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...Qian Renxue and Posey did not stay in the Lower Realm for long.
For them, cleaning out the vermin within the church was a matter of duty; after all, it was their legacy and an extension of their divine force.
Those false believers who committed evil in their names were the greatest insult to them and had to be personally erased.
But regarding the Douluo Federation government, the two goddesses tacitly chose to stay their hands.
Strictly speaking, this federal parliamentary system and legal framework were personally crafted by Bibi Dong back in the day.
Although it was now utterly decadent, according to the rules of the God Realm, if a purge were to be conducted, it should be done personally by the "Empress" who held the God Positions of Asura and Rakshasa.
Thus, after purging the top brass of the Angel Temple and the Sea God Church, the golden and blue lights dissipated, and the two God Kings departed through the void.
Watching the deities depart, those high-ranking federation officials who had already been writing their suicide notes were suddenly overcome with the ecstasy of having survived a disaster.
"They're gone! They're gone!"
"Hahaha! It seems even gods are reasonable! We are a secular government; we're not under their jurisdiction!"
Inside the Parliament Building, the surviving councilors celebrated, thinking they had escaped. They were even already calculating how to exploit the church's downfall to further consolidate power and fill the vacuum.
However, what they didn't know...
...was that what awaited them was not forgiveness, but something far more cruel and desperate—the final judgment.
Only half a day later.
The once clear sky was suddenly dyed a suffocating dark purple. A cold, evil, yet orderly and terrifying pressure enveloped the entire Federation Headquarters.
No nonsense, no proclamations.
Bibi Dong descended.
Behind her followed one hundred and eight "Heavenly God Hunters" wearing dark red armor and ghost masks.
That was the most elite law enforcement squad of the God Realm, each possessing the combat power of a Third-Class Divinity.
"Kill."
Bibi Dong sat high upon a void throne, toyed with a purplish-black scythe in her hand, and calmly uttered a single word.
She needed no evidence, no trial process.
The rakshasa gods divine sense instantly covered the entire Federation. Under this perception of malice that could peer into hearts, every person's Soul had nowhere to hide.
Greed, tyranny, selfishness, cruelty... as long as the malice deep within the Soul exceeded the threshold set by Bibi Dong, it didn't matter if you were the high-and-mighty Speaker or a low-level clerk, or whether you had actually committed a crime.
As long as you had that "intent" and were in a position to do evil.
It was a capital offense.
Pfft—
A councilor who had just been denouncing the church's corruption and boasting of his own integrity suddenly had his head explode like a watermelon.
Then came the second, the third... the entire federal apparatus instantly turned into an Asura field.
Bibi Dong's logic for the purge was simple and brutal: the so-called severity of circumstances was merely a matter of time.
Once the first crack appeared, once the thought of evil took hold, as one's status rose, minor evils would eventually culminate in great ones.
Rather than waiting for them to grow into malignant tumors, it was better to excise them now.
That day, rivers of blood flowed through Radiant City.
Over three hundred thousand federal officials, law enforcement members, and related interest chain members were slaughtered within a mere twelve hours.
No arguments, no pleas, only the coldest death... Watching this scene like a living hell, Huo Yuhao stood atop the ruins, sinking into deep confusion.
One moment, he was risking his life to overthrow this decadent system, cheering for every tiny victory.
But the next, a deity descended.
In just one day, she accomplished what he might not have achieved even if he spent his entire life trying.
That efficiency, that power, made him feel an unprecedented sense of emptiness.
"Since..."
Huo Yuhao looked at the cold purple figure in the sky and murmured to himself, "Since the gods have the ability to solve problems so quickly, why did they wait so long?"
"Why did they leave ten thousand years ago? Why did they sit by and watch countless innocents die over these past few millennia?"
"If they had acted sooner, Tang Ya's parents wouldn't have died, my mother wouldn't have died, and so many tragedies in this World... would never have happened."
"They clearly could have saved everything, so why... did they just watch?"
Smack!
Just as Huo Yuhao was about to fall into this dead end of thought, a foot kicked him hard in the buttocks, sending him face-first into the dirt.
"Ouch!"
Huo Yuhao cried out in pain, clutched his rear as he scrambled up, and glared at the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, who had transformed into a blonde youth. "Brother Tianmeng! What was that for?!"
"For what? To kick some sense into you, you idiot!"
Tianmeng stood with hands on hips, looking at him with an expression of disappointment. "You really are talking big without knowing the struggle!"
"Huo Yuhao, let me ask you. Do you know how many people are still starving in the slums of Radiant City right now?"
Huo Yuhao was stunned. "I... I know."
"Do you have the ability to help them?" Tianmeng pressed.
"I do..."
"Then did you help them? Did you give them all your money? Did you bring them food every day?"
Huo Yuhao was speechless. "I... I was busy fighting the Federation; I didn't have that much energy..."
"See!"
Tianmeng sneered. "You can't even do the things you are capable of, so what right do you have to demand the gods do them?"
"Having the ability and having the responsibility are two different things!"
Tianmeng pointed at Bibi Dong in the sky. "Bibi Dong and the others' responsibility toward the Douluo Federation ended ten thousand years ago! They established order, left behind god pillars, and left behind their majesty. It was humans themselves who were greedy, who forgot their awe, and who played a winning hand so poorly!"
"Now, this mess was created by humans themselves; what right do you have to ask gods who retired long ago to clean up after you?"
"If it weren't for Xuan Ming still feeling a bit nostalgic for this place, he wouldn't even bother with you ants!"
"Humans mess up the World themselves, and instead of reflecting, they think of praying to the gods?"
Tianmeng snorted disdainfully. "Who do gods pray to when they encounter trouble? To a higher-dimensional Universe?"
At this point, Tianmeng dropped his playful grin, and his eyes became exceptionally serious, even carrying a hint of weariness.
"Yuhao, remember this."
"Ten thousand years ago, Xuan Ming said that a World that needs heroes has no value in existing."
Huo Yuhao trembled.
"Those who long for a hero to descend do not deserve to be saved."
Tianmeng said slowly, "The concept of a hero itself is a profound sorrow."
"Because when a hero appears, it means this society is already terminally ill. It means that so-called hero is isolated and helpless in this era."
"Just like you were."
"You risked your life for this World, were hunted by the Federation, and besieged by the church. What about the common people? What about the Spirit Masters? What were they doing?"
"They were watching the show! They were protecting their own interests! Some were even calling you a lunatic and a heretic!"
"Only when you won and the deities descended did they jump out to cheer and put you on a pedestal."
Tianmeng pointed at the people in the distance who were bowing toward the sky, weeping as they thanked the gods for their grace, his eyes full of mockery.
"Watching the hero bleed while they hide behind, shivering. When the hero wins, they come out to enjoy the fruits of victory. When the hero loses, they join in to trample him."
"Why do these people deserve to be saved?"
"Lenient with themselves, strict with others."
"That is human nature."
"Huo Yuhao, gods don't save people; people can only save themselves."
The reason Xuan Ming finally threw the spear down wasn't to save these people, but because... you showed him that among humans, there are still those with the guts to save themselves."
"That is the truth."
Huo Yuhao stood there blankly, looking at the high-and-mighty deities, then at the masses kneeling all over the ground.
After a long while, he exhaled a deep breath of murky air. The confusion in his eyes dissipated, replaced by an unprecedented clarity.
"I understand, Brother Tianmeng."
He clenched his fists and looked toward that reborn Mecha.
"The gods' work is finished."
"Next... it's humanity's turn."