Tang Sui, clad in a blue-black gown beside her, also lifted her gaze. Her eyes, a deep blue-purple imbued with profound Dao intent, were ethereal and vast, like an unchanging cosmic path filled with the dark shadows of dense thorns, its end invisible yet compelling one to explore.
She curved her lips and, with an unrestrained gesture, conjured hundreds of large ice shards to suspend in the air.
People widened their eyes and gasped.
For they saw that within each large shard of ice suspended in the air, a person was frozen – individuals who should have perished in this grand battle.
The brief few seconds felt incredibly long to them.
Under the gaze of millions, the ice encasing the bodies of their loved ones began to melt, like spring snow dissolving under sunlight, vaporizing into mist and seeping onto their skin, which had regained its warmth.
Countless people held their breath, watching in disbelief as their newly resurrected kin and friends descended from the sky, a look of bewilderment on their faces, rushing to catch them.
"Is this the power of gods?"
In stark contrast to the joyous jubilation of the Heaven Dou Empire, the Second Consecrator of the Spirit Hall Empire, Golden Crocodile Douluo, who felt their path ahead was even darker and more hopeless, let out a heavy sigh. Trembling, he watched the being standing in the void raise a hand. A black and red mist, more deadly than the malevolence emanating from the Rakshasa God, surged irresistibly towards their subjects, ruthlessly claiming their lives.
The people of the Spirit Hall Empire looked at the Twin Gods, who even pushed back against the rules, with confusion in their eyes. Doubts began to surface, and some even knelt on the ground, shouting towards the sky—
"Oh gods! Why do you aid the wicked! Why do you interfere in human wars!"
"Shouldn't gods be beings who bring hope and beauty to this world! Why do you create so much slaughter!"
People questioned the gods.
Standing upon tens of thousands of withered bones, bathed in divine light of faith, the Twin Gods glanced over.
The god whose expression was more animated chuckled. Their voice, celestial to others, sounded like the death knell of a demon king's messenger to their ears.
"Because I am not a righteous god, but— the sole Demon God of this realm."
Born of a single thought, duality: both god and demon, this is the Demon God.
Demon God!
The hearts of the Spirit Hall Empire's people sank. On the Heaven Dou Empire's side, Xue Beng, who had been overjoyed by Tang Sui's deification, felt a jolt in his heart.
Because Tang Sui had said she was not a righteous god.
Then, what kind of existence was this never-before-heard-of Demon God?
Prince Xue Xing wiped the cold sweat from his brow, reassuring the equally anxious Xue Beng in a low voice, "It's alright, Your Majesty. At least, this Demon God is on our side." At least they now had an empire backed by a god.
Yes, fortunately, Tang Sui and her family were all on the side of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Xue Beng's heart settled slightly. Just as he was about to speak, another magnificent golden light ignited from behind Jialing Pass, transforming into a dazzling pillar of gold. Countless golden specks radiated in mid-air, like tiny plankton in the sea, able to survive even in raging currents and facing oceanic storms.
The aura was entirely different from the black and red pillar of light that descended during Tang Sui's divine birth. It was sacred and vast, a warmth like the rays of the sun.
Feather-like lights drifted down from the smog-filled sky. The hazy, warm golden light illuminated the faces of the Spirit Hall Empire's people, filled with despair and darkness. Unnamable emotions surged within them, and many wept, looking up at the descending golden feathers, letting out sobs of post-disaster relief.
"It's... it's the Angel God, Your Excellency... The Angel God, our god has not abandoned us!"
"The Angel God, it's the Angel God's radiance!"
People tilted their faces up, bathed in the drifting golden feathers.
The black and red mist seemed to have encountered its natural enemy, halting its spread, cautiously remaining within the occupied territory, no longer expanding its domain.
"It's the Young Master! The Young Master has also become a god!"
The dawn that broke through the desperate situation brought Golden Crocodile Douluo to the brink of tears, his eyes red. The other Consecrators also felt a weight lift from their hearts, seeing hope for victory once more.
