god position always rested with the incumbent—the betrayer could torment their inheritor to death, if they wanted.
Being too strict might ruin even the most promising blue dragon.
"All sorted." Elder Yi grinned.
"With Destruction and Life's consent, the committee passed the vote—finding soul beasts as inheritors is fine now. The Dragon God's return means the Divine Realm's landscape has changed…"
"That's good," Su Wen sighed in relief.
With Elder Yi, things felt at ease.
"I bet it won't be long—maybe even months—before some gods reach out to you. If it's a primary god, don't hesitate. For a secondary god, check with me first. If they're lower, tell them to get lost," Elder Yi grinned at the soul beasts.
"Got it!" Xuan Ji flexed eagerly.
"And, never trust a word the Sea God says..." He emphasized, looking especially at Bai Xiuxiu and Li Ya—the former was too gullible.
"Isn't Sea God our master?" Bai Xiuxiu blinked.
The soul beasts: "..."
Li Ya: "6"
She wasn't stupid—ever since contracting with Su Wen, she'd suspected something. But did it matter? Not at all.
The Sea God they'd revered all this time never protected his people. In her heart, the Sea God was Su Wen…
"Right, right!" Elder Yi nodded seriously. "I'm only warning you in case some fraud tries passing off as Sea God—never accept their inheritance!"
"Don't worry! I may be silly, but not stupid!" Bai Xiuxiu announced earnestly.
Everyone: "…"
Yup, they could tell.
Elder Yi struggled not to laugh and nodded.
Well, a silly person does find blessings.
"Tsk..." Su Wen gave up.
Even Li Ya could see it, but this one was just too dense…
Divine Realm.
Entering the Sea God Hall, Tang San was red-faced, staring at his wife sitting in meditation.
"Hmm? What's up—arguing with Destruction again?" Xiao Wu opened her pink eyes in surprise.
"The Life Goddess didn't intervene? Or was it Elder Yi—the new Death God?"
"Neither!"
Tang San grit his teeth.
He stared at Xiao Wu—
"Take it off!"
Xiao Wu: "???"...
"San-ge, angry today?" Ning Rongrong snuggled up to Xiao Wu, smirking.
"What happened? Tell us, the Shrek Seven Devils working together can fix anything!" Dai Mubai thumped his chest.
Tang San sighed: "That brat Su Wen's forces are expanding again..."
"What do you mean?" Oscar frowned.
"The new Death God is his teacher..."
"What?!"
Everyone was stunned.
Tang San covered his face, explaining what had happened—how the gods didn't oppose soul beasts getting godhood, how the Silver Dragon King led them, and how close they were to Su Wen (not knowing of the soul contracts—the blame on Gu Yuena).
If they all became gods, it'd be serious trouble.
"Dragon God, huh..." Even Ma Hongjun looked worried.
"I hear several primary gods are interested, even elements. If I hadn't begged, they'd have gone ahead long ago—maybe now they already have."
"Then why not get involved ourselves?" Ning Rongrong's eyes glinted.
Everyone paused.
"San-ge, bait the blue dragon or mermaid with the Sea God position. Threaten and entice them to reveal what's really going on—how the Dragon God came back without the Gold Dragon King…"
"Good idea!" Dai Mubai nodded.
"Let's give it a try," Tang San's gaze chilled.
"And one more trick."
"What is it?"
"Release the Gold Dragon King!!!"