In the Divine Realm, time flowed differently. It was a gentle, eternal stream, where a single day could encompass a year in the mortal worlds below.
From his palace of shimmering sea-blue crystal, perched at one of the highest points in the realm, the Sea God Tang San gazed out at the cosmos. Below him, nebulas of pure Immortal Qi swirled in a tapestry of colors that no mortal eye could ever conceive. His gaze, however, was not on the breathtaking beauty of his home, but was focused, piercing through the veil of dimensions, towards a small, vibrant blue-green sphere.
The Douluo Planet. His homeland. His grand project.
A few days ago—a few years, in the planet's reckoning—he had sensed it. A new star had been born on the plane, a Star of Destiny whose light was so profound it promised to shape the entire era. He, with his divine wisdom, had recognized it as a tool, an opportunity. A potential candidate to be forged, tempered, and ultimately made worthy of his precious daughter, Xiao Qi. A powerful piece on the board to help his Tang Sect, his mortal legacy, reclaim its former glory.
But when he had first tried to pinpoint its location, his divine sense had been met with a hazy fog, a natural-seeming protection from the Planar Consciousness itself. It was an annoyance, but one he had expected. The plane was naturally protective of its chosen children.
Today, however, his frustration was mounting.
He closed his eyes, his consciousness surging, his divine will reaching out once more. He poured a sliver of his power from the Divine Realm Central—the very core of the realm's power, which he oversaw—into his senses, attempting to pierce the veil.
The fog was still there. But it was no longer just a hazy mist. It was a thick, roiling, impenetrable shroud. It was actively, almost maliciously, resisting his probe. It was as if the Planar Consciousness had not just hidden its chosen star but had wrapped it in a fortress of impenetrable destiny.
'Curious,' Tang San thought, a faint frown creasing his handsome, ageless face. 'Why would the plane's will intensify its protection so drastically? It is counterproductive. A talent of this magnitude needs guidance, a steady hand to steer it away from arrogance and ruin. Without my oversight, it could easily fall to a dark path. The plane is being shortsighted.'
He saw no flaw in his own logic. He was a God-King, a being of supreme wisdom. His guidance was a blessing, not an intrusion. The plane's resistance was an obstacle to the greater good he intended to bring about.
Sighing softly, he retracted his divine sense from its direct assault. There were other, more subtle ways. He shifted his focus, his consciousness traveling down a delicate, invisible thread that connected him directly to the Douluo Planet, to the heart of Shrek Academy.
To his daughter.
His darling Xiao Qi, whom the world now knew as Wang Dong.
A faint, fatherly smile touched his lips. His plan for his daughter was a testament to his foresight. To allow her to experience a true mortal life, to build her character away from the cloying perfection of the Divine Realm, he had made a difficult but necessary choice. He had gently split her divine soul in two.
One half, containing her true memories of the Divine Realm and her identity as Tang Wutong, was currently in a deep, protected slumber within her own Spiritual Sea. Nestled alongside it was a wisp of his own divine sense, a silent guardian and observer. The other half was active, controlling her body, living with a set of carefully crafted false memories that allowed her to believe she was Wang Dong, an orphan raised by his old friends Niu Tian and Tai Tan in the Clear Sky Sect. The cross-dressing was a simple but effective disguise, a way to ensure she could grow and make friends without the immediate complications that her unparalleled beauty would attract.
It was a perfect, benevolent protection. His wife, Xiao Wu, with her soft heart, would likely not have understood the necessity of such a complex strategy. She would have worried needlessly. But it was his duty as a father and as a far-seeing god to make these difficult choices for the good of his family. Her support was all he required; her understanding was a luxury.
Now, he gently activated his divine sense within his daughter's soul. He did not peer into her thoughts—that would be an unnecessary intrusion into the experience he had crafted for her. Instead, he used her as a spiritual lens, a proxy to scan the world around her. He observed her classmates, the teachers, every student she passed in the halls of Shrek Academy. He searched for the tell-tale aura of destiny, the unique light of the new star.
There was nothing.
The students were talented, some even remarkably so, but none possessed the world-shaking fate he had sensed.
His frown deepened. This was vexing. His plan had been so elegant. The new star would naturally be drawn to Shrek Academy, the heart of the continent. There, he would cross paths with his daughter. He had already prepared a hundred different trials, a hundred different scenarios to test the boy's character, his loyalty, his strength. Each trial was a crucible designed to burn away his flaws and forge him into a man worthy of the Tang lineage, a pillar for the new Tang Sect.
But the main actor had failed to arrive on stage.
'Perhaps my initial calculations were flawed,' he mused. 'Perhaps the star has chosen a different path. The Sun Moon Empire, perhaps? Unlikely. Their focus on Soul Tools is a deviation from the true path of cultivation.'
He let out another soft sigh. He could not simply descend upon the world and conduct a search himself. The rules of the Divine Realm Committee—rules that he himself had championed—forbade such direct interference in the mortal planes. It was this very stance, his proposal of divine non-intervention, that had solidified his reputation as a model of wisdom and purity among the other gods. It was what had ultimately convinced the former God of Kindness and God of Evil to grant him stewardship over the Divine Realm Central.
His political rival, the brutish God of Destruction, would leap at any opportunity to criticize him. For the past ten years, ever since the God of Destruction began his nonsensical crusade for expansion, they had been at odds. The God of Destruction, with his simplistic mindset, believed in using the Divine Realm's core energy reserves to aggressively seek out new worlds and create new pathways for ascension. A reckless, shortsighted plan that risked depleting their resources before a prophesied catastrophe that only he, Tang San, could sense on the horizon.
No, direct interference was out of the question. It would undermine his authority and give his opponents ammunition. His impeccable reputation was his greatest weapon in the committee.
