"You destroyed Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, drove Mu En to his death, and indirectly damaged the Golden Tree. That was tantamount to delivering a hard slap across Asura God's face."
Lilith grew more animated as she spoke.
"That hypocrite has always treated Douluo Continent as his own private garden.
"When I snatched you away just now, his divine sense was brimming with killing intent. By now, he's probably searching the void frantically for any trace of me."
Qian Jue forcefully suppressed his shock, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. "In that case, can the Underworld hold him off?"
"Hold him off?" Lilith sneered, as if she'd heard the biggest joke in the world.
Boom!
A surge of dark divine power, even more terrifying than before and steeped in pure destructive force, burst from her. The entire Underworld sky shook violently with it, and the purple crescent moon on the horizon seemed ready to fall.
"The Underworld and the Divine Realm have always stood opposed, like light and darkness.
"If Asura God himself descended, perhaps I'd have to think twice.
"But he's only using divine sense to investigate across planes. He dares to throw his weight around on my turf?"
Lilith snorted, reined in her aura, and sat back on her throne. She looked down at Qian Jue from above.
"Still, to prevent those gods on the God Realm Committee from using this as an excuse to make trouble, the rift between the Underworld and the mortal world will be sealed completely for the time being.
"This is both for your protection and to keep you confined."
She slowly raised a pale finger. A point of ghostly purple light shot out like lightning and sank precisely into Qian Jue's brow.
"Use this time to reshape your body with the Underworld's deathly aura and Demonic Power, and fully assimilate that power."
Lilith's figure gradually turned translucent atop the throne, then vanished into the darkness, leaving only her icy voice echoing through the hall.
"When the gates of the Underworld open again, the day you return to Douluo Continent will be the day your Fifth Trial begins.
"Don't disappoint me, Qian Jue."
Qian Jue touched the burning demonic mark on his forehead, feeling the new power inside him swelling wildly, far beyond anything he'd possessed before.
Feeling the surging, churning new power within him, Qian Jue suddenly felt alive again.
With this power, tempered completely by the Underworld's deathly aura and Demonic Power,
he was confident that if he faced Mu En again now, even if the old man burned his life once more, he could crush him outright!
Still, that woman Lilith had left far too quickly.
Qian Jue frowned slightly. He'd wanted to ask about the Underworld's precise layout, such as how many powerful demons lurked here,
and what level of god each of them was comparable to in the Divine Realm.
After all, to know your enemy and know yourself was to win every battle.
"Forget it. Since I can't get out, I might as well use this place to clear my mind and rapidly increase my strength."
Qian Jue shook his head, cast aside his distracting thoughts, and sat cross-legged on the dark red Underworld rock.
During his life-or-death battle with Mu En, he'd danced wildly on the edge between life and death, and the bottleneck in his Soul Power had already begun to loosen.
Now, in this Underworld abyss that suited him perfectly, reaching the realm of a Level 97 Super Douluo was within arm's reach.
Meanwhile, while Qian Jue was in seclusion, reshaping his body,
in the Divine Realm, deep inside the cloud-wreathed hall of the God Realm Committee,
a towering figure stood silently among the clouds, gazing down at the blue planet below.
His long, sea-blue hair flowed down like a waterfall. He wore an exquisitely ornate blue-and-gold divine outfit, and his perfect, handsome face radiated the supreme authority of a God King.
Yet at that moment, the face of Tang San—the Sea God and Asura God—usually so composed, was dark with displeasure, his brow tightly furrowed.
"How strange... His aura has vanished completely. Who could have acted right under my nose?"
Tang San murmured under his breath, unable to hide the anger in his voice.
That unknown variable, who had appeared from nowhere, had dared to openly destroy Shrek Academy's Golden Tree!
That Golden Tree was not only the foundation of Shrek Academy but also a crucial piece in his plans to manipulate Douluo Star's fortune and lay the groundwork for his millennia-long scheme.
This had nearly ruined his entire plan. It had crossed Tang San's line.
What unsettled him even more was that this variable had vanished without a trace right under the gaze of his divine sense.
That meant the force backing the variable was no simple matter. They might even possess the ability to obscure or disrupt the heavenly secrets and fortune of Douluo Star.
"It seems an uncontrollable variable has appeared on Douluo Continent..."
Tang San narrowed his eyes, a cold killing intent flashing through his deep gaze.
If he let this variable continue causing trouble in the mortal realm, it would surely throw a wrench into the plan he'd spent a millennium devising.
He had to find a way to erase this variable completely!
But what was the best way to kill them?
Tang San fell into thought.
In the Divine Realm, that stubborn God of Destruction kept a close watch on his every move.
The moment he dared break the Divine Realm's ironclad rule against interfering in the mortal world, God of Destruction would seize the opportunity to make trouble, perhaps even joining forces with the other God Kings to impeach him.
As for Da Ming and Er Ming, although he'd secretly arranged for them to return to Clear Sky Sect in the mortal realm, they had to suppress their cultivation to avoid being rejected by the laws of the plane.
With their current strength in the mortal world, they clearly weren't a match for the variable who had driven Mu En to his death.
And if he recklessly had them break their seals and use the power of divine officials, the divine power fluctuations would immediately give them away and alert God of Destruction.
As Tang San pondered, a figure suddenly flashed through his mind.
In the next instant, his divine eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through countless worlds, pierced layer upon layer of clouds and turned toward the vast, boundless ocean of Douluo Continent.
Hidden in the depths of the endless sea was an ancient, secretive, and powerful force—the Sea God Clan.
They were the most loyal and fervent believers Tang San had left in the mortal realm when he became a god ten thousand years ago.
At that moment, inside the Sea God Clan's magnificent underwater temple,
a powerfully built middle-aged man, as imposing as an iron tower, knelt with utmost reverence, hands clasped, before the enormous statue of Sea God Tang San at the center of the hall.
This was none other than Chen Hai, the current clan leader of the Sea God Clan!
Almost no one on all of Douluo Continent knew of his existence, yet his strength was enough to make any top faction tremble with fear.
That was because his Martial Soul was an extremely rare Body Elemental Martial Soul: "The Sea"!
What was more, Chen Hai's cultivation had already reached the terrifying realm of a Level 99 Limit Douluo.
On the offering table before him, a divine artifact radiating brilliant blue-and-gold light hovered silently.
It was one of the trump cards Sea God Tang San had left in the mortal realm all those years ago—the Sea God Helmet!
Before you continue