Douluo God Realm, God Realm Committee.
As Baili Du turned and walked away without the slightest hesitation, the warm smile on Sea God Tang San's face vanished like a clown's trick. His expression darkened until it looked as if water might drip from it.
"Heh, heh..."
A laugh thick with mockery rang faintly in his ear. Tang San froze for a moment, then instinctively clenched his fists.
A god with the strength of a half-step God King suddenly joining the Divine Realm was naturally a wonderful thing. The factions in the Divine Realm were locked in a delicate balance, and a god of half-step God King strength would be a decisive force, whether he joined the Conservative Faction led by Tang San or the Reformist Faction led by God of Destruction.
That was why Tang San had deigned to make a personal appearance, intending to bring him under his command. But this newcomer, the Holy Necromancer, had shown him no respect whatsoever. Using "my abilities lean toward the darker side" as an excuse, he had gone straight to God of Destruction's camp.
Tang San knew all too well that the conflict between God of Destruction and himself was all but irreconcilable. So, to oppose Destruction God King, who commanded eight First-Level Gods, Tang San had spent these years of ruling the Divine Realm recruiting the Seven Elemental Gods, Rong Nianbing, and the other Main Gods. Apart from God of Time, who had yet to take a position, the others all had a favorable impression of him.
Thanks to his masterful acting, the other three God Kings had also quietly taken his side—including Goddess of Life, God of Destruction's wife.
If he could truly win over this Holy Necromancer, a powerhouse of half-step God King strength, Tang San would have all the strength and justification he needed to wage a divine war against God of Destruction and take complete control of the Divine Realm.
But not only had the Holy Necromancer rejected his offer, he had even mocked him.
"I've heard of the Sea God's great reputation. He's renowned for being pure and unsullied, untouched by fame or wealth."
"But judging by the Sea God's conduct, it seems the rumors aren't quite true..."
Tang San's voice dropped low, and his azure eyes turned scarlet. "Holy Necromancer, I'll remember this..."
What he hated most was people failing to call him pure and unsullied!
That bastard—didn't he know what the name Tang San, the Pure and Unsullied, was worth?!
"Holy Necromancer."
Hearing the voice, Baili Du turned around, dipped his head slightly, and said respectfully, "Your Excellency."
It was God of Destruction, tall and broad, his body wrapped in a cloak.
For once, God of Destruction had pushed back his hood, revealing a handsome, youthful face.
It was his habit to show his true appearance only to those he considered one of his own.
In God of Destruction's eyes, it was a way of being candid with someone.
His voice was not as cold and hard as usual—in fact, it was much gentler. A powerhouse of half-step God King strength deserved his respect.
"How are you finding life in the Divine Realm? Settling in all right these past few days? Is there anything you need my help with?"
Baili Du smiled. "Of course. Thank you for showing me around. These past few days in the Divine Realm have let me see a whole new world."
Whether he was settling in or not was beside the point. He had actually spent more time living in the Divine Realm than on Douluo Continent...
Baili Du's respect was sincere, too. Only after becoming one of God of Destruction's subordinates had he truly understood why the Seven Original Sin Gods had been so loyal to him.
It wasn't just the basics, like personally showing his subordinates around the Divine Realm and introducing them to its people. God of Destruction directly handed over thirty percent of the Power of Faith he had gathered from the lower realms for his subordinates to absorb and cultivate with. The resources and Immortal Spirit Qi he provided were double the set allotment for a Main God!
He didn't feed you empty promises. He gave you the goods, for real!
That was the biggest reason the Seven Original Sin Gods were generally a little stronger in battle than the Seven Elemental Gods!
Take Baili Du himself, for example. As a welcome gift, God of Destruction had presented him with a cup of Life Water and a Destruction Stone that could be made into an artifact.
All of it came out of God of Destruction's own pocket, not from the God Realm Committee's public funds.
By contrast, there was Tang San's side. Never mind how much Power of Faith he had embezzled; even with his former son-in-law, he had been stingy with resources, claiming that members of the Tang Family had to lead by example and set a good model.
If Baili Du hadn't already been well regarded on Douluo Continent and gained plenty of Power of Faith, he might not even have been able to take on a single Original Sin God head-on during the divine war.
God of Destruction was leagues better than that penny-pinching bastard Tang San! What employee wouldn't give it their all for a boss like him?!
So even now, Baili Du couldn't understand why God of Devastation Zhou Weiqing had chosen to betray God of Destruction.
Just as God of Destruction had once asked: Had he ever treated his subordinates badly?
Hearing Baili Du's praise, God of Destruction smiled faintly, a hint of pride in his expression. "Is that so? I won't boast about anything else, but the beauty of our Divine Realm is absolutely among the best in the universe."
Baili Du smiled as well. Compared with the false Tang San, he felt much more at ease talking to God of Destruction, who was straightforward and genuinely loved the Divine Realm.
As he chatted with God of Destruction, letting the conversation wander from one topic to another, Baili Du quickly turned things over in his mind.
He hadn't forgotten the several reasons he had come to the Douluo God Realm.
First, use the Divine Realm's vast Immortal Spirit Qi to ease the injuries he had suffered because of the Space-Time Turbulence and the Samsara Hurricane.
Second, see if he could get some Golden Dragon King Bloodline from the imprisoned Golden Dragon King, to use as a material for resurrecting Qiu'er.
Third, and most importantly, stir up a conflict between God of Destruction and Tang San before Xiao Huo ascended to the Divine Realm.
It wasn't realistic to topple Tang San outright just yet, but at the very least, he had to take back control of the God Realm Hub from him.
Deep down, Baili Du felt that if God of Destruction had completed the Divine Realm's expansion ahead of time, neither the Space-Time Turbulence nor the Dragon King Rebellion would have posed much of a problem for the Douluo God Realm after its expansion.
And doing so would give the prodigies across the myriad worlds, who had grown old and died without a vacant godhood to claim, a chance to become gods.
Before that, though, he needed to find a subtle way to make God of Destruction notice that something was wrong with God of Devastation.
He could only say that the old fox Tang San was far too cunning. God of Devastation Zhou Weiqing was like a hidden time bomb—whenever Tang San needed it, he could set it off and blow God of Destruction to pieces...
To be frank, no matter how you looked at the divine war back then, the Seven Original Sin Gods led by God of Destruction had an overwhelming advantage over the original Shrek Seven Devils led by Tang San. The immense gap between a First-Level God and a Second-Level God couldn't be made up, even by the Eight-Ring half-step God King created by the fusion of Baili Du and Tang Wutong.
Back then, all it would have taken was two Original Sin Gods to hold Baili Du off, and victory would have belonged to God of Destruction's side.
Well... that might sound a little like hindsight, but it showed just how devastating God of Devastation's betrayal had been for God of Destruction.
Before you continue