"So that's it. Those five were just manufactured copies."
The gods of the Divine Realm watched a little longer. Once they confirmed the true nature of the five pitch-black figures, they quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"His Soul Ring Configuration is absurd too: four black, two red. No human is more monstrous than he is."
"Wait... why is that kid's fortune shining as brightly as the sun?"
"He took the God King-level Spirit Bones of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings too. Even an ordinary Titled Douluo can't match his Soul Power reserves."
"Hold on... what is he doing?!"
In the image, Beiming Lieyang sat cross-legged inside the Ice Crystal Palace, his hands repeatedly forming pieces of crystal-clear Void Mysterious Ice.
"Is he... mass-producing a top-tier ice treasure?!"
"Ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrow is a supreme ice treasure of the lower realm. It takes hundreds of thousands, even millions, of years of pressure beneath the Far North's crust to form just a few pieces. Yet each one he makes so casually contains as much energy as several pieces of that marrow combined!"
"There are still a few unmined Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Caves in the depths of the Far North, but at this rate... won't he soon surpass everything the Far North has accumulated over millions of years?"
The Goddess of Life's eyes brightened slightly.
"And have you noticed how he restores his Soul Power? He forcibly absorbs all the natural energy around him. Even in the bitter cold of the Far North, he can turn that bone-chilling air into his own Soul Power."
The gods' eyes flickered.
How was that human?
He was clearly a walking factory for rare ice treasures.
More frightening still, if the Soul Beasts of the Far North could receive regular supplies of Void Mysterious Ice, the entire region was about to undergo an explosive surge in strength.
Asura God's face darkened completely. He stared hard at the blond figure in the image.
Then he glanced at Tang San in the corner of the image, forging Hidden Weapons in Notting City, and slowly clenched his fist.
How can this kid be so absurd?
If Tang San met him head-on, wouldn't he be crushed without a trace?
What could his Blue Silver Grass and Datura Snake rings do against that monstrous four-black, two-red configuration?
A rare flicker of anxiety rose in Asura God's heart.
As expected, Yu Xiaogang, with that External Beast Martial Soul, Luo Sanpao, was utterly useless.
He had led Asura God's chosen inheritor astray.
Damn it.
What a worthless fool.
For a moment, the gods exchanged glances, each wearing a different expression.
Since when had Douluo Planet produced such a terrifying Child of Fortune?
"This child is wonderful."
The Goddess of Life watched Beiming Lieyang create Void Mysterious Ice, her gaze growing gentler.
"The sun may blaze, but all things depend on it to grow. How could his power be merely Solar Power? It is the purest Creation Force, a Source of Vitality."
At her words, several God Kings turned toward her at once.
The God of Destruction frowned deeply, disbelief in his voice. "Xiao Lu... you've taken an interest in him?"
He knew the Goddess of Life too well.
The Five Great God Kings had existed since the dawn of creation and governed the Divine Realm for countless ages.
They had considered passing on their Divine Positions, but across all the lower realms, they had never found anyone who truly moved them.
Yet the way the Goddess of Life looked at Beiming Lieyang now held an unmistakable glimmer of affection.
She looked at him as though he were a treasure destined to ascend to the Divine Realm.
Asura God's expression changed drastically.
No way. Life has her eye on him?
"Xiao Lu, his nature is still somewhat removed from life," the God of Destruction said with a frown.
"No."
The Goddess of Life shook her head, her gaze still fixed on the blond figure.
"Like the sun, he need only exist to keep all things in motion. That itself is vitality."
The God Kings looked at one another, then at the star hanging high beyond Douluo Planet.
She had a point, but compared with the sun's scorching heat, that vitality still seemed far less significant.
"Xiao Lu, what you say is true,"
the God of Destruction said, brows knitted, "but the burning nature of his Sun Martial Soul is too strong. His vitality... is still some distance from your Divine Position."
The Goddess of Life merely smiled gently and said nothing.
After a moment of silence, the God of Destruction changed tack.
"Still... saying he embodies only vitality may not be right."
"When a Solar Flare erupts, it carries terrifying Destructive Power. That air of finality around the kid... has something in common with my Divine Position too."
The Goddess of Kindness and the God of Evil both raised their brows.
The Goddess of Kindness spoke slowly. "The sun nurtures all things, but it can also burn away corruption. That manner of his, as though delivering order and judgment... I think it suits my Divine Position as well."
