Hearing these words from the God of Might, Zhou Weiqing, the expression of the God of Destruction did not change much.
Sitting high upon his divine throne, his gaze fell quietly upon the stalwart figure below.
The Hall of Destruction fell silent for a moment before the voice of the God of Destruction sounded once more: "Just because of these reasons, you are going to betray me?"
Zhou Weiqing did not reply; standing there with his face slightly lowered beneath his helmet and his lips tightly pressed together, he seemed to have suppressed all words deep within his throat.
In his heart, he truly felt that he had failed the God of Destruction, and that no matter what he said at this moment, it would sound like he was making excuses for himself.
Seeing that he did not answer, the voice of the God of Destruction involuntarily raised a notch, and the suppressed anger within began to seep out bit by bit: "You constantly claim that I am your benefactor, but is this how you repay kindness?"
Zhou Weiqing still did not reply, and the God of Destruction, looking at his silent appearance, continued: "Do you really think Tang San is any good? He is merely capitalizing on a favor to demand repayment."
Zhou Weiqing had naturally been present at the previous Divine Realm assembly, and he had witnessed with his own eyes how Tang San's actions were laid bare before all the gods piece by piece.
Violating the rules of the Divine Realm, dispatching divine attendants to the Lower Realm without authorization, and tearing apart his own daughter's Soul...
These piece-by-piece facts that were exposed completely subverted and collapsed the once-revered image in Zhou Weiqing's heart.
Therefore, facing the God of Destruction at this moment, he could not say a single word.
Looking at his current posture with his head lowered in silence, the God of Destruction felt a sense of exasperation welling up alongside his anger.
He suddenly stood up, his figure flashing and disappearing from beside the divine throne, appearing right before Zhou Weiqing in the next instant.
Raising his hand, he tapped Zhou Weiqing's broad chest and said: "You! You are truly foolish enough, being played around in circles by Tang San."
"A person as power-hungry as Tang San, how could he truly give up the Divine Position of the Asura God? That is the Foundation for him to ascend to a God King."
"Given his personality, he must have observed you in the Divine Realm for a long time, knowing that you would not choose to inherit the Asura Divine Position, which is why he made a move when you faced danger and deliberately spoke those words to you about passing down the Divine Position."
Listening to those words just spoken by the God of Destruction, had it been in the past, Zhou Weiqing would definitely not have believed them.
He would have regarded those words as smearing Tang San, as attacks tainted with private motives amidst the struggle between two God Kings.
But now, the truth about Tang San had been placed out in the open during that assembly, leaving him no room to continue deceiving himself.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that what the God of Destruction said was extremely likely; how could a person as meticulously calculating as Tang San show goodwill toward him for no reason?
Those seemingly benevolent actions, when recalled now, every step had been taken just right, as if they had been planned long ago.
The guilt he held in his heart toward the God of Destruction instantly became even heavier, and at the same time, he came to thoroughly hate Tang San.
He hated himself for being played with in the palm of a hand so lightly, and hated himself for once regarding the other party as a true benefactor.
Zhou Weiqing slowly knelt down before the God of Destruction, lowered his head, and said: "It was my failure to recognize people and I was deceived by Tang San, but no matter what, those matters were ultimately done by me, and I have failed the God King."
Speaking up to this point, he raised his head, meeting the crimson eyes of the God of Destruction: "However the God King wishes to deal with me, I have no complaints."
The God of Destruction looked down at him, this subordinate he had once valued the most, and slowly spoke: "You have committed a grave error and cannot go unpunished; otherwise, it will be impossible to convince the masses."
His gaze lingered on Zhou Weiqing's face for a brief moment, as if pondering what kind of punishment to inflict.
A moment later, he spoke: "I sentence you to pass down your Divine Position and be imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison of the Divine Realm for a thousand years."
Hearing this, Zhou Weiqing was slightly stunned, and then a layer of complex emotions welled up in his eyes.
He had originally thought that he would hardly escape death today, after all, he had betrayed the God King of Destruction, and the other party was someone who could not tolerate any sand in their eyes; yet unexpectedly, the God of Destruction had given him a path to survival.
He slowly lowered his head and simply said: "Thank you, God King."
After passing down his Divine Position, he would still be a deity; his strength might drop somewhat, but it would not fall by too much.
As for being imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison of the Divine Realm for a thousand years, that was the punishment he had to bear for doing wrong, and he had no complaints.
The God of Destruction originally wanted to say something more, but at that moment he suddenly felt a communication from the Lower Realm; with a slight sensing, he knew it was Huo Yuhao looking for him.
The lingering anger within his crimson eyes fluctuated slightly, and his composed countenance also returned to normal accordingly.
He glanced at Zhou Weiqing and instructed him in a flat tone: "Go to the Heavenly Prison yourself."
He did not give any further exhortations, nor did he send anyone to escort him.
Based on his understanding of Zhou Weiqing, since the other party had agreed, he would not escape in secret.
If the other party really did that, it would prove that he had misjudged the person, and by then he would personally take action, leaving no future troubles.
"Yes."
Zhou Weiqing acknowledged it and then stood up. Without saying another word, he turned and walked in the direction outside the divine hall.
The God of Destruction watched his broad back disappear outside the hall doors before slowly withdrawing his gaze.
With a flash of his figure, he returned to the divine throne, then calmed his mind and plunged his Divine Thought into the Lower Realm.
Within the Spiritual Sea of Huo Yuhao, the figure of the God of Destruction condensed and formed once again.
His gaze fell upon Huo Yuhao, keenly capturing that trace of entanglement and tension deep within the other's eyes.
The God of Destruction was not clear about what Huo Yuhao was thinking at this moment, and directly asked: "Why have you summoned me?"
While speaking, the God of Destruction himself did not notice that the corners of his mouth were continuously curling upwards.
Because of Huo Yuhao's appearance, the trajectory of his destiny had undergone a complete change.
The present Divine Realm was executing bit by bit toward the direction he desired, the resistance that once bound him hand and foot was gradually disintegrating, and all these turning points began with the person before him.
Therefore, facing this successor of his Divine Position, the God of Destruction was truly satisfied beyond measure.
Looking at the rare, gentle expression of the God of Destruction, Huo Yuhao was still somewhat unused to it.
However, Huo Yuhao did not hesitate for too long, and immediately asked the question that had been weighing heavily on his heart for a long time: "Senior God King, I wonder when the Ninth Trial of the Divine Trials... will begin?"
Hearing this, the God of Destruction was slightly stunned. During this period of time, he had been busy handling the affairs of the Divine Realm; after Tang San fell from power, there were too many things waiting for him to handle, keeping him so busy that he could hardly spare time to think about other matters.
Only until Huo Yuhao spoke at this moment did he suddenly remember that he had actually forgotten about arranging the final Divine Trial.
This God King of Destruction, who had always been known for his rigor and decisiveness, unexpectedly felt a rare trace of guilt in his heart.
His gaze flickered slightly, revealing a thoughtful expression, and then he spoke directly: "The Ninth Divine Trial?"
Huo Yuhao looked at him and nodded earnestly, waiting for the Ninth Divine Trial to descend.
However, the God of Destruction looked at him, and the trace of contemplation in his eyes slowly turned into a layer of extremely faint smile as he said: "You have already passed it."