Chapter 407: The Grand Finale (End)
"Senior Rong Nianbing, I'd like to ask you to temporarily maintain the stability of the God Realm."
Han Li didn't immediately address the confusion on Destruction's face but instead turned to Rong Nianbing, who stood in the back.
Hearing Han Li call his name, Rong Nianbing was momentarily stunned. He lifted his right hand and pointed at himself.
"Yes, you. Just stabilize it for now."
Han Li smiled, his previous battle hardened ruthlessness completely gone.
Rong Nianbing glanced at Destruction, then at Life. Han Li's overly familiar attitude made him a little uncomfortable this was their first time meeting, after all.
"Just do as he says."
Destruction closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and sighed. They were the losers in this battle. The fact that Han Li wasn't holding more people accountable was already a great mercy.
"Fine."
With Destruction's reluctant approval, Rong Nianbing had no choice but to call upon a few of his close friends to help maintain the realm.
"Give me a strand of your origin essence each, and this will be over."
Han Li's attitude toward Destruction and Life was far less polite.
While he respected their choices, they were still his enemies.
He had promised not to harm the divine officials of the God Realm, but that didn't apply to them.
A flicker of anger flashed in Destruction's eyes, and he nearly exploded in rage, but Life gently pulled at his hand, urging him to restrain himself.
"If you think you can use this to control me, I'll tell you now that's impossible."
Destruction struck his own chest with his palm, forcing out a strand of his origin essence. His face paled as he tossed it to Han Li, though he still managed to hold his ground.
At the same time, he tightened his grip on Life's hand. Like him, her divine aura was also visibly weakening.
For them, this was not irreversible, but recovery would take a very long time.
"You? Not worthy. Just don't come begging me later."
Han Li accepted the essence with a look of disdain, then deliberately purified it with his own Destruction power right in front of Destruction's face.
"You !"
Life once again held Destruction back.
"Gu Yue, any other enemies left?"
Han Li turned to Gu Yue.
"No need. With the restrictions lifted, that's already our greatest victory."
Gu Yue glanced briefly at Destruction before looking away. The grudge regarding the Dragon God had always been complex, but the changes to the laws now meant everything for the soul beast race.
"Alright, then that settles it."
Han Li nodded, then turned to his companions.
"You all go back first. I still have something to take care of it'll be beneficial to you all as well."
"Oh, right, Qian Xue, make sure to release Grandmaster from the Angel Sanctuary."
Han Li had sensed waves of restricted divine energy earlier, which meant Qian Daoliu was still unconscious.
"Them?"
Guang Ling frowned and glanced at the gods of the God Realm. He wanted to stay behind as protection just in case.
"Don't worry, Master. They'd better hope I succeed. If I fail, they won't have a home left."
Han Li made no attempt to hide his blatant distrust of the gods standing before him.
"Alright, but be careful. If it's too difficult, just give up and invite the seniors to Douluo Star instead. The rest of them? Their lives have nothing to do with us."
Guang Ling remained hostile toward the God Realm. Even though most of them hadn't participated in the conflict, it was still the God Realm that had attacked Han Li.
He knew very well their neutrality was only because Han Li had proven too powerful.
"Got it. Don't worry, Master."
Han Li smiled in response, but as he turned, his gaze coldly swept over several gods who had shown hostility while Guang Ling spoke.
He mentally noted their faces.
Right now, they were the ones begging for mercy.
After making sure everyone had returned to Douluo Star, Han Li turned back to Destruction and Life.
"Let's go. We're moving the God Realm."
Though still confused, Destruction and Life could only comply, flying up to assist Han Li in dragging the God Realm toward Douluo Star.
"Seniors, I ask for your patience just a little longer."
Han Li called out to Rong Nianbing and the others still maintaining the protective barrier. Then, signaling Destruction and Life to step back, he threw the strands of origin essence from the Five God Kings down toward Douluo Star.
In the next moment, under their wide eyed shock,
Han Li and Douluo Star both began to glow
And then Douluo Star disappeared.
Seconds later,
A golden, radiant Douluo Star reappeared
Not in space, but inside Han Li's dantian, flowing with his divine power before settling in his palm.
No not just Douluo Star.
Destruction and Life's pupils contracted sharply.
In Han Li's hand, it was as if an entirely new universe had taken shape.
