"Little Green, are you aware of the conflict between the Sea God and me?"
Regarding the Goddess of Life's deflection of the topic, the God of Destruction didn't respond directly. It was as if he hadn't been the one to initiate the meeting in the first place. Instead, he now asked a seemingly unrelated question in return.
The Goddess of Life frowned slightly, and her smile gradually faded. "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"
As a married couple, and one that had endured countless years together, the Goddess of Life naturally understood her husband's thoughts. Besides, the God of Destruction hadn't hidden anything from her either.
She knew that there were two reasons for the conflict between her husband and the Sea God.
The first was that the Sea God was merely a newcomer, yet he had been entrusted by the first-generation God of Kindness and God of Evil to oversee the Divine Realm's central hub, completely ignoring the God of Destruction, their old colleague.
This was a matter of indignation.
However, as a God King of countless years, the God of Destruction's magnanimity naturally wouldn't be so petty as to conflict with the Sea God over this alone.
The most important reason was the second point—a conflict of ideals!
As the saying goes: Those of different paths cannot make plans together.
The current conflict between the Sea God and the God of Destruction mainly lay here.
Moreover, the ideals proposed by the Sea God and the God of Destruction had affected the entire Divine Realm. Due to their opposing contradictions, they were now like a microcosm of the entire Divine Realm's power structure. The Divine Realm was mostly composed of gods who were once human; they similarly had their own hearts, their own interests, and naturally, their own factions.
Currently, the Divine Realm was broadly divided into three factions: the Conservatives, the Radicals, and the Neutrals.
Among them, the Sea God was primarily the representative of the Neutral faction. The number of deities in this faction, truth be told, was quite sparse. On one hand, this was because the Sea God had only been a god for less than ten thousand years; calculated in Divine Realm time, that was merely a scant twenty-some years.
In such a short amount of time, no matter how fast the Sea God developed, the number of deities in his faction and its scale were far inferior to those of the representative of the Radical faction—the God of Destruction—who had been deeply rooted in the Divine Realm for an unfathomable amount of time.
But there was one thing: the Sea God's current faction had already become a threat to the God of Destruction. Otherwise, if the Sea God were only a lone wolf, or if the deities supporting him were few, would the conflict between the God of Destruction and the Sea God have continued to intensify like this?
Clearly, that was impossible.
But the reality was that the Sea God held control over the Divine Realm's central hub, which was equivalent to holding the "righteous cause" in Tang San's hands. This alone was enough to make many neutral deities lean toward his side.
Furthermore, ever since the Sea God became a member of the Divine Realm Committee, he had been conscientious, incorruptible, gentle, and refined... anyway, a whole host of positive images had been displayed before the gods.
This was done to such an extent that even the God of Destruction had to admit the Sea God's good image. Other than being relatively focused on his hometown, the "Douluo Plane," he could almost be called a perfect man.
Of course, this referred to the image Tang San displayed.
As for being relatively focused on his hometown... it was just paying attention to his own homeland, which was a matter of human nature. So what could this tiny point possibly count for?
After all, no matter how much the Sea God paid attention, could he really be so controlling as to gather the entire Douluo Plane entirely into his own hands?
Wasn't that a joke?
Having become a god, one naturally had to place more focus on the development of the Divine Realm and the duties of a God King.
On this point, the God of Destruction also found him beyond reproach; at the very least, he was more diligent than the newly-arrived God of Kindness and God of Evil.
The only issue was that the Sea God was too conservative!
As for his, the God of Destruction's, image?
He was upright and uncompromising, difficult to approach, and even a bit paranoid. Moreover, after the Asura God left, his side of things was entirely borne by the God of Destruction. Among the current five Great God Kings, his, the God of Destruction's, image was completely the worst.
It was precisely based on these two points—the "righteous cause" and image—that the Sea God even gained the support of the Neutral faction. Even the Goddess of Life, the God of Kindness, and the God of Evil had begun to lean toward the Sea God.
All of this, the God of Destruction saw completely with his own eyes.
The Sea God's faction had grown powerful, and the other three God Kings leaned toward the Sea God on the matter of conservatism. Then what about him, the God of Destruction?
What about his ideal of expanding the Divine Realm?
Achieving it in the future would probably become increasingly difficult.
Especially since even his own wife implicitly disagreed somewhat.
Thinking of this, the God of Destruction looked at the Goddess of Life, and in those red eyes, a rare trace of resentment was revealed.
With just one glance, the Goddess of Life perceived his thoughts.
"Sigh—" She sighed softly and said, "So you called me here to ask me to support your ideas in the future?"
"No!"
Unexpectedly, the God of Destruction flatly denied it.
