Logically speaking, as a member of the temporary garrison maintaining order at the scene, as long as he followed along with the ritual, there would be no risk of being excluded.
Yet this idiot—driven by some twisted sense of cleverness—pulled a stunt.
When it came time to kneel, he didn't kneel properly. Instead, he propped himself up with both hands on the ground, his knees hovering just above the dirt, never actually touching it. In his heart and on his lips, he didn't recite a single prayer—he merely moved his mouth for show.
He thought he was smart.
After all, even up close it would be hard to notice, let alone from such a distance.
But when he realized there was actual divine blessing afterward, his entire brain short-circuited.
Filled with regret and agony, he howled inwardly:
"You should've said so earlier! If I'd known there were blessings, if I'd known sincerity could be detected, I would've prayed with my whole heart!"
Divine power and soul power existed on completely different levels.
Nangong Lingyun's divine power far surpassed that of ordinary God Kings, not by a small margin either. And techniques like Fetal Transformation Rebirth—a divine-tier soul skill—were absurdly overpowered, far beyond normal specifications.
Tang San personally witnessed a man beside him whose broken sword martial soul was restored to wholeness. Another ordinary soldier with no innate soul power suddenly erupted with a clear soul power fluctuation.
By contrast, both of Tang San's martial souls had suffered severe loss of potential—especially the Blue Silver Emperor. Even after adding the fifth soul ring not long ago, there had been little improvement. His foundation had been utterly destroyed.
If he could become one of the ten thousand chosen, perhaps there would be a chance to revive his life attribute.
Even the residual blessings granted to those outside the chosen ten thousand would still bring enormous benefits to him.
Ma Hongjun, for instance, had visibly slimmed down because of it. He still wasn't handsome—but at least he was no longer painful to look at.
Realizing that he had missed an incredibly simple and perfect opportunity to repair his martial soul, Tang San—pure and "ice-clean" as ever—was furious to the point his face turned iron-blue. His fingernails dug deep into the soft flesh of his palms, yet his entire body still trembled uncontrollably. He wanted nothing more than to slap himself across the face repeatedly.
Why did I have to play clever?
He's a god now! You don't even know what gods are capable of, and you still dared to pull this brainless stunt in front of one? Have all those past painful lessons been learned by a dog instead?
Fall once, learn once—yet every single time you fall into the pit with perfect accuracy.
Is there anyone in this world more stupid than you? Anyone?!
While Tang San was drowning in torment, Oscar suddenly spoke beside him.
"Tang San, you didn't pray seriously just now, did you? I saw that your knees never touched the ground. And no divine blessing descended upon you either."
Those words nearly stopped Tang San's heart.
He couldn't be sure whether Nangong Lingyun's method of detecting sincerity targeted individuals with precision, or if it functioned like an automatic system that identified sincerity based on fixed rules.
But regardless of which it was, he had to assume that no one knew.
He absolutely could not let Oscar report this.
Otherwise, his life would be over instantly.
Just as Tang San—pure and "ice-clean"—was about to open his mouth to negotiate, a terrifying realization struck him.
He had already handed over every bargaining chip he possessed.
Aside from a few high-level hidden weapons that couldn't yet be manufactured, the cultivation techniques from the Xuantian Treasure Record had already been surrendered completely—not a single word left.
At that thought, Tang San instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
More terrifying than missing the divine blessing was the possibility of Oscar holding leverage over him and reporting him to Nangong Lingyun.
That man had always wanted an excuse to kill him. Only because of promises made by the Asura God and his ancestor Tang Chen had he barely managed to cling to life.
Hadn't his own stupidity just handed over the perfect excuse on a silver platter?
This… this… this…
"What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?"
Tang San's entire body trembled violently. His eyes couldn't focus, and his face was utterly drained of color.
Thankfully, Oscar's next sentence dragged him back from the brink of death.
"I know you still have secrets—far more than just the Xuantian Treasure Record. Every night you block your door and set up multiple mechanisms inside. Several times, you've looked utterly exhausted during the day, like you just survived a major battle."
