In the Divine Realm, the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life stood side by side in the void. Their gazes pierced through layer upon layer of spatial walls, fixing upon the Douluo Continent. Their expressions were exceptionally cold, and the auras drifting around them sent ripples across the entire space.
The seven Elemental Gods stood quietly behind them, their bodies emitting sacred light. At this moment, uncontrollable anger and killing intent burned in their eyes.
On the other side, the Seven Deadly Sins exchanged glances. Even these beings who symbolized corruption and desire seemed caught off guard in this instant. Asura's actions this time could no longer be described merely as madness.
"Asura…"
The God of Destruction's voice squeezed out from between his teeth. The purplish-black aura of destruction swirling around him spun out of control. "You've gone too far."
He had overestimated Asura God's limits. From Asura's previous actions, the God of Destruction had believed this was the furthest the other could go. After all, no matter how reckless he was, Asura was still the Law Enforcer of the Divine Realm and had to respect the most basic rules.
But now, it seemed he had no bottom line left. They were trying to drag the entire Douluo Continent into the abyss of destruction by allowing the Demon Realm to invade. Once the demon army established a firm foothold, the Douluo Continent would turn into hell, and billions of lives would be lost.
What exactly did Asura God, the mastermind behind all this, want?
The God of Water stepped forward. The bloody light of the battlefield below reflected in her eyes. "Asura God are blatantly ignoring the laws of the Divine Realm. Are we really just going to stand by and do nothing?"
Beneath the Divine Realm, countless dimensions looked up to the gods as embodiments of order and law. If even the Law Enforcers trampled the rules without restraint, what was the foundation of the Divine Realm's existence?
The God of Destruction did not answer immediately. The destructive aura around him flickered, sometimes expanding, sometimes contracting, as countless bolts of lightning clashed deep within his purplish-black eyes.
"I cannot control it," the Goddess of Life said slowly, her voice filled with exhaustion.
The God of Water turned to her abruptly. "Why?"
Not only her, but the other six Elemental Gods and even the Seven Deadly Sins all turned their gazes toward her.
Cannot control it? With the power of the two God Kings, how could anything be uncontrollable?
The Goddess of Life did not meet their eyes. Her gaze remained fixed on the lower realm. Her vision pierced through the layers of space, locking onto the purplish-black dimensional passage and the familiar yet somehow unfamiliar aura drifting deep within it.
"The Demon Realm is a neighboring world to the Douluo Realm," she said calmly. Her words were as gentle as still water, yet they sank the hearts of the seven Elemental Gods. "According to the rules of the Divine Realm, unless a third dimension intervenes in a conflict or war between adjacent dimensions, the Divine Realm must not interfere in any way."
The God of Earth frowned. "But this time it's Asura God—"
"This passage was first opened from the Douluo Continent's side," the Goddess of Life interrupted. "Regardless of what Asura did behind the scenes, from a rules perspective, it was the beings of the Douluo Realm who actively connected with the Demon Realm."
"This is a collision caused by the autonomous actions of adjacent dimensions. The Divine Realm has no reason to intervene."
Rules.
It was rules again.
The sacred flames surrounding the God of Fire flared uncontrollably, scorching a vast area behind him crimson. "So we're just supposed to watch?!"
He pointed toward the lower realm. Even through the spatial barrier, it was clear that the auras of the three newly appeared Demon Lords in the center of the battlefield had each reached the demi-god level. Facing so many powerful enemies, even unparalleled Douluos like Chu Shanhe, Qian Daoliu, and Bibi Dong—who possessed soul cores and astonishing combat strength—would find it extremely difficult to fight.
If not for Ye Ci'en's Nine-Hearted Begonia continuously providing recovery, the soul cores' ultra-long endurance, and Chrysanthemum Douluo's Bipolar Static Domain repeatedly creating decisive killing opportunities, the battle would have already collapsed.
