A Deal with a God

The God-King has decreed that no one may contact You Chen arbitrarily, nor may they be subjected to any divine examination, before the God Realm Committee gives its final assessment of him.

Poseidon knew that the key point of this law was actually in the latter part.

If, during this ban period, You Chen is given a divine examination and is allowed to pass on his Godhood Inheritance without authorization, even if he is First-Level God, he will suffer extremely severe punishment.

The former's punishment will certainly be severe, but at most it will be more serious than usual, and at most it will only be a minor injury.

However, just as Poseidon was pondering what excuse to use to contact You Chen, he noticed the mobilization on the Douluo Continent to conquer Sea God Island.

There is a separation between gods and humans. Even if the foundation of faith is severed, the gods are not allowed to personally intervene.

However, the indirect transmission of divine pronouncements and the provision of divine support to believers in accordance with the law are much more lenient than usual.

Using the pretext of a threat to their faith, they made contact with You Chen through the high priest Bo Saixi, which was a reasonably reliable way to skirt the law.

However... the crisis on Sea God Island is indeed real.

With Bo Saixi absent from the Sea God Hall, the allied forces formed by the Spirit Hall could very well forcefully breach Sea God Island and even overthrow the Sea God Hall.

The damage to his faith in the lower realm, while not enough to cause him to fall directly from First-Level God to Second-Level God, would still cause him considerable harm and a significant drop in strength, causing him to slide from a top-tier First-Level God to an ordinary First-Level God.

Worse still, with the Destruction God King Sea God Island, the Sea God's faith in the Douluo Continent will gradually fade away over time, until he, like some ancient gods such as the Ice God, is completely swept into the dustbin of history.

Whether this would cause him to fall to the level of Second-Level God, even Poseidon himself was unsure.

That's the downside of being a deity who has attained divine status.

Relying on a divine position, one's strength can rapidly increase to the level that a divine position should provide. However, if one's faith or divine position is damaged, even if one's strength theoretically exceeds the level granted by the divine position, one will still be affected.

Poseidon wanted to relinquish his divine position not only for freedom, but also because his power had exceeded the constraints of the god of the Sea God.

From then on, the Sea God Godhood became a complete hindrance to him.

Poseidon looked at You Chen.

Although they already knew from the information compiled by the God King that You Chen was extraordinary.

But now that I can observe freely with my Divine Sense, I can't help but be amazed.

This is indeed a perfect candidate to succeed to the divine throne.

Unfortunately, the Divine Realm has already issued a ban, and even if the God Realm Committee decides to allow You Chen to inherit the existing divine position after the ban is lifted, Poseidon, a Sea God Godhood whose position is not well-suited to You Chen, has little hope.

But...

'I'm not without my advantages. If the gods ultimately allow You Chen to freely choose his divine position, it's not impossible for me to overtake him by leveraging the relationship and impression I've built with him beforehand. But before that, I should resolve these troublesome matters as much as possible. I don't want the temple of inheritance to be destroyed before the divine position can even be passed down...' Poseidon thought to himself.

You Chen spoke aloud through his consciousness: 'What business does the mighty Sea God have with a mortal like me? Have you come for your sake, my disloyal follower?'

Seeing You Chen's utter lack of reverence for the Sea God, Bo Saixi was both shocked and furious.

After the arrival of the Sea God, their previously numb hearts seemed to come alive again.

In her mind, no matter how strong You Chen was, how could he be compared to a god?

They completely forgot that during all the days she had suffered, the Sea God had never shown himself.

Poseidon said, 'Young friend, you are no ordinary person. Although Bo Saixi is my priestess, she cannot compare to you. If that's your intention, I can directly bestow her upon you in the name of the gods.'

Bo Saixi's Poseidon contracted slightly. The importance he showed to You Chen, and his complete indifference towards her, sent a chill down her spine. "Sea God!?"

They even exclaimed in surprise.

You Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

As expected of the Sea God?

They've taken shamelessness to a whole new level.

Even his own offerings were given away without hesitation.

However, this also made You Chen realize Poseidon's attitude towards him.

Faced with the deity's overtures, You Chen showed no intention of yielding: 'She was already mine. Giving me what's mine? Truly worthy of being a deity, able to pull off such a blatant act of getting something for nothing.'

When Bo Saixi saw that You Chen was so disrespectful to the Sea God, he was about to lash out on the spot.

But then he thought of the Sea God's attitude towards him and hesitated for a moment.

