Chapter 143 Taking Control of Everything.
Before the sea of kneeling people, Navelette stood alone, leaning on her scepter, with the bottomless pit behind her.
He didn't even need to say another word.
The backbone of this continent has been broken by him with a single finger.
The realm of gods, the Temple of Asura.
Dark red mist swirled on the obsidian floor. There was no light here, only the hands on the high seat slowly turning the blood-red prayer beads.
The Asura God stopped what he was doing.
He held a blood-red crystal covered in cracks in his palm.
Inside the crystal, a blurry mass of gray energy was surging wildly, and a distorted human face could be vaguely discerned within it.
That's Tang San.
Or rather, it was a wisp of remnant soul that the Asura God forcibly "plucked" from Navelette's fingertips at the last moment using the laws of origin.
Without a divine body, without a divine position, and even his complete memories have crumbled under immense pressure, Tang San is now nothing more than a collection of consciousness filled with fear.
The face inside the crystal opened its mouth wide, screaming silently. It was pounding against the crystal wall, like a fly trapped in a bottle.
"Quiet."
The Asura God's voice was completely flat.
He extended his finger and gently flicked the surface of the crystal.
Buzz.
A beam of blood-red light seeped into the crystal. The gray aura inside instantly stiffened, then, as if drained of all its strength, slumped limply at the bottom of the crystal, trembling.
"The barrier to the realm of gods has been broken, and that ancient dragon cannot come over for the time being."
The Asura God looked at the remnant soul in his hand, his gaze not showing concern for his successor, but rather as if assessing the remaining value of a broken tool. "That Water Dragon King… his power has already touched the 'boundary'."
The essence is this: a direct confrontation will not only kill you, but also cause the collapse of the divine realm.
Tang San inside the crystal seemed to understand, and his trembling intensified.
"No need to rush."
With a swift movement, the Asura God pressed the crystal into a hidden compartment in the armrest of the throne. With a click, Tang San's remnant soul was plunged into complete darkness.
"Revenge must be taken. But hunters never confront raging beasts head-on."
The Asura God began to spin the prayer beads again and closed his eyes.
"Wait until he makes a mistake, or... wait until we find a sharper knife."
...
Jialing Pass.
The wind was still blowing, but it was no longer biting, because the thick, pungent smell of blood in the air was so strong that it made it hard to move.
Navelette stood at the edge of the pit and did not turn around immediately.
He was looking at the pit.
It was bottomless, like an eye leading to hell.
"It's too dirty."
Furina pinched her nose and waved her other hand in front of her. "Naviette, now that the trial is over, can we go somewhere else? The smell here is like a dead fish that's been rotten for three months."
"It is indeed an eyesore."
Navelette turned around.
His gaze swept across the entire room.
Everywhere you looked, whether it was the remnants of the Spirit Empire or the elites of the Heaven Dou Empire, everyone's heads were lowered even further.
Some people were so nervous that they rubbed their foreheads raw on the gravel, leaving them bloody and mangled, yet they dared not move an inch.
The previous battles were for survival.
The current act of kneeling is to beg for the right to breathe before the new god.
"Get up, everyone."
Villette's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears: "The trial is over, and I have no interest in slaughtering prisoners of war."
No one moved.
Bibi Dong remained pressed tightly to the ground, while Qian Renxue's shoulders continued to twitch.
Fear has become muscle memory.
"I am telling you, get up."
The scepter in Navelette's hand tapped lightly on the ground.
Thump.
The muffled thud was like a heavy hammer striking everyone's heart.
Splash—
Tens of thousands of people scrambled to their feet like puppets on strings. But no one dared to stand up straight; everyone hunched over, their eyes darting away, staring at the dirt beneath their feet.
Navelette paid no attention to the attitude of these ants.
He raised his hand, palm up.
The once calm sky suddenly surged with a large amount of water element.
Blue specks of light gathered like fireflies, coalescing into a transparent ring of water above his palm.
The water ring rotated slowly, radiating a gentle yet vast ripple.
"The rules of this world are very abnormal."
Navelette looked at the water ring in her hand as if critiquing a poorly formatted official document. "To increase power, one must hunt other intelligent beings, plundering their life essence to condense it into a ring. This 'damage'..."
The predatory principle of "enough to feed the needy" is barbaric, inefficient, and disgusting.
He slightly tightened his fingers.
*Smack*
The water ring shattered, turning into countless points of light that scattered across the ground.
