Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

Chapter 353 Blackmail
……

Poseidon's divine projection trembled violently, clearly having been touched on a sore spot.

That divine artifact that represents him is now casually placed at the entrance of the Angel Temple by Xuanming as a decoration. If the successor of the Angel God were to use it to provoke Seagod Island... the scene would be unimaginable!
“You…” Poseidon’s voice was filled with suppressed anger, “Are you threatening me?”

“No, if you don’t want to give it to me, I won’t force you. I can take your trident back and return it to you immediately,” Xuanming said.

"However, I have recently gained new insights into my Dragon Emperor Sea Breaker and want to give it a try. I wonder if the Light of the Sea God can block it?"

He paused, then added, "Of course, I will try to control the power and won't actually blow through Poseidon Island. After all, the scenery here is quite nice."

"..."

Poseidon's stunningly beautiful face froze completely; she felt as if she were about to stop breathing.

This guy... this guy is actually using the safety of Poseidon Island to bargain?!

And try to control the power?
The scenery is quite nice!

This isn't just audacious, this is downright... insane!
The projection of Poseidon's divine consciousness flickered violently, its golden light flashing erratically, revealing the extreme turmoil within its master.

Anger? Frustration? Helplessness? And even a hint of... absurdity and absurdity?

He, the mighty sea god, who rules the ocean and is supreme, is actually being "extorted" by a mere mortal using his own divine artifacts and his ancestral land?!

If word gets out, what will become of Poseidon's reputation?!
"Boy!" Poseidon's voice was practically forced out through gritted teeth, "Do you know what you're saying?!"

“I know.” Xuanming nodded, his face calm. “I’m discussing this with you. A divinely bestowed soul ring in exchange for the peace of Seagod Island, plus the stability of your trident. It’s a fair deal.”

“A deal?!” Poseidon’s voice rose several octaves. “You call this a deal?!”

“Otherwise?” Xuanming retorted. “Forced buying and selling? That’s not good. I always believe in fairness.”

"Don't forget, I helped you deal with the Deep Sea Demon Whale King, and next I will help you deal with the Evil Orca King, which is equivalent to helping you maintain the order of the ocean."

"Besides, I even brought the Heart of the Sea God back for you. People from your Sea God Island are so forgetful, and I kindly brought it back for you. Shouldn't you thank me?"

Xuanming's "justified" addition completely froze the divine projection of Poseidon, the sea god.

Poseidon listened in stunned silence, feeling her worldview being repeatedly challenged.

Did you defeat the Deep Sea Demon Whale King? Maintain ocean order? The Heart of the Sea God? Help bring it back? And you should thank him?

This... this can all be considered his achievement and a favor?!

Poseidon watched in horror, fearing that the sea god might unleash divine punishment in a fit of rage.

However, to her surprise, after the intense emotional turmoil, Poseidon, the god of the sea, actually... slowly calmed down.

The golden projection stopped flashing and instead emitted an extremely complex emotional fluctuation, a mixture of anger, helplessness, and even a hint of appreciation.

After a long silence, Poseidon's voice rang out again, carrying a deep, almost resigned helplessness: "...Good lad! You've got some nerve!"

He really didn't expect that this kid, who seemed to have the same personality as Shura, would be such a master at being a rogue!
That's more shameless than evil!

"So be it..." Poseidon sighed, his voice filled with helplessness. "It's just a divinely bestowed soul ring, you can have it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a golden sphere of light, even more refined and with purer and more abundant energy than the one in Xuanming's hand, appeared out of thin air in front of Xuanming and slowly floated up.

Within the sphere of light, it seemed as if a vast ocean was surging, brimming with boundless vitality.

"Take it!" Poseidon's voice carried a hint of annoyance. "Quickly put away your pathetic moves! Don't experiment on them in front of my house!"

"Is this divinely bestowed soul ring of yours... expensive?" Xuanming couldn't help but ask.

“… Poseidon.”

"What do you mean?" "If it's not expensive, how about you... buy a few more on credit?" Xuanming said.

"As you've seen, Nana and the others are cultivating at an incredibly fast pace, and their need for spirit rings will be huge going forward, but..."

Xuanming paused for a moment, then said, "Well, is it said that Heaven cherishes life?"

“Those ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts don’t have it easy to cultivate either. There are so many of them, and their needs are so great. As the Sea God…”

As soon as Xuanming said this, the atmosphere in the Sea God Temple, which had just eased up a little, froze again!
Poseidon's beautiful face completely lost its expression; she even wondered if she was hallucinating.

He... he actually wanted to buy a few more on credit?!
They even set their sights on Ning Rongrong and the others?!
They even went so far as to bring up the idea that "Heaven has a virtue of cherishing life"?!
"Can't you have any shame?" Poseidon said speechlessly.

"What does this have to do with whether I have a shame or not?" Xuanming asked, puzzled.

"They're being tested on your turf, so they can barely be considered half of your followers. And you've seen their talent too. Take Nana, Rongrong, and Xiaowu for example. The three of them have a high chance of reaching the God Realm in the future. If they succeed, it will be a great honor for you, won't it?"

"If you can't even spare a few divinely bestowed soul rings now, what will happen when they ascend to the divine realm and become known everywhere as the mighty Sea God..."

Xuanming deliberately dragged out his words, leaving a meaningful silence.

Poseidon's divine projection trembled violently, its golden light flickering erratically, clearly enraged by this "threat".

"You...you are ruining my reputation!" Poseidon's voice trembled.

"How can you call it a disgrace?" Xuanming looked puzzled. "I'm just trying to protect your image. Think about it, if the other gods knew that the Sea God wouldn't even give a few divine-given soul rings to his own examinees..."

He paused deliberately, letting Poseidon imagine the scene himself.

Poseidon listened in stunned silence.

She had never seen anyone describe "extortion" in such a fresh and elegant way!
……

In the realm of gods, within the temple.

"Shura, you saw that? This kid is simply..."

"You asked for it." The Asura God took a sip of tea expressionlessly.

"You tricked and coaxed him to Poseidon Island, and you secretly helped him fuse with the Heart of Poseidon. Don't think I don't know."

Xuanming didn't gain any affinity with the Sea God, so how could he possibly forcefully fuse with the Heart of the Sea God?

They simply turned a blind eye to Xuanming's choice to resolve the Blood Spear issue in such a brutal way.

Poseidon was speechless at the words of the Asura God, and even the golden light projected by his divine sense dimmed a bit.

“I was…” Poseidon wanted to explain, but found himself speechless.

It was indeed he who first saw Xuanming's potential, and then used the issue of Bibi Dong's Rakshasa inheritance to lure him to Seagod Island. However, he never expected that inviting a god is easy, but sending him away is difficult; this kid was simply a lawless individual.

"We've all been tricked by him, so you'll have to suffer the consequences too," the Asura God said calmly.

"It's just a few divinely bestowed soul rings; it's nothing more than losing face."

“Exactly, besides, weren’t you planning to match him up with Poseidon?” said the evil god.

"Consider it an advance dowry."

"If you're really unhappy, you can take your revenge on him slowly during the later God Exams, right?"

Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "That's true."

"You brat, you dare to blackmail me..."

(End of this chapter)