Chapter 91: Belated Rewards
After her long and fruitful conversation with the Water God, that familiar system notification chime finally rang out once more within Furina's mind.
"Congratulations, Host, on successfully drawing the attention of Tang Buddha! Also, congratulations on gaining the favor of the God of Destruction and becoming one of the candidates for the Goddess of Life's divine seat!"
Furina couldn't help pressing a hand to her forehead. "Let's skip the first congratulations, shall we? In what world is being noticed by Tang Buddha a good thing? Before long, I might not even remember who I am anymore. My entire personality will be remodeled according to his philosophy, and the Church of the Water God I've worked so hard to build will probably be renamed the Tang Sect."
She recalled Tang San's various maneuvers in the Unrivaled Tang Sect era. After the Sun Moon Empire had annexed the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires, he had actually made Ju Zi change the nation's name to the Heaven Dou Empire—rigidly recreating the power balance of ten thousand years ago, with Heaven Dou and Star Luo locked in opposition. Furina truly could not fathom what purpose this served. To flaunt his God-King-level control? To recreate the glory etched in his memories?
Fine. She had to admit—it was very much "in character" for Tang San. As a God King, if he truly descended upon the Douluo Continent in his real body, every soul master on the continent combined probably couldn't take a single strike from him. He truly did have the capital to act on his whims.
But what made Furina's blood run cold the more she thought about it was this: Tang San had stirred up such enormous waves, yet the God of Destruction and the other deities of the Divine Realm seemed utterly unaware. Or perhaps... they tacitly approved it? Deliberately turned a blind eye? Or maybe—Tang San, when he made his moves, had long since calculated the time differential of the Divine Realm. A single day in the Divine Realm was a full year in the mortal world. He could easily slip down to the lower realm, deliver his threats, and swiftly return while the God of Destruction was momentarily distracted. From the Divine Realm's perspective, the entire process would take less than a minute.
"Truly, a finely played gambit..." Furina murmured under her breath, her voice tinged with exasperation and a faint, barely perceptible note of sarcasm.
The system's voice rang out again, carrying a note of playful mischief. "Ehe~"
"Oh, come now, Host, don't be so anxious. Just as you've analyzed yourself—given your rate of growth and your connection to the Water God, being noticed by the Sea God Tang San was only a matter of time. Sooner or later, the difference is negligible."
"Besides—haven't you now caught the eye of the God of Destruction as well? With this God King who just so happens to oppose Tang San on your side, you've gained an extra protective talisman. There's no need to be overly worried."
"Now then, let's get down to business and tally up your rewards this time."
"Congratulations, Host! You have received 200,000 points. One fifty-thousand-year left-arm soul bone of the Ultimate Water attribute. Permanent doubling of soul power and spiritual power cultivation speed."
"Also—due to... ahem, network latency—here is a supplementary congratulations."
Furina raised an eyebrow and exposed the lie without mercy. "Network latency, my ass! You just plain forgot to hand out the rewards, didn't you!"
The system instantly fell silent, as if its guilty heart had been skewered dead-center. It began playing dead.
Furina shook her head. She couldn't be bothered to squabble with this occasionally derailed system. "Fine, I'll stop teasing. Hurry up and bring out all my rewards."
Only then did the system return to normal, announcing the rest with a perfectly straight face. "Congratulations, Host, on successfully bringing the Tang Sect under your banner! Rewards: two of each—Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, Rain of Pear Blossom Needles, and King Yan's Invitation. These top-tier Tang Sect hidden weapons may be used directly, or you may attempt reverse-engineering research on them. They may yield unexpected gains."
"Further congratulations, Host, on successfully recruiting three talented individuals: Tang Ya, Jiang Nannan, and Xiao Xiao! Rewards: one Emperor's Pill and one Dou Spirit Pill."
"Hmm?" Furina noticed the omission in the list. "What about Bei Bei? Does he not count?"
The system simulated a helpless shrug. "Unfortunately, not at this time. You have not yet obtained Bei Bei's genuine, wholehearted loyalty. His current goodwill toward you is largely built upon his relationship with Tang Ya and his own stance as a member of the Tang Sect. In other words, you are, at present, merely ordinary friends on decent terms."
Furina nodded in understanding. "So that's how it is. It makes sense. After all, he's more or less the designated next successor of Shrek Academy. It's only natural that he holds Shrek close to his heart. Still—once my Canaan Academy is fully developed, if Shrek remains stubbornly set in its ways and refuses to change, I'm afraid its position as the continent's foremost academy won't be so secure anymore."
"Final reward: Congratulations, Host, on gaining the notice and goodwill of Mu En! Reward skill: Sovereign's Descent!"
Sovereign's Descent—this was the unique, self-created ultimate technique of Dragon God Douluo Mu En. Its essence lay in perfectly infusing one's own vast, overwhelming spiritual power into one's soul skills. Ordinary soul skills only inflicted physical damage. A soul skill imbued with the imposing force of "Sovereign's Descent," however, layered a direct, soul-striking spiritual impact atop the physical blow. The power and tier of the two were fundamentally incomparable.
Furina was quite satisfied. Though she had paid the price of a five-year Longevity Gu, to earn the goodwill and acknowledgment of Mu En—the mightiest soul master on the entire continent—was undoubtedly a worthwhile trade. This karmic bond would surely pave the way for many of her future plans.
"Anything else?" she asked, brimming with anticipation.
The system replied crisply and efficiently. "Reporting to Host—all rewards have been distributed. Current inventory is empty."
"Alright. Thank you for your hard work."
Furina hesitated no longer. First, she retrieved the fifty-thousand-year Ultimate Water–attribute left-arm soul bone that the system had rewarded. The soul bone was a deep, profound azure throughout. Within it, it seemed as if liquid currents of water were slowly, ceaselessly surging. Threads of Ultimate Water aura diffused outward, moistening the very air around her.
She sat cross-legged, focused her mind, and quieted her spirit. She began guiding her soul power to fuse with this left-arm soul bone.
The process went unexpectedly smoothly. The Ultimate Water attribute resonated with her divine nature at the deepest level. The vast energy contained within the soul bone flowed into her limbs and through every meridian like a gentle, docile stream. The instant the absorption was complete, her soul power rank blasted through successive bottlenecks, directly leaping up by two full ranks. At the same time, a brand-new soul skill etched itself into her consciousness—Water Explosion.
Sensing the information about "Water Explosion" flooding into her mind, the corner of Furina's mouth twitched uncontrollably. She couldn't help but lambast it yet again. "Water Explosion, my ass! Isn't this just the water-attribute copy-paste of Ice Explosion?! System, you really are a lazy bum. Same old wine, just poured into a new bottle!"
Despite her grumbling, Furina still carefully studied this newly acquired soul skill. Unlike Ice Explosion, which used extreme cold to detonate ice crystals either inside or outside a target, the essence of Water Explosion lay in the supreme, absolute control over "water" itself.
It could not only detonate obvious sources of water, but could even extract the moisture within a living creature's body, or condense the thin, scattered water elements in the air, instantly generating a terrifying, high-pressure detonation. Its destructive power and area of effect were indeed on the same tier as the Ice Jade Scorpion's Ice Explosion. In certain specific environments, it might even produce unexpected, miraculous effects.
"The applications for this are far broader than Ice Explosion."