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The Asura God's icy gaze swept over Bibi Dong, who had achieved a balance of Asura and Rakshasa God Power in the mirror, and He fell silent for a moment.
The terrifying ring of slaughter around Him seemed to have softened slightly, evidently, the madness, decisiveness, and ultimate control displayed by Xuan Ming and Bibi Dong in this trial had, to a certain extent, met some of His extremely stringent implicit requirements for a successor's temperament.
However, a new and rather tricky choice lay before Him—who should inherit His Asura God Position, which commanded judgment and slaughter?
From the perspective of pure compatibility and potential, Xuan Ming was undoubtedly the superior choice. His ruthlessness in splitting his soul and reshaping his Spirit, his profound understanding of the essence of slaughter, and his madness in stopping at nothing to achieve his goals, all perfectly matched the core laws of the Asura God Position.
But Bibi Dong was equally impressive. She successfully fused the opposing Rakshasa and Asura divine forces, forging her own path. Her mutated Slaughter Domain was both bizarre and domineering, possessing immense potential. More importantly, she also possessed the tenacious will to break through and rise from desperate situations.
However, the Asura God had to consider a deeper issue—the complex and solid relationship between Xuan Ming and Bibi Dong.
If the Asura God Position were passed to Bibi Dong... given the almost intertwined destinies of these two, if a major disagreement arose in the God Realm in the future due to lingering issues with the Dragon Clan or other matters, how would Bibi Dong choose?
The answer was almost beyond doubt—she would unhesitatingly stand by Xuan Ming, regardless of right or wrong.
For ordinary matters, the Asura God might not care.
But when it involved an old ailment like the Dragon God, which was enough to shake the foundations of the God Realm, a law enforcement god wielding judgment and slaughter explicitly favoring one side would undoubtedly bring immense uncertainty, and could even trigger serious internal opposition within the God Realm.
Pass the God Position to Xuan Ming? This seemed to avoid the aforementioned problems, but Xuan Ming was more deeply entangled with the Dragon Clan's karma. The sacrifice of the Ice and Fire Dragon King, the binding of the Silver Dragon King, and his own bizarre logic of 'fearing comfort and seeking his own demise' all made his future full of greater variables.
Just as the Asura God was weighing his options, the God of Evil seemed to see through His concerns, stroking his chin and speaking with a playful smile: "Asura, are you having a headache over who to pass the God Position to? Actually... there's no need to make a decision now."
"Their paths are not yet complete. The Seagod Nine Trials... or rather, this test we jointly set, is far from over. Why not wait and see?"
The Asura God was silent for a moment. "Then... what about the reward for this trial?"
"Who will give it?"
This question caused a brief silence in the Divine Hall. This assessment involved a wide range of factors, and the distribution of rewards also needed consideration.
Just then, a purple lightning flashed around the God of Destruction. A god-bestowed spirit ring, radiating pure destruction and dark purple in color, had already condensed. He casually sent it out, transforming into a stream of light that pierced through the God Realm's barrier and descended towards the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in the lower realm.
"The process was a bit crazy, but the result... I'm very satisfied! This kind of courage to seek a breakthrough in desperation, even to the point of inciting destruction to facilitate new Life, is very much to my liking!" the God of Destruction said indifferently.
"Even if something goes wrong with the Dragon Clan later, I will find a way to protect him. This Destruction God Position, I think it suits him quite well."
As he spoke, even the Goddess of Life beside him glanced over slightly, then smiled gently and chimed in: "Since Little Purple already has this intention, then the child Gu Yuena is also quite compatible with my Life God Position. If the two of them can inherit our God Positions, even if the old ailment of the Dragon God is difficult to resolve, the supreme authority of Destruction and Life complementing each other would be enough to protect the Spirit Beast Clan and allow them to achieve new Life and revival."
Destruction and Life, two transcendent God Kings in the God Realm Committee, at this moment, almost explicitly expressed their intention to pass on their God Positions to Xuan Ming and Gu Yuena!
This meant that no matter how the Dragon Clan issue was resolved in the future, and no matter what Xuan Ming's relationship with other forces in the God Realm was, as long as they did not betray the fundamental interests of the God Realm, the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life would become their strongest backing!
Possessing the status of two God Kings would be enough to give the Spirit Beast Clan immense say and living space within the rules of the God Realm!
The other God Kings in the Divine Hall, although somewhat surprised by the decisiveness of the God of Destruction and the stance of the Goddess of Life, did not voice any opposition.
A subtle balance of power permeated the air.
The God of Kindness's gentle gaze swept over the God Kings, and she softly said, "Since Destruction and Life have this intention, there is naturally a reason for it. The temperament and potential of these two have indeed been sufficiently demonstrated."
Her words carried a deeper meaning, pointing out the common concern in the hearts of the God Kings.
After all, the Dragon Clan issue had escalated to a point where it was an intractable problem that had to be resolved.
Even if Xuan Ming ultimately failed in this "Seagod Nine Trials" they had set, would he give up?
Clearly impossible!
