"That's true!"
The Destruction God King thought it over and felt that the Asura God had a point.
Still, he felt that something about it remained ill-advised and dangerous.
Even if they possessed enough strength to guarantee victory and would suffer no deaths themselves, there was no guarantee that the deities below the rank of God King would escape injury or death.
With the deities they had now, every death meant one fewer among their ranks. If they lost any more, replenishing their numbers would be far too difficult.
That would be even worse for his plan to expand the Divine Realm.
"Look, stop worrying. I'll personally oversee things when the time comes, all right? If that boy or those Dragon remnants harbor any malicious intentions, I'll execute them myself!"
Seeing the Destruction God King's hesitation and concern, the Asura God sighed and gave his assurance.
He felt that the Destruction God King was rather like a man worrying that the sky would fall.
To dispel this needless worry, he simply staked his own reputation on personally vouching for Ji Yang and the Dragon remnants.
Leaving the Dragon remnants aside, Ji Yang had not even become the second Asura God yet, much less truly become his successor.
For him to go this far, Ji Yang had certainly been shown a great deal of favor.
"Let's listen to Asura. He's always careful and cautious. He won't make a mistake!"
The Goddess of Life spoke up.
Although she knew that her husband's concerns were reasonable, she also felt that he was overthinking things somewhat.
"All right!"
Since even his wife had said so, the Destruction God King finally refrained from saying anything more.
Meanwhile, the Asura God seized the opportunity to deliver his "divine decree" to Ji Yang.
He expressed his approval of Ji Yang and instructed him to visit Slaughter City. Once Ji Yang passed Slaughter City's trial and obtained the Divine Slaughter's Domain, he would bestow his Asura Nine Trials upon him.
"Hm?"
"Huh?"
Almost the instant the Goddess of Life and the Asura God bestowed their divine trials and decree, Ye Lingling and Ji Yang, who were on the Douluo Continent, both let out startled sounds.
Each sensed a disturbance resounding through their Sea of Consciousness and heard the words of the respective deity.
It left them greatly astonished.
Ji Yang, in particular, was the most shocked.
He had not expected the Asura God to suddenly approach him, much less intend to bestow divine trials upon him.
Even though he first had to obtain the Divine Slaughter's Domain before he could begin his Asura Nine Trials, this was still tremendously good news.
If his previous claim of being a deity's successor had been nothing more than empty boasting,
then now, it was already almost a fact.
Yet Ji Yang still could not fathom why the Asura God had suddenly approached him and intended to bestow divine trials upon him.
Before long, however, Ji Yang guessed the reason.
He belatedly noticed Ye Lingling's strange reaction.
It seemed that she had experienced something similar.
"Lingling, were you given divine trials too?"
Ji Yang asked tentatively.
"What?!"
"What!?"
Before Ye Lingling herself could respond, Xiao Wu, Er Ming, and Dugu Yan, who stood beside them, had already cried out in shock.
If they had heard correctly, Ji Yang had just said "divine trials," hadn't he?
In other words, a deity had also taken a liking to Ye Lingling and chosen her as a successor?
"Yes! It seems to be because of my sacred heart begonia martial soul. The Goddess of Life thinks I'm well suited to her divine position and wants to give me a chance to inherit it!"
Ye Lingling nodded in confirmation.
"The Goddess of Life!?"
This time, it was Ji Yang's turn to cry out in surprise.
There was only one Goddess of Life in the Divine Realm: the Destruction God King's wife, one of the Divine Realm's Five Great God Kings.
She had actually taken a liking to Ye Lingling and voluntarily bestowed her divine trials upon her?
He could hardly have been more astonished.
Clearly, both the potential and origins of Ye Lingling's sacred heart begonia martial soul exceeded anything they had imagined.
Otherwise, why would the Goddess of Life have chosen Ye Lingling to inherit her divine position of life?
Then again, does the Goddess of Life also intend to make a run for it from the Divine Realm, just like the Asura God and the Sea God?