With the help of the Sea God, an internal traitor, Bo Saixi's faith finally began to crumble significantly.

Faced with You Chen's provocative statement, Poseidon frowned, feeling slightly displeased.

No matter how exceptionally talented You Chen is, he is still just a mortal before becoming a god.

However, considering the issue of Sea God Island, he ultimately did not retaliate.

Poseidon continued, "Young friend, how about a deal? I know you're very interested in the Sea God Martial Soul, and I can impart the relevant knowledge to you. With this knowledge, you could even directly dismantle Bo Saixi's Sea God Martial Soul. Then, even if I wanted to contact you through my Divine Sense via Bo Saixi's Martial Soul, I wouldn't be able to anymore. Only then would she truly belong to you. With your knowledge and Wisdom God Position, you should know that I haven't lied at all."

Seeing his idol acting like a pimp, so eagerly and proactively explaining how to completely win him over, Bo Saixi was dumbfounded.

She felt her worldview shattered: 'This is God? This is the God I worship and serve?'

It was completely different from the noble and majestic being she had imagined; in fact, compared to most humans, it seemed filthy Evil God King.

So why did she dedicate her life to it? What did she persist in? And why did she end up in such a state?

Bo Saixi's eyes were dull and had lost their luster.

However, the two people communicating within her mind were completely oblivious to her condition.

You Chen asked curiously, "What do you want to trade?"

He thought that by provoking the sea god so much, the Sea God would surely retaliate, but the turtle-like state the other party displayed was even more powerful than he had imagined.

This attitude could even be described as somewhat ingratiating.

And the terms of the deal offered by the other party were indeed very sincere.

Although he had a rough idea of what the so-called transaction entailed, he still asked the same question.

"I hope you can help Sea God Island overcome its current difficulties." Poseidon's answer was not unexpected.

You Chen chuckled and said, "Sea God's information network is quite impressive."

This honorific title, at this moment, not only lacks any sense of respect, but is instead full of mockery.

Poseidon was inexplicably furious, yet also filled with helplessness, thinking to himself, 'What's wrong with this kid? I've already humbled myself so much, and he still dares to mock me?'

Even the mighty Sea God felt a little wronged.

Fortunately, the next moment, You Chen said again, "I promise you."

'Um?'

Poseidon's eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, 'It seems he doesn't disrespect me; perhaps it's just his personality—he's got a sharp tongue. Hmph, once he ascends to the mortal realm, as his senior, I must properly teach him the ways of the gods. Hmm, I'm doing this for his own good, to prevent him from making too many enemies later.'

While pondering a way to deal with You Chen, he said aloud, "Then thank you in advance, young friend!"

If You Chen ultimately fails to inherit the Sea God Godhood, who knows how long it will be before the next person is able to inherit the position.

During this period, it is naturally necessary to preserve and pass on the traditions.

Seeing that things seemed to be going more smoothly than expected, Poseidon's tone was somewhat excited.

You Chen said Youyou, "However, I hope you'll pass on your so-called knowledge of Martial Soul to me first. I don't want to be playing with Bo Saixi again, with a rough man's voice suddenly popping out..."

Poseidon coughed slightly and quickly said, "Cough cough... I'll give it to you right away. I trust your reputation, young friend!"

This conversation took place in Bo Saixi's mind, and neither of them intended to hide it, so Bo Saixi could hear it all clearly.

At this moment, Bo Saixi felt a surge of hatred towards the gods she had once worshipped.

Poseidon did not break his promise.

Perhaps because she believed that You Chen would ascend to the Divine Realm in the future, she had no worries about him breaking his promise and generously passed on her knowledge of Martial Soul to You Chen.

Even at the speed of communication using Divine Sense, it took a full day to complete.

'Sea God, please wait patiently for good news.'

After You Chen made this promise, Poseidon finally left with a smile.

You Chen did not immediately pay attention to Bo Saixi, whose Dao Heart was shattered. Instead, he continued to ponder and study the knowledge given by Poseidon.

Is this not worthy of being called a divine knowledge transmission?

Even though Poseidon's Wisdom God Position and knowledge of Martial Soul were far inferior to You Chen's, his divine perspective and high-level understanding provided You Chen with many valuable insights.

In the process of passing on knowledge, You Chen not only obtained the parts related to the Sea God Martial Soul, but also took the opportunity to ask about a few questions he had about the research.

While it cannot be said that all problems have been solved, there are still many issues that even the top- First-Level God of the Sea God only has a partial understanding of.

