Morning light filtered gently through the tall, arched windows of the imperial study within the Star Luo Imperial Palace, casting warm golden beams across the dark mahogany floorboards. Outside the palace walls, the sprawling southern capital was already humming with lively activity. The newly installed Spirit Tool street lamps had dimmed with the rising sun, and merchants were setting up their stalls along the wide stone avenues, trading goods and testing out the new Communication Jade Slabs brought in by the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Sect's caravans.
Inside the quiet, secluded study, however, the atmosphere was serene and undisturbed.
Zhang Tian sat comfortably in a wide, cushioned armchair behind the grand imperial desk. Dressed in a loose, elegant robe of dark blue silk embroidered with subtle silver patterns, he held a warm porcelain cup of fragrant spiritual tea in one hand while his other hand rested lightly on the polished armrest. Having spent the previous night thoroughly enjoying the devoted company of his beloved women, his mind and body were completely relaxed, his vast spiritual sea calm like a mirror.
Sitting cross-legged inside the very center of that calm spiritual sea, floating gently above the foundational core of his cultivation, was a small, radiant emerald seed.
Suddenly, without a sound, the glowing emerald Seed of Life gave a soft, rhythmic pulse.
Zhang Tian paused with his teacup halfway to his lips. His icy blue eyes flickered with immediate awareness as he felt a familiar, deeply soothing warmth ripple outward from the seed, accompanied this time by a second, entirely unfamiliar presence—an ancient, heavy, and unfathomably profound aura that carried the weight of cosmic termination, yet was held back with meticulous, polite restraint.
'The Goddess of Life... and someone else standing at the exact same pinnacle,' Zhang Tian mused inwardly, setting his teacup down on its saucer without a single clink. 'Given that deep violet fluctuation paired with her vitality, it should be her husband, the Godking of Destruction. I wonder what brings both of them to pay me a private visit today?'
Before Zhang Tian even needed to send a mental inquiry into the seed, the ambient air in the center of his spacious study began to ripple like clear water touched by a gentle breeze.
Not a single paper on his desk rustled, and the protective Spirit Tool barriers lining the walls of the palace did not trigger an alarm. An invisible, transcendent domain seamlessly enveloped the room, isolating the study from the flow of time and the prying senses of the outside world.
Two streams of divine light—one a warm, vibrant emerald and the other a deep, regal violet—flowed quietly out from Zhang Tian's glabella and condensed ten paces in front of his desk.
Within a breath, two figures stood side by side upon the plush carpet of the study.
On the left stood the Goddess of Life, wearing her simple, flowing gown of spring-green silk, her long green hair cascading past her waist and her clear emerald eyes looking at Zhang Tian with the warm, fond smile of a protective elder. Beside her stood a tall, broad-shouldered man draped in a heavy cloak of dark purple and black. He had pushed his deep cowl back, revealing a stern, handsome face with sharp cheekbones, dark violet hair, and a pair of piercing blood-red eyes that held the depth of a starry abyss.
Even though both figures were merely wisps of divine consciousness projected across the dimensional barrier through the connection of the Seed of Life, the sheer dignity and cosmic weight of two supreme rulers of the Divine Realm filled the quiet study.
Zhang Tian did not drop to his knees or scramble in panic like an ordinary Spirit Master would upon seeing two supreme deities appear in his room. Instead, he rose smoothly from his armchair, stepped around the mahogany desk, and offered a respectful, measured bow appropriate for an accomplished junior greeting two respected seniors.
"Zhang Tian greets Senior Goddess of Life," Zhang Tian said, his voice calm, clear, and unhurried. He then shifted his gaze to the tall man in the dark purple cloak and inclined his head politely. "And if I am not mistaken, this Senior beside you must be the supreme ruler who stood with you in the skies above the battlefield—the Godking of Destruction."
Seeing how composed the young man remained in their presence—neither servile nor foolishly arrogant—the God of Destruction raised an eyebrow in genuine appreciation.
"Your composure lives up to my wife's praise, Zhang Tian," the God of Destruction spoke, his deep, resonant voice kept low and friendly so as not to rattle the mortal architecture. "When we intervened in the sky to send Asura and the others packing, we didn't have the chance to exchange words. Today, I asked Little Green to open the spiritual channel through her Seed of Life because I wished to meet you in person."
"It is an honor to host both Seniors in my humble study," Zhang Tian smiled warmly, gesturing with an open palm toward the seating area near the tall windows, where a low rosewood table and several cushioned couches were arranged. "Although you have descended as projections of divine consciousness, please take a seat. Speaking while standing is hardly proper hospitality."
