Thick, rolling clouds churned, infused with an incredibly dense energy aura.
If an ordinary human could come here, even a single breath would extend their life by more than ten years.
However, ordinary people obviously have neither the opportunity nor the ability to absorb the energy here.
Because this is the Divine Realm.
The Divine Realm is vast, its extent beyond what can be measured by the spatial dimensions of the mortal world.
Even the flow of time here is different from the human world: one day in the Divine Realm is equivalent to one year on earth.
At the very center of this infinite height, a majestic palace gleamed with a faint golden light under the glow of the Divine Realm's aura.
This place is the highest point in the Divine Realm and the seat of control over all its rules—the Divine Committee.
The Divine Committee is jointly governed by five Supreme Gods: the Gods of Good and Evil, along with the three major Enforcer Gods: Asura, Destruction, and Life. They hold the duty of judging other gods and managing the Divine Realm, maintaining its rules.
However, most of the time, all the gods, including these five, reside within their own territories.
One of the three Enforcer Gods, the Goddess of Life, who naturally loves peace and quiet, lives in the Forest of Life at the edge of the Divine Realm.
In this place, she can more clearly observe the changes in the Divine Realm and protect it.
Under the light green sky, a vast forest stretched out in a long strip, exuding a rich life aura. Even gods entering it would gain immense benefits.
Through the light mist, countless stars could be seen, twinkling with fantastical colors.
The trees in the Forest of Life were very peculiar. Their trunks appeared to be carved from jade, while their leaves were translucent dark green. The life aura of the forest emanated from these dark green leaves, creating an awe-inspiring spectacle.
Not to mention the exotic flowers and herbs collected by Chrysanthemum Douluo; even the many precious and rare immortal grasses in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring couldn't compare to any plant here.
In the deepest part of the forest, a man and a woman stood closely together.
The man was shrouded in a purple cloak, covering his head and concealing his appearance. Only two red lights could be vaguely seen flickering within the cloak, exuding an intensely profound and terrifying aura.
In stark contrast to him, the woman's demeanor was gentle, clothed in a light green dress. She always wore a faint smile, her appearance not exceptionally beautiful but possessing a strong sense of affinity and vibrant life force, easily winning people's affection.
These two were the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life, two of the three major Enforcer Gods in the Divine Realm.
As the deity second only in power to the God of Good, the Goddess of Life mastered the laws of creation and life, enabling her to create such an extraordinary and unique environment.
The mist around the God of Destruction was deep purple, somewhat out of place with the forest's atmosphere.
Upon closer observation, one could see that all the water vapor around his body would instantly vanish, turning into nothingness, and the deep purple light grew even more profound.
"Is something bothering you?" A gentle voice sounded.
Having been close companions for countless millennia, the Goddess of Life could naturally discern his distress at a glance.
The God of Destruction remained motionless, a deep voice emanating from beneath the cloak, "You must have felt it too, the slight change in the solar star just now."
Although the fluctuation was fleeting, he had clearly captured it.
As an extraordinary world, this universe's structure was quite peculiar, unlike conventional spiral galaxies.
The stars shining in the night sky of Douluo were not from other stars in the universe but were projections of the solar star.
Even this supreme Divine Realm, though not directly illuminated by the sun, was still affected by it, experiencing day and night alternation.
In other words, the "sun" of this world was far more powerful than Su Cheng imagined.
The solar star, capable of bringing light and heat to many worlds, was also a form of extraordinary power with an extremely high rank.
But because of its immense power, it could not develop true consciousness.
It had been like this for thousands of years, and the gods had long grown accustomed to its presence.
"I felt it." The woman nodded slightly, seemingly unconcerned, "But since the two God Kings haven't said anything, it should be fine."
"They..." The God of Destruction paused, hesitating for a moment before continuing, "Their minds are no longer on the Divine Realm."
"Destruction, don't speak carelessly. Whatever the Divine Kings decide to do, they must have their reasons."
"Let's hope you're right." He shook his head. Recalling the last few times he visited the Divine Committee, the cavalier attitudes of the God of Good and the God of Evil, and their subtle mentions of "reincarnation," left him somewhat skeptical.