Of course, it's also possible that he deliberately kept his skills hidden from You Chen.

In short, this exchange broadened You Chen's horizons and enhanced his knowledge in many aspects.

Because of the King of Gods' prohibition, Poseidon did not reveal much information related to becoming a god, but he gained a deeper understanding of a portion of the power wielded by the gods.

But...

There's no rush to continue this research at the moment.

You Chen finally looked up at Bo Saixi, who looked like a doll that had lost its soul.

The composition of the Sea God Martial Soul is not too different from You Chen's previous guess.

Spiritual will, faith... these Meme- level influences can indeed bring tremendous internal driving force to Martial Soul.

However, to truly transform this driving force from abstract to concrete and make it a force that genuinely influences reality, a corresponding catalyst is still needed.

The counterpart to the belief Meme is naturally divine power, the Sea God Divine Power.

Bo Saixi's innate talent and aptitude, coupled with her unwavering faith, the Sea God Divine Power, and the Martial Soul structure deduced by the Sea God in advance, all four are indispensable.

For them, the first two conditions are actually the most difficult and rare.

It is precisely because it lacks universality that Bo Saixi only emerged over such a long period of time.

For You Chen, the most difficult part was actually the last one.

The Sea God was able to derive this perfect structure, or rather, the formula for constructing the Sea God Martial Soul, through divine authority and his own realm.

However, if a mere mortal You Chen were to deduce this formula from scratch without a system or any reference point, he probably wouldn't be able to do it even if he spent his entire life trying.

Now that he has obtained this formula, it is as if You Chen has obtained the last piece of the puzzle.

Creating something from scratch is far more difficult than innovating.

With a reference point, You Chen could deduce the formula for completing the transformation of Martial Soul using Meme of different properties.

This period will not be short either, but it is already tangible and visible.

After all, most of what he had to do was adjust and modify the faith-related parameters in the formula.

Having obtained the formula for creating the Sea God Martial Soul, to obtain the formula for deconstructing and restoring the Martial Soul, one only needs to reverse the process.

Needless to say, the most difficult faith to overcome in theory is Poseidon. Without asking any further questions, You Chen could sense Bo Saixi's current disappointment with him.

As for whether hatred has already arisen, he has never been a believer, so he has no way of knowing.

After achieving this step, the simplest way to remove the divinity from the Sea God Martial Soul is to find a different kind of divine power.

However, judging from Poseidon's completely unbecoming attitude of a god, You Chen had no choice but to be extremely vigilant.

After gaining spatial perception from the Dual Soul Cores, he was able to truly isolate and probe by influencing space.

Even so, he did not intend to use his divine power while repairing Bo Saixi's Martial Soul, lest Poseidon discover it.

Creation is always more difficult than Destruction God King, and the same is true for stripping Martial Soul of its divinity.

There are many things that can replace alien divine power, but for You Chen, there is a nearby option— the Stardust Power.

Bo Saixi was no longer able to resist, You Chen didn't bother to ask for her opinion. He simply stabbed Bo Saixi in the chest cavity.

The intense pain caused Bo Saixi's body to shudder instinctively, but she quickly returned to a state of numbness.

Even after fulfilling the two conditions of broken faith and alien divine power or alternative power, it does not mean that one can easily complete the transformation of Martial Soul from a god.

Allowing power to flow into the Sea God Martial Soul and manipulating it at will would not only cause the Martial Soul to degenerate, but Martial Soul shatter, directly leading to Bo Saixi's sudden death.

Overall, You Chen was quite satisfied with this female slave.

They say they have endless lifespan and that as long as time goes on, they can find a replacement, but that's ultimately a matter for the future.

At this stage, Bo Saixi is the rarest and most exquisite beauty that You Chen can enjoy.

Even for this reason alone, he wouldn't easily let go of this collectible.

As for the key to making Martial Soul lose its divine power, the remaining crucial point is naturally the "formula" given by Poseidon.

You Chen did is similar to a "reversible reaction" in chemistry; it is only possible to reverse the reaction if the reaction formula is known.

Only by thoroughly understanding the structure of the Sea God Martial Soul can one achieve the transformation from godhood.

You Chen's expression was extremely focused. In order to make this rebellion go smoothly, he could not allow himself to make the slightest mistake in controlling the power.

Finally... a pale blue light shone on Bo Saixi's body. Bo Saixi's appearance remained unchanged, but her aura was different.