The Goddess of Life chuckled softly, exchanging an amused glance with her husband before walking over and sitting gracefully on one of the couches. The God of Destruction followed suit, sitting beside his wife and resting his gauntleted hands comfortably on his knees as Zhang Tian took the seat opposite them.
"Child, I hope our sudden arrival did not disturb your rest after the conclusion of your continental campaign," the Goddess of Life said gently. "Looking at the city outside, you have brought peace and order to these lands much faster than I anticipated."
"With Senior's timely intervention in the sky forcing the opposing deities to keep their hands to themselves, handling the remaining matters on the continent was simply a matter of logistics," Zhang Tian replied modestly. He looked between the two Godkings, his icy blue eyes observant and clear. "However, I doubt the Godking of Destruction took time away from the affairs of the Divine Realm merely to congratulate me on uniting two mortal empires. Please speak freely, Seniors. If there is something you wish to discuss with me, I am all ears."
The God of Destruction nodded approvingly. He liked dealing with intelligent people who didn't waste time beating around the bush.
"You are a straightforward young man, so I won't waste your time with pleasantries," the God of Destruction said, leaning forward slightly with an earnest expression. "The reason I came to see you today concerns that unique energy your clone unleashed right before it dissipated at the end of the aerial battle—the grey-and-gold power you transferred into the Rakshasa Goddess's inheritor."
Zhang Tian's expression didn't flicker in the slightest, though his mind moved rapidly. 'So he noticed the nature of the Primal Genesis Force. Given his position as the Godking of Destruction, it makes sense that an energy formed from the fusion of Life and Death would catch his attention.'
"You mean my ninth Spirit Ring ability, the Primal Genesis Energy," Zhang Tian said calmly, nodding. "What about it has piqued your interest, Senior?"
"Everything about it," the God of Destruction answered candidly, a spark of scholarly passion lighting up his blood-red eyes. "Little Green and I are the two halves born from the core of the ancient Creation God at the dawn of the universe. She governs the supreme law of Life, and I govern the supreme law of Destruction. For tens of thousands of years, we have sought a way to truly fuse our two opposing Godking attributes into one in order to unlock the lost Power of Creation and expand the Divine Realm."
The God of Destruction held up his hands, gesturing to illustrate the concept.
"However, because we were born at the absolute extremes of pure Life and pure Destruction, our divine energies naturally repel and annihilate each other whenever we try to merge them directly," the God of Destruction explained without hiding their predicament. "Yet when I observed the Primal Genesis Energy you created by fusing Life and Death attributes, I realized that you had woven a remarkable, cyclic transitional bridge—a foundational law where vitality naturally transitions into death, and death transforms back into nourishment for life."
He looked directly into Zhang Tian's icy blue eyes, his tone respectful and sincere.
"Zhang Tian, my wife and I believe that the nascent law at the core of your Primal Genesis Energy is the exact structural key we need to harmonize our two Godking attributes," the God of Destruction stated plainly. "Therefore, I have come today to make a polite request of you: I hope you will be willing to share and yield the nascent foundational law of your Primal Genesis Energy to the two of us so that we may integrate it into our divine cores and master the Creation God's power."
As soon as her husband finished speaking, the Goddess of Life leaned forward slightly, her clear emerald eyes filled with gentle concern as she added, "Of course, child, this is solely a request. You forged that nascent law through your own arduous comprehension. Before you make any decision, my husband will explain the exact consequences of yielding that law, and if you are unwilling to part with it, neither of us will blame you or force you in the slightest."
The God of Destruction nodded in agreement with his wife's words.
"Little Green is right. I will not deceive you about what yielding the nascent law entails," the God of Destruction said seriously. "If you strip out the nascent foundational law of your Primal Genesis Energy and hand its core authority over to us, you will not lose your ability to cultivate or use Primal Genesis Energy. While you are here on the Douluo Planet, and even after you ascend, your ninth Spirit Ring and your combat capabilities with that energy will remain completely intact."
He paused, holding up one gauntleted finger to emphasize the catch.
"However, in the cosmos, a single foundational law can only support one supreme sovereign throne," the God of Destruction clarified honestly. "Right now, that Primal Genesis Energy is the embryonic seed of a self-created God Position. If you yield the core authority of that nascent law to my wife and me so that we can fuse it with our Godking God Cores, you will permanently lose the ability to develop that Primal Genesis law into an independent Godking-level God Position of your own in the future. Even if you use Primal Genesis Energy to condense a God Position later, because the two of us will hold the highest source control over that bridging law, a God Position based on Primal Genesis will at most reach the level of a First-Class God, and can never advance to the Godking realm."
