Chapter 341: The Era of the Douluo God Realm Part XXXI: The God Emperor
The Dragon God was indeed powerful, yet his god position was far too unstable.
Based on the information Ye Wen had gathered, the Dragon God went berserk when, during the ascension of the Dragon Realm to god star status, he witnessed the unexpected breakdown of the Time and Space Dragon Kings, who destroyed his crown prince. In his rage, he annihilated not only those two maddened god kings but also much of his own kin and allies.
Honestly, Ye Wen found it perplexing reaching the god king level meant unwavering mental fortitude. Even facing the death of one's entire family shouldn't cause such catastrophic, indiscriminate violence. The reason, as it turned out, lay in the Dragon God's dual god position, requiring him to embody both the Destruction Dragon God, inclined toward madness and annihilation, and the Wise Dragon God, who ruled with logic and control. Both were extremes: the cold rationality of the Silver Dragon King, Na'er, and the ferocious, wild nature of the Gold Dragon King.
If inheriting the Dragon God's position necessitated such extreme dual personalities, Ye Wen had already dismissed it as little more than an unstable, dangerous godhood. While a wise, logical state might be manageable, the berserk, all destroying side was unacceptable. Who could endure a leader who lost reason and recognition of friend or foe upon entering a fury?
Strictly speaking, the Dragon God's position and his own Sea of Boundless Heaven position both had traits akin to a Creator God. Both embodied creation and destruction in their own right. But given the choice, why would anyone prefer a fractured godhood prone to mental breakdowns over his Sea of Boundless Heaven?
As for the Dragon God's request to find a successor for his legacy, Ye Wen wasn't about to create a time bomb in his realm. Besides, he hadn't agreed to any such promise the Dragon God simply dropped the matter and left. Ye Wen decided it would remain sealed away unless absolutely necessary.
When he consulted Na'er, the affected dragonkin herself, she agreed with his decision after careful consideration. No one, least of all Na'er, wanted to inherit the legacy of a mad god.
When Di Tian, the Dragon God's loyal lieutenant, received word of the Dragon God's survival, he was left in a daze. What had he been dedicating himself to all these years?
Since the situation was mainly a dragonkin matter, Ye Wen refrained from interfering and sent Na'er to pacify him. As she'd always done, Na'er relied on straightforward dragon methods, even though Di Tian had regained god king strength. Unperturbed, she used her superior might to subdue him, proving that she was still the sovereign. Then she shared the truth of the Dragon God's past actions, striking Di Tian like a thunderbolt as he struggled to make sense of it.
We could have kept fighting, so why did our lord lead the rebellion?
Shattered, Di Tian submitted. After seeing the Dragon God's god spark himself, the unmistakable aura convinced him. Resigned, he found himself a dragon mate and shifted his focus to raising a family, relinquishing any concerns over the dragon god's legacy.
Years passed, then decades, and finally, centuries. Two millennia had gone by since Ye Wen's ascension.
During this time, Douluo Star had developed into a vast interstellar civilization, spanning over a dozen star systems a reach greater than even the Dragon God's former domain. The Douluo Realm now housed over a hundred god kings, triple the numbers seen under the Dragon God.
And as the King of Gods, successor to the Dragon God's throne, Ye Wen found himself less than pleased, trapped at an impasse in his cultivation journey. While powerful, the god king realm still felt far from his ultimate aspirations.
Fortunately, the many god kings now emerging were his disciples or grand disciples, and Ye Wen's system left them largely free, maintaining his place as a respected, esteemed god. He had long relinquished any desire for absolute control, opting instead to empower this new generation. As long as they remained rational, the Douluo Star's trajectory was secure.
But Ye Wen's focus was on the next level. God king strength was far from his limit.
"What's next? Could the Dragon God's ideas actually be right?" Ye Wen muttered to himself atop the highest peak of Douluo Star.
The Dragon God had left him a final gift: a theory about the next realm. But Ye Wen hadn't paid much heed to the ideas of a madman, especially one who'd failed in his own evolution.
If the Dragon God had advanced beyond the god king realm, he would have made his power known. But as time passed, Ye Wen had exhausted his own theories without success.
With a deep sigh, Ye Wen resigned himself to revisit the Dragon God's gift. Every cultivation system requires time, even with preparation, he thought.
In the end, he reviewed the notes left by the Dragon God. It was indeed a fresh, innovative path, one that only a non human mind could conjure.
However
"Is he insane?"
The Dragon God's method involved destroying and recreating worlds repeatedly to attain divine enlightenment and elevate his own spirit. Even ignoring the enormous cost of resources, Ye Wen couldn't fathom the purpose of such destruction. With his simulation abilities, he already wielded the power of life and death in his palm.
The end of the Dragon God's message, however, offered a spark of insight:
"The god king realm embodies the perfection of a single rule. Perhaps the next level is the perfection of multiple rules. A Creator's advantage lies in holding multiple principles that can be developed further."
"Mastering multiple rules?" Ye Wen mused. It was a promising idea, albeit somewhat vague.
Having already refined several domains to perfection, Ye Wen was still unable to break through. Now, he felt like a soul master trapped at rank 99, with the divine level just beyond his grasp.
His journey had mirrored a soul master's progression through the stages of limit, demigod, and quasi godhood. When he'd first perfected a rule, he'd attained the level of the "Limit God King." With a second rule perfected, he had reached the "Demigod Emperor" stage. By perfecting ten rules, he could battle his past self many times over, making him what he considered a "Quasi God Emperor."
As for the next stage, Ye Wen had coined it "God Emperor" himself a level of ultimate sovereignty, where a king of kings would be known simply as "emperor."
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