Divine Realm

"What happened, Asura God? It's rare for you to summon God of Goodness and me together." The beautiful, gentle woman in white, pure as a lotus, asked with a soft laugh.

"See for yourselves." Asura God, hidden beneath a suit of blood-red armor, spoke in a low voice. There seemed to be a trace of urgency concealed within his cold, hoarse tone—something rarely seen in this Divine Realm enforcer.

Upon the blood-red altar flowing with five-colored light, a golden spear wrapped in countless runes trembled incessantly.

"This? The Golden Dragon Spear is actually reacting?" God of Evil abruptly turned and stared at Asura God, his expression seemingly reproachful. "Has something changed with the Golden Dragon King's seal, causing the spear to react? If the Golden Dragon King breaks free from his cocoon, he will certainly wreak havoc across the Divine Realm. Asura, how could you fail to summon Destruction and Life for something this serious?"

"Goddess of Life never approved of our altering the laws of Douluo World, nor did she approve of our sealing the Golden Dragon King after he transformed into a dragon cocoon." God of Goodness pressed a hand against God of Evil's forearm, soothing him. "It is better not to call her now. If she finds out, she will surely bring up the past again and insist on killing the Golden Dragon King completely, returning his energy to heaven and earth to nourish all things. That would only make matters troublesome. As for Destruction, he and Life are one as husband and wife, so their views naturally align."

What God of Goodness did not mention was that, as the incarnation of the Ancient Tree of Life, although Life God had stood with the Divine Realm Committee for the sake of the Divine Realm during the Divine Beast rebellion, she still retained a measure of respect for the Dragon God in her heart.

God of Evil did not seem convinced by his wife, and there was still some disapproval in his expression.

"Alas, Goddess of Life is confused as well. She is so kind, caring equally for every living being, yet she does not understand that barbaric beings like the Soul Beast Clan hold neither love nor goodness in their hearts." God King of Goodness sighed. Her clear, ethereal voice carried a note of desolation. "In the end, the Soul Beast Clan still launched a rebellion under the Dragon God's leadership... Those beasts ultimately betrayed Goddess of Life's goodwill. How regrettable. How lamentable..."

The Soul Beast Clan was chaotic. Most acted on instinct, without regard for morality. They could not be defined by good or evil, nor could they be judged by the two God Kings of Goodness and Evil. Naturally, the two disliked them.

"At its root, this matter still stems from the conflict between the human race and the Soul Beast Clan. Life and Destruction belong neither to the Soul Beast Clan nor to humanity, so it would not be appropriate to drag them into the dispute between our human race and the Soul Beast Clan." Asura God said coldly.

As for Asura God—whether man or beast, he would kill them all the same.

None of the three supreme gods who had cultivated from humans present openly voiced their true thoughts. Leaving aside how much they truly cared about securing benefits for humanity... at least half their motivation was to suppress the race of their political rivals and prevent those rivals from rising again in revenge.

As neutral parties, Destruction and Life were naturally guarded against closely by them.

"Fine, then. Have you checked whether the Golden Dragon King's seal is intact?" God of Evil snorted and stopped pressing the matter.

"Everything is as usual," Asura God said. "The seal in the Forbidden Land remains completely intact."

"Then why would this spear react for no reason?"

"We have conducted experiments before. The Golden Dragon Spear will automatically fly in the direction of its master until the Golden Dragon King's aura is completely cut off," Asura God said.

God King of Goodness pondered for a moment, then gently pressed a hand to her full lower lip. "There are also surviving bloodlines of the Golden Dragon Clan in the lower realms, yet this spear has never reacted before. It seems that only one possessing the Golden Dragon King's pure bloodline can stir it. What if someone carrying the Golden Dragon King's bloodline was born in the lower realms?"

"How is that possible? The Golden Dragon King was kept in the Divine Realm from the moment he was born and sealed in the Forbidden Land. When would he have had the chance to leave descendants?" God of Evil frowned. "Could it be the work of his twin brother, the Silver Dragon King, who escaped to the lower realms?"

