"Smack—"
Before the Dark Devilgod Tiger could struggle further, it was suddenly whacked on the head—
By Tang Hao's large, calloused hand.
"What the hell are you yapping about?"
"You're disturbing my wife's meditation!"
As the saying goes—there's always a predator for every beast.
In the City of Slaughter, the Dark Devilgod Tiger had been beaten countless times by Tang Hao.
Now, it immediately fell silent, hanging its head like a scolded cub.
Tang Hao ignored it completely—
His face instantly switching to a warm smile as he turned to Tang Lan.
—The difference in attitude was comically extreme.
"Son, you did great!"
"I can't believe Grandpa was trapped in the City of Slaughter for nearly a hundred years!"
"I've been in and out of that place over a hundred times and never even noticed!"
"It was a lucky discovery," Tang Lan brushed it off casually. "I'm here today to run an experiment—you and Mom can keep being lovey-dovey."
Not far away, Ah Yin, still in her soul form, looked a little flustered at his words.
—Compared to Tang Chen and Bo Saixi, her tolerance for public affection was clearly much lower.
Meanwhile, Tang Lan dragged the Dark Devilgod Tiger to the edge of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
There, Yang Wudi was refining medicine in the Flame Spring, nodding in acknowledgment as Tang Lan approached.
"Do your thing. Don't mind me," Tang Lan said.
"Then I'll take you up on that," Yang Wudi replied, focused. "This batch of Fire Spirit Pills is made with a ten-thousand-year Fire Ginseng—if it fails, that'd be a huge waste."
Tang Lan simply waved a hand, signaling him to continue.
Then, without hesitation, he tossed the Dark Devilgod Tiger onto the ground.
Pointing at the bubbling spring below, he explained—
"This is the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, formed from the dissipated divine power of the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King after their deaths."
"At its core, it's still a form of pure energy."
"Your Evil attribute can assimilate soul power—so logically, this should work too."
"Give it a try."
The Dark Devilgod Tiger's eyes lit up.
—Why didn't you say earlier that this thing was so powerful?! What the hell was I even resisting for?!
Without waiting for further instruction—
It leaped into the air, landing squarely onto the spring's surface.
Then it sank below, vanishing from sight.
Tang Lan wasn't worried in the slightest.
A 400,000-year-old beast, especially one as powerful as the Dark Devilgod Tiger—
Wouldn't die that easily.
Even Dugu Bo, the weakest Titled Douluo, could last for a while in these waters.
The Dark Devilgod Tiger could definitely endure.
Sure enough—
A few minutes later, it resurfaced, excitement gleaming in its golden eyes.
"Bathing in this spring absorbs energy way faster than devouring a Soul Douluo!"
"Only a Titled Douluo's soul power could compare to this quality!"
"I have a feeling I could reach a million years right here!"
Tang Lan smiled.
—This means there's no need to send it to Seagod Island anymore.
Less effort, less hassle, and still a win-win situation.
"Alright then," Tang Lan said. "Once you reach 500,000 years and trigger another Thunder Tribulation, call someone to get me."
"Got it!"
The Dark Devilgod Tigerflipped onto its back, floating in the warm waters with its belly exposed, eyes closed in contentment.
—There was no greater joy than getting stronger while sleeping.
Actually—
There was.
Getting stronger while soaking in a bath!
Who wouldn't be jealous of that?
Leaving the Dark Devilgod Tiger to its soaking meditation,
Tang Lan turned back toward Tang Hao and Ah Yin, temporarily putting aside his other tasks.
It was time to catch up with his parents and update them on everything that had happened over the past year.
Since the Asura God-King had blocked the Divine Realm's connection, there was no need to be overly secretive.
The Seagod's inheritance, the Raijin inheritance, and the Asura God-King's trials—
He openly laid them all out.
By the time he finished speaking—
Both Tang Hao and Ah Yin were left completely dumbfounded.
