Forced Godhood
The cocoon of light shattered instantly, turning into scattered blue light fragments.
Tang San, who was sitting cross-legged, stiffened almost imperceptibly, and then slowly opened his eyes.
A fleeting hint of embarrassment and wariness at being exposed flashed across Tang San's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by his usual respect and gratitude.
He immediately rose and bowed deeply towards the throne, his posture impeccable. "Junior Tang San, thank you so much, Asura God King, for saving my life! If it weren't for your intervention, I would likely have been annihilated by the God of Destruction. I will never forget this kindness and Tang San, and I will certainly repay it in the future..."
That's enough.
Tang San's tearful words of gratitude were rudely interrupted by the Asura God.
His voice remained flat, yet it carried an Ice Seal indifference, and even... a hint of extremely subtle killing intent that sent a chill down Tang San's spine.
After this, under no circumstances can Tang San be allowed to continue living.
This decision was perhaps already made in the Asura God's mind the moment he snatched Tang San from the God of Destruction. He saved him because he still had untapped value, and also because the God of Destruction's actions challenged his authority.
But once the value has been fully extracted, or it is confirmed that complete control is impossible... then, for the Asura God, causing the accidental death of a mortal who knows too many secrets is not a difficult task.
The Asura God withdrew his cold glance, leaned forward slightly, and fixed his dark red eyes firmly on Tang San. The overwhelming and unyielding pressure of the God-King weighed on Tang San's soul, making him gasp for breath.
"Those empty words need not be mentioned again."
"Now, tell me—"
The Asura God's tone suddenly became even lower and more dangerous.
"The true method you know about 'God-King Ascension'."
Beneath the seemingly calm gaze of the Asura God lay a deep longing.
Tang San knew that this question would determine his life or death.
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The Asura God's seemingly just, majestic appearance, forever shrouded in a blood-red aura of slaughter and judgment, deceived the vast majority of beings in the Divine Realm, possibly even his seemingly close ally Life Goddess, and the God of Destruction had been his adversary for many years.
They all assumed that this iron-faced god-king, who held sway over the punishments and order of the Divine Realm, sought only to maintain the existing "stability" and "rules" of the Divine Realm, even though he himself frequently violated them...
Unfortunately, the Asura God has never been, and never will be, a deity who is content with the status quo and lacks ambition.
Deep within his divine heart, forged in battle, lurked a secret ambition.
He was not content to remain forever in the Douluo God Realm, forever playing the role of a seemingly powerful but actually... "mediocre" God King responsible for judgment and adjudication.
He yearned for a breakthrough, for the level that was said to surpass ordinary god-kings and might even touch upon the power of creation.
The duties and limitations of the Divine Realm were shackles for him, chains that bound him from further ascension.
Therefore, he first began actively seeking a successor to the divine position among the Five Great God Kings, with his public reasons being "seeking freedom," "experiencing the mortal realm," and "injecting fresh blood into the Divine Realm."
But only he knew that it was nothing more than a high-sounding excuse.
His deeper purpose was to break free from the constraints of the Divine Realm and search for the legendary method to become a god-king!
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As for the God Realm Committee, the plan to "expand the boundary and elevate the level of life in the world" to enhance the strength of the Divine Realm, which was occasionally mentioned by both Goddess of Kindness and God of Evil and fiercely advocated by the God of Destruction, was seen by the Asura God as a dead end and utterly foolish!
Even the Dragon God, who once ruled the Divine Realm and whose power was unparalleled throughout history, failed on this path, triggering the Dragon God War that swept across the Divine Realm. This resulted in the near extinction of the divine beast lineage and severely damaged the Divine Realm itself.
The lessons of the past are stark and painful.
How powerful is the Dragon God? Even He failed, and the failure even led to His collapse and division. What makes these self-serving god-kings, far less united and powerful than the Dragon God, think they can succeed?
The idea of destruction is too naive!
The Asura God's gaze fell upon Tang San, who was respectfully bowing below.
He was certainly not the kind of person who would blindly believe others, especially Tang San, who came from the lower realm and whose thoughts were clearly not pure.
His long divine life and the power to judge had exposed him to far too many lies, pretenses, and elaborate schemes.
The reason why the Asura God was willing to protect Tang San under the God of Destruction, and even patiently listen to him speak at this moment, was not only because those secrets that could not be known to outsiders had been touched upon, but more importantly because of the scenes that the Asura God saw from those forcibly extracted memory fragments.
One family with six god kings!
This information alone is enough to shake the established understanding of the Divine Realm.
What concerned the Asura God even more was the fragment of memory about the Dragon God.
That junior named Lan Xuanyu was actually able to use the Dragon God Bloodline to seize the shattered inheritance of the Dragon God, and ultimately create a new Dragon God!
It should be understood that the Dragon God's original divine nature of life, destruction, Goddess of Kindness, and God of Evil has been lost, leaving only the Dragon God's status.
The manipulation of bloodline essence, the fusion of shattered divine essence, the comprehension and bearing of supreme laws... each of these aspects exceeds the cognitive scope of ordinary deities, even ordinary god-kings.
Tang San, as the "cultivator" and core planner of all this, must also possess certain unique methods and insights.
These are the true "values" that the Asura God values.
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Below, countless thoughts collided fiercely in Tang San's mind, but were forcibly suppressed by his survival instinct, forcing him to think calmly.
Regarding the ascension of the God King... he did indeed have a clue, which came from his grandson Lan Xuanyu, who ultimately became the Dragon God.
