Dong'er Faces the Rakshasa God

"I do."

Dong'er answered softly, but every word was crystal clear.

"But not the Rakshasa God from my past life."

The Rakshasa God's Divine Sense paused slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Dong'er met the god's gaze. There was no fear or submission in her eyes, only a calm composure that transcended time.

"I need to talk to you."

"Talk about what?"

"Terms."

A brief silence fell over the darkness.

The Rakshasa God's Divine Sense seemed to be examining her. The dark purple light flickered faintly, as though it were thinking.

Then, it laughed.

It was a laugh filled with arrogance and disdain, yet there was also a trace of appreciation in its tone.

"A Remnant Soul wants to negotiate terms with a god? Do you know what that means?"

There was a hint of mockery in its voice.

"I do."

Dong'er's voice was as calm as still water.

"It means you might erase me outright. It means... I might not even be able to preserve this wisp of Remnant Soul."

Dong'er paused.

"But I still have to talk."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to inherit an unfair God Position in a muddle like I did in my past life."

The Rakshasa God's eyes trembled sharply.

"Unfair?"

Even its tone changed, no longer playful but carrying a trace of... displeasure.

"You are questioning my inheritance?"

"I am not questioning it," Dong'er said blandly. "I am merely stating the facts."

With that, Dong'er took a step forward. "Do you know how I died?"

The Rakshasa God did not answer.

"Sea God Tang San, Asura God Tang San, God of Food Oscar, Nine-Colored Goddess Ning Rongrong."

Dong'er's voice turned icy.

"Four gods joined forces."

"The Sea God restrained us, the Asura God executed us, and the God of Food and Nine-Colored Goddess provided support. Four gods besieged Xue'er and me!"

The Rakshasa God's gaze trembled involuntarily.

"Xue'er's Angel God Position was shattered on the spot, and her cultivation fell to Rank Eighty-Nine. Your Rakshasa Godhead was completely crushed beneath that sword."

Dong'er's voice suddenly cracked, but she quickly regained her calm.

"Do you know what I was thinking?"

The Rakshasa God remained silent.

"I was thinking... why!"

A thin haze of red surfaced in Dong'er's dark red eyes.

"Why could Tang San begin the Sea God Nine Trials when he was only in his sixties, while I had to cultivate to Rank Ninety-Nine before I could begin the Rakshasa Nine Trials?"

"Why did every trial of the Sea God Nine Trials come with generous rewards—Soul Ring Age Increase, Divine Artifact Bestowal, Martial Soul Evolution...

while the Rakshasa Nine Trials..."

She suddenly paused, and a bitter curve formed at the corner of her lips.

"Gave me nothing at all..."

A cold snort came from the darkness.

The Rakshasa God's Divine Sense fluctuated slightly, but it still did not speak in rebuttal.

Dong'er continued.

"Let me do the math for you."

Her tone became cold and precise, like an accountant tallying accounts.

"The requirements for inheriting the Sea God Nine Trials."

Without waiting for the Rakshasa God to answer, Dong'er continued on her own.

"Find Sea God Island, undergo the test within Sea God's Light, then complete the following nine trials.

Every completed trial came with a corresponding reward. In the end, the ninth trial was completed in the Sea God Hall, and the God Position was inherited directly.

Tang San began in his sixties. During the trials, all of his Soul Rings were raised to at least one hundred thousand years. One hundred thousand years!"

Dong'er's voice rose slightly.

"A Soul Master's Soul Ring went directly from a few hundred years to one hundred thousand years. Do you know what that meant?

It meant his combat power multiplied throughout the trials. Every time he completed a test, he became stronger."

"And then?"

Dong'er narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Now look at my Rakshasa Nine Trials. What was the condition for the first trial?"

Dong'er spoke each word distinctly.

"Devour the flesh and soul of a Title Douluo from the Angel Clan."

A self-mocking smile curved her lips.

"I killed Qian Xunji.

He was a Title Douluo.

I devoured his flesh and soul before gaining the Rakshasa God's recognition and officially beginning the Rakshasa Nine Trials.

And then? From the first trial through the eighth, what did I receive?"

Silence.

The Rakshasa God remained silent.

"Nothing."

Dong'er's voice became very low.

"No Soul Ring Age Increase, no Divine Artifact Bestowal, no evolution in my Martial Soul's quality. Nothing at all."

"The Rakshasa God Trials had no stage-by-stage rewards. All they required was slaughter—an immense amount of slaughter."

Dong'er's phantom trembled slightly.

"They required massacring Soul Masters, massacring Soul Beasts, absorbing the resentment and death aura from battlefields, building a foundation of divine power atop mountains of corpses and seas of blood."

"They required me to maintain my sense of self under the Rakshasa Divine Sense's temptation and avoid falling completely, to preserve the last shred of clarity in the abyss of hatred and obsession."

Her voice sharpened.

"The entire Rakshasa Nine Trials, from beginning to end, had not a single stage reward.

No Soul Ring enhancement, no Divine Artifact Bestowal, no actual increase in combat power."

"All it required was..."

Dong'er stared directly at that Divine Sense.

"For me to use a lifetime of slaughter and pain to nourish a God Position that, from beginning to end, had never given me anything in return."

The darkness fell into a long silence.

The Rakshasa God's Divine Sense hovered there, its dark purple glow flickering faintly as though it were suppressing some emotion.

"Are you finished?"

"No."

Dong'er's tone turned even colder.

"Let me continue calculating."

"I cultivated to Rank Ninety-Nine over more than ten years. More than ten years of slaughter, more than ten years of corruption by evil aura, more than ten years of mental torment."

"And Tang San? He began the Sea God Nine Trials in his sixties and received rewards after every trial.

He rose smoothly all the way to Title Douluo, then directly inherited two God Positions before Jialing Pass."

"Two God Positions."

There was even more bitterness in Dong'er's voice.

"I risked my life for more than ten years just to obtain one Rakshasa God Position. He obtained two in a single war."

"And..."

Dong'er's voice suddenly lowered.

"His Asura God Position came from Slaughter City. What did Slaughter City have to do with the Rakshasa Divine Hall? That should have been the Rakshasa God's territory!"

"And what happened? The Asura God bypassed the Rakshasa God's inheritance system and chose Tang San directly in Slaughter City.

Tang San, a Soul Master with a light attribute, somehow inherited both the Sea God and Asura God Positions—one of light, one of ultimate evil."

Anger flashed through Dong'er's eyes.

"Was that fair?"

The Rakshasa God's Divine Sense remained silent.

But that cluster of dark purple light was more unstable than before, as though something had stirred it.

Dong'er did not stop.

"Finally."

Her voice became so soft that it was almost inaudible.

"Jialing Pass."

"The Sea God and Asura God entered the battle, bringing the God of Food and Nine-Colored Goddess with them. Four inheritors besieged the two of us."

"Xue'er and I fought with everything we had. We burned all our divine power and shattered half of Jialing Pass."

Dong'er's voice cracked.

"But we still lost..."

"Tang San pierced my body with the Asura Demon Sword. In that moment, your Godhead and God Position shattered into dust before him."

"I fell into Xue'er's arms."

Dong'er closed her eyes.

"I died with unwillingness... I returned with obsession..."