"Did… did the world outside skip forward several thousand years?" Ah Yin muttered. "How are there suddenly so many divine inheritances?"
Tang Hao simply let out a wry laugh.
—He had visited the City of Slaughter countless times…
Yet he had never noticed anything about an Asura God-King's inheritance.
"It's not that the world changed too fast."
"It's that our son is too damn talented."
"That's why he's been able to access so many divine inheritances and earn their recognition."
Hearing this—
Ah Yin happily accepted the explanation, feeling proud beyond words.
—After all, this was her son!
But soon, she grew concerned.
"Won't having so many divine inheritances cause problems?"
"That's true," Tang Hao said seriously. "After all, gods are involved. Son, you—"
"No need to worry," Tang Lan reassured them. "I already have a complete plan in place. Plus, the Asura God-King is covering for me—he's blocking the Divine Realm's connection to the mortal world."
Hearing that the Asura God-King was helping,
Both Tang Hao and Ah Yinlet out a sigh of relief.
But then, they both realized something—
—The Asura God-King is helping?!
Ah Yin felt her brain overload from all the new information.
—Just how amazing was her son for even the Asura God-King to cooperate with him?!
Meanwhile, Tang Hao was deep in thought.
—As the reincarnation of the Dragon God, isn't this level of influence perfectly reasonable?
After chatting for a bit longer,
Tang Lan handed back the inheritance spirit bone that Tang Hao had removed along with his severed limb.
"With the Dark Devilgod Tiger here, you don't need to worry about leaving anymore."
"Great-grandfather will be heading back to the Clear Sky Sect soon."
"I already spoke with him—he'll meet you at the base of the mountain, and you'll both go up together."
"With Great-grandfather there, not only will you be welcomed back into the sect, but if you wanted to be the next sect master, all it would take is a single word."
Tang Hao's eyes shone brightly!
He never thought… that he would ever return to the Clear Sky Sect.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he clapped a firm hand on Tang Lan's shoulder.
"To have a son like you… is truly my greatest fortune!"
Tang Lan smiled in return.
—It definitely wasn't because he was too lazy to deal with the Clear Sky Sect himself.
A streak of blood light shot out from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, heading north.
At the base of Haoyue Mountain, near the only external contact point for the Clear Sky Sect,
Tang Lan descended in front of a small, dilapidated village.
This was the only passage to enter the true Clear Sky Sect, aside from its main entrance.
"Son, are you sure you don't want to come back to the sect with me?" Tang Hao asked hopefully.
He would be waiting here for Grandpa,
But he still felt uneasy.
Unfortunately for him—
Tang Lan shook his head without hesitation.
He had zero attachment to the Clear Sky Sect, a place he had never even set foot in before.
—With his current strength, he had no interest in being surrounded by a bunch of sect elders.
What if they asked him to "perform a demonstration" or something?
No thanks.
"I still need to head to the Extreme North to find an opportunity to break through level 80 and complete the second Raijin Trial."
Tang Lan responded seriously.
Since it was such an important matter, Tang Hao couldn't argue.
"Alright then, be careful on your journey, son."
"Got it! See you later, Dad!"
With that—
Tang Lan turned into a streak of blood light, shooting straight toward the Extreme North.
Upon reaching the core region of the Extreme North,
Tang Lan landed within the Ice Jade Scorpion's territory, right at Ice Emperor's main colony.
The moment his feet touched the ground—
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
A series of sharp ice-breaking sounds echoed around him.
A massive wave of Ice Jade Scorpions surged out of their burrows.
Before Tang Lan could even say anything,
Ice Emperor materialized, and the once-aggressive Ice Jade Scorpions immediately prostrated themselves in submission.
Her command rang out—
"Summon the highest-aged members of our clan. All of them must come forward to pay respects."
The Ice Jade Scorpion colony moved swiftly.
A large portion of the lesser members retreated,
Leaving only ten of the largest, most ancient Ice Jade Scorpions approaching cautiously.
What they looked like—
(End of Chapter.)