As the Killing God began to consider the possibility that Huo Yuhao wasn't the Fire God's reincarnation, he noticed something else.
Seven-colored divine thunder!
Thunder tribulation was a manifestation of the heavenly laws. Even for an ordinary deity—even for a second-class deity like himself—without fortune, it was difficult to master. Especially the seven-colored thunder tribulation, which required sufficient understanding of all seven elemental laws. He hadn't dwelled on this before because he'd assumed Huo Yuhao was the Fire God.
After all, the Fire God was one of the Seven Elemental Gods, and he had always been on good terms with the other Elemental Gods and the Emotion God. If these first-class deities who specialized in elemental power wanted to research such techniques, it wasn't impossible. (Rong Nianbing had been a senior figure in the Divine Realm; by the time the Killing God served there, he was already the Emotion God.)
But Huo Yuhao seemed not to be the Fire God—so why did he possess such abilities?
Surely he couldn't be a Plane Lord who'd mastered the seven-colored thunder tribulation... wait!
Speaking of the seven-colored thunder and its constituent seven elemental powers, the Killing God seemed to connect something.
If the law of life and creation Huo Yuhao displayed during recovery, combined with the seven elemental powers, then such a law configuration was remarkably similar to—
The Killing God thought of a certain existence, and his expression suddenly sharpened.
BOOM!
The two divine artifacts clashed again. Crimson gold and blood-red light exploded, the shockwave sweeping in all directions. The Killing God suddenly exerted force, temporarily pushing Huo Yuhao back.
Huo Yuhao retreated a distance before quickly steadying himself, his gaze fixed on the Killing God.
Instead of pressing the attack, the Killing God stood in midair, his gaze sharp as a blade as he scrutinized Huo Yuhao. "If you were the Divine Realm's Fire God reincarnated, your experience in wielding divine power wouldn't be this rusty. Who are you?!"
"That's not important."
Huo Yuhao's tone was indifferent. "Besides, judging by your expression, you already have an answer in mind."
The Killing God stared at Huo Yuhao for a few breaths, a cold smile slowly curling at the corner of his mouth.
"In my view, the various abilities you display closely resemble a certain existence recorded in the Divine Realm's annals—the Silver Dragon King!"
As a former subordinate of the first Asura God, the Killing God was well-versed in the Asura God's glorious achievements, including his slaying of the Dragon God and his division into the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King. (Asura God: I didn't! Don't spread lies!)
He also knew something of the Dragon God's, Golden Dragon King's, and Silver Dragon King's abilities.
Legend held that the Silver Dragon King inherited the Dragon God's wisdom, elemental power, and Creation Divine Persona. These matched the abilities Huo Yuhao displayed.
Moreover, speaking of thunder tribulation power, the Dragon God was also known as the God of Judgment—clearly indicating he had mastered it.
And since the Silver Dragon King inherited the Dragon God's elemental power and wisdom, was it possible she'd also mastered thunder tribulation power? Naturally, it was possible.
So in the Killing God's view, the various abilities Huo Yuhao displayed were indeed very similar to the Silver Dragon King's.
Huo Yuhao's eye twitched at this.
Was the Killing God taking him for the Silver Dragon King?
If he was the Silver Dragon King, then who was Na'er?
Gu Yuena, still engaged with the Demon Empress, had been keeping a strand of divine consciousness on this exchange. Hearing the Killing God's shocking conclusion, she felt speechless.
If Yuhao was the Silver Dragon King, then who was she? Had she become a substitute?
This Killing God really had an active imagination!
But upon reflection, Yuhao's abilities did share many similarities with hers. It was understandable that he'd think of her through Yuhao's capabilities.
Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment, then said with an ambiguous smile, "Lord Killing God truly has keen eyes. I admire that."
The Killing God's gaze was heavy as he stared at Huo Yuhao, then snorted coldly.
"There's no need to mock me with ambiguous words, nor to use such noncommittal answers to tacitly claim the Silver Dragon King's identity. I know perfectly well that you can't be the Silver Dragon King!"
"The Silver Dragon King's peak cultivation was not low. Your displayed law comprehension and divine power application don't match hers at all."
The Killing God's gaze grew sharper. "Moreover, you have no draconic bloodline whatsoever!"
A human with no beast or dragon bloodline claiming to be the Silver Dragon King—ridiculous. Could the Silver Dragon King have abandoned her dragon bloodline to become a pure human?
