"Don't think I don't know. You were spying on the lower realms, and you even secretly sent your own daughter down there!"
"Tang San, you're truly becoming more and more outrageous!"
Everyone had seen what Tang San had been doing in the Divine Realm.
But intimidated by his dual godhood as the Asura God and the Sea God, and given his considerable influence in the Divine Realm, they had simply turned a blind eye.
They had never expected Tang San to take a mile when given an inch, flouting the laws entirely.
"The Nine-Headed Demon Dragon was astonishingly powerful, and the gods couldn't stand against him. What was wrong with finding my daughter a way to survive in advance?"
Tang San did not deny sending his daughter to a lower realm, but he had a defensible reason.
"Fine, I won't hold that against you!"
"But what about your parents? They've already become gods, yet they still haven't ascended to the Divine Realm and remain on the Douluo Continent. What are you trying to do?"
The God of Destruction had uncovered far too many things.
Normally, he could not be bothered to pursue them, but Tang San had now indirectly caused the deaths of several gods, forcing him to dredge up old accounts.
"Xiao Qi needs someone to look after her," Tang San replied offhandedly.
"You've washed your hands of it so neatly. Your parents have never come to the Divine Realm, and your daughter descended six days ago. Just listen to what you're saying."
The God of Destruction was so furious with Tang San that he almost laughed.
He had never met anyone so brazenly shameless. Worse still, Tang San liked to erect an archway proclaiming his own "nobility" over that shamelessness.
"Destruction, we gathered today to discuss the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon. As a God King, I can't be bothered to argue with you." Tang San immediately changed the subject.
"Tang San!"
Divine power surged violently around the God of Destruction.
"Destruction, enough!" Tang San immediately rose as well, divine power pouring out of him. "Are you really going to keep making trouble without reason?"
The two were natural enemies, and they looked ready to come to blows.
"Destruction, Tang San, please calm down."
The God of Evil sighed, looking helpless.
"Little Purple, our most urgent task is still locating the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon. We can discuss the other matters later," the God of Life urged.
"That's right."
The God of Kindness nodded. "With the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon's strength, even a single remnant of his soul might be enough for him to revive."
With the three God Kings urging them to stop, the drawn-swords tension between the God of Destruction and Tang San finally eased somewhat.
Still, neither could stand the sight of the other.
"Right now, the Divine Realm has three matters to resolve."
"First, we must rebuild the Divine Realm and intensify our efforts to select successors to the gods, replenishing our fighting strength."
"Second, we must locate the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon's soul remnant as soon as possible and destroy it completely, cutting off any future danger."
"Third, we must uncover the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon's identity. Although this is less important than the first two matters, it still needs to be investigated thoroughly."
"After all, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon came from another world. None of us knows whether that world has a second 'Nine-Headed Demon Dragon.'"
The God of Life spoke slowly, summarizing what the Divine Realm needed to do.
"Replenishing the Divine Realm's fighting strength is simple enough. Send the fallen gods' legacies into the lower realms, and suitable people will naturally find and inherit them."
The God of Evil spoke.
The three God Kings-Destruction, Life, and Kindness-nodded without objection.
Only Tang San pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Passively waiting for successors to find the legacies is inefficient, and their temperament and moral character will be difficult to guarantee. So..."
"Heh, like yours?"
The God of Destruction chuckled, his face full of mockery.
"Destruction!"
Tang San's expression darkened, and a trace of killing intent flashed through his eyes.
The God of Destruction had already paved his own road to death!
The God of Destruction simply ignored Tang San's reaction, not bothering to pay him any further attention.
"Tang San, go on."
The God of Evil motioned for Tang San to continue.
Tang San reined in his anger and spoke calmly. "So, I suggest putting one person specifically in charge, allowing him to select suitable successors based on each divine legacy."
"Absolutely not!"
The God of Destruction rejected it outright and mercilessly exposed Tang San's intentions. "Tang San, put away those little schemes of yours."
"The Divine Realm has suffered a terrible disaster. It's bad enough that you won't contribute, but now you want to seize this opportunity to become the sole dominant power?"
Tang San immediately retorted, "Destruction, when did I ever say I would be in charge?"
"Heh."
The God of Destruction gave a cold laugh.
"Destruction has a point. None of us can guarantee that person would act impartially."
At that moment, the God of Evil voiced his agreement, though he did not spell out too much.
The God of Life and the God of Kindness nodded.
They were no fools. Naturally, they could see the little calculations going on in Tang San's mind.
"...Then we'll follow the earlier proposal."
Tang San's gaze grew slightly colder, but he would not openly oppose the other four God Kings.
"That leaves the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon's whereabouts and identity. Does anyone have any good suggestions?" the God of Life asked.
"As for the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon's identity, perhaps we could ask the Golden Dragon King in the Forbidden Land of Gods. He might know something."
The God of Kindness offered the suggestion.
The God of Destruction and the others considered it before finally nodding. "It's worth a try. At least we have nothing to lose."
"The last matter is also the most deadly... the whereabouts of the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon's soul remnant."
The God of Evil looked at the four of them. "According to our calculations, that soul remnant most likely fell into one of the lower realms, though it may not have."
"In any case, we certainly have to investigate."
"But the Divine Realm governs many lower realms. Searching them one by one would take too much time, and we might end up drawing water with a bamboo basket-nothing to show for all our efforts."
"Do any of you have a better method?"
When his words fell, the four God Kings lapsed into silence.
If it had been a complete soul, they could at least have made the search less difficult.
But it was only a fragment of a soul, and that would truly be hard to find.
"Search, then. Search them one by one."
The God of Destruction sighed, his voice filled with helplessness. "Focus on creatures in the lower realms that possess the Dragon Clan's bloodline."
"They would be the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon's first choices for sheltering his soul remnant or taking over a body."
"That's all we can do."
The God of Evil nodded, feeling somewhat helpless as well.
Just thinking about having to search so many lower realms gave him a headache.
His injuries were far more severe than those of the God of Life and the God of Kindness. If he wasted more time on this search, his condition might deteriorate further.
Yet if they did not investigate, the consequences would be even worse.
"To prevent anyone from abusing their authority for personal gain, we'll investigate the lower realms right here and supervise one another." The God of Destruction glanced at Tang San, his meaning clear.
Tang San's face darkened, and he gave a heavy snort, looking deeply displeased.
The other three nodded again, raising no objections.
Then the Five Great God Kings began investigating the lower realms, starting, of course, with the worlds in which they themselves had attained godhood.
But what they discovered gave them a shock they would never have expected without looking.
"Hmm? My divine sense can't penetrate the lower realms?"
"No, it's not divine sense. I left a wisp of divine sense in a lower realm to select a successor, but now I can't sense its condition!"
"It's our consciousness. Our consciousness can't reach outside!"