Douro Continent

Chapter 665 Tang San vs. Angels: The First Battle Against God-Level Angels

"You know perfectly well that I have become a god, yet you still choose to fight me?"

"What about humans? What about gods? Don't you know that there are some things in this world that cannot be changed? There's a saying you may not have heard before, but I'll teach it to you now."

"What is it?" Qian Renxue's face began to turn ugly.

Tang San said resolutely, enunciating each word clearly: "I would rather be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile."

"You—" Qian Renxue's expression changed drastically, her smile vanished, and an indescribable majesty emanated from her. The overwhelming pressure made Tang San feel unsteady on his feet. If it weren't for the help of the Trident of the Sea God, he probably would have had to retreat.

A layer of golden light, like mist, emerged from her body. In an instant, she seemed to become the core of heaven and earth. The feeling of being one with the primordial energy of heaven and earth made Tang San feel that Qian Renxue in front of him was no longer real. Her body seemed to fill every part of the space, rather than being real in front of him.

Is this the power of a god? Feeling the pressure of the immense primordial energy between heaven and earth, Tang San felt a sense of powerlessness from the bottom of his heart. The mere aura generated such a huge oppressive force, one can only imagine the extent of the power of a god.

Qian Renxue before him radiated light from head to toe, seemingly able to control everything around her with every move. The Trident of the Sea God emanated a scorching heat from Tang San's hand, as if it excitedly yearned for a clash with this angelic goddess. Yet, a bitter feeling welled up in Tang San's heart. The Trident of the Sea God was a true divine weapon; it naturally feared no opponent. However, he himself, who wielded it, had not yet reached the level of a god.

"Tang San, do you really think you can escape unscathed in front of me today?" Qian Renxue stared into Tang San's eyes, her cold and oppressive gaze seeming to pierce into his soul.

Tang San shook his head. "Didn't you understand what I said? Better to be a broken jade than a whole tile. I never thought I could escape, but even if I die, I will not become a groveling surrenderer. My father once taught me that a man, no matter what, must always stand tall."

As he spoke, Tang San slammed the Trident of the Sea God in his hand. With a booming sound, the ground within a ten-meter radius of his body cracked simultaneously. His powerful aura, mixed with overwhelming battle intent, managed to withstand Qian Renxue's omnipresent pressure.

Tang San's domineering determination slightly distracted Qian Renxue, who subconsciously said, "Who told you to be so subservient? Didn't you understand what I said? I only hope that we can join forces, not that you have to submit to me."

Tang San sneered, "What's the difference between giving up your beliefs and surrendering? If it were you, would you give up your family, friends, country, and everything else to surrender? Life is what I desire, and righteousness is also what I desire. If I cannot have both, I will give up life for righteousness."

"You..." Qian Renxue's anger was finally ignited, but at that moment, Tang San struck first.

"Behold the halberd!" A loud shout rang out, and golden light shone brightly.

Quoting a line from Mencius, Tang San instantly elevated his aura to its peak. He took a sudden step forward with his left foot, and the Trident of the Sea God pointed directly at Qian Renxue's chest without any fancy moves. At the same time as the Trident of the Sea God was struck, a beam of brilliant golden light shot out from the Trident mark on his forehead, illuminating the Heart of the Sea God. Instantly, the golden light shone brightly, and the power of the Sea God surged completely. What seemed like a simple strike was actually a power Tang San poured all his strength into. He used his left leg to propel the attack, and the explosive power spread out instantly. The powerful energy fluctuations converged on the blade of the trident, and a ball of golden light seemed to explode from the edge. The air around the Trident of the Sea God twisted like a water snake, and all the energy output was completely concentrated into a straight line by Tang San.

This strike was the culmination of his power, surpassing even a soul skill despite not being one. Simultaneously, his Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul was unleashed, along with the divine-level, gleaming golden Trident of the Sea God.

Tang San didn't know just how strong a god-level expert was, but from the aura released by Qian Renxue, he understood that this battle might be the most arduous one he had ever faced. The chance of escaping was probably less than one in ten; only by going all out could he have a sliver of hope. Therefore, he unleashed all his abilities without reservation from the very beginning, preparing for a desperate fight.

