Prologue: The Divine Realm's Trial

Douluo God Realm

In the endless void shone a brilliant star. It was multicolored, casting a radiance like a mother's slender, gentle hand. A closer look would reveal that it was a planet, and no ordinary one.

It governed the entire Douluo Galaxy and was the ultimate destination of all God Level powerhouses in the galaxy: the Douluo God Realm! It was called the Douluo God Realm because the gods who had first founded it had all ascended from the Douluo Continent, a high-level plane.

When the Divine Realm was first founded, God Level powerhouses possessed such immense power that a single mistake could inflict irreparable harm on their home planes. To prevent battles between God Level powerhouses from affecting mortals, the Dragon God, a being who surpassed God Kings, created the first Divine Realm and named it the Divine Dragon Realm.

However, the Dragon God fell as a result of the Dragon God War, and the original Divine Dragon Realm shattered with him. In the end, the Five Great God Kings-Kindness, Evil, Destruction, Life, and Asura-used their own power to turn the Divine Dragon Realm's remaining power into the present Douluo God Realm.

From then on, the Divine Realm came under the control of the Five Great God Kings, who had originally been human deities. During this time, the first Asura God grew bored with the excessive peace of the Divine Realm and began searching for an inheritor of his own, so that he could leave and explore worlds he had never seen.

In the end, he snatched away the Sea God's inheritor, Tang San. As a result, Tang San became an unprecedented being with Dual Godhood, inheriting both the Sea God's and the Asura God's godhoods.

After the Asura God, the gods of kindness and the God of Evil could no longer endure the loneliness either and began searching for inheritors so they could leave the Divine Realm. As a result, among the present Five Great God Kings, only the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life were first-generation God Kings; the rest were all successors.

Among those successors, Tang San, with his Dual Godhood, was undoubtedly the most gifted. Not only was his talent formidable, but his methods of wielding power were also extremely formidable.

Because the leadership qualities he had displayed in the lower realm were so outstanding, the God Kings of Kindness and Evil, before leaving the Divine Realm, had given the key to the Divine Realm Core not to the God of Destruction or the Goddess of Life, who were also first-generation God Kings, but to their junior, Tang San.

This showed how deeply the two God Kings had trusted Tang San, their junior. Sadly, though, one might know a person's face but not their heart, and Tang San's actions had ultimately betrayed their expectations.

Divine Realm Court

The Divine Realm Court was established for deities and divine beasts who violated the Divine Realm's rules, with the Five Great God Kings enforcing the law together. In the past, all five would sit on the judges' bench to try the criminal in the defendant's seat. Now, however, only four of the seats were occupied, while the seat of the Asura God, who presided over slaughter and judgment and had originally been the most important of them all, was empty.

The ones currently seated on the judges' bench were the God of Destruction, the Goddess of Life, the Godess of Kindness, and the God of Evil, four of the current Five Great God Kings.

Tang San, the Asura God who should have been on the judges' bench, sat in the defendant's seat. Unlike his usual unrestrained self, he was in a wretched state. Countless chains bound him, and his once-mighty divine power and divine consciousness had both been sealed. Now he was no different from a mortal on the ground.

A purple figure on the judges' bench looked toward the other three figures and said, "No one has any objections, correct?"

"No objections."

"I have no problem with it."

"Let's begin."

The purple figure was none other than the God of Destruction, who governed death and destruction and was one of the few first-generation God Kings left in the Divine Realm. After receiving confirmation from the others, the God of Destruction examined Tang San and said calmly, "Since no one has any objections, the court is now in session!"

"Tang San, you violated the Divine Realm's laws by descending to the lower realm without authorization and interfering in the continent's affairs. You even violated the agreement between the Five Great God Kings and the Starry Dragon Emperor by attacking the Starry Dragon Emperor's reincarnation and attempting to kill them. Do you acknowledge your guilt?"

"I acknowledge my guilt, but I do not regret it, because I acted for the peace of the continent," Tang San replied calmly.

But upon hearing Tang San's reply, the God of Destruction said furiously, "Bah! What do you mean, you acted for the peace of the continent?! You were clearly afraid that the Starry Dragon Emperor would stand in the way of your so-called plan to turn the continent into the Tang family's continent! Don't think we failed to discover during this incident that you turned your parents into the Douluo Continent's Plane Master and Life Core without the God Realm Committee's consent!"

