At these words, the main gods around the round table felt their hearts tremble slightly.
"He already existed on Douluo Star before the war in the Divine Realm?"
The Fire God knitted his brows and asked gravely.
"How is that possible?
Back then, the Dragon God ruled all beasts, and the Divine Realm governed the planes of all heavens. If such a monster had been lurking on Douluo Star, why did the first generation of gods leave no record of him?"
"Because his bloodline might even transcend the category of 'god-level' as we understand it, and the years he has spent cultivating stretch back beyond measure."
Poseidon shook his head, his expression growing increasingly grave.
"Think about it, everyone. Twenty thousand years ago, when I ascended and reported this matter to the five enforcers,
the God Realm Committee activated the central array and practically turned Douluo Star upside down. Why did they fail to find even a scrap of tortoise shell?
Could it have been because the five God Kings' Divine Sense was not keen enough?"
The gods fell silent.
With their Divine Sense combined, the Five Great God Kings could see through even a speck of dust across the multiple planes, yet they had met a closed door on Douluo Star.
"It was not an oversight by the God Kings. Rather, that Xuanwu possesses an extremely unusual and terrifying means:
he can perfectly conceal his own karma and presence, and even those of an entire continent."
Poseidon declared.
"So long as he does not reveal himself or release his Divine Sense, even if he were sleeping right beneath the nose of the Divine Realm's central hub, an examination through the rules would reveal him as nothing more than a lifeless mass of underwater rock.
Had he not surfaced on the ocean today, and had the Sky Screen not appeared out of nowhere, we would probably still be in the dark!"
Hearing this, the Goddess of Life, seated above them, nodded slightly, a thoughtful look appearing on her face.
"Poseidon's words are not without reason."
The Goddess of Life's gentle voice rang through the hall, carrying a divine quality that soothed their thoughts, yet the conclusion she voiced made the gods' hearts sink.
"Although we still cannot determine that Xuanwu's precise realm, two points alone suffice to raise his threat level to the highest category.
First, although Poseidon had not yet become a main god back then, he had already condensed a demigod Divine Core. Yet the unconscious presence that Xuanwu emanated in his sleep cracked it.
Second, his method of concealment actually managed to completely foil the combined search of all five of us God Kings for a full twenty thousand years."
The Goddess of Life swept her gaze toward the Asura God and the Destruction God King, her voice soft and clear.
"This is absolutely not something an ordinary First-Level God could accomplish.
I deduce that his true strength... has probably long since entered the God King realm."
"God King-level?!"
The Angel God sucked in a cold breath, all color instantly draining from her cool face.
Since the Divine Realm's founding, how many had ever attained the rank of God King?
Aside from the five great enforcers, how could a new God King have been born in the lower realm without a sound?
"Life, aren't you giving that lower-realm beast far too much credit?"
The Rakshasa God retorted shrilly, looking displeased.
"After the Dragon God split apart, the path to godhood was severed for all Soul Beasts. The mortal world could hardly sustain a God King.
If he truly were a God King, the lower plane would have collapsed long ago from being unable to withstand such a rank!"
"Rakshasa, the lower realm is constrained by its plane, but that does not mean every creature throughout history has been constrained by its plane."
The Goddess of Life did not grow angry. She merely raised her hand calmly, a ball of pure green divine light rising from her palm, as though stirring some distant memory.
"There are certain things about the ancient age at the Divine Realm's birth that you First-Level Main Gods may not know."
The Goddess of Life spoke slowly.
"Back then, the Dragon God's lineage was not the only one among the beasts to reign supreme over heaven and earth."
Purple light flickered in the Destruction God King's eyes, and the Asura God's fingers resting on the Asura Demon Sword lightly tapped its hilt. Clearly, both knew of that secret sealed away by the Divine Realm.
The God of Emotion, Fire God, Water God, and the other First-Level Main Gods in the hall all held their breath and focused, waiting for her to continue.
The Goddess of Life continued.
"In the ancient epoch before the war in the Divine Realm broke out, the Dragon God once encountered a fated archrival whose strength matched his own in every respect: the Phoenix God King."
"The Phoenix God King?"
The God of Space murmured, bewilderment appearing in his eyes.
"Why do the Divine Realm's records contain no mention of this God King?"
"Because at that time, human gods did not even exist.
The present Divine Realm is not the Divine Realm in which the Dragon God originally lived, either."
The Goddess of Life explained.
"The ability the Phoenix God King controlled was called creation. It was extremely terrifying and could simulate any ability.
In that battle, although the Dragon God ultimately managed to kill the Phoenix God King after a bitter struggle, the Dragon God himself suffered grievous damage to his origin that was difficult to reverse.
Only afterward did humans have the opportunity to become gods."
(PS: This setting comes from the original Douluo IV and is used as the plot requires.)
The Goddess of Life drew in the divine light in her palm, her gaze settling on Xuanwu's shell in the light screen below.
"After the Phoenix God King fell, the Dragon God's lineage alone was universally acknowledged to possess a supreme ancestral bloodline.
But who can say for certain that no ancestral beings of the same rank as the Dragon God and Phoenix God King survived within the vast, ancient chaos?
If this Xuanwu had been lurking at the bottom of Douluo Star's abyss since before the Divine Realm was first founded...
then he is not a divine beast born in the mortal world, but an ancient remnant from the same generation as those first great powers!"
