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Qian Renxue watched Tang Chen quietly. The radiance of the Seraphim behind her slowly faded, yet the pressure belonging to the Angel God still enveloped the world.
Amidst the golden Holy Light, her eyes grew deep. It was as if she were weighing her options, or perhaps reminiscing about the past.
After a long while, she spoke faintly, "What makes you think I'd agree?"
Tang Chen was not surprised. He remained calm and said, "Because you know better than anyone that keeping Tang San alive brings you no benefits. You want to unify the continent, bring order, gather faith, and make the Spirit Empire the new ruler over both empires. But Tang San is different. He doesn't need order, cities, common people, or the future. All he needs are spirits, resentment, and death."
Tang Chen raised the Sea God Trident in his hand. Azure light flowed slowly along the blade, seemingly resonating with the distant ocean.
"To conquer a city, you need troops, provisions, officials, Spirit Masters, and a plan to rebuild," Tang Chen added. "But for Tang San to destroy a city, he only needs half an hour. You kill enemies to make them submit. He kills people to make the dead keep killing for you."
Qian Renxue did not speak.
Everything Tang Chen said was true.
Angel divine force could purify darkness, but she was only one person. If Tang San fought her head-on, she wouldn't fear him. But Tang San had completely abandoned his shame. He didn't guard cities, territory, people, or the dignity of a Spirit Master. He could slaughter a city of the Spirit Empire today, a town of the Heaven Dou Empire tomorrow, and sneak to the Star Luo border the day after to devour spirits on the battlefield.
He wasn't an army. He was a mobile plague.
"So, you want me to temporarily cease fire?" Qian Renxue asked slowly.
Tang Chen nodded. "At least until Tang San is dead, we cease fire."
On the walls of Heaven Dou City, Xue Beng's expression changed instantly. He couldn't help but yell out, "Tang Chen, what's the meaning of this? The Spirit Empire army is already at our gates! What right do you have to decide a ceasefire for Heaven Dou?"
His voice was loud, filled with the fury of an emperor whose authority was challenged.
Tang Chen simply turned his head and gave him a faint look. That look held no killing intent, nor any heavy pressure. Yet, Xue Beng felt as if an invisible hand had choked his throat. The rest of his words got stuck, unable to come out.
"Your Majesty, you can disagree," Tang Chen said calmly. "But if you don't agree, I'll leave Heaven Dou City right now to chase Tang San. You can keep defending the city with the Heaven Dou Army. You can count on Senior Dugu, School Master Ning, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo to block a divine rank expert and the whole Spirit Empire for you."
Xue Beng's expression turned ugly.
Tang Chen wasn't mocking him; he was stating the raw truth. The only reason Heaven Dou was still standing wasn't because Xue Beng was wise or because the army was strong. It was because Tang Chen had returned. If Tang Chen left and Qian Renxue launched a real attack, Heaven Dou City would fall.
Ning Fengzhi sighed softly and stepped forward. "Your Majesty, Tang Chen is right. Right now, the threat of Tang San is far worse than the fight between our empires. If we let him keep devouring spirits to become a god, it won't matter how hard we fight today. In the end, we'll just be adding more corpses to the rakshasa altar."
Dugu Bo snorted cold air and added, "Kid Xue Beng, this old man stands with Tang Chen this time. Tang San isn't human anymore. I've seen poisons, and I've seen Evil Spirit Masters, but this is the first time I've seen a monster that treats a whole city like trash to be swallowed. If you're still thinking about fighting the Spirit Empire to the death right now, you're just helping Tang San fill his belly."
Xue Beng's lips trembled. He was completely unwilling. He was the Emperor of Heaven Dou. How could he accept a ceasefire made by Tang Chen and Qian Renxue while the enemy army stood outside his walls? But he knew Heaven Dou had no real choice.
After a long silence, Xue Beng gritted his teeth. "What if the Spirit Empire takes this chance to launch a sneak attack?"
Qian Renxue spoke up. "I swear in the name of the Angel God that until Tang San is dead, the main force of the Spirit Empire won't attack Heaven Dou City."
Her voice wasn't loud, yet it echoed through the world like a golden bell. Inside and outside Heaven Dou City, countless soldiers looked up at the sky.
A god taking an oath. The weight of those words far surpassed any imperial treaty.
Qian Renxue looked at Tang Chen. "But I have my own conditions."
