The cold gaze of the Goddess of Life, along with the chilling aura emanating from her, sent a shiver through the hearts of the many gods watching from afar. Confused and uneasy, they couldn't help but glance at each other.
"This time… the Asura God has really gone too far."
"Yes. Tang Chen didn't actually cause substantial harm to the successor of the Thunder God, but as retaliation, he was slain. There's no doubt though—he was released by the Asura God."
"Wasn't it only just recently that the Divine Realm Committee issued an expulsion order against the Asura God for interfering in the lower world? And now… something like this."
"Ah… It seems Her Majesty the Goddess of Life is truly enraged now. It's true: Thunder God's successor holds a special status and is involved in so many critical matters..."
As the gods whispered among themselves, many shook their heads in secret. Even the Evil God and the Good God, who had originally tried to mediate, were rendered speechless by the Goddess of Life's questioning.
It was an undeniable fact—the Asura God had released Tang Chen into the lower world without authorization. And now, another disturbance had broken out with the previous injunction still fresh in everyone's memory. Even they were at a loss, unable to muster the will to defend Tang Chen.
Observing the gods' awestruck and silent expressions, the Goddess of Life sighed inwardly. She knew full well that no one could truly punish the Asura God, one of five Supreme God-Kings of the Divine Realm, for these issues. However, if this sort of thing was continually condoned, would the laws of the Divine Realm hold any meaning anymore? What would the other gods think?
Even the seven gods of the elements who had been monitoring all of Douluo Continent could only exploit loopholes in the rules, never daring to act openly.
"Sigh… Looks like Little Purple was right. The Divine Realm needs new blood, clearer rules, and stronger deterrents."
As her thoughts churned, the Goddess of Life found herself reevaluating some of the God of Destruction's more radical proposals.
At that moment, a sudden, thunderous explosion shook the remote reaches of the Divine Realm, echoing with terrifying force, instantly drawing the attention of every god. Even distant battlefields, where fierce fighting raged, fell into silence. Both factions paused, eyes wide with shock and worry as they looked toward the source of the explosion.
"That… that's my brother's aura?!"
The Goddess of Water trembled, startled surprise showing on her beautiful face.
The Space God knitted his brows as runic symbols whirled rapidly in his silver eyes, as if he were piercing through layers of space in an instant to sense something far away.
"Someone attacked Chen Yi, activating Thunder God's backup plan left within him."
With these words, the faces of the seven elemental gods changed drastically. Even the seven gods representing the deadly sins, just finished with battle, and all the others watching from afar were deeply shaken to their very core.
Thunder God's emergency countermeasures had activated by force, and no one in the lower world—no matter how high-ranked among the human spirits—could stop this from happening. The implication was clear: some gods had disregarded taboo, and directly or indirectly killed the one meant to inherit a legacy in the lower world.
"Damn it!"
The hot-tempered Fire God was the first to roar.
The Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction exchanged gazes, seeing sternness and anger flash in each other's eyes. Both immediately melted into the surrounding space, streaking in the direction of the explosion.
"Let's go!"
The Evil and Good Gods, realizing the gravity of the situation, instantly abandoned any thoughts about the Asura matter, turning into streaks of light as they pursued Asura as well.
The rest of the gods hesitated not for a second. Driven by curiosity, worry, or duty, they all transformed into rainbows of every color and sped into the chaotic energy region on the edge of the divine territories.
The seven elemental gods and the seven deadly sins instantly abandoned their attempt to encircle the Asura God, making for the scene with grim faces.
As the Asura God observed the suddenly empty battlefield behind him and the terrifying aftershocks radiating, he smiled cryptically at the corners of his mouth. Then, he too moved—turning into a ribbon of blood-red light, he followed the others at a relaxed pace, as if merely a bystander.
Arriving at the site, the gods were greeted by a harrowing sight. The once stable space was now covered with dense black cracks, spiderweb-like, with fierce spatial turbulence erupting forth, shredding nearby floating objects to pieces. Purple-gold lightning and blue-gold divine power still crackled at the edges of the rifts, hissing, and radiating lingering, horrifying might.
At that moment, an unsteady streak of blue-gold light came rushing up—it was Poseidon, the Sea God, himself.
"Sea God!"
The Evil God frowned, stepping forth to block Poseidon's path and demanded in a low voice:
"What happened here? Was the explosion your doing? What about Chen Yi's condition?"
Every eye fell instantly upon Poseidon, especially those of the seven elementals and the twin God-Kings of Destruction and Life—filled with coldness.
