"Boom!"
Then, the Emotion God King saw a black-red entity appear abruptly on the high platform, as if being 3D-printed out of thin air. The violent storm generated by its arrival sent Tang San and Tang Xuanyu flying. The sky darkened instantly, becoming so pitch-black that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.
The black-red light condensed, peeling back layers to reveal its true form.
First came legs like giant logs, then a torso as massive as a mountain range, and finally a pillar-like head—smooth, flat, and devoid of any wrinkles.
Is this it? Why does it look just like a stick figure?
After a full minute, the "printing" finally finished. During this brief minute, not a single deity—including Tang San and Tang Xuanyu—could move; they could only watch helplessly.
The stick figure, nearly a thousand meters tall, was finally complete. Its face had no features, only a single white concentric circle that glowed like an eye. It was impossible to tell if it even had a mouth.
Every deity present, regardless of their cultivation level, had a name instantly surface in their minds the moment they beheld this black-red giant.
[God of Order and Finality, Tezcatlipoca]
"!!!"
The Emotion God King's eyes widened like copper bells, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. His mind felt like it had exploded as memories flooded back like a tidal wave.
He remembered! He finally remembered!
The scene of the end he had seen in every nightmare before the ascension ceremony was about to happen right before his eyes!
"Everyone—"
Without a single thought of resistance, the Emotion God King, as a half-step Supreme God King, unleashed his immense cultivation. He tore through the space of the Douluo God Star and fled frantically toward the outer universe, screaming at the top of his lungs: "RUN!!!"
He didn't stop to call out to his children, his wife, his siblings, or his parents nearby. He ignored all his family, repeatedly tearing through space alone to escape the Douluo God Star and flee the boundaries of the Douluo Star System.
As he fled, the giant began to move.
"ROAR!!!"
The stick giant—the Giant God of Finality—roared at the heavens. The sound waves expanded outward like physical ripples, causing even the stabilized space of the Douluo God Star to begin shattering.
!!!
Tang Xuanyu gritted his teeth, his face contorted in agony as he struggled to cover his ears.
"What—what is this thing?!"
The sound was so immense that even the God Kings felt as though their eardrums were about to burst.
"Pfft—"
The Goddess of Life Gu Yuena, whose cultivation was relatively weaker and who was not suited for frontal combat after losing the Silver Dragon King bloodline, spat out a mouthful of divine blood and fainted instantly from the roar.
"Gu Yue!"
Before Tang Wulin could take action, the giant raised its massive hand. The first of the nine concentric circles on its hand lit up.
The sky turned gloomy as countless bolts of colored lightning gathered, resembling a billion heavenly tribulations descending to tear the earth asunder.
In that single instant, every Divine Officer of the Douluo God Star was annihilated by the lightning strike—not a single one remained.
Yet, deities at the rank of Third-Class God or higher remained unharmed.
Logically, an attack that could insta-kill every Divine Officer of a God Star should have affected the others, but it didn't.
Then, the giant raised its hand toward the gods again, and the fifth concentric circle lit up.
"Buzz—"
An indescribable, massive humming sound echoed between heaven and earth, and the ground shattered under unbelievable gravity.
"Gah!"
"How—how is this possible? Such... gravity?!"
All the Third-Class Gods were crushed into the dirt by the immense gravity, unable to rise. However, deities at the Second-Class rank or higher remained unaffected.
By now, even the slowest mind had realized what was happening.
All the deities unleashed their moves. Colorful streaks of divine power struck the giant, the violent fluctuations even shattering the high platform of the ascension ritual.
But the attacks hitting the giant were like throwing stones into the vacuum of space—nothing happened.
The giant folded its hands in prayer, and the sixth concentric circle flashed. A plume of black-red Hellfire erupted, incinerating the Third-Class Gods who were pinned to the ground by gravity.
After the Third-Class Gods were wiped out by the Hellfire, every God King and First-Class God, including Tang San and Tang Xuanyu, shared a single thought:
[Maybe—we should have run from the start.]
The giant's attacks seemed procedural: first the Divine Officers, then the Second-Class Gods.
The group of Second-Class Gods, primarily the original Shrek Seven Monsters—including the Butterfly God Tang Wutong and the other original members—were obliterated without a trace. Not even ashes remained.
Next were the First-Class Gods: the Seven Elemental Gods, and those who had ascended from the Douluo Continent over the years, including the newly promoted Dai Ying and Huo Zhanji.
Regardless of strength, this [God of Order and Finality, Tezcatlipoca] acted like the universe's "delete" key. Its appearance meant the end.
In the blink of an eye, the entire Douluo God Star contained only God King level powerhouses.
But even the God Kings' resistance was futile.
Take the Supreme God King Sea God Tang San, for instance. He was using the Sea God Trident so frantically it was practically smoking, spamming Unfixed Storm non-stop. No matter how many golden rings of Unfixed Storm enveloped the giant, they failed to hinder it in the slightest. His proud "absolute control" was a joke before the Giant God of Finality.
A fist like a mountain struck with the terrifying momentum of a falling meteor, slamming heavily into a ball of bloody-golden light.
The bloody feathers of six pairs (twelve) of wings scattered through the air. This person was tough; they didn't even groan as they were wiped out of existence.
