Storm Clouds Gathering (Transition Chapter, Can Be Skipped)
The clouds and mist churned and rolled, carrying with them an extremely dense aura of energy.
If an ordinary human could come here, even just taking a breath could extend their lifespan by more than ten years.
However, ordinary people obviously do not have the opportunity or ability to seize the energy of this place.
Because this is the Divine Realm.
The Divine Realm is so vast that it cannot be measured by the spatial scale of the mortal world.
Even the flow of time is different from that of the human world; one day in the Divine Realm is equivalent to one year on earth.
At the very center of that infinitely high place, the majestic palace shimmered with a faint golden light under the glow of the Divine Realm.
That place is the highest point in the entire Divine Realm, and also the place that controls all the rules of the Divine Realm — the God Realm Committee.
The God Realm Committee is jointly governed by five supreme gods: the two great God King of good and evil, plus the three great God of Law Enforcement Asura, Destruction, and Life. They have the responsibility of judging all gods and the task of governing the Divine Realm and upholding its rules.
However, most of the time, the gods in the Divine Realm, including the five of them, live in their respective territories.
One of the three great God of Law Enforcement, the Life Goddess, who naturally loves tranquility, lives in the Life Forest on the edge of the Divine Realm.
In this place, she can observe the changes in the entire Divine Realm more clearly and Divine Realm.
Beneath a pale green sky, a vast forest stretched out in a long, flat expanse, radiating a rich life force. Even deities who entered it would receive immense benefits.
Through the thin mist, countless Star Dou can be seen, twinkling with bizarre and wonderful colors.
The trees in the Life Forest are all extraordinary. Their trunks are like carvings of jade, while their leaves are a translucent dark green. The life force of the forest emanates from those dark green leaves, which is truly breathtaking.
Not to mention the rare and exotic flowers and herbs collected by Chrysanthemum Douluo, even the many precious and rare immortal Immortal Herb in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well cannot compare with any of the plants here.
Deep in the forest, a man and a woman stood close together.
The man was shrouded in a large purple cloak, which covered his head, obscuring his features. Only two faint red lights could be seen flickering within the cloak, emanating an extremely profound and terrifying aura.
The woman's temperament was completely opposite to his. She wore a light green dress that covered her body, and always had a faint smile on her face. Although she was not stunningly beautiful, she had a strong sense of approachability and vitality, which made it easy for people to like her.
These two people, a man and a woman, were none other than the God of Destruction and the Life Goddess, two of the three great God of Law Enforcement of the Divine Realm.
As the Goddess of Light, whose power is second only to the God King of Goodness in the Divine Realm, the Life Goddess possesses the laws of creation and life, which is why she can create such an extraordinary and special environment.
The mist surrounding the God of Destruction was a deep purple, which seemed somewhat out of place with the atmosphere of the forest.
If you look closely, you'll see that all the moisture around his body instantly vanishes into nothingness, and the deep purple light becomes even more profound.
"Is something bothering you?" a gentle voice asked.
The two had been inseparable for countless millennia, so the Life Goddess could naturally tell at a glance that the other was in a bad mood.
The God of Destruction remained motionless, a deep voice emanating from beneath his cloak, "You could also sense the subtle changes that just occurred on the Sun Star, couldn't you?"
Although the fluctuation was fleeting, he still managed to capture it clearly.
As an extraordinary world, this universe is composed in a very peculiar way, not a conventional spiral galaxy.
The cluster of stars that shines on Douluo Star at night are not actually the light from other stars in the universe, but rather numerous projections of the Sun Star.
Even the supreme Divine Realm, though not directly exposed to the sun, is still affected by it, experiencing the alternation of day and night.
In other words, the "sun" in this world is actually far more powerful than Su Cheng imagined.
The Sun Star, capable of bestowing light and heat upon numerous worlds, is also a form of extraordinary power, and of extremely high status.
But precisely because of its strength, it is unable to generate true consciousness.
This has been the case for thousands of years; the gods have long been accustomed to His presence.
"I sensed it." The woman nodded slightly, seemingly unconcerned. "But since neither of the two God King said anything, I suppose everything is alright."
"They..." The God of Destruction paused, then hesitated before continuing, "Their minds are no longer on the Divine Realm."
"Don't talk nonsense about destruction. Whatever the two God King want to do, they must have their reasons."
"I hope it's true." He shook his head. Thinking back to his previous visits to the God Realm Committee, the cynical attitude of the Godess of Kindness and the Evil God, and their vague mention of the idea of "reincarnation," he felt somewhat skeptical.
"By the way, it seems that Child of Nature has appeared in the lower realm, but I have a strange feeling about it." At this moment, the Life Goddess seemed to have thought of something and said softly.
