Two Divine Artifacts
Despite their many doubts, the God of Destruction and the Asura God had fought for many years and had developed an instinctive antagonistic reaction.
Almost the instant the crimson giant sword took shape, the God of Destruction let out a cold snort, and dark purple Destruction Divine Power surged forth!
"Asura! Even the punishment of criminals must be carried out according to the law! How dare you vent your anger through private torture!"
For a moment, it was as if the roles had been reversed, leaving the onlookers, including the gods, stunned.
If I remember correctly, the God of Destruction wanted to kill Tang San Tang San, Asura God protected him, right?
How come it's reversed now?
The God of Destruction didn't really want to save Tang San, but preventing the Asura God from achieving his goal, especially preventing him from so eagerly "silencing" him, would make him happy as long as the Asura God was unhappy, even if there was no benefit to it.
The immense Destruction Divine Power instantly formed a thick, purplish-black shield wall above Tang San's head, flowing with annihilation lightning, which met the descending blood-red giant sword perfectly!
Boom--!!!
A fierce clash of divine powers at the level of god-kings!
The divine power of destruction and slaughter splashed wildly, flattening a large area of the already desolate ruins once again!
The shockwave forced Qian Renxue, Dongfang Yao, and others who were not far away to take several steps back and raise their divine power shields.
Tang San slumped at the edge of the explosion's epicenter, struck by the aftershocks of the two opposing divine forces, spitting out another mouthful of blood. His already weak breath became even more precarious.
Asura God, seeing his sure-fire strike blocked by the God of Destruction, was filled with rage and killing intent, his eyes blazing as he stared intently at the purplish-black figure who had caused the disturbance.
"Destruction! How dare you obstruct my enforcement of the law?!"
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Tang San collapsed amidst the aftershocks of the clash between the two divine powers, like a candle flickering in a storm, but his unfocused gaze remained fixed on the dark red figure in the air, brimming with murderous intent.
The excruciating pain and the fear of impending death did not break him; instead, they fueled an extreme resentment and madness.
He naturally understood why the Asura God was so eager to completely annihilate him!
It wasn't for some bullshit justice trial, nor for his crimes in the mortal realm—if the Asura God had truly cared about those things when he was brought back to the Divine Realm, he would have already reduced him to ashes!
He was afraid! Afraid that his shady plot would be exposed! Afraid that his image as a just and impartial God of Law Enforcement Asura God he had maintained for countless years, would crumble before the other gods!
"Trying to kill me to silence me? Asura! You're dreaming!" Tang San roared hoarsely.
"Shut up!"
The Asura God roared, disregarding the depletion from his battle with the God of Destruction, frantically trying to break through the God of Destruction's obstruction. Several sharp, incomparable blood-red sword lights slashed towards Tang San, trying to stop him from continuing!
However, would the God of Destruction allow him to have his way?
The dark purple Destruction Divine Power transformed into multiple barriers, precisely intercepting every attack from the Asura God that attempted to silence them.
"Let him continue!" The God of Destruction's voice carried an undeniable majesty. "I want to hear what kind of 'great achievements' our God of Law Enforcement is secretly plotting!"
With the powerful obstruction of the God of Destruction, all of the Asura God's attacks were blocked.
Tang San, though barely breathing, managed to shout out that dark plan in a fragmented yet clear manner, as if in a final burst of energy before death.
"Fellow God-Kings! Listen carefully! He... the Asura God! He spared my life not to investigate anything unusual! He coveted my memories of my past life, wanted to know the realms above God-King, and secretly plotted with me... cough cough... plotted to seize your godhood!"
"Ahem... By fusing with the divine sparks of multiple God-Kings, it's possible to break through the shackles and reach... a realm beyond God-King! Destruction, Goddess of Kindness, God of Evil... even life itself! These are all his targets..."
Hearing Tang San's words, the gods of the Divine Realm were in a daze.
"You beast! Shut up! You're spouting nonsense!" The moment Tang San opened his mouth, the Asura God's face turned from ashen to deathly pale, then flushed red with rage and panic.
However, it was too late.
After hearing Tang San's words, an uncontrollable uproar erupted around them!
The newly appointed Evil God, Dongfang Yao, stared wide-eyed, his gaze towards the Asura God filled with disbelief.