Worried that hearing his path to a self-created Godking seat would be cut off might discourage the proud young man, the God of Destruction quickly added in a reassuring tone:
"Of course, you shouldn't underestimate the status of a First-Class God! In the entire Divine Realm, aside from the five of us on the Divine Council, the thirty-two First-Class Gods are the highest rulers of the heavens! Even the Sea God, the Angel God, and the Rakshasa Goddess are only First-Class Gods. Furthermore, in exchange for yielding this nascent law to us, my wife and I are willing to compensate you generously and grant any reasonable conditions you name that are within our power as Godkings!"
Having laid all his cards on the table with complete honesty, the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life both looked quietly at Zhang Tian, waiting to see how the young man would react.
In their minds, they fully expected Zhang Tian to hesitate, frown, or feel a deep pang of reluctance. After all, both Godkings firmly believed that the Primal Genesis Energy was the sole foundation of the self-created God Position Zhang Tian had been pouring his heart and soul into forging! Asking a peerless genius to give up the chance for his self-created God Position to ever reach the Godking level was no small ask.
Yet, inside Zhang Tian's mind, his reaction was completely different from what the two supreme deities imagined.
'Wait... they think my Primal Genesis Energy is the core of the God Position I plan to forge?' Zhang Tian blinked inwardly, a wave of quiet amusement washing through his thoughts as he maintained a calm, contemplative expression on his face.
Neither the Goddess of Life nor the God of Destruction knew the deepest secret of his cultivation!
When Zhang Tian had condensed his Half-White, Half-Black ninth Spirit Ring in that secluded cavern months ago, the Primal Genesis Energy—the cycle of Life and Death—was indeed what he had used to form the ring and evolve his martial spirit's attributes. And during the battle in the sky, his clone had only displayed that ninth Spirit Ring ability, Primal Genesis Energy, to empower Bibi Dong.
Because he had never unleashed his true internal spirit power in front of the gods, the two Godkings had no idea that after condensing that ninth ring, Zhang Tian had spent months converting every single drop of his foundational spirit power and the core of his evolved Blood Silver God Tree into pure, primordial Chaos Energy!
'Primal Genesis Energy is merely the bridge of Life and Death that serves as my ninth ring's function and the nourishment for my tree,' Zhang Tian thought to himself, keeping his breathing steady. 'My true ambition has never been to create a mere Life-and-Death God Position. What I want to create is something like the Primordial Chaos God Tree—a never-before-seen divine foundation rooted in pure Chaos Energy! When I condense my own God Position in the future, it could be the God of Primal Chaos, representing the origin of the entire universe itself, which stands even above the division of Life and Destruction!'
Since his true future God Position was anchored in Chaos Energy and the Primordial Chaos God Tree rather than the nascent law of Primal Genesis Energy, handing over the foundational bridging law of Primal Genesis to the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life wouldn't hinder his own path to a supreme throne in the slightest!
Better yet, as the God of Destruction had just explained, yielding the nascent law wouldn't even weaken his ability to use Primal Genesis Energy in battle here on the Douluo Planet! And in exchange for giving them something that was essentially a stepping stone he had already moved past, he could actually secure ironclad promises and active protection from two supreme Godkings!
'This is practically a windfall delivered right to my doorstep,' Zhang Tian thought, though he knew better than to agree too quickly and make them suspicious.
Allowing a thoughtful silence to linger in the study for a few breaths, Zhang Tian slowly exhaled, looking across the table at the two deities with a calm, respectful gaze.
"Senior Destruction, Senior Life," Zhang Tian spoke evenly. "I appreciate your candor in explaining the exact limitations that yielding this nascent law will place upon the Primal Genesis Energy. Since Senior Life has sheltered me with her Seed of Life and stepped forward to uphold fairness for me against the Asura God's interference, I have no desire to hoard a law that can help the two of you unlock the ancient Creation God's power and benefit the Divine Realm."
Both the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life brightened visibly at his words.
"You are truly willing to yield the nascent law of your Primal Genesis Energy to us, Zhang Tian?" the God of Destruction asked, leaning forward with genuine delight.
"I am willing," Zhang Tian nodded smoothly. "For my current needs on the Douluo Continent, retaining the practical use of Primal Genesis Energy is sufficient, and I have confidence in my own future path regardless of whether this specific law can reach the Godking tier. However, since Senior Destruction mentioned a fair exchange, I do have two non-negotiable conditions that I must ask the two of you to agree to in return."
