Watching the demonic whale king, who was still clinging to life, the Haotian Hammer in his hand turned into a mist of light. A dense black glow emanated from his body, splitting into two.
Tang Sui, who was split off, covered her mouth and coughed, strands of blood seeping from her fingers. Her head throbbed from the shock to her spiritual domain.
Tang San, his body also stained with blood, supported Tang Sui, who was suffering from after-effects worse than his own. He turned his head to look at the demonic whale king not far away, which could no longer make a sound, only glaring with blood-red eyes, nourished by its own gore. He couldn't help but cough twice, raising a hand and saying in a hoarse voice, "It's over."
A cold glint flashed from Tang San's hand.
The demonic whale king's pupils contracted sharply, and in a mere moment, the light in its eyes slowly faded.
Only after confirming that the demonic whale king's life force had completely vanished did Tang Sui disengage her attack form. Her body, as if drained of all strength, slid down. Fox God, who had cleverly scurried behind her, gently supported her with his demonic energy, as if there were an invisible chair in mid-air, holding her in a seated posture.
"Sui Sui, are you alright?"
The terrifying self-healing power of the Blue Silver Emperor began to work. Tang San looked with concern at Tang Sui, who was holding her forehead.
Tang Sui shook her head, "I'll be fine after a rest. Brother, I'm going to retract the domain."
"Alright."
Tang San nodded. The golden mark between his brows flickered, and the azure Seagod's Great Treasure Pot enveloped them.
Outside, with the complete demise of the demonic whale king, the surging blood-red waves slowly returned to their normal color.
The schools of demonic soul great white sharks, which had fled to a safe distance, returned carrying Dai Mubai and the others to check the situation.
The dark clouds dispersed, and the murky sky cleared again.
The triangular prism broke through the sea's surface. Xiao Bai, sensing the disturbance in the water, swam closer. Tang San and Tang Sui, floating above the sea, were exposed to everyone's sight.
Sensing the anxious mood of the Seven Devils, the demonic soul great white sharks silently moved closer. With Tang San and Tang Sui at the center, Xiao Bai in between, they formed a large circle.
"Tang San, Tang Sui?! Where's the evil tiger?!"
Xiao Bai looked at the two with a mixture of wariness and surprise.
Tang Sui waved her hand, and the incomplete body of the demonic whale king instantly appeared in the empty sea area more than ten meters away.
The schools of demonic soul great white sharks, catching the scent of fresh blood, became restless. Xiao Bai was also restless, but with excitement.
"You actually killed the evil tiger!!!"
Three exclamation marks conveyed Xiao Bai's shock.
Oscar was also startled, then remembered Tang San's assessment content and asked, "Xiao San, the demonic whale king in the end..."
Tang San said gently, "Don't worry. After Sui Sui and I unleashed our spirit fusion skill, we originally intended to use the Haotian Hammer's ultimate technique to kill it. To our surprise, after withstanding two Haotian Hammers, it still had a breath left. Sui Sui and I then separated our spirits, and I delivered the final blow."
Hearing this, the tension that had been taut in everyone's hearts finally relaxed.
Oscar made two Super Recovery Great Sausages and threw them to Tang San and Tang Sui, "Eat up, you look so weak."
The siblings didn't stand on ceremony with Oscar, and ate them as soon as they received them.
At the same time, a voice echoed in the minds of Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Xiao Wu—
"Fourth trial, Battle of Shark and Whale, completed. However, due to special circumstances, the assessment difficulty was reduced, and the rewards were halved."
"Demonic soul great white shark casualties less than ten percent, reward x2. Reward: Soul power increased by one level."
This time, Ning Rongrong's reward of five hundred years of soul ring cultivation did not reappear. The assessment reward content received by the six of them became identical.
And when the golden screen of light that spewed from Tang San's forehead shattered, he received a different set of reward words.
"Victory through wisdom, minimizing losses. Individually killed over fifty demonic whale kings. Although the demonic whale king was jointly severely injured, the contribution during the battle occupied half, and he personally killed the demonic whale king at the end. Wisdom and strength coexist, fourth trial exceeded expectations. Sea God affinity increased by ten percent, total affinity thirty-five percent."
After the majestic voice faded, the golden trident imprint between Tang San's brows lit up.
Gone was its previous dim and reserved appearance, like a star fallen onto Tang San's forehead, its radiance flowing, unconsciously drawing the gaze of others.
At the same time, Tang San felt as if a door had appeared in his spiritual world. Pushing this door open with his spiritual power, he would immediately enter a golden world.
Sensing the aura of the person beside him rapidly advancing, Tang Sui honestly landed on the head of the demonic soul great white shark where Xiao Wu was, sat down cross-legged, and recuperated, awaiting the effect of the Super Recovery Great Sausages.
Ma Hongjun, who had received his reward, touched the black-level assessment mark on his forehead and said, "We clearly completed the assessment beyond expectations, so why were the rewards still cut?"
Xiao Wu glared at Ma Hongjun, "Fatty, be content. Although Sui Sui joined, during the early stage of the battle, it was mainly Xiao San who suppressed those demonic whale kings, making them hesitant, which allowed us to seize the opportunity to cooperate with the demonic soul great white sharks to kill the targets. We've already gotten a great deal."
Ma Hongjun smacked his lips.
"Lord Tang San, Tang Sui, thank you."
Xiao Bai bowed her shark head towards Tang San and Tang Sui separately, her eyes revealing sincere gratitude. Then she turned her shark head towards the others, bowing her head to express her thanks:
"And thank you too, my friends."
The unusual address made Tang San pause, "Xiao Bai, why are you suddenly calling me that?"
Xiao Bai sighed, "Who do you think can possess the Light of the Sea God? Our school of demonic soul great white sharks believes in the Sea God. You, as the next Sea God inheritor, might become the Sea God in the future and a new faith for our clan. Addressing you as 'Lord' is entirely appropriate."
Become... a new faith?
Tang San paused, inexplicably thinking of the thoughts that Tang Sui had unconsciously transmitted to him when their spiritual sea had connected during the spirit fusion skill.
Tang Sui also had the faith of a vast group of exotic beasts. Did this mean that the conditions for becoming a god, besides strength and meritorious deeds, also required faith?
In an instant, Tang San seemed to grasp something, yet not entirely.
Xiao Bai also seemed to sense that the topic was not suitable for further discussion, and quickly said, "Alright, let's not talk about other things for now. Lord Tang San, while the corpse is still warm, you should quickly absorb its soul ring."
"Although its attributes are not very suitable for you, the evil tiger is still one of the strongest species in the sea, second only to the Deep Sea Demon Whale King. I imagine it won't be too bad."
Tang San came back to his senses. Hearing Xiao Bai's words, he looked at the demonic whale king's corpse not far away and nodded, "Alright."
Xiao Bai swam closer to Tang San, "Then, Lord Tang San, please sit on my back and absorb the evil tiger's soul ring."
After all, she held the title of "Sea God's Mount."
Serving as a mount for Tang San, the current Sea God inheritor and future Sea God, was by no means a loss.
— Author's Notes —
We will first resume double updates. Extra chapters will be saved for the New Year~
New Year will be consecutive extra chapters on top of the double updates!