The plane pulsed with unseen power.
Beneath the surface of the Douluo Continent, ley lines flowed faster. In the skies above, the clouds no longer moved on their own—they shifted in response to divine will. Every inch of land, sea, and air now bent to Tang San's law.
But within his Divine Palace, high above the Tang Domain, the Supreme God sat still—cold, calculating, emotionless. His twin godhoods formed behind him like halos forged from law and causality. Ten divine rings—five for each spirit—floated silently in layers, each ten million years old, born not from beasts but from his own godhood.
In front of him hovered a translucent manual.
Thousandfold Tempering Manual (Revised):
> "A gift for the mortal realm. Temper the body. Strengthen the bone. Shape the soul. But it ends at the gate of Godhood."
The body-tempering method he had given the world thirty years ago was now being widely used—up to Level 98. Countless cultivators across the Douluo Plane had advanced faster than any generation before them. It was no longer rare to see Level 70s or even 80s in small sects. Some cities even had multiple Spirit Douluo level protectors.
But Tang San had made one fact absolutely clear:
"This technique ends at Level 99."
Those who reached 99 found no more guidance.
No new realms.
No divine path to follow—unless they could create their own godhood.
The divine system was now mercilessly clear.
Those who borrowed another's godhood—like in the past Divine Realm system—would be hunted and killed by Tang San's divine will.
Those who sought godhood through natural mutation or beast possession would be cast down, unable to withstand the rejection of the plane.
Only those who formed their own godhood through talent, comprehension, and willpower could rise beyond Level 99.
He had made this law absolute.
And he had announced its truth across the entire plane:
> "Borrowed gods are false gods. This plane will no longer shelter parasites."
Among millions of spirit masters, 20–30% could now reach Level 90 over time due to increased spirit energy and the tempering method.
But to go beyond…?
Only 1% could form High-Level Godhoods.
Only 0.01% could reach Elite-Level.
As for Supreme-Level Godhood?
Not a single one had emerged in thirty years—other than Tang San.
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Xiao Wu's Growth and Godhood
By his side, Xiao Wu had walked her own path—not as a mirror, but as a reflection of his heart. She had become an Elite Goddess, her own unique divine path independent from her husband's. Her rings were all 1 million years—solidified through her own cultivation, her beast heritage, and the legacy she accepted only from herself.
She ruled the Beastkin, unified several divine beast lineages under her, and was known as the Moonblood Empress—serene, silent, deadly.
Though she remained soft toward Tang San, she had followed his emotional coldness in all other ways. The two rarely spoke now, needing no words. Their understanding existed in breath, movement, and divine frequency.
---
The Outer Realms Make Their Move
One day, as crimson lightning split the sky without thunder, a thin black line appeared above the eastern sea.
It twisted like a wound in reality, widening slowly.
Tang San looked at it, unmoved.
> "A fractured envoy? Interesting."
From the rift emerged a cloaked figure wreathed in cosmic mist, riding a dragon made of shattered glass and divine bones. The aura it gave off was unstable, yet mighty—Level 108, from the Shattered Throne Sect.
Its voice echoed across the continent.
> "This realm has no True Law. Submit your plane's core and kneel before the Divine Alliance of Outer Realms, or suffer erasure."
Cities trembled. Weak spirit masters fell unconscious. A dozen small sects even fled into the forests in fear.
But Xiao Wu had already moved.
She appeared in front of the envoy, clad in armor woven from silver spirit threads and divine beast essence. Her spear—made from the fang of a 9-million-year Sky Demon Tiger—pointed upward, radiant.
> "You step into our plane without permission. That alone earns your death."
The envoy laughed, until it saw her divine ring—the tenth one—and the pressure it carried. Then its dragon shrieked in fear.
Moments later, light exploded.
They fought across the sky—her elite-level power pushing back the unstable foreign god.
And Tang San?
He turned his eyes inward.
---
The First Trial of 10-in-1 Fusion
In the heart of his palace, Tang San activated the incomplete 10-in-1 fusion.
He called forth one ring from each of his spirits. The ten rings began to converge, forming a perfect sphere of light. The space around him screamed, folding, cracking, burning.
His body began to disintegrate from the overload.
But he endured.
His divine blood boiled, his bones shattered, and his soul burned into two distinct halves. But through sheer control, he stabilized the fusion for 2 seconds.
Then released it upward.
A golden beam shot into the clouds and tore the sky apart—literally fracturing the plane's upper barrier.
Everyone across the continent looked up… and saw the void beyond stars.
Tang San's voice echoed once more, this time more divine than ever before:
> "The outer realms may watch. They may send envoys. They may whisper temptation."
> "But I am this plane's law now. And only my divine path leads forward."
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Next Chapter Teaser: Xiao Wu slaughters the envoy before the plane and earns her title as Beast Empress. Tang San unveils a sealed divine path for those brave enough to attempt 99–100 breakthrough—but with a deadly karmic price. And a supreme-level god from the Outer Realm finally begins moving... toward