Battle of the Demigods

The massive ritual array neared its completion.

In reality, the entire process, from start to finish, had occurred in just a brief moment.

The mythological egg absorbed spirituality, wisdom, desire, and knowledge, forming the essential core of a wisdom species.

Consciousness awakened. Personality revived. Memories returned.

Next, the complete revival of one's former self within this body was needed to finalize this reincarnation.

Beneath the radiant pillar of light, the mythological egg began to crack, signaling its impending rebirth.

The glowing egg devoured all the supernatural radiance as it gradually elongated.

A figure materialized within the lord's mansion of Maya City.

With his appearance, everything around him began to change.

Inside and outside the lord's mansion, numerous servants, soldiers, and residents watched the scenes unfolding within.

"What in the world is happening? I thought I heard Lord Shana's voice," some servants murmured, wanting to rush inside. But Lord Shana had previously ordered that no one enter, leaving them feeling extremely hesitant at this moment.

"A divine being... Is that truly a divine being?" Outside, people stared dumbfounded at the Dream Realm entrance opening in the sky and the faintly visible Gate of Spirituality.

"It can't be the Blood Progenitor, so which divine being is it?" Everyone was incredibly curious, as the gate's imagery did not match that of their Blood Progenitor deity.

"It must be the God of Alchemy," someone speculated aloud, knowing that gates were part of the Alchemist God's known imagery.

Yet, none had warned them of the peril that came with standing so near a mythological being.

This was especially true when that mythological being released its power without restraint.

Power radiated outward, originating from the mythological egg at its core.

This time, the effects extended beyond inanimate objects to include living people.

Those who directly gazed upon the light and approached the mythological egg were the first affected. The mythological power fundamentally altered their life characteristics, working through their very spirituality.

The group closest to the front, the Snake People serving in the lord's mansion, felt it first.

They suddenly found their bodies involuntarily slithering along the ground.

"What's happening? My hands, my body..." Their bodies were melting. This supernatural power, transmitted from spirituality to flesh, was directly transforming them from Snake People into actual snakes.

"Help me! Help me!" they begged those around them for aid, only to find others backing away in horror.

"Hiss!"

"Hiss hiss!"

Before they could utter another word, their speech devolved into lizard-like hissing sounds.

"This is bad... Run!" The sight of a living person transforming into a pure snake terrified everyone nearby.

"That light is dangerous!" someone cried out, realizing something was terribly wrong.

"Don't look! Don't look at it!" others shouted warnings, believing they were being punished for daring to gaze upon a divine being.

More and more Snake People transformed into great serpents, unable to withstand the mythological power corroding their spirituality.

But one snake was particularly strange.

Like a Sky Messenger, it seemed to perfectly inherit Xiao's power. Instead of becoming one, however, it transformed into a great winged serpent.

It retained its wisdom but lost the ability to speak.

It also did not know how to communicate using the Wisdom Ability.

"Hiss hiss!" it cried, the sound echoing its silent plea.

"Hiss hiss!" it desperately tried to convey, "Help me! Help me!"

"Monster!" someone screamed.

"Stay back! Stay away from me!"

But its terrifying form only frightened those around it. When they saw it rise into the air, people fled in panic.

"Run! This is divine punishment! The divine being is punishing those who dared to look upon Him!" More people became convinced this was a divine being punishing them simply for gazing upon Him.

"Everyone, bow your heads! Bow your heads!" someone shouted while running frantically.

Panic spread from inside the lord's mansion, intensifying as it swept through the streets.

Gradually, the entire city descended into chaos. Everyone in the streets ran frantically, while households hurriedly shut their doors.

Of course, guard units rushed toward the lord's mansion, hoping to quell the disorder, but their efforts were completely useless against such overwhelming power.

Meanwhile, within the lord's mansion, the figure born from the mythological egg grew with increasing speed.

He was no ordinary reincarnator, having lived through countless cycles of rebirth.

Born as a mythological being, his form began to take shape.

At first, he appeared as a child, small and fragile. But with each step forward, his body transformed.

In the blink of an eye, he grew into a youth, his figure stretching taller with the passing wind.

Finally, he stood as an adult, his presence commanding and complete.

He was a mythological being possessing God's Form.

"The wait was rather long!" he declared.

"So the Creator's next era truly is at the end of time," the mythological being's voice carried from within the light. The sheer power radiating from his life form had already affected the area for several miles around.

Many great serpents twisted together, prostrating themselves at his feet.

Several winged serpent monsters fluttered onto the rooftop, pressing their heads against the tiles in submission.

A figure wearing a white robe stood atop the lord's mansion. His garment was simple, almost like a sheet pulled directly from a bed.

Xiao stood barefoot, yet his overwhelming presence seemed to envelop the entire city, commanding the attention of every living being within it.

He appeared as a middle-aged man with a thin, long face. His short, sharp hair resembled steel needles. His cheekbones were somewhat high, and his eyes held a cold, mechanical rationality.

He seemed to constantly analyze everything in this world, including himself.

In the sky above.

Within the Dream Realm.

Duma also watched her divine being, observing the entire descent process.

The divine being had descended, and she, as God's Apostle, had lost her authority over the Gate of Spirituality.

After all, she was just a proxy, an apostle, not the divine being herself.

In fact, since merging with the Gate of Spirituality, she could not even leave the gate. She could only watch the outside world through it.

She witnessed firsthand the memories of Shana and the Camon clan. She witnessed Barrow's dream reach completion. She witnessed the fulfillment of the ancient promise.

Her eyes filled with shock.

She never imagined this was the true nature of the Destined Marionette, that this was the divine being's plan for revival.

Two hundred and fifty million years of waiting, she thought, bound through generations, enduring endless suffering.

Shana, Camon, Barrow...

Was it all truly worth it?

In this endless cycle, in this eternal agony, had they ever regretted their choice?

Even if they had regretted it, could anything have been changed?

In this painful cycle, even death became something beautiful, something one might willingly sacrifice everything to pursue.

If it were her, could she endure for two hundred and fifty million years?

Could she hold on for a promise, for her unwavering faith?

Duma involuntarily shuddered. For the first time, she truly felt the terrifying nature of divine beings and time itself. She felt even more acutely the powerlessness of mortals before such forces.

"Lord of Radiance," she whispered, her voice trembling.

"What kind of being are you? To conceive such a plan... to inspire such unwavering devotion in your followers?"

She watched the mythological egg hatch. She watched the mythological being with God's Form step forth from the light.

Her heart grew increasingly uneasy.

After all, no matter what, she was a follower of the Lord of Radiance.

She was born from the divine being's power, grew up bathed in divine radiance, and gained everything she now possessed through the divine being's grace.

In a way, the divine being was her father.

But then she witnessed a terrifying sight.

After descending, the divine being released his power without restraint. He indifferently transformed the Snake People into mindless monsters, selecting suitable ones among them to become his servants.

This scene suddenly reminded her of her mother, the Abyss Queen, who had once been utterly cold, then utterly mad.

"No!" Duma cried out softly, her voice trembling.

"This can't be true. Those were just mother's theories."

"Divine beings are compassionate. He wouldn't have done this on purpose. He couldn't have."

Yet, such beliefs were merely the fantasies of mortals.

The existence and will of a divine being were never shaped by the thoughts of those below.

Though Duma said these things aloud, she recognized the shadow of the Lord of Radiance in the fates of Shana and the Camon clan.

He was one who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

Xiao looked down at the writhing mass of snakes below, his foot resting upon a winged feathered serpent.

He raised his gaze, his eyes locking onto the Gate of Spirituality and Duma hovering within it above.

Xiao had not only recovered his past memories but also knew everything that had happened in this era. He understood how difficult it had been to revive from his long slumber.

His reincarnation was flawed and impossible to replicate.

After all, who would choose such a method, allowing only their spirituality to reincarnate?

With the gate and his status nearing the demigod level, he could now create countless Sky Messengers. This would allow him to reclaim divine blood effortlessly, gradually correcting the flaws of his past existence.

