When the God of Wisdom finished speaking, the Divine Realm Core fell silent.
Utterly silent.
Every god's gaze fell on the Asura God and Poseidon, the Sea God, waiting for them to speak.
The chain of evidence was already quite complete: the God of Food had named them with his dying breath, Xiao Wu had inexplicably gained the Asura Godhood, and Tang San had been brought back to life by the Resurrection Divine Light.
The Asura God stood where he was, his dark red divine armor perfectly still.
No emotion showed on his face. After a long silence, he finally spoke in a flat voice. "I accept punishment."
Just three words.
Crisp and decisive, with no beating around the bush, no excuses, and no admission of guilt.
He only accepted punishment.
Because he really hadn't done it yet.
But since the heavenly screen had shown it, and his future self had done it, then it had been done.
As the Asura God, the foremost of the Gods of Law Enforcement, he would lose every last shred of face if he kept trying to shirk responsibility.
Besides, he himself had said, "Once the truth is uncovered, even a wrong committed in the future must be punished."
All the gods had agreed. Now that it was his turn, how could he continue to hold his head up in the Divine Realm if he went back on his word?
The Asura God accepted it.
Poseidon, the Sea God, looked terrible.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, then swallowed his words.
Even the Asura God had accepted it. What else could he say? If he kept arguing, it would be a deathbed struggle, and an ugly sight.
"I... accept punishment." Poseidon forced the words through clenched teeth, his voice strained.
The God of Food and the Nine-Colored Goddess stood to one side, both of their faces ashen. The God of Food gritted his teeth and finally lowered his head. "We accept punishment too."
The Nine-Colored Goddess clutched the God of Food's sleeve. Her lips moved, but she said nothing. Her eyes only grew redder.
But when she thought of the ending she and the God of Food had met on the heavenly screen, she felt this was fairly good too.
"Good." The God of Destruction nodded, his tone softening a little. "It's good that you accept punishment. Once the heavenly screen finishes, we'll decide exactly how to punish you."
The Asura God remained expressionless.
The Sea God kept his head lowered, his thoughts unknown.
The tension in the air had barely begun to ease when Poseidon suddenly raised his head. As if something had occurred to him, a shrewd gleam flashed in his eyes, and he whipped around to look at the Angel God and the Rakshasa God.
"Wait."
The gods' gazes gathered on him again.
The corners of Poseidon's mouth curled slightly in a cold sneer, as though he had decided to throw all caution to the wind now that the pot was already broken. "I accept punishment. But I have something to say."
"What else do you have to say?" Ye Si, the Rakshasa God, asked coldly.
Poseidon raised a finger, pointing first at Qian Yuhan, the Angel God, and then at Ye Si, the Rakshasa God. "You two should accept punishment too."
Qian Yuhan and Ye Si both froze.
"Poseidon, what did you say?!" Qian Yuhan's voice shot up. Her golden eyes widened into circles, and her holy, dignified face flushed bright red. "Why should I accept punishment?!"
"That's right!" Ye Si stepped forward too, her purple eyes flashing coldly and her icy, beautiful face full of anger. "I never interfered with the lower realm. Stop spewing blood and slandering me!"
Poseidon remained unhurried and even chuckled. "Judging others by ourselves, the Asura God and I interfered with the lower realm to help our chosen inheritors. Can you two really say you had no part in it?"
"And in my opinion, you two must have secretly helped your inheritors first, and the Asura God and I couldn't stand by and watch, so we stepped in!"
"The chief culprits might just be you two!"
As soon as Poseidon finished speaking, the gods all fell into thought.
"You..." Qian Yuhan's lips trembled, and she was too angry to speak.
"Bullshit!" Ye Si cursed outright, her shrill voice echoing throughout the Divine Realm Core. "I would never be that shameless!"
"The future shown on the heavenly screen was perfectly clear. The Spirit Hall Empire had two new gods, while the Heaven Dou Empire had only Tang San. That Xiao Wu hadn't even inherited a godhood yet. The Spirit Hall Empire already had an absolute advantage and didn't need any help at all!"
"This is pure slander!"
"Just because you're a hypocrite, don't assume I am too!"
Even as Ye Si berated Poseidon, she analyzed the situation quite rationally.
"Wisdom!" Instead of confronting Angel and Rakshasa, Poseidon looked at the God of Wisdom. "Tell me, is what I just said possible?"
"It is possible!" The God of Wisdom pushed up his glasses and continued before the Angel God and the Rakshasa God could fly into a rage. "But it's unlikely. Just as Rakshasa said, the Spirit Hall Empire had an absolute advantage and had no need for anyone to help them in secret!"
"Enough." The God of Destruction spoke, his dark red eyes sweeping over Poseidon with a hint of warning. "Poseidon, there's no point dragging others down with you. Whether they interfered with the lower realm will be proven by what comes later on the heavenly screen. Saying these things now will only throw the Divine Realm into greater chaos."
Poseidon shrugged, looking unconcerned. "I just think it's unfair. I helped my inheritor, and I accept punishment. If they helped their inheritors, why shouldn't they be punished?"
"I did not!" Qian Yuhan said through clenched teeth, enunciating every word.
"Then do you dare swear to it?" Poseidon pressed.
"I..."
"Enough." The God of Destruction interrupted their argument, speaking in a deep voice. "What Poseidon said is not entirely without reason. Angel God, Rakshasa God, if the heavenly screen later proves that you also interfered with the lower realm, you'll be punished just the same. If it proves you didn't, then this has nothing to do with you."
He paused and swept his gaze over all the gods present. "Listen carefully, all of you. When it comes to this divine punishment descending upon the mortal world, no one involved will escape. God king, God of Law Enforcement, or ordinary god, all will be treated equally."
This time, no one argued with the God of Destruction.
The Goddess of Life hesitated, but in the end she didn't step forward to say anything either.
The evidence that the Asura God and the Sea God had interfered with the lower realm was already obvious, and the Asura God had been the first to propose punishment. The gods had all agreed as well.
"Destruction God King, I suggest punishing them now. Don't wait until later!"
"There's no telling how long this heavenly screen will keep playing!"
The Rakshasa God did not object either, but she stepped forward to demand that the Asura God and the Sea God be punished now.
"I think the divine punishment shown on the heavenly screen was quite good."
"Seal their godhoods and cultivation, then throw them onto the Douluo Continent."
The Angel God also stepped forward and voiced her thoughts.
Of course, she wanted to erase the Asura God's and the Sea God's godhoods and cultivation outright, but she didn't dare say so.
"That's a good punishment!"
"Wonderful! Since they love interfering with the lower realm so much, let them go down there and experience it to their hearts' content!"
"Yes, that's a good punishment..."
"..."
As soon as the Angel God made her proposal, it won the support of many gods.
The God of Food and the Nine-Colored Goddess turned deathly pale.
They had just seen on the heavenly screen what became of them after they fell into the mortal world. Were they now going to be put through the same thing?