"Speak," Tang Chen replied.
"If you still try to stop me from unifying the continent after Tang San dies, I won't show mercy just because we worked together today," Qian Renxue declared.
Tang Chen nodded smoothly. "That's fine."
Qian Renxue's eyes flickered. "You aren't going to ask for a guarantee for Heaven Dou?"
Tang Chen looked at the city beneath his feet, then at the distant sky stained red by war. "I'm not a subject of Heaven Dou, nor am I a subject of Star Luo. After Tang San dies, whoever rules the continent will depend on your own strength. At that time, if you keep attacking, I'll keep blocking you. If you beat me, the continent is yours, and there's nothing more to say."
Xue Beng's face grew even paler upon hearing this. However, Ning Fengzhi showed a complex smile.
This was the real Tang Chen. He didn't offer fake loyalty or preach about grand virtues. His goal was simple: kill the biggest threat first. The rest of the debts could be settled later.
Qian Renxue stared at Tang Chen deeply. "Fine."
She raised her right hand. Golden light gathered in her palm, and a streak of Angel divine force turned into a golden command token hovering in the air.
"Listen, Spirit Empire forces! From this moment on, for three days, all frontline armies will stop all attacks on Heaven Dou City. Anyone who starts a fight without orders will be executed as a traitor!"
The golden command token shot across the sky, splitting into dozens of light streams that flew toward the major legions of the Spirit Empire.
Gold Crocodile Douluo and the other elders bowed their heads. "By your command!"
At the same time, Tang Chen raised his hand.
The ground around Heaven Dou City began to tremble softly. Between the cracks in the city walls, under the street stones, along the moat, and deep within the grass roots, countless blue-gold Blue Silver Emperors grew out quietly. They didn't attack anyone. Instead, they spread out in all directions like a massive, intricate net.
Xue Beng panicked slightly. "What are you doing?"
"Casting a net," Tang Chen answered.
"What kind of net?"
"A net to catch and kill Tang San."
Tang Chen closed his eyes, and nine spirit rings rose slowly behind him: red, red, red, red, red, red, platinum, dark gold, and orange gold.
The moment those nine spirit rings showed up, every Spirit Master nearby gasped for air. Even though many had heard about Tang Chen's crazy spirit ring setup, seeing it in person was still suffocating. The platinum and orange-gold rings carried an aura that didn't belong to mortal Spirit Masters.
A sharp look flashed in Qian Renxue's eyes. She was already a god, yet she could still feel a dangerous threat from Tang Chen. It wasn't just raw spirit power, but the heavy pressure of multiple divine powers mixed together: Sea God power, Asura killing intent, Blue Silver life force, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's ocean origin, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's spiritual origin, the Snow Empress's Ultimate Ice, and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's fate power.
Normally, these powers would clash violently. Yet inside Tang Chen, the endless life force of the Blue Silver Emperor tied them together into a strange, stable balance.
Tang Chen ignored their shock and activated his seventh spirit ring.
Blue Silver Avatar!
In an instant, the Blue Silver Emperors around Heaven Dou City shot up, transforming into a blue-gold forest. Every vine acted as an extension of Tang Chen's body, sensing death energy, resentment, Rakshasa Divine Power, and spatial cracks in the world.
Then, Tang Chen slammed the Sea God Trident straight into the air.
A wave of azure ripples spread outward. The ripples didn't hurt physical bodies; they moved along spatial dimensions. The small cracks above Heaven Dou City that had been stained by Rakshasa energy sizzled and smoothed over under the Sea God's light.
Qian Renxue understood his goal right away. "You're clearing Tang San's spatial coordinates first?"
Tang Chen opened his eyes. "He was in Heaven Dou City before, so he left behind Rakshasa anchor points. As long as those stay, he can open a rift and jump here anytime. To kill him, we have to block his escape routes first."
Qian Renxue nodded. She waved her hand, transforming her Angel Holy Light into golden flames that rained down from the sky, burning along the paths where Tang Chen's vines probed.
Wisps of purple-black smoke flared up from shadowy corners. The dark mist twisted like poisonous bugs exposed to direct sunlight.
Tang Chen's gaze turned cold. "There are quite a few hidden here."
Qian Renxue's face darkened too. Some of those Rakshasa anchor points were buried near the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
If Tang Chen hadn't come back in time, and if Heaven Dou fought a death battle against Qian Renxue today, Tang San could have used those points to drop into the palace and harvest all the dead spirits. In the end, neither empire would win; only Tang San would profit.