"Name them!" the God of Destruction said generously, waving a hand with the grand confidence of a supreme ruler. "As long as your requests do not harm the foundational survival of the Divine Realm, Little Green and I will fulfill them for you!"
Zhang Tian held up one finger, his expression turning serious and deeply protective as he thought of the women waiting for him in the palace and back in the Star Trade Forest.
"My first condition concerns my beloved companions who were born as Spirit Beasts—specifically Ah Yin, the Blue Silver Empress, and Jin Xi, the Emperor Auspicious Beast," Zhang Tian stated clearly.
Hearing him mention his companions first rather than asking for divine artifacts or personal power for himself, the Goddess of Life's emerald eyes softened with warm approval. She remembered how, from the very first day she spoke with him, this young man had always prioritized the future of his loved ones.
"As Seniors are aware, I am currently researching and paving a new path so that Spirit Beasts can cultivate and ascend to Godhood alongside me without needing to be hunted for Spirit Rings," Zhang Tian continued, his tone earnest as he put on a slightly indignant expression, carefully feigning ignorance of the ancient secrets of the Dragon God war. "However, from what I have learned from the ancient fierce beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Divine Realm has placed an ironclad restriction and a lethal curse upon all Spirit Beasts, forbidding any Spirit Beast from ever transforming into a Divine Beast or ascending to Godhood! Whenever a Spirit Beast approaches the threshold of divinity, the heavens send down an inescapable, destructive Heavenly Tribulation specifically designed to obliterate them!"
Zhang Tian looked directly at the two Godkings, his voice firm.
"Ah Yin and Jin Xi are my wives, and in the future, they—along with potentially a few core Spirit Beast allies who follow me—will advance toward the divine realm," Zhang Tian declared. "My first condition is that when Ah Yin, Jin Xi, and my chosen Spirit Beast companions break through to Godhood, they must face zero barriers or targeted destruction from the heavens. The Divine Realm and the two of you, as supreme Godkings, must personally step in to block, suppress, and neutralize that lethal Heavenly Tribulation so that they can safely ascend as Divine Beasts or Gods!"
Upon hearing Zhang Tian's first condition, the God of Destruction paused, his thick dark brows drawing together into a distinct frown.
Seeing the God of Destruction frown, Zhang Tian kept his face serious, pretending to think that the Godking was reluctant to lift a rule set by the Divine Council. In reality, Zhang Tian knew from his past memories and conversations with Rakshasa Goddess that the restriction preventing Spirit Beasts from becoming Gods had evolved from the ancient war against the Dragon God and the lingering curse of the Dragon God's shattered bloodline, combined with the Divine Council's subsequent suppression.
However, as a mortal native to this era, he obviously couldn't claim to know the confidential history of the Dragon God War, so pinning the blame directly on the "Divine Realm's Heavenly Tribulation" was the most natural way to force the Godkings to take responsibility for blocking it!
Sure enough, the God of Destruction wasn't frowning because he wanted to keep Spirit Beasts down—he was frowning because of the technical headache involved!
"You misunderstand the origin of that tribulation slightly, Zhang Tian," the God of Destruction sighed, rubbing his chin as he explained half of the truth without delving into the taboo history of the Dragon God. "While it is true that the Divine Council enacted rules after an ancient calamity to prevent Beast Gods from rising and throwing the cosmos into chaos, the destructive Heavenly Tribulation that strikes Spirit Beasts when they touch the divine threshold is not manually fired by us every time. It is a lingering, autonomous curse woven into the dimensional laws from an ancient war."
The Goddess of Life looked at her husband gently. "Even if it is an autonomous cosmic curse left behind in the dimensional laws, Husband, for the two of us working together, intercepting it is not impossible."
"I didn't say it was impossible, Little Green; I just meant it is a bit troublesome to clean up," the God of Destruction chuckled wryly, his frown smoothing out as he looked back at Zhang Tian. "Neutralizing that ancient curse when a Spirit Beast transforms into a Divine Beast requires expending a God's power to forcibly overwrite the local dimensional laws during their breakthrough, and we will also have to silence any complaints from the other Gods in the Divine Council."
He gave a decisive nod, slapping his knee.
"However, compared to the priceless value of your Primal Genesis law, dealing with a troublesome Heavenly Tribulation is well within our capability as Godkings!" the God of Destruction agreed readily. "Little Green already promised you previously that your Blue Silver Empress could inherit her Seed of Life if she met the conditions. As for that little Emperor Auspicious Beast carrying the luck of the plane, and your Blue Silver Empress—I give you my word as the God of Destruction! When the time comes for your Spirit Beast companions to advance to Godhood, my wife and I will personally block and suppress the Heavenly Tribulation and erase the curse from their bloodlines, ensuring their safe ascension!"