The process was unbelievable, breaking too many conventions.
The position of Dragon God is that of the Supreme God King, and the path to its attainment contains secrets that surpass the advancement of ordinary god-kings.
He gleaned some clues from them: the reunification and sublimation of shattered authority, the possibility of transcending the limitations of a single divine being...
However, these clues are vague, dangerous, and extremely incomplete.
More importantly, even if I were to tell them everything now, could I survive?
Handing it over often means losing its final value. But if you don't hand it over, or if what you hand over doesn't satisfy the other party, you'll die immediately.
Tang San finally managed to raise his head, meeting the unfathomable blood-red eyes of the Asura God. He forced his voice to remain steady. "Reporting to the Asura God King."
He bowed again, his posture extremely humble, "From the perilous journey of my grandson Xuan Yu in ultimately achieving the position of Dragon God, I did indeed... glean some fragmented clues, perhaps related to the ascension of the God King."
He deliberately emphasized the "fragmented clues," which not only highlighted his own value but also implied the complexity and uncertainty of the information, leaving room for maneuver in his subsequent statements.
After saying this, he paused slightly, observing the Asura God's reaction.
The light in those blood-red eyes seemed to flicker slightly, remaining icy, but their focus had clearly increased to a new level, and the invisible pressure only intensified, urging Tang San to continue.
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Tang San knew he had to reveal some "real substance," but not all of it, to whet the appetite of this ambitious God King and buy himself as much time as possible, hoping to avoid being "dealt with" too quickly.
"The Dragon God's immense power is rooted in one of its most fundamental foundations: its unprecedented multi-theistic system." Tang San spoke cautiously, "This is not a simple accumulation of divine titles, but rather a... combination of fundamental laws of the universe."
"Life and destruction, Goddess of Kindness and God of Evil —these divine roles are mutually opposed, yet the Dragon God still managed to condense these divine kings."
"The Dragon God can utilize these divine attributes, combining them to wield authority similar to that of a creator god, creating small worlds that can internally cycle and reproduce."
"Based on these clues, I dare to deduce that 'condensing the divine essence of multiple god-kings' may be a potential path to Simulation or even surpass the Dragon God, and to achieve the ascension of a god-king to a higher or even greater level."
However, Tang San's tone changed:
"However, the dangers of this path far exceed our imagination! The greatest challenge may even be more fatal than finding and condensing the divine essence of the polytheistic king—that is the balance of the laws!"
He looked directly at the Asura God and continued:
"The supreme laws represented by these gathered divine kings and their divine essences cannot simply coexist or suppress each other, but must achieve a stable, ever-renewing harmony and resonance!"
"His Dragon God possesses multiple divine aspects. Under normal circumstances, the Dragon God forcibly suppresses the conflicts and repulsion among these divine aspects with his immense power. However, when He failed to break through to a higher level, His power plummeted and could no longer be suppressed, causing the contradictions to completely erupt!"
This is also one of the reasons why the Dragon God went mad and split apart.
The mental disorder caused by the clash and conflict of divine personalities can lead to a split.
After speaking, Tang San bowed and remained silent, awaiting the outcome.
On the throne, the Asura God did not respond immediately.
He couldn't help but smile; such detailed and accurate deductions didn't seem like guesses.
I'm afraid... it was the new Dragon God Lan Xuanyu, who told Tang San himself.
However, Tang San is cunning, so these words cannot be entirely believed.
Chapter 333 Forced Godhood
Beneath the seemingly calm, yet turbulent, depths of the Divine Realm lies a hidden depth.
A pure, dazzling golden divine light, like the first ray of dawn tearing through the silent night, suddenly shot into the sky from the lower realm!
The light was so dazzling that it easily pierced through the invisible barrier between the Divine Realm and the lower realm, and brazenly broke into the almost eternally unchanging "sky" of the Divine Realm!
Someone has become a god!
This fact, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly shattered the surface tranquility maintained throughout the Divine Realm.
Whether in the oppressive and somber Asura God Temple or in other temples and mansions, almost all the gods, at the same moment, subconsciously turned their gaze toward the direction from which the dazzling golden light rose!
Even Tang San, whose own safety had just been hanging by a thread, suddenly raised his head and looked at the golden pillar of light that illuminated part of the clouds in the Divine Realm.
Becoming a god... this is the ultimate dream of every Soul Master and every cultivator.
Someone in this life actually became a god before him?
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The golden light was not fleeting; it continued to radiate, even coating the auspicious clouds on the horizon, which were originally displaying various magnificent colors, with a warm and solemn golden hue.
"Buzz--"
Divine music, carrying the joy of new life and the fluctuations of laws, swept through every corner of the Divine Realm.
This sudden change of divine position immediately caused a brief moment of bewilderment among the gods, followed by curiosity and discussion.
"Huh? A new person has arrived?" a priest exclaimed in surprise.
"This divine light... such pure righteous energy! Which righteous god's Godhood Inheritance down?" a perceptive deity murmured.
"Judging from the fluctuations in this aura, it seems to lean towards the divine roles of 'justice,' 'protection,' and 'light'... Strange, I haven't heard of any family having such a successor who is about to become a god recently," another deity wondered.
"Which righteous god, the one with the attributes of justice and light, could it be?..." Various speculations arose.
The gods each employed their own methods to try and more clearly discern the specific divine aura to which they belonged.
Although the Divine Realm is vast and contains numerous deities, each Godhood Inheritance is a momentous event.