"Trying to shake a god with a human, don't you realize it yet?" Qian Renxue also took a step forward. Facing the sharp edge of the Trident of the Sea God, she showed no intention of retreating. She raised her right hand, and her palm, filled with golden light, directly grasped the main blade of the Trident of the Sea God.

A magnificent golden light burst forth instantly. Just before Qian Renxue's right hand made contact with the burst of golden light on the main blade of the Trident of the Sea God, a layer of golden light instantly flowed into her palm, making her entire palm transparent, as if it were made entirely of energy.

The golden light emanating from the Trident of Poseidon seemed to melt when it touched Qian Renxue's palm. It was enveloped by a layer of golden light that appeared on Qian Renxue's palm and could not truly erupt. It was cut into the main blade of the Trident of Poseidon by the transparent, crystal-like palm.

The forward thrust of the Poseidon Trident was like a raging wave crashing against the shore, but Qian Renxue's hand was like a majestic mountain range. When the two collided, the waves stopped abruptly. The weight of 108,000 jin and the soul power that Tang San had unleashed with all his might all stopped in that instant, turning from motion to stillness. The whole process was only a moment, but the Poseidon Trident could no longer thrust forward even half an inch, and it stopped abruptly in Qian Renxue's right hand.

Without any energy impacting the Trident of Poseidon, Tang San could still feel its immense power, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move the divine weapon forward even an inch. At this moment, Qian Renxue hadn't even released her own martial soul yet.

The word "gap" appeared in Tang San's mind, but his fighting spirit did not diminish in the slightest. It would be strange if a god-level opponent were easy to deal with.

A blue-gold radiance, like a halo, instantly spread out from Tang San's feet, its reach limited to the short distance between his body and Qian Renxue. Undoubtedly, Tang San had condensed the power of his Blue Silver Domain to its smallest possible extent. The surging blue-gold light transformed into a massive blue-gold pillar of light that shot skyward, the terrifying energy fluctuations instantly boosting Tang San's aura and causing the energy injected into the Sea God Trident to increase exponentially.

However, just as the blue-gold pillar of light shot into the sky and Tang San's energy instantly increased, an even stronger golden light shone from within the blue-gold light. The shape of that golden light was a small six-winged angel.

"Dispel." The two cold words came from Qian Renxue's mouth.

The blue-gold pillar of light turned completely golden almost instantly, then scattered into specks of golden light, like countless stars descending to earth, gathering together and then dissipating in an instant. Tang San's extremely concentrated blue-silver domain vanished just like that.

Qian Renxue still didn't release her martial soul. She still looked as composed as ever, with only the shining little angel mark on her forehead shining brightly alongside Tang San's trident mark. It was just that the angel's light was much stronger.

"My dispelling power can dispel any non-god-level domain. It's useless, Tang San. Although I admit that your strength has grown rapidly, even beyond my judgment, even if your soul power reaches level ninety-nine, you are still only within the human realm. How could you possibly defeat me? This divine artifact is not bad, but unfortunately, it is not wielded by the Hand of God."

"Even if it's not the Hand of God, you can't grab the Sea God's weapon." Tang San roared, his left hand suddenly grabbing the Sea God's Trident.

Before today, he used the Trident of Poseidon entirely with his right arm, so that he could free up his left hand to unleash other skills to assist him. This was the first time he had used both hands to wield his divine weapon. At this moment, his physical power was fully unleashed. At the same time, a layer of yellowish light surged out from his left arm and poured into the Trident of Poseidon.

Qian Renxue felt the power emanating from the Trident of Poseidon increase tenfold in an instant. Even though she had become the God of Angels, she could no longer suppress the Trident of Poseidon at this moment. With a cry of alarm, she was thrown backward by the immense force. At the same time, the golden light on the Trident of Poseidon that she had been suppressing with her right hand also erupted at this moment. The surging golden energy caused her right hand to be raised high. Although it did not harm her, it did expose her bare chest.

How could Tang San let such an opportunity pass by? He moved with the halberd, his body becoming one with the Trident of the Sea God, and rushed upwards at high speed. At the same time, a strange blue-green light instantly surged from his right arm into the Trident of the Sea God, turning the Trident of the Sea God's original pure gold into a mixture of gold, blue, and cyan light.

