Chapter 288: Preparing a New Persona
The conditions proposed by the Evil God for recruitment seemed generous on the surface, full of apparent sincerity. But in reality, it was nothing more than an enormous trap!
First of all, the number of divine positions in the Divine Realm is fixed. Particularly, there have always been only five Divine Kings. So where exactly was this supposed sixth Divine King position coming from?
If these Divine Kings could casually create new Divine King positions, then they wouldn't just be Divine Kings anymore they would be Creators of the Universe.
The so called Divine King position promised to Ye Cheng was nothing but a false title, a fabricated divine status jointly created by the Five Divine Kings.
If Ye Cheng truly accepted and fused with this divine position, then his life and death would no longer be his own to control.
With just a single thought, the Five Divine Kings could strip him of all power, turning him back into a mere mortal. And with another thought, they could restore his strength.
In essence
This divine position was a complete lie.
Rather than creating a new equal, what the Five Divine Kings truly wanted was a puppet a tool under their command.
Just like what happened to the Dragon God those who refused to submit were eliminated.
Although Ye Cheng didn't know the exact mechanics of this fraudulent divine position, he had already seen through their ill intentions.
So, he didn't bother acting anymore.
Looking at the Evil God, whose expression was filled with false sincerity yet hidden malice, Ye Cheng's face suddenly became eerily calm.
The interested expression he had earlier? Gone.
Seeing Ye Cheng's sudden change in demeanor, the Evil God froze for a moment.
Then, he thought to himself
"Does he think the offer isn't generous enough? Should I throw in a few more First Class God positions?"
"After all, it's just an empty promise. Once he enters the Divine Realm, he'll have no choice but to obey."
But before the Evil God could speak
Ye Cheng's voice rang out, calm yet ice cold:
"Enough with the act."
"If you truly wish to recruit me, then show me some real sincerity."
"Playing petty tricks like this only makes you seem small minded."
"If this is the extent of a Divine King's magnanimity, then the Divine Realm might as well be destroyed sooner rather than later."
And with that
Ye Cheng couldn't be bothered to waste another word.
He raised his hand, fingers tightening in the air
The space around the Evil God twisted violently.
A moment later
The entire dimension shattered like fragile glass!
In the Divine Realm
The Evil God immediately felt his fragmented consciousness being obliterated.
And when he recalled Ye Cheng's words before destroying him
His face turned ashen with rage.
How long had it been since someone dared to speak to him that way?
The last person who dared to be so brazen the Dragon God was already dead, wiped from existence.
And now, another had appeared Ye Cheng.
If the Divine Realm were stable, he would have immediately gathered the other four Divine Kings to unleash a Trial of Divine Judgment, annihilating Ye Cheng on the spot.
But unfortunately
They couldn't do anything right now.
They were completely powerless against Ye Cheng.
And that was what enraged him the most.
Meanwhile, back on the Douluo Continent.
After erasing both the Evil God's consciousness and the last remaining divine official
Ye Cheng felt nothing but exasperation.
He never expected that the Divine Realm would actually try to recruit him.
And if they were going to recruit him, couldn't they at least offer something better?
Of course
Even if the Divine Realm had made a truly sincere offer, he still wouldn't have accepted.
Because the moment he accepted their terms, he would be abandoning the infinite potential of the Divine Ring Master system in exchange for a mere Divine King status.
And worse
That status would be bound to the Divine Realm.
His success and failures would be tied to them.
If he wanted to grow stronger, he would have to carry a bunch of dead weight along with him.
There was no way he'd agree to something so foolish.
"Well, that's one less problem to worry about."
Ye Cheng turned to Zhu Zhuqing, smiling.
"The Divine Realm's pawns have been eliminated."
"For now, there's no need to worry about more divine officials interfering."
"During this rare period of peace, take the time to properly reorganize the Star Luo Empire."
"With your current strength, handling it should be easy."
"I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving for now."
After a brief farewell
Ye Cheng took a single step forward
And vanished into thin air.
Unlike the previous divine officials, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't detect a single trace of spatial fluctuation.
Even though they all had just one Divine Ring, the difference in power was simply overwhelming.
"Safe travels, Teacher."
She waved goodbye before turning away
And then
She released her spiritual energy, effortlessly locking onto the hiding Star Luo Emperor and his two remaining Title Douluo.
"Hmph. Time to settle this once and for all."
A cold sneer crossed her lips.
Thanks to the Star Luo Emperor's paranoia, Zhu Zhuqing's perspective had completely changed.
Originally
She had only wanted to force the emperor to amend the imperial traditions.
But now
She had discovered a far simpler, more permanent solution.
Thus
The highest levels of the Star Luo Empire were thrown into unprecedented upheaval.
In order to reform the nation and breathe new life into its ancient traditions, Zhu Zhuqing took decisive, ruthless action.
She purged the imperial family, executed countless stubborn old relics, and mercilessly eliminated corrupt nobles.
One after another, those who opposed her were slaughtered.
Under her iron fisted leadership, the entire empire's authority was soon concentrated in her hands.
And before long
The people began clamoring
"Long live the Empress!"
"Make Zhu Zhuqing our first ever Empress!"
But
Zhu Zhuqing had no interest in ruling.
Instead
She placed her father on the throne.
After all
The Dai and Zhu families had been intermarrying for generations.
At this point, their bloodlines were indistinguishable.
For centuries
Those who awakened the White Tiger Spirit were assigned to the Dai family, while those with the Netherworld Spirit Cat joined the Zhu family.
In truth
The two were one and the same.
Thus, her father's ascension was perfectly legitimate.
And with Zhu Zhuqing standing behind him, no one dared to oppose him.
Meanwhile
Elsewhere in the world…
Ye Cheng was deep in thought
It was time to fabricate a new video… to further solidify his persona.
Long ago
In the Poseidon Persona arc, he had planted a subtle hint
A mysterious cosmic beast hidden within a meteorite from beyond the stars.
Now
It was finally time to flesh out this entity's lore.
Originally, Ye Cheng had considered borrowing the concept of the Gold Horned Beast from Swallowed Star.
However
After running some system calculations, he realized that fully copying that setting would clash severely with the Douluo universe's rules.
It wasn't worth the cost.
So
He had shelved the idea for the time being.
But now
With his power stabilizing, and the Abyssal Sovereign persona needing more time to develop
He finally had the opportunity to carefully design the next stage of his mythos.
(End of Chapter)
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