Selfish, Ignorant Sin God!

The world suddenly went dark, and the hum of Soul Power ceased in an instant.

Was that the power of a god...

[Executing First Protoco...]

[Youlan] experienced a rare lag.

Amid the furious black clouds and raging thunder of heaven and earth, Chen Fu saw divine punishment descend from the Ninth Heavens—a beam of azure lightning carrying vast heavenly might and chilling, overwhelming killing intent. In an instant, it pierced through the defenses of the forcibly manifested black-and-white twin dragons, shattered the God of Bronze and Weapons' Divine Trial barrier that had been forcibly bound to him ever since [Ark] was developed, and finally blasted straight through him from head to toe!

"How dare you, Sea God!"

The instant the Divine Trial shattered, an enraged roar that shook the world rang out once more! An unimaginable amount of divine power gathered beyond the world in an instant. Energy of incomprehensibly high quality stirred the world's crystal membrane into violent turbulence. This existence beyond mortal comprehension actually intended to force his way through the crystal membrane of the Douluo World!

Bzz!

The world's crystal membrane suddenly unleashed terrifying suppression beyond its rank, kicking both outsiders out at once. Its overwhelmingly high rank caused the World Will to immediately strengthen its resistance against the divine power of the two gods. For a short time, neither god's power would be able to take even a single step into the Douluo World!

Within the vast sea of azure divine power, the god who ruled the oceans coldly looked toward the special First-level God attempting to interfere with him—the God of Bronze and Weapons, commonly known in the God Realm as the God of Craftsmanship.

Killing a god's inheritor without cause was a grave crime, but not only had that foreign ant ruined his ten-thousand-year plan, he had also refused his goodwill, leaving the Douluo World vulnerable to even greater turmoil at any moment. His death would be no loss!

He had refused the chance to relive his old dreams. Out of consideration for his status as a god's inheritor, the Sea God had spared him a Thought Seal, yet he had refused that goodwill as well. He insisted on challenging the Sea God's authority over the Douluo World time and again. He truly had embarked upon a Way of Seeking Death!

The Sea God's merciless gaze passed over the God of Craftsmanship, whose divine power had swelled throughout his body, then once more cast its cold divine light, containing boundless might, toward the Douluo World.

What a tenacious ant!

Amid the pockmarked ruins left behind by the energy explosions, half of a broken blue-gold ancient tree's withered remains lay silently on the ground. Fine Soul Power crystals left over from the chain explosions of dozens of Arks drifted through the surrounding air.

More than ten Titled Douluo Pavilion Elders from Shrek Academy, who had rushed over after the earth-shattering Big Bang, stared at the devastation before them. Their hearts were so heavy that none could speak.

They were not merely weighed down by failure. They were weighed down by the failure itself.

"Cough, cough..."

Beneath the ruins, an elderly man in ragged black clothes burst out from a nearby pile of rubble, clutching an unconscious old man whose body was covered in cracks, though signs of returning life could still be seen.

"Pavilion Master!"

Xuan Zi and the others immediately rushed forward.

Long Xiaoyao tossed Mu En, whose divine body was half-formed, to Yan Shaozhe. His expression was complicated. That man had shielded him at the final moment; relying on his incomplete divine body, the two had escaped the aftershock of the divine punishment. After all, they had not been its targets.

"What about Chen Fu?!"

Flame-like Soul Power leaked uncontrollably from Ma Xiaotao's body as she stared at Long Xiaoyao with bloodshot eyes.

Long Xiaoyao answered with silence. He had tried to intervene, but clearly, he had failed.

A light breeze swept past. A golden figure darted by the crowd and headed into the ruins ahead, using terrifying strength to overturn the metal wreckage left behind by the Soul Power explosions one piece at a time.

Ning Tian, who had arrived shortly afterward, joined the violent search, allowing everyone to witness the monstrous strength of this Nine Treasures Glazed Sect disciple.

As the Imperial Auspicious Beast, a beast of fortune, Golden Scale simply could not believe that Chen Fu, whose luck had nearly become tangible around him, could die so casually.

Ma Xiaotao wanted to run over, but Yan Shaozhe grabbed her and refused to let go. He said nothing.

The atmosphere among the Pavilion Elders was terrifyingly oppressive.

As Golden Scale and Ning Tian continued their search, more and more people, including those from the Soul Tool Academy, followed the commotion onto the nearly shattered Sea God Island.

"..." Seeing the life's work of his beloved disciple reduced to this, Fan Yu felt as though his heart were being cut by knives.

The words shouted by that enraged unknown god made everyone understand the identity of the one who had delivered divine punishment—the Lord Sea God whom Shrek Academy had revered for generations.

Crack...

The shattered remains of the enormous blue-gold tree were flipped away by Golden Scale's terrifying strength. Hidden in the dust beneath them, a tattered human figure appeared before everyone's eyes.

Trembling, he slowly crawled up from the dust. Blood gushed from the cracks covering his body as the wounds tore open further.

He stopped Golden Scale and Ning Tian from supporting him, then looked toward the rushing Ma Xiaotao and exhausted all his strength to pull at his face, telling her he was fine.