Xue Beng turned pale as he saw the black smoke rising near his palace.
Ning Fengzhi said heavily, "What a cruel plan."
Dugu Bo cursed, "That beast is treating everyone like food for his rituals!"
Tang Chen stayed quiet. He had expected Tang San to do this. The current Tang San wasn't the youth at Notting Academy who hesitated over whether to trust Yu Xiaogang. Now, his mind held only one goal: become a god, resurrect Xiao Wu, and take back what he thought belonged to him. For that, he would kill anyone and sacrifice anything, including his former teachers, friends, and family.
Tang Chen pulled back the Sea God Trident. "Next, I'll go to the Star Dou Great Forest to find the Beast God Di Tian and get him to join us."
"Will the Spirit Beasts trust you?" Qian Renxue asked.
"Tang San already rampaged through the Star Dou Great Forest, so Di Tian has no choice," Tang Chen replied. "Di Tian knows that if Rakshasa energy ruins the continent, the Spirit Beasts won't survive either."
Qian Renxue thought for a moment. "Then I'll go with you."
The elders of the Spirit Empire reacted immediately. Gold Crocodile Douluo stepped up and said, "Young Lord, you can't! The Star Dou Great Forest is full of dangerous beasts. You just became a god; going deep inside is too risky!"
Qian Renxue raised her hand to stop him. "Because I'm a god, I have to go. Killing Tang San isn't just his fight; it's mine too. Since we're teaming up, I need to see Di Tian myself to confirm the Spirit Beasts' stance."
Tang Chen looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Fair enough."
Xue Beng couldn't hold back anymore. "What about Heaven Dou City?"
Tang Chen said faintly, "Senior Dugu, School Master Ning, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo will stay here. I'll also leave the Blue Silver Emperor net active. If Tang San shows up, I'll know right away."
He looked at Qian Renxue again.
She understood and turned to Gold Crocodile Douluo. "Grandpa Gold Crocodile, lead the Worship Hall to guard the front lines. Don't attack the city without my order. If Tang San appears, focus everything on killing him."
Gold Crocodile Douluo took a deep breath and bowed. "Understood."
Blue-gold light wings spread behind Tang Chen. Qian Renxue's six wings expanded as well, filling the sky with golden Holy Light. The two of them turned into light beams and shot straight toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
The soldiers and citizens below watched them leave, feeling a strange sense of absurdity. One was Heaven Dou's strongest defender, and the other was the Angel God who was about to destroy the city a moment ago. Now, they were flying together just to kill Tang San.
Ning Fengzhi sighed softly. "The world has changed."
Dugu Bo sneered. "The world didn't change. That little beast Tang San just forced everyone to stand on the same side."
Sword Douluo Chen Xin looked into the distance. "I hope we can finish him off for good this time."
Bone Douluo Gu Rong shook his head. "It won't be easy. That kid is slick like a snake now. Killing him won't be simple at all."
Ning Fengzhi remained silent. He knew Gu Rong was right. If Tang San were easy to kill, he wouldn't have survived this long.
Meanwhile, deep inside the Rakshasa Space, purple-black mist swirled over an altar made of stacked bones. Tang San opened his eyes slowly.
On his chest, the wound left by Di Tian's Dragon God Claw still hadn't healed. The cyan-gold life force and black-gold destruction power fought near his wound like two iron nails, pinning his Rakshasa Divine Power inside his body.
Tang San's face looked twisted with rage. In front of him, a mirror made of dark spirits showed everything happening outside Heaven Dou City.
He watched Tang Chen and Qian Renxue agree to a ceasefire. He watched Tang Chen clear out the spatial anchor points in the city. He watched them both fly off toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
Every scene felt like a hard slap to his face.
"Teaming up?" Tang San's voice sounded scratchy and dry, his eyes burning with intense hatred. "Tang Chen, you actually convinced Qian Renxue to join you? Why? I'm supposed to be the protagonist of this world! All the luck and power should belong to me! The Sea God Trident is mine, Xiao Wu is mine, and the Blue Silver Emperor is mine too! What right do you have to steal everything and act like a savior in front of everyone?"
The dark spirits surrounding the altar felt his furious anger and screamed wildly into the dark air.