If the Silver Dragon King were willing to become a purely human, then he, the Killing God, would dare to kill the Asura God!
"I only raised the Silver Dragon King possibility to test you further."
The Killing God's eyes swirled with blood light, his tone growing colder. "You are neither the Fire God nor the Silver Dragon King, yet you've tacitly accepted both identities. Why would a powerful being do such a thing for no reason?"
"The only answer I can think of is that you need these powerful divine identities as cover—to hide your true origins, to intimidate other beings, and to boost the Federation's morale!"
"But a true reincarnated deity who has recovered to your level wouldn't need to do this. Unless—you aren't a reincarnated deity at all!"
In the Douluo Continent, deities were essentially an overwhelming force. Once one recovered to the divine level, there was no need to conceal their identity.
Even with him and the Abyss as enemies, there was still no need—after all, reincarnation was reincarnation. Even a first-class deity reincarnated wouldn't make them afraid.
So why not just reveal their identity directly and use faith power to accelerate their recovery?
After all, a false divine title wasn't exactly conducive to absorbing faith power.
Unless—Huo Yuhao wasn't a reincarnated deity, lacked confidence, didn't know how to absorb faith power, and didn't care about such things—hence all the obfuscation!
"Only if you aren't a reincarnated deity can the strange disparity in your foundation and experience be explained. Or rather, that disparity itself proves you aren't a reincarnated deity."
In the Killing God's view, if Huo Yuhao's foundation were used to claim a divine seat in the Divine Realm, he'd absolutely be above first-class deity level.
But his application of divine power and mobilization of laws didn't reach above second-class deity level—which ruled out the possibility of him being a reincarnated being above second-class.
As for him being below third-class—that was even more impossible.
After all, if a third-class deity in the Divine Realm had such a foundation, they'd have already reached second-class.
The strange contradiction between Huo Yuhao's foundation and some of his performances made it difficult for the Killing God to fit the "reincarnated deity" identity onto him.
"From these two points, it's clear that you may not be a reincarnated deity from the Divine Realm at all, but rather a native of the Douluo Plane who has obtained some divine-level fortune!"
The Killing God glanced at the Fire God's divine artifact in Huo Yuhao's hand. "It sounds truly incredible that someone with your foundation isn't a reincarnated deity—even the humans probably wouldn't believe it, and I don't want to believe it either. But in this world, there are always some who can't be judged by common sense."
The Killing God's mind recalled the figure of Ji Dong, his eyes interweaving killing intent and hatred.
Even though he hated Ji Dong, he had to admit that a human with such foundation, who had received the favor of both the Fire God and the Evil God King, was truly rare in this world.
And in Huo Yuhao before him, the Killing God saw many traces of Ji Dong—especially that Fire God divine artifact.
Since Huo Yuhao wasn't the Fire God himself, his Fire God artifact must have been acquired as fortune elsewhere. Just thinking about it made the Killing God find Huo Yuhao even more similar to Ji Dong.
Only Huo Yuhao was even more terrifying—so much so that if he wasn't described as a reincarnated deity, there seemed to be no other words to describe him. Even having guessed Huo Yuhao's identity, the Killing God couldn't be completely certain.
Huo Yuhao: "..."
What was this?
Wrong process, correct conclusion?
He hadn't expected the Killing God to deduce his origins from these two points—truly leaving him at a loss for words.
Seeing that Huo Yuhao's expression had barely changed, the Killing God narrowed his eyes. "From time to time, certain planes give birth to great fortune-bearers. Now that the Abyss Plane seeks to devour the Douluo Plane, this is a great crisis for it. You may well be the fortune-bearer born from this."
"But—" the Killing God's tone shifted, "if that's truly the case, your intelligence, your displayed methods and strength, and your knowledge of the Divine Realm—there are still things that don't add up."
Especially Huo Yuhao's cultivation and his understanding of the Divine Realm—too many oddities.
If Huo Yuhao wasn't a reincarnated deity, how had he reached the divine level without triggering the plane's suppression? Could the divine-level fortune he'd obtained include a divine seat?
And if he wasn't a deity, how did he know about his imprisonment by Ji Dong?
These were the things that puzzled the Killing God.
And the main reason he couldn't fully confirm that Huo Yuhao was human.
Huo Yuhao shook his head, his tone flat.
"As I said, my identity isn't important. Even if you've guessed it, you can't be certain—you're just adding to your confusion. And I don't have time to enlighten you!"
With that, Huo Yuhao launched a sudden attack.
Creation Awakening!