Like a thunderclap from nowhere, an incomparably powerful three-colored lightning bolt shot out from the main blade of the Trident of the Sea God, slamming heavily into Qian Renxue's chest.

Qian Renxue was far too arrogant. She hadn't even unleashed her divine-level martial soul. After becoming the Six-Winged Angel God, her confidence had swelled to unprecedented levels, and she couldn't imagine what harm Tang San could possibly inflict on her. However, Tang San, despite being completely suppressed by her, suddenly launched such a fierce counterattack. The Trident of the Sea God, which she had clearly controlled, forcefully broke through her power.

Qian Renxue's entire body was enveloped in a layer of mixed gold, blue, and cyan electric light, and she was sent flying backward uncontrollably through the air. The numbing sensation left her in a semi-dizzy state.

However, a god-level being is a god-level being. Tang San's full-force attack, combined with the Azure Annihilation Thunder of the Sea God Trident, would likely have reduced a Title Douluo to ashes by now. Even with the Sea God Trident reaching 1.08 million jin under gravity control, it only barely managed to shake off Qian Renxue, rather than piercing her through.

Taking advantage of his opponent's carelessness, Tang San finally gained a fleeting opportunity. He understood that against a god-level expert like Qian Renxue, opportunities were fleeting, and it was almost impossible to launch a combo attack against her with his skills. Therefore, while he had briefly controlled his opponent, Tang San immediately used his strongest attack skill.

His body spun halfway through the air, and the light of the sea god poured into the trident without reservation. The brilliant golden light made the divine weapon instantly become illusory, and the enormous golden energy instantly coalesced into a single stream. The next moment, the golden light shot out from his hand, chasing after Qian Renxue's body like a phantom. It was the third move of the Golden Thirteen Halberds, a move from which there was no return.

As Tang San threw the halberd, eight golden beams of light simultaneously shot out from the eight spider spears behind him, chasing after Qian Renxue with lightning speed.

Facing a god-level opponent, Tang San used only the god-level attacks he could muster. Under the immense pressure from Qian Renxue, his condition had reached an unprecedented peak.

Her body flew backward in mid-air. Shocked, Qian Renxue never expected that Tang San could unleash such a strike. What truly paralyzed her was not the lightning power of the Azure Annihilation Thunder, but the divine power instantly activated within the Sea God Trident. In the instantaneous burst of the 1.08 million jin Sea God Trident, this strike was infinitely close to the power of a god.

Tang San's pursuit was undeniably swift, but how could Qian Renxue's god-like reflexes be slow? Her body flew backward, the angelic mark on her forehead already glowing. With a whoosh, six enormous wings unleashed from her back, and at that very moment, the golden wings forcefully dispelled all the electricity crackling around her. In Qian Renxue's hand, a longsword blazing with golden flames appeared. The sword appeared just as the Trident of the Sea God arrived before her.

Boom—, Qian Renxue's body flew backward again, her longsword positioned precisely between the main blade and the secondary blade of the Sea God Trident. Since Tang San learned the first three forms of the Golden Thirteen Halberds, she was the first person to directly block this "Never Return" strike. But everything happened too suddenly. Although her Angel Sword appeared in time, the "Never Return" strike was incredibly powerful; the golden light it generated still grazed her side, cutting her left arm, and crimson-gold blood immediately flowed out. Only a true divine weapon could inflict such a wound on a god-level being like Qian Renxue.

For a god to be injured in a fight against a human, Tang San already has reason to be proud.

However, Tang San's mood was still heavy at this moment. The eight devouring lights of the Eight Spider Spears had no effect. Qian Renxue simply closed her six wings to protect her body. Eight golden stars shone from Qian Renxue's six golden wings, and the eight golden lights shot out by the Eight Spider Spears rebounded and scattered in mid-air.

In a mere instant, Qian Renxue's body was carried a thousand meters away by the Sea God's Trident, which instantly weighed 1.08 million jin and unleashed the divine skill "Never Return." This demonstrated the sheer power of the attack. In the Star Dou Great Forest, Tang San, whose strength had increased once again, had reached a new level, unleashing almost the full power of "Never Return." Unfortunately, he was now running out of steam. Seeing Qian Renxue instantly sent flying, Tang San didn't hesitate to turn around, his body skimming the ground as he flew backward, disappearing into the Star Dou Great Forest.

