The light faded.
Two figures gradually came into focus in the Chaos Void.
One stood in the void, his green robe fluttering. The River of Time flowed slowly around him, and his aura was as deep and vast as the sea, unfathomable.
The other knelt on one knee. Fine cracks covered his bronze-colored skin, and golden blood seeped from them, dripping into the shattered chaos.
Every Demon God held their breath.
Pangu slowly raised his head and looked at Shichen, who stood before him with his hands behind his back. After a moment's silence, he grinned. His smile held nothing but the sheer exhilaration of a satisfying battle.
"You won."
Leaning on the Pangu Axe, he staggered to his feet, wiped the golden blood from the corner of his mouth, and flicked it casually into the void.
"But next time, I'll surely defeat you."
Shichen looked at him, a faint smile rising at the corners of his own mouth.
"I'll keep moving forward too, until you can no longer see my back."
Pangu froze at that, then burst into hearty laughter.
"Then I'll wait for that day!"
High above in the chaos, the golden Dao Mark Bead engraved with the character "Strength" drifted slowly before stopping in the position of second place and falling silent.
Just then,
the enormous vertical eye appeared once more in the skies above the chaos. Its cold, vertical pupil looked down over the entire Chaos World.
The Dao's voice boomed through the chaos:
"The Demon God rankings are decided."
"Shichen is the First Demon God."
As the words fell, the azure Dao Mark Bead engraved with the character "Time" suddenly lit up high above the chaos. Its dazzling radiance illuminated the entire chaos.
Immediately afterward, the Origin of the Great Dao surged forth from the deepest reaches of chaos, pouring frantically into Shichen's body. Its purity far surpassed anything the Demon Gods could have imagined.
At the same time, the other Demon Gods also received varying amounts of Chaos Origin in accordance with their rankings.
But none of them paid any attention to the Chaos Origin flowing into them. Every eye was fixed on Shichen.
Because at that moment, Shichen's aura was rising at a terrifying pace.
Breaking through!
Second Heaven of the Chaos Realm,
It continued all the way to the peak of the Second Heaven of the Chaos Realm before the flow of Origin gradually stopped.
Shichen stood in the void with his eyes closed, feeling the surging power within him.
After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. A trace of confusion flickered in his gaze.
"Since when has the Great Dao been so generous?"
He raised his head and looked toward the giant eye high above the chaos, furrowing his brow.
"What it gave me was the Origin of the Great Dao... Could this originally have been meant for Pangu?"
In the distance, Pangu was baring his teeth as he tended to his wounds. Hearing that, he looked up and called out:
"Shichen, what are you muttering about? You won and you're still not satisfied?"
Shichen glanced at him without answering, then lifted his eyes back to the skies above the chaos.
There, Dao Mark Beads lined up one after another, falling silent as they gave off a faint glow.
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.
And so, the rankings of the Three Thousand Chaos Demon Gods were settled.
The Qi of the Tribulation in the chaos began to slowly dissipate.
This Tribulation had not seemed particularly brutal. No Demon God had truly perished, the Great Dao had not collapsed, and even chaos itself had suffered no irreversible damage.
That was only because the many Demon Gods had learned of the Tribulation in advance. As soon as the Qi of the Tribulation began to spread, word had already traveled throughout the chaos by every available channel.
So the Demon Gods had all chosen to lie low. It wasn't worth risking the time it would take to cultivate anew for such a small amount of Origin.
Although Chaos Demon Gods were immortal and indestructible, as long as the Great Dao they had mastered did not disappear, they would eventually return after an immeasurable stretch of time. But cultivating anew took an immeasurable stretch of time, and none of them were willing to do it.
And so, what should have been a Tribulation that turned rivers of blood became a friendly tournament where everyone stopped short of going all out.
Except for Pangu, that reckless brute.
He really had charged through the chaos, axe in hand, chopping his way along.
The voice of the Great Dao rang out again from on high, more grand and solemn than before:
"Let all the gods offer their congratulations!"
"Bow!"
As the Dao's voice fell, countless laws and Great Daos surged, all bowing in Shichen's direction. It was the myriad Daos offering their congratulations to the Dao of Time.
Yet the Three Thousand Chaos Demon Gods stood motionless.
They would not even submit to the Great Dao. Why would they bow to Shichen, who was a Demon God just like them?
They respected Shichen's strength and acknowledged his place as the First Demon God, but they would never submit to him.
In the ensuing silence, only Hongjun quietly clasped his hands and bowed.
The Great Dao did not seem to care about the Demon Gods' reaction.
Suddenly, countless Merit of the Great Dao poured down from above. The merit transformed into golden lotuses that drifted down through the chaos, casting a brilliant golden glow across the entire expanse.
To a Demon God at Shichen's level, the Golden Lotus of Merit was utterly useless. It could neither improve one's cultivation nor temper one's laws. Its sole purpose was to look pretty.
And so the Golden Lotuses of Merit became the decorations for the occasion. They floated through the chaos, shining golden for an entire epoch before finally fading away.
The voice of the Great Dao rang out one last time, echoing through the depths of chaos:
"The First Tribulation is over."
"The Lower Demon Gods are about to be born."
"May you all ascend to the Great Dao."
As the words fell, the enormous vertical eye slowly closed and vanished from the sky. The aura of the Great Dao departed with it, as if it had never appeared.
The chaos returned to its usual tranquility.
The Three Thousand Demon Gods each went their separate ways.
Pangu slung the axe over his shoulder and strode off without a care in the world. Before leaving, he called back to Shichen:
"Shichen, remember what I said! Next time we meet, I'll definitely defeat you!"
Shichen did not turn around. A faint smile merely rose at the corners of his mouth.
Yang Mei held a wine cup as he leaned against the Willow Tree, watching Shichen's retreating figure with a knowing smile.
The Fate Demon God and Karma Demon God left side by side, bickering as they went.
The Creation Demon God silently glanced at the sixth-place position beside her name on the ranking bead, then turned and left without expression.
The World Demon God sat on the World Tree, swinging her legs as she took a bite of a World Fruit. She mumbled around the mouthful, "The First Tribulation... It's already over? I feel like I barely got to enjoy the show..."
Deep in the chaos, Dao Mark Beads floated silently, giving off a faint glow.
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