Eternal Destruction Light!
With Creation Awakening boosting his divine consciousness to third-class Divine Origin level, a blast of Destruction Light infused with Eternal Light shot toward the Killing God.
Where the purple pillar passed, void shattered inch by inch, even the air screaming.
The Killing God frowned, not using his divine consciousness to withstand it head-on.
After the burst, Huo Yuhao's divine consciousness was one of the few things in which he held an advantage over the Killing God.
But—it was useless.
Only his divine consciousness was stronger.
He raised the Killing God's Sword. Blood-colored runes on the blade lit up, and a solidified killing intent burst from its tip, transforming into a blood-colored sword light that met the purple Destruction Light head-on.
BOOM!
Purple and blood clashed. There was no stalemate, no explosion. The blood-colored sword light cut through the purple Destruction Light like a hot knife through butter, splitting it in two. The divided purple torrents swept past the Killing God, crashing into distant mountain peaks and blasting two bottomless craters.
Huo Yuhao, relying on his powerful physique, took the weakened blood-colored sword light head-on, silently sensing the power it contained.
Through his battle with the Killing God, he was becoming increasingly familiar with the path of condensing his own power into laws.
Not only that—the Killing God's use of power had also taught him a great deal.
The Killing God naturally noticed this.
Huo Yuhao, with only mid-third-class deity strength, was continuously absorbing his techniques in real combat, his aura and power slowly rising. Perhaps in the short term it wouldn't lead to a qualitative leap, but this growth itself was a hidden danger.
"Not important? I disagree." The Killing God's eyes swirled with blood light, his tone growing colder. "Since you're not a colleague from the Divine Realm, I don't need to worry about your trump cards."
"Bloodbath Eight—"
A ten-thousand-zhang blood-colored sword light burst from the Killing God's blade, about to descend on Huo Yuhao.
No longer holding back, wanting to settle this quickly?
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes.
That wouldn't do. He hadn't yet extracted all of the Killing God's experiences. This wasn't the time for a full confrontation.
"Reincarnation Domain!"
A surge of time power swept past, causing the Killing God's movement to pause, as if rewound for an instant.
And in that moment, Huo Yuhao appeared before the Killing God. The Killing God's expression shifted, ready to guard against the Tian Fen Shen Chu, but instead saw Huo Yuhao's eyes blaze with golden light, divine consciousness surging, his ninth golden spirit ring blazing.
"Ninth Spirit Ability—Divine Consciousness Forbidden Domain!"
The Killing God's expression flickered. He unleashed his killing intent to defend, but was shocked to find that this attack seemed to bypass all defenses other than divine consciousness.
This ability—Possession Demon?
As this thought crossed his mind, the world spun around him.
"This is—" When the Killing God regained his bearings and looked around, he found himself still in Tiandou City, but with no one else present. His expression grew cautious.
"A spiritual space...?"
"Correct. This is a spiritual world I've constructed. No matter how long passes here, only an instant will pass outside."
Huo Yuhao stood not far from the Killing God, his tone calm. "A good arena for combat, don't you think?"
Divine Consciousness Forbidden Domain was his ninth spirit ability, developed with the help of the Possession Demon.
The ability itself could bypass other defenses to some degree. After combining it with the Possession Demon's abilities, it could now even bypass divine power.
As long as his opponent's divine consciousness didn't surpass his—even if only temporarily—he could pull them in here.
"Heh." The Killing God assessed his own power and sneered. "A battlefield that favors you, you mean."
In this space, similar to the Spirit Elevation Platform and the Federation's combat network, combat was conducted through spiritual projection. But unlike those virtual spaces, combat here consumed not simulated power, but their spiritual power.
It seemed only their spirits had been pulled in, everything else isolated.
Here, whoever had stronger spiritual power had the advantage.
And Huo Yuhao's boosted spiritual power was clearly stronger than his.
But—
"Your current spiritual power is indeed stronger than mine, but only temporarily, isn't it?"
The Killing God's tone was flat. "Moreover, maintaining this space consumes your power. Once your state declines, I'll be able to leave."
He'd tested it discreetly—he couldn't break the spiritual space.
But that couldn't last forever. Any spiritual space's maintenance was tied to spiritual power. Once Huo Yuhao's mental state dropped to a certain point, he could definitely escape.
For now, he was just fighting Huo Yuhao under slightly unfavorable conditions.
"And in this space, you don't have that monstrous physical strength. You've essentially given up your advantage!"