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"This Hawk... to think he can wield a weapon weighing one hundred and eight thousand jin—how impressive. Should we try to recruit him?"
Following behind Tang San, Xu Huang mused to herself, but she soon heard Tang San say, "You came here for the Heart of the Sea God, didn't you?"
"Haha, you saw through me."
Hawk chuckled awkwardly, making no effort to hide his intentions in front of Xiao Bai, Xiao Qing, Xu Huang, and the others. After all, Tang San hadn't asked them to leave, meaning their knowledge of the matter didn't concern him. "You know I'm currently undergoing the Sea God's inheritance. One of the tasks in the eighth trial is to retrieve or repair the Heart of the Sea God… and so, naturally, I thought of you."
"No matter what, we've worked together before. Once I ascend to the Divine Realm, I could even serve as your vanguard."
"So, why don't you just give me the Heart of the Sea God?"
But Tang San shook his head. "You're too late. The Heart of the Sea God has already been refined by Gu Yuena."
"What?" Hawk froze. "Re-refined?"
"Exactly," Tang San replied truthfully. "Even though I have a good relationship with her, I don't treat her as some obedient servant to command. She has a strong independent will and often disagrees with me, even to the point of opposing me."
Hawk was speechless for a moment. "…Then, can I go talk to her myself?"
"Of course," Tang San said generously. "But she's gone back to the Star Dou Forest. She's currently trying to see if she can help soul beasts develop personalities akin to Pokémon."
"So, you'll first need to figure out how to gain the trust of those powerful soul beasts."
"However—"
Tang San paused here, looking at the trident mark on Hawk's forehead. With a faint tone, he continued, "They don't take kindly to inheritors of divine power."
Hawk grimaced, realizing just how ambitious Tang San and Gu Yuena were to envision transforming Douluo Continent into a world akin to Pokémon—a land where humans and soul beasts coexist peacefully.
As if sensing Hawk's thoughts, Tang San laughed. "When in poverty, focus on self-cultivation; when prosperous, benefit the world. But I'm just someone who enjoys researching martial souls and cultivation. If everything goes well, it'll be up to Spirit Hall to handle the negotiations."
"You're so carefree." Hawk couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy, mixed with regret. Why hadn't he studied harder in his past life instead of wasting time reading novels?
"But enough about that. How about we make a deal?" Tang San suddenly suggested.
"What kind of deal?" Hawk asked cautiously, instinctively gripping the Sea God's Trident tighter. His instincts told him it had something to do with this divine weapon.
"Materialized martial souls are extremely rare," Tang San said seriously. "This Golden Trident is the Sea God's tool martial soul from before he ascended to godhood. After becoming a god, it was condensed into a tangible form."
"From what I know, martial souls can condense into multiple forms. By the same logic, tool martial souls that have materialized can also likely condense into multiple entities. Just like how I can plant Blue Silver Emperor vines throughout Tian Dou City and Spirit City."
"However, the energy consumption to condense multiple tool martial souls varies. That's why almost no one does it."
"But I think the Sea God in the Divine Realm must have another Golden Trident in hand. Otherwise, how would he contend with the other first-tier gods in the Divine Realm while leaving this one behind in the mortal world?"
Hawk's expression turned thoughtful, though he wasn't particularly interested in this speculation. Instead, he asked, "You wouldn't dare ruin the Golden Trident, would you?"
"Ruin it?" Tang San chuckled. "Wouldn't that be even better? If that happens, you might as well try condensing your own trident martial soul into a divine artifact. After all, no matter what, this weapon was created from the Sea God's power. Are you sure he didn't leave behind any contingencies?"
Hawk's face changed as he realized there might be an issue but couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
Tang San continued, "Of course, I'd guess it's nothing more than using faith or divine power to subtly influence the wielder's personality… Speaking of which, how do you address the Sea God?"
Caught off guard by the question, Hawk reflexively answered, "Sea God… Lord Sea God."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Hawk realized what he had just said. Gritting his teeth, fury burned in his eyes.
"Lord?"
How could he address the Sea God as "Lord"?
If it were on Sea God Island, calling him "Lord" to cater to the believers there would be understandable. But now, away from the island, he still referred to him as "Lord."
This wasn't a sign of respect—it was proof that he had already been subtly influenced!
The Sea God!
What a cunning Sea God! No wonder he could conquer the entire sea and gain the faith of most sea soul beasts despite being a human god. Such methods were nothing short of brilliant.
"See? You've realized the problem yourself, haven't you?" Tang San said, confirming his own suspicions. Inheritors of a divine position, to some extent, are inevitably influenced by the previous god. "If it were someone else in this world, I wouldn't be surprised. The environment makes it inevitable. But you? After receiving modern education, you still succumb to blind faith? Is this the failure of education, or is the brilliance of the Sea God's faith simply too overwhelming?"
Hawk pondered for a moment, then gritted his teeth and handed over the Golden Trident. "Here, take it. Study it as much as you want. But can you help me solve the problems with my divine trials? If I can't reach level 99 within twenty years, I'm done for."
"Twenty years?" Tang San raised an eyebrow.
"My talent isn't as good as yours." Hawk's face flushed with embarrassment. He knew what Tang San found surprising. After all, the original Tang San only had five years to complete the eighth trial, and he had done so ahead of schedule.
But Hawk could only say that, for inheritors like him, the time he required was more realistic. Tang San, with the cheat-like abilities of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, was an exception that couldn't be compared.
"Fair enough," Tang San surprisingly nodded in agreement. He accepted the Golden Trident from Hawk and spoke slowly, "Don't worry too much about the divine trials. Once I thoroughly research the Golden Trident and the Sea God's divine power, a solution will naturally emerge. In fact, you might even be able to truly refine this divine weapon into something uniquely yours."
"There was someone before who wanted to infuse their weapon spirit with their martial soul—using ordinary Hundred Refined or Thousand Refined weapons to enhance the quality of their martial soul."
"They couldn't succeed. Martial souls exist in a state between matter and energy, so it's impossible to fuse pure material metal into a martial soul. However, this Golden Trident isn't just ordinary metal—it's a materialized martial soul. If you can convert it back into energy and merge it with your martial soul, it could enhance its quality. You might even be able to materialize your martial soul as a divine weapon."
Hawk was deeply tempted but still asked, "What's the success rate?"
"Fifty-fifty," Tang San replied ambiguously. Then he added reassuringly, "Don't worry. Didn't you and Tang Luo-Ya come here for soul armor? That thing is just a derivative of the Soul Seal Throne. You know what the Soul Seal Throne is, don't you?"
"I do." Hawk nodded.
The Soul Seal Throne?
Isn't that just the Divine Seal Throne under a different name…?
"Wait, did you create it?"
"Of course!"
(End of chapter)