Otherwise, she shouldn't have bestowed her divine trials so decisively.
No, she probably isn't making a run for it.
It's also possible that the Goddess of Life simply thinks highly of Ye Lingling, admires her potential, and is willing to give her a chance!
Besides, even if the Goddess of Life bestows divine trials and gives up her divine position, that doesn't mean she'll leave the Divine Realm.
After all, her husband, the Destruction God King, is still in the Divine Realm, wholeheartedly intent on expanding it.
Since Ye Lingling had caught the Goddess of Life's eye, he, who was beside her, would inevitably draw the attention of other deities, including the Asura God, and ultimately be chosen by him.
However, the Asura God probably did not think particularly highly of him yet and merely intended to give him a chance first.
Ji Yang figured that was more or less what had happened.
What he did not know was that his guess was largely correct.
"A Yang, do you know this Goddess of Life?"
Ye Lingling had no idea what Ji Yang was thinking. She was more curious about this instead.
Judging by his reaction, Ji Yang knew about this Goddess of Life.
Perhaps the deity backing Ji Yang had told him about her existence.
"The deities of the Divine Realm are divided into Divine Officials, Third-Level Gods, Second-Level Gods, First-Level Gods, and God Kings. Divine Officials have the lowest status and are the weakest, while God Kings have the highest status and are the strongest."
"For example, the Angel God we're familiar with, the founder and progenitor of Spirit Hall, is a First-Level God. As for the Goddess of Life you mentioned, she's a God King of the Divine Realm, one of its five strongest deities."
Ji Yang explained.
"The Goddess of Life is a God King!?"
Hearing Ji Yang's explanation, Ye Lingling, Xiao Wu, and the others all drew in a sharp breath, deeply shocked.
They might not have had much understanding of what a "God King" was, but a comparison with the Angel God made everything clear.
It meant that the deity who had bestowed divine trials upon Ye Lingling was far more powerful than the Angel God.
Not to mention that she was one of the five strongest deities in the Divine Realm.
"Lingling, your luck is just too good!"
Dugu Yan was practically green-eyed with envy.
She had already been quite satisfied with what she had gained this time, but compared to Ye Lingling's gains, hers amounted to almost nothing.
"It really is!"
Ji Yang had to agree.
This development had completely exceeded his expectations.
Still, with things turning out this way, the benefits they could obtain were beyond doubt.
Leaving aside the rewards Ye Lingling could earn by passing her divine trials, once she inherited the Goddess of Life's divine position, they would have someone with the strength of a God King on their side.
That meant that as long as they eventually entered the Divine Realm, they could enjoy greater status and a stronger voice.
Moreover, when they ascended to the Divine Realm, they could bring more "family members" with them.
And all the other benefits besides!
This truly was tremendously good news, leaving Ji Yang both surprised and delighted.
As for whether Ye Lingling could pass the Goddess of Life's divine trials, Ji Yang had no doubts.
Given the Goddess of Life's temperament, along with Ye Lingling's character and talent, there was no reason she could not complete those divine trials.
Even in the worst case, he would still be there to help!
For him personally, passing the Asura God's Asura Nine Trials would not be particularly difficult.
Especially since there was a shortcut he could take to complete the Asura God's divine trials.
That shortcut was none other than Tang Chen.
As long as he refined Tang Chen, the "Asura God's High Priest" who had failed to pass the Asura Nine Trials, into a pill, he could inherit all the benefits Tang Chen had gained from the first eight trials.
When that time came, as long as the final trial of the Asura Nine Trials still involved obtaining the Asura Sword's recognition, the Asura God would surely be delighted enough to go easy on him.
Becoming the Asura God would be smooth sailing, as easy as could be.
Tang San, for instance, had become the Asura God through a similar method, without taking the Asura Nine Trials from scratch at all.
And his method was no worse than Tang San's, only better.
When that day came, once he became a God King first, helping Ye Lingling along would indeed pose no great problem.
He had that confidence.
Before you continue