Tang San froze. Standing in that hazy spiritual space, he didn't speak for a long time.
Old Tang's words were like a boulder thrown into a lake, stirring up ripples one after another in his heart.
Huo Yuhao, the son-in-law who was currently with him in the Divine Realm and whom he thought he knew well enough, had actually left behind secret moves on the Douluo Continent? And he knew nothing about it at all.
His thoughts spun rapidly, and his heart was filled with shock and uncertainty.
What on earth did this Huo Yuhao want to do by hiding his actions in secret?
Could it be that he wanted to replace him and become the master of the Divine Realm?
That brat had such great audacity?!
Tang San's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and guess after guess surged out in his mind, making it impossible for him to maintain his composure.
He had already made up his mind that when he returned to the Divine Realm later, he must carefully observe every move of that brat and arrange a few more trials for him to see what he was plotting.
Immediately, he withdrew his thoughts and cast his gaze back onto Old Tang, his tone carrying a merciless and cold stiffness: "No matter what, your tacit approval for Huo Yuhao to extract the Golden Dragon King Bloodline from Wulin's body was a huge mistake."
His voice sank: "Who knows how many years it will take for the Divine Realm to return to Douluo; thousands or tens of thousands of years are possible."
"Without the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, in this place lacking a Divine Realm and unable to become a deity, Wulin cannot possibly possess the long-lived life of a Spirit Beast, and he simply won't be able to wait for the day of our return."
Hearing this, Old Tang trembled violently all over. Previously, he only thought of solving the immediate crisis, seeing only that Wulin's body was being tortured and growing weaker day by day by the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, but he truly hadn't thought about so many long-term matters.
Awakened by Tang San's words at this moment, he realized how serious the consequences of his initial decision might be, and a trace of bewilderment and remorse also surfaced in his expression.
Tang San glanced at him and finally snorted: "Afterwards, your existence is no longer needed."
With a casual wave of his hand, his movement was light and breezy. Old Tang's body suddenly shattered, turning into countless specks of starlight, merging into Tang San's body one after another like drifting fireflies.
In an instant, all of Old Tang's memories over the years surged into Tang San's mind like a tide.
Tang San silently received those memories, and a moment later, he let out another soft snort.
He really hadn't expected that this avatar of his could be so stupid, completely unworthy of his true body's wisdom.
...
In just a few months, the Spirit Pagoda welcomed huge changes once again.
With the birth of the Myriad Beast Platform, the waves stirred up in the Spirit Master's world were by no means inferior to the sensation when Legacy Spirit Souls and artificial Ten Thousand Years Spirit Souls were first introduced.
For a time, the Spirit Pagoda's reputation on the continent climbed to a new level once again.
However, as the main developer of the Myriad Beast Platform, the evaluations Gu Yue received inside the Spirit Pagoda were mixed.
Some sneered and ridiculed, saying she had "betrayed her master and defected to the enemy," because the advancement of the Myriad Beast Platform was always closely linked to the Qiangu Clan, rather than being led by her teacher Leng Yaozhu's lineage.
In their view, as Leng Yaozhu's Disciple, Gu Yue handing over such an important achievement to the Qian Gu Family was tantamount to betraying her sect.
Others didn't care about these factional struggles; they only saw the results.
The Myriad Beast Platform brought huge profits and prestige to the Spirit Pagoda. With this solid merit, everything else didn't matter.
Qiangu Dongfeng could also be considered as "returning a favor with a peach." Taking advantage of the momentum brought by the Myriad Beast Platform, he smoothly proposed at the high-level meeting of the Spirit Pagoda to promote Gu Yue as the fifth Spirit Envoy of the Spirit Pagoda.
That's right, the fifth one!
Ever since its establishment, the Spirit Pagoda had always set up four Spirit Envoys. This rule had continued for nearly Ten Thousand Years, and no one had ever tried to break it.
But now Qiangu Dongfeng was going to break this rule himself, making an exception to establish a brand-new seat for Gu Yue.
Once this proposal was tossed out, it triggered fierce discussions.
Some questioned that this move would destroy the system architecture that the Spirit Pagoda had maintained for Ten Thousand Years, while others thought that talent was hard to come by, and making an exception once didn't hurt.
In the end, relying on the strong promotion of the Qiangu Clan, coupled with the fact that Leng Yaozhu's faction did not step in to stop it, this exceptional proposal passed the vote with a fairly relaxed posture.
Just on the afternoon of the second day after Gu Yue officially became the fifth Spirit Envoy of the Spirit Pagoda, Huo Yuhao walked out of the Myriad Beast Platform alone.
His steps were unhurried, and his face was calm as usual, but between his brows suppressed a layer of dark color that others couldn't see.
He knew that Gu Yue was definitely plotting something in secret, and that plot must be inextricably linked to this Myriad Beast Platform.
He didn't go directly to ask Gu Yue, because he knew she wouldn't say.
Therefore, he could only explore and research it himself.
On the surface, this Myriad Beast Platform was quite similar to the original Spirit Ascension Platform in structure and operating mechanism.
Yet Huo Yuhao always felt that things were far from being as simple as they looked. That faint sense of unease always lingered in his heart, refusing to dissipate.
"Teacher, did you discover any abnormalities?"
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao was not alone. In his Spiritual Sea, there was still Electrolux, a demigod from another world.
Not long after his voice fell, Electrolux's figure slowly emerged in his consciousness. Those profound eyes fell on Huo Yuhao, carrying a rare seriousness.
Seeing his expression, Huo Yuhao had already guessed the answer in his heart; his teacher must have discovered something.
His gaze also grew solemn, quietly waiting for Electrolux's next words.
Electrolux then slowly opened his mouth: "This Myriad Beast Platform indeed has a problem. Right now, a mark has already been branded in your Spiritual Sea."
"Branded with a mark?!"
Huo Yuhao frowned, muttering under his breath.
Immediately, his mental force quickly spread out in his Spiritual Sea like a fine net, carefully scanning every corner.
However, after a circle of investigation, he didn't discover any abnormalities. Everything in that vast spiritual space was as usual, as if the mark Electrolux mentioned didn't exist at all.
Electrolux then said: "Don't waste your effort. Without Divine Rank mental force, it's simply impossible to discover that mark."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao was startled in his heart, not expecting that this actually involved Divine Rank power.
But immediately afterwards, he accepted this judgment. After all, Gu Yue was the "daughter" of the Silver Dragon King, and the Silver Dragon King was a genuine Divine Rank existence.
If she wanted to leave some arrangements in the Myriad Beast Platform, it was normal to use Divine Rank power.
Huo Yuhao steadied his mind and asked again: "Teacher, what is the specific use of that mark?"
Electrolux was silent for a moment, as if deliberating on how to describe it with the most accurate words, and then spoke: "It's somewhat similar to a master-servant contract."
"Master-servant contract?!"
Huo Yuhao exclaimed. Over the years, he had already gained a fairly deep understanding of the magic system, so he naturally understood what a "master-servant contract" meant.
That was a one-way binding established at the Soul level. Once planted, the contracted party would invisibly be influenced and restricted by the caster. The light consequence would be having their will manipulated, and the heavy consequence would be having even their life and death grasped in the other party's hands.
Electrolux nodded and confirmed: "That's right. It seems that anyone who has entered the Myriad Beast Platform will be planted with such a mark, and will be controlled by others afterwards."
Looking at Huo Yuhao's solemn expression, a trace of a smile surfaced on Electrolux's face, and he said again: "However, you don't need to worry. You are the successor of the God of Destruction; this mark cannot work on you.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.