Even so, the human allied army continued to retreat. The number of demonic creatures seemed endless, and countering each powerful demon required multiple titled Douluos working together.
"Damn it!" the God of Wind roared. "How can such a small dimension, far tinier than the Douluo Continent, produce so many peak ninth-tier existences?!"
This was not only his question—it was the question burning in the hearts of all the Elemental Gods and Seven Deadly Sins present.
Among the countless dimensions under the Divine Realm's jurisdiction, very few could produce demi-god level beings. It required an origin rich enough, laws complete enough, and a civilization history long enough.
Judging from their auras, the Demon Realm had a chaotic, mixed origin. It should have been impossible for it to produce so many powerful existences comparable to god-level beings—and in such large numbers at that. This was completely illogical.
The Goddess of Life remained silent for a long time. During that silence, a massive demonic creature nearly broke through Xie Xiaoqing's defense and shattered Ye Ci'en's formation.
Finally, she spoke: "Angel."
The seven Elemental Gods and the Seven Deadly Sins were all stunned.
The Angel? Hadn't she long since fallen? Shouldn't her divine position have remained vacant all this time? How could she be connected to the Demon Realm?
"What does this have to do with the Angel?" The God of Light frowned deeply. As a fellow god of light, he had shared a very close personal relationship with the Angel God. When the Angel God mysteriously disappeared and her sacred position became vacant, he had expended enormous divine power to investigate the truth, but to no avail. It remained an unsolved case in the divine world and a thorn in the God of Light's heart.
The Goddess of Life offered no explanation. She simply looked at the God of Destruction.
The God of Destruction's eyes were cold and deep, his voice filled with suppressed rage. "The spirits of this demonic dimension… are remnants of the Angel."
Whoosh!
Even beings with divine nature felt an immense shock in that instant. All the gods suddenly turned their gazes toward the lower realm, attempting to penetrate the spatial barrier with their divine senses as if they possessed physical form, trying to infiltrate the Demon Realm for investigation.
However, the dimensional spirits were also god-level existences—especially those that had once been first-class gods. How could their space-transcending illusions be so easily seen through?
Still, since the God of Destruction had spoken, there was no doubt he was telling the truth.
"This is the fundamental reason why the Divine Realm cannot intervene," the Goddess of Life said, deep exhaustion evident in her voice. "Because the Angel's remnants still exist, the war between the Douluo Continent and the Demon Realm… should be defined as an 'internal conflict.'"
Internal conflict.
The Angel God originated from the Douluo Continent. Her sacred foundation, source of faith, and connection to the laws were all inextricably linked to the Douluo Continent. Even if her indelible resentment had transformed into the spirits of the Demon Realm, that fundamental connection could never be completely severed.
In a sense, the Demon Realm could be seen as a "diseased organ" or "corrupted clone" of the Douluo Realm. The rules of the Divine Realm strictly regulated internal conflicts within a dimension. They were considered a process of self-adjustment and purification. The Divine Realm had no right to intervene, regardless of the outcome.
"How could this happen…" The God of Light trembled, her sacred light dimming slightly.
The God of Darkness stepped forward and gently supported her shoulder. "She was such a gentle and holy being…"
The God of Light's voice shook, her eyes filled with disbelief. "How did it come to this?"
A merciful god who symbolized light, justice, and salvation had ultimately transformed into an evil spirit symbolizing chaos, wickedness, and corruption. This was truly the cruelest irony in the world.
The Goddess of Life closed her eyes in anguish. "I don't know what the Angel experienced at the end of her life, or why such deep regret filled her with madness. But the truth… is just like this."
The God of Space suddenly spoke. His voice was as cold as ice. "What about Qian Renxue?"
The gods paused for a moment. Clearly, they had not expected the God of Space to ask such a question so suddenly.
"Don't forget, she is the successor of this generation's Angel God."
