"I cannot make a move on this matter."
After pondering for a moment, a thought arose in the God of Destruction's mind. Because he knew that the relationship between the Seven Elemental Lord Gods and the Sea God was not simple; this matter required another deity to step forward.
As for the candidate... who else could it be but the God of Emotions.
So, he sent out a divine sense message, simply notifying the other party of the matter. Then he lowered his head again and continued to busy himself with Divine Realm affairs.
...
Not long after, at the God of Earth's Temple in the Divine Realm.
Here, a middle-aged man in red robes with messy red hair, handