The End of the First Tribulation

The light dissipated.

In the chaotic void, two figures gradually became clear.

One stood in the void, his green robes fluttering. The River of Time flowed slowly around him, his aura as deep and unfathomable as the abyss and the sea.

The other knelt on one knee, his bronze-colored skin covered in fine cracks. Golden blood seeped from these fissures, dripping into the shattered chaos.

All the Demon Gods held their breath.

Pangu slowly raised his head, looking at Shichen, who stood before him with his hands behind his back. He remained silent for a moment before grinning, his smile filled with the satisfaction of a battle well fought.

"You won."

He leaned on the Pangu Axe, stood up unsteadily, reached out to wipe the golden blood from the corner of his mouth, and flicked it casually into the void.

"But next time, I will definitely defeat you."

Shichen looked at him, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

"I, too, will keep moving forward, until you can no longer see my back."

Hearing this, Pangu froze for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

"Then I shall wait for that day!"

High above in the chaos, the golden Dao Mark Bead inscribed with the character "Strength" moved slowly, finally stopping at the position of second place before falling silent.

It was then that the giant vertical eye reappeared in the high chaos, its cold pupil overlooking the entire chaotic world.

The voice of the Great Dao boomed, resounding through the chaos:

"The ranking of the Demon Gods is set."

"Shichen is the First Demon God."

As the words fell, the cyan Dao Mark Bead inscribed with the character "Time" high in the chaos suddenly lit up, its brilliant light illuminating the entire expanse.

Immediately following, the Origin of the Great Dao surged forth from the deepest depths of the chaos, pouring madly into Shichen's body. The purity of that origin far exceeded the imagination of any Demon God.

At the same time, the other Demon Gods received a portion of the chaotic origin as feedback, in varying amounts according to their respective rankings.

However, none of the Demon Gods paid any attention to the incoming chaotic origin; they all stared fixedly at Shichen.

Because at this moment, Shichen's aura was climbing at a terrifying speed.

Breaking through!

Chaos Realm, Second Heaven.

It was not until he reached the peak of the Chaos Realm, Second Heaven, that the infusion of origin slowly ceased.

Shichen stood in the void, eyes closed, feeling the surging power within his body.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his hands, a trace of doubt flashing in his gaze.

"Since when has the Great Dao been so generous?"

He looked up at the giant eye in the high chaos, his brows slightly furrowed.

"What it gave me was actually the Origin of the Great Dao... Could it be that this was originally prepared for Pangu?"

In the distance, Pangu was grimacing as he tended to his wounds. Hearing this, he looked up and shouted:

"Shichen, what are you muttering about? Are you not satisfied after winning?"

Shichen glanced at him without answering, instead looking back up at the high chaos.

There, the Dao Mark Beads were arranged in order, silent and emitting a faint, ghostly light.

First place, Time Demon God.

Second place, Demon God of Strength.

Third place, Space Demon God.

Fourth place, Fate Demon God.

Fifth place, Karma Demon God.

Sixth place, Creation Demon God.

Seventh place, Destruction Demon God.

Eighth place, Five Elements Demon God.

Ninth place, Yin-Yang Demon God.

Tenth place, Reincarnation Demon God.

Eleventh place, Order Demon God.

Twelfth place, Demon God of War.

Thirteenth place, World Demon God.

Fourteenth place, Devour Demon God.

Fifteenth place, Slaughter Demon God.

Two thousand nine hundred and ninety-ninth place, Immortal Demon God.

Three thousandth place, Star Demon God.

With this, the ranking of the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods was settled.

The Qi of the Tribulation in the chaos began to slowly dissipate.

This tribulation did not seem particularly cruel. No Demon God had truly fallen, no Great Dao had collapsed, and even the chaos itself had not suffered irreversible damage.

But this was only because the many Demon Gods had known of the tribulation's existence in advance; news had spread through various channels across the chaos as soon as the Qi of the Tribulation began to permeate.

Thus, the Demon Gods chose to slack off, unwilling to waste time on cultivation just for a bit of origin.

Although Chaos Demon Gods were immortal and indestructible—as long as the Dao they mastered did not vanish, they would eventually return after an immeasurable amount of time—no one wanted to spend that immeasurable time re-cultivating.

Therefore, this tribulation, which should have been a bloodbath, ultimately turned into a sparring match where participants stopped at the limit.

Except, of course, for that brute Pangu.

He had truly carried his axe and hacked his way through.

High above, the voice of the Great Dao sounded again, more magnificent and solemn than before:

"All gods, offer congratulations!"

"Bow!"

As the voice fell, countless laws and Daos began to churn, bowing in unison toward Shichen. It was the ten thousand Daos offering their congratulations to the Dao of Time.

Yet, the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods stood where they were, motionless.

They would not even submit to the Great Dao, so how could they bow to Shichen, who was also a Demon God?

Although they respected Shichen's strength and acknowledged his position as the First Demon God, it was impossible for them to submit.

In the silence, only Hongjun bowed his hands in a silent salute.

The Great Dao did not seem to care about the reaction of the Demon Gods.

Suddenly, countless merits of the Great Dao poured down from high above. These merits transformed into golden lotus flowers, drifting down into the chaos and bathing the entire expanse in a brilliant golden glow.

To Demon Gods of Shichen's level, the Golden Lotus of Merit were useless. They could neither improve cultivation nor refine laws; their only purpose was to look beautiful.

Thus, these Golden Lotus of Merit became mere atmosphere, drifting through the chaos and blooming with golden light for an entire epoch before slowly dissipating.

The voice of the Great Dao sounded one last time, echoing in the depths of the chaos:

"The First Tribulation, end."

"The next generation of Demon Gods is about to be born."

"May you all ascend to the Great Dao."

As the words fell, the giant vertical eye slowly closed and vanished into the high heavens. The aura of the Great Dao receded as if it had never appeared.

In the chaos, the usual tranquility returned.

The three thousand Demon Gods dispersed.

Pangu shouldered his axe and walked away boisterously, shouting to Shichen before he left:

"Shichen, remember my words! Next time we meet, I will definitely defeat you!"

Shichen did not look back, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Yang Mei held a wine cup, leaning against the Willow Tree, watching Shichen's back with a smile and a thoughtful expression.

The Fate Demon God and the Karma Demon God left side by side, bickering as they walked.

The Creation Demon God silently glanced at her sixth-place position on the ranking bead, then turned and left without expression.

The World Demon God sat on the World Tree, swinging her legs and biting into a World Fruit, muttering vaguely: "The First Tribulation... is it over just like that? I feel like I haven't seen enough yet..."

Deep in the chaos, the Dao Mark Beads floated quietly, emitting a faint, ghostly light.