"You should support your own ideas. You shouldn't be conflicted or change because of me; I respect all the decisions you make."
"But similarly, you should also respect my ideals."
Hearing this, the Goddess of Life smiled.
This guy, Little Purple, was just "paranoid." Even toward her, it was the same.
But this "paranoia"—wasn't it also the very reason she had fallen in love with him in the past and chosen to marry him?
"Little Purple, I respect that."
The Goddess of Life leaned over, resting on his shoulder.
"But you should also patiently listen to my advice."
"Although the Sea God's ideals differ from yours, we can't deny his excellence; otherwise, he wouldn't have gained the recognition of Poseidon and Asura. You should trust your old comrade."
"Even Kindness and Evil acknowledged him. They even came to me specifically to discuss it before they left. After I agreed, they made the decision to let Tang San oversee the Divine Realm's central hub."
As soon as the Goddess of Life said this, the God of Destruction suddenly lowered his eyes. Under his purple cloak, his blood-red eyes instantly became sharp, staring at her. Subconsciously, a piercing destructive intent instantly pounced toward her.
Wherever the destructive intent passed, destructive thoughts churned, and even heaven and earth origin energy would shatter, becoming part of the destruction.
However, when this immense divine power approached the Goddess of Life, it was reassembled and restored to its original state.
Creation and destruction, truly a bizarre spectacle.
To this, the Goddess of Life remained silent.
She wanted the God of Destruction to calm down.
After a moment, the God of Destruction calmed down.
But in reality, his heart was already churning ceaselessly.
What he was angry about wasn't anything else, but rather the mention by the Goddess of Life of the long-departed Kindness, Evil, and Asura.
With such a bunch of insects, how could he expand the Divine Realm!?
Conservative, conservative, and still fucking conservative!
Old colleagues, old friends—not a single one of them was reliable!
You all went out to enjoy yourselves, one by one not caring about affairs anymore, leaving me, the one who actually wants to get things done, and yet you still leave obstacles behind!
Truly... fuck them all!!!
Fighting the urge to swear, the God of Destruction suppressed his anger.
Seeing this, the Goddess of Life asked, "Calmed down?"
"Barely."
The God of Destruction, his face ashen, spat out two words.
"As long as you're calm."
The Goddess of Life completely ignored the intense destructive thoughts still lingering around her body, even changing from leaning to embracing him.
"Little Purple, I hope you'll think about it this time."
"Okay?"
However, facing the Goddess of Life's advice, "No!"
Coldly, the God of Destruction gave his refusal.
He looked at the unsurprised Goddess of Life. "My ideals will never change. The future of the Divine Realm shouldn't be so conservative; changes must be made. But since none of you support me, then I will find a god who can break the stalemate and see how he chooses."
At this moment, his gaze became resolute.
"Little Green, this time you have to stand on my side. Help me!"
The Goddess of Life didn't directly agree, but asked: "What do you want to do?"
"Do you remember the youth I bestowed the Rakshasa God seal on, the one I told you about? The one in the Douluo Plane."
Hearing this, the Goddess of Life nodded slightly.
"You're saying the one to break the stalemate is him?"
"That's right."
The God of Destruction didn't have the slightest intention of hiding it, laying out all his thoughts to the Goddess of Life.
"...So my idea is to let him become a new God King of the Divine Realm. After all, with the Rakshasa God and the Angel God—one vacant and one shattered—the duties of these two deities are left ungoverned. Coincidentally, he has come into contact with both of these aspects. Based on the Rakshasa God mark I left on him, he is also walking the path of self-creating a god position, and it will absolutely intertwine with the duties of those two great god positions. If he succeeds, he'll be a new God King."
"Previously, I didn't dare to confirm his path, and even worried about misleading him, so I never intervened and never bestowed a trial. But now he's about to reach the peak of mortality. What we need to do is give him a push from behind and provide him with guidance."
"If he becomes a God King, then the Divine Realm will gain a new faction. When the time comes, we'll see how he chooses."
At this moment, a flash of resolve passed through the God of Destruction's eyes. He even pulled the Goddess of Life's delicate body closer and continued:
"If he chooses the Sea God's ideals, although I still won't change my own ideas, then not counting you, they will have at least four God King-level combatants to stop me, in order to prevent massive upheaval in the Divine Realm. Conversely, if he chooses my ideals, then I can powerfully continue to implement my plans. Even if we encounter the great catastrophe the Sea God speaks of..."
At this point, a trace of disbelief was revealed in his eyes, but he continued: "Even if we encounter it, gathering six God Kings would add another layer of assurance for weathering the catastrophe. Isn't that so?"
Hearing this, the Goddess of Life's brow slowly relaxed.
