Chapter 24: Devouring the Soul Beast

"This is not a good idea! After all, he is a future member of the God Realm," said the Goddess of Life. Kind by nature, she could not bear to see a new member of the God Realm suffer such a disaster.

"Ah-Lü, you need not worry. It is merely a lesson. That god has defied the laws of the God Realm; if he goes unpunished, how can we command respect? Would the laws of the God Realm not become a laughingstock?" the God King of Destruction said softly.

"But, Ah-Zi, I have a bad premonition," the Goddess of Life replied, her brows furrowed with deep concern. She could not shake the feeling that this operation would bring disaster to the God Realm.

"Hmph! With me acting personally, what could possibly go wrong? Although this god dared to provoke me, he has remained in the lower realms and dared not approach the God Realm, which proves his strength is not significant. At worst, I shall go with the God of Goodness; that will surely ensure things go smoothly!" the God King of Evil said with a grim expression. A newborn god had actually dared to provoke him.

Sigh!

The Goddess of Life let out a soft sigh and said no more, watching helplessly as the God King of Evil and the God of Goodness departed for the lower realms, though her heart felt increasingly uneasy.

After they left, a god with the appearance of a young man in blue robes arrived.

"Sea God! Why have you come?" asked the God King of Destruction.

"Greetings to the God Kings," the Sea God said, cupping his hands in salute.

"God King Asura, I intend to pass on my divine throne," the Sea God said, approaching the God King Asura.

"So, you have already found a suitable successor!" the God King Asura said in a deep voice, his eyes flickering.

They had been gods for far too long, and it had become monotonous. Despite possessing immense power and authority in the God Realm, their freedom was restricted; they were confined to the boundaries of the God Realm. To escape these limitations, one had to pass on their divine throne, yet for all this time, they had been unable to find a suitable candidate.

"Indeed! He comes from a place in the lower realms called the Douluo Continent. His soul is stronger than that of an ordinary person, and he is exceptionally gifted. He is quite suitable to be my successor!" The Sea God spoke with a smile; after all this time, he could finally attain freedom.

"It seems you are in luck. I, too, once had a suitable candidate, but my efforts failed recently due to the interference of the Rakshasa God," the God King Asura said, shaking his head.

"The Rakshasa God! Have you still not found her?"

"No. The God Realm is vast, and she is a Tier 1 God; capturing her is naturally not easy."

"In that case, why not let your divine throne be inherited by the one I have chosen? There is a legacy of the Rakshasa God on the Douluo Continent as well!" the Sea God suggested.

The God King Asura pondered this. He wanted to pass on his mantle, and the Douluo Continent held such a suitable candidate. Furthermore, since the successor of the Rakshasa God was also on that continent, even if he could not catch the Rakshasa God herself, killing her successor to spite her would be quite satisfying.

"Very well. Once he matures, I shall find a way to pass my divine throne to him as well," the God King Asura said.

"Good, then it is settled!" The Sea God nodded.

"By the way, Asura, I saw the God King of Evil and the God of Goodness leave just now, and they seemed quite hurried. What was that about?"

"A god has appeared in the lower realms and is lingering there. He violated the law prohibiting gods from interfering in the lower realms, and the God King of Evil and the God of Goodness intend to bring him back for trial," the God King Asura explained.

"What? Such audacity! It has been a long time since a god dared to violate the laws of the God Realm!" The Sea God sneered. Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he headed off in another direction.

"Sea God, where are you going?" the God King Asura asked.

"I am going to summon the gods of the God Realm so they can witness how those who violate the laws are punished, lest some gods treat the regulations as nothing!"

The God King Asura nodded, not stopping him. Indeed, it was necessary for the gods of the God Realm to see the consequences of violating divine law, so as to avoid the emergence of another Dragon God. This was also why he, as one of the enforcers of the God Realm, had not hindered the God King of Evil and the God of Goodness from descending.

"Ding. Task issued: Second trial of the God of Devouring—consume the physical body of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger."

"Consume the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger? You want me to eat such a massive soul beast!" Ling Xiao listened to the voice in his head and looked at the giant carcass before him, sighing as he rubbed his temples.

"Forget it, I'll take it slow. A little bit each day, and I'll finish it eventually!" Ling Xiao thought helplessly. Using black chains, he hoisted the carcass of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and headed toward the Star Dou Lake.

The Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape watched Ling Xiao with curiosity, wondering why he was taking the carcass, but they did not ask and returned to the Star Dou Lake.

As soon as Ling Xiao returned to the lake, he built a campfire, took out a pot, set up a large barbecue grill, and pulled a sharp knife from his system storage to carve the meat of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

In no time, Ling Xiao had cut off the entire left hind leg; it was much larger than his entire body. He hung the leg with chains, skinned it, used the knife to separate it at the joints, and cleaned the blood with water from the Star Dou Lake. Half of the leg was chopped into small pieces for stew.

The other half was scored with deep cuts so that the seasonings would fully penetrate the meat while grilling.

The Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape watched his actions with mouths agape. They never imagined that Ling Xiao had taken the body of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger just to eat it!

"You brought the body of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger back just to eat?" the Azure Bull Python asked.

"Yes, what else did you think I was going to do?" Ling Xiao replied irritably while applying various spices to the tiger leg. He didn't want to, but to complete the mission, obtain the divine throne, and become stronger, he had no choice!

He was also curious about how the soul beast would taste. Even though it was a divine trial task, he couldn't bring himself to suffer too much.

The Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape remained speechless, but how he handled it was his business, not theirs. The Azure Bull Python returned to the lake, leaving only its massive bull-like head above the water, while the Titan Giant Ape found a spot to lie down and rest.

Both soul beasts kept their eyes glued to the tiger leg. Remembering the delicious grilled fish Ling Xiao had made previously, they couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

After a while, the tiger leg was nearly cooked, emitting a fragrance that made the two soul beasts drool uncontrollably.

"Do you want to eat, too?" Ling Xiao asked, noticing their behavior.

The Azure Bull Python said nothing, struggling to contain its drool, while the Titan Giant Ape nodded vigorously, saliva streaming down.

"If you want to eat, go catch some soul beasts yourselves. I can help you cook them, but don't even think about this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger; I can't give this to you!" Ling Xiao shrugged. He still had to complete his task; naturally, he couldn't let the Azure Bull Python and the others eat the tiger.

Upon hearing this, the Titan Giant Ape roared excitedly and ran toward the outer reaches of the Star Dou Forest, while the Azure Bull Python sank into the lake.

Before long, the Azure Bull Python emerged with four seven- or eight-meter-long fish, and the Titan Giant Ape returned with a three- or four-meter-long tiger-type soul beast.

Ling Xiao looked at the haul, manifested eight chains, and took out two more large barbecue grills from his system storage. After lighting the fires and preparing the food, he began to grill. As he added the seasonings, a rich aroma soon filled the air.