No even that wasn't quite right.
It was more like Douluo Star had become an entire cosmic entity, undergoing drastic transformation.
This was different from a plane created by a God King.
They could clearly sense it
Both Han Li himself and the Douluo Star in his grasp had begun separating from reality.
Even more terrifying
They were subtly absorbing the real universe, expanding themselves.
Yet, at the same time
The universe did not reject them.
If this continued, this entire cosmos might be devoured by Han Li.
That thought sent chills down their spines.
Then
"Ugh hic."
Han Li's form flickered, momentarily reappearing in the real world as he instinctively rubbed his stomach.
But Douluo Star still hadn't returned to its original position.
"You..."
Destruction opened his mouth slightly, realizing that he could no longer sense Han Li's presence.
"Yes, it's exactly what you think I've ascended to Creator God."
Han Li nodded. He had considered many possibilities, but even he hadn't expected it to be this easy.
All he did was throw a few strands of origin essence into Douluo Star, and he had succeeded.
And yet, all he felt was a strange sense of fullness as if he had eaten too much.
In just that instant, the entire consciousness of the plane had been transferred to him.
He didn't need to learn anything; all of it had been imprinted into his instincts.
The "obedient child" still existed as a consciousness, but now, it could no longer influence Douluo Star without his permission.
Even now, a constant stream of new information continued flooding into his mind, waiting to be organized.
"I plan to directly absorb the God Realm. Any objections?"
Han Li looked at Destruction and Life, symbolically asking for their opinion.
"No "
Destruction didn't even finish his sentence before Han Li reached out and touched the God Realm.
As soon as his hand made contact, the God Realm began turning illusory, shrinking rapidly.
Clearly, Han Li was only asking out of courtesy he had never intended to listen to them at all.
Seeing this, Destruction wisely shut his mouth.
Han Li ignored his reaction and pulled the God Realm closer to his hand.
Then, after some thought, he chose a newly formed continent on the opposite side of Spirit City within Douluo Star and placed the God Realm there.
During the entire process, Rong Nianbing and the others hardly noticed anything the only oddity was the sudden drop in energy.
Which made sense.
The moment Han Li placed the God Realm, all of its energy had already been dispersed across the planet.
It was impossible for the energy levels not to drop.
But because of this, the once abundant immortal energy containing longevity properties was now diluted.
From now on, if anyone wanted immortality, they would have to earn it through cultivation and hard work.
With the God Realm fully merged, Douluo Star was no longer just a planet
It had officially begun its evolution into an entirely new universe.
And unlike the previous God Realm, this new world would develop along an entirely different path.
Even Han Li himself didn't know where it would ultimately lead
But that only made it more interesting, didn't it?
Perhaps, once this growing universe had fully devoured the current cosmos, a new framework would start to take shape?
But for now...
Han Li had just won.
A short break wouldn't hurt, right?
Besides, there was still a mountain of information in his head waiting to be sorted out.
With a casual wave of his hand, Han Li returned Douluo Star to its original position.
Only now, compared to before
Douluo Star was more than ten times larger
And it was still slowly rotating, absorbing the surrounding energy.
At first glance, it looked unchanged.
But Destruction and Life knew better.
This wasn't a mere planet anymore.
It was a universe one even more advanced than the God Realm had ever been.
What unsettled them the most was the strange affection they now felt toward it.
Even though this very same entity had just "devoured" the God Realm they had sworn to protect for millennia.
The contradiction made them incredibly uneasy.
"Hey, don't overthink it. We're all family now. You'd better take good care of it."
"Come on, let's go in and take a look."
Han Li's grin widened, and without giving them a chance to refuse, he dragged them along into the planet's core.
He wasn't running a charity.
By not severing their connection to their origin essence, he had effectively bound them to this new world.
Now, just like his "obedient child", they were high ranking employees
Employees who didn't need to be paid.
Employees who could never betray him.
A perfect industry model, wasn't it?
From now on
None of the previous events had ever happened.
Or at least, that's what they were going to pretend.
A few seconds after the three of them disappeared into the new world,
In the depths of space, a blue streak of light cautiously emerged from behind an asteroid.
Seeing the now massive Douluo Star, the figure hesitated.