"That alone, even without your attack on the Starry Dragon Emperor's reincarnation, would be enough to have you imprisoned forever in the deepest reaches of the Divine Realm!" the God of Destruction roared. Clearly, he was furious that he had only now discovered what Tang San had been doing behind everyone's backs.

He had long thought Tang San a hypocrite, someone who appeared uninterested in power while secretly scheming to turn the Divine Realm into the Tang family's possession. Once trouble arose, Tang San's true nature had been exposed, making him all the more certain that the first gods of kindness and the God of Evil had made the wrong choice.

Yet after all this, Tang San dared say he had no regrets, and even claimed it was for the continent's peace. What did he take the Divine Realm for? His private property? The more the purple figure thought about it, the angrier he grew. After all, one careless moment around someone who schemed in secret like this could get you plotted to death.

At that moment, the green figure seated beside the God of Destruction began to soothe him. "All right, Xiao Zi, what's done is done. Let's first think about how to handle the aftermath."

The green figure was the Goddess of Life, who governed life and creation. She was also the God of Destruction's wife.

Hearing his wife's voice, the God of Destruction began to calm himself. But when he saw the expression on Tang San's face, as though he had done nothing wrong, he could not help wanting to sentence him straight to death.

But at present, the Divine Realm could not afford to lose Tang San's fighting strength, and Tang San knew it too, which was why he was so fearless. At that thought, the God of Destruction seemed to remember something and began to sneer.

Seeing the God of Destruction's sneer, Tang San broke out in a cold sweat. He could sense that the coming sentence would make him bleed heavily, and it seemed he had no right to refuse.

Destruction's cold voice rang out. "According to the agreement with the Starry Dragon Emperor, your godhood should have been shattered, and in the end, even your soul should have been burned to nothing."

"However, because our Divine Realm cannot currently afford to lose a God King-level fighter like you, Xiao Lu negotiated with the Starry Dragon Emperor's reincarnation. So you can rest assured that you won't be sentenced to death."

Tang San showed no joy at those words, because he knew the sentence that followed was what mattered.

"First, all the God Kings present agree that your actions have proven you are no longer fit to lead the God Realm Committee. Therefore, the key to the Divine Realm Core in your possession will be entrusted to Xiao Lu and me. Any objections?"

"I have no objections," Tang San said, shaking his head. After all, having caused such a mess, expecting to keep the key to the Divine Realm Core would be a daydream. Tang San was more concerned with what the rest of the sentence would be.

"Very well. Since you used the Sea God Position to exploit a loophole in the agreement between us Five Great God Kings and the Starry Dragon Emperor, your Sea God Godhood will be stripped from you and given to the Starry Dragon Emperor, who will turn it into a Vassal God Position."

"A Vassal God Position? How can you do that?! You'll be bringing the land and ocean fortunes of the Soul Beast Clan back together! Aren't you afraid the Dragon God War will break out again?!"

Faced with Tang San's questioning, the God of Destruction answered disdainfully, "As someone who lived through the Dragon God War, I know better than you why it happened. Don't let those rumors in the Divine Realm mislead you. The truth of what happened back then was far more complicated than you imagine."

Before Tang San could argue further, the God of Destruction continued, "Don't be so quick to object. Your sentencing isn't over yet."

"Lastly, you must compensate the Starry Dragon Emperor with fifteen drops of your life essence blood, as well as the two Blank God Positions in your possession!"

Upon hearing the God of Destruction's final sentence, Tang San's expression changed in an instant. After a person became a god, their divine body existed in an energy state and contained very little blood, let alone life essence blood. A God King was fortunate to have a hundred drops of life essence blood. Now he had to lose fifteen! Cultivating it back would take him thirty years in the Divine Realm!

As for Blank God Positions, they were treasures comparable to Tang San's life essence blood. Every God King was granted two Blank God Positions upon entering the Divine Realm. A God King could bestow a Blank God Position on someone they favored, and that person could become a god without gathering faith. They only needed to imprint the laws they controlled, and they could become a god.

The only problem with Blank God Positions was the uncertainty they carried, because those who became gods this way depended entirely on their own understanding of the laws. Thus, someone with enough talent and an exceptionally deep understanding of the laws could become a God King, while someone with an ordinary understanding might only become a God Officer.