"By the way, it seems a Child of Nature has appeared in the lower realms, but there's something strange about them, something that feels ambiguous," the Goddess of Life said softly, as if recalling something.
Upon hearing this, the God of Destruction abruptly turned around, his blood-red eyes under the cloak sharp and intense, a piercingly cold aura of destruction surging forth.
"Even you can't discern their nature? Who are they, and on which planet?"
Wherever his deep purple divine power passed, all energy in heaven and earth was shattered and absorbed into his destructive force.
However, when this immense power approached the Goddess of Life, it was reconstituted, restoring its original form. This cycle of creation and destruction was quite miraculous.
"Don't be so agitated."
The Goddess of Life, unconcerned by the intense aura of destruction surrounding her, leaned closer to the God of Destruction, gently resting against him.
"That person is on Douluo. Strictly speaking, they aren't a pure human but a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form. However, it seems they have encountered some fortuitous event, making their existence form quite special."
"Douluo again..."
"What is it?"
"It's about Rakshasa." As the Goddess of Life drew near, the God of Destruction's emotions stabilized.
He explained lightly, "She boasted to me a while ago that she had ambushed and intercepted two inheritors of the Asura God position on Douluo, both of whom had extraordinary talents.
"But then she told me that one of the inheritors she intercepted, who was perfectly fine, suddenly severed their connection with the Rakshasa God trial, in an inexplicable manner.
"Logically, unless a god intervenes, how could a mortal have the means to sever a divine trial connection?"
Hearing this, the Goddess of Life frowned slightly, "She should restrain herself. It's because of your support that Rakshasa dares to act so recklessly. Be careful not to anger the Asura God. You know he's been troubled about his god position's inheritance for a long time."
"You're overthinking it. If Asura didn't tolerate it, Rakshasa's arrangements would have been wiped out long ago. Asura has made many arrangements for his god position's inheritance, trying various methods. You know, the Asura God position is unique, its aura of slaughter too intense, and its divine power overly domineering, making it difficult for most to master. Rakshasa's interference actually helps by testing the inheritors' resilience. Only by overcoming the evil influence can they truly succeed in inheriting the god position."
In fact, this was not only true for Asura.
As the God of Destruction, he also faced immense challenges in passing on his god position.
Such dark-aligned god positions severely tested one's mind and spirit.
However, he had no intention of passing on his god position, so he didn't worry about these matters.
"She should still be more restrained," the Goddess of Life said softly, pursing her lips. "And Rakshasa is excessively malevolent. Ever since the Angel God fell and the Angel God position became vacant, with no one to rival her, she has become increasingly deranged. Her urgency to pass on the god position likely stems from this too."
The God of Destruction glanced at her without saying more.
Dark-aligned gods and light-aligned gods had different roles and divine power principles.
The Asura God is the God of Slaughter, responsible for slaughter, judgment, and laws. His aura of slaughter is incredibly powerful, and anyone whose inner world is not extremely resolute can easily be influenced by it, causing a change in their personality or even driving them to madness. Therefore, selecting an heir is extremely challenging.
Even the Goddess of Life, also one of the supreme gods in the divine realm, finds it difficult to understand the mysteries of such an opposing existence.
So he changed the subject, saying, "The matters concerning the Sun Star and the Child of Nature you discovered must not be taken lightly. And as for the heir of the Rakshasa God, I must also investigate her situation. I don't know why, but I have a bad premonition.
"Currently, the minds of the two God Kings are elsewhere. The Asura God is keen on finding an heir and then leaving the divine realm to explore the universe. I can't rely on anyone else.
"Thankfully, you are by my side. Moreover, the laws you control are naturally peaceful, making you much more suitable for observation than I am."
The Goddess of Life sighed, "I know you have always been deeply concerned about the development of the divine realm. Naturally, I will help you."
In a relatively remote plain within the heartland of the divine realm, dark red blood energy, as solid as substance, pierced the sky like a towering, unmatched divine sword.
All around was dense, unending blood-red mist. Even a deity entering here would lose their mind in the omnipresent aura of slaughter.
Compared to the environment here, the Asura Road's Asura divine power and bloody killing intent were child's play.
This place was the Asura God's Temple, a location feared even within the divine realm.