Poseidon, feeling the murderous pressure from every direction, especially the concealed fury of the seven elementals and the calm yet profound gazes of the two God-Kings, let out an inward groan.
He knew there was no keeping this incident secret. The commotion had been far too great. Not only had Thunder God's emergency plan been activated, but a cross-dimensional attack had broken out, and Poseidon himself had panicked and been injured. If the gods probed the lower world, they'd uncover everything. To cover up the truth would only make things worse—and could mark him as a target.
Thinking it over, his expression shifted, and finally, Poseidon gave a wry smile. Taking a deep breath, he explained succinctly how his old resentment, unsealed by Chen Yi, had led him to attempt to kill the youth, in the midst of his original intention to remotely reclaim his trident and heart.
"So… that was the truth. Who would have thought that mere remnant will could act so recklessly, nearly causing a disaster."
"Fortunately, Thunder God had prepared a backup, and our young friend Chen Yi is safe."
However, upon hearing that Poseidon's remnant will had, in fact, attacked and tried to slay Chen Yi, the faces of the seven elementals instantly darkened; their elemental powers surged out of control.
"Poseidon! You court death!"
The Fire God was famous for his hot temper. His flaming robes whipped fiercely as the sky turned crimson.
"Remnant will, out of control? How could your remnant possess such power without your tacit consent and your divine protection?"
The God of Wind's voice was as sharp as a blade.
"This must be explained today!"
The Goddess of Goodness swiftly intervened, trying to calm things down.
"Everyone, please. The Sea God may have erred, but we don't have full details yet—and he is already injured. Maybe we should—"
She didn't finish.
Suddenly, the Space God—almost ignorable in presence—wavered and vanished without preamble.
"Not good!"
The Sea God was struck by a feeling of mortal peril. He'd heard of the Space God's peculiarities and might. Now, seeing him disappear, terror swept through him. Instinctively, he tried to draw close to the Goddess of Goodness, seeking her protection.
But—
Schiiick!
The sound of space splitting tore through the silence. Without warning, an almost invisible rift silently opened behind Poseidon. From it, a fully transparent, nearly invisible short sword appeared, lunging for the back of his neck.
"Stop! Space God, stop your attack!"
The Evil and Good Gods both cried out.
But they were too late. In truth, the Space God's assault was so swift, it simply exceeded the reaction time of most present.
A dull slicing sound rang out—the sound of a god's flesh being sundered. Poseidon's vision whirled… and he could see his familiar headless body stiff beside the Goddess of Goodness, blue-gold divine blood just beginning to gush out.
That… is my body?
The next moment, burning pain crashed over him—a tsunami splitting his divine flesh.
Within the line of elementals, the Space God silently appeared, holding Poseidon's still-disbelieving head in his right hand. Blue-gold sacred blood spurted like a fountain from the body beside the Goddess of Goodness.
Silence. Utter silence, like death.
All the gods who witnessed this scene—be they high God-Kings or ordinary first- or second-grade gods—were left thunderstruck. They stood frozen before the rapid and brutal events. For so long the most silent, shadowy of the elementals, the Space God had, when triggered, acted with such ruthless resolve that none could have predicted it.
Openly, before the Divine Committee's God-Kings and all gods, he had lopped off a veteran top god's head. Poseidon had been utterly caught off guard, distracted by restraining a foreign god's power within, and left nearly defenseless. The Space God's attack was unpredictable and lightning fast—finishing him in a single strike.
In one confused, agonized instant, the Sea God's head, grasped like luggage, boiled with endless humiliation and fury. To be decapitated like this, in front of so many, was a disgrace that would haunt him for life—even if he could reconstruct his divine body later. For gods of their rank, reputation counted for as much as any material gain.
"SPACE! How dare you shame me like this!!"
Sea God's head howled, seething with resentment and madness.
"The Divine Realm Committee will never forgive you! You've broken divine law!"
But the Space God's silver eyes showed no emotion—only boundless, cold killing intent. Gazing at the struggling head in his palm, his voice was gentle—yet enough to chill every god to the bone.
"Shamed you?"
"Today…"
"I'll kill you."
Even as he spoke, silver spatial force surged within his grip, about to crush Poseidon's soul on the spot, aiming to annihilate him completely, denying him even the chance of reincarnation.
"Enough!"
At that moment, a huge, dark-crimson scaled hand reached out from the side, grasping the Space God's wrist. Overwhelming divine power shot into him, forcibly cutting the annihilating force being conjured.
…