Chapter 255: Tang San's Greatest Backer
"That was close… but I made it in time."
Ye Cheng glanced back at the unconscious Bo Saixi and let out a sigh of relief. He had almost turned a good deed into a disaster.
Setting Bo Saixi free had been an act of goodwill. Back when he read the original novel in his past life, he had been quite moved by the story of Bo Saixi and Tang Chen. So, if given the chance, he didn't mind helping them reunite.
Of course, there was also a bit of selfishness involved he wanted to recruit Tang Chen. After all, the man had potential. Without twin martial souls or cheating through a god's trials, he had still managed to reach the rank of Limit Douluo in just a few decades. His talent could only be described as monstrous.
If it weren't for his impatience in the original story, which led to him falling into the Asura God's trap, and if he had been given a few more centuries, he might have even managed to condense a god position on his own, just like the Sea God had.
And honestly, it still wasn't too late. If Tang Chen managed to regain his memories and, by sheer dumb luck, inherit the Asura God's position, that would be even better. It would mean their side would gain a God King level powerhouse while weakening the Divine Realm's influence.
At this point, some might wonder wasn't Tang Chen Tang San's great grandfather? With such a direct blood connection, wouldn't he side with Tang San? If Ye Cheng was destined to be his enemy, wasn't he just handing over a valuable asset to the opposing camp?
Not at all.
First and foremost, Tang Chen standing with Tang San was absolutely impossible.
Thanks to the Q&A videos, Tang San's true nature had been thoroughly exposed everyone knew he wasn't a good person. His future self would bring disaster to the world, turning into a heartless monster who didn't even recognize his own family.
Under these circumstances, even if Tang Chen regained his sanity, he wouldn't look favorably upon his so called great grandson. In fact, he might even kill Tang San himself out of righteous fury.
Why would he stand with Tang San? Just because of blood ties?
Their familial connection was so distant that any sense of kinship had long since faded.
Besides, Tang Chen had plenty of children and grandchildren. Any one of them was more closely related to him than Tang San.
And most importantly, even the Asura God Tang San's biggest backer had abandoned him. Aside from his alcoholic father, Tang Hao, who had no other choice, who else would support him?
What did Tang San have left? How could he possibly stage a comeback?
From the very beginning, Ye Cheng's greatest enemy had never been Tang San it was the Asura God, and by extension, the entire Divine Realm, which treated mortals as livestock.
As long as the Douluo Continent remained under the Divine Realm's control, conflict between the two sides was inevitable. There could be no compromise. This was a clash of ideologies, a battle between two opposing philosophies. Only one could survive. True peace would only come when the other was completely annihilated.
And without the Asura God rigging the game for him, Tang San was nothing.
His only remaining hope for a comeback lay in following the future's trajectory and gaining the favor of the "Abyss Sovereign."
Which led to an incredibly ironic truth
Tang San's biggest potential backer, his only hope for a comeback, was none other than the very person who had orchestrated his downfall: Ye Cheng himself.
Because one day, if the script required a villain, Ye Cheng might just throw Tang San a lifeline, give him a chance to rise again as a final boss, and let him experience a fleeting moment of triumph.
Otherwise, under normal circumstances, with everyone hunting him down and five God Kings watching his every move, Tang San's dream of becoming a god was utterly impossible.
His only hope rested in the Abyss Sovereign a being that didn't even exist yet.
Unfortunately, Ye Cheng's current level of authority wasn't high enough to manifest the Abyss Sovereign, so for now, Tang San would just have to suffer.
...
After confirming that Bo Saixi wasn't in immediate danger, Ye Cheng relaxed and turned his gaze toward Tang Chen.
The man was now nothing more than a monstrous husk of his former self, filled with an unholy power that no mortal should possess. Given where they were, Ye Cheng quickly pieced together the truth.
"So even without Tang San, the Asura God was never going to let Tang Chen inherit the god position. He was just a pawn all along."
Ye Cheng looked at Tang Chen with a trace of pity.
What a pitiful man his entire life spent as a stepping stone for others.
Divine Realm Committee
"Hmm?"
The Asura God suddenly made a noise of surprise. Instantly, the other four God Kings turned their attention toward him, wary of whatever scheme he might be plotting next.
"Asura, what are you up to this time?" the God of Destruction asked with a frown.
"It's nothing," the Asura God replied casually. "I just noticed that one of my trial candidates almost passed the eighth trial. What a shame he ultimately failed. If he had succeeded, I could have passed down my god position and retired."
The other four God Kings rolled their eyes in unison. They didn't even bother to call him out on his lie.
They had all been ruling the Divine Realm together for countless years. Who didn't know the Asura God's true nature?
Retire? Please.
"Cut the nonsense. What really happened?" the Evil God demanded. "If it was just a candidate failing the eighth trial, you wouldn't have reacted like that."
And they had good reason to doubt him.
After all, countless candidates had reached the eighth trial over the millennia this was nothing new.
Across multiple lower worlds under the Divine Realm's rule, the Asura God had established various trial locations similar to the City of Slaughter. They might go by different names, but their function was the same: to gather wicked souls, accumulate their evil aura, and refine it into pure Asura energy.
These places weren't just used to select potential successors. Their primary function was to filter out impurities from the Asura God's faith energy, essentially acting as a personal power refinery for him.
Of course, all five God Kings had similar methods they just never spoke of it openly.
As the rulers of the Divine Realm, they needed to maintain a certain image. They were dictators, yes, but even dictators needed to at least pretend to have moral integrity. They had to justify their actions with seemingly righteous reasons.
And with so many lower worlds under their control, it was only natural that a few geniuses would occasionally reach the final trial, coming within a single step of inheriting a god position.
But that step…
Was a bottomless abyss.
Because from the very beginning, the Divine Realm's rulers had never intended to pass down their positions.
Which meant that anyone who reached the eighth trial was destined to fail.
Every. Single. Time.
(End of Chapter)
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