At this moment, a figure fully clad in dark red demonic-patterned armor was sitting cross-legged at the center of the grand hall.
In front of him was a huge crystal ball. The scenes within it seemed accelerated by hundreds of times. Except for the almost unchanging dark red city background, all the figures moved like afterimages, making it impossible to discern anything clearly.
However, with the Asura God's power, seeing the contents clearly was evidently not difficult.
The scenes in the crystal ball were of the City of Slaughter.
Tang San, Xie Yue, Yan, Hu Liena, and others were all inside.
There was also the King of Slaughter, Tang Chen, once the Asura God's heir but now possessed by the Nine-Headed Blood Bat, and the current Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao, who was silently observing his son's progress from the shadows.
"Tang Chen, Bibi Dong, Tang Hao, Tang San..."
The Asura God softly muttered these names, his voice as powerful as clashing metal.
Su Cheng had only guessed half of it correctly.
Tang San was indeed chosen by the Asura God, a piece on his chessboard, but he wasn't the only one, nor was he originally the most important.
When Tang San's soul accidentally drifted into this universe, the Asura God discovered him by chance. Using his divine power, he protected Tang San and placed him into Tang Hao's son's body, occupying the nest.
Except for matters of great importance, the Asura God was not one to strictly adhere to rules.
Moreover, he had waited too long for an heir and was tired of being the divine realm's enforcer.
However, Tang San's situation was only a backup plan, with low priority.
Before Tang San, several people from Douluo Star had also been chosen by the Asura God.
The first was Tang Chen, the ancestor of the Clear Sky Sect and Tang San's great-grandfather.
In terms of talent alone, neither Bibi Dong, Tang Hao, nor Tang San could compare to this first-generation Clear Sky Douluo.
Had he not been unlucky, born in the wrong era, he might have had the chance to gather faith and create a divine position on his own.
Unfortunately, during the Asura God's trials, Tang Chen rushed and made a wrong move, becoming possessed by the Rakshasa God's Nine-Headed Blood Bat.
After this, Tang Chen's foundation was utterly ruined, making it impossible for him to inherit the Asura divine power.
While the Asura God's power was formidable, even stronger than the two veteran God Kings, his divine power's nature couldn't heal Tang Chen's condition unless the Asura God humbled himself to seek help from the Goddess of Life.
Of course, he wouldn't do that.
When Tang Chen's will couldn't overpower the Nine-Headed Blood Bat, the Asura God had already disqualified him as an heir.
The Asura God's will was terrifying.
Unable to resist the Nine-Headed Blood Bat's erosion, even if cured, it would be difficult to pass on the Asura divine position.
After Tang Chen, the Asura God turned to Bibi Dong.
But again, the Rakshasa God intervened, taking her as his heir first.
Compared to Tang Chen, Bibi Dong was even better suited for the Asura divine position.
However, divine realm rules dictated a first-come, first-served approach to choosing heirs.
Moreover, the Rakshasa God served under the God of Destruction, making it difficult for the Asura God to protest or seize her.
Next, the Asura God considered Tang Hao.
But compared to Tang Chen and Bibi Dong, he was far inferior.
Crippled by setbacks, his mindset was unfit for the domineering Asura divine power.
Now, only Tang San remained.
In the Asura God's view, despite everything else, Tang San's mentality made him a suitable heir for the Asura divine position.
Deities' views on good and evil differ from humans'.
Human notions of good and bad are irrelevant to them.
Moreover, none of the five supreme gods in the divine realm are human by origin.
What the Asura God valued in Tang San was his intense, nearly twisted self-awareness, reminiscent of Bibi Dong.
The difference was that Tang San believed his decisions were always right, while Bibi Dong thought the entire world was wrong.
From a cultivation perspective, this wasn't bad.
Only unwavering conviction in one's path and the belief that one's actions are always correct prevent self-doubt.
In this regard, Tang San's twisted sense of morality fit perfectly.
Yet, the Asura God remained hesitant.
Tang San wasn't yet up to his standards.
To inherit the Asura divine position, a stubborn mentality was crucial but not the only requirement.
Without a strong foundation and sufficient strength, an ordinary body couldn't withstand the Asura God's trials.
Moreover, Tang San's will needed further tempering.
"More must be done; this is far from enough..."