Upon hearing this, the God of Destruction turned around abruptly, and the blood-red eyes beneath his cloak instantly became incredibly sharp, surging with a chilling and piercing intent of destruction.
"Even you can't figure out what kind of person they are? Who are they, and which planet are they on?"
Wherever the deep purple divine power passed, the energy of heaven and earth was shattered, becoming part of the destructive force.
However, when this immense divine power approached the Life Goddess, it was reassembled and restored to its original form. The cycle of birth and death is utterly mysterious.
"No need to get so worked up."
The Life Goddess paid no heed to the intense destructive intent lingering beside her, and moved her body closer to the God of Destruction, gently nestling against him.
"That person is on Douluo Star. To be precise, she is not a pure human, but a 100,000-year-old Soul Beast Transformation. However, she seems to have obtained some kind of fortuitous opportunity, and her form of existence is very special."
"It's Douluo Star again..."
"What's wrong?"
"It's Rakshasa's business." As the Life Goddess approached, the God of Destruction's emotions also calmed down.
She explained calmly, "She proudly reported to me a while ago that in the land of the Asura God's Godhood Inheritance on Douluo Star, she had ambushed and intercepted two Asura God's successors, both of whom had extraordinary talents."
"Then these past two days, she told me that the Godhood Inheritance that she had intercepted, who was clearly out of danger, suddenly and inexplicably severed his connection with the Rakshasa God Test. She doesn't know how he did it."
"Logically speaking, unless a deity intervenes, how could a mortal in the lower realm possibly have the means to break through the divine trial?"
Upon hearing this, the Life Goddess frowned slightly. "You'd better let her do less of this kind of thing. It's only because she has your backing that the Rakshasa God dares to be so unscrupulous. Be careful not to anger the Asura God. You know he's been troubled by the matter of the Godhood Inheritance for a long time."
"You're overthinking it. If the Asura God hadn't let it go, Rakshasa's arrangements would have been wiped out long ago. The Asura God has made many plans and attempts to pass on his divine position. As you know, the Asura Godhood is extraordinary; its Slaughter Aura is too strong, and its divine power is too domineering, making it difficult for ordinary people to control. Rakshasa Divine Power's intervention actually helped him. Only by overcoming the corruption of Evil Thought will there be a better chance of successfully passing on the divine position."
In fact, it's not just the Asura God.
As the God of Destruction, it would be extremely difficult for him to Godhood Inheritance.
This kind of dark divine position has an extremely serious corrosive effect on the mind.
However, he doesn't need to worry about these things; he has no intention of inheriting the divine position.
"It's always better to tone it down a bit." The Life Goddess pursed her lips and said softly, "Besides, the Rakshasa God is too Evil Thought. Ever since the Angel God fell and the Angel Godhood became vacant with no one to compete with her, the Rakshasa God has become increasingly insane. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why she is so eager to relinquish her divine position?"
The God of Destruction glanced at her upon hearing this, but said nothing more.
The Dark Gods and the Light Gods have different roles and their divine powers are also very different.
The Asura God is the god of slaughter, in charge of killing, judgment, and law. His Slaughter Aura is extremely powerful; those who are not of exceptionally strong inner resolve are easily influenced, causing their personality to change or even succumb to madness. Choosing a successor is therefore extremely difficult.
Even though the Life Goddess is one of the supreme gods in the Divine Realm, it is difficult for her to comprehend the mystery of the existence of the opposite.
So he changed the subject, saying, "We can't be careless about the matter of the Sun Star, or about that Child of Nature you discovered. And I also need to show the inheritor of the Rakshasa God what's going on. For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this."
"Now the two great God King are not focused on their own things, and the Asura God is preoccupied with finding a successor and then leaving the Divine Realm to explore the universe. I can't count on anyone else."
"It's good that you're by my side. And the laws you control are natural and peaceful, making you far more suitable for observation than I am."
The Life Goddess sighed, "I know you have always been very concerned about the development of the Divine Realm, so I will naturally help you."
On a relatively remote plain in the heart of the Divine Realm, a solidified, dark red aura of blood energy pierced the sky like an incomparably sharp and majestic divine sword.
All around was a dense, impenetrable blood-red mist; even gods who entered it would lose their minds amidst the omnipresent Slaughter Aura.
Compared to the environment here, the Asura Divine Power and bloody Killing Intent in Hell Road are as insignificant as children playing house.
This place is none other than the Asura God Temple, a place that inspires fear even in the Divine Realm.
At this moment, a figure completely encased in dark red magic-patterned armor sat cross-legged in the very center of the hall.
Before him was a huge crystal ball, the scene inside of which seemed to be sped up hundreds of times. Apart from the almost unchanged dark red city background, all the figures in the ball seemed to be moving back and forth as afterimages, making them impossible to see clearly.
However, with the power of the Asura God, it was clearly more than enough for him to see the contents clearly.
