"This is the end!"
In a vast, icy and snowy world, "Xia Yi" piloted a mecha wielding a deep blue longsword that looked as if it was forged from ice crystals, slashing straight at the head of Tang Wulin's mecha.
"Roar!" From within Tang Wulin's body, golden dragon roars echoed continuously. But his mecha had already been frozen by Xia Yi. That extreme cold ice sealed him in completely—no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free.
He could only watch helplessly as his mecha's head was pierced by the longsword.
The cold blade cut through the mecha, and even Tang Wulin's own head inside the mecha seemed to vanish halfway.
"Contestant No. 88, victory."
The electronic prompt sounded right on cue.
In the Star Dou Battle Network's All-Federation Challenge Mecha Division, all matches used standardized internal mechas from the Star Dou Network. Once a mecha sustained a fatal blow, it would automatically be judged as defeated.
What's more, this strike had cleaved even Tang Wulin's head in half along with the mecha.
Just like Xia Yi, Tang Wulin had registered for both the Soul Master Battle and Mecha Battle in this Star Dou Battle Network All-Federation Challenge.
And he had made it to the finals in both.
He was eliminated by the Crimson Mother in the Soul Master battle. Now, he was eliminated by "Xia Yi" in the Mecha battle.
This marked the official end of Tang Wulin's journey in the Star Dou Battle Network All-Federation Challenge.
"Wulin!" Seeing Tang Wulin eliminated once again, Long Yeyue, Chen Xinjie, and Tang Wulin's "son" – the Sea God Poseidon – quickly arrived at Tang Wulin's Star Dou capsule.
The capsule opened, and Tang Wulin's face looked even worse than last time.
Although the Star Dou Battle Network was just a virtual world, dying twice in quick succession—even for Tang Wulin—was physically and mentally exhausting.
Fortunately, both times he had died instantly, so he didn't endure much pain.
Unlike someone like A Ruheng, who had been burned to death alive—the damage he suffered was far more severe.
Seeing Tang Wulin's pale face, Chen Xinjie once again immediately began transferring soul power to him to aid in recovery.
"Sister Yue, I want to cultivate. I want to become stronger at all costs. One day, I will defeat Xia Yi." Tang Wulin's eyes were filled with unwillingness and determination.
Previously, he was eliminated by the Crimson Mother in the Soul Master battle.
Now, in the Mecha battle, his opponent was Xia Yi.
Facing his old rival Xia Yi brought him even more pressure than when he faced the peak Soul Douluo, the Crimson Mother.
Tang Wulin didn't know the latter soul skills Xia Yi possessed, but he was familiar with the first few.
So he had prepared thoroughly before the match.
He had gone all out today—but still, unexpectedly, he lost to Xia Yi.
Even more to his surprise, Xia Yi had shown off.
Despite Tang Wulin going all out, Xia Yi used only an ice-type third soul skill.
Although Soul Masters were not allowed to use battle armor in the Mecha division of the Star Dou Battle Network All-Federation Challenge, they could still use their own soul power.
Losing to Xia Yi wasn't something Tang Wulin couldn't accept—he'd lost to him before.
What he couldn't accept was that Xia Yi only used one ice-type third soul skill and completely overwhelmed him.
He was knocked out of the match in under a minute.
To Tang Wulin, Xia Yi did this deliberately—to show off, to humiliate him.
What he didn't know was—Xia Yi truly wasn't trying to show off.
In the Mecha battles, Xia Yi had handed over full control to the Heart of the Ice God.
All of the Heart of the Ice God's abilities were ice-type.
This made Tang Wulin mistakenly believe Xia Yi had only used a third soul skill.
In fact, the fact that the Heart of the Ice God even used soul skills against him should have been something to be proud of.
From the elimination rounds to the finals, the Heart of the Ice God had used soul skills very rarely.
In most matches, she relied solely on the mecha and its built-in weapons to easily defeat her opponents.
Against Tang Wulin, however, she unleashed multiple soul skills in a row.
Although it was for a quick victory, Tang Wulin had at least forced the Heart of the Ice God to take him seriously.
"The Golden Dragon King bloodline is indeed powerful, but it's not truly yours. You should focus on cultivating. Once you reach the Soul Sage level, I will help you awaken the Sea God bloodline. Your strength will then skyrocket." Sea God Poseidon said in a low voice. Then he continued: "The Xuantian Skill your father left behind is indeed unparalleled. You must not neglect it."
Poseidon shook his head helplessly. If Tang Wulin hadn't once had his Xuantian Skill crippled, under their guidance, he might already be a Soul Sage by now.
If that were the case, he could've helped Tang Wulin awaken the Sea God bloodline.
With that bloodline, Tang Wulin wouldn't have been so badly beaten in the All-Federation Challenge.
"Thank you, Dong'er—no, thank you, senior Poseidon." Tang Wulin looked at the Sea God standing in front of him, who was now about the same height as him.
It was hard to associate this person with his supposed son.
He knew Poseidon had been accelerated in growth by Tang Hao, so his body developed much faster than normal.
"Go cultivate. Don't be discouraged. Just based on what your father left you, even a random person could become a god. With your talent, becoming a god is only a matter of time. Xia Yi is indeed extraordinary, but even if he becomes a God King, he's just a rookie. When the Divine Realm returns, we'll have more than five veteran God Kings holding the fort. He won't be able to stir up much trouble." Poseidon said encouragingly.
"Dong'er, aren't there supposed to be only five God Kings in the Divine Realm? Why did you say more than five? Are there new God Kings now?" Long Yeyue asked curiously.
"Theoretically, yes, there are five God Kings. But isn't Tang San one as well? If I can reappear, then surely the Shura God who passed his godhood to Tang San can reappear too." Poseidon replied with a smile.
Regarding how Tang Wulin and Long Yeyue referred to him, he didn't object or clarify.
But whenever Long Yeyue tried to gross him out, he would gross out Tang San in return.
"Dong'er, Sea God Tang San is the ancestor of Shrek Academy, the father of Wulin, and my father-in-law—your grandfather. You must not speak disrespectfully." Long Yeyue warned sternly.
She would not tolerate anyone insulting Tang San—not even her own "son."
"He's my successor. There's nothing wrong with calling him 'kid'." Poseidon replied calmly.
Poseidon was no Chen Xinjie. When it came to Long Yeyue, his feelings were colder than toward Tang Wulin.
He had once been a self-created god, had lived for many years, and had seen through many things that others couldn't.
In Long Yeyue's eyes, he and Chen Xinjie were no different—both were just tools, tools to bring down Leng Yaozhu, restore Shrek, and protect Tang San's legacy.
Don't be fooled by how Long Yeyue called him "Dong'er" so sweetly—in reality, there was no familial affection in her heart.
At times, Poseidon didn't even bother to respond to her.
Did she really think of herself as Tang San's daughter-in-law? As if Tang San would ever accept her?
If Tang San returned and found out she claimed to be his daughter-in-law, he'd probably be the first to get rid of her.
By contrast, Tang Wulin gave Poseidon a much better impression.
"Forget it. Considering you're still young and don't know better, I won't argue with you." Hearing Poseidon continue to argue, Long Yeyue wanted to slap him but didn't dare, so she could only ask: "What did you mean earlier? You said wait for the Divine Realm to return—does that mean you're not planning to deal with Leng Yaozhu? You want to wait for the Divine Realm to return and let them handle it?"
"Just now, I deliberately reviewed the battle footage of the Silver Dragon King in the Star Dou Battle Network All-Federation Challenge. Her recovery speed exceeded my expectations. And as for Xia Yi—his one soul skill had such a powerful effect, even I can't fully understand it. If he and your so-called Leng Yaozhu both become gods, even if I regain my strength and godhood, I won't be able to defeat them. So there's no point in throwing my life away." Poseidon shook his head.