"How can there be such a vast amount of faith power being channeled toward the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction?"
Tang San was confused.
As innate deities, the two had never left any legacies in the lower realm.
They could, at best, observe potential successors from afar, but communication in advance was strictly forbidden.
Interfering—especially influencing mortals to spread faith—was a clear violation of the Divine Realm's decree not to meddle in lower realm affairs.
At that thought, Tang San's brow furrowed deeper.
If this really was the case, as the God Realm's Law Enforcer, he had no choice but to intervene.
But first, he needed to investigate. With that decision made, Tang San didn't hesitate. He mobilized his divine consciousness and connected it with the central authority key of the God Realm, then silently followed the trail of faith linked to the Goddess of Life, slipping unnoticed through the divine channel to locate its source.
Before long, his search led him to the skies above the Body Sect, where he immediately noticed Minghui.
"This child actually carries the power of fate? How can that be?" Tang San was astonished.
As far as he knew, a single plane could only have one Child of Fate.
"Could this boy be... special?" His eyes flickered, and the idea of probing the child's memory with divine sense took root in his mind.
But he couldn't act rashly. The child carried not only the aura of the Goddess of Life, but was also linked by fate to both Life and Destruction. Their destinies were intertwined.
He couldn't sever the connection—nor block it. Though he held the central key of the God Realm and wielded certain rule-based privileges, altering those rules required the cooperation of the Five God Kings.
Even now, he couldn't read the information carried within the faith power—the child's belief was not in him. He had no authority.
If he forcibly tried, even just brushing the boy with divine sense, both Life and Destruction would immediately detect it.
"Hmph. Regardless, Life and Destruction have already begun spreading faith in the lower realm. This is a matter I will demand an explanation for!" Tang San's gaze swept across the two statues standing in the plaza. With a cold snort, his divine sense returned to his body. He turned and strode out decisively.
Soon, he arrived at the dwelling shared by the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life.
"Destruction, Life—you owe me an explanation for spreading faith in the lower realm!"
He opened with a cold tone.
The God of Destruction, seeing Tang San so aggressive from the start, was visibly displeased. He replied flatly, "This wasn't something we initiated."
"It's true," the Goddess of Life quickly added, sensing her husband's irritation and trying to ease the tension.
"This began with a child born recently in the Douluo Plane—his name is Minghui. During his spirit awakening, he encountered a crisis and fell into a coma after suffering backlash from his martial soul. In his dreams, he saw both of us… as well as the Ancient Tree of Life."
"In a dream?" Tang San frowned. "That sounds far too fantastical."
The Goddess of Life smiled. "We were equally surprised when we first learned of it."
To prevent Tang San from misunderstanding, she continued explaining.
"After the boy woke up, he described the dream in detail to his parents. His description was incredibly vivid—especially the Ancient Tree of Life, which matched the features of the Golden Tree you transplanted ten thousand years ago."
"But the boy had never heard of it or seen it before."
"Also… his mother was already over seventy when she conceived him. That in itself is strange. His clan even suspected he might be the child of Destruction and I, sent down for tempering."
"Given the involvement of deities, they took the 'better to believe than not' approach and began building statues in our honor."
"Later, the boy added his first spirit ring to his martial soul and coincidentally obtained an ability called Simulation. Through this ability, he not only replicated our appearances but even mimicked our divine auras. That further convinced his parents."
"And his newly acknowledged teacher from another sect as well."
"You can imagine the rest. Their belief caught our attention."
"So, what did your investigation reveal?" Tang San's tone turned curious. He didn't believe they hadn't looked deeper into something this unusual.
The Goddess of Life showed a trace of sorrow in her eyes. "The child is the reincarnation of an Old God."
"One who fought in the Dragon God War."
"What!?" Tang San's expression changed dramatically. The Dragon God War—that was ancient history! Even if an Old God had perished and reincarnated, how could they still be in the mortal realm, without having regained godhood?
"At first, I even suspected he might be the spiritual remnant of that Eternal Gold fragment that invaded the God Realm and injured you," Destruction said, not missing the opportunity to bring up Tang San's old wound. "Because sealed beneath his spiritual sea is a power related to time and space."
Tang San's expression darkened, but Destruction ignored him and continued, "During our talks, he revealed dreams involving Evil, Kindness, and even the Dragon God—and his descriptions of the battle were uncannily accurate."
"That confirmed his identity for us."
"As expected, his godhood must have been shattered during that war, and his divine soul grievously wounded. That's why he hasn't regained divine memory even after so many lifetimes. Worse yet, he went down the wrong path in the process."
Tang San, though irritated, understood what Destruction meant. In terms of time and space, those divine positions were already taken.
"Tang San, you should understand the contributions these Old Gods made to the God Realm," Destruction's tone grew solemn. "We cannot forget their sacrifices."
"I've already had Life heal his organ failures caused by martial soul backlash. As for the rest of his cultivation path, we won't interfere."
"But if he still fails to ascend to godhood on his own this lifetime, I will offer him a choice."
"There are many deities in the God Realm willing to pass on their godhoods. I will recommend him to them."
"You came to ask today, so take this as advance notice."
Tang San pondered silently before speaking with a serious tone: "If he truly served the God Realm in the past, then offering him some preferential treatment is only just."
Then, his tone shifted slightly as he sighed. "Destruction, you know... ever since Evil and Kindness reincarnated to temper themselves, I've been forced to assume early leadership of the God Realm. Bearing both Sea God and Asura Enforcer duties for years now... I'm increasingly stretched thin."
"..." Destruction glanced sideways. "If you want to unload your burdens, just say it. No need for all this roundabout talk."
"So, you agree then?" Tang San continued without changing expression.
"I've said before—if he fails again in this life, he will decide his path," Destruction replied.
Tang San's eyes flashed, and he nodded with a smile.
"As it should be."
Snatching a disciple? He didn't believe anyone would dare compete with him—a God King! So what if Minghui currently believed in Life and Destruction? Once he inherited the mantle of Sea God, he would become Tang San's prized disciple, and in the future, would naturally help manage the God Realm alongside him.
As for ascending on his own? Tang San didn't believe that boy could do it. If he could, he would've done so lifetimes ago.
"Huo Yuhao… maybe I can use him to win over the Emotion God," he mused, thinking of the First-Class God, Rong Nianbing.
"Or perhaps… let the two boys compete first."