Bonus Chapter. Enjoy!
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Upon hearing this, the Goddess of Life fell silent for a moment. In those emerald green eyes, a rare, complex expression emerged; she actually did know about this matter.
She sighed softly, her tone laced with a hint of helplessness: "Regarding this matter, the Sea God was indeed at fault."
"Although his interference in the affairs of the Douluo Continent was certainly driven by selfish motives, history has ultimately proven that his actions were not entirely without reason."
"If not for that great battle in the end, the Divine Realm would not have been completely powerless in the face of the spatial turbulence."
Huo Yuhao listened silently, piecing together these fragmented pieces of information in his mind.
He felt that the "Great War" the God of Destruction spoke of might very well be the reason for the Divine Realm's disappearance.
Seeing the God of Destruction fall silent, Huo Yuhao hesitated for a moment before silently raising his right hand.
He cast his gaze toward the Goddess of Life and asked: "Senior, what exactly happened in the God Realm back then?"
Just as the Goddess of Life was about to answer, the God of Destruction, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly raised his head and spoke before she could.
"Let me be the one to tell it. No one knows this matter from beginning to end better than I do." He paused, his scarlet eyes flickering violently within the shadows of his cloak, as if he were deliberating on how to begin so that he could recount those dust-covered past events with sufficient clarity.
A moment later, he finally spoke slowly: "Back then, the Sea God Tang San and I were both among the five great God Kings of the Divine Realm, and we were both members of the Divine Realm Committee, which held the supreme power of the Divine Realm."
"We both foresaw that in the near future, the Divine Realm would face an unprecedented, massive crisis, one capable of threatening the very survival of the entire Divine Realm."
"Since we foresaw the crisis, it was only natural to prepare in advance, but on the issue of how to deal with this crisis, Tang San and I developed irreconcilable differences."
"I advocated for expanding the Divine Realm and opening up Divine Positions, allowing more powerhouses from the Lower Realm to achieve Ascension and become gods, thereby rapidly expanding the strength of the Divine Realm."
"The more profound the foundation of the Divine Realm, the greater our chances of victory when facing a crisis. In my view, this was the most direct and effective method."
"But Tang San held the opposing view, believing that the Divine Realm must never be expanded arbitrarily, and certainly must not open up Divine Positions lightly."
"He spouted nonsense about how too many Divine Positions would lead to an imbalance in the Laws of the Divine Realm, that newly ascended gods would be of mixed quality and would instead become a hidden danger to the Divine Realm, and even claimed that the larger the Divine Realm became, the more difficult it would be to deal with that unknown crisis."
"Hmph, he had a whole set of grand principles, but when it came down to it, he was simply unwilling to break the existing order."
Speaking up to this point, the God of Destruction took a deep breath, the rise and fall of his chest clearly visible even through his wide cloak.
His voice became even deeper, as if he were grinding out each word from between his teeth: "I never believed that Tang San's decision was correct. In the Divine Realm Committee, we argued countless times, and every time, we parted on bad terms."
"Of the five God Kings of the Divine Realm Committee Tang San and I voted each for our respective solutions. The newly appointed God Kings of Good and Evil abstained from voting and Xiao Lu remained neutral. Hence, the situation remained a deadlock."
"I tried to persuade Tang San many times but he refused to see reason."
"In the end, I finally realized one truth: as long as Tang San was still there, my proposal would never be passed in the Divine Realm Committee."
"Therefore, I ultimately launched a war."
Huo Yuhao listened, his heart stirred; this was a secret unknown to anyone on the Douluo Continent.
He did not interrupt, even unconsciously softening his breathing, fearing he might break the God of Destruction's low and hoarse narration.
The God of Destruction also seemed to be completely immersed in that memory, recounting the great battle that took place above the Divine Realm and changed the fate of the entire Divine Realm.
"At the beginning, my plan was executed perfectly."
"I meticulously laid out the plan, successfully Sealing Tang San, and I also seized the Divine Realm Central Hub."
"From that moment on, there was no longer any need for the debates and votes of the committee. With my status as a God King, along with the many divinities who followed me, the grand plan for the expansion of the Divine Realm could finally be carried out without any obstruction."
Speaking up to this point, the God of Destruction's voice suddenly paused. He raised those scarlet eyes and looked at Huo Yuhao, a strange and complex expression appearing in his gaze.