"Thank you, Senior Destruction, Senior Life," Zhang Tian inclined his head with genuine satisfaction.
With the two supreme Godkings of Life and Destruction personally promising to block the Dragon God's curse and the Heavenly Tribulation, the biggest existential threat hanging over Jin Xi, Ah Yin, and even his plans for the Star Dou Great Forest was completely solved!
"Now then," the God of Destruction smiled, feeling quite pleased with how smoothly the negotiation was going. "What is your second condition, Zhang Tian? Do you require divine metals to forge your Spirit Tools, or perhaps high-tier law insights to accelerate your cultivation to the ninety-ninth rank?"
As the God of Destruction asked that question, the warm smile on Zhang Tian's handsome face slowly faded.
His icy blue eyes cooled into two shards of pristine, unyielding glacier ice, and although he did not flare his spirit power disrespectfully toward the two guests in his study, the sheer, cold decisiveness in his voice caused the air in the room to drop several degrees.
"I do not need divine metals, nor do I require shortcuts for my cultivation," Zhang Tian spoke calmly, his gaze locking onto the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life. "My second condition concerns the Asura God and the Sea God."
Both Godkings blinked, their expressions turning attentive.
"Earlier during this war, despite being deities who are supposed to abide by the supreme laws of the Divine Realm, the Asura God and the Sea God repeatedly, shamelessly reached their hands down into the mortal plane to target me and my people," Zhang Tian said, his tone steady yet carrying a bone-deep chill. "The Asura God secretly funneled divine power to Tang Hao in Seven Treasure City to try and murder me, and then during this war… both the Sea God and the Asura God possessed their High Priests on the battlefield to use lethal divine skills against Dong'er and Grandpa Qian Daoliu. Even when they were forced to retreat by the two of you, they still slipped secret divine techniques to their pawns to ensure their escape."
Zhang Tian leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his knees as he stated his demand word for word:
"I am not a magnanimous saint who forgives those who try to kill me and my loved ones," Zhang Tian stated plainly. "Right now, I am still accumulating my strength. However, when the day comes that I attain sufficient strength to match and surpass them, I intend to personally hunt down the cowardly Asura God, the Sea God, and the God of Slaughter or any other God supporting their faction. I will slaughter them, strip them of their divine thrones, and torture their souls for daring to meddle in my world and threaten my family."
He looked straight into the eyes of the two rulers of the Divine Realm.
"My second condition is simple: when I move to settle my blood debt with the Asura God and the Sea God, the Divine Realm—including the two of you—must not interfere, must not mediate, and must not protect them."
The instant Zhang Tian finished speaking, a heavy, startled silence dropped over the imperial study.
Even the God of Destruction, who was famous throughout the Divine Realm for his fierce temper and his long-standing rivalry with the Asura God, stared at the mortal youth in front of him with wide blood-red eyes.
Here was a human who hadn't even reached the ninety-ninth rank yet, sitting in a mortal palace, calmly informing two supreme Godkings that he planned to slaughter the chief law-enforcer Godking of the Divine Realm and a veteran First-Class God, and torture their souls!
Beside him, the gentle Goddess of Life parted her lips slightly in dismay, her brows furrowing deeply with worry and disapproval.
"Zhang Tian, this condition is far too extreme," the Goddess of Life spoke up immediately, her melodic voice filled with earnest concern. "Child, I understand how angry you are at the Asura God and the Sea God for their shameless interference, and you know that I stood by your side to reprimand them. However, the Asura God is one of the five supreme Godkings who maintain the foundational stability of the Divine Realm, and the Sea God is a pillar among the First-Class Gods! Slaughtering deities and torturing their divine souls will plunge the entire Divine Realm into an unprecedented civil war and shake the foundations of the cosmos! Please reconsider and change this condition to something else."
The God of Destruction also frowned heavily, nodding in agreement with his wife as he leaned forward to persuade the young man.
"Little Green is right, Zhang Tian," the God of Destruction said seriously. "Believe me, nobody in the Divine Realm dislikes Asura's hypocritical, scheming face more than I do! If I could beat him up without consequences, I would have done it ten thousand years ago. However, the five Godking positions and the core First-Class God positions are the load-bearing pillars that hold up the dimensional sky of the Divine Realm! If a Godking and a First-Class God are suddenly slaughtered and their divine positions are left vacant or shattered, the law network of the Divine Realm will suffer a catastrophic collapse! Countless lower planes connected to the Divine Realm would be torn apart by dimensional storms. Change this condition, boy—ask for anything else, and I will grant it."