She knew that the God of Destruction wouldn't have the slightest selfish motive. But she hadn't expected at all that he would actually make such a plan.
Yet she had to admit, the God of Destruction had convinced her.
Because an additional new God King in the Divine Realm, for the sake of these two ancient God Kings—the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction—who had no attachment to power and only sought the development of the Divine Realm, could only bring benefits and no harm.
"So this is your true purpose for finding me."
Her eyes, full of tenderness, stared at Destruction. "Isn't it?"
If the Goddess of Life still didn't know the true purpose of the God of Destruction seeking her out this time, then she would truly be quite derelict in her duty.
Of course, derelict in her duty as a wife.
At this moment, the God of Destruction's tone became gentle.
"Then do you plan to help me?"
"Of course."
Since it was a good thing, the Goddess of Life naturally had no reason to disagree. So, she took the initiative to ask: "How do you plan for the two of us to join forces to help him and guide him into becoming a new God King?"
Regarding this point the Goddess of Life asked about, the God of Destruction naturally already had a draft in mind; otherwise, he wouldn't have proposed this plan.
"First, we must guide him onto the path leaning toward the Angel God. After all, you also know that compared to the Angel God, some of the Rakshasa God's duties actually overlap with my God Position of Destruction and the Sea God's God Position of Asura. The only unique duty of the Rakshasa God's god position is 'suppressing evil thoughts.'"
"But if he leans toward this path, coupled with the Angel God's duty of judgment... to be honest, this isn't suitable as the foundation for him to become a God King. After all, this path is too similar to Asura's path."
"So to walk out of it, he can only lean toward the Angel God. After all, leaning toward the Angel God, his god position will become increasingly upright and honorable. Although still similar to the Asura God's throne, it will have diverged."
"Moreover..."
The God of Destruction paused slightly. "Later, when he becomes a god, I'll actually be like the mastermind behind the scenes, wanting to use him to accomplish my goals. For me, in my own eyes, this counts as owing him. Furthermore, the path of creating a God King's god position is extremely difficult; it's not something that can be done just with enough power of faith, so it's possible to fail."
"Once he leans toward the Rakshasa God's path, then..."
"You want to leave him a way out."
The Goddess of Life hit the nail on the head regarding the God of Destruction's thoughts.
Because although the duties of the Rakshasa God's throne and the Angel God's throne were both ungoverned, the difference between them was: the Rakshasa God's throne still existed. It was like the pit was still there, just without a radish planted in it. The Angel God's throne, on the other hand, had neither radish nor pit; there was only a mark left there, indicating that one could dig a pit and plant there.
One still stood firm, the other was like duckweed without roots.
This difference led to the consequence that...
If he chose to lean toward the Angel God, then the Angel God's share of duties would actively gravitate toward his new god position, making it easier to annex the Rakshasa God's duties later on. Once successful, the God of Destruction could subsequently destroy the Rakshasa God's throne to help him succeed.
But if he chose to lean toward the Rakshasa God... then what he would face would be the resistance of the Rakshasa God's duties, which could easily lead to failure. Of course, the God of Destruction could still help by destroying it, making the Rakshasa God's duties likewise become rootless duckweed gravitating toward his created god position. But what if it didn't go smoothly afterward?
Then wouldn't he be finished!
So leaving the Rakshasa God's throne for later was an extra layer of security.
This way, even if condensing his god position didn't go smoothly, he could discard his self-created god position and choose to inherit the Rakshasa God's throne instead.
The God of Destruction's view naturally gained the Goddess of Life's approval. Indeed, one shouldn't guide someone to do things, using them as a gun, and yet not leave them any leeway or guarantee.
So, the Goddess of Life asked: "How do you want to jointly bestow the trial?"
"I plan for you and I to descend our power upon the Douluo Plane together, and also have the Seven Deadly Sins Gods make a move. Then have him undergo the trial, thereby helping and guiding him within the trial itself."
"The specific method is..."
After listening to his conception, the Goddess of Life nodded.
"Alright. However..."
"However what?"
"Do we need to tell the Sea God?"
"What business is it of his if we bestow a trial? The Douluo Plane isn't his home. Besides, when we actually make a move, they'll all know anyway."
The God of Destruction's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction. Then, as if remembering something, he added: "Right, what I told you about letting that youth self-create a god position—don't reveal that either. After all, things are accomplished in secret. Moreover, an additional God King isn't a good thing for the Sea God and those other new God Kings."
"I know."
The Goddess of Life nodded slightly, indicating she knew the gravity of the matter.
After all, the appearance of a new God King was an earth-shattering event. For the other deities...
Hmm—human hearts are hidden behind multiple facades.
Who knew if some deity might have their eyes blinded by something.
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