The Divine Realm.
The Asura God Hall.
A nine-story blood-red Asura Treasure Pagoda hovered in the very center of the void. The slaughter patterns on its body revolved in rings, and with every turn, the space around it twisted a little further.
At the top of the tower.
The Asura God sat upon his throne.
His divine sense pierced the Plane Barrier, hurtling from the Divine Realm to the skies above Douluo Continent, where he saw everything happening in Spirit City's plaza with perfect clarity.
The golden Tribulation-Avoiding Garment.
The Three-Legged Golden Toad pattern.
Gathering energy and blessings, warding off heavenly tribulations and divine punishment.
It fit that woman perfectly, without a single gap.
The Asura God's right hand rested on the arm of his throne.
His five fingers curled in one by one, then relaxed one by one.
Curl, relax. Three times in all.
His fingernails scraped a white mark into the slaughter pattern on the armrest.
"That Celestial Master again."
The words ground out between his teeth. Each one carried the force of crushing bone.
He wasn't afraid.
How many tens of thousands of years had the Asura God lived?
How many geniuses and defiers of heaven had he seen?
In the end, all those arrogant fools had become dust beneath his feet.
No matter how much a Celestial Master from the lower realm stirred things up, he couldn't escape the Asura God's grasp.
But it was annoying.
Extremely annoying.
The Primordial Spirit Bead had made that Demon Fox's martial soul evolve.
It didn't matter. Even at its peak, it was only a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, still far from being a true god.
The Fate-Suppressing Cauldron had suppressed Tang San's fortune.
That was a little troublesome, but Tang San had the Sea God Inheritance. Suppressing his fortune didn't mean cutting off his path.
The Severing Thought Sword had cut off Tang Hao's arm.
He was just a Titled Douluo. What difference did it make if an ant's arm was broken or not?
The Star River Map had sped up cultivation. Nothing to worry about.
But the fifth item—the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment.
The Asura God's jaw tightened.
This one had struck at his plans.
The death he had arranged for Hu Liena was a divine punishment tribulation.
Once that woman cultivated to the threshold of godhood, he would personally unleash the Asura God's Punishment and crush her, along with half of Spirit Hall's fortune, to ashes.
He had laid out this move hundreds of years ago: Spirit Hall was Tang San's greatest stumbling block, and Hu Liena was its future core. Cut her down, and the whole game would come alive.
Well, now.
A single Tribulation-Avoiding Garment could block three-tenths of the divine punishment.
Three-tenths.
Not much, not little.
The Asura God's fingers tapped twice on the armrest.
The rhythm was slow: once, a pause, then once more.
When he finished, he gave a cold laugh.
The laugh came from his nose, short and dry.
"A Tribulation-Avoiding Garment?"
"Blocks three-tenths?"
"Then I'll give her ten-tenths."
According to the Asura God's plan, the original divine punishment tribulation needed only one strike.
One blow would be enough. Never mind a Demon Fox who hadn't yet become a god—even if an original God King stood in the way, it would strip him of a layer of skin.
But that was the original plan.
Now—he'd raise the stakes.
The Asura God lifted his right hand.
Purple-black light seeped from his fingertips. It didn't flow; it oozed.
Strand by strand, it emerged from beneath his skin, winding between his fingers and twisting into a thick ball of light that radiated an aura of destruction.
The Asura Blade trembled once on his knees.
Every blood-red pattern on its blade lit up.
The entire blade, from tip to hilt, hummed in response to its master's killing intent.
The purple-black ball of light swelled between his fingers.
From fist-sized to watermelon-sized, then to the size of a human head.
With every increase, the Asura God Hall trembled.
The entire Nine-Story Pagoda resonated, from its base to its peak, and the slaughter patterns spun three times faster.
The Divine Officials standing on either side of the throne simultaneously retreated half a step.
Their Godheads quivered.
It wasn't fear of the Asura God—they stood guard here every day and were used to him.
It was the purple-black Divine Thunder itself, which radiated a signal of "annihilation." Any divine power it touched would be corrupted, shredded, and erased.
Three times the original amount.
The Asura God held the Divine Thunder in his palm and examined it for two breaths.
Enough.
With this much power, forget the Tribulation-Avoiding Garment blocking three-tenths—even if it blocked five-tenths or seven-tenths, the remaining three-tenths would be enough to tear that woman's Divine Soul to pieces.
He stored the Divine Thunder inside the Asura Blade.
The blade swallowed the purple-black light. Its patterns changed from blood-red to dark purple, held that color for two breaths, then slowly returned to their original blood-red.
But the Asura Blade had grown heavier.
The entire blade weighed three-tenths more, pressing against his knees until even the Asura God's divine armor bore a shallow dent.
That was settled.
When that woman reached the threshold of godhood, this blade—no, this bolt of thunder—would be her funeral.
The Asura God leaned back against his throne.
He closed his eyes, and his divine sense pierced the Plane Barrier, probing in another direction.
Sea God Island.
The depths of the Sea God Hall.
The stone gate to the Ninth Trial was tightly shut, golden light seeping out through its cracks in thin strands.
Behind the gate, a shattered Divine Soul was repeatedly crushed by the Sea God's Power, restored, then crushed again.
The Asura God's divine sense passed through the stone gate and poured straight into Tang San's consciousness.
Tang San was sprawled across the altar of the Ninth Trial.
Most of his Sea God Divine Armor was shattered, its golden plates cracked from shoulder to wrist.
His mouth tasted of blood. Blood seeped from his nostrils too, dripping onto the altar's stone surface, where the Sea God's Power instantly evaporated it.
That needle in his head was stabbing him again.
From his temples to the back of his skull, back and forth, without a second's pause.
The cracks in his Divine Soul had already multiplied from two to five.
The Sea God's Power leaked from every crack, and the rate of repair was nowhere near fast enough to keep up.
If this went on—
"Tang San."
A pressure descended from the crown of his head.
Tang San's body stiffened abruptly.
He knew this pressure all too well. From the Capital of Slaughter to Sea God Island, the Asura God's presence had been carved into his bones.
"Lord Asura God."
Tang San pushed himself upright on his knees, gripping the altar's edge. Fragments of golden armor fell from him in a rustling shower.
"Your opponent is growing stronger."
The Asura God's transmitted words carried no needless embellishment. Every word came crashing down.
"The fifth betrothal gift has already reached that woman's hands. If you delay any longer, you won't even be worthy to lace her shoes."
Tang San's molars ground together.
The fifth item.
The Severing Thought Sword had been the third. With one slash, it had severed his father's right arm.
Now it was the fifth.
There were still thirteen more.
"Rest assured, Lord Asura God."
Tang San's voice was hoarse to the extreme, every word tasting of rust:
"The Ninth Trial... at most, I'll need seven more days. I will complete it. I will become the true Sea God."
The Asura God didn't answer immediately.
Three breaths passed.
"Good."
The two words came crashing down, carrying a cool note of approval.
"On the day you become a god, I will personally protect your breakthrough."
He paused.
"Help you eliminate every obstacle."
Tang San straightened his back even more.
The Asura God's divine sense withdrew from Tang San's consciousness.
On the throne, he opened his eyes.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
It wasn't a smile, but the relaxed expression of a hunter sizing up his prey.
Tang San was almost sharp enough to serve as a blade.
Once he became the Sea God, he would be perfect for testing that Celestial Master's mettle.
Let two dogs tear into each other while he watched from above.
Then he would kill whichever one won—with a single stroke.
The Asura God's fingers rested on the Asura Blade across his knees.
Inside the blade, the purple-black Divine Thunder, three times its original strength, lay dormant in silence.
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