Chapter 268. The Heart of the Sea God is Missing.
That evening, after the investiture was completed, Emperor Xue Ye immediately led Tang Hao and Tang San into the Heaven Dou Empire's treasury.
The Heaven Dou Empire's treasury contained countless works of art, luxury goods, and various soul bones and ancient soul tools. Tang San glanced at them out of the corner of his eye; most were merely mundane items.
The group entered the treasury and arrived at the location of the Vast Ocean Universe Cover. However, when Emperor Xue Ye opened the box containing the Vast Ocean Universe Cover, it was empty.
"Where is it?" Emperor Xue Ye questioned the soldiers beside him.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, we don't know anything about it."
"What are you all doing? Quickly, go find it!" Emperor Xue Ye roared angrily, his voice filled with rage.
So, everyone sprang into action, searching for the Vast Ocean Universe Cover. They searched for a whole day, but still couldn't find this national treasure.
Tang San and Tang Hao realized something was wrong. Tang Hao was about to get angry when Tang San said, "Dad, calm down."
After calming his father's agitated emotions, Tang San went to Emperor Xue Ye and said, "Your Majesty, I think I know who took the Vast Ocean Universe Cover."
"Tang San, just tell me," Emperor Xue Ye said.
"It was most likely taken by thieves from the Spirit Hall. Qian Xunji has an ability to break through space and create wormholes, appearing and disappearing without a trace. The Vast Ocean Universe Cover must have fallen into the hands of the Spirit Hall."
The reason Tang San was so certain was that he had realized that if the damned Spirit Hall could set restrictions on him in the Soul Master Competition, why couldn't they take away his Vast Ocean Universe Cover?
"What?!" Xue Ye exclaimed, her eyes wide. "That despicable Spirit Hall! How dare they steal like this! I must question Qian Xunji!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down," Tang San said. "Although it's highly likely the Spirit Hall did this, we have no evidence to prove it."
Xue Ye took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and asked, "Then what should we do?"
Tang San replied, "Your Majesty, you don't need to worry. Although the Spirit Hall has obtained the Vast Ocean Universe Cover, they not only can't use it, but it will also cause them a huge problem."
Emperor Xue Ye was skeptical of Tang San's words and asked why. Tang San didn't answer further.
That evening, Tang Hao came to Tang San and asked, "Why are you so certain that the Heart of the Sea God falling into the hands of the Spirit Hall will cause them a huge problem?"
Tang San then began to explain to Tang Hao what he knew about the God Realm.
Having become a god in his previous life, Tang San understood the relationships between the gods of the God Realm.
The sea god and the fallen angel god were enemies. After all, both gods belonged to the system of becoming gods through faith; the wider the scope of faith, the stronger the power.
The sea god's domain was the ocean, while the angel god gained the faith of the continent. How many people in the ocean truly worshipped the sea god? The majority of faith resided on the continent. Therefore, the sea god constantly coveted the continent.
However, due to the difference in faith, the sea god was no match for the angel god. Thus, he coveted the continent but lacked the power to intervene. Until one day, the angel god fell, and only then did the sea god's ambitions begin to stir.
The Vast Ocean Universe Cover was used as bait to lure the continent. The Sea God planned to use it to select exceptionally talented individuals from the Douluo Continent to inherit his legacy and spread his glory across the land.
Because of the conflict between the angels and the Sea God, the Sea God could not possibly choose someone from the Spirit Hall as his successor; the Spirit Hall was out of the question, let alone the angels.
The Sea God's hatred for the Angel God did not disappear with the Angel God's fall; on the contrary, it intensified, leading to even more severe retaliation against the descendants of the Angel race.
Using the Spirit Hall as a stepping stone for the Sea God's new successor, interfering with the Angel God's succession, and ultimately causing the new Angel God...
As the biggest beneficiary of the Sea God's scheme, Tang San naturally couldn't openly describe these disgraceful deeds.
If Qian Xunji obtained the Heart of the Sea God, it would certainly attract the Sea God's attention, and the Sea God would inevitably seek revenge against the Spirit Hall.
"I see, huh, then the Spirit Hall is in trouble." Tang Hao laughed. After a while, he looked at Tang San and said, "But San, if you lose the Heart of the Sea God, you also lose the Sea God's position."
"Dad, a divine position and twin martial souls are the same thing. If you can cultivate one martial soul to the point where the other martial soul has all its spirit rings, then you won't be afraid of twin martial souls."
"My dual-god unity requires Xiao Wu as a medium. Now that Xiao Wu is gone, if I choose the Sea God, I will lose the Asura God. So, between the Sea God and the Asura God, I can only choose the Asura God." Tang San laughed, "Whether I inherit the Sea God and the Asura God, I am a God King. Whether I only inherit the Asura God, I am still a God King. There is no difference. The only difference is that with the Sea God's position, I have one more choice."
"The Spirit Hall can trip me up in the Sea God's inheritance, but they don't know that I will definitely pass the Asura God's inheritance." Tang San said.
Tang Hao breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Tang San's words.
For Tang San, possessing the Sea God's position was merely icing on the cake. Even after acquiring the Vast Ocean Universe Cover, he would consider whether to inherit the position or give it to someone else, perhaps his father.
Without Xiao Wu, Tang San was truly afraid of gaining a sesame seed but losing a watermelon, gaining the Sea God but losing the Asura. The current situation was manageable; the Spirit Hall thought they had intercepted his token of godhood, but they hadn't anticipated that the Sea God's Heart was a hot potato.
Tang San's guess was correct; the Sea God's Heart had indeed been stolen by Qian Xunji.
When Tang San and his companions expressed their desire to take the Sea God's Heart, Qian Xunji had already acted first, opening a wormhole to retrieve it.
Now, the Sea God's Heart was being toyed with by Qian Xunji; no matter how he tried to manipulate it, it remained an inanimate object.
Suddenly, a deep blue light emanated from the inverted triangle of the Heart of the Sea God, and the phantom of an old man with white hair and a youthful face appeared in the Spirit Hall. His figure exuded a faint divine aura.
The gentle light of the Sea God spread throughout the entire Papal Palace, even dispelling the surrounding angelic power.
This was the phantom of Poseidon, the Sea God.
Qian Xunji looked up at the old man before him, and the old man, after appearing, also looked at Qian Xunji.
"Descendant of the Angel God, this Heart of the Sea God does not belong to you, nor to the Spirit Hall. I demand that you return it immediately," the Sea God commanded without further ado.
(End of Chapter)