The Frenzy God King Lei Xiang, fallen. Divine Position, divine artifact, and Divine Consciousness—nothing remained.
"ROAR!!!"
A burly, powerful purple figure slammed into the giant's left foot, causing it to stumble. But the giant's counterattack came instantly.
The log-like foot stomped down. The Qin Emperor Ye Jinzhu and his brother, the Amethyst Behemoth King, couldn't withstand the terrifying force and were crushed together into paste.
At this point, the God Kings knew they had to go all-out or die.
The Strength God King Zhou Weiqing disregarded his own life, burning the essence of his cultivation to unleash his ultimate attack: the One Bow, Seventeen Strings.
According to the God Kings' calculations, this attack could theoretically kill a Dragon God; it was the strongest single-target attack available to them.
His massive, muscular body trembled violently as blood flowed like streams from every corner of his form. His entire divine power was poured into the ultra-divine artifact, the Overlord Bow, the resulting force even shattering the surrounding space.
"DIE!"
Zhou Weiqing roared and released the string. The arrow flew with earth-shattering force toward the giant's head, the violent air currents tearing through the ground and sky of the Douluo God Star, making the stars of the universe visible.
Zip.
Such a massive target was impossible to miss, and it seemed to have an effect.
The giant tilted its head slightly, as if confused. The white concentric circle looked toward Zhou Weiqing.
"!!!"
Zhou Weiqing felt as if he had fallen into a black hole; he began to decompose at the molecular level.
In truth, even without the giant's interference, Zhou Weiqing was doomed after that move. But for some reason, the giant still reached out its hand and threw a streak of pure black energy at him.
Remember: using a cannon to kill a mosquito isn't a matter of capability, but of willingness.
The massive explosion covered nearly half of the already formed Douluo God Star, catching many "innocents" in the blast. For example, the God of Destruction Tang Wulin was blown to bits along with his Destruction Scepter.
The God Kings of Good and Evil were caught in the explosion, and the Goddess of Life Gu Yuena vanished from where she stood.
"Dad! Mom! NO!"
The Dragon God Tang Xuanyu wailed in grief, yet the Dragon God Spear in his hand burst with ten thousand sparks.
Dragon God Explosion.
Not for attack, but to flee. He tore through space to leave the Douluo God Star.
It was over. Everything was over.
Fleeing alongside him were Sea God Tang San, Asura God Xiao Wu, the God of Light Long Gongwei, and other surviving God Kings.
As for everyone else, they were dead or gone. This stick figure was simply not something they could resist. Why stay at the Douluo God Star? To wait for death?
Tang San gnashed his teeth in frustration, but his body—fused with the Sea God Trident—was honest. He even used the move 『Gone Forever』 to tear through space and flee into the depths of the universe. His speed surpassed even Lan Xuanyu in his full Dragon God form.
Fortunately, the giant did not attack them yet.
What the hell is this thing? It felt like the malice of the entire universe; the Universal Law was destroying them at any cost.
He didn't understand. Even though the God of Heavenly Protection was on their side, why did the Universal Law still want to destroy them?
This was different from the first Dragon God's ascension; that was internal interference. This was an absolute external force, an irresistible strength coming to annihilate them.
Even the God of Heavenly Protection, the nine-headed Chimera Haoyue, was obliterated by a single, ruthless punch.
Why?
And that unfilial son-in-law—did he know something? Is that why he ran so fast?
Tang San's expression darkened further, naturally because the Emotion God King had fled in advance.
"Third Brother—"
Xiao Wu's weak voice pulled Tang San from his thoughts. He looked at his wife and spoke gently: "Don't worry, Xiao Wu. As long as there is life, there is hope. As long as I, Tang San, am here, the Douluo God Star will not perish!"
Suddenly, a terrifying explosion vibrated through space. As far as the eye could see, the universe erupted like an exploding aurora. Multicolored energy fluctuations turned into ripples, expanding through the cosmos.
They instinctively looked back. The Douluo Star System and the Dragon-Horse Star System had been turned into cosmic dust—
Before they could even swallow, a shadow loomed over them. A bone-chilling cold shot from the soles of their feet to the crowns of their heads.
Click, click—
As Tang San and the others turned their heads with mechanical stiffness, they were met with the stick-figure giant and the glowing white concentric circle on its head.
[I should have run earlier—]
This was the final thought of the God Kings before their souls were extinguished.
...
How fast can a God King run when they stake their life on it? Today, the Emotion God King found out.
He swore he had never run this fast in his life.
The three divine cores of Yin-Yang Mutual Complement within his body spun frantically. All his Divine Consciousness and divine power were converted into spatial energy as he desperately tore through space to escape.
After three days of non-stop flight, he had traveled over ten thousand light-years.
"I... I can't... I can't go on... I can't run anymore."
Having exhausted all his divine power, the Emotion God King crashed onto an unnamed star, lying in a crater of his own making, panting heavily.
It was only because he was a God King that he could survive in space; otherwise, this level of exertion would have killed him instantly.
The Seven Soul Spirits emerged around him. Snow Emperor and Liya supported him from either side. Their divine power had also been completely drained by the Emotion God King.
Skydream and the Evil Emperor looked around nervously, terrified that the stick giant would suddenly appear before them.