The overwhelming power of the Sea God surged into her body through the open wound on her shoulder, the pain jolting Qian Renxue back to her senses. She knew she had underestimated this man, this man who always brought miracles. Watching Tang San disappear into the forest, she was powerless. Under the complete suppression of the Sea God's Trident, and unable to unleash her true divine power, she could only be forced to retreat. The entire process lasted a full five seconds. Tang San, with his own strength, had actually managed to suppress the Angel God for five seconds—not only Qian Renxue herself, but anyone else would find it unbelievable.

Finally, the Trident of Poseidon lightened, its weight of 1,080,000 jin returning to 108,000 jin, and its brilliant gold color subsided, turning it back to its original black. Qian Renxue's body also came to an abrupt halt in mid-air. With a flick of her Angel Sword, she grasped the Trident of Poseidon in her left hand. For a goddess like her, 108,000 jin was indeed heavy, but not unbearable.

"Fine, well done, Tang San. But now that you've lost even your divine weapon, what makes you think you can fight me?" Qian Renxue looked at the wound on her left shoulder. The crimson-gold blood had stopped flowing; in that instant, she had expelled the Sea God's divine power that had invaded her body. Just as she had said before, the one who wielded the Sea God's Trident was not, after all, the Hand of God.

Instead of rushing to pursue Tang San, Qian Renxue carefully examined the halberd in her hand, which had turned black and was unusually heavy. Previously, when the Trident of the Sea God weighed 1.08 million jin, even she wasn't confident she could grasp it. Even though she was a god, divine power was ultimately limited. When Tang San first heard of the existence of gods, he said that gods were still powerful Soul Masters, just those who had entered a different realm, and couldn't truly control the entire world. Otherwise, the Douluo Continent, where gods had already existed, wouldn't be what it is today. One million jin was already the limit of a god's power. Of course, this was an extremely terrifying number. Even the peak Douluo Poseidon found it very difficult to lift the Trident of the Sea God, which weighed 108,000 jin; let alone with its weight increased tenfold!

As Qian Renxue looked at the Trident of Poseidon in her hand, she suddenly laughed. "Tang San, Tang San, since you are also a Soul Master favored by the gods, will your gods still favor you if you lose this divine weapon? Without it, how can you inherit the divine legacy?"

Having already become a god, Qian Renxue naturally understood that the Trident of the Sea God in her hands was like the Spirit Hall's treasured Angelic Divine Armor and Six Soul Bones—both were crucial artifacts for achieving godhood. Without it, Tang San could not inherit the position of Sea God. Although she had been repelled by Tang San, Qian Renxue knew it was only because she had been too careless. Tang San's strength was far from enough to pose a threat to her. With the Trident of the Sea God in her hands, Tang San had no chance of becoming a god, and naturally, he could not become a real threat. Even if he did escape her grasp, so what?

Qian Renxue was never a good-tempered person. The reason she tried to persuade Tang San instead of using force today wasn't because Tang San was the only man she cared about. Qian Renxue had never thought much about relationships; the tragedy of her parents had left her utterly disillusioned with love. Her reluctance to easily harm Tang San, hoping to force him to compromise, stemmed from her desire to see Tang San appear when she ascended to godhood. Tang San had become the biggest weakness in her Angel Godhood. If she killed Tang San, this weakness in her heart would be forever unbridgeable. This would create serious problems when she encountered an opponent of equal godhood.

However, if Tang San chooses to submit to her, her affection for him will significantly decrease, and his position in her heart will change. This way, she can gradually erase him from her heart, and only then can she truly mend this flaw. Moreover, as long as Tang San is by her side and of one mind, this flaw itself will cease to be a flaw. Therefore, Qian Renxue painstakingly tries to persuade Tang San to compromise, even resorting to enticing him with authority figures like the "One-Word King."

Unfortunately, Tang San's personality was even more resolute than she had imagined. In particular, when Tang San recited two lines of ancient Chinese from his previous life, his image became even more profound in Qian Renxue's mind.

"Better to be a broken jade than a whole tile. What a fine saying, 'Better to be a broken jade than a whole tile.' Tang San, you truly deserve to be the man I've chosen." Qian Renxue gazed in the direction where Tang San had disappeared, a complex smile appearing on her lips. Recalling Tang San's earlier defiant roar, her heart couldn't help but flutter.