He had obtained the path to demigod status. The gate to immortality had opened before him. Everything he once desired was now within his grasp.

All that remained was to merge with his mythological gate, to embrace it all completely.

He spoke, calling out his apostle and daughter's name.

"Duma," Xiao called out, his voice sharp and commanding. "Why do you hesitate?"

But Duma looked at Xiao, watched as his power continued spreading throughout Maya City.

Those terrible monsters and winged serpents were even creating more of their kind under his influence. The entire city had descended into unstoppable chaos, a disaster unfolding before her eyes.

Duma stood before the Gate of Spirituality, looking at Xiao with confusion and growing fear.

"Divine Being," Duma's voice trembled as she whispered, "Why?"

Xiao looked at Duma and simply made a questioning sound, "Hmm?"

Duma finally voiced her confusion and unease. "Why... why are you killing them?"

Xiao rubbed his brow, answering dismissively.

He did not see this as an issue. In fact, he found the question rather boring.

"Kill them?" he asked.

"Why would I bother killing these insects?"

"I haven't killed them. I am merely familiarizing myself with my power."

From Xiao's perspective, his goal was not to kill people.

He was simply getting accustomed to his power. These people dying was merely an incidental side effect, like pouring water near a doorway and inadvertently drowning a group of ants.

But to mortals, it appeared Xiao delivered divine punishment, deliberately killing these Snake People.

In the era of the Trilobite People, he had orchestrated the tragic sacrifice of entire cities without hesitation.

To him, these writhing, tail-twisting creatures were nothing more than insects.

How could they dare call themselves people?

Duma could not understand Xiao's thoughts, could not comprehend this towering superiority that placed him above all else.

She wanted to say more, but her divine being had already issued his command.

"Come forth!" he ordered.

"Open the path for me, my mythological gate. Descend into this world."

Xiao stretched out his hand, beckoning his mythological gate to descend here, upon Maya City.

He held his head high, speaking proudly and coldly to his daughter.

"Duma," Xiao's voice rang out, firm and unyielding.

"Let go of your hesitation. Cast aside those fleeting mortal emotions and embrace clarity."

"I will show you the path to true eternity."

The Gate of Spirituality shook violently. It completely tore apart the space between the Dream Realm and reality, plummeting toward the mortal world.

It eagerly sought to merge with its master, to become one with this world.

Duma's voice trembled as she cried out in desperation.

"No! Divine Being, please stop!"

"The gate must not descend into the mortal realm! It cannot happen!"

The Gate of Spirituality thunderously broke through the Dream Realm's edge, extending one corner into the mortal world.

Duma rushed out beyond the gate's boundary but found herself blocked by an invisible barrier.

She looked at Xiao in disbelief, loudly begging him.

"Divine Being!"

"Stop! You can still stop now."

She had witnessed a mythological gate falling into the mortal realm before. It was a catastrophe beyond even the word "inferno."

She did not want to see such a scene again, not even on Ruhe Beast Island.

But her will could not change the divine being's will. Xiao's desires and decisions would not be swayed by anyone.

Xiao intended to become a god in the mortal realm.

If his old enemies still existed, they were likely rushing here now. Even if those old enemies were gone, unknown powerful beings of this era might move against him.

He had no time to waste.

He must strengthen his power as quickly as possible, reclaiming all that was his.

Whoosh~

A thunderous roar descended from the sky.

The chaos spreading from the lord's mansion, the disaster caused by great serpents and monsters, all momentarily paused.

The Snake People in the city lifted their heads to watch the massive mythological gate crash down from beyond the sky. Everyone cried out hopelessly in unison.

"No!"

They could not yet comprehend what the descent of the mythological gate would bring, nor could they foresee the consequences that would unfold.

However, something primal stirred within them. A deep and unshakable fear rooted itself in their very consciousness.

It felt as though their instincts screamed a single truth: this event would undoubtedly lead to an irreversible catastrophe.

Within Maya City.

The Trilobite Symbiote Breman arranged and activated a ritual array, anxiously and quickly chanting a divine being's complete divine name.

