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...God Realm, Supreme Temple.
The solemn and dignified atmosphere that usually prevailed was gone. The Divine Thoughts of the four God Kings were like thunder in a storm, colliding and clashing fiercely. If the temple itself were not formed from the Laws, it likely would have collapsed in this invisible dispute long ago.
"What is there left to argue about?" The God of Evil stood up. "Xuan Ming's Heart-Nature is decisive; he acts only according to his own heart, with his own scale for good and evil, unfettered by worldly conventions! To achieve his goals, he will not hesitate even if blood flows like a river! This essence of being true to oneself perfectly fits my God Position of Evil! He is meant to inherit my God Position!"
"Absurd!" The Asura God slammed the table and rose. "Evil, put away your tricks of playing with people's hearts. His Blood Spear, which drinks blood and devours souls, growing through battle, and his harsh methods of judgment that leave millions of corpses in their wake—which of these does not deeply align with the true meaning of slaughter and judgment of my asura god position? His path is one of walking over mountains of corpses and seas of blood; he is a natural Asura Successor!"
The God of Destruction snorted coldly. "Asura! Has water gotten into your brain? Your God Position was already internally decided for that Bibi Dong in the Lower Realm! That woman holds the Asura Demon Sword, her Slaughter God Domain has already mutated, and she is striking for the God Position with all her might! Are you going back on your word now? Do you still want the face of a God King?"
"Evil, Xuan Ming directly crushes hearts; he doesn't play with them! It is thorough destruction and reconstruction! It perfectly aligns with the Dao of destruction before creation of my God Position of Destruction! I said long ago that my God Position would be passed to him!"
Seeing the three male God Kings arguing until they were red in the face, their Divine Thoughts colliding to the point of almost sparking physical flames, the God of Kindness, who had remained silent, let a soft white-gold light flow around her. Her ethereal and calm voice rang out, yet it was like dropping a piece of ice into a boiling pot of oil:
"Everyone, are you perhaps too obsessed with appearances?" the God of Kindness said softly.
"Xuan Ming's methods may seem harsh, but at their core, they are for the purpose of establishing a better order, to end ten thousand years of strife, and to give all living beings a relatively fair starting point. Deep in his heart, there is a persistence and protection of ultimate goodness. He has simply chosen the most effective, yet also the most difficult, way to practice it. This essence of carrying a flame through boundless darkness, bearing sins while facing the light, shares the same origin as my God Position of Kindness."
As soon as she said this, the other three God Kings first froze, then completely exploded like ignited powder kegs!
"Kindness! You have the nerve to say that?!" The God of Evil laughed out of sheer anger. "Back when we dealt with those heretical pantheons, who was it that proposed purifying their entire planes of faith along with them? Your hands are even blacker than mine!"
The Asura God also added a cold, merciless blow: "Exactly! That Fallen Star God who betrayed the God Realm last time—who was it that personally acted to strip away his Godhead inch by inch and cast his divine soul into the Realm of Returning to Emptiness of eternal silence to suffer an eternal torture ten thousand times more cruel than my Asura Judgment? Your 'kind' methods are truly gentle!"
The God of Destruction was even more dismissive, directly exposing her: "Protecting a greater good? What a joke! When you take action, you're blacker than the three of us combined! To maintain the overall stability of the God Realm and the order of goodness, have you ever hesitated for a single moment when being ruthless? What's with the act of being pure and flawless now?"
Being exposed repeatedly, the holy radiance on the God of Kindness's face seemed to flicker for a moment, but her smile remained gentle, though a sharp glint flashed deep in her eyes: "Necessary sacrifices are for the greater good. Xuan Ming understands this well; he is the best successor for my God Position."
For a time, the temple was in an uproar as the four God Kings exposed each other's secrets, arguing incessantly.
Evil accused Asura of indiscriminate killing, Asura mocked Destruction for being brainless, Destruction despised Kindness for being hypocritical, and Kindness calmly responded that everyone was being too "impulsive."
Everyone believed Xuan Ming was the most compatible with them, and no one would back down an inch. The scene once spiraled out of control.
The Goddess of Life, who had been watching from the side, finally sighed helplessly at this chaotic scene.
Her Divine Thought, full of vitality and soothing power, rippled out like gentle waves. Though weak, it strangely managed to slightly calm the heated dispute.
"Everyone, I think this matter should be decided by Xuan Ming himself," the Goddess of Life said softly.
"Xuan Ming is no ordinary candidate for inheritance. The Law Seeds of all five of us have already gathered within him, which means he possesses infinite possibilities. Forcibly incorporating him into a specific lineage of God Positions might instead limit his future."
She looked at the God of Destruction, who was arguing the most fiercely: "Xiao Zi, didn't you take an interest in him back then precisely because of that quality of transcending conventions and following his own path?"
The God of Destruction fell silent for a moment and did not retort.
The Goddess of Life looked at the other three: "Asura, your successor Bibi Dong is already on her way. Evil, Kindness, your God Position inheritances also have their own rules. Xuan Ming... he may be destined to walk a different path."
