"But in any case... I should warn Spirit Hall properly and inform them of Tang Hao's true battle power. If Qian Daoliu comes by himself, that would be excellent..."
"If they foolishly send weak people for Tang Hao to gain experience, then I really should reconsider my opinion of them..."
"Sigh, if I could plant a seal on multiple people at the same time, that would be OP. Pity that I can only link to one person at a time... Otherwise, there would be a 90 percent chance that at least one Title Douluo would be killed by Tang Hao during the upcoming battle..."
"Alas... It's not like I can go near other Spirit Hall Title Douluos with my strength and identity, so even if I could plant multiple seals, it would be useless," Shi Hao lamented.
Although his Martial Soul's ability was heaven-defying, it had too many limitations. He couldn't link to two or more people at the same time.
So Shi Hao could only take one route—planning the chosen person's death with all his might. Otherwise, achieving his goal would be difficult if he kept shifting his seal from one target to another.
"So I must finalize a single target I like and use all my means to focus on planning his death..."
But this put Shi Hao in a difficult position again... After all, he didn't have many pawns he could use and move freely.
"I have the ultimate pawn to decide Tang Hao's death... But pity, Tang Hao is too overpowered."
Out of all the people Shi Hao knew, he had the highest chance of killing Tang Hao and gaining his soul power. Almost all conditions were met—he knew Tang Hao's location, his weaknesses, who could be used to kill him, and he had already planted the seal.
But the problem was that Tang Hao couldn't be killed unless Spirit Hall sent their strongest Title Douluo combat force.
"Tang Hao was able to smash the Angel Statue while facing the total defense power of 7 Title Douluos and still managed to take Tang San and Xiao Wu away... He even fought against a god when he was just level 97..."
"It was really easy for him to escape with Tang San, considering his level 95 soul power... Unless Golden Crocodile Douluo or Qian Daoliu takes action."
"Even Golden Crocodile Douluo isn't a guaranteed win. Only Qian Daoliu can actually finish him off without letting him escape..."
"Alas... Even if I tell them all this, those arrogant Spirit Hall folks won't believe me." Shi Hao felt deeply dissatisfied. He wished he were the Pope—then he could just throw fifteen Title Douluos at Tang Hao and obliterate him with sheer numbers.
But it wasn't really Spirit Hall's fault for underestimating Tang Hao's power. After all, those who hadn't witnessed the true might of Ring Detonation would only think the stories were exaggerated... Shi Hao himself wouldn't have believed it if he were in their position, without experiencing it firsthand.
But was that even possible…? Anyone who did experience it usually didn't come out alive.
Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo had survived, but Shi Hao wasn't sure Spirit Hall would listen to them.
"But they'll at least take him a little seriously... After all, there's solid evidence—Qian Xunji, a level 95 Title Douluo, was crippled by Tang Hao... oh wait, no, my bad—everyone thinks he was killed by Tang Hao. Either way, they'll probably send a strong force…"
"It's pointless to keep thinking about this. I'll just write all my precautions in a letter. That's all I can do. Whether they succeed or fail isn't under my control..." Shi Hao sighed.
From this, Shi Hao also realized something—he couldn't guarantee someone's death. He had no control over how his pawns would act. He could only predict their reactions based on his understanding of them.
"For my next target's death... I must choose a pawn that will follow my orders. I can't achieve my goal if everything I plan ends in uncertainty," Shi Hao thought.
But he had little information to work with, making it difficult to subdue a pawn. And that pawn also had to be strong enough to kill his sealed target.
""Alas… My thoughts don't seem very protagonist-like… My Martial Soul is corrupting me… Always planning someone's death—should a righteous and kind boy like me really be thinking this way?" Shi Hao muttered, vowing to return to his true self.
"…Um. No rush. I'll switch to the bright side after I become strong. Hehe. Whether I turn good sooner or later, it's all the same, right? No one would blame me."
With this twisted thought, Shi Hao shifted With this twisted logic, Shi Hao focused on his next plan. But suddenly, a new thought struck him.
"Is it really necessary to mess up the plot? Wouldn't it be better to let the world play out the same way as in the novel?"
There would be many instances where powerful figures died, even before the final battle at Jialing Pass.
"For example, Shi Nian—a Soul Saint who got deleted by Tang San when Tang San was just fourteen... Then there's Yu Yuanzhen, the Blue Lightning Dragon Clan leader, who was level 95... and Tang Chen, a level 99 monster… Yeah, there are a few options here."
Yu Yuanzhen died during the massacre of the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect and the Blue Lightning Dragon Clan. That was around two years after Tang San left the City of Slaughter, when he was 20 years old. That time frame wasn't too late. After all, Tang San hadn't obtained the Vast Sea Cosmic cover yet.
Shi Hao just had to wait 16 more years for that event.
As for Tang Chen, that was also a good option. He died when Tang San was about 25 years old, still only a Soul Douluo. Da Ming and Er Ming hadn't sacrificed themselves yet.
Becoming a Limit Douluo at that time would be like a pie falling from the sky. After all, Tang Chen would die after spending three days with Bo Saixi.
"But Tang Chen's timing isn't ideal. Not to mention that with my current strength, I have no chance of planting a seal on him. There's also the problem of the City of Slaughter being destroyed before that," Shi Hao quickly dismissed the choice.
There were only four godhoods available in Douluo Dalu 1. Two were already taken, leaving only the Sea God and Asura God positions.
By the time Tang Chen emerged due to Tang San poisoning the City of Slaughter, Tang San had already begun the Sea God Trials.
Moreover, the first trial of the Asura God's inheritance—the trial to obtain the Killing God Domain—would disappear after the City of Slaughter was destroyed. Shi Hao wouldn't be able to gain the Asura Sword's recognition or take the Asura God trials at that time. That meant all four godhood paths would be completely cut off.
He'd be stuck at level 99 for life… unless he somehow found another godhood trial in the Sun Moon Continent.
But with Dual God Tang San watching over everything, that would be insanely difficult. He'd probably get hunted down before he even found an opportunity.
Worst-case scenario? He'd just age to death.