Douluo Continent: Afraid, My Ass! Come at Us If You Dare. The Five Great God Kings' Scheme.

Just then, Bo Saixi of Sea God Island spoke up.

Atop the Sacred Pillar, the High Priestess stood tall in magnificent robes, facing the Heavenly Screen.

To her, the panic that had swept the continent moments ago was nothing but a joke.

Absurd!

They had gods? Who didn't?

Lord Sea God, I will carry out the task you gave me!

[Sea God Island · High Priestess · Bo Saixi: A whole continent of cowards! So what if they're deities? The world is so vast, there might be a dozen continents out there. How would they find our Douluo Continent?]

[Sea God Island · High Priestess · Bo Saixi: Just tell me, what are you afraid of?!]

[Sea God Island · High Priestess · Bo Saixi: Besides, so what if they're gods? It's true that no gods reside on our Douluo Continent, but we have gods who ascended from here! They've always watched over the balance of the lower realm! I'm sure plenty of people on this continent worship gods. Would they dare come here? Who's afraid of whom?! A bunch of cowards!]

[Sea God Island · High Priestess · Bo Saixi: I should be standing united against outsiders, not inflating their courage and crushing our own spirit here!]

Once her words fell, every faction on the Douluo Continent went silent.

But this silence was entirely different from the deathly hush before.

Before, fear had silenced them.

Now, everyone was rapidly weighing things up in their heads.

That was right...

What the hell were they afraid of?!

First, the world was vast and full of wonders.

Their opponents had only just learned of the Douluo Continent's existence through the Heavenly Screen. They did not even know its location, so how could they find it?

Second, they had gods too!

The ancient records of every sect made that perfectly clear.

Throughout history, several Soul Masters had indeed cultivated to godhood. They simply had not stayed on the Douluo Continent, ascending elsewhere instead!

Those gods might have been watching their homeland all along!

Third, even Sea God Island was not panicking!

Who was the High Priestess?

A living fossil who had lived for over a century and spent a hundred years communicating with a god.

If she dared to be the first to stand up and confront them, she must have had something backing her!

Where did that confidence come from?

There was no need to think.

The legendary Sea God was the answer!

Once they understood those three points, the Soul Masters of the Douluo Continent visibly straightened their backs, one after another.

The guts that had been scared out of them had actually grown back.

[Yu Yuanzhen: Ahem, my apologies, everyone. My voice was too quiet just now! The truth is, Yu Xiaogang is my son! And I am the Lightning Dragon! Not some Lightning Serpent! Come beat us up if you dare!]

The main hall of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Yu Yuanzhen craned his neck defiantly as he sent that message. The elders below him froze for a moment, then straightened their backs one after another.

That was right!

The High Priestess had spoken, so why should they cower?!

[Ning Fengzhi: You almost bluffed us! The High Priestess is right. Why should we fear you?! We have gods too! If disaster strikes the Douluo Continent, they will never stand by and leave us to die!]

The rear garden of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The three people who had just been discussing how to throw cold water on Yu Xiaogang's enthusiasm now stood straighter than anyone.

[Bibi Dong: Exactly. Besides-do you have our coordinates? Do you know where we are?]

[Bibi Dong: I'll tell you the truth as well. I bear the Rakshasa God's inheritance and share a close relationship with him. If anything happens to me, he certainly won't sit idly by!]

[Bibi Dong: So you're welcome to come and try!]

Inside the Papal Hall, as Bibi Dong spoke, the madness in her phoenix eyes had long since faded, replaced by the certainty of someone who had regained control.

The humiliation of being forced by the Enshrined to sell out Yu Xiaogang earlier was now repaid in full.

[Tang Xiao: Our Clear Sky Hammer is no lousy hammer! Come clash with us face-to-face if you dare.]

[Tang Xiao: No, wait. You can't.]

[Tang Xiao: The world is so big, you can't find us.]

In the Clear Sky Sect's main hall, after sending that message, Tang Xiao even stroked his beard more smoothly.

[Yu Xiaogang: Exactly! Want to kill me? Find me first! Hahaha!]

At that moment, the rulers of the Douluo Continent had thoroughly seen the light.

As long as they could not be found.

They could run their mouths however they pleased.

Could not match them in strength?

They could not lose the war of words!

The Divine Realm.

Inside the temple at its highest point, the Five Great God Kings had gathered.

Within the Water Mirror, the Heavenly Screen's flowing light continued to shift, yet the hall had already been silent for a full ten breaths.

Seeing the contents of the Heavenly Screen, each of the Five Great God Kings gave a faint smile.

But there was not a trace of warmth in those smiles.

The Asura God looked at the Sea God.

"You really do have a way."

"Since we can't find them, we'll make them come out on their own."

"I don't believe they can swallow this."

"Wouldn't that make them spineless turtles?"

The Sea God smiled faintly without answering.

He had already thought of this plan when the Five Great God Kings had first assembled.

It all went back to the God Kings' discussion moments earlier.

When word returned to the Divine Realm that the Asura God's Divine Sense search had come up empty, the other four God Kings were all shocked and suspicious.

What shocked them was the very existence of such beings.

The Divine Realm kept an iron grip on the number of deities. There had been no exceptions for centuries upon centuries. How could any others possibly have appeared?!

And there were quite a few of them!

Even the growth of Soul Beasts' ages was no longer under the Divine Realm's control.

Once their shock passed, the other four old monsters all arrived at the same thought.

Wariness.

That was why they wanted to seize that continent.

Even if they did not destroy it, they would at least bring it under their control and reformat that plane according to their rules.

But immediately afterward, a practical problem confronted them.

How could they find their opponents?

If the Asura God could not find them, none of the other four possibly could either.

Unless all five joined forces and covered the entire plane with their Divine Sense in a sweeping search.

But none of them dared gamble on the cost of doing so.

If the Divine Sense of five God Kings bore down on the plane at once, one misstep could cause the entire world's plane to collapse.

If they destroyed the nursery, what could they plant?

Just as the gods found themselves at a complete loss, the Sea God spoke.

"If we can't find them, then stop looking."

"Give the Douluo Continent confidence and let them pressure the Holy Spirit Continent."

"With a vile piece of work like Yu Xiaogang, there's no way the Holy Spirit Continent won't act."

"As soon as they make a move, we can make ours."

The gods exchanged glances, their eyes lighting up.

Brilliant.

But when guiding them, they could not openly say that the deities would intervene. They had to be more subtle.

The Sea God understood that too.

And so came Bo Saixi's first statement: "The Holy Spirit Continent might not even be able to find the Douluo Continent. What is there to fear?"

Before the Water Mirror, the Sea God watched the Douluo Continent boil with excitement once more, the smile at his lips deepening.

"Rest assured, they won't be able to stand it. They're certain to act."

"We can assess their strength, learn their exact location, and strike whenever and wherever we please."

"One stone, three birds."

At those words, the God of Destruction gave a disdainful snort.

Divine power churned around him like magma, his killing intent utterly unconcealed.

"Hmph! It's been a long time since I stretched my limbs."

"I hope they won't disappoint me later by surrendering outright."

The God of Evil smiled sinisterly and spoke with unhurried ease.

"I'm just afraid... that supposed God King on their side might be made of paper."

"For all we know, they might not even be as strong as one of our First-Level Gods."

The God of Destruction scoffed, clearly agreeing wholeheartedly.

Only the Asura God slowly shook his head.

"We must not be careless."

His gaze returned to the Water Mirror, and his voice grew grave.

"They actually use the designation 'First-Level God' too-"

"It's very possible they know we exist."

"They might even... know us like the backs of their hands."