Douluo Dalu 5: Rebirth Of Tang San

Tang San didn't want to argue with the Sea Shark King, so he said in a serious tone, "Alright, this area of the Sea Plague has been purified. It won't be long before it completely disappears. I also have a rough idea of how the Sea Plague originated. There is a way to completely resolve it, though I can't do it just yet. I need to head back now."

"No problem, where do you want to go?" the Sea Shark King immediately responded.

Tang San couldn't help but smile. "You really want to be my mount?"

The Sea Shark King replied without hesitation, "Absolutely. Only I am worthy of being your mount; it's an honor for me."

Tang San chuckled, somewhat in disbelief at the shark's sudden change in attitude. "Let's go back to Crescent Island first. Then I need to discuss a few things with you, mainly how we can address the Sea Plague."

"Crescent Island? What's that?" the Sea Shark King asked in confusion.

The Sea Walrus elder quickly explained, and the Sea Shark King immediately understood. "Alright, let's head there now?"

"Yeah."

With Tang San's approval, the Sea Shark King shot out in an instant.

White light enveloped Tang San, protecting him as the Sea Shark King moved through the sea like a white lightning bolt. He was far faster than the Sea Walrus elder.

It had taken Tang San a full hour to get there from Crescent Island, but the return trip barely took five minutes. Tang San secretly praised himself; he’d chosen the most perfect mount!

In the Endless Blue Sea, teleportation wasn't very reliable without fixed coordinates, because it was easy to get lost afterward. A reliable guide like the Great Shark King was simply invaluable.

When the Sea Shark King's aura descended upon Crescent Island, the surrounding Sea Walrus clan members were genuinely terrified. Fortunately, Tang San quickly released his own aura, calming them down. Even so, they still kept their distance, trembling in fear.

The Sea Shark clan was the greatest natural enemy of the Sea Walrus clan, and even the Sea Walrus King might not be able to stand against the Sea Shark King. Moreover, the Sea Shark King was renowned for his ferocity throughout the Endless Blue Sea. The walruses’ saving grace was that their defenses were tough, they were massive in size, and they were plentiful in numbers. They were not as easy to bully as their peaceful and lazy nature suggested.

When Tang San stepped onto Crescent Island, the Sea Shark King immediately transformed into his human form and joined him on the island.

Seeing the humans working on the island, the Sea Shark King couldn't help but look curious. "Divine Lord, are these all your people?"

Tang San nodded and replied, "Yes. My people are persecuted by the demon and nymph races on the Daemon Continent, making it difficult for them to survive. I'm opening sea routes to lead more humans to the islands here, giving them a space to live. Crescent Island is the first step."

The Sea Shark King nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, whatever you need my clan to do, just say the word. In the Endless Blue Sea, aside from the old dragon and a few other annoying characters, there's nothing we can't handle."

Sensing the rogueish vibe emanating from the Sea Shark King, Tang San couldn't help but chuckle. "What should I call you?"

The Sea Shark King replied, "My name is Hammer."

"Hammer?" Tang San found the name somewhat unusual.

The Sea Shark King chuckled, "Yeah, it's Hammer. What do you think? Nice name for a shark, right?"

Tang San's mouth twitched slightly. Aren’t you a great white shark?! However, he wisely refrained from commenting[1]

"Anyway, let’s get to the topic. Your Sea Shark Clan is one of the fastest in the sea, so I'll leave the task of driving out the Sea Plague to you. The Sea Plague originates from misfortune. I am not talking in metaphors—this is a result of the actual power of misfortune befalling the Endless Blue Sea. After seeing it today, I have a plan.

"The only thing that can truly purify misfortune is the sea's own power. You were helpless before, not because you weren’t strong enough, because you weren't united enough. I haven't fully awakened the Sea God's power yet, but today I managed to purify the Sea Plague. How was that possible? Not through my own personal strength, but by guiding everyone to work together, by uniting the sea beasts to cleanse the plague.

"I'll create some array discs and leave a trace of my divine consciousness in them. When the Sea Plague appears, any sea beast at the tenth order or above can activate the disc; my divine consciousness will guide the sea beasts' power to come together and purify the Sea Plague. Although the purification might not be as fast as if I were there in person, it will definitely be effective. It's best to start the purification as soon as the Sea Plague appears to minimize casualties and contain the plague within a small area."

