The Exposure of Heavenly Principles Forces the Demon Gods to Slaughter One Another! Tang San: This Is How Unfit Tools Are Eliminated!

"I... I'm not seeing things, am I?" He Caitou rubbed his eyes hard, his voice trembling. "M-make those Gods fight, slaughter one another, and devour each other? To prove whose 'love' is stronger?"

He couldn't understand.

He had just been awestruck by Goddess Guizhong's ingenious Mechanism Art, and moved by how selflessly she had shared her wisdom with humanity. But in the blink of an eye, this wise and benevolent goddess was about to be thrown into a bloody meat grinder where only death awaited?

"Madness... This 'Heavenly Principles' has to be mad!" Zhou Weiqing couldn't help swearing. The roguish grin had vanished from his face, replaced by utter disbelief. "What kind of bullshit Rules are these? Make a bunch of people who were supposed to protect the world slaughter one another, then pick the seven best fighters? How's that any different from Raising Gu?"

"No."

Tang San's voice rang out, cold and clear. The commotion around them fell silent at once.

His eyes—that pair of Purple Demon Eyes—were fixed on the Divine Decree on the Light Screen, as if he meant to burn every word into the depths of his soul.

"You're only half right. This isn't Raising Gu."

Tang San paused, then said each word distinctly: "This is the forging of the most perfect 'weapon.'"

"Weapons?" The others were baffled.

"Phanes created the Demon Gods and gave them the Rule 'God Loves All Beings,' sending them to nurture civilizations. That was the first step. Now, civilizations have flourished everywhere, and the purpose of these 'incubators' has been fulfilled. But they themselves possess the power to destroy the world, and their beliefs differ. To a world that demands absolute stability, they are the greatest 'destabilizing factor.'"

Tang San spoke at an unhurried pace, but each word struck the others like a heavy hammer.

"So, Heavenly Principles issued a second command. A war spanning the entire continent would eliminate all 'unfit' Demon Gods. What counted as 'unfit'? Those who weren't strong enough, whose beliefs weren't firm enough, who weren't... 'obedient' enough. They were all defective."

"The final seven Victors wouldn't just be the strongest. By proving through this bloody slaughter that their beliefs best aligned with the will of Heavenly Principles, they would become enforcers of its Rules, no longer protectors. They would go from a group of individuals with free will to seven highly uniform, absolutely obedient entities with legitimate 'authority to rule'... tools."

"This is the true Divine Masterstroke." Tang San slowly closed his eyes. "It isn't about eradicating evil. It's about eliminating every being that might harbor 'dissent.' The most brutal internecine war would buy thousands of years, perhaps even longer, of absolute 'stability' without a single discordant voice."

Tang San's analysis sent a chill through everyone.

"Treating beings of the same rank as expendable..." A bone-deep chill flashed through Gu Yuena's silver eyes. "What a grand design. What a ruthless Law."

As the Lord of Soul Beasts, she understood better than anyone the misery of being treated as a "resource" and an "expendable." Now the Gods were facing the same fate.

"Tyrant! A tyrant through and through!" Ji Dong's aura surged, black-and-white flames flickering around him. "That so-called 'God Loves All Beings' is nothing but an excuse to keep them penned up! Once the pigs are fattened, they sharpen their knives! Ridiculous! Tragic!"

Lie Yan tightly clasped his hand, soothing him with her warmth. She had once been queen of the Core World, and even she couldn't accept this treatment of Gods as grass.

"Rules... above all power." The Dragon God spoke again in a low voice, this time with grave solemnity. "So this is the true meaning of 'Rules.' Not guidance, not restraint, but selection and extermination. Phanes' 'love' is reserved for the ultimate Victors. For the defeated, there is only the 'mercy' of turning to dust."

The Dragon Prince had gone deathly pale. He had once taken pride in the Dragon Clan's dominion, but compared to a power that could use the continent as a chessboard and Gods as Chess Pieces, the Dragon Clan's wars seemed like children at play.

"Goddess Guizhong... Goddess Heulia... Will they, will they all die?" Xiao Xiao's voice broke with tears. The gentle Goddess who had created life from salt, yet had been too weak to protect her people, had left a deep impression on her.

No one answered.

The answer had already been written in the Divine Decree.

The defeated would turn to dust.

Hai Long's fist had clenched before he even realized it. His original question had been answered with something ten thousand times darker than he'd imagined.

The price of the Golden Land was the corpses of countless Gods.

And this perfect land was itself the most magnificent graveyard.

The image on the Light Screen shifted again.

The golden pillar of light that had pierced the heavens slowly faded, but the Divine Decree of Heavenly Principles had already become invisible Shackles, branded into every inch of the Teyvat World and every wisp of elemental energy.

Former friends, former allies—their eyes had changed in that instant.

Morax looked at Guizhong beside him. His dear friend's face was filled with sorrow and confusion.

The Light Screen turned to the Salt Demon God, Heulia. She huddled in her Temple, trembling. She couldn't even protect her own people. How could she survive a war that would engulf the world?

Fear, confusion, unwillingness, fury, resolve...

Countless fierce emotions erupted at once in every corner of the continent.

The war had begun.

The image on the Light Screen shifted again.

The golden pillar of light that had pierced the heavens slowly faded, but the Divine Decree of Heavenly Principles had already become invisible Shackles, branded into every inch of the Teyvat World and every wisp of elemental energy.

Former friends, former allies—their eyes had changed in that instant.

Morax looked at Guizhong beside him. His dear friend's face was filled with sorrow and confusion. He wanted to reach out and pat her shoulder, as he always did, and tell her, "I'm here. Everything will be all right."

But his hand stopped in midair.

Under the Divine Decree, all would turn to dust.

They, too, were enemies.

The Light Screen turned to the Salt Demon God, Heulia.

She huddled in her Temple, trembling. She couldn't even protect her own people. How could she survive a war that would engulf the world?

Fear, confusion, unwillingness, fury, resolve...

Countless fierce emotions erupted at once in every corner of the continent.

The war had begun.

The scene no longer showed grand vistas. Instead, it focused on individual Demon Gods.

A Demon God who had once delighted in brewing wine and sharing it with Gods from all walks of life was now wiping dust from a long spear. All that remained on his gentle face was cold resolve.