A Blank God Position could be said to give a God King a chance of gaining a God King-level subordinate. Losing such treasures just like that made Tang San glare in anger.

"Mind you, this sentence has already been decided, so no matter how you argue, we won't accept it."

Seeing this, Tang San turned toward the gods of kindness and the God of Evil, pleading for them to say something on his behalf. After all, when these two new gods had first entered the Divine Realm, he had taken considerable care of them.

In the end, the Godess of Kindness and the God of Evil merely shook their heads to show there was nothing they could do. For the first time, Tang San felt that he could no longer control this chessboard. The loss of his life essence blood alone would take him a great deal of time to cultivate back.

That left him with little time to secretly make trouble for the Starry Dragon Emperor's reincarnation again, regain his standing, and get his plans back on track! Damn the God of Destruction! Damn the Starry Dragon Emperor! You both have a way to death!

Seeing Tang San's twisted expression, the God of Destruction's mood greatly improved. He said, "Now that the matter of your violating the agreement is settled, let's discuss your unauthorized act of turning your parents into the Douluo Continent's Life Core and Plane Master."

Hearing that the God of Destruction was actually going to pursue this matter now, Tang San began cursing his ancestors in his heart and wished a terrible death upon him.

In the end, the matter of Tang San's parents becoming the Douluo Continent's Life Core and Plane Master was settled by reclaiming both their godhoods. From then on, they could only live out their days in the Divine Realm and were forbidden to leave. As for Tang San, all his future actions would be monitored by three first-level gods appointed by the God of Destruction: the God of Emotion, the God of Destruction, and the Goddess of Nature.

This further prevented Tang San from using any schemes or tricks to interfere in the lower realm again. Tang San could do nothing but silently accept the arrangement.

After returning home, Tang San flew into a rage. He had never expected the God of Destruction to go so far! Everything he had done was for the development of the Divine Realm! If the God of Destruction took control, the Divine Realm would surely fall into decline!

Only he, Tang San, was qualified to lead the Divine Realm toward a prosperous and glorious future!

Just then, however, a gentle voice asked, "Third Brother, are you all right?"

Tang San immediately recognized the voice as his wife Xiao Wu's. He quickly concealed his anger and said with a smile, "Xiao Wu, I'm fine. I suppose I'm reaping what I sowed. My greatest mistake was failing to show the God Kings the direction I saw."

"Mm."

Seeing how meek his wife was, Tang San could not help wondering whether she had been replaced. At a time like this, given her character, she should have been indignant on her husband's behalf over what had happened to him.

Xiao Wu said, "Third Brother, I'm sorry to ask you this now, but there's something I want to confirm. If I don't, I can't put my mind at ease."

Seeing his wife's serious expression, he knew it had to be something important. He said solemnly, "Go ahead, Xiao Wu. Whatever it is, as long as you ask, I will tell you the truth."

"Third Brother, did you deliberately leave the Butterfly God's resentment inside Xiao Qi?"

The moment she finished speaking, Tang San began nervously touching his hair. He had never told his wife that their daughter was harboring the Butterfly God's resentment! Where had she learned about it?

Seeing Tang San touch his hair, Xiao Wu already knew his answer. But for the sake of all the years they had been through together, she still wanted to hear him say it himself.

Tang San asked cautiously, "Um, Xiao Wu, where did you learn about that?"

Xiao Wu replied, "You don't need to worry about that. I just want to know the answer."

"Um, Xiao Wu, of course I didn't deliberately leave the Butterfly God's resentment unresolved. It's just that the resentment was too strong, and acting rashly might have hurt Xiao Qi. So I could only seal it."

"Really?"

"Really! I, Tang San, swear that if I'm lying, may I be punished by lightning!"

The moment he finished speaking, a bolt of lightning struck Tang San, leaving his face blackened.

"Struck by lightning for lying?"

"Th-that was just an accident! Xiao Wu, you have to believe me!"

Seeing Tang San like this, Xiao Wu still could not harden her heart. She said, "Fine, but if you ever dare hide something like this from me again, don't even think about getting into my bed!"

"I definitely won't do it next time, my lady wife!"

"You're thinking of a next time?!"

"I definitely won't do it again!"

But Tang San was thinking, What sins did I commit?! I'm the pure and spotless Tang San! Why has everything been going wrong for me lately?!