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The outcome of a battle often hinges on the blink of an eye.
By the time Er Ming realized what was happening, Ye Wen's spatial shockwave had already struck him.
Er Ming's true-body armor, which resembled rock and boasted strength surpassing that of diamonds, melted away like butter against a hot knife in the face of the crimson-red spatial shockwave. Beneath it lay the flesh his armor had desperately sought to protect.
If his true-body armor fared so poorly, his physical body stood no chance—it was instantly pierced by Ye Wen's attack.
After Ye Wen's assault ended, Er Ming stood frozen in place, then stiffly collapsed to the ground.
A soul master's soul power, from the lowest-ranked Soul Apprentice to the highest Titled Douluo, progresses through three stages: solid, liquid, and gas.
Though Er Ming could wield divine power, he had self-imposed restrictions, making his internal state indistinguishable from that of a 99th-level quasi-god.
Now, struck by Ye Wen's attack, Er Ming felt utterly wretched. All the soul power within him had been violently disrupted, rendering it completely unresponsive to his will.
Er Ming attempted to forcefully suppress the chaos with divine power, but Ye Wen had already stepped before him.
In an instant, Er Ming froze, unable to move.
Gods were permitted to engage in combat within subordinate planes of the God Realm, but never without cause. Moreover, behind Er Ming stood Tang San, the Enforcer God. Though breaking the rules wouldn't harm Tang San directly, it would severely tarnish his reputation.
After thousands of years, though Er Ming still hadn't fully understood Tang San's true nature, he had Da Ming as his older brother. Da Ming had long warned Er Ming about the darkness lurking beneath Tang San's gentlemanly facade.
Tang San was an intensely self-centered individual who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
Even if Tang Wulin couldn't inherit a god position, he could still become a divine official like them in the future. Yet Tang San had ruthlessly cast his own son down to the mortal realm, gambling on an uncertain fate and rebuilding stronger faith for him.
Though the Hao Tian Sect protected them, Da Ming and Er Ming—ultimate devotees of Xiao Wu—had willingly descended to assist their young nephew out of loyalty to their former goddess.
To ensure safety, Tang San, the Enforcer God, had even knowingly broken the rules.
At this moment, Er Ming recalled Da Ming's words:
"Er Ming, our descent to this plane was already a violation of the rules. If we remain hidden, we'll be fine. But if exposed, Tang San will undoubtedly sacrifice us to save himself.
Though he'll spare our souls out of consideration for Xiao Wu, he'll surely send us back to the cycle of reincarnation.
I know you're as worried about Tang Wulin as I am. But if you're truly afraid, return to the God Realm. With me alone supporting Tang Wulin, it'll be enough."
"Da Ming, what nonsense are you spouting? Do you really think I'm such a coward?
Xiao Wu only has eyes for Tang San now, so I absolutely refuse to lose you, my family.
And Tang Wulin… I can't abandon him either.
He's still so young. How could Tang San bear to send him back alone to that hellish Douluo Continent!"
Memories flooded Er Ming's mind, and he suppressed the urge to recklessly unleash his divine power.
He could die, but he absolutely couldn't let his death implicate Tang Wulin.
Moreover, Er Ming now recalled the emergency measures Da Ming had taught him.
Once, Er Ming believed his current strength made it impossible for him to fail in this accursed place called the Douluo Continent. But now, his brain raced furiously.
After all, who wanted to die if they could live?
"Stop! You can't kill me! I'm the High Priest of a god!" Er Ming urgently exclaimed, simultaneously using a faint trace of divine power to notify Da Ming, far away at the Hao Tian Sect, to come save him.
But Ye Wen remained unmoved and took two more steps forward.
Panicking, Er Ming continued:
"I'm not lying! Haven't you seen my six black and three red soul rings? Apart from those who've undergone a god's trial, who else on the Douluo Continent could possess such a configuration?"
Finally, Ye Wen stopped. A flicker of hope appeared on Er Ming's face, but Ye Wen's next words froze him in place.
"High Priest of a god, huh? Heh. Which god do you serve? And do you think someone like me—a Supreme Douluo—has the qualifications to ascend to godhood?"
Er Ming wasn't truly a High Priest of any god; he was merely one of Tang San's enforcers.
Still, after serving as a divine official for so many years, he knew some of the God Realm's rules.
"You certainly have the qualifications, but unfortunately, my god currently has no intention of passing down a god position. Moreover, your martial soul's nature is incompatible with my god."
Watching Er Ming earnestly fabricate excuses, Ye Wen inwardly chuckled. It was almost amusing to see this muscle-bound brute strain his brain to deceive him.
Though Ye Wen had no intention of killing Er Ming, it didn't stop him from teasing the other man.
"Is that so? What a pity. I thought I'd finally found my chance to ascend to godhood…
But since you can't offer me that opportunity—and you dared to offend my dignity earlier—you should just die."
With that, Ye Wen once again gathered his soul power.
!!!!?
Er Ming was shocked. He hadn't expected Ye Wen to suddenly decide to kill him.
"Wait, wait! Have you gone mad? I'm the High Priest of a god! Are you trying to offend a deity?"
As expected, Ye Wen stopped—but not because he feared offending a god. Instead, he coldly replied:
"And if I do offend one? I'm well aware of the rule forbidding gods from descending to the mortal realm.
Besides,
it's been ten thousand years. Apart from the Shrek Seven Monsters who ascended to godhood ten thousand years ago, how many Supreme Douluos have touched the realm of the gods in all this time?
In the eyes of mortals, even Supreme Douluos are nothing more than prisoners waiting to die in their cages.
Since death is inevitable either way, why shouldn't I seize the chance to feel the might of a god through you, the so-called High Priest?
Perhaps it'll help me break through and ascend to godhood myself!"
As Ye Wen spoke, the aura of a quasi-god erupted from him, shocking Er Ming to his core.
After all, the peak of this era's soul masters was Dragon God Douluo Mu En, yet even he had only reached the demi-god level, still far from the quasi-god realm.
Er Ming now deeply regretted not carefully assessing his opponent's level earlier. How had he ended up in this predicament?
Moreover, the fanatical gleam in Ye Wen's eyes seemed genuine. Er Ming felt certain that this was the end for him.
"Da Ming… we'll be brothers again in the next life."
Despair filled Er Ming's eyes as he closed them, quietly awaiting his death.
At this moment, Er Ming let go of everything, but he firmly believed that Da Ming would avenge him.
After all, no matter how strange Ye Wen's spatial abilities were, they would ultimately be countered by Da Ming's temporal powers.
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