Ma Hongjun stood in the corner of the room, his fingertips trembling slightly as emotions surged in his chest, threatening to overwhelm him.
He no longer wore his usual lazy, leering expression. The agitation brought on by his Evil Fire had faded from his eyes, leaving only the relief of having survived a calamity.
He looked down at his still-youthful hands and felt the mere twenty-eighth level of Soul Power left in his body. His heart was a tangle of emotions.
In his previous life in the Divine Realm, he had attained the Phoenix God Position, yet he had always been an outsider among the gods, too weak even to protect the people he wanted to protect.
Now he had been reborn in his youth. There was still time to change everything.
He had a chance to make up for all the regrets and pain of the past.
As he watched Dai Mubai practically obsessively tugging at Zhu Zhuqing, and saw Oscar's false, indifferent expression when Ning Rongrong was in danger, Ma Hongjun understood at once.
Those two had recovered their memories of their previous lives, too.
Complex emotions welled up inside him, and he clenched his fists without thinking.
Others might not know what Dai Mubai and Oscar were like, but he knew all too well.
But... he wasn't exactly a good person himself.
Forcibly taking goddesses, treating low-ranking and weak goddesses as playthings and abusing them as they pleased—it was all in a day's work for them, just "spice" in their dull lives in the Divine Realm.
He still remembered the time he'd caught Dai Mubai forcibly abducting a goddess who had ascended to the Divine Realm from another world. Her desperate cries had echoed through the heavens.
Dai Mubai had only laughed smugly, while Oscar beside him egged him on.
And Zhu Zhuqing—her life in the Divine Realm had been like that of a caged bird. Though she held the lofty title of God of Speed, she was constantly controlled by Asura God Tang San.
Ning Rongrong had fared no better. Oscar's philandering and callousness, along with Tang San's indulgence, had left her no chance to stand up for herself.
He had once spoken up for them, but they were, after all, the legitimate wives of Dai Mubai and Oscar.
It wasn't his place to interfere in such matters.
Later, he simply couldn't stand it anymore. The despair in the eyes of those goddesses and low-ranking gods pierced his heart like needles.
They reminded him of his late wife, Bai Chenxiang.
She should have been qualified to ascend to the Divine Realm, but an accident on her path to godhood had damaged her essence, leaving her unable to reach it.
Seeing how depraved Dai Mubai and Oscar had become,
he thought of Tang San.
He had believed Tang San would uphold justice and stop Dai Mubai and Oscar.
But when he finally worked up the courage to find Tang San and tell him everything, all he received in return was even deeper despair.
Tang San looked at him with a gentle yet distant smile and told him in a flat voice,
"Hongjun, the Divine Realm has its own rules. Some things are best left alone."
That was the moment Ma Hongjun realized that this seemingly fair and selfless God King had long since joined Dai Mubai and Oscar in their "revelry."
They were all in cahoots, using their power and strength to turn the Divine Realm into a playground where they could do whatever they pleased.
At the thought, Ma Hongjun's expression grew complicated.
That was right.
He had later joined Tang San and the others in their revelry in the Divine Realm.
Because he knew all too well the price of not fitting in.
Only then did he truly understand that the Divine Realm was hardly any different from the mainland. Its hierarchy was rigid, and its system could only be described as rotten and depraved.
And this wasn't an isolated case.
Reborn, he had met Tang San again, who seemed harmless enough.
But he knew that beneath that façade lurked the future God King—a cold, selfish man who turned a blind eye to evil.
He didn't know how he should face Tang San.
What baffled him even more was Dai Mubai's attitude toward Fu Qin.
Just moments ago, Dai Mubai had attacked Fu Qin viciously, his eyes full of menace. Yet in the blink of an eye, he was treating him like a sworn brother.
It was bizarre.
Who was Dai Mubai? A notorious God of War in the Divine Realm, violent-tempered and arrogant. When had he ever been so amiable to anyone besides Tang San?
Besides, Fu Qin was only a thirty-fourth-level Soul Master. Before Dai Mubai, the future God King, he was a trivial nobody.
Yet Dai Mubai had taken a special interest in Fu Qin. The complete reversal in his attitude left Ma Hongjun utterly baffled.
He lifted his eyes and looked ahead.
Fu Qin stood in the center of the room, tall and straight, with handsome features and a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. He calmly handled Dai Mubai's "friendly overtures."
His gaze was placid, as though his clash with Dai Mubai moments ago had been a trivial matter.
Though he was only a boy, he carried a composure and air of mystery far beyond his years.
In particular, the formidable physical strength he had displayed when clashing with Dai Mubai had shocked Ma Hongjun.
There was definitely more to Fu Qin than met the eye.
Ma Hongjun wondered silently.
The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly strange and charged.
Dai Mubai warmly sidled up to Fu Qin, clapping him on the shoulder as he spoke in an affectionate tone.
"Brother Fu Qin, that was all a misunderstanding. I missed Zhuqing too much and lost my head for a moment.
Don't worry. From now on, we're brothers. Whatever happens, your big brother will have your back!"
His mismatched eyes brimmed with "sincerity," as if he hadn't been the one trying to kill Ning Rongrong moments earlier.
Fu Qin smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
He could sense the faint malice emanating from Dai Mubai. Though the Intelligence-Reducing Halo and God-Level Luck buff had suppressed it, it hadn't vanished completely.
Fu Qin remained wary of this God of War, who had regained all his memories of the past.
Ning Rongrong stood beside Fu Qin, clutching his sleeve tightly, her face full of confusion.
She couldn't make sense of Dai Mubai's thought process. Just moments ago he had been a ferocious brute, yet now he was acting so warmly toward Fu Qin. He was practically a madman.
Still, seeing how composed Fu Qin was made her unease gradually fade.
At that moment, she felt that as long as Fu Qin was by her side, she would be completely safe.
Zhu Zhuqing leaned against Xiao Wu, her beautiful, cool features still pale. She watched Dai Mubai warily.
His tugging at her moments ago had left her shaken, and his sudden change in demeanor now sent a chill down her spine.
She didn't understand why he had suddenly changed like this. The deep-seated obsession and madness in him filled her with fear.
Xiao Wu's eyes held a trace of coldness and wariness.
As someone reborn, she naturally knew what Dai Mubai and Oscar were really like.
She just hadn't expected them to reveal their true natures so completely after regaining their memories.
Oscar stood off to one side, a false smile on his face as his eyes secretly sized up Fu Qin again and again.
Like Dai Mubai, he was wary of Fu Qin's strength.
The clash between Fu Qin and Dai Mubai had made him realize that this seemingly ordinary boy was absolutely not someone to underestimate.
Watching the bizarre scene before him, Ma Hongjun felt his doubts deepen.