The Art of Negotiation, A Tour of the God Realm

Give people hope when they were at their most disappointed.

God of Destruction had learned this negotiation tactic from Su Chen.

Ever since he had come up with the idea of giving Su Chen a huge surprise, God of Destruction had gathered plenty of potentially useful knowledge during Su Chen's journey from the Star Dou Forest to the Sunset Forest.

How should he put it?

God of Destruction might not have been a good teacher, but he was definitely a good student.

Whatever principles or methods he was taught, he quickly learned to apply them in practice.

Sure enough, as soon as God of Destruction said this, God of Evil and God of Goodness hurriedly said:

"What conditions? Go ahead and name them. We'll do everything in our power to meet them."

"Fine. I can let Su Chen become your heir, but you must also do everything in your power to persuade God of Asura to give Tang San to me. You'll handle that matter yourselves. I won't step in personally."

"We'll certainly do our best, but you know what God of Asura is like. We may need some time."

God of Evil and God of Goodness both looked troubled.

In the God Realm, God of Destruction, who controlled the Path of Destruction, seemed to have the worst temper and be the hardest to get along with.

But anyone with discernment knew that God of Destruction was merely somewhat proud and more straightforward in his dealings.

God of Asura, on the other hand, might not have seemed as difficult to get along with, but once his interests were violated, he was the one most likely to act without regard for the consequences.

They had originally planned to let God of Destruction and God of Asura fight it out while they egged them on from the sidelines and subtly favored one side.

But now, they could only figure something out themselves.

"That brings us to my second condition."

"Go ahead."

God of Destruction said, "Before you manage to persuade God of Asura, you are not allowed to contact Su Chen directly. His training and trials must all be carried out through me."

Of course, God of Destruction could not simply hand Su Chen over to them and wash his hands of the matter.

He wanted to give Su Chen a huge surprise, not turn himself into a mere spectator.

Besides, who knew how God of Evil and God of Goodness would train Su Chen, or whether there would be any danger involved?

Only by personally keeping things under control could he train Su Chen in the best way while preventing him from facing excessive trials or suffering irreparable harm.

The chances were low, but he still had to guard against it.

"This..."

God of Evil hesitated somewhat.

Their God Trials would not be under their own control, but carried out through God of Destruction.

Under ordinary circumstances, they definitely would not have agreed.

But if they refused, then judging by God of Destruction's behavior just now, mutual destruction was not out of the question.

God of Destruction had already backed down this far, which had surprised them.

If they kept pushing their luck, even they would feel embarrassed.

If God of Destruction had not rejected them so decisively earlier, making them think that he would never agree no matter what, then getting them to accept God of Destruction's demands now would have been far more difficult.

"Fine... we agree."

In the end, the two of them gritted their teeth and agreed.

No matter what, they had to secure the person first.

If they delayed any longer and God of Destruction trained Su Chen in his own direction, it would not be so easy to turn things around afterward.

"But we have a condition too."

"You have a condition as well?"

God of Destruction wore an angry expression, as though he were about to erupt.

"Don't, don't get angry yet. Our request is simple. It's absolutely not an unreasonable demand."

God of Destruction barely restrained his anger. "Say it. If your request is unreasonable, then we'll go our separate ways."

"You can handle the matters of inheritance afterward, but we need to speak to that child directly once first."

The inheritance of a divine position was no trivial matter.

Although Su Chen's Twin Martial Souls suited their divine positions very well, his character and temperament were also important.

God of Destruction fell silent for a long while.

At last.

"I can agree to this, but only once. Afterward, unless you fulfill my demands, don't even think about making me make another exception."

To reinforce the weight of his words, God of Destruction said:

"I will leave my Destruction Divine Power on Su Chen. If you break the rules, I'll make sure you get nothing at all, like drawing water with a bamboo basket."

"Rest assured, we definitely won't break the rules."

It was true that God of Destruction would leave some power behind, but whether it was for protection or harm, Evil God and Goodness God could never guess.

They were merely intimidated by God of Destruction's resolve, worried that if they crossed his bottom line, things would turn out in the worst possible way.

Seeing God of Destruction's mood settle, the two said eagerly:

"Time is of the essence. Let us speak with this child called Su Chen."

"Fine. Help me cover my tracks."

"Alright."

God of Evil and God of Goodness joined forces to conceal God of Destruction's traces. In the entire God Realm, there was absolutely no second god who could detect what they were doing.

"Senior Destruction, you finally came."

Su Chen sensed that God of Destruction had come online.

"Don't be nervous. Focus your mind. I'll take your consciousness to the God Realm."

"What? The God Realm?"

Su Chen felt that his Soul Master cultivation had barely begun. Wasn't going to the God Realm already a little too rushed?

"The huge surprise I mentioned is coming, but whether you can obtain it depends on you. Enough talk."

Su Chen's consciousness spun violently, as though he had been tossed into a washing machine drum and churned around.

"Su Chen?"

After Su Chen finished his secluded cultivation, Dugu Bo had wanted to ask what benefits he had gained.

Instead, he saw Su Chen suddenly lose consciousness. If he had not still been breathing, he would have looked as though he had died suddenly.

"What is this... Did he faint from hunger after going too long without food? Don't tell me something went wrong with his Martial Soul?"

Dugu Bo was thrown into a flurry of panic.

He carried Su Chen to the bed in the wooden cabin and wondered what nourishing porridge or soup he should make to help Su Chen restore his vitality.

After three months without a single grain of rice, even with the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's energy nourishing him, his body had to be extremely weak.

While Dugu Bo busied himself, Su Chen's consciousness had already arrived at the Castle of Destruction.

"Senior Destruction."

This was Su Chen's first time seeing God of Destruction in person.

God of Evil's heart stirred.

Senior?

It seemed that Destruction had not truly decided to let this child carry the power of himself and Goddess of Life, nor had he tried to use this child to grasp that new power of his that had yet to fully take shape.

Fortunately, that was the case.

Otherwise, God of Destruction would probably never have let them take this child as their heir.

God of Destruction was stern and unsmiling, far less amiable than when they communicated through the Pendant.

"My two friends have some questions for you. Just answer them honestly."

God of Destruction had not told Su Chen too much in advance.

God of Evil and God of Goodness were both extremely sensitive to emotions. Telling Su Chen too much would only make them suspicious.

He believed that with Su Chen's intelligence, merely telling him the words "huge surprise" was already enough.

"Yes."

Su Chen's heart tightened, and he obediently nodded.

"Child, don't be nervous."

God of Goodness spoke first.

Her voice was very gentle, carrying a warmth that naturally made people feel favorably toward her.

"Child, your name is Su Chen, right?"

"Yes, Senior. My name is Su Chen."

"Su Chen, your Martial Souls are very interesting. What are their respective names?"

Su Chen had already guessed this person's identity.

How many people in the God Realm could make God of Destruction treat them like this?

"The spear is called Life-Killer, and the shield is called Life-Protector."

"Life-Killer and Life-Protector. Very good indeed. Your two Martial Souls possess completely opposite traits. Which Martial Soul's power do you prefer?"

Before Su Chen could answer, God of Evil said:

"Then it must be the Life-Killing Spear. You chose to cultivate the Life-Killing Spear first, so you must prefer that Martial Soul more. Am I right?"