Of course, the rules were for the general populace of gods. A wise leader sometimes had to bend them for the greater good. His control over the Divine Realm Central was a prime example. While he publicly championed the conservation of its Immortal Qi, he had been discreetly siphoning a small, imperceptible portion of it for himself.
He justified this easily. His dual God position of Asura was a God-King level power, but it was a violent, corrupting force that required his wife to act as a scabbard. He disliked the feeling of the slaughter energy, the way it tainted his pure Sea God power. It was a weapon of last resort. Therefore, it was a logical necessity to use the Immortal Qi to slowly, steadily elevate his Sea God position from a First-Class God to a true God-King level. It was a process that would normally be impossible, but with the boundless energy of the Central at his disposal, he could achieve it over time. It was a far safer, more stable path to power, which would ultimately allow him to better protect the entire Divine Realm. His actions were not selfish; they were a profound act of responsibility.
Since the New Star remained hidden, his mind drifted to his other grand plan. A plan that would secure the destiny of the Soul Beasts for his own lineage.
His divine sense scanned the vast expanse of the Star Dou Great Forest. And there, he felt it. The faint but unmistakable aura of the Emperor Auspicious Beast. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion. A creature born of pure destiny, whose very presence could accelerate the growth of all Soul Beasts and bring immense fortune.
His plan was simple, yet brilliant in its scope. At the right moment, when his daughter was strong enough to enter the forest, he would orchestrate an encounter. He would then use his divine power to merge the slumbering, true half of his daughter's divine soul with the soul of the Auspicious Beast.
It was a perfect fusion. His daughter would gain the creature's immense destiny, its connection to the luck of the entire plane, and its powerful attributes. Her own divine soul would elevate the beast, ensuring a perfect melding. It was not theft; it was a divine graft, a blessing that would intertwine his family's fate with the very soul of the planet. This was the kind of long-term, strategic thinking that had earned him the unofficial title of 'God of Wisdom' among his peers. And as the God of Wisdom, it was his duty to execute such plans for the betterment of all who were under his purview.
But first thing's first. The New Star had to be found.
If direct action was forbidden, and his first proxy was ineffective, then he needed more proxies. He needed to mobilize his mortal followers.
His consciousness retreated from his daughter's soul and soared across the planet, settling on a secluded, mist-shrouded island far out in the ocean.
Sea God Island.
His personal sanctuary in the mortal realm, a place where his faith had been nurtured for over ten thousand years. His gaze focused on the grand Sea God Temple at the island's center. Inside, a beautiful, voluptuous woman with long, sea-blue hair was kneeling in prayer before a colossal statue of him.
This was Bai Shuiling, the current Sea God Douluo, his High Priestess. A direct descendant of his first priestess, Bo Saixi, she possessed a sliver of his divine bloodline and an unwavering, absolute piety that made her the perfect instrument for his will.
'A search is required,' Tang San thought, his plan crystallizing in his mind. 'A grand, sweeping search across the entire continent. The star's light may be hidden from me, but it cannot hide from a meticulous, physical search for an individual of supreme, heaven-sent talent.'
It was time to set his most faithful pieces in motion.
He gathered a wisp of his divine will, infusing it not with a command, but with the holy weight of a divine revelation. He sent this pulse of energy down through the dimensions, striking the Sea God Guardian Statue on the island.
In the temple below, Bai Shuiling's prayers were interrupted as the hundred-meter-tall statue of her god began to glow with an intense, golden-blue light. A voice, ancient and filled with boundless majesty, echoed not in the air, but directly within her soul.
"My child…"
Bai Shuiling prostrated herself on the floor, her body trembling with ecstatic devotion. "My Lord! I am here! I hear your divine call!"
"A star has fallen to the mortal plane," Tang San's voice boomed in her mind, cloaked in the grandeur of prophecy. "A child of destiny, whose presence is vital to the future prosperity of the Douluo Planet and the glory of my Tang Sect. But the path of destiny is clouded, and this child wanders, lost and unaware of their great purpose."
"My Lord, what are your orders? Your humble servant will accomplish any task!"
"Gather my Seven Sacred Pillars," the divine voice commanded. "Leave the island. This is a holy pilgrimage. You and my seven guardians will spread across the three great empires. Search every city, every town, every academy. Look for a youth of unparalleled talent, one whose light shines brighter than all others. When you find this individual, you will not interfere, but you will observe, and you will report back to me through this statue. I will then provide the trials necessary to guide them onto their true path."
Bai Shuiling's heart swelled with a holy purpose. To be chosen for such a monumental task! It was the greatest honor of her life.
"It will be done, my Lord! Your will shall be made manifest in the mortal world!"
"Go now, my faithful priestess. The fate of the next era rests upon your diligence."
The light from the statue faded, leaving a stunned but energized silence in the temple. Bai Shuiling rose, her eyes shining with a fervent zeal. She immediately sent out a summons.
From the seven smaller pillars that circled the main island, seven powerful auras surged.
The Sea Dragon Douluo. The Seahorse Douluo. The Sea Spear Douluo. The Sea Fantasy Douluo. The Sea Star Douluo. The Sea Ghost Douluo. And the Sea Woman Douluo.
For the first time in centuries, the Eight Guardians of Sea God Island were leaving their posts. They were going on a divine mission, a holy quest to find a single, unknown child.
Back in his celestial palace, Tang San smiled, a serene, confident expression on his face. The pieces were moving according to his will. His faithful servants would scour the continent, and sooner or later, they would find his star. Then, the real forging could begin.
He leaned back on his crystalline throne, his gaze sweeping across the cosmos. He was Tang San. The God of the Sea. The God of Wisdom. A master strategist playing a game of chess with fate itself. And he never lost.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Blood Silver Emperor", "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon