Chapter 43: The Divine Realm's Games
With the formal induction of the three city lords, the Church of the Water God's development surged with unprecedented vitality. Under the full-throated support of Long Ziyun, Yan Luo, and Feng Chuixue, the church's banners soon flew high above Icewolf City, Wildlands City, and Northsea City. Branch halls sprouted like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and the number of believers multiplied at a geometric rate.
At the same time, the new Holy Temple of the Church of the Water God in Fontaine City was smoothly completed. This sprawling complex of majestic architecture occupied the most prominent site in the city. Built primarily from azure crystal and accented with silver-white ornamentation, it glittered and gleamed beneath the sunlight. The entire sanctuary seemed as though it had grown forth from the water itself, melding seamlessly with its surroundings.
On the day of the relocation, Furina stood before the new main hall, watching the endless stream of believers who had come to pay their respects. A gleam of gratification flickered in her eyes. What pleased her even more was the fact that the points on the system interface were soaring upward at unprecedented speed.
"It's time," she murmured softly, her fingertip tapping the system interface with a light, decisive touch. Fifty thousand points were deducted in an instant, and a brand-new Statue of the Seven, Water God, materialized within the system space.
This statue was swiftly transported to Icewolf City, where Long Ziyun personally oversaw its installation at the center of the branch hall. The moment the statue was consecrated, the water elements throughout Icewolf City seemed to stir into sudden, vibrant life. A cool, refreshing moisture suffused the air.
"This... this is the power of Her Holiness?" An elderly believer knelt before the statue, feeling the gentle, surging energy coursing all around him. He could not stop the hot tears from welling in his eyes.
The Divine Realm. The Water God's Palace.
The Water God, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A flicker of surprise passed through her gaze. She had distinctly sensed a ripple of disturbance from the lower realm—the Douluo Continent. That ripple resonated faintly with her own divine power, stirring a subtle, almost imperceptible resonance.
"Interesting." The corner of her lips curved upward, and a wisp of her divine consciousness quietly probed toward the lower realm.
As her divine sense swept across the Douluo Continent, an organization calling itself the "Church of the Water God" caught her attention. What surprised her even more was that the "Water God" this church worshipped was none other than a young woman named Furina—and this woman was, simultaneously, the church's Pope.
"A rather fetching figure," the Water God remarked, studying Furina's appearance with keen interest. "Though her frame is a touch on the slender side. If she were just a little fuller in the right places, she'd be a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms."
As her divine consciousness probed deeper, the Water God discovered something even more astonishing—Furina was collecting the faith of believers through statues and converting it into Faith Power.
"Interesting. Most interesting." The Water God could not suppress a soft laugh.
In the Divine Realm, the path to godhood was mostly walked through divine trials, inheriting the godly seat of a predecessor deity, or through breaking the limits of the world's tier and forging one's own divine seat. The latter path was immensely difficult, and the heights one could reach varied wildly from person to person. Most who created their own divine seats could only remain at the level of ordinary divine officials for their entire lives. Those who could reach the rank of Second-Class Deity were vanishingly rare, and First-Class Deities were rarer still. As for the throne of God King—in her memory, virtually no one had ever managed to grasp it through self-creation alone.
The rarest of all were the Faith Gods—those who relied upon Faith Power to sculpt their divine bodies. Not only was this path agonizingly slow, but its demands upon the practitioner were extraordinarily high. Worse still, a Faith God's strength was often unstable. If they could not fully transmute Faith Power into their own divine force, then the moment they lost the worship and offerings of their followers, there was every chance they would tumble straight from their divine throne.
To think that in a world like the Douluo Continent, she would actually see someone attempting this arduous road.
"And in the name of the Water God, no less..." A look of playful amusement shimmered in the Water God's eyes.
When her divine sense swept through Furina's body, her surprise deepened yet further. This young woman actually possessed three martial souls—and two of them were of the ultimate water attribute.
"Such talent..." The Water God sank into deep contemplation. She began to seriously consider whether she should directly initiate the Water God's Trial for Furina and pass her own divine seat down to her. After all, judging by what she had seen so far, she was rather taken with this mortal junior who had boldly claimed the name of Water God.
"Should I grant her this opportunity, or not?" The Water God lightly tapped the armrest of her divine throne, lost in profound thought.
At the same time, in another corner of the Divine Realm.
