Yali's words were still very gentle, with much less tit for tat than Yun Ming's. Hearing this, Tang Wulin breathed a sigh of relief.
As Yali instructed, he sat down cross-legged in front of all the Pavilion Elders and attempted to communicate with the Golden Ancient Tree.
In reality, he had no clue how to proceed.
How to communicate?
Yali only said to communicate, not how to communicate. This stumped Tang Wulin.
He urgently called out to Old Tang.
"She's here."
Old Tang spoke.
Before Tang Wulin could react, he felt himself sink into a warm embrace. In a boundless golden ocean, an elegant, graceful figure was looking at him, her eyes full of kindness.
"Wulin."
"You are...?"
At this moment, Tang Wulin only felt an intense intimacy towards this woman, and was momentarily puzzled.
"She is your grandmother."
Old Tang had also appeared within this space.
"Grandmother?" Tang Wulin was dumbstruck.
He wasn't stupid; he could vaguely guess his own origins, but there were many inexplicable aspects, so he had never confronted this issue.
However, he had only assumed he was a descendant of the Sea God, not the son of the Sea God. So when Old Tang said this woman was his grandmother, he still didn't fully grasp it.
"Xiao San..."
A Yin, seeing Old Tang, also showed a look of surprise.
"No, I am not him. I am merely a wisp of his divine sense, helping Wulin master the Golden Dragon King bloodline within him."
"What exactly happened back then?"
"The God Realm encountered a turbulence of time and space, severing its connection with Douluo Planet. Where it is now, I do not know. Wulin was invaded by the Golden Dragon King. My true self could only seal away the Golden Dragon King's origin, send him to Douluo Continent, and leave behind this divine sense to guide him in digesting the Golden Dragon King bloodline."
Tang Wulin listened from the side, feeling like falling into the clouds, bewildered.
This implication...
If he still didn't understand, he would truly be a fool.
"The space-time turbulence disturbed space-time. When Wulin was sent over, a full six thousand years had passed on Douluo Continent. This was something I did not anticipate."
"The reason I am appearing is to ask you to convey: hand over the Vast Sea Cosmic Crest within the Sea God Pavilion to Wulin. For so many years, we don't know how the true self has been over there. The Vast Sea Cosmic Crest is the key he left for locating Douluo Planet."
Old Tang stopped here. He stared at A Yin's shadow, noticing that A Yin now wore a difficult color.
"What's wrong? Did something happen to the Vast Sea Cosmic Crest?"
A Yin nodded, smiling bitterly, "Just half a year ago, the Vast Sea Cosmic Crystal no longer belongs to the Sea God Pavilion; it acknowledged Su Ming as its master."
"Who?"
Acknowledged who?
Old Tang was stunned.
It couldn't acknowledge Su Ming of all people!
How could this be?
Countless question marks flashed through his mind.
A Yin sighed.
"I don't know the specifics either. Anyway, that Su Ming possesses Sea God faith. Back then, I mistook him for the successor you had chosen and even bestowed upon him the identity of Son of Nature. Looking back now, I was deceived by him too."
"Su Ming used Sea God faith to suppress Abyssal energy, developing a method for all Spirit Masters to devour it. But it requires the Vast Sea Cosmic Crystal as the core."
"Due to the general trend, Shrek had no choice but to provide the Vast Sea Cosmic Crystal. Only, the crystal seemed directly acknowledged Su Ming as its master, doing so right in front of Yun Ming."
A Yin looked at Old Tang with an expectant look.
"Think carefully again. Is there really such a successor? According to Yun Ming's account, this Su Ming is very skilled in using Sea God faith, possessing the abilities of God Descent and granting God Descent to others. The speed at which the Vast Sea Cosmic Crest acknowledged him might not even be slower than if you were manipulating it yourself."
Old Tang was dumbfounded.
"There really is no such successor, at least not in my memory. Perhaps the true self forgot to impart some important information to me?"
Old Tang was a makeshift spiritual clone, itself carrying limited memories. His mission was simple: protect and assist Tang Wulin's growth.
Now he was also somewhat dazed.
Could there really be an outsider capable of freely mobilizing his Sea God faith?
Just what origin does this Su Ming have?
A Yin frowned tightly, after thinking for a moment, she asked, "Could he be the reincarnation of the Primordial Sea God?"
Old Tang wasn't sure anymore.
The Primordial Sea God had left no news whatsoever after departing the God Realm, and he truly didn't know the other's whereabouts.
But still, it shouldn't have come to this—sneaking back to Douluo Planet, right?
Or perhaps, he returned after the God Realm vanished, discovered the God Realm was missing, found that his successor (the true self) was acting inappropriately, became angry, reincarnated, and retook control of the Sea God faith?
That wouldn't happen, right?
Old Tang's eyes grew dark, and he too was now indecisive.
After a long while, he looked towards Tang Wulin beside him.
"Wulin, today I won't hide it from you anymore. Your origins are different, just as I said earlier. You come from the God Realm; you are the son of God King Tang San. Your mother is Xiao Wu. This is your grandmother, A Yin."
Tang Wulin's heart and mind are stirring.
His background was actually so astonishing!
"The Vast Sea Cosmic Crest has been acknowledged by Su Ming. My true self should also be considered positioned. Given your current abilities, you probably can't take it back for now. However, with the support of your grandparents and the Golden Dragon King bloodline, in this era with no God Realm, your potential is destined to be the highest."
Old Tang comforted Tang Wulin, and set a goal for him.
"Next, you don't need to compete with Su Ming. You only need to digest your Golden Dragon King bloodline to break through the plane's suppression and attain true god-level strength. Even if the plane itself breaks through the divine level and no longer suppresses Spirit Masters, your strength will still lead all others, at least reaching Primary God level."
Tang Wulin's expression showed an awkward color.
In the Dragon Valley, he had combed his bloodline and used the burial ground to nourish himself with draconic aura. Even after forcibly fusing the power of the seventh and eighth seals consecutively within the valley, he had now fully adapted and was confident he could fuse the ninth seal as well.
But he hadn't fused it, planning to do so after his Spirit Power broke through Level 50 and he obtained his fifth Spirit Ring.
This was what Old Tang had told him.
His Martial Soul cultivation was too lagging and would drag down the Golden Dragon King bloodline's power.
This speed was already extremely fast.
He was still two months shy of turning eighteen.
In fact, this was about a year faster than his original timeline.
However, with Su Ming's , Tang Wulin was dissatisfied with his own speed.
"Wulin, I will consume one source again to help your Spirit Power breakthrough. At the same time, the true Son of Nature identity will also be bestowed upon you, and my consciousness will invest in this Seed of Nature. Old Tang will then guide you in using it."
Old Tang's expression changes slightly.
"You want to bet on your consciousness? What happened?"
A Yin sighed, not explaining explicitly.
After all, Old Tang wasn't Tang San's true self. She couldn't tell him everything.
"Carefully feel the changes. I will enhance your Martial Soul's bloodline once more, making it easier for you to harness the Golden Dragon King's power."
As she spoke, A Yin began mobilizing the Golden Ancient Tree's origin, infusing it into Tang Wulin's body.
In the outside world, the entire Shrek Inner Court also underwent a drastic change.
Yun Ming and the other Pavilion Elders' expressions changed dramatically, staring fixedly at Tang Wulin, watching a familiar scene unfold.
"Shrek's fortune... has fallen."
Yun Ming's expression was heavy, and his gaze seemed to see through the Golden Ancient Tree to see deeper layers of power.
***
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