"Ruler of the Blood Kingdom of the Deep Sea, Scarlet Witch, great Blood Progenitor, Queen of the Most Ancient Race."

"I request your response, I..."

Ordinary followers chanting spells could never communicate directly with divine beings. Even normal Trilobite Symbiotes usually had to repeat the chant several times.

But as Breman finished the first recitation, blood-colored flowers suddenly grew from the cracks around the ritual array.

The Blood Mist Cups bloomed as they spun.

The demigod's consciousness transmitted from the deep sea, then used the Trilobite Symbiote's body and the prepared ritual to descend into Maya City.

The moment the Gate of Spirituality began its descent, a surging sea of blood suddenly burst forth from underground, flooding all of Maya City.

Every person and every building was swallowed by the blood sea, enveloped within it.

This was both a seal and a form of protection.

Vivien walked out from the blood sea, holding her scepter. One after another, Trilobite Symbiotes appeared with her above the blood sea. Their faces were very familiar to the Snake People who recognized their former leaders.

The moment she appeared, she locked her gaze onto the man standing in the air above the lord's mansion.

"Xiao!" she spat, her voice filled with venom.

Vivien's eyes now held only Xiao.

She had been furious when she first learned Xiao was not dead, but now she was extraordinarily calm.

Because she knew that no matter what, she must send him into an eternal nightmare.

Standing atop the lord's mansion, Xiao connected with the gate's power in the sky, covering the area around the mansion.

This area momentarily turned into Xiao's domain, his temporary kingdom.

The power between Xiao and the Gate of Spirituality rapidly merged, but the massive blood sea now interrupted their convergence.

The Gate of Spirituality's oppressive force covered the lord's mansion.

Dense masses of great serpents and winged serpents circled and hissed, holding the encroaching blood sea at bay.

Waves of blood crashed forward again and again. Xiao's temporary kingdom could be seen growing increasingly unstable under the assault.

Even the Gate of Spirituality's power descending from the sky was gradually cut off from below, weakening the connection between them.

"Ah, so we meet again," Xiao said, his voice calm, a faint trace of amusement in his eyes.

"I never imagined that at the end of time itself," he continued, his gaze sweeping over them, "I would see such familiar faces once more."

"Little Vivien," he said with a slight smirk, before turning his attention to the other presence.

"And you... Asai."

Xiao first spoke the Blood Progenitor's name, then his gaze turned to another part of Maya City.

On the city wall stood a Snake Person Witch Spirit, Sukob, servant of Asai, God of Truth and Knowledge.

As Xiao's gaze fell on Sukob, the Truth Symbol in Sukob's right hand instantly radiated brilliant light, opening another Dream Realm entrance.

Within the vortex appeared the shadow of another mythological gate.

In stark contrast to the white Gate of Spirituality, this gate exuded an ancient and enigmatic aura. Its surface bore intricate designs, each line whispering secrets of a forgotten age.

Unlike the Gate of Spirituality's orderly patterns, this gate's Path of Wisdom pattern morphed into a towering tree. Its branches stretched endlessly upward. As the gate thundered open, it unveiled the mysterious world beyond.

A youth wearing a top hat and holding a cane stood behind the great gate. On the steps behind him were rows of ghosts, his companions and the apostles of the Polik family.

The Door of Truth appeared in Maya City.

In an instant, the Door of Truth and the Gate of Spirituality hung open in the sky.

Below, the blood sea surged forth. The Blood Kingdom rose from the ocean depths into the mortal realm. The ancient Trilobite Symbiotes revealed themselves.

Three ancient demigods gathered at this moment, gathered above Maya City.

The three gazed at each other.

Their eyes held hatred, fury, and icy coldness.

Vivien's voice rang out, resolute and unyielding, cutting through the chaos like a blade.

"Xiao," she declared, her tone heavy with finality.

"There is no escape for you."

"The moment of your revival shall be your death."

Xiao stood atop the lord's mansion beneath the Gate of Spirituality.

Writhing serpents surrounded him like a living shield.

Two demigods who bore ancient, mortal grudges against him had trapped him at this crucial moment of reincarnation and potential divine ascension.

To Vivien, Xiao was surely doomed.

It was just a matter of how he would die.

Xiao's gaze shifted toward Asai, who stood behind the Door of Truth. A faint smile played on his lips as he turned back to Vivien.

"Strange," he said, his tone light and almost amused.

"It feels like my odds just improved."

Vivien suddenly sensed something was wrong. She first glanced at Asai.

Trapping Xiao at this crucial moment was already extremely fortunate.

If they waited until Xiao reclaimed the Gate of Spirituality, he could ascend to full demigod status.

A true Wisdom Ability demigod was notoriously difficult to kill. Though they did not possess the endless vitality of the Life Ability, they had numerous incarnations.

The Wisdom Ability allowed its users to create puppets as early as the Third Rank, enabling them to wield the strength of many through a single individual.

By the Fourth Rank, this power grew exponentially, transforming one person into the equivalent of an entire army.

At the demigod level, Wisdom Ability users could harness the power of their gates to create servants who inherited their abilities.

These servants took on forms such as Alchemists, Witch Spirits, and Sky Messengers, each carrying a fragment of their master's immense power.

One could become thousands.

Xiao had successfully reincarnated, reclaiming spirituality, wisdom, desire, and knowledge.

If Xiao were to achieve demigod status and fully merge with the Gate of Spirituality, he would effectively ascend to become a divine being in this realm.

Every Sky Messenger on the distant continent could then become Xiao's incarnation in the mortal world.

Just as one could not truly kill Vivien the Blood Progenitor without exterminating all Trilobite Symbiotes, one could not truly kill Wisdom demigods without eradicating all their servants in the mortal realm. Though the Life Ability and Wisdom Ability differed in essence, their manifestations of power shared certain commonalities and similarities.

"What does he mean by that?" Vivien wondered. "Is it a feint or...?"

Vivien couldn't fully grasp the meaning behind Xiao's words, but one thing was clear to her.

This was their best opportunity to end him, and they couldn't afford to let it slip away.

Boom!

Blood Progenitor Vivien suddenly attacked. A figure like a divine demon emerged from the vast blood sea.

She was completely blood-red, wearing a crown and holding a scepter.

She commanded all blood in the world. She was the divine being of life, the master of blood energy.

That figure stood over a thousand meters tall. One person standing between heaven and earth gave the feeling of filling the entire space between sky and ground.

This was still outside the Blood Kingdom. Within the deep sea, she would be even more terrifying.

She reached out her hand, the giant hand piercing through the clouds.

One hand moved to block the Gate of Spirituality descending from the sky.

The other hand gripped the scepter, swinging it toward Xiao at the lord's mansion.

There were no complex properties to the attack, just simple and pure destructive force.

Because the destructive power alone was enough to crush everything, destroy everything in its path.

Vivien's voice emerged from within the blood-colored divine demon, roaring between heaven and earth.

"Xiao!"

"Fall into... nightmare!"

"A place has long been prepared for you in the endless darkness, in the painful cycle of nightmares!"

Xiao alone could not resist Vivien's power.

The Gate of Spirituality he relied upon was being cut off beyond the sky by the blood sea and the blood demon. The colossal figure gradually pushed it back into the Dream Realm.

His connection slowly severed, causing his mythological power to gradually dry up, cutting off its source.

He had not yet fully ascended to demigod status. If that scepter struck him now, it would shatter any hope of another reincarnation.

This was his final reincarnation, his only chance to ascend to divine status.

It was what he had spent countless years painstakingly seeking.

Faced with mortal danger, Xiao instead looked toward Asai, God of Truth and Knowledge.

"Asai," Xiao called out, his voice sharp and deliberate. "Do you still wish to see your mother again?"

As Xiao's words echoed in the air, Asai, who had been silently watching the unfolding chaos, stepped forward without hesitation. He positioned himself between Vivien and Xiao.

Light from the Door of Truth swept down from the sky. The vast Sea of Knowledge surged forth. An enormous barrier materialized, forcefully withstanding the blood demon's swinging scepter.

The blood demon looked at the God of Truth and Knowledge in shock. "Asai?"

Vivien knew Asai's story.

Compared to Vivien, Asai's hatred for Xiao should run even deeper.

Vivien could not understand why Asai would suddenly help Xiao. What mother? Could Asai's mother truly traverse time back to this era?

The Door of Truth pierced through the Dream Realm, truly descending into the sky above Maya City.

Asai slowly walked out from the door, looking at Xiao in God's Form as he asked directly.

"Where is my mother?"

The two locked gazes.

From beginning to end, their dialogue remained utterly calm.

From their brief words, both seemed extremely peaceful.

One could not even sense the deep blood feud between them on the surface.

Xiao stared at Asai, his gaze as deep and dark as night. He intended to use Asai, treat him like a chess piece in his palm, and squeeze out his final usefulness completely.

Even after two hundred and fifty million years, Xiao thought, I still have you figured out.

Behind Asai's calm pupils lay sky-high fury, but he was never one to fully display his anger or joy outwardly.

This did not mean he felt no anger.

Even if he could not kill Xiao now, he would make Xiao taste the most painful experience, a darkness more desperate than death itself.

Let everything he pursued for millions of years be within reach, yet forever unattainable, Asai vowed silently. I have already lost everything.

I will play with you until the very end. I will make you taste the most painful flavor imaginable.

"Do you see it?" Xiao asked, gesturing.

Xiao pointed toward the sky above.

The vortex opened above the sea of clouds, revealing the true face of the Dream Realm.

Above the Gate of Spirituality, something like distant stars flickered, radiating the unique colorful radiance of life dreams.

Just as Barrow used a life dream to merge with the Destined Marionette, Xiao had similarly used another Divine Artifact to preserve Asai's mother's life dream.

He had let this life dream drift between the dream star sea and the mortal realm, where no one could find it.

However, Barrow's life dream still had to operate the Destined Marionette, while this artifact only needed to retain Asai's mother's life dream.

"That is your mother's life dream!" Xiao declared.

Xiao's gaze fixed directly on Asai, who now blocked Vivien's attack for him. His words held no pride, only stark warning.

"Your mother has wandered the Dream Realm for a very long time. She desperately yearns to return to the Creator's Domain."

"This is the final chance. She will descend from the vast and chaotic Dream Realm together with the Gate of Spirituality."

"She will descend into this real world."

"Your mother has waited a very, very long time. If she becomes lost in the Dream Realm again, perhaps it will not be just two hundred and fifty million years."

Xiao spoke words that made Asai's heart tremble. "It could be... two and a half billion years."

The Dream Realm and the mortal world were different. Its space and distances were chaotic and unpredictable.

If something fell into the Dream Realm without coordinates, finding it was impossible, unless by sheer, improbable luck.

As Xiao had warned, his death would mean Asai's mother's life dream would be lost forever in the endless expanse of the Dream Realm.

The only hope of finding it would rest on Asai somehow reaching the Creator.

But to Asai's demigod eyes, the Creator was a divine being among divine beings, an entity beyond comprehension.

He did not know how to seek Him, much less how to gain His favor.

Why would the Creator help him?

Just because he was a descendant of the last King of Wisdom, Redlichia?

Asai dared not gamble with his mother's existence.

He could only help Xiao block Vivien. He had to allow Xiao's Gate of Spirituality to descend from the Dream Realm into the mortal world, so his mother's life dream could follow and return to this world.

The fury in his chest instantly burned to its extreme, nearly manifesting physically.

He could not help taking a step forward. His hand trembled as it gripped the cane, his expression somewhat stiff.

His voice was cold and deliberate, each word carrying immense weight.

"Xiao," he said, his tone steady yet sharp enough to cut steel.

"Do you truly understand the consequences of your actions?"

His voice was like a polar wind freezing the earth, like steel knives scraping against enemy bone marrow.