Upon hearing this, the Sea Shark King's eyes lit up. "Leave this task to me, then. From now on, I'll be your emissary."

Tang San gave him a deep look and said, "Purging the Sea Plague concerns the safety of the entire Endless Blue Sea. The sea is a complete system and it must be treated as such; no single clan can survive independently. You understand the dangers of the Sea Plague very well; I don’t have to explain anything to you. This matter is of utmost importance to the entire Endless Blue Sea, and personal interests must not compromise it."

How could he not see the Sea Shark King's selfish motives? If he handed over all the array discs to this guy, there was no guarantee he wouldn't use them to threaten other clans.

The Sea Shark King blushed. "Understood, it's a grand plan, a grand plan."

Tang San said, "Your clansmen are the fastest here, so please send them around to gather representatives from the major powerful clans here as soon as possible. I'll distribute the array discs to everyone. The discs will take some time to create, anyway. Also, I will need you to bring some rare metals from the sea for me to use."

The Sea Shark King nodded. "Alright."

Tang San continued, "Let's meet here two weeks from now. I'll come back then. Are there any other large islands near this area, similar to Crescent Island?"

The Sea Shark King's eyes lit up. "Divine Lord, are you looking for more suitable places for humans to settle?"

Tang San nodded.

The Crescent Island archipelago could support the migration of about a million people at most, considering the need for future generations and the importance of maintaining the ecological balance of the surrounding seas. However, there were tens of millions of humans living on the Daemon Continent. Was he supposed to just leave them there?

Tang San knew that even though solving the Sea Plague might not make the sea clans fully acknowledge him as the Sea God, it would certainly solidify his position among them. Humans would be much safer out on the sea than on the Daemon Continent.

So, after today, he had decided to move as many humans as possible here, giving them ample space for development. Once he ascended to godhood, he would be able to finalize the paths he had been considering for human cultivation.

The Sea Shark King said, "In this area, there are quite a few islands to the east and north. How about this—I'll have my clan conduct a thorough survey and then provide a chart for you, Divine Lord."

Tang San's eyes lit up. "That would be excellent, thank you."

The Sea Shark King chuckled. "It's no trouble at all, but don't forget what you said before—I'll be your mount in the Endless Blue Sea. This honor can't be given to any other sea clan!"

This Sea Shark King had led his clan to dominate the food chain of the Endless Blue Sea, to the point where even the more powerful Sea Dragon clan and Sea Giant clan couldn't do much against them. It wasn't just his strength that enabled this, but also his keen ability to assess the situation.

Tang San's purification of the Sea Plague today left a huge impression on the Sea Shark King. He had been closest to Tang San then and had deeply felt the aura of the Sea God emanating from him. The ability to unite the faith power of the entire sea and bring together different sea clans to work in harmony was something not just unprecedented, but downright miraculous.

Even though he wasn't even at the tenth order yet, his presence on the sea filled the Sea Shark King with an intense sense of fear. The Sea Shark King realized that even if he gave his all in battle, he might not be able to truly harm this man. And if the fight dragged on, who knew what might happen?

The Sea Shark King still shuddered at the memory of the golden trident’s intimidation. He knew all too well that someone like Tang San had an unlimited future ahead of him; maybe he really was the heir of the Sea God, and maybe he would turn out to be the savior of the entire Endless Blue Sea. If there was ever a time to cling to such a powerful ally, now was that time.

1. The untranslatable joke here is likely related to an old meme about the scalloped hammerhead shark, scientific name Sphyrna lewini. The species name lewini was probably given in honor of John Lewin, who illustrated a number of Australian natural history books, among which the one in which this shark appears for the first time. The Chinese rendering of this scientific name is actually 路易氏雙髻鯊 (Mr. Lewi(s)’s Hammerhead Shark), and the name of this Sea Shark King in the raws is 路易 (the common way to write Louie/Louis/Lewis). We can’t exactly call the shark Louie or Lewis, because it would not be linguistically consistent with the rest of the names the way the Chinese name is. Thus, we have decided to use this approximation, which also conveniently explains why Tang San finds the name ridiculous (because he does). With that said, please enjoy Louie the Shark’s instagram profile. https://www.instagram.com/louie_the_shark/ ☜