"In that case, please make your move, Lord God of Destruction. We won't hold back either," Ning Fengzhi said with steady gaze. His bearing already surpassed many gods; faced with a God-King, he showed no fear.
Or rather, he trusted his family. He was support—his confidence rose with the strength of those he supported. And his confidence was, as always, his lifelong trust in the sword path of Chen Xin.
"Don't rush. If not for the sake of the God Realm, I wouldn't want to kill you. Live a little longer—someone else is coming," the God of Destruction said helplessly.
Strangely, the usual power-obsessed god was willing to converse with a mere Titled Douluo ant.
"Someone else?" Ning Fengzhi frowned. Even as smart as he was, foreseeing the Evil Sword Immortal's move and the God of Destruction's arrival was already his limit. He couldn't imagine who else could come now.
Under Qian Renxue's God-King-level rule seal, even first-rank gods couldn't descend. Only God Kings could. Could the Goddess of Kindness and the Goddess of Life have defected?
That contradicted their natures. They weren't the sort to value the God Realm over all living things.
A sky-blotting shadow answered him: a colossal golden dragon, larger than Seven Treasure Mountain by orders of magnitude, nearly a thousand zhang long, with ruby eyes brimming with savagery.
Its oppressive aura was no weaker than the God of Destruction's.
Seeing it, Chen Xin and the others ceased fighting; the God of Lust's pupils shrank in fear. "The Golden Dragon King. That bastard Evil Sword Immortal even released him."
The Golden Dragon King inherited the Dragon God's mighty physique—immense strength, impervious to blades, speed unmatched. It was said even space-time turbulence that could threaten a God King could not harm it. It wielded the power of annihilation, commanding world-ending might. Cocooned as a dragon chrysalis for years, it had absorbed the God Realm's divine power. Though far from the original Dragon God, it was at least equal to a God King—and thus could break Qian Renxue's seal.
"Heh, God of Destruction, long time no see. Didn't expect you to become someone else's lapdog," the Golden Dragon King taunted, ignoring the others. Of the five God Kings, the one it disliked most was this old stick-in-the-mud.
"Golden Dragon King, you're no better—didn't you also submit to the Evil Sword Immortal?" the God of Destruction shot back. The two never saw eye to eye.
"Hmph. I'm not like you. I'm making a deal," the Golden Dragon King snorted, its draconic gaze locking onto Seven Treasure City within the mountain. It roared, "Silver Dragon King, come out. I know you are there. Merge with me. Let me devour you, and we can restore the Dragon God's power."
…
"It's the Golden Dragon King!" In a secret chamber in Seven Treasure City, Gu Yuena felt his aura. She wanted to go out and subdue him, but Tianlin was in deep meditation at the most critical juncture of his breakthrough. Nothing could go wrong.
"Lord, don't worry. Before entering trance, Tianlin said to leave everything to his master, father-in-law, wife, and little brother. With them here, the Golden Dragon King won't break in. We keep guarding Xiaotian," the Skydream Ice Silkworm said earnestly, without his usual levity.
With Tianlin inheriting the Asura God's position, he and the Silver Dragon King could reshape bodies as divine beasts—but there was no time. Even so, their spiritual cultivation had recovered to the peak. Especially the Silver Dragon King: having offered herself to the Holy Spirit Pearl, she was now its guardian divine beast and could wield part of its power.
Now, with soul alone, she could cast seven-element immortal arts of wind, fire, water, earth, thunder, yin, and yang. In actual combat, she was no weaker than the Golden Dragon King—hence she had to be Tianlin's most crucial bodyguard.
Her silence enraged the already irascible Golden Dragon King. Its dragon might burst forth.
On aura alone, the king of soul beasts smashed the Ice-Fire Thunder Dragon and Ice Phoenix from the sky.
Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Shui Bing'er, and the other Emperor Team members understood: the Golden Dragon King's combat power was nothing like Qian Xunji's. They couldn't take part in what came next.
The four first-rank gods resisted the dragon might, but its violent pressure shook their hearts. They dared not act rashly, only keep watch.
Now the enemy had three God-King-level beings, while they had only four first-rank gods. The situation had completely reversed, and most hearts sank into despair.
"Ugh!"
Elsewhere, Bibi Dong clutched her head and halted her battle with Qian Renxue. In truth, she'd been off ever since the Mind-Control Melody began.
Her soul was sealed deep within; her soul defense was weak. The melody had affected her somewhat.
"Could Mother's soul be trying to retake her body because of that melody?" Qian Renxue murmured.
"Qian Renxue, take your mother away from the battlefield—to where she can be saved," Chen Xin urged.
"But, Master, here—" Qian Renxue looked over, worried. They were facing three God Kings. If her God-King power left, how could they hope to win?
"Do not worry. We will win. We must," Chen Xin said. He had fought a lifetime without fear—and today was no different.
Perhaps his undefeated record inspired faith. Qian Renxue nodded, grabbed Bibi Dong, and flew away.
The God of Destruction and the Golden Dragon King had no interest in Bibi Dong. Qian Xunji wanted to pursue, but recalling the Evil Sword Immortal's orders, he dared not; he'd be punished. He didn't believe Qian Renxue could save Bibi Dong anyway. He'd capture the mother and daughter later.
"Hey, God of Destruction—and you, scum—attack together and finish them. Make it quick," the Golden Dragon King said to Qian Xunji and the God of Destruction.
He wasn't about fairness or honor; he prized results. In the original story, facing the greatly weakened Tang San and company, he hadn't hesitated to strike when they were down.
"Fine. Give them a swift end," the God of Destruction closed his eyes, gathering annihilating lightning. He didn't want to kill them, but for the God Realm's safety, there was no other way. He'd at least spare them suffering—a final mercy.
As for Qian Xunji, the bully didn't dare contradict the Golden Dragon King at all.