"Order and judgment?"
The God of Evil gave a wicked smile. "One of you sees vitality, another sees destruction, and now you see order and judgment. To me, the most interesting thing is that the sun shines on everyone without distinguishing good from evil."
"What do you mean?" the Goddess of Kindness asked with a frown.
"I mean the sun doesn't judge who's good and who's evil."
The God of Evil tilted his head, amusement playing at his lips. "It shines on good people and bad people alike. Doesn't that 'disorderly' equality have something to do with my Divine Position?"
The Goddess of Kindness arched a brow. "You have to argue with everything I say."
The God of Evil spread his hands. "Of course, I'm not saying I'll fight you for him. But if all of you are weighing how well he fits your positions, I can't just sit and watch, can I?"
The God of Destruction snorted. "You're forcing a connection."
"Right back at you," the God of Evil said without looking up.
Listening to them argue, the Goddess of Life spoke softly.
"Since each of us sees something that fits our Divine Position, why not each give him a Divine Trial and let him choose?"
The hall fell silent for a moment.
The God of Destruction narrowed his eyes. "No objection."
After a moment's thought, the Goddess of Kindness said, "...That could work."
The God of Evil shrugged. "I have nothing to lose."
The three God Kings exchanged glances. They did not say it outright, but their stance was clear.
They all wanted to try.
After countless ages in the Divine Realm, they had long wanted to find suitable heirs to their Divine Positions.
Now that such a terrifying Child of Fortune had appeared on Douluo Planet, they wanted to see whether he could inherit one of their positions.
After all, some aspect of the sun could be linked to each of their Divine Positions.
Since the other God Kings were interested too, they might as well each offer him a Divine Trial and see which one he chose.
By then, Asura God's face was as black as a pot.
"Enough."
Asura God shot to his feet and swept an icy gaze over everyone present.
"Have you forgotten something? There's still someone of unknown strength lurking in the shadows, someone who wounded me, a God King, with a single move!"
The hall fell silent again.
The Goddess of Life frowned. "Asura, the two matters may not be connected."
"It's not about whether they're connected! I don't care if you want to offer Divine Trials and pass on your Divine Positions, but shouldn't we deal with the situation in front of us first?"
The God Kings exchanged glances. He had a point.
After some thought, the Goddess of Kindness said slowly, "Asura isn't wrong. But if even you can't detect that being's whereabouts, it may indeed be far stronger than us. Nothing like this has happened in the Divine Realm for countless ages. What could be behind it?"
"Who knows?" Asura God snorted.
Even he could not find whoever had ambushed him. It was infuriating.
Suddenly, an amused smile appeared on the God of Evil's face.
"Something feels off, Asura. With your usual temper, if someone ambushed you, you'd be making a spectacle of searching for them. Even if you couldn't find them now, you wouldn't react like this. Something about the way you're acting is strange."
He rubbed his chin and went on. "And earlier, you said you'd found an heir to your Divine Position, then told us a 'Second Sun' had appeared on Douluo Planet. You drew all our attention there. Don't tell me... that child stole something from you?"
Asura God's expression shifted, and his voice turned cold. "What could I possibly have for him to steal?"
The kid had indeed taken the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well that he had arranged for Tang San, along with that rabbit.
But could he say any of that? Could he?
Otherwise, Destruction would start watching him again.
"Now that's strange."
The God of Evil looked him up and down. "You've never cared about talented people in the lower realms. Why are you so eager to stop us today?"
"And your chosen heir is stuck on the Eighth Trial. Even if interference from Rakshasa God is why he can't pass it, you almost seem to have written him off. What's going on?"
The God Kings looked where the God of Evil pointed. Sure enough, they saw Tang Chen in the Capital of Slaughter, possessed by the Nine-Headed Bat King.
As God Kings, they knew exactly what had happened to Tang Chen.
"How I test my chosen heir is my business, isn't it? If he can't overcome even this interference, how could he inherit my position?" Asura God said sternly.
He had given Tang Chen the Eighth Trial only as a stopgap.
Otherwise, he would never have engineered the meeting between the Blue Silver Emperor and Tang Hao, arranged for them to have a child, then placed Tang San's soul from another world into that child's body.
"And Asura, why is your divine consciousness in Notting City?"