Facing the simultaneous persuasion and genuine concern of both supreme Godkings, Zhang Tian did not get agitated, nor did he raise his voice or act disrespectfully.
He simply sat straight in his chair, meeting their gazes with calm, unshakeable resolve.
"Senior Life, Senior Destruction, I cannot alter this condition," Zhang Tian replied firmly, his voice steady as bedrock. "They have thoroughly angered me by repeatedly interfering in the war and attempting to take the lives of the people I cherish. Knowing the petty, vindictive nature of the Asura God and the Sea God, even if I wished to coexist peacefully with them after ascending, they will never rest until my family and I are eradicated. It is a matter of survival and principle."
He raised his hand slightly to forestall their next objection, addressing the God of Destruction's structural concern directly.
"Please understand, Seniors: I am not asking the two of you to violate your duties as rulers of the Divine Realm by assisting me in killing them," Zhang Tian clarified calmly. "You do not need to lift a single finger to help me against them; you only need to stand aside and not interfere when I settle our grudge personally. And as for Senior Destruction's concern regarding the stability of the Divine Realm's pillars..."
A cool, confident glint appeared in Zhang Tian's icy blue eyes.
"I have no intention of shattering their God Positions and leaving the Divine Realm's law network damaged," Zhang Tian said smoothly. "When I strip the Asura God, the Sea God, and the God of Slaughter of their thrones, I will make sure their Divine Positions remain intact, and I will immediately provide perfect, proper inheritors from my own faction to inherit and stabilize their God Positions on the spot. That way, the load-bearing pillars of the Divine Realm will not lose a single fraction of their strength, and the Divine Realm will not be weakened in the slightest!"
When those words left Zhang Tian's mouth, both the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life froze in their seats.
For several seconds, neither Godking said a word. They stared at Zhang Tian in utter, genuine shock, before turning their heads to exchange a stunned, bewildered glance with each other.
In the mortal realm, even ninety-ninth-rank Limit Douluos who served as High Priests—like Qian Daoliu, Bo Saixi, and Tang Chen—only knew vague fragments about how a single God's trials worked! Mortals had no idea how the law network of the Divine Realm functioned, nor did they know the supreme secret that a God Position could be stripped from a living deity without shattering the divine core and immediately transferred to a new inheritor to prevent dimensional collapse!
Yet this young man sitting in front of them had not only spoken of the Asura God, the Sea God, and the God of Slaughter with casual familiarity, he had accurately pinpointed the exact mechanics of how Divine Positions anchored the God Realm and how replacing the holders with prepared inheritors would bypass any damage to the realm's stability!
'How on earth does a mortal who has never set foot in the Divine Realm possess such precise, insider knowledge of our divine positions and structural mechanics?!' the God of Destruction transmitted mentally to his wife, his blood-red eyes wide with astonishment.
'It must be the Rakshasa Goddess,' the Goddess of Life replied through their private mental link after a moment's thought, recalling how closely Zhang Tian worked with the Rakshasa Goddess's inheritor and how he had built a whole subterranean city in the north to feed the dark deity faith energy. 'The Rakshasa Goddess is a veteran First-Class God who has been scheming against the Asura God for millennia. To win Zhang Tian's help on the mortal plane, she must have spilled all the confidential secrets of the Divine Realm's structure to him!'
'That loose-lipped venomous spider!' the God of Destruction thought, suddenly feeling that everything made complete sense. Since they assumed Zhang Tian had obtained all this insider knowledge from his partnership with the Rakshasa Goddess, neither Godking thought to question the true source of his memories.
Moreover, now that Zhang Tian had explicitly promised that he would not shatter the God Positions and would immediately fill the seats with proper inheritors so the Divine Realm wouldn't be weakened... the God of Destruction's biggest practical objection suddenly evaporated!
Truthfully, if the Asura God—who had spent the last few hundred millennia blocking every single reform the God of Destruction proposed in the Divine Council—was replaced by a new Asura God who was aligned with Zhang Tian and friendly toward the Goddess of Life and himself... wouldn't that be fantastic for his plans to expand the Divine Realm?!
Still, the God of Destruction hesitated to speak first, glancing sideways at his gentle wife to see how she felt about such a bloody, ruthless condition.
The Goddess of Life sat quietly on the couch, her fingers resting on her lap as an internal struggle played out behind her clear emerald eyes.