But as he attempted to enter,
He passed straight through
As if the planet was nothing but an illusion.
Confused, the man turned around, revealing a familiar face.
The one who had fled long ago
Poseidon.
"Wait, hold on don't leave me behind!"
After several more failed attempts to enter,
He remained floating helplessly in space,
Letting out a desperate, echoing scream
"WAIT FOR ME!"
Seven Days Later
The former Papal Palace of Spirit Hall
A group of high ranking Spirit Hall officials, gods, and soul beasts noisily emerged from the great hall, their expressions filled with excitement.
Inside, Han Li let out a long sigh, glancing at the women who were still arguing among themselves.
He slumped into his seat, exhausted.
The integration of multiple factions, along with planning the future of this new world,
Was far more complicated than he had expected.
It was clear now
This wasn't going to be resolved in just six months.
He really hadn't anticipated that after winning the battle, he'd have to deal with all this kingdom building nonsense.
It was like playing two entirely different games.
Thankfully, once the main framework was established, things would become much easier.
Suddenly
A pair of delicate hands pressed gently against his forehead, massaging it with care.
"Xiao Li, there's no need to rush. We have all the time in the world."
"Mmm... I know, Sister Xiu'er."
"Oh, by the way Qian Xue asked me to remind you... you still owe her a favor."
"Why doesn't she come tell me herself?"
"She said you wouldn't agree unless Gu Yue got lost… uh, I mean, stayed far, far away."
"Ask her if she can pick something else…"
The two casually chatted, and at some point, Han Li unknowingly drifted off to sleep.
In his dream, he found himself back at the barbecue stall with his best friends, just moments before his sudden death.
"Tsk, a Creator God, huh? Bro, am I amazing or what?"
That smug bastard looked at Han Li with a self satisfied grin, even clinking skewers with him as if they were drinking.
Han Li froze for a moment, then glanced around
His hand was still holding a skewer of meat, and the aroma was mouthwatering.
He took a big bite, chewing and swallowing.
Mmm, this was the taste he remembered loaded with modern food science and excessive seasoning, the kind of thing you'd never find in Douluo.
After the battle, when he returned to Douluo Star, he had spent an entire day digesting all the information flooding his mind.
But in the end, he still couldn't figure out the reason for his reincarnation.
And now, here he was, meeting that bastard in a dream.
Yes, a dream.
Even though the food tasted authentic, Han Li was no longer just an ordinary person.
Aside from the skewer in his hand, everything else was fake.
"You bastard, spill the truth!"
Han Li devoured the rest of the meat in just a few bites, then launched himself forward, tackling the guy to the ground.
To be honest, even if he had the option to go back, he probably wouldn't choose to
But that didn't mean he wouldn't ask questions.
"I really can't tell you yet," the guy wheezed under Han Li's weight. "All I can say is, once you set up your world properly, someone will come to assess you. And when that happens… you'll get benefits."
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you a damn dog?! Why are you biting me?!"
"..."
"F**!"*
Han Li jolted awake in his seat, cursing instinctively.
But as he opened his eyes, he was met with the worried gazes of the women in the hall.
"It's nothing. Just a nightmare… I've been a bit exhausted lately."
He forced a laugh, brushing it off.
"Oh, right almost forgot. Tonight, we're going to Tao ge's place for dinner. His wife is pregnant. We should go give our blessings."
Han Li got up first, motioning for the others to follow as they headed outside.
In his dream, despite interrogating his best friend with "severe torture," he still didn't get any answers.
That bastard had escaped, leaving only a cryptic "Ten years" behind, saying that by then, Han Li would understand everything.
Oh well, whatever.
He didn't care about rewards anymore he was already more than satisfied.
Even at his weakest, he was still the ruler of a miniature universe.
What was there to complain about?
Yes, that was right.
Tomorrow, he'd have Destruction and Life get to work.
They were God Kings, after all no need for them to sit in on meetings. They could go explore instead.
Oh, and he really needed to let that damn Sea God in from space.
Sign him up for a thousand year unpaid labor contract, that should be fair.
Han Li was still mulling over his plans as he stepped into Tao ge's house, his usual carefree smile on his face.
Oh, and one last thing
He absolutely had to put the God of Lust and the old gambler in the same workplace.
He was dying to see what would happen.
(End of Chapter Finale.)
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