In the Divine Realm, the committee convened.
The Five Great God Kings gathered in one hall.
The table was shaped like the character 匚.
At its head sat the Evil God King and the Goddess of Goodness, one in black, the other in white.
At its foot sat the Destruction God King and the Goddess of Life, one in purple, the other in green.
Asura sat alone in the middle. Wherever he looked, the others were flaunting their affection.
As a God King without a partner, Asura often felt isolated by the other four because he had no domestic matters to chat about.
The water screen showed Qian Xunji standing atop the sea, the Thunder Sea overhead, using the Eight Spider Lances to devour lightning and the sea's energy without pause.
The succession of a God King was a grave matter for the Divine Realm. There was no room for the slightest carelessness.
One day in the Divine Realm was one year in Douluo.
To the gods, perhaps they had merely spent an afternoon in a meeting. For Qian Xunji, several months had passed in earnest.
During that time, his system check-in had yielded the Qingyun Daoist Method.
Nine Heavens Profound Fiend, become divine thunder. Majestic might of heaven, be drawn forth by the sword.
Naturally, he had begun cultivating it the instant he got his hands on it.
Watching Qian Xunji wield lightning with his sword through the water screen, the Destruction God King was impressed. "This young man has a deep understanding of lightning arts. The Destruction God Position suits him better than the Asura God Position."
Asura's heart skipped a beat.
He said nothing and wasted no time thinking. He simply drew his greatsword—the Super Artifact, the Asura God Sword—and laid it on the table.
His face was grave, red light shone from his eyes, and the crimson Asura Killing Aura enveloped him.
He's trying to steal my successor!
If Destruction dares say it now, he'll dare snatch him away next!
Qian Xunji was his hope of regaining his freedom, leaving the Divine Realm, and roaming the universe as he pleased.
Whoever dared set their sights on his successor would have a fight on their hands.
Asura God: Take it up with my Asura God Sword!
"Please don't fight."
The Goddess of Life saw that something was wrong with Asura. Her husband, Destruction, had also drawn the Destruction Scepter, looking ready to fight without a trace of fear. She spoke gently.
If two God Kings fought, the gods under their respective commands could easily be drawn into a battle of their own.
If tempers flared, gods might well fall.
A small water screen appeared in the Goddess of Goodness's palm. She watched how Qian Xunji had conducted himself in Slaughter City and Heaven Dou City.
He had slain evildoers, spared the innocent, and shown kindness to ordinary people who had been captured by mistake.
He had principles, limits, and the means to act on them. He even showed kindness to common folk. Apart from being a little too eager to kill, he was...
The Goddess of Goodness raised her lovely eyes to the great water screen in the meeting hall.
"What a pity he's a workaholic without a partner," she said, somewhat displeased.
He had gone months without sleep, drawing down heavenly lightning to cultivate. He had not even become a god, yet he had already stopped living like a human being.
He did not socialize.
He did not contact his family.
He did not contact his friends, either.
And he had no partner, just like Asura.
A lifelong bachelor had found another lifelong bachelor as his successor.
Asura felt the Goddess of Goodness looking at him. He turned and caught the disdain in her eyes.
He was baffled. Had the Goddess of Goodness taken the wrong medicine today?
Or had the Evil God King failed to satisfy her last night?
Why was she looking at me with disdain?
No, she's jealous that I can pass on my position, gain my freedom, leave the Divine Realm, and enjoy myself out in the universe.
Yes, that must be it.
"Asura, I agree to your passing your position to Qian Xunji."
A gleam flashed in the Goddess of Goodness's lovely eyes as she abruptly changed tack.
"But I think Qian Xunji needs a wife."
"What sort of God King has no partner?" The Goddess of Goodness stared straight at Asura, her lovely eyes cold and her voice full of disdain.
"The girl the Rakshasa God has her eye on is quite talented. Asura, why don't you play matchmaker for once?" The Evil God King smiled. Once he started stirring up trouble, he never knew when to stop.
In his view, the two belonged to the same faction.
Qian Daoliu was Qian Xunji's father, and Bibi Dong was Qian Daoliu's disciple.
That made them something like senior and junior fellow disciples. Both could inherit divine positions and ascend to the Divine Realm in the future.
The first-generation Asura God and Rakshasa God had a poor relationship, but the second-generation Rakshasa God and Asura God could be husband and wife.
If that happened, the Divine Realm would be far more harmonious.
The two gods of slaughter would no longer vie in secret, turning a plane under the Divine Realm's jurisdiction into a chessboard and its people into pieces. Their contest would no longer ignite wars between nations and leave countless people dead or wounded.
"Evil, your idea sounds wonderful, but please stop entertaining such unrealistic notions."
Asura's voice was cold. The very thought left a bad taste in his mouth.
The Rakshasa God? Not even a dog would marry her!
He would rather have rumors spread about him and the Sea God than have the slightest connection to the Rakshasa God.
Whoever touched that hideous creature, whose resentment reached the heavens, would bring misfortune on themselves.
"Please begin voting on whether Qian Xunji should inherit the Asura God Position," the Evil God King said, his expression turning solemn as he got down to business.
"I agree to Qian Xunji inheriting the Asura God Position, but I still hope he finds a partner and marries," the Goddess of Goodness said, raising her hand.
"I agree to Qian Xunji inheriting the position, though I maintain that the Destruction God Position suits him better." The Destruction God King raised his hand, taking the chance to needle Asura.
"I agree as well." The Goddess of Life raised her hand. She was not especially fond of Qian Xunji's decisive ruthlessness or his readiness to strike women, but she could not deny that he had both the talent and temperament to bear the Asura God Position.
"The vote on Asura Successor Qian Xunji inheriting the Asura God Position has passed unanimously. Today's meeting is adjourned."
The moment the Evil God King finished speaking,
Asura strode out with his sword, and the Destruction God King hurried after him with his scepter.
"Here they go again." The Goddess of Life rose to leave, watching their backs with a sigh.
There was no talking them out of it. None at all.
Those two battle maniacs loved to fight whenever they met.
One embodied slaughter, the other destruction. Put them together, and bloodshed was inevitable.
Goodness and Evil did not leave. Their gazes remained fixed on Qian Xunji in the water screen.
Like Asura, both wanted to step down, pass on their positions, leave the Divine Realm, and enjoy a life of freedom with no work and no worries.
They wanted successors like Qian Xunji too—people with the potential to become God Kings who could attain godhood on their own.
But among the planes under the Divine Realm's jurisdiction, someone with such talent and temperament might not appear once in ten thousand years.
Even a child of fortune born when destiny's blessings converged once every ten thousand years might not have the potential to become a God King.
A will as firm as bedrock, a kind heart, and the restraint not to bully the weak—
People like that were rarer than phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
And their ambitions often soared higher than the heavens. They might not be willing to inherit someone else's position.
"Why don't we cast a wide net like Asura?" the Goddess of Goodness suggested.
"And follow Sea God Poseidon's example: take the initiative and give potential successors resources to develop their talents," the Evil God King added.
The God King couple, both eager to hand off their duties and stop working, talked themselves into action.
Meanwhile, Qian Xunji, in the Douluo Plane, had no idea that inheriting the Asura God Position required a vote at a meeting of the Five Great God Kings.
Fortunately, he had made a good impression. Though the Five Great God Kings had a few minor reservations, they had all agreed to let him inherit the Asura God Position.
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