Xiao shrugged dismissively and said, "The consequences? You only find out after you act."

Others might still fear Asai, or fear his previous self, Anhofus.

But Xiao was different.

Asai's reincarnation was arranged by him. All the tragedies in Asai's life were orchestrated by his hand, including the death of Asai's mother and everything that came after.

He and Asai were mortal enemies. He cared not at all how much Asai hated him.

What meaning did that have to Xiao?

He only needed to obtain what he wanted.

To achieve his goals, any means were acceptable.

Xiao lifted his head to look at Asai, analyzing how Asai would choose, though the answer seemed predetermined to him.

"Come now," Xiao said, his voice taunting yet strangely calm.

"Shall we see which is stronger—your hatred for me, or your love for your mother?"

"I'll wager on the latter."

"Care to take that bet?"

He called out Asai's name in a drawn-out, mocking voice.

"A...sai..."

If it were Anhofus standing there, he might have had other choices.

But standing before him was none other than Asai.

Asai turned his head. He rushed toward the blood demon that continuously struck at the Door of Truth's barrier, joining battle with it directly.

The massive Door of Truth collided with the blood demon. The Door of Truth could be seen being forced back repeatedly, clearly no match for the demon's raw power head-on.

But unlike the blood demon's unmatched destructive force, the Door of Truth's power was more varied, more flexible.

Countless books flew out from within the Door of Truth. They transformed into various forms and released massive amounts of divine techniques to assault the blood demon.

The blood demon seemed under siege. Though it had taken no real damage yet, it had to respond to attacks coming from all directions.

It was forced to release the hand pressing against the sky to deal with Asai's relentless assault.

Meanwhile, Asai's manifested books were continuously torn apart. The Paper Flying Dragons transformed from the books were devoured by the surging blood sea. Even the Door of Truth itself seemed about to fall apart under the sheer force of the blood demon's scepter.

This was expected, as Wisdom demigods' power was not typically suited for direct confrontation against such overwhelming might.

But when the blood demon released its hand that sealed the sky...

The path for Xiao to merge with the Gate of Spirituality opened once again.

Vivien was furious beyond measure, now forced to watch helplessly as her hated enemy ascended toward demigod status right before her eyes.

"Asai!" Vivien's voice rang out, sharp and incredulous.

"Have you lost your mind? Are you blind to what he is?"

"He's a madman, willing to destroy everything in his path to get what he wants!"

"Have you forgotten Yinsai? The devastation he caused? The suffering he inflicted upon you?"

The blood demon's roars shook heaven and earth, making the ground tremble for hundreds of miles around.

"He cannot become a demigod!" she bellowed.

"Otherwise, we will never know peace!"

Asai was also filled with fury now, staring hard at Vivien.

Unlike normal people who could freely curse and rage, his words were filled with a chilling force.

"He will not," Asai declared.

Asai's voice was cold and deliberate as he responded to Vivien. "He will either die..."

"Or wish he had."

The two demigods fought, their battle earth-shattering.

Meanwhile, Xiao watched the spectacle below, quietly merging with his mythological gate, ascending to the demigod status he had dreamed of for eons.

But deep down, Xiao felt some lingering doubts. Asai had seemed unsurprised to learn that he had retained his mother's life dream.

Though clearly angry, Asai had shown no shock.

This was completely different from what Xiao had expected.

His keen intuition told him this was a problem, a loose thread.

But at this moment, the Gate of Spirituality fully descended into reality. Its massive power completely merged into Xiao's body, interrupting his thoughts.

Even someone as cold and calculating as Xiao could not contain his excitement at this moment.

He raised both hands high, facing the mythological gate falling from the sky, facing the mythological power continuously pouring into his body.

"Immortality!" he cried out.

"Mythology!"

"Barrow, we did it!"

"In this era, we shall ascend to divine status!"

On the other side of the conflict.

A beam of light suddenly streaked across the sky like a meteor, racing toward the distant horizon.

Asai immediately abandoned his entanglement with Vivien, pursuing that beam of light with focused intensity.

He had already arranged everything. He was no longer needed here.