"If that is the case, his bloodline and foundations have long since transcended the jurisdiction of the mortal world's heavenly laws.
It is not that Douluo Star's planar rules cannot do anything to him, but that they do not dare suppress him at all.
Should the plane's will forcibly suppress him, the resulting backlash would be enough to disintegrate the whole of Douluo Star in an instant."
As the Goddess of Life's words fell, an unprecedented deathly silence descended upon the God Realm Committee's hall.
An ancestral monster from the same epoch as the Dragon God and Phoenix God King?
And he had silently slept on Douluo Star for countless tens of thousands of years, even allowing a vast empire with several demigods and tens of millions of living beings to flourish on his back?
Even the habitually arrogant and hot-tempered Fire God and Rakshasa God shut their mouths at this moment, chills seeping down their spines.
Facing an unknown God King-level beast god, the Divine Realm faced a threat no less grave than the Dragon God's resurrection!
After a long while, the Evil God King, seated beside the hall's main seat, slowly raised his head and spoke calmly.
"Even if Life's conjecture has an eighty percent chance of being true, the Divine Realm must not throw its own ranks into chaos, much less sit here awaiting death."
The Evil God King spoke in a deep, authoritative voice, breaking the stagnant silence within the hall.
"Whether this Xuanwu is an ancient ancestor or a God King who mutated later in life, one fact cannot change:
he has already surfaced, and that enormous Xuanwu Continent is hurtling toward Douluo Continent at full speed.
In no more than three days, the two continents will meet completely."
The Evil God King looked at the light screen below and spoke coldly.
"Douluo Star is one of the core sources of faith under the Divine Realm's jurisdiction. The Sea God, Angel God, Rakshasa God, and even the Asura God have all left divine inheritances on that star.
Furthermore, the Sky Screen has descended, forcibly tearing open the plane's heavenly secrets and broadcasting Xuanwu Continent's existence to all of Douluo Star.
If the Divine Realm does nothing and allows this Xuanwu to break the lower plane's balance and annex Douluo Continent, where will the Divine Realm's majesty stand?
What will remain of the iron laws of the gods?"
"A head-on clash is naturally inadvisable before we know his true capabilities."
The Destruction God King snorted coldly and took up the thread.
"But if we dare not even test him, the God Realm Committee would be far too cowardly.
Asura, I propose that we immediately dispatch the Divine Realm Patrol to the lower realm to ascertain the truth!"
"No."
The Asura God's face was as calm as iron as he rejected the Destruction God King's proposal.
"For gods of the Divine Realm to descend to a mortal plane in their true bodies without authorization already violates the rules governing the planes' operation.
Moreover, if that Xuanwu truly possesses God King-level strength, sending the Divine Realm Patrol down would be no different from moths flying into a flame.
He might even view it as a declaration of war by the Divine Realm, triggering an irreversible conflict."
The Asura God turned his gaze toward Poseidon.
"Until we determine exactly what he intends to do, we must test him, but the Divine Realm's main forces absolutely cannot intervene directly."
Feeling the Asura God's gaze, Poseidon's heart stirred. He knew it was time for him to step forward.
Sea God Island was now caught directly between Xuanwu Continent and Douluo Continent, with nowhere to retreat.
Bo Saixi was the high priest he had personally appointed, and Sea God Island enshrined a statue of the Sea God. That place was already the first point of contact between the Divine Realm and Xuanwu Continent.
Rather than passively wait for the God Realm Committee to call him to account and punish him, he might as well volunteer for the task himself.
Poseidon drew a deep breath, stepped forward, bowed to the Five Great God Kings, and spoke gravely.
"My lords, since this matter arose in the ocean under my jurisdiction as Sea God, leave this first probe to me!"
The gods' gazes gathered on Poseidon once again.
The Asura God raised his brows slightly.
"How do you intend to test him?"
A flash of resolve crossed Poseidon's eyes as he laid out his plan clearly.
"Xuanwu Continent's vanguard legion has already reached the outskirts of Sea God Island, and the one stationed there is none other than my representative in the mortal world:
the level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo, Sea God High Priest Bo Saixi."
"A mortal's power naturally cannot shake such an existence in the slightest.
But I can use the God Descent Technique!"
As Poseidon spoke, he displayed a projected image of the Sea God Trident within Sea God Hall on Sea God Island.
"Through the divine statue on Sea God Island, I will pour Sea God Divine Power into Bo Saixi, forcibly raising her combat strength to the threshold of godhood for a time!"
Poseidon gazed at the divine artifact in his hand and spoke solemnly.
"At the same time, I will make an exception and tear open the void, sending the Sea God Trident's true divine artifact body directly into the lower realm for Bo Saixi to wield!
A pseudo-god-level high priest wielding a Main Divine Artifact will be able to mobilize the power of laws throughout the entire ocean.
An assault of that caliber will test the Xuanwu Legion before Sea God Island and that sleeping behemoth.
It will force out their true capabilities and hidden cards without violating the rule forbidding gods from descending in their true bodies!"
"The God Descent Technique, together with sending the Sea God Trident's Super Divine Artifact body into the lower realm?"
The Destruction God King's lips curled as he spoke meaningfully.
"Poseidon, do you know what that means?
If that Xuanwu truly is an ancestral divine beast as Life described, and has even awakened already, your action would be no different from willingly handing it a blade.
Should Bo Saixi perish, your Main Divine Artifact's true body might remain in the lower realm forever!"