"Rather than us deciding for him here, why not give the right of choice to him?"
The hall fell into a brief silence.
The four God Kings looked at each other. Although they were unwilling, they understood that the Goddess of Life's words made sense. Xuan Ming's uniqueness indeed could not be measured by common logic. Forcing a struggle might not be a good thing.
Finally, the God of Evil snorted first, "Fine! Let that kid choose for himself! I want to see what kind of tricks he can come up with!"
The Asura God and the God of Destruction nodded in succession, accepting the plan. The God of Kindness naturally had no objections.
Thus, an assessment message containing the collective will of the five God Kings crossed layers of space and descended into Xuan Ming's Sea of Consciousness in the Lower Realm:
[Sixth Trial Open: God Position Choice.]
[Content: Within one year, clarify your own Divine Dao, obtain the recognition of at least one God King-level existence, or condense your own Godhead, taking the most critical step toward becoming a god.]
The trial had been issued, and the right of choice was now in Xuan Ming's hands.
However, although they had agreed on the surface to let Xuan Ming choose for himself, secretly, no one would likely give up easily. In the coming year, they would surely each display their Divine Ability, observing in secret or even... quietly exerting influence... Douluo Continent, Spirit City.
With the complete surrender of the Two Great Empires and the full implementation of the new policies, the massive war machine of the Spirit Empire began to shift its focus toward internal governance and development.
Although undercurrents still surged under the high-pressure rule, on the surface, the continent entered an unprecedented period of "peace."
Inside the Supreme Pontiff Palace, Bibi Dong finished reviewing the final outline of the Empire's five-year development plan and slowly set down her vermilion pen. A hint of fatigue flashed in her purple-gold eyes, but it was overshadowed by a sense of resolve.
"Xue'er," she looked at Qian Renxue, who stood nearby, bathed in Holy Light but with a complex gaze, "From today onwards, the Empire's daily political affairs will be handled entirely by you."
Qian Renxue's golden pupils shrank slightly, carrying a hint of disbelief and wariness: "You... what do you mean?"
Bibi Dong stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down at the gradually revitalizing Spirit City, her voice calm and steady: "I am going into seclusion to charge for the God Position."
Qian Renxue was stunned. She hadn't expected Bibi Dong to hand over the Empire's power so decisively.
This seemed like a delegation of power, but considering Xuan Ming's absolute deterrent force and the complex, close relationship between Bibi Dong and Xuan Ming, it was more like... the behavior of an absentee boss.
Throwing the tedious political affairs to her while she herself pursued even greater power.
"The asura god position?" Qian Renxue asked, her tone carrying a hint of complexity.
"And Rakshasa," Bibi Dong added, her tone carrying a faint, indiscernible abnormality.
Qian Renxue was even more confused: "One person... how is it possible to accommodate two God Positions?"
A conflict between God Positions was fatal.
Bibi Dong didn't look back, only saying indifferently: "I have my ways."
She indeed had a way.
Inside her body, the remnant soul of the Nine-tailed Sky Fox still resided.
Earlier, when attempting to fuse the two types of divine force, she had risked transferring and entrusting the more sinister and treacherous Rakshasa Divine Power mostly to the remnant soul of the Nine-tailed Sky Fox, while she focused on controlling the more overbearing and pure Asura God Power.
This was equivalent to a clever "Dual-God Coexistence," but the risk was immense, especially when charging for the true Divine Rank, as the conflict between the two types of divine force would be more intense than ever before.
She needed time and absolute quiet to balance and conquer these two powerful forces.
Handing the Empire over to Qian Renxue was both a move of necessity and a disguised test and... perhaps even a faint, unnoticed sliver of trust?
After all, Qian Renxue had already become a god and was the only person currently capable of holding down the scene.
Qian Renxue looked at Bibi Dong's back, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
Power had suddenly come into her hands, but she didn't feel the slightest joy; instead, she felt a heavy sense of being pushed to the forefront.
She knew that what she was taking over was a massive Empire that was calm on the surface but full of hidden dangers within.
But she had no room to refuse, nor could she. This was her chance to prove her worth and a responsibility she had to bear.
"I understand," Qian Renxue finally nodded, her tone regaining the majesty and calmness belonging to the God of Angels.
She accepted the past because of Xuan Ming, but she couldn't give up the present because of that past, much less give up Xuan Ming.
Bibi Dong said nothing more, her figure slowly dissipating on the spot, clearly having entered a state of deep seclusion.
The power of the Spirit Empire completed its handover in a subtle and tense atmosphere.
Qian Renxue also quickly summoned several Enshrined Priests, preparing to further consolidate her power in this vast Empire.
In the current Spirit Empire, for her, only the Angel Legion and these few Enshrined Priests counted as confidants; as for the others... they had either been cut down in that woman's previous purges or had disappeared under Xuan Ming's lightning punishment.
Between this Spirit Empire and the former Spirit Hall, other than a nominal inheritance relationship, there was almost no connection in terms of laws or structure.
It was no exaggeration to say that this Spirit Empire existed entirely under the support of the two god-level martial powers of Xuan Ming and Bibi Dong.