"From this day forward, the old laws are abolished."
Villette's voice echoed throughout the entire Jialing Pass, and even carried by the wind to the distant Starry Sky Forest: "No need for hunting, no need for blood sacrifice."
He looked at the corpse of a soul beast not far away.
That was a ten-thousand-year-old cave spider that had been killed by the shockwave from the battle just now.
Navelette pointed her finger.
A semi-transparent wisp of light suddenly floated out from the mangled corpse. It was the lingering soul of the demon spider.
Enveloped by the water element, the soul ceased its struggle, gradually becoming docile, and finally transforming into a miniature version of the demonic spider's shadow, hovering in mid-air.
"Soul beasts offer their souls, coexisting with humans in the form of 'soul spirits.' Humans provide soul power to nurture the soul beasts' souls, while the soul beasts provide soul rings and soul skills."
Navelette turned to look at Qian Renxue, her gaze calm. "This is the new order."
Qian Renxue stared blankly at the floating spirit.
She was a god-level expert, so naturally she could see through the trick.
This is not just a change in the way of obtaining spirit rings; it completely overturns the ironclad rules of cultivation that have existed in the Douluo Continent for tens of thousands of years.
"This...this is impossible..."
Ning Fengzhi stood in the camp of the Heaven Dou Empire, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul in his hand appeared uncontrollably.
He sensed it.
The aura emanating from Navelette is forcibly altering the surrounding laws of heaven and earth.
"As for the source of the spirit rings..."
Navelette raised her hand and pointed to the sky.
Boom!
The clouds parted.
A gigantic phantom of a water dragon hovered in the clouds, obscuring the sun.
"Belief."
Navelette only said two words.
"Pray to me, offer me your loyalty and reverence. I will grant you a soul ring of the appropriate age according to your devotion."
"This is called a God-given Soul Ring."
The words fell.
He waved his hand casually.
Dozens of blue streaks of light descended from the sky, precisely landing within the bodies of several Soul Masters in the Heaven Dou Empire's camp who had been stuck at their bottlenecks for many years.
There was no pain.
There are no bottlenecks.
Before those Soul Masters could even react, a brand new Soul Ring rose up beneath their feet.
Moreover, the color is deepening as their excitement intensifies.
Yellow, purple, black...
"A miracle...this is a miracle!!"
An old soul master who had just wet his pants out of fear suddenly knelt on the ground with a thud, and turbid tears welled up in his eyes.
He was stuck at level 39 for twenty years because his body was too old to hunt soul beasts.
And now, he has broken through simply because of a wave of Navelette's hand.
"Thank you, Water God! Thank you, Water God!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The old soul master kowtowed so hard it shook the heavens, each kowtow requiring all his strength.
This is like toppling the first domino.
The battlefield, which was just moments ago deathly silent, was instantly engulfed by a frenzied wave.
Who wins and who loses? Who cares!
Who is Tang San? I don't know him!
As long as I can get a spirit ring, as long as I can get power, as long as I can live.
Let alone a dragon, they would kneel down and call a stone "father."
"Praise be to the water god!!"
"I am willing to die for you!!"
The roaring power of faith, like a tangible golden river, surged toward Vilet.
Navelette frowned slightly.
He did not enjoy this fervor; it was merely a necessary administrative measure.
It's like paying wages to workers who do the work.
"It's too noisy." Funina covered her ears. "Vilette, hurry up and find a butler to get rid of this. I want to go back and have some tea."
"As you wish."
Navelette nodded slightly.
His gaze pierced through the kneeling crowd, ignoring the powerful Title Douluos and the noble princes and sect leaders.
Finally, it stopped in a corner.
There stood a young girl.
Wearing the royal court attire of the Heavenly Dou family, she tried her best to maintain her composure, but her pale face and constantly trembling teeth betrayed her.
Xueke.
The princess of the Heaven Dou Empire, a nobody with no powerful martial spirit, no political ambition, and whose name is rarely mentioned in the original work.
At that moment, she was huddled at the back of the crowd, praying not to be noticed.
"you."
Navelette spoke.
A stream of water appeared out of nowhere, wrapped around Xue Ke's waist, and lifted her directly out of the crowd, carrying her all the way to the high platform.
Xueke was so frightened that her heart stopped, her legs went weak, and she collapsed at Vilette's feet.
"No...don't kill me..."
With a sob in her voice, she covered her head with her hands and curled up into a ball.
I won't kill you.
Navilette looked down at her.
There was no intimidation, only a cold, businesslike indifference.
"I don't understand your human schemes, nor do I have time to deal with these trivial political affairs."
Navelette raised her hand, and a blue mark formed from pure water element slowly floated down and hovered in front of Xueke.
"I don't choose the strong, because the strong are ambitious."
"I don't choose the wise man, because the wise man has too many thoughts."
"You are weak and timid. That's good."
Navelette's gaze was as if she were looking at a qualified part that had just come out of the factory.
"From today onwards, this continent is yours to govern."
"Integrate the Heavenly Dou and Star Luo, abolish the original royal family, and establish a unified regime. You have only one task—to promote the Soul Spirit system and collect faith."
"If you do well, you will be the only empress on this continent, with endless life and youth."
"Can't do it well..."
Navelette paused, her tone unchanged, "I'll crush you and replace you with someone else."
Xueke was stunned.
She looked at the blue mark in front of her that was radiating terrifying energy, and then at the Title Douluo and Imperial Marshal kneeling in the distance.
Those important figures who once wouldn't even give her a second glance are now burying their heads in the ground, not daring to even breathe.
A tremendous sense of absurdity overwhelmed her.
"I...I..."
Xueke wanted to refuse, to say that she couldn't do it.
But when she looked up and met Villette's emotionless vertical pupils, all her refusal stuck in her throat.
That is the absolute suppression of the lower levels by the top of the food chain.
If you don't agree, you'll turn into a pile of minced meat in that pit in the next second.
The instinct for survival triumphed over everything.
Xueke stretched out her hands tremblingly.
Her nails were neatly trimmed, but now they appeared bright red due to blood stasis.
She held the mark in her hands.
It's cold.
It was piercingly cold.
Yet it contains the power to destroy the world.
"Yes...yes..."
Xue Ke's voice was barely audible.
She turned around and faced the dark mass of people.
No one dared to look up at her.
Even though she was just a weak woman with no soul power fluctuations.
Because behind Navelette was absolute divine authority.
Navelette didn't look at Xueke again, nor did she make any closing remarks.
The work is done.
He turned around, striking the ground with his scepter, causing mist to rise and envelop him and Funina.
Xue Ke knelt on both knees, holding the water god's mark high with both hands, her forehead heavily pounding into the blood-stained mud, not daring to lift it even slightly until Vilet completely disappeared.
[]
The realm of gods, above the clouds.
Here there is no dust, no noise, only eternal daylight and flowing, auspicious, seven-colored clouds. But today, the auspicious clouds have stopped flowing.
The air felt like solidified cement.
Two figures passed through the golden archway that symbolized the supreme power of the universe, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridor.
Tap, tap, tap.
Navilette walked steadily, the rhythm of her scepter striking the ground remaining unchanged.
"This is the realm of the gods?"
Furnessa followed behind him, her heterochromatic eyes darting around. She raised her hand, made a handful of air with her lace-gloved fingertips, and then shook it off in disgust.
"The humidity is too high."
She took off her hat, straightened her slightly limp hair, and frowned. "This sticky moisture will ruin my hairstyle in ten minutes. And besides, there's no smell of a dessert shop here, only a…"
…"
Funina sniffed.
"The smell of rust masked by old incense."
Navelette stopped in her tracks.
"That's blood."
He said.
Directly ahead, the magnificent hall of the Divine Realm Council is fully revealed.
What should have been a sacred council chamber has now been transformed into a massive execution ground.
Hundreds of deities clad in golden armor stood on either side of the steps. Their spears, greatswords, and staffs remained in place, and the radiance of their divine power blended together, dyeing the sky a dazzling gold.
Eighteen first-level deities.
Second-level deities, thirty-six in number.
There are 214 deities and priests of the third rank.
This is the full combat power that the divine realm can mobilize.
At the very top of the hall, four of the five thrones, symbolizing the highest authority in the divine realm, were occupied.
At the very center, the Asura God.
On the left, the God of Destruction is completely shrouded in a purplish-black cloak.
On the right, there is a kind god with a gentle face but empty eyes, and an evil god with a wicked smile.
Beside the only empty green throne stood a huge totem pole.
A woman in a long, emerald-green dress was tightly bound to a pillar by black chains. The chains dug deep into her flesh, and each time she tried to struggle, a flash of purplish-black destructive lightning would strike the chains, causing her...
The body convulsed violently.
(End of chapter)