"Big Brother Dai..."
Ma Hongjun watched helplessly as Dai Mubai was burned alive, a wave of sorrow washing over him.
Logically, he should have been happy. After all, Dai Mubai had not only killed Oscar with his own hands but had also done something unforgivable to him.
However, seeing Dai Mubai die so tragically still made him feel a pang of pity.
Back in Shrek Academy, their relationship had been fairly good; after all, they were brothers who frequented brothels together.
Only a few years had passed, and of the former Three Musketeers, he was the only one remaining.
In reality, he only had a year left to live. Without the assistance of other soul masters, he had no chance of defeating Sea Ghost Douluo.
"It's all Yu Xiaogang's fault!"
At this moment, Ma Hongjun's resentment reached its absolute peak.
If Yu Xiaogang hadn't come to Shrek Academy, none of this would have happened.
He never would have become Yu Xiaogang's disciple, and Dai Mubai and Oscar wouldn't have died.
Thinking about it carefully, Yu Xiaogang had been using him from the very beginning, mainly just to prove his martial soul theory.
It was precisely because of his eagerness to prove himself that the old man had chosen such a drastic path.
No one else would have chosen an ice-attribute soul ring for a fire-attritube soul master; only the supposedly intelligent Yu Xiaogang would do such a thing.
If Yu Xiaogang truly valued Ma Hongjun, he wouldn't have gambled with his future.
Ultimately, Yu Xiaogang simply wanted a disciple with a Fire Phoenix martial soul to prove his theories.
If a better option had come along, he probably would have abandoned Ma Hongjun without a second thought.
Of course, he had paid a heavy price to help Ma Hongjun vent his evil fire, so he didn't want to give up halfway.
"Even if I die, I won't let him get away with it."
A fierce glint flashed in Ma Hongjun's eyes before he turned and left, heading straight for Yu Xiaogang's dilapidated wooden hut.
Tang San and Yu Tianheng did not intervene.
On one hand, they held no deep-seated hatred for Ma Hongjun.
On the other hand, unlike Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun hadn't committed any heinous acts against numerous soul masters, so there was no reason to kill him.
Moreover, Ma Hongjun was currently completely alone and posed no threat to them.
Compared to this trivial matter, they were far more concerned about Lin Mu's recent destruction of a god's divine thought, which was undoubtedly a blatant act of defiance against that god.
"Master, won't this affect your path to godhood?" Tang San hurriedly asked.
All of this had happened because of him. If it ruined his master's path to godhood, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life.
If he could, he would rather suffer any divine punishment in his master's place.
To him, if his master couldn't become a god, then even entering the God Realm himself would be meaningless.
"Little San, you don't need to worry too much about this. Even the highest gods can't casually interfere in mortal affairs."
Lin Mu chuckled calmly, continuing, "Even if he really wants revenge, he can't stop me from becoming a god."
After all, the God of Wrath was only a first-class god and couldn't interfere with other first-class gods. At most, he could report the matter to the God of Destruction.
As one of the five great God Kings, the God of Destruction was almost certainly not going to stand up for the God of Wrath over such a matter.
Even if the God of Destruction truly wanted to avenge his subordinate, he could, at most, restrict the other three gods from passing on their divine positions.
This wouldn't affect Lin Mu's plans at all.
After all, he had never intended to inherit a divine position in the first place. Even if he didn't ultimately become a god through the laws of the universe, he could still achieve godhood by collecting the power of faith.
"Master, I've caused you trouble this time," Tang San said with a deeply guilty expression.
Although his master seemed indifferent, the fact remained that he had gained another god as an enemy, and Tang San had brought all of it upon him.
Seeing this, Lin Mu patted Tang San's shoulder, speaking with unusual seriousness.
"Little San, this has nothing to do with you. I just couldn't stand his attitude. So what if he's a god? I'll still beat him!"
Hearing this, Tang San's heart surged with excitement, and his mind began to race.
Perhaps after entering the God Realm, he could fight those high and mighty gods alongside his master. The mere thought of it was exhilarating.
Bo Saixi, however, secretly disagreed with Lin Mu's boastful words.
Undeniably, Lin Mu's ability to annihilate a god's divine sense with a single blow meant his strength far surpassed hers, likely already touching the threshold of godhood.
But in the God Realm, such geniuses were plentiful.
Even the Sea God, who had achieved godhood tens of thousands of years ago, wouldn't dare make such a bold claim.
Soul masters like Bo Saixi, who worshipped the gods, held them in the highest esteem.
But in reality, gods were not truly invincible.
At least for Lin Mu, he was confident he could handle a third-class god, or perhaps even a second-class god.
Generally speaking, condensing three soul cores was already a step into the god-level realm.
Lin Mu had already condensed four soul cores, lacking only the final water-attribute soul core to complete his collection of the five elemental soul cores.
With the compressed soul power of four soul cores, he was more than capable of fighting a god.
"Lin Mu, thank you for upholding the dignity of the Sea God. On behalf of Sea God Island, I express my gratitude to you," Bo Saixi said, bowing slightly.
If Lin Mu hadn't intervened, she truly wouldn't have known how to handle the situation.
Even though she also possessed Level 99 soul power, a Limit Douluo, she never would have dared to defy the dignity of a god like Lin Mu had.
"No need for thanks. What I did had nothing to do with upholding your Sea God."
Lin Mu waved his hand dismissively, not taking the matter to heart at all.
However, this incident showed that the Sea God was truly composed, seemingly entirely unconcerned about the appearance of the God of Wrath at his own inheritance site.
Perhaps in the Sea God's eyes, the sole purpose of Sea God Island's existence was merely to find a suitable successor.
Bo Saixi was essentially just a tool.
Despite possessing the Sea God's martial soul, she had failed the Nine Trials of the Sea God, only receiving a Red-level assessment, as if her entire existence was merely to pave the way for the true successor.
A predetermined ending. What a tragedy.
However, Lin Mu didn't intend to interfere. After all, he had no real connection with Bo Saixi, so there was no need for him to step in, let alone risk affecting his disciple's inheritance.
Moreover, the Sea God was the deity Bo Saixi worshipped with her entire being, and she likely wouldn't want to disobey his commands anyway.
Given these factors, even if this method of sacrifice was somewhat cruel and unreasonable, Lin Mu wasn't going to foolishly intervene.
After all, she had been chosen by the Sea God to be a tool.
Having enjoyed the immense power bestowed by the Sea God, she naturally had to bear the corresponding responsibilities.
Whether or not to resist this fate had to be her own choice.
Lin Mu's act of saving Tang Chen and allowing him to live a little longer was already a sufficient form of compensation to Bo Saixi.
"In that case, I will see you in three days."
With that, Bo Saixi turned and left without hesitation, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Lin Mu patted Tang San on the shoulder once more, then transformed into a streak of light and flew towards Seahorse City.
Looking in the direction his master had departed, Tang San lowered his eyes, still feeling a lingering trace of guilt.