Chapter 177: Tang San: The Child of Destiny—I Will Have Him
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm.
"Damnation..."
Tang San had been truly vexed lately. Whenever he attempted to peer into the movements of the Douluo Continent through the wisp of divine consciousness he had left within Wang Dong's body, he repeatedly sensed the divine consciousness auras of the Seven Deadly Sins—the gods under the God of Destruction's command. Those veteran First-Class Deities were tirelessly scanning the lower realm.
Clearly, the God of Destruction had already discovered his little maneuver.
The matter traced back to the previous time. When Wang Dong and the Child of Destiny, Huo Yuhao, had performed their martial soul fusion and their auras intertwined, Tang San seized the opportunity to discreetly send a strand of divine consciousness into Huo Yuhao's body. This had originally been a brilliant move—it would subtly and unconsciously influence Huo Yuhao, while also allowing him to track his whereabouts at any time, paving the way for future control over this critical chess piece.
Unfortunately, man proposes, but heaven disposes.
He had never anticipated that the God of Destruction had long ago set his sights on this very Child of Destiny and had already planted the seed of a divine mark within Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea ahead of time, leaving a wisp of his own divine consciousness stationed there to guard against external prying.
The God of Destruction's sudden, unexpected move had thoroughly disrupted Tang San's plans and exposed his own slip to boot.
Although the God of Destruction had only given him a mild warning—telling him not to set his designs on the person he had chosen, and even more so not to interfere with the divine trial soon to be given to Huo Yuhao—on the surface, it seemed his entire scheme had not been seen through.
But Tang San understood perfectly well in his heart.
The God of Destruction might appear hot-tempered, but in truth, his mind was meticulous and thorough. This veteran God King had always wanted to catch him by the tail. Now that he had slipped up and exposed a weakness, how could the other party possibly be unaware?
Absolutely impossible.
That was the God of Destruction—one of the most senior God Kings in the Divine Realm.
If not for having won the favor of the previous God of Kindness and God of Evil, thereby gaining control over the Divine Realm's central hub; if not for always positioning himself on the moral high ground, winning over the various gods, and shaping himself into the image of a righteous, steady, and prudent God King wholly devoted to the Divine Realm's welfare—the God of Destruction would likely have already made his move to seize power long ago.
Now, traces of his own interference in the lower realm had been caught, yet the God of Destruction had only given a mild, perfunctory warning, merely stating that Huo Yuhao was his inheritor, without bringing up any other reasons.
This abnormal restraint made Tang San increasingly uneasy.
And now, through the divine consciousness within Wang Dong's body, he could clearly perceive that the divine senses of the Seven Deadly Sins were scanning the lower realm almost constantly, without pause.
Seven veteran First-Class Deities, their strength not inferior to the Seven Elemental Gods, perhaps even surpassing them. Under the coverage of their divine senses, how could Da Ming and Er Ming possibly remain hidden?
After all, Da Ming and Er Ming were merely his Divine Officials—to put it bluntly, just Third-Class Deities without divine positions. Their meager divine consciousness was practically nonexistent before a First-Class Deity.
Thinking to this point, Tang San couldn't help but secretly rejoice: Thank goodness, thank goodness I hadn't yet sent Father Tang Hao and Mother Ah Yin down to the lower realm as well. If I had, right now I wouldn't be able to defend myself no matter what I said, unable to wash myself clean even if I jumped into the Yellow River.
What was even more troublesome was that the Douluo Continent's plane consciousness still existed, and the Child of Destiny, Huo Yuhao, was still in the lower realm.
If he tried to forcibly act against the Douluo Continent's plane consciousness now, it would inevitably provoke a backlash from the plane itself. Even if he were lucky enough to succeed, the commotion it would cause could absolutely not be concealed from the God of Destruction and the other deities.
By then, he would have completely lost his footing in the Divine Realm.
He had to wait until the Child of Destiny ascended to the Divine Realm—that would be the moment when the Douluo Continent's plane was at its weakest, and also the time when it would be easiest to strike.
Seizing it in one fell swoop then would allow his parents to legitimately inherit the position of the plane's masters. Afterward, he could lure other planes into casting covetous eyes upon it, allowing the Douluo Continent—which is to say, his parents—to devour them one by one.