Although the Godess of Kindness Arthur remained composed, his grip on the divine sword tightened unconsciously, his aura turned icy, and his gaze sharpened as he surveyed the Asura God.
Angel God Qian Renxue was furious, her purple eyes burning with rage!
In an instant, shock, anger, doubt, disdain, and wariness... all sorts of gazes shot towards the Asura God like sharp arrows.
They all felt that Tang San wouldn't lie at a time like this, and the Asura God's reaction seemed to confirm these words.
Only the Life Goddess, after her initial shock and disbelief, subconsciously took a step forward and remained standing beside the Asura God. Her face was pale, and her beautiful eyes were filled with confusion and struggle.
"No...no... Asura wouldn't..." she murmured to herself, as if trying to convince herself, or perhaps explaining to the other gods, "This must be a misunderstanding! It's Tang San! Tang San knew he was going to die, so he deliberately fabricated a lie to drag Asura down with him! He hates Asura for imprisoning him, he hates that Asura wants to kill him now! Yes, that must be it!"
She couldn't accept that the Asura God, who had stood shoulder to shoulder with her for countless years and always acted as a guardian of the Divine Realm order, had such a dark and terrifying scheme behind her back.
She preferred to believe that this was a malicious frame-up by the dying Tang San.
The Life Goddess, having successfully deceived herself, felt both anxious and pained. She abruptly activated her Life Divine Power, and emerald light, like warm spring water, surged towards the Asura God, attempting to stabilize his injuries and raging divine power. At the same time, she turned to the God of Destruction, who was currently displaying a menacing aura, and shouted, "Destruction! Calm down! How could you attack Asura just because of a few words from a treacherous, cunning, and liar like Tang San?!"
She then looked at the other deities, especially the newly appointed gods of Goddess of Kindness and Evil God, her voice filled with pleading and defense. "Everyone! Asura is the God of Law Enforcement of the Divine Realm! He Divine Realm for countless years, with outstanding achievements! How can we doubt his loyalty and integrity because of a fallen prisoner's incoherent accusations before his death? This must be Tang San's scheme to sow discord! We must not fall for it and throw ourselves into chaos!"
As the words of the Life Goddess faded, the surrounding gods were not surprised.
Qian Renxue recalled the common knowledge she had learned about the Divine Realm and looked at this scene with some confusion, "Aren't the God of Destruction and the Life Goddess husband and wife? How come they are fighting each other?"
Arthur, who had previously been tormented by the Godess of Kindness, remained silent. Wasn't this the normal behavior of the gods in the Divine Realm?
What's so surprising?
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Tang San, who had collapsed to the ground, had a ringing in his ears as he heard the words of protection from the Life Goddess.
"Fool... Heh... Truly the world's number one fool!" Tang San coughed up blood, struggled to raise his head, and stared intently at the Life Goddess was guarding the Asura God and circulating his Life Divine Power.
"Evidence? You want evidence?" Tang San shouted hoarsely. "Fine! I'll show you, you blind and delusional fool, just what this ' God of Law Enforcement ' you're so desperately protecting really is!"
"Do you really think that the Godess of Kindness and Evil God simply left the Douluo God Realm?!"
Upon hearing this, not only was the Life Goddess stunned, but the God of Destruction, who was confronting the power of the Asura God, as well as Dongfang Yao, Arthur, and Qian Renxue, who were planning to help with the siege, all instantly focused their attention on this.
"Those two idiots!" Tang San's eyes were full of mockery. "They took their respective divine artifacts, thinking they had successfully escaped and were going off to live a carefree life?"
"Hmph! They're up to no good again. They're bored and want to 'let loose,' so they dare... cough cough... dare to secretly seal their divine power and sneak into the lower realm to experience the 'hundreds of days in the mortal world'!"
With each word he spoke, the crimson divine power surging around the Asura God grew more violent, attempting to break through the God of Destruction's blockade once more, but was blocked by the God of Destruction, the Angel God, and other deities.
"What a pity!" Tang San looked at the Asura God's furious yet powerless expression, and a twisted sense of pleasure welled up inside him. "Their supposedly secretive movements had already been discovered by the 'Great God of Law Enforcement' — the Asura God —who had been secretly watching them and coveting their godhood and divine artifacts!"
"Faced with such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, with the opponent voluntarily lowering their guard..." Tang San's voice was icy, "How could our Lord Asura God possibly let it slip by? He swiftly... took him down!"