With her six golden wings unfurled behind her, Qian Renxue's body swept across the Star Dou Great Forest like a golden meteor in a flash of light. Tang San couldn't sense her presence through his spiritual power, but how could she not lock onto him? Her flight speed was beyond description; in the blink of an eye, she was already thousands of meters away.

As she flew, Qian Renxue murmured to herself, "Life is what I desire, and righteousness is also what I desire. If I cannot have both, I will give up life for righteousness. Tang San, oh Tang San, are you destined to be my nemesis? Hmm..."

Qian Renxue had been focused on Tang San's body, but was suddenly surprised to find that when she caught up with him using her divine power, what appeared in front of her was not Tang San, but a clump of Blue Silver Grass that had grown and solidified.

Holding the Trident of Poseidon and the Angel's Sword, Qian Renxue gracefully landed before the humanoid figure formed from Blue Silver Grass. A sudden feeling of amusement and disbelief washed over her. As the Angel God, she had been injured by Tang San first, and then deceived by him. He actually had the ability to escape her mental lock. This was far beyond Qian Renxue's expectations, yet it also stirred a playful, cat-and-mouse feeling within her.

The difference in strength between humans and gods is undoubtedly vast, like an insurmountable chasm. Although Tang San has approached godhood in many aspects and is close to completing the eighth trial of the Sea God, he is still, after all, just a human, not a god. However, he also has his greatest strengths. In at least two situations, he might be able to escape Qian Renxue's mental lock. Of course, this depends entirely on Qian Renxue being careless. If she had pursued Tang San immediately, he wouldn't have had time to pull off these tricks.

These two places are the forest and the ocean, respectively.

Tang San is to inherit the position of the Sea God. Once he enters the ocean, he will possess survival abilities that ordinary people do not have. With the aura of the Sea God, the vast ocean will protect him. Even a god-level expert would find it extremely difficult to hunt him down in the ocean, where he is determined to survive.

Within the forest, Tang San possesses the Blue Silver Domain, capable of controlling all Blue Silver Grass. Indeed, Blue Silver Grass is extremely weak; so weak that an ordinary person could easily break it. Compared to the lofty Angel God, Blue Silver Grass is like heaven and earth, a speck of dust compared to the sun. However, as the saying goes, great things are built from small beginnings, and much is accumulated from little by little. How many Blue Silver Grasses are there in this dense Star Dou Great Forest?

In a life-threatening moment, Tang San immediately slipped into the forest and reactivated his Blue Silver Domain, expanding it to its maximum extent. In an instant, he unleashed several evolutionary effects of the Blue Silver Domain. The Myriad Manifestations of the Universe and the Vast Ocean worked simultaneously, absorbing the energy of the Blue Silver Grass to restore himself to peak condition. He then used these techniques to completely merge with the Blue Silver Grass in the forest. His method of deceiving Qian Renxue was to make his aura resemble that of a Blue Silver Grass, while simultaneously amplifying the aura of all the Blue Silver Grass. Using that momentary contrast, he forcibly escaped Qian Renxue's mental detection, simultaneously using the Blue Silver Grass to simulate his own aura and flee in one direction. He himself, however, relied on the flight ability of his Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone to skim the ground.

Tang San's escape method was both simple and extremely cautious. In addition to the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone skill, he used the Blue Silver Domain to completely restrict his body, and then released the invisibility ability of the Vast Ocean Protective Shield to conceal his aura before escaping.

Using only the right leg bone of the Blue Silver Emperor, he could undoubtedly maintain a consistent aura with the Blue Silver Grass, preventing his presence from being revealed. Under this multiple layer of protection, even Qian Renxue couldn't do anything to him in the Star Dou Great Forest for the time being. Finding him wouldn't be easy.

The key problem is that Qian Renxue was too arrogant. Even when Tang San used the Trident of the Sea God to injure her in a desperate attempt, she still did not regard Tang San as an opponent who required her to expend energy.

However, Qian Renxue's carelessness quickly vanished. Standing before the humanoid figure formed by the Blue Silver Grass, Qian Renxue temporarily planted the Trident of the Sea God in the ground, pressed her hand to her forehead, and a golden halo immediately spread out from her body. This time, she was not simply using her mental power to probe, but using her divine sense to scan the entire Star Dou Great Forest, searching for Tang San's whereabouts.