By nature, she was the incarnation of compassion, harmony, and peace. Under normal circumstances, hearing someone ask for permission to hunt down and slaughter fellow deities would go completely against her gentle heart.
However, as she thought back to what had transpired over the past few days, a rare, cold spark of anger stirred within her chest.
She remembered how the Asura God had secretly sent divine energy down to help his subordinate's inheritor try to murder Zhang Tian in Seven Treasure City. She remembered how, during the aerial confrontation, the Sea God had shamelessly possessed his High Priestess to try and kill Bibi Dong with divine power, and how the Asura God had possessed his High Priest—not to stop the fight, as a Godking should, but to try and slaughter the Rakshasa Goddess's inheritor while lying through his teeth to her face! Even after swearing a pact of non-interference in front of her and her husband, the Asura God had still secretly passed down his ultimate Asura Blood Sword techniques to his pawns right under their noses!
The only reason she and her husband hadn't punished the Asura God severely for his shameless hypocrisy was because a direct war between Godkings would tear the Divine Realm apart and harm countless innocent worlds.
'The Asura God has long forgotten the impartiality required of the Divine Realm's law enforcer,' the Goddess of Life thought, her expression gradually firming as her protective instincts toward Zhang Tian outweighed her reluctance for conflict. 'If Zhang Tian does not eliminate them, the Asura God and the Sea God will certainly use their inheritors to hunt Zhang Tian and his loved ones to the death the moment they get the chance. Why should my child sit waiting to be slaughtered by hypocrites who broke the rules first?'
Taking a gentle, steadying breath, the Goddess of Life lifted her head and looked at Zhang Tian, her voice calm, clear, and resolute.
"Child, your second condition goes against my usual desire for peace," the Goddess of Life spoke softly. "However, I witnessed with my own eyes how shamelessly the Asura God and the Sea God acted in this lower realm, and how repeatedly they tried to take your life in violation of divine law. Because my husband and I carry the responsibility of the entire Divine Realm's safety, we could not fight the Asura God directly without causing a catastrophe for the cosmos. Since they planted this karma of hatred first, and since you have promised to place proper inheritors into their God Positions so the Divine Realm will not be harmed... I will support your decision and agree to your second condition."
Hearing his gentle, kind-hearted wife actually give the green light to let her inheritor whack the Asura God and the Sea God, the God of Destruction nearly choked on his own breath, staring at her in amazement before a fierce grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Since Little Green agrees, then I certainly have no objections!" the God of Destruction declared, slapping his knee with a low rumble of laughter. "If you can actually pull off replacing that stubborn hypocrite Asura without damaging the Divine Realm's pillars, you have my word that neither I, nor my wife, nor any deity under our command will step in to stop you or protect them!"
However, before Zhang Tian could thank them, the Goddess of Life raised a slender green hand, her emerald eyes looking at Zhang Tian with a serious, motherly sternness.
"Hold on, Zhang Tian. While I agree not to interfere when you settle your grudge with them, I will not watch you march blindly to your death out of anger," the Goddess of Life added firmly. "You must understand that the Asura God is not an ordinary deity. Even among us Godkings, his pure combat power and his mastery of the Asura Demon Sword are terrifyingly lethal, and he has the Sea God and the God of Slaughter backing his faction. Right now, you do not truly comprehend the vast gulf between the mortal plane and a veteran Godking."
She leaned forward, setting down a condition of her own out of pure care for his life.
"Therefore, before you ever initiate a battle to the death against the Asura God, the Sea God, and those on their side, when you feel your cultivation and preparations are finally ready... my husband and I will personally test your skills and your strength," the Goddess of Life stated, her tone brooking no refusal. "Only if you can pass the joint test set by my husband and me, proving that you genuinely possess the power to defeat and survive against them, will we allow you to go confront them. If you cannot pass our test, you are strictly forbidden from taking such a fatal risk until you grow stronger. Do you accept this?"
Zhang Tian looked into the clear, warm emerald eyes of the Goddess of Life, and a genuine, heartfelt warmth spread through his chest.
Unlike the other scheming deities who treated mortals as disposable pawns to carry on their legacies, the Goddess of Life was setting this restriction purely out of sincere, maternal care to make sure he didn't overestimate himself and get killed by a veteran Godking—and by offering to personally test him alongside the God of Destruction, the two supreme rulers of the universe were essentially volunteering to act as his personal sparring partners to measure the exact combat standard of a Godking for him!
A warm, respectful smile graced Zhang Tian's handsome face as he stood up from his couch and bowed deeply to the Goddess of Life and her husband.