Tang Sui and Hei Mian turned their gazes towards the magnificent pillar of light to the west, shining like a lighthouse in the mist. Unlike Hei Mian's indifference, Tang Sui, whose emotions were more vivid, showed a complex expression.
She knew that if Qian Renxue had become a god, it would mean... she had also endured the heart-wrenching pain of sacrificing a blood relative.
A cool sensation brushed against her hand. Tang Sui's gaze shifted, meeting Hei Mian's mist-gold eyes.
Without a word, the Twin Gods, who were one in origin, immediately understood Hei Mian's meaning.
She knew that compared to her brother, who had not yet ascended and experienced the pain of separation, and Qian Renxue, who had already overcome tragedy, she was fortunate enough that she had lost no one.
Tang Sui smiled with understanding and looked towards the gradually dissipating golden pillar of light in the west. Her gaze traversed several kilometers, seeing the new god who, like her, had completed her divine birth, albeit at a different time.
Resembling flowing molten gold, the true fire of the sun enveloped the Angel God armor – the Angelic Holy Armor – evolved from the six soul bones inherited by the golden-patterned Angel lineage.
The little angel mark on her forehead was encircled by a band, at the center of which a gem shaped like a little angel shone brightly. Above the band, seven peaks formed a diadem-like ornament.
Feather-like patterns spread across every part of the armor, and her former six pure white wings had completely transformed into radiant, transparent gold.
As her golden wings gently vibrated, circles of golden ripples constantly spread outward from Qian Renxue's body, like the archangel from Western mythology in her previous life, her wings surrounded by immense true fire of the sun.
Clad in the Angel God armor, Qian Renxue appeared even more sacred and majestic than before. Having shed all worldly desires, she had become the judge closest to the path of detachment, a true Angel God!
She held a sword of angels, now entirely golden, and transformed into a golden stream of light, charging towards Jialing Pass. In just two breaths, she crossed thousands of kilometers, arriving above Jialing Pass and facing the Twin Gods standing in the void from afar.
"Qian Renxue."
Tang Sui spoke softly. Qian Renxue's voice, as calm as lake water, also sounded.
"Tang Sui."
A flicker of light flashed in Tang Sui's blue-purple eyes. As if addressing a long-unseen friend, she politely asked, "Have you found the Dao you sought?"
Qian Renxue swept her gaze over the scorched and ravaged land, taking in the scene of hell on earth littered with corpses. Her eyes, as clear blue as the sky, burned with the intense true fire of the sun, like a true sun.
"I am now the Angel God. The Dao of the Angel God is to slay and eliminate all sin and disease in the world, guiding people towards a brighter and more glorious future!"
Qian Renxue subtly raised her wrist, the Angelic Holy Sword, surrounded by the true fire of the sun, pointed directly at the Twin Gods. Her eyes, as if branded by the sun, were filled with cold, merciless killing intent as she declared,
"Demon Gods should not exist in this world. I will personally slay you, heretic!"
All regrets had become the past with her ascension.
Now, she fought solely to fulfill the responsibilities of the Angel God!
Tang Sui's fingertips moved slightly, and the surrounding space warped.
Like a cast reflection, the space beneath seven dark gold masks, each with a single vertical eye, began to ripple. Seven irregularly shaped black-gold masks floated out from the space around Tang Sui. In the center of each wafer-thin mask, a black-red vertical pupil, identical to the other seven dark gold masks, suddenly opened, exuding an even more terrifying and ominous aura.
"That is truly a pity..."
The moment the final drawn-out syllable fell, the figures of black and white instantly distorted and vanished into the void. Together with the Angel God who had descended above Jialing Pass and transformed into golden-red light, three terrifying divine powers surged. Black and white, and gold, three different colored figures collided violently in the high sky, the resulting shockwaves of power tearing the earth into deep ravines like countless sharp blades!