The Goddess of Kindness gave him a knowing smile and spoke at an unhurried pace.
Asura God's expression changed at once.
Damn. They saw it.
The God of Destruction's gaze sharpened. "Asura, you sent your divine consciousness into the lower realm without permission?"
The God of Evil and the Goddess of Kindness wore matching, knowing smiles.
"Asura, that's against the rules."
Cold sweat beaded at Asura God's temples, but he forced himself to remain calm.
"The Capital of Slaughter has always been the site of my Godhood Inheritance trials. Anyone with Divine Slaughter's Domain has a connection to me. I merely took a look. I didn't interfere."
The God of Destruction studied him through narrowed eyes for a long while before finally looking away without pressing further.
Asura God breathed a silent sigh of relief, though cold sweat had already soaked his back.
Seriously, Kindness? Since when did you get so devious?
The Goddess of Life glanced at Asura God too, then looked down at the faint green glow in her palm. Her lips curved into a smile.
An uneasy silence hung over the hall for a moment.
The Goddess of Kindness cleared her throat and broke it.
"Then that's settled for now. We'll keep investigating that power. As for the child... we'll observe him and hold off on any Divine Trials. We can decide once he becomes a Titled Douluo."
The God of Evil thought for a moment, then nodded. "That works. If he really gets that far, it won't be too late to discuss Divine Trials."
After a pause, the God of Destruction said, "...Fine by me."
The Goddess of Life did not object. She only smiled. "Let's leave it at that, then."
Asura God breathed a silent sigh of relief, but he could not shake his anxiety.
He had stopped the other four God Kings from offering Divine Trials.
But Kindness had exposed his divine consciousness in front of everyone, and Destruction had undoubtedly grown suspicious.
He clenched his fist, his gaze drifting back to the blond figure.
The sun did contain the power of judgment and adjudication...
Did he have no interest in Beiming Lieyang?
How could that be?
Who wouldn't want an heir with such immense fortune and such peerless talent?
The problem was that he had never intended to truly pass his Divine Position on to anyone.
After countless ages in the Divine Realm, life there had indeed grown dull.
He too had thought of setting aside his Divine Position and roaming the depths of the universe.
But not long ago, he had learned something that chilled him to the bone:
If he passed on his Divine Position and then left the Divine Realm, his lifespan would become severely limited.
Worse, he had an inexplicable feeling.
If he truly relinquished his Divine Position and wandered the universe, he might lose his way and never find the Divine Realm again.
Otherwise, even without a Divine Position, he could regain eternal life as long as he returned to the Divine Realm.
That inexplicable feeling had put an end to the idea of "simply passing on his Divine Position and leaving."
He was tired of the Divine Realm's monotony, but he was even less willing to surrender immortality.
So he had devised a compromise.
He would find a soul to serve as a "vessel" for his Divine Position, but leave himself a way to reclaim it whenever he wished.
Then he could set aside his Divine Position and roam the universe. Even if he became lost, he could use that vessel as a beacon to locate the Divine Realm again.
And when he returned, he could easily take back what was his.
It was his Divine Position, after all. If he left himself a means to do so, reclaiming it would not be difficult, even after relinquishing it for a time.
If anything went wrong, he could even be reborn through that vessel.
Tang San was the vessel he had chosen with such care.
That otherworldly soul he had altered was no "heir" whose inheritance Asura God had gone to such lengths to secure.
He was only a puppet vessel implanted with a means for Asura God to return.
At that thought, Asura God glanced again at the surging golden flames around Beiming Lieyang in the image. A trace of regret crossed his mind.
What a pity.
If only I hadn't learned that cruel truth.
He, too, would descend like those others, bestow a Divine Trial, and pass on his Divine Position.
But now...
His gaze darkened and fell once more on that vessel in Notting City.
When he saw Yu Xiaogang clutching his error-riddled "Ten Core Theories" and droning on to Tang San about them, a cold flash of murderous intent crossed the Asura God's eyes.
At first, he had intended to let the vessel grow freely.
He had not expected it to encounter this good-for-nothing, nearly fifty years old and still below level thirty.
He needed to teach Yu Xiaogang a lesson.
The Asura God narrowed his eyes and suppressed his murderous intent. Then he sensed the power inside his body, his brow furrowing.
He would have to find out what was going on with this strange divine power.
Until he could purge it, he could not heal his injuries.
Before you continue