In the Divine Realm, the seven Elemental Gods stood side by side, showing no welcoming posture toward their uninvited guest.
The Wind God was the first to speak, lips curled in a playful smile, her voice bright and clear, yet filled with undisguised sarcasm.
"They sure arrived quickly."
Asura God, clad in deep crimson divine armor, exuded a cold and murderous aura. Ignoring Wind God's taunt, she spoke with emotionless sharpness, as if stabbing Water God with a blade:
"Water God, you have violated the Divine Realm Committee's rules, descended into the human world without permission, and granted the Ice God's legacy. Do you admit your guilt?"
Water God met Asura God's gaze unflinchingly, cold light flashing in her blue eyes.
"The inheritance of the Ice God's position was entrusted to me before the Ice God's fall, and I was asked to find a suitable successor. This was reported and tacitly approved by the Divine Realm Committee at the time.
Asura, have your years of law enforcement dulled your memory?"
Asura God's expression did not change, her voice cold as iron. "The divine laws are clear. For a position without an heir, a genius from the lower realm must rely on their own talent and opportunity to trigger resonance with the divine position, and only then qualify to succeed it.
Though you temporarily hold the Ice God's seat, you cannot arbitrarily appoint its successor. Your act constitutes unauthorized interference in the lower realm's development."
"Nonsense!" The Fire God stepped forward, massive body blazing with flames, blocking Water God's path as he glared at Asura God.
"Why are you glaring at me as if to vent your anger? My wife only gave the girl the qualification to try the assessment.
Do you understand the word 'qualification'? No divine weapon was bestowed, no divine power granted in advance, nor was any difficulty lessened. How could you call that arbitrary favoritism?"
Asura God's gaze remained unmoved, as if looking at an insignificant flame, and settled upon the Fire God.
"As per the details of the divine law, the selection of a divine successor must also consider the compatibility between the candidate's potential and the divine position.
With Shui Bing'er's current qualifications, she is not eligible to take the primary God test directly."
"That's just a qualification," the Light God said, radiating with brilliance, voice calm, "Asura, you're taking this too seriously. It's still unclear whether she can even begin the nine trials. Moreover, every stage of the divine test is perilous—just having one qualification hardly guarantees success.
Whether she ultimately succeeds in inheriting the Divine Position depends on her own fate. All we've done is give our old friend's legacy another chance."
As the dispute intensified, multiple vast and powerful auras descended, and four God Kings appeared in the surrounding space one after another.
The Evil God frowned faintly and spoke in a low voice, "All this noise—what kind of committee is this?"
Wind God nodded respectfully toward the God Kings and then, with a provocative glance at Asura God, added,
"It's not our fault. Rather than properly resolving the successor issue, our Law Enforcer is involving himself in Elemental God business and quibbling over trifles."
This brought low laughter from a few faintly present Divine Spirits above. These days, the seven Prime Divine Spirits jointly supervised the Douluo Continent, and for some gods, breaching this combined supervision to observe the lower realms had become a form of amusement.
Because of that, Tang San, selected as Asura God's successor, had a well-known reputation among gods for his temper and behavior—in truth, a rather dubious one.
Asura God's murderous intent seemed to intensify. His icy gaze swept over the laughing gods, silencing them at once. When he turned back to Wind God, his voice was as calm as always, but colder.
"Wind God, enough irrelevancies. All I care about is whether the divine laws have been violated—nothing else."
"It can't be irrelevant," Water God stepped up, standing shoulder to shoulder with Fire God, and stared evenly at Asura God.
"When the Ice God entrusted me with her position, the duty to choose a successor was clearly given to me.
As long as no trial's difficulty is reduced and there's no favoritism or cheating, I have the right to grant qualification to whomever I wish. Besides, Shui Bing'er's talent and potential are recognized by everyone in the Divine Realm. Is she really that unworthy?"
Indeed, Shui Bing'er possessed the top-tier Ice Phoenix martial soul, had risen to the pinnacle of ice with Chen Yi's help, and her resilient character and solid foundation had garnered much attention from the gods, marking her as a seed of great promise.
"Not unworthy," intoned a deep, majestic voice. A tall god wielding a golden trident and clad in sea-gold armor stepped forward, glancing at the seven Elemental Gods.
"But inheriting the primary Divine Position is still far off. It concerns the stability of Divine Realm law. How could it be taken lightly?"
"Hmm?" Earth God, silent until now, spoke in a low voice. "If we strictly consider talent, potential, and core compatibility—then the Ice Maiden, born of the Extreme North's elemental energy, is the closest to the Ice God's origin and has boundless potential.
Why not grant her the qualification?"
Hearing this, Sea God's face fell. He said darkly, "Ridiculous! That Ice Maiden is nothing but a lower-realm spirit beast. What virtue or ability could make her worthy of a Divine Position?"
"Poseidon," an icy, dark voice rose as the God of Darkness stepped from the shadows, fixing Sea God in a deep gaze, "Call yourself Sea God as proper etiquette for the Committee. Don't be ungrateful."
"What about soul beasts? Of the oldest gods in the Divine Realm, how many changed from spirits of heaven and earth?"