The golden light spread rapidly outwards at a speed of a thousand meters in an instant. The divine power of the Angel God scanned the entire area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest in less than the time it takes to eat a meal.

"How is this possible?" Qian Renxue muttered to herself in astonishment as she removed her hand from her forehead, completing the scan of the Star Dou Great Forest. Even with her divine sense, she still couldn't find Tang San's trace. She knew very well that Tang San was still within the Star Dou Great Forest; he couldn't possibly have left in such a short time. The fact that she couldn't detect him with her divine sense proved that he was escaping using a god-level ability.

Qian Renxue's expression turned solemn for the first time. This was her first action since becoming the Angel God. Originally, she was heading to the front lines at Jialing Pass to take command of the Spirit Empire's army. While passing through the Star Dou Great Forest, she sensed a massive energy fluctuation and used her divine sense to investigate. She witnessed Tang San killing the three Thousand-Pound Ant King brothers and absorbing their spirit rings. Of course, she wouldn't let this opportunity pass. But who would have thought that after a brief exchange, the moment they fought, she, now a god, would suffer the consequences, and Tang San would escape. If there was any gain, it was the Trident of the Sea God in her hand. However, Qian Renxue had already tested it; her angelic power couldn't penetrate this weapon at all. Let alone using it, even destroying it would be difficult. It was a true divine weapon, just like her Angel Sword.

At this moment, even after searching with her divine sense, Qian Renxue could not find any trace of Tang San. Only then did she truly take the matter seriously. If Tang San were to escape in the first battle to become a god, then she would have lost! How could she be willing to accept that?

No matter what, you're still in the Star Dou Great Forest, aren't you? You must be using some kind of treasure from the Sea God, along with the Blue Silver Domain, to hide yourself from me. Fine, then I'll keep you occupied. I want to see if you'll actually leave this place. Once you leave the Star Dou Great Forest, without the aura of the Blue Silver Grass to cover you, how will you escape my divine sense lock?

Thinking of this, Qian Renxue stopped moving, retracted the six angel wings on her back, and the angel sword in her hand turned into a golden light and merged into herself. She took off the clothes that were torn on her arms, put on a new palace dress, and sat cross-legged in front of the humanoid figure formed by the blue silver grass.

She wasn't sitting on the ground, but rather in mid-air, cross-legged and suspended two meters above the ground. A faint golden light occasionally flashed across her skin, making her appear like a luminous being. Only the angelic mark on her forehead remained constantly lit, and every three breaths, a golden halo would ripple outwards from her, scanning the entire Starry Sky Forest.

Qian Renxue's actions at this moment demonstrate the immense power of her god-level strength. She scanned the vast forest almost continuously, yet it seemed to have minimal impact on her. Even Tang San, with his Blue Silver Domain, could not achieve this. Once Tang San appeared within her divine sense detection, Qian Renxue was determined not to give him another chance to escape.

Tang San had already noticed Qian Renxue's first round of divine sense probing when the strange golden light swept across his protective shield. He tensed instantly, prostrating himself on the ground, quietly waiting for the divine sense to pass over him. Possessing the Blue Silver Domain, he naturally knew what Qian Renxue was doing. He had performed the same scan before, but he could clearly feel that Qian Renxue's divine sense probing was far more powerful than his own Blue Silver Domain scan.

Fortunately, he had been continuously releasing his Blue Silver Domain to enhance his inner strength, and with the invisibility effect of the Vast Ocean Protective Shield, he managed to deceive the Angel God's divine sense. However, Tang San was also secretly lamenting his predicament. What Qian Renxue had thought of, he naturally had as well. Although there were intervals between his divine sense scans, Tang San used these intervals to move towards the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest. However, once he reached the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, he discovered that he could not simply leave. His spiritual power clearly felt wave after wave of divine sense constantly sweeping past him, only gradually disappearing after drifting out of the Star Dou Great Forest's boundaries. He knew that as soon as he stepped out of the Star Dou Great Forest, he would be immediately discovered by Qian Renxue. He did not believe that his speed could compare to Qian Renxue's.

(End of this chapter)