In this way, the Douluo Continent would become his second Divine Realm. Even if the God of Destruction eventually discovered the truth and wanted to suppress him and strip him of his power, he would have to weigh the cost of contending against the entire Douluo Divine Realm.
It was only a pity...
Those plans could not keep pace with changes.
"God of Destruction... you truly deserve to die!" Tang San gnashed his teeth in his heart.
Now, all his arrangements had been thrown into chaos. He no longer dared to casually send out his divine consciousness to observe the lower realm, much less recklessly make new moves. He couldn't act rashly with Da Ming and Er Ming either—once detected by the Seven Deadly Sins and the God of Destruction, these two chess pieces, so painstakingly placed, would be ruined and could only be recalled to the Divine Realm.
Tang San paced irritably for a few steps, then abruptly stopped.
"Should I... forcefully contest the God of Destruction for this person, and directly have the Child of Destiny inherit my Asura God position?"
This was currently the best way to break the deadlock.
Although it would mean abandoning one of his divine positions—either the Asura God or the Sea God—he had never ceased his cultivation over the years, and had even traveled to the Great Thousand World to collect various techniques, further perfecting and upgrading the Mysterious Heaven Technique. To give up one divine position in exchange for the wholehearted loyalty of a Child of Destiny—this deal was no loss.
The prerequisite being—he must guarantee that the Child of Destiny would obey him in the future.
But no sooner had this thought emerged than he rejected it himself.
"No... right now, I simply can't out-contest the God of Destruction."
In the realm of divine consciousness, he was far from being a match for the God of Destruction. The God of Destruction was a veteran God King who had lived for who knows how many tens of thousands of years; his accumulated divine power far exceeded his own, and his attainments in divine consciousness were unfathomably profound. The moment his own divine consciousness probed downward, the God of Destruction's divine consciousness would immediately awaken—either repelling it back or directly initiating the divine trial inheritance ahead of schedule.
In a direct head-on clash, he had absolutely no chance of victory.
Tang San sank into deep thought, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the tabletop.
A moment later, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"If the Child of Destiny could go to the Yin-Yang Eyes of Ice and Fire... or the Qiankun Love Inquiry Valley..."
In both of these locations, he had long since secretly arranged contingency measures. They contained barriers that could isolate divine consciousness—even the divine consciousness of a God King-level deity would find it difficult to penetrate in a short time. As long as Huo Yuhao set foot inside, he could temporarily evade the God of Destruction's surveillance and set up his plans at his leisure.
"Then... I'll just have to have Xiao Qi go and help."
But the moment he thought of Wang Dong, Tang San's brow furrowed once more.
These days, through that strand of divine consciousness left within Wang Dong's body, he could clearly sense—Wang Dong had begun to resist.
That rebellious consciousness, though faint, truly existed. Was the child simply growing up and beginning to rebel? Or was the God of Destruction secretly helping to counter his divine consciousness while also subtly influencing Wang Dong?
After all, the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life had always wanted very much to treat Xiao Qi as their own daughter.
Tang San let out a cold laugh, a glint of icy light flashing through his eyes.
"If that's the case... then I can only deploy another chess piece."
The Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
It was already Xiao Qi's other half to begin with. Although it now possessed its own soul beast consciousness, so what? How could the will of a mere soul beast possibly compare to the divine soul of a god?
"Having her meet with Wang Dong will help strengthen my power, and can also strengthen my control over the Child of Destiny." A curve of inevitable victory tugged at the corner of Tang San's lips. "That's the plan, then."
He stood up, his gaze piercing through the sea of clouds of the Divine Realm and casting toward the distant Douluo Continent.
"Additionally... I must also go and notify Mubai and the others."
Dai Mubai, Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing... these companions of the original Shrek Seven Devils now each held various posts in the Divine Realm. Although their strength might not match that of the Seven Deadly Sins, if they joined forces, they could still exert some restraining influence.
Just a bit of interference would be fine, right?
Tang San drew a deep breath, fighting spirit rekindling in his eyes.
God of Destruction, let's see how this plays out.
The Child of Destiny—I will have him.
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I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation for a rather rare fandom. It's a crossover based on Mondaiji (Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They?)
Mondaiji: Am I A Dragon Species? https://www.webnovel.com/book/36661423108025005