Huo Yuhao felt uncomfortable under this sudden, strange gaze and subconsciously shifted his body slightly.
Only then did the God of Destruction withdraw that strange gaze and continue speaking.
"The God of Emotions, which is you who has already become a god Ten Thousand Years later, upon learning the news that Tang San had been Sealed, ran about everywhere, contacting many gods in the God Realm."
"In the end, he assembled a force not to be underestimated in front of the Destruction Castle, clashed head-on with my followers, and started a war of gods!"
"That battle should not have been lost."
The God of Destruction's voice suddenly rose a few notches, and two beams of angry light that almost solidified shot out from the scarlet eyes beneath his cloak.
"I held an absolute advantage; Tang San was Sealed, the Divine Realm Central Hub was in my hands, and the number of divinities following me was far greater than the opponent's."
"No matter which angle you look at it from, my plan should not have failed."
"But I never expected that one of my most trusted confidants under my command, the God of Devastation, Zhou Weiqing, actually defected at the most critical moment!"
"That traitor, he was actually Tang San's man! From the very beginning!"
"I trusted him for so many years, yet in the end, he stabbed me in the back with the most fatal blow."
"If he hadn't defected at the critical moment, I would never have lost that battle!"
"This also shows how deep Tang San's schemes are; he had actually planted a mole by my side long ago!"
The God of Destruction's voice turned into a low roar at the end, his body beneath the cloak trembling slightly; clearly, the taste of betrayal was still difficult for him to let go of.
He did not continue speaking, but Huo Yuhao could already guess the final outcome.
After a moment of silence, the Goddess of Life sighed softly: "Xiao Zi, facts have proven that you were indeed wrong."
"Back then, in order to forcibly expand the Divine Realm, you poured all of the massive Origin Qi that the Divine Realm had accumulated over countless eras into it."
"Precisely because of this, when that spatial turbulence descended, the Divine Realm no longer had any power to resist."
Upon hearing this, a look of unwillingness to admit defeat flashed fiercely in the God of Destruction's scarlet eyes.
He instinctively straightened his back, and from beneath his cloak came an unwilling and stubborn rebuttal: "It can only be said that destiny was not on my side."
"Who knew the Space-Time Turbulence would strike neither early nor late, but precisely at that moment?"
"If the Space-Time Turbulence had come a little later, waiting until my grand plan for the Divine Realm's expansion was completely finished, the gods had returned to their positions, and the Divine Realm's strength had skyrocketed several times over, then with the power of all the gods, perhaps it would have been enough to withstand that spatial turbulence and safely pass through that crisis."
"Or if Tang San had not opposed me and my plan had proceeded far earlier without violence then the Divine Realm would have been strong enough to withstand the the Space-Time Turbulence."
"Only then would it have been truly proven that my idea was the correct one!"
Watching the God of Destruction's stubborn, never-admitting-defeat appearance, a ripple of helplessness and tenderness appeared in the Goddess of Life's emerald green eyes.
She knew her husband too well; getting him to admit defeat was truly too difficult.
She shook her head gently, turned her gaze back to Huo Yuhao, and continued to tell the story that the God of Destruction had not finished just now.
"In the end, that catastrophic disaster in the Divine Realm was ultimately caused by Xiao Zi."
"Therefore, making up for the consequences of this disaster is also a responsibility that the two of us must bear."
"We released our own Origin of Destruction and Origin of Life without reservation, and fused the two completely opposite Divine Powers into one."
"When Destruction and Life merged in an extreme state, the most primitive and purest power of Creation in the Universe was born."
"We used that Power of Creation to protect the Divine Realm and blocked the most violent wave of impact from the Space-Time Turbulence."
After listening to these words, the shock surging in Huo Yuhao's heart had not yet subsided, but he was still puzzled.
He almost blurted out: "But... two Seniors, nowadays on the Douluo Continent, the existence of the Divine Realm can no longer be sensed."
As soon as these words were spoken, the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life were both stunned.
After a brief, dead silence, the God of Destruction roared: "That trash Tang San! What is he even good for? Wasn't he quite capable when he was dealing with me?"
After roaring, he suddenly turned his head to look at the Goddess of Life, who had a dazed expression beside him: "Xiao Lu, it seems that even though we sacrificed ourselves, Tang San still didn't manage to protect the Divine Realm."
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
2 Reviews = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.