He uttered the word "take down" so casually, yet every deity who heard it felt a chill run from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads!
Chapter 355 Two Divine Artifacts
Take it down? How do you take it down?
The former Godess of Kindness and Evil God certainly wouldn't surrender easily; their fate is likely grim.
"Hahahaha!" Tang San watched as the Life Goddess's usually gentle face stiffened, and seeing the disbelief in her eyes, he burst into maniacal laughter. Finally, he threw out the evidence that was enough to send the Asura God to the abyss. "The divine artifacts of the Godess of Kindness and the Evil God, those two artifacts that contain their core laws and primordial divine power... Now...!"
He raised his finger, pointing at the Asura God was staring at him with bloodshot eyes, and said, "They—are on him! They are on this hypocrite you're desperately protecting!"
The first to react to this shocking accusation was not the Life Goddess, who was most affected, but the God of Destruction, who had always been at odds with the Asura God.
A hint of doubt remained in his purple eyes. Although the Asura God's desperate attempt to silence him and his frantic reaction, along with the bizarre turn of events, had firmly pointed the finger of suspicion at him, the God of Destruction did not immediately believe Tang San entirely—a fallen man's dying pleas were naturally tinged with skepticism.
"Search."
The voice of the God of Destruction shattered the suffocating silence.
He looked at the Asura God, his eyes sharp as knives.
"Since this fellow dares to accuse you of possessing the artifact of the former god of Goddess of Kindness and Evil God, then it's simple. Release your divine power defenses and let me investigate. If you are truly innocent, you have nothing to fear from examination. Whether the artifact exists or not can be found with a simple search, saving us from pointless arguments and unnecessary suspicion."
That sounds grand and impressive, and it's certainly effective.
The only drawback is that it will trample on the dignity of the Asura God.
After all, for a god-king to be searched because of an accusation by a mortal is extremely humiliating.
The Asura God's face turned pale and then red; in his heart, he had already torn Tang San to pieces.
He suppressed his turmoil and retorted sharply, "Absurd! I am the God of Law Enforcement in the Divine Realm, who has ruled order for millennia! How can I allow you to search me just because of a few false accusations from a degenerate prisoner who is inherently God of Evil, full of lies, and even on his deathbed, tries to turn the tables? Where does such behavior place the dignity of a God-King? Where does it place the laws of the Divine Realm? If this precedent is set, will we God-Kings have to prove our innocence and have our dignity completely destroyed whenever a petty villain frames us?"
He elevated the issue to the level of divine authority and Divine Realm legitimacy, attempting to intimidate others and divert attention.
These words did indeed elicit thoughtful expressions and agreement from some of the deities present.
The God-King is supreme, and his majesty cannot be disrespected.
Searching someone based solely on Tang San's word seems a bit... excessive.
Some people nodded in agreement, feeling that what the Asura God said made sense; an ancient god-king should not be so humiliated because of a sinful and fallen being.
However, some deities, especially the newly promoted Dongfang Yao and Arthur, as well as Qian Renxue, who already harbored many grievances against the Asura God, had even greater doubts in their eyes.
After all, the Asura God's vehement opposition made him seem... guilty.
However, the Divine Realm is ultimately a world where strength reigns supreme.
Reason and authority are often built upon absolute power.
In the past, the Asura God, wielding the supreme artifact Asura Divine Sword, possessed unparalleled strength among the Five Great God Kings and enjoyed immense prestige.
Even if Tang San produces so-called "ironclad evidence," most of the gods present would probably choose to "turn a blind eye," and might even actively seek excuses for the Asura God to protect his image.
After all, no one is willing to bear the price of challenging the strongest god-king.
No one can search the Asura God.
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But times have changed.
With the artifact lost and his power diminished, he openly opposes the God of Destruction and is gradually losing ground. He also has conflicts with the newly emerging gods of Goddess of Kindness, God of Evil, and Angel God.
The authority of the Asura God is no longer what it once was. The scales in the hearts of those gods who once depended on or revered him have begun to tip quietly.
The Asura God's refusal did not dispel the God of Destruction's doubts; on the contrary, it strengthened his resolve.
If you have nothing to hide, why fear a search?
"Feeling guilty?" The God of Destruction's lips curled into a cold smile, and he said no more.
Since words are useless, let's let our actions speak for themselves!