"I thank Senior Life and Senior Destruction for your profound care," Zhang Tian said sincerely. "I accept your requirement wholeheartedly. When the day comes that I am ready to march against the Asura God's faction, I will ask the two of you to test my blade first."
"Good! It is a deal, then!" the God of Destruction stood up alongside his wife, looking thoroughly pleased with the outcome of their meeting. "Show us the nascent law of your Primal Genesis Energy, Zhang Tian, and let us seal this covenant!"
Zhang Tian straightened up and nodded without a moment's hesitation.
Stepping into the center of the quiet study, Zhang Tian raised his right hand. He did not reveal the deeper, hidden ocean of Primordial Chaos Energy resting at the bottom of his dantian; instead, he called forth his Half-White, Half-Black ninth Spirit Ring.
As the mesmerizing ring of swirling black and white light appeared behind him, a sphere of pure, grey-and-gold Primal Genesis Energy condensed above his open palm. Inside that sphere, vibrant emerald vitality bloomed to its absolute peak before naturally withering into pitch-black death, and from the silent ash of that death, a fresh spark of pure life sprouted anew—an endless, seamless wheel of transition.
With a precise, surgical flick of his mental force, Zhang Tian separated a luminous, intricate thread from the center of the rotating sphere. It was the nascent foundational law imprint of Primal Genesis—the exact structural blueprint of how he had bridged the opposing extremes of Life and Death.
"Seniors, please accept it," Zhang Tian said, gently pushing the luminous thread of foundational law forward.
As the thread floated between the two Godkings, both the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life held their breath, their eyes shining with awe as they extended their hands—one glowing with violet Destruction, the other with emerald Life—to touch the nascent law together.
The instant their two opposing Godking energies touched Zhang Tian's bridging law, there was no violent crackle, no spatial distortion, and no mutual rejection.
Instead, guided by the cyclic blueprint of the Primal Genesis law, the terrifying purple lightning of Destruction and the gentle green light of Life flowed smoothly into one another around their fingertips, merging into a tiny, blindingly radiant spark of pure, seven-colored Creation Light that made the entire divine dimension high above the mortal plane hum with joy!
"It works... Little Green, it truly works!" the God of Destruction breathed, his voice trembling slightly with an emotion he hadn't felt in a hundred thousand years as he carefully absorbed and locked the nascent law imprint between his and his wife's divine cores.
As the source authority of the Primal Genesis law settled into the hands of the two Godkings, Zhang Tian felt a subtle click inside his ninth Spirit Ring. Just as the God of Destruction had promised, his ability to wield Primal Genesis Energy was completely untouched; only the ceiling of that specific law had been capped below the Godking tier—a ceiling Zhang Tian didn't need anyway, as the hidden Blood Silver God Tree in his spiritual sea quietly pulsed with an even vaster, unrestricted potential.
In return, the God of Destruction raised his hand and flicked a drop of condensed, violet-black origin light—containing his pure, high-dimensional comprehension of the laws of Termination and Destruction, stripped of any harmful pressure—straight into the Seed of Life inside Zhang Tian's spiritual sea for him to study at his leisure.
"We have received your gift, Zhang Tian, and our covenant is etched into the laws of the cosmos," the God of Destruction said solemnly, looking at the young man with newfound respect and camaraderie. "Little Green and I will return to the Emerald Sanctuary to enter seclusion and integrate this Creation bridge. When your companions are ready to face their divine breakthroughs, or when you are ready for our test, simply call out through the Seed of Life."
"Safe travels and smooth cultivation, Senior Life, Senior Destruction," Zhang Tian bowed politely once more.
The Goddess of Life offered him one last warm, reassuring smile before she and her husband dissolved back into twin streams of emerald and violet light, retracting through the dimensional barrier and vanishing from the study.
As the invisible spatial lock over the room dissipated and the warm morning sunlight of Star Luo City once again touched his shoulders, Zhang Tian walked over to the tall window, picking up his still-warm cup of spiritual tea and taking a leisurely sip as a faint, satisfied smile played across his lips.
With the two supreme Godkings of Life and Destruction now firmly bound to his side by mutual interest and solemn oaths, the final barriers in the heavens had been cleared away. Now, it was time to finish cleaning up the remaining loose ends in the palace dungeons below and prepare his empire for the ultimate harvest.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels [Heavenly Villain: Stealing Fate, Tempting Beauties].
Also, check out 20 Chapters Ahead for this fanfic on my P.atreon. [Check Out Art Of Characters On My Patreon. It's Free To View btw.]
Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/c/evildragon04