The Space God's silhouette flickered in and out, his voice cool and ethereal. "Primordial spirits are innately noble. If not for that incident long ago, Poseidon, you might not have had the right to even look down on the Ice Goddess here today."
Realizing he had angered the others, Sea God bit back his response. He suddenly recalled that the Ice Maiden—though her power was weak—was, at her origin, a pure elemental spirit, no different from the earliest nature gods. By dismissing spirit beasts so harshly before, he had unknowingly offended many present.
"That's enough," said the Evil God, not loudly, but his kingly authority instantly quelled all noise. He glanced over both parties in the debate, then fixed on Water God.
"There's no point in further argument. Qualification for inheriting Water God and Ice God's positions has been granted; no further charges will be brought.
But all subsequent assessments must be entirely fair and just, with no favoritism or corruption. If that is violated—Divine Law will not be merciful."
Water God smiled, bowing gracefully to Evil God. "I will follow the King's directive. The Ice God's judgment will be fair and impartial."
Evil God then stared at the cold-faced Asura God. "Asura, what do you think?"
After a pause, Asura God weighed the situation. The Elemental Gods had taken advantage of a loophole but hadn't truly crossed the line. Pursuing it further would only make him seem overzealous and might even open the issue of her own successor.
"Humph." In the end, Asura God simply snorted, which was taken as acceptance. He ignored the Elemental Gods' smug faces, spun on his heel, and hus dark-red cloak flared as he vanished.
Seeing the "triumph" on the Elemental Gods' faces, the Goddess of Life gently warned them via spiritual voice:
"Restrain yourselves a bit! Don't be so obvious about it."
"Hehe, Sister Life, we're only doing this for that girl," Water God laughed, glimmering over to link arms with the Goddess of Life.
Water is the source of life, so the two goddesses had always been close.
"Moreover, if that ice girl can inherit the Ice God's position safely, it'll bring peace to the Divine Realm and give the God of Destruction a few days to rest."
"You…" The Goddess of Life shook her head helplessly, but her eyes held little real reproach.
…
Poseidon Palace.
Waves appeared to surge on the inner walls of the shrine.
Sea God Poseidon, expression cold and stern, greeted the returning Asura God with a low voice.
"That Tang San… Is he truly the 'genius' you chose? Judging by his current character and conduct, do you honestly believe he can shoulder your sacred legacy and wield the power of judgment and slaughter?"
Asura God fell silent briefly. "I've carved out the path for him. When the time comes, he will inherit it. For now… he needs help."
"Assistance?" Poseidon frowned. "What do you mean?"
"The rift between Tang San and Chen Yi is growing wider," Asura God's voice was utterly even. "Mobilize the remaining followers in the lower realm; if necessary, lend him a hand to balance the situation."
Poseidon's eyes showed discomfort and unease. "Well, as for Tang San's father Tang Chen, he's buried at your old site. If you can awaken him, even at rank 99, wouldn't that be the greatest help? Why come to me?"
As soon as Tang Chen's name was mentioned, Asura God's cold expression darkened so subtly it was almost unnoticeable.
"I've tried. Failed."
"What?!" Poseidon was stunned, almost disbelieving. "Are you kidding? Even a God King like you can't awaken a human?"
He suddenly realized something, lowering his voice. "Rakshasa?"
Asura God closed his eyes, silently confirming.
Tang Chen, due to Rakshasa's influence, was locked in a strange equilibrium. Forcing an awakening risked shattering this fragile balance. Even if successful, it would only trigger a final burst of energy before death—a "last dance" consuming his life and soul.
Unless absolutely necessary, Asura God refused to use this trump card, not wishing to escalate the conflict with Rakshasa either.
Poseidon's expression grew complex. He truly did not want to be involved in this trouble. Chen Yi was now shielded by the Seven Elemental Gods, even by the God Kings of Destruction and Life themselves.
If he intervened personally, he would face formidable opposition, with little potential reward.
Sensing Poseidon's hesitation, Asura God opened his eyes again—those blood-red pupils held no emotion, only cold words.
"Don't forget, the Angel… is about to reappear. Given Chen Yi's ties with Qian Renxue, once the Angel returns, Chen Yi will surely side with her.
If the matter from back then resurfaces… how will you handle it?"
Poseidon's body jerked violently; he raised his head suddenly, a piercing light in his eyes. "Asura! It's true I spearheaded the Angel Throne assault, but I wasn't the only one helping from behind, and providing key support, and finally turning a blind eye! Do you really think yourself clean?"
"That's exactly why," said Asura God, his voice cold as poisoned ice. "We have to rise together. One's glory doesn't guarantee everyone's, but one's loss is surely everybody's loss."
Poseidon met Asura God's blood-red stare, his chest heaving. After a long, silent internal struggle, he slumped heavily onto his throne, gazed at the illusion of waves upon the ceiling, and whispered hoarsely:
"...As you command…"
Asura God nodded slightly and, without another word, turned into a stream of dark red light and vanished in the tumultuous Sea God Palace.
Only Poseidon remained in the temple, seated on his throne, gazing up at the waves shimmering on the ceiling, grief etched into his features, tears almost welling in his eyes. The trident in his grasp shimmered with unpredictable radiance.
...
Bonus chapter at 100 PS