Leaving aside whether Xuan Ming himself still harbored other unknown methods, Gu Yuena alone, now wielding the heart of the dragon god, was enough to take Xuan Ming far away, escaping the control of the God Realm.
As a super divine tool left behind by the Dragon God, the heart of the dragon god's power was unfathomable. Even a God King might not be fully confident in being able to keep them without causing immense turmoil.
Once things developed to that point, every God King present knew what it meant.
The universe was vast and boundless; there was more than just their God Realm. A terrifyingly potential seed like Xuan Ming, coupled with Gu Yuena, who carried the karma of the Dragon God, if they escaped their sight and drifted into the sphere of influence of other God Realms... other God Realms did not have the same millennia-long entanglement of grievances and taboos with the Dragon Clan and the Dragon God as they did.
For those God Realms, Xuan Ming and Gu Yuena were not trouble, but rather invaluable treasures with infinite potential, worthy of strong support! If they could be cultivated to become new pillar combat forces of that God Realm, their value would be immeasurable.
At that time, what they would lose would not only be a possible option to resolve the lingering issues of the Dragon God, but also, in the future God Realm pattern, they would have created two powerful opponents with infinite potential for themselves! This was undoubtedly a situation no God King wished to see.
Rather than pushing such a potential threat to an uncontrollable distance, it was better to give them sufficient attention and "investment" while they were still within control and within the rules of the game, guiding them towards a direction favorable to their side.
The decisive stance of the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life was precisely based on this far-reaching consideration. They saw the immeasurable potential of Xuan Ming and Gu Yuena and foresaw the greater risks that might arise from letting them go unchecked.
A flicker of understanding passed through the God of Evil's crimson eyes. He chuckled softly, tacitly agreeing to the decision of Destruction and Life.
Although the Asura God remained silent, the sharp light in His cold, blood-red eyes also receded somewhat. He understood that, on a larger strategic level, the decision of Destruction and Life was correct. His personal choice of inheritance needed to make concessions and adjustments in the face of the overall interests of the God Realm.
The atmosphere in the Divine Hall, due to the clear attitudes of the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life, and the deeper cosmic considerations, quietly reached a certain consensus.
The God Realm's "test" for Xuan Ming and Gu Yuena would continue, but the tone had changed.
From the initial scrutiny, apprehension, and even suppressive trials, it began to shift towards a more inclusive, even supportive, observation and guidance... Just as the God Kings of the God Realm reached a subtle consensus, in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in the lower realm, Xuan Ming's consciousness slowly awoke from a deep slumber.
He opened his heavy eyelids, and the first thing that met his gaze was Bibi Dong's purple eyes, filled with concern and fatigue. She still maintained the posture of holding him semi-embraced, and stable, powerful divine force fluctuations emanated from her, indicating that her condition was now stable.
"You're awake?" Bibi Dong breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Xuan Ming nodded slightly, assessing his own condition.
His spirit power and mental force were still depleted. Continuously activating the Dragon Emperor's World Devourer twice had caused severe exhaustion to his body, to the point where even the tyrannical recovery ability inherent in his Abyssal Dragon Emperor Body couldn't keep up.
He struggled to sit up but was gently held down by Bibi Dong.
"Don't move, you've expended too much," she whispered, continuously channeling gentle spirit power into his body.
Just then, two distinct yet equally vast and majestic energies descended without warning, precisely landing on Xuan Ming and Gu Yuena!
[Seagod Nine Trials Third Trial: Slaying Sins and Soothing Souls. Complete.]
[Reward: spirit power level increased by two ranks. One god-bestowed spirit ring. All spirit ring cultivation years increased by ten thousand years.]
[Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena, assisted in completing the Seagod Nine Trials Third Trial, reward: 10% recovery of original injuries.]
As the rewards descended, the Goddess of Life's healing light also shone upon Xuan Ming, and his originally weak body rapidly recovered.
Blood Spear's six black and two red, eight spirit rings also appeared simultaneously, especially the first six colors deepened and transformed at a visible speed!
Immediately after, another portion of golden light condensed in front of Xuan Ming, forming a brand new, dark purple orb with destructive lightning patterns flowing on its surface. It was the god-bestowed spirit ring from the God of Destruction.
On the other side, under the nourishment of the emerald green Life origin, Gu Yuena's originally pale complexion, due to maintaining the power of creation for a long time, quickly regained its rosy hue. Her aura became more rounded and profound, and nine-colored halos flowed in her silver-purple eyes, clearly indicating significant gains.
"God of Destruction?"
Looking at the god-bestowed spirit ring containing extreme destructive aura before her, Gu Yuena was somewhat surprised.
She had thought that the God of Destruction would not get involved in this matter, after all, that guy had always paid little attention to the Dragon Clan's affairs. Matters in this regard were always handled by Evil, Goodness, and Asura.
However, it made sense; since the Goddess of Life was involved in this matter, the God of Destruction could not remain aloof.
Moreover, whether it was the previous ring of slaughter or the ring of evil, they were not ordinary god-bestowed spirit rings. They all contained a portion of divine force and possessed the potential to grow into million-year spirit rings, which were divine rings.