"That is also possible." A thoughtful look flashed through Asura God's eyes.

"Why not dispatch the Divine Realm Hunters and capture the Silver Dragon King as well?" God King of Evil said casually. "Seal both of them up. It will be easier for the Divine Realm to monitor them at all times."

"I think Evil is right. The Silver Dragon King is far too dangerous outside the Divine Realm's surveillance... If both are under the Divine Realm's control, then killing the more dangerous Golden Dragon King outright would not be a problem." God of Goodness said, a trace of sorrow appearing on his face, as if grieving for the Golden Dragon King, who was about to lose his life.

But he was ultimately the God of Goodness of the Divine Realm, not goodness itself. Naturally, he would make such a cruel choice when it benefited the Divine Realm.

Asura God fell silent for a moment.

"That would be inappropriate." He shook his head. "First, it would be far too difficult to find a Silver Dragon King deliberately concealing himself in the vast lower realms. Second, as long as both the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings live, it is equivalent to the Dragon God still being alive. So long as the divided Dragon God continues to cling to life, the fate of the Soul Beast Clan's king remains upon him, and the Soul Beast Clan will never again produce an unrivaled expert capable of ascending to the Divine Realm."

At this point, Asura God let out a cold laugh. "Heh. If the old king has not died, how can a new king be established? Once humanity's fortune completely surpasses that of the Soul Beast Clan and the balance is utterly broken, the Soul Beast Clan will never have another chance to rise again. At that point, the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings can die as well."

"If either the Golden Dragon King or the Silver Dragon King dies, we cannot be certain whether fate will judge the Dragon God to be dead and nurture a new powerful figure for the Soul Beast Clan. The risk is simply too great."

The two God Kings of Goodness and Evil clearly agreed with him.

No matter what, the Golden and Silver Dragon Kings could not be allowed to merge into one and restore the Dragon God. Yet neither could they be allowed to die and make way for a new king to lead the Soul Beast Clan.

"Then let us maintain the status quo for now." God of Evil stroked his chin. "With the spear under our watch, it cannot fly out of the Divine Realm."

"I will reinforce the Golden Dragon Spear's seal. So long as I remain, the spear will not be able to leave and fly to the new master it has chosen," Asura God said.

"I am still uneasy." God of Goodness shook his head. "Why not join forces and use a secret technique to probe the lower realms, find the person who triggered the Golden Dragon Spear's resonance, and decide what to do afterward?"

"But that would consume a great deal of power." God of Evil frowned. "If we use such a secret technique to investigate the lower realms, how will we have the energy left to search for successors?"

"Tch, are you two the only ones who want to slack off?" Asura God, who had worked tirelessly for countless years, snorted. "Don't I also want to find a successor and quickly throw off the burden of the Divine Realm? But this matter concerns the fate of both the Divine Realm and humanity. Naturally, it is far more important than my own leisure and freedom."

"But the Divine Realm corresponds to many lower realms. Where should we begin?" God of Evil asked.

"If it is truly as God King of Goodness said, and someone carrying the Golden Dragon King's bloodline was born in a lower realm, then they are more likely to appear in the birthplace of the dragon clan." Asura God said. "Naturally, we should begin with the Dragon God's homeland—Douluo World."

Most of this section was based on Legends of the Divine Realm. Since it concerns the Divine Realm, that is the work whose Divine Realm-related content left the deepest impression on me—I read it nervously under my desk in high school, haha. I also used a little of Douluo 4's setting...

Any differences are simply secondary settings added for the convenience of writing.

Researching Douluo lore is honestly quite difficult. The material I referenced mostly goes up to Douluo 3; Douluo 4 retconned far too much, to be honest, and I have not even finished reading it.

I have many, many more secondary settings added later for convenience, and some characters may be relatively out of character. Please be a little understanding. Even if you want to criticize it, please do not be too harsh. Thank you, thank you orz.