The crystal ball was playing a scene from the Slaughter City.
Tang San, Xie Yue, Yan, Hu Liena, and others were all among them.
There's also Tang Chen, the former inheritor of the Asura God who is now possessed by Nine-Headed Blood Bat and the Slaughter King, and Tang Hao, the current Clear Sky Douluo who is hiding in the shadows and silently watching his son's training progress.
"Tang Chen, Bibi Dong, Tang Hao, Tang San..."
The Asura God muttered these names in a low voice, his voice as powerful and resonant as the clash of metal.
Su Cheng was only half right.
Tang San was indeed chosen by the Asura God, and was his pawn, but he was not his only pawn, and he was not even the person he valued most.
When Tang San's soul accidentally drifted into this universe, it was discovered by the Asura God. He protected it with his divine power and placed it in the body of Tang Hao's son, thus usurping the place.
Aside from certain major issues of right and wrong, the Asura God isn't actually a very rule-abiding person.
Moreover, he had been waiting for the successor for far too long, and had long since had enough of God Realm Enforcer.
However, Tang San's matter can only be considered a backup plan for him, and it is not a high priority.
Before Tang San, there were several other people from Douluo Star who were also chosen by the Asura God.
It started with Tang Chen, the ancestor of the Clear Sky Sect and Tang San's great-grandfather.
If we only consider natural talent, no one, whether Bibi Dong, Tang Hao, or Tang San, is as outstanding as this first generation Clear Sky Douluo.
If it weren't for bad luck and the unfavorable era he was born into, he would have had every opportunity to gather faith and create a divine position through his own efforts.
Unfortunately, during the Asura God Test, Tang Chen acted too hastily and made a mistake, becoming possessed by the Nine-Headed Blood Bat under the command of the Rakshasa God.
After this incident, Tang Chen's physical foundation was completely destroyed, making it impossible for him to inherit the Asura Divine Power.
It's true that the Asura God is powerful. Without exaggeration, in the current Divine Realm, apart from the two veteran God King, he is the strongest.
Even those two God Kings, in terms of combat power alone, might not be able to completely overpower the Asura God.
However, everyone has their own expertise, and his divine power is clearly not enough to cure Tang Chen's problems, unless the Asura God condescends to ask the Life Goddess for help.
He certainly wouldn't do that.
When Tang Chen's will failed to overcome the Nine-Headed Blood Bat, in the heart of the Asura God, this successor had already been eliminated.
How terrifying is the Asura God!
Even if he could not resist the erosion of the Nine-Headed Blood Bat, it would be very difficult for him to succeed in inheriting the Asura Godhood, even if he were to be cured.
After Tang Chen, the person Asura God took a liking to was Bibi Dong.
As a result, the Rakshasa God ruined the whole thing, snatching the successor away first.
In fact, compared to Tang Chen, Bibi Dong's performance was even better, and she was more suitable for the Asura Godhood.
The problem is that, according to the rules of the Divine Realm, when gods choose their successors, there is a first-come, first-served principle.
Moreover, the Rakshasa God was under the command of the God of Destruction, so it was inappropriate for him to go and reprimand or abduct the person.
Only then did the Asura God take a liking to Tang Hao.
However, compared to Tang Chen and Bibi Dong, this person is far inferior.
A mindset that leads to despair after encountering setbacks is completely incapable of withstanding the domineering Asura Divine Power.
Right now, only Tang San is left.
In the eyes of the Asura God, this person, regardless of anything else, is actually very suitable to inherit the Asura Godhood, just in terms of temperament.
The gods' views on good and evil are different from those of humans.
The distinction between good and bad people in the narrow sense of the human world is not important to them.
Moreover, none of the five supreme gods in the Divine Realm today are of human origin.
What he valued was Tang San's strong, almost distorted, self-awareness; the last person he had seen with a similar situation was Bibi Dong.
The difference between the two is that Tang San believes all his decisions are right, while Bibi Dong believes the whole world is wrong.
From the perspective of spiritual practice, this is actually not a bad thing.
Only by being steadfast in one's own path and having the belief that everything one does is correct can one avoid falling into self-doubt.
In this respect, Tang San's distorted view of good and evil clearly fits the requirements perfectly.
However, the Asura God still hesitated.
Because Tang San is not yet up to his standards.
To inherit the Asura Godhood, a stubborn and obsessive mindset is the most important criterion, but it is by no means the only requirement.
Without sufficient foundation and resources, and without a certain level of strength to support it, an ordinary person's body will find it difficult to withstand the subsequent tests of the Asura God Test.
Moreover, Tang San's will also need to be tempered more.
"We need to think of other ways; this alone is far from enough..."
The later part of this volume will involve the Divine Realm, requiring the establishment of some settings and characters; this chapter serves as a transition.