Tang Wutong arrived at the Lake of Life.
With a single glance, she spotted Huo Yuhao seated quietly by the lakeshore—and the white-robed youth leaning lazily against a tree branch, drinking wine.
She quickly looked away.
As for Li Zhexian, she didn't dare say another word to him.
Because she knew—Huo Yuhao truly would kill her for the sake of "Brother Zhexian."
Tang Wutong took a deep breath before speaking.
"Yuhao… I've come."
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes.
Those eyes were as deep as the night sky itself.
Tang Wutong found herself unable to meet that gaze.
"I know you possess a Spirit Ability that can summon your father to descend to this world."
Huo Yuhao lifted his eyes toward the mirrored sky above, where countless meteors streaked across the heavens.
"Let your father face me."
Tang Wutong's chest rose and fell sharply.
No one had ever dared speak of her father that way.
Her hand clenched tightly within her sleeve.
Stepping forward, she spoke again.
"Yuhao… you don't need to treat me and my father with such hostility—"
Huo Yuhao had no interest in continuing the conversation.
He raised his gaze toward the crystal-clear mirror of the sky.
The countless stars shifted with his will. As their light gathered together, images began to form.
Within the images—
appeared a boy born into poverty, struggling his way up from the lowest depths. He believed he had encountered the love of his life, and for that love he gave everything—enduring life-and-death trials again and again.
Yet what awaited him…
was a father who stood high above the clouds.
Again and again, under the pretense of "trials," that man toyed with the boy's sincerity and dignity as if they were nothing.
Across the continent—
countless people stared at the sky mirror, watching the boy's past unfold.
All of them felt the same thing.
The boy had lived far too tragically.
The pride and spirit of youth are things that cannot be replaced once broken.
Yet through repeated humiliation and manipulation, that brilliant piece of jade had been worn down—its sharpness and radiance ground into cautious dust.
If he truly disapproved of the match, or believed his daughter too noble for anyone in the world—
he could have simply refused.
But instead he chose to cloak everything in the name of "trials," while committing acts of deceit.
What kind of trial was this?
It was nothing more than bullying through power.
Mu En's eyes widened with fury, anger surging through his chest.
He knew Huo Yuhao had glimpsed the future.
Which meant—
this was what would have happened if no one had interfered.
"I only hate that I lack the strength," Mu En growled, "to punish such treatment of Yuhao! And he dares call himself a god!"
Shrek Academy indeed had deep ties to Tang San.
But that was a matter from ten thousand years ago.
Now—
Huo Yuhao treated Mu En like a father, and Mu En regarded him as a son.
Between the two, Mu En knew very well where his loyalties lay.
"No wonder Huo Yuhao wants to challenge Tang San in the end!" Du Busi snorted coldly. "If I were Huo Yuhao, with the strength he has now, I'd want to see whether the heavens themselves are higher than me!"
As the images continued—
the boy in the projection was once again humiliated and trampled upon by the girl's father.
Tang Wutong's face turned pale.
"Yuhao, I… my father would never treat you like that!"
"You… you're fine right now, aren't you?"
"These things haven't even happened!"
Huo Yuhao replied calmly.
"If things had followed their destined path, that would have been my fate."
"Fortunately, Brother Zhexian favored me, giving me a second chance to live—and to become someone entirely new."
"Tang Wutong. There's no point in saying more."
"Call your father down."
Looking at Huo Yuhao's cold expression—
Tang Wutong realized there was no turning back.
"Yuhao… you've been blinded."
Tears shimmered in her eyes. Confusion and an inexplicable anger welled up inside her.
"I know you're very strong now, but you're absolutely not my father's opponent."
"You have no idea about the gap between mortals and gods—let alone that my father is the King of Gods."
Boom!
Tang Wutong suddenly clenched her hand in the air.
A pitch-black war hammer materialized in her palm.
A vast, mountain-like pressure radiated from her body as her blue hair whipped wildly in the wind.
The Clear Sky Hammer pointed directly at Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, if you want me to summon my father…"
"Then first show me your strength."
Her words had not yet faded from the air—
when two faint beams of eye-light suddenly shot from Huo Yuhao's eyes and landed upon the Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Wutong's hand.
CLANG!
The sound of metal shattering exploded through the air.
The Clear Sky Hammer broke apart instantly.
Fragments of the shattered weapon flew everywhere, slicing across Tang Wutong's delicate face and leaving streaks of blood. She was blasted backward over a hundred meters before crashing violently onto the ground.
"Pfft!"
Her face turned pale as she coughed up a mouthful of blood, her expression filled with shock and disbelief.
She had known she wasn't Huo Yuhao's opponent.
But she had never imagined…
that the gap between them would be this vast.
Just a single beam of eye-light had destroyed her Clear Sky Hammer martial soul.
Tang Wutong staggered to her feet, but the moment she stood—
her vision blurred.
Huo Yuhao was already standing three feet in front of her, looking down with cold, indifferent eyes.
"A firefly dares to compete with the moon's radiance."
"Call your father down. I won't repeat myself."
"Yuhao… even if you're angry about my father testing you, you shouldn't treat me like this. I—"
"Enough."
Huo Yuhao cut her off.
"You are Tang San's daughter. If even once—just once—you had tried to stop what he was doing, I wouldn't be this disappointed."
"Don't claim ignorance. You know better than anyone what kind of man your father is."
"In the end, you approved of those 'trials' from the bottom of your heart."
"You only wanted them to highlight your noble birth—to make me understand…"
"That receiving your favor was a blessing I earned over countless lifetimes."
"That your affection, Tang Wutong…"
"…was a charity bestowed upon me by you and your father."
Huo Yuhao stepped forward slowly.
Tears streamed down Tang Wutong's face as she shook her head, whispering "No… no…" while backing away step by step.
"That's all I have to say."
"There's nothing left for us to talk about."
Huo Yuhao raised his hand toward her.
Vast waves of Spirit Power gathered within his palm.
Tang Wutong felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss. With no other choice, she summoned her Martial Soul to resist.
The Radiant Goddess Butterfly.
Nine Spirit Rings rose one after another around her.
Huo Yuhao's lips curled slightly.
He threw a punch directly toward her ninth Spirit Ring.
Boom—Boom—Boom—Boom!
Thunderous detonations echoed through the sky.
Space itself shattered like a broken mirror, cracks spreading wildly across a thousand-meter radius.
"Ninth Spirit Ability—Sea God Descends!"
Tang Wutong instinctively activated her ninth Spirit Ability.
A pitch-black pillar of light shot straight into the sky.
The heavens groaned under the strain.
At the top of the pillar—space fractured like glass.
From the depths of those cracks—endless golden light surged out, instantly dyeing the entire night sky.
Yet the golden glow was not warm.
It carried a crushing, majestic authority.
Then—
under the shocked gazes of countless beings across Douluo Continent—
deep within the torn sky,
a colossal golden staircase slowly emerged.
Three thousand steps, each radiating boundless divine light. Every step was as vast as a mountain, descending vertically from the highest heavens until it reached Tang Wutong's side.
Around the staircase—
swirling nebulae and roaring chains of cosmic law coiled endlessly, while overwhelming divine might surged like a tangible tide, forcing all living beings into silence.
The moment the staircase fully solidified—
Boom!
The thunderous sound of a divine war drum echoed from its summit.
At the very top—
where the golden light burned brightest—
a figure slowly appeared.
He wore the God King battle armor, woven from Sea God blue-gold and the crimson markings of Asura. In his hand he held a golden trident capable of splitting the seas.
His cold gaze descended upon the mortal world—
as if all living things beneath him were nothing but ants.
A vast, divine voice echoed across every corner of Douluo Continent.
"Huo Yuhao… are you prepared to face the wrath of a God King?"