The God of Space glanced at the God of Light before turning back to the Goddess of Life. Although the God of Light's existence had made the relationship between the God of Space and the Angel God tolerable, when Chen Yi's interests were involved, that relationship became utterly insignificant in the God of Space's eyes. As Chen Yi's partner, Qian Renxue's safety and future were naturally within his considerations.
Upon hearing this, the Goddess of Life opened her eyes. Her gaze became clear once more as she declared, "She will definitely inherit the Angel's position."
"The deep-seated resentment of the angels stems from the Angel God, but they have fallen, become corrupted, and fundamentally deviated from the legitimate Angel God position. Qian Renxue is the only one who can legitimately inherit the Angel God's position."
"As for the spirits of the Demon Realm… they are more like pathogenic tissue that must be removed or purified."
Even so, the gods' hearts remained heavy. The power of dimensional spirits born from the remnants of a first-class god was far beyond what humans in the lower realm could contend with. Even with Ye Ci'en's healing abilities, how long could the Douluo Alliance hold out?
The God of Water looked down at the lower realm with indifferent eyes. "In reality, the Demon Realm is supported by the Angel's remnants…" Its power likely surpassed the current Douluo Continent. If military intervention occurred, the situation would collapse instantly. Once the demonic spirits began to move, their demonic power would increase exponentially, and the balance between the two sides would shatter in an instant.
"Don't worry," the God of Destruction finally spoke. "Although the Angel was born from Douluo, she has now become a demonic spirit and is no longer the same as the beings of the Douluo Realm. If she takes things too far, the spirits of the Douluo Realm will not stand idly by."
Dimensional spirits were embodiments of a dimension's will. They lacked clear consciousness but possessed the instinct to maintain the dimension's existence. If the Demon Realm's erosion threatened the foundation of the Douluo Continent, the dimensional spirits would inevitably awaken and fight back.
"In other words, the current situation is in a delicate state of equilibrium," the God of Destruction said. His gaze pierced the void and landed on Chen Yi, who was constantly raising his aura inside the main hall of Sea God Island. "The Demon Realm is testing Douluo's limits, while Douluo is buying time and waiting for a change in the situation."
"Once Chen Yi emerges from seclusion, everything will be resolved," the Goddess of Life added.
Upon hearing these words, the expressions of the seven Elemental Gods stiffened at once. Their secret protection of the remaining souls of the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King was, strictly speaking, a violation of the Divine Realm Committee's ironclad rules. Even as first-class gods, they could not help feeling uneasy before the ever-fair and justice-driven God of Destruction.
Seeing this, the Goddess of Life sighed softly. "They are also thinking of past relationships. Moreover, the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King are now bound to Chen Yi in life and death, and will remain under his control in the future. It's not a big issue."
The God of Destruction snorted coldly and said nothing. He understood that while the Elemental Gods' actions had been somewhat excessive, the final result had been highly beneficial to Chen Yi. From the perspective of outcomes, it was not a bad thing.
"Alright," the Goddess of Life waved her hand, ending the topic. "Everyone, disperse. The Divine Realm will not intervene in this war. However, since this concerns our future plans, keep an eye on it yourselves."
With that, her figure rippled like water and slowly vanished from the spot.
Only the God of Destruction, who seemed to have realized something, and the completely bewildered Elemental Gods and Seven Deadly Sins remained.
The God of Destruction took one final glance at the lower realm, his gaze lingering for a moment on the hall where Chen Yi was in seclusion, before turning and leaving. The purplish-black divine light faded, and the space returned to silence.
The gods looked at one another in confusion before dispersing.
Only the God of Light and the God of Darkness remained standing, gazing at the blood-and-flame-covered continent below and the familiar yet strange aura drifting deep within the Demon Realm. Deep sorrow filled their eyes.
"Angel…" the God of Light murmured softly. "What exactly happened to you back then?"
The God of Darkness gently placed a hand on her shoulder, his eyes filled with tenderness.
…