The Sea God, Tang San, stood upon the clouds, his brow deeply furrowed as he gazed down at the lower realm. For reasons he couldn't quite name, an unsettling restlessness had plagued him in recent days. Though he had already secretly dispatched the two divine officials, Titan and Azure Sky, to the lower realm, and had cleaved his daughter Tang Wutong into two halves—one part incarnated as Wang Dong'er, the other's divine consciousness placed within the body of the auspicious beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, thereby securing the providence of the Great Star Dou Forest and the soul beast clans—he still felt a persistent, gnawing unease.
This arrangement had been exquisitely orchestrated: once the two avatars drew near the Child of Destiny, the divine consciousness he had left within them would be able to sense the currents of development in the lower realm, preparing the way for the next phase of his plan. At the same time, he had secretly granted faint blessings of providence to the descendants of the Tang Sect, in hopes that they would cross paths with the Child of Destiny. In this way, he could not only use the Child of Destiny's power to revive the Tang Sect, but also siphon away a portion of that vast providence, weakening the Child of Destiny and making him easier to control.
Recently, however, he couldn't shake the feeling that the course of events was deviating from its intended track.
Just as his divine consciousness was about to sweep over the territory of the Church of the Water God within the Star Luo Empire, a powerful aura of destruction suddenly erupted behind him.
Tang San immediately withdrew his divine consciousness and turned. There, approaching with slow, unhurried steps, was a man robed in black, his hair silver, his eyes a deep, piercing violet. An almost suffocating wave of destructive energy radiated from his entire being.
It was, indeed, the God of Destruction.
"Sea God. What are you doing?" The God of Destruction's voice was cold as winter ice.
"Nothing. I was merely concerned for Xiao Qi's well-being," Tang San replied, a warm, placid smile spreading across his face, his tone perfectly even and untroubled. Yet deep within his heart, flames of fury were silently spreading.
As one of the old-guard God Kings of the Divine Realm, the God of Destruction had always opposed him at every turn. It was only fortunate that the God of Destruction's wife, the Goddess of Life, was gentle and irresolute by nature—otherwise, the God of Destruction's plan for expanding the Divine Realm would have been set in motion long ago. And by then, the God of Destruction's power would have far outstripped his own.
For now, his own faction was still not in a position to confront the God of Destruction head-on. This old-guard God King's roots in the Divine Realm ran far deeper than his. If not for the fact that the Seven Deadly Sins under the God of Destruction's command were all eccentric in the extreme and ceaselessly caused him trouble, the God of Destruction's influence would be far greater still.
The God of Destruction let out a cold scoff, clearly unconvinced by Tang San's explanation. "Is that so? Xiao Qi has long been under the protection of your divine consciousness. No one in the lower realm could harm a single hair on her head. Even if her mortal shell were to fall, she would instantly return to the Divine Realm. Why the need for such close attention? Unless..." He paused meaningfully. "Unless you are searching for an inheritor for your divine seat? In that case, you could lay down the heavy burden of God King. That would be rather a good thing, wouldn't it?"
Tang San naturally perceived the deeper meaning behind his words—this was, quite plainly, an attempt to force him out of the Divine Realm entirely.
"But then again—for a dignified God King to concern himself so closely with the mortal realm is hardly appropriate," the God of Destruction continued, pressing his advantage. "There are still many matters in the Divine Realm awaiting attention. If the Sea God finds himself so idle, why not simply agree to my plan for expanding the Divine Realm?"
Tang San shook his head. "Expanding the Divine Realm recklessly could shake its very foundations. Such a course of action cannot be taken."
"Hmph!" The God of Destruction's fury seemed to crystallize into something almost tangible.
To think that the God of Evil and the God of Kindness had entrusted the stewardship of the Divine Realm to this upstart—it made his blood boil. What infuriated him even more was this: the heirs of those two God Kings were far too young and naive, their natures hesitant and irresolute. As for the originals themselves? They were having the time of their lives down in the lower realm, and every time they recovered their memories, they simply chose to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation, delaying their return.
"Were it not for Tang San's obstruction, the Divine Realm would have expanded long ago. We could have brought in more gods, seized control of vaster star domains..." The God of Destruction brooded with simmering resentment.
"Then just how long must we wait?" He forced his simmering fury down and demanded.
"This matter requires deliberation from a long-term perspective," Tang San replied, still maintaining his unhurried, composed demeanor.
"...Very well." The God of Destruction forcibly tamped down the rage blazing in his heart. "Then I must ask the Sea God to return to the Divine Realm Committee promptly and attend to the matters of governance. There is a host of deities awaiting your instructions. Do not waste any more of your precious time here."
"Thank you for the reminder, God of Destruction." Tang San inclined his head slightly. As he turned to leave, a cold, barely perceptible light flashed through his eyes.
You have already chosen the path of death!
This game of power in the Divine Realm was far, far from its end.