"You compromise on everything else—even cultivation techniques you created yourself. But this one thing? Even threatening to report you won't work."
"You—!"
Realizing that Oscar was coveting his Flying Immortal Trial, Tang San immediately flew into a rage.
But before the rest of his words could leave his mouth, they got stuck in his throat.
If he died, what use would the Flying Immortal Trial be?
He should even be grateful—grateful that Oscar wasn't the kind of person immune to temptation. At least he still had desires, still had selfishness. Otherwise, there wouldn't even be room for negotiation.
Tang San clenched his fists tightly.
In just a short span of time, he had already dismembered Oscar thousands of times over in his imagination.
The Flying Immortal Trial was his last trump card, his only hope of turning things around—and now this too was being coveted? Taken away?
Where was the humanity? Where was the morality?!
Yet no matter how much he resisted, no matter how painful, furious, or unwilling he felt—
In the end, he could only say:
"I'll tell you tonight."
…
Another person filled with equal regret existed as well.
Spirit City, one of the key transportation hubs laid out in a three-vertical, three-horizontal network, housed a seven-tier grand altar—second only to the nine-tier altar in Chang'an City.
The dungeon guards were all die-hard loyalists of Bibi Dong. With the Pope now pregnant, they naturally harbored some loyalty toward Nangong Lingyun and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as well.
Though they couldn't leave their posts, they still followed the sounds from outside and held a simplified prayer ritual. Healing Soul Masters treated every prisoner, demanding that they too contribute a portion of their strength.
Prisoner Gangzi and "pure and ice-clean" Tang San truly deserved to be master and disciple.
On the surface, they dared not resist in the slightest. Yet in their hearts, they freely engaged in blatant hypocrisy.
Who could control what they cursed in their minds?
Besides, wasn't Nangong Lingyun largely responsible for their current predicament? If not for him constantly educating Tang San on martial soul theory, would things have fallen out between master and disciple?
Maybe Tang San would still be honoring him as "teacher for a day, father for life."
Contributing strength to an enemy?
Dream on.
Gangzi was quite pleased with himself. As long as he didn't lose anything, it counted as a win. He indulged in a full-blown Ah Q–style mental victory.
However—
When the divine blessing light descended,
The guards and most of the prisoners erupted in wild joy.
Only Gangzi and a handful of others stood there dumbfounded.
By sheer coincidence, one of the guards happened to be among the ten thousand chosen.
His martial soul manifested automatically and underwent an obvious, positive transformation. Even his appearance became ten years younger—a miracle that left everyone stunned.
Gangzi trembled as he summoned his Luo San Pao.
Staring at its ugly appearance and stupidly clear eyes, he checked again and again.
There was no change. None at all.
Enraged, he immediately dropped to his knees and began praying loudly.
Nothing happened.
Not even after a long while.
At that moment, the already-awakened devout believer looked at him and revealed an extremely vicious smile, snarling:
"Add a few extra chicken legs for the healing soul masters. Their workload today is probably going to be… very heavy."
.......
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" Douluo: The Game (18+) "
" Douluo: Tsundere Empress Qian Renxue's Cultivation Plan (18+) "
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" The Fall of Douluo's Beauties (18+) "
" Douluo Continent: Pure Flesh Cultivation (18+) "
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" Douluo 2: Martial Soul Wish Tree — Wang Dong Got Addicted (18+) "
" Douluo: Getting Stronger by Digging Treasures, Meet Bibi Dong Right at the Start (18+) "
" In Douluo Just Sleeping, and Bibi Dong Exploded (18+) "
" Douluo: Peerless Bull (18+) "
" Douluo: Glazed Sacrifice to Revive the Sect (18+) "
" Douluo: Lust God Inheritance (18+)"
" Douluo 4: Dragon God Lust (18+) "
" Douluo: Prime Minister, I Understand "
" Douluo: Super Slave System (18+) "
" Douluo: I Made the Pope Bibi Dong Pregnant! (18+) "
" Douluo: Tang San Forbidden Harem (18+) "
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(End of Chapter)