Chen Fu dragged his battered body upright from the dirt bit by bit. He looked around and saw everyone staring at him in confused silence. He could not help but burst into laughter, his wild, disheveled hair making him look uninhibited and mad.

"HAHAHAHA! Cough, cough!"

Crimson blood splashed into the dust, blooming into gray-red flowers.

Chen Fu had never been in such a wretched state. Cracks covered his entire body, and only his body tempering through Melting Ring sustained him. All four transparent Soul Rings containing Nuclear Arks had shattered! [Youlan]'s Data Divine Ring had been blasted open, and vast amounts of data were leaking away.

Under the suppression of the World Will, even god-level powerhouses could not casually unleash excessively transcendent energy shocks. The God of Craftsmanship's Divine Trial protection had worn down most of the attack, while [Youlan] had taken the remaining portion head-on with the entire [Ascension] Soul Tool. The result was that this god-creating Soul Tool had exploded outright. The blue-gold giant tree serving as the mainframe had been blasted into fragments, and the [Youlan] system had suffered devastating damage.

Yet he had still survived.

Under the protection of multiple forces, and through the transcendent Soul Power collision produced when the super Soul Tool [Ascension] entered overclocking mode under the First Protocol.

Cough, cough!

Wiping away the fragments of internal organs he had coughed from the corner of his mouth, Chen Fu tried to calm the emotions in his heart.

He had gotten one thing wrong. The god who had wanted to use his lover from his previous life to test him was none other than the faith Shrek Academy had always strived to align itself with—the Sea God!

Why had he chosen Shrek? Why had he chosen Sea God Lake? Why had he chosen Sea God Island?

Why had he chosen to make Mu En, the Sea God Pavilion Master, the first executor of Ascension?

Those who embarked on the Path to Ascension within the lands of Sea God Faith naturally received the Sea God's favor. Their faction's foundation was naturally the Sea God's!

Ever since [Ark] came into being, the God of Craftsmanship had latched onto him. Later, believing Chen Fu lacked suitable Soul Rings, he had forcibly bestowed a God-given Soul Ring upon him. He had even sent down divine power to give Chen Fu an opening to let the Three-Eyed Golden Lion take form again. Though he looked down on the God of Craftsmanship's godhood and had been forcibly given a Divine Trial, Chen Fu was also a student and teacher of Shrek Academy! The Lord Sea God's junior student!

But why... would he not accept him?

Why had he always waited until Chen Fu was about to succeed before acting?

Had he initially believed Chen Fu was merely a mortal ant? Was he afraid of the technological research Chen Fu had conducted in defiance of divine authority? Or did he believe Chen Fu was too intelligent to control?

"Chen Fu, you have defied the gods and brought down divine punishment. Your crimes deserve ten thousand deaths!"

A Sea God Pavilion Elder with Sea God Faith suddenly lashed out at him.

"Defied the gods?"

Chen Fu smiled without expression, then looked coldly at that Pavilion Elder.

"What does our development of Soul Tool technology have to do with the gods?"

"Divine punishment?"

Chen Fu looked at the teachers and students of the Soul Tool Academy, who were nearly drowning in despair, and could not help laughing. Crimson blood covered his cracked cheeks. Beneath his dry, pale, broken hair, a pair of bloodshot eyes gleamed with blinding light and madness.

"That was not divine punishment! It was the gods' highest respect for us!"

"It proves that our path is right! He is stopping us from advancing, stopping us from moving forward! He is afraid!"

"Teachers and students of Shrek Academy, what can faith in gods bring you?"

"Perhaps in the past, he could give us safety, wisdom, and craftsmanship. But now, he has fallen!"

"He is stopping us from taking another step forward! He is afraid of us taking another step forward! He wants us to remain forever confined to one corner, unable to develop!"

"Can he make you gods?!"

"He cannot! He is nothing but a selfish, ignorant Sin God who interferes with the development of our civilization for his own private gain!"

The young man, having suffered such a severe setback, vented his resentment without restraint. Xuan Zi felt his heart grow unsettled, and his grip on the unconscious Mu En's hand tightened painfully.

Golden sunlight pierced through the smoke shrouding the wreckage. Rays of light refracted through particles of High-Energy Soul Power Crystal, scattering brilliant glazed colors.

In the girl's eyes, the boy raised both hands before a crowd oppressed by authority into not daring to breathe. The pale golden sunlight draped him in dazzling armor as he raised his arms and shouted:

"Abandon the Sin God! Become your own gods!"

Those bold words, loud enough to deafen, shook everyone's hearts.

The world seemed to fall silent...

Chen Fu

Smelled the stench of blood.

Thanks to good brother [Xian Luohe] for the reward.

Thanks to good brothers [Yu Zixian], [Book Friend 9204], [Can Landlord Waive Rent], and [Mo Yusheng] for the monthly tickets.

Thanks to all the good brothers for the recommendation tickets.

Tomorrow is the first round of recommendations for the new book! (σ′▽‵)′▽‵)σ Thanks for the support, good brothers! Let's go! (σ′▽‵)′▽‵)σ