Chapter 994: Initial Refinement of the Black Tortoise Shield

The Black Tortoise Shield itself was primarily water-attribute, and the Sea God was the supreme god of water, so even though the former was also somewhat attuned to earth, there was great natural affinity between them.

The shield slowly floated in front of Tang San. Even with his current cultivation, it was quite difficult to activate the shield.

He spread the fingers of his right hand and pressed them slowly against the center of the shield. A soft blue-gold glow flowed from his fingertips, and on his forehead, the glowing sigil of the Sea God’s Trident reappeared.

The moment the symbol emerged, a vast stream of faith energy surged from the Endless Blue Sea, rapidly replenishing Tang San’s divine consciousness.

At first, the Black Tortoise Shield remained unresponsive. But as Tang San’s divine energy continued to intensify, the shield began to emit a faint humming, as if it were verifying something.

Tang San remained calm and patient, continuously pouring his divine consciousness into it. Gradually, pale blue ripples began to appear across the ink-black surface of the shield.

Convincing a divine item that originated from the core of the plane to acknowledge a wielder, let alone recognize a true master, was no easy task. Tang San was essentially using his divine seat to “deceive” the Black Tortoise Shield, making it believe the plane had already evolved into a divine realm, so that it would allow itself to be refined.

Little by little, the blue markings on the shield increased in number, shimmering with strange waves of light.

A smile gradually formed at the corner of Tang San’s mouth.

This shield had never been truly used before, so it was extremely pure. Under the stimulus of his divine power, it began to feel a sense of nurturing.

Ordinary life energy wasn’t enough to nourish this artifact; it needed the refinement of divine energy to unleash its true potential.

After over an hour of persistent effort, the shield’s surface had turned completely azure. This marked a preliminary acceptance of Tang San—acknowledging him as one who could refine it through divine energy.

Back when Tang San was still at the God King level, taking control of such a divine weapon would not have taken all that much effort. But now, without his true divine power restored, the process felt much more demanding.

With a flicker of blue light, the Black Tortoise Shield slowly sank into Tang San’s chest and disappeared. With this preliminary step complete, he could now barely use the shield’s basic defense. Fully unleashing its power, of course, would have to wait until he became an Emperor.

Having dealt with these two divine items, Tang San paused and turned his attention to Mei Gongzi.

The fusion of the Asura Sword and the Shadowfiend Sword was progressing smoothly. He couldn’t help but feel a bit envious; even though he had gained much from the auction, nothing he had obtained could match the combat power boost Mei Gongzi would get from the Shadowfiend Sword.

By this point, the Shadowfiend Sword had turned a deep crimson. At the same time, the overwhelming sword intent that had once surrounded it was now gradually infusing it, becoming contained within. And though the sword seemed to have become more compact, it was certainly denser and stronger than ever. The aura it emitted was faint, but it carried terrifying pressure.

If the true Asura Sword could be drawn to this realm faster, it would certainly be a tremendous boon!

Aside from the Radiant Dragon Spear and the Black Tortoise Shield, Tang San had no urgent need to deal with the other auctioned items. The Heart of Nature was especially important, but Tang San wouldn’t touch it until he had become an Emperor, except to use it as a token for negotiation. Its power was simply too great, and it might determine whether he could return to the God King level.

Using his divine consciousness, Tang San located Wu Bingji, who was in seclusion, and silently teleported to him. He left behind the Throne of Frost, believing that when his eldest senior brother awoke from meditation, he would be met with a great surprise.

It took Mei Gongzi three full days to complete the integration of the Asura Sword and the Shadowfiend Sword. With the Celestial Plume no longer usable as such, she had been lacking a proper weapon. Now, she finally had a true sword of her own to wield.

Now fused with the Asura Sword’s seed of sword intent, the Shadowfiend Sword—or rather the Asura Shadow Sword—had far surpassed any ordinary divine weapon. Its sharpness was so intense that even Tang San felt that he wouldn’t want to face it directly. Of course, sword itself wouldn’t harm him, but he could still acutely sense how keen its edge was.

The sound of waves was peaceful and soothing. Tang San sat by the sea, quietly watching the azure waters of the Endless Blue Sea. These past few days of rare calm allowed him to finally relax and clear his mind.

Since arriving in this realm, moments like this had been few and far between.

What awaited him next was the greatest test he had faced in this lifetime—in a sense, perhaps more perilous than his godly tribulation. He needed to win the matchmaking tournament without revealing his true identity before the Emperors. Only then could he rightfully marry Mei Gongzi and ascend as an Emperor.

Once he became an Emperor, no Demon or Nymph Emperor, and not even all of them combined, would be able to suppress him again.

“Sitting and pondering?” a pleasant voice sounded beside him. The next instant, a pair of soft arms wrapped around his neck.

Tang San pulled her into his embrace. “No, just sitting. If you’re here beside me, watching the sea together, what else could I possibly be thinking about? This is just perfect.”

Mei Gongzi let out a gentle sigh. “Yes... But don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If we fail, then let’s just leave. We’ll go overseas and hide where they can’t find us. As long as you’re safe, I don’t care about giving all of this up.”

Tang San smiled. “That won’t do. I want to be with you for all eternity. I’m greedy, you know? I don’t just want you in this life, but in every life. So we

must

return to the God King level and go back to our world. I have a grand plan to fulfill in the future. If it succeeds, as long as the universe exists, so will we.”

Mei Gongzi snuggled in his arms. “Great plans are your business, you go ahead and do them however you want. I’m a simple woman; all I like is to sit here and watch the sea.”

Tang San chuckled in disbelief. “Big Sister Mei, you’re being so gentle, I almost don’t recognize you. What should I do?”

“Then I’ll beat you up. Maybe that’ll open your eyes.”

“...”

They stood there motionless for a moment, and then they both burst out laughing.

“We should head back. It’s been three days. The buzz from the auction must’ve died down. Next is the matchmaking tournament. You

have

to be there—there’s no way around it.” Tang San said, somewhat reluctantly.

If it were up to him, he’d rather stay here with Mei Gongzi, just spacing out by the sea and cuddling. What could be better than that?

“Alright, let’s go back. This time, I’m going to crush all the competition. If I win the whole tournament, I’ll just say no one is worthy of me and cancel the whole matchmaking!” Mei Gongzi said confidently. Her brand new Asura Shadow Sword had filled her with strength.

Tang San smiled. “Still, you should be cautious. You’ll enter in the semifinals, and those who’ve reached that point are the strongest contenders. Every clan will be bringing out their trump cards to fight for the Emperor’s seat.”

Mei Gongzi nodded. “I’m more worried about you. You can’t use your full power and you have to hide your identity. That’s really troublesome.”

Tang San gave her a mysterious smile. “I’m actually pretty confident now. Have I ever failed at something I said I would do?”

Mei Gongzi frowned. “Still... it seems like an impossible task for you. Can’t you just... tell me? I promise I won’t give it away.”

Tang San shook his head with a smile. “Nope. Still a secret. Even the tiniest slip-up could ruin everything. If you knew who I really was, we might expose ourselves when we meet in the competition.”

Mei Gongzi stared at him suspiciously. “You’re not going to pretend to be my enemy just to throw people off, are you?”

Tang San quickly shook his head. “No, no, of course not! I’d never

intentionally

go against you.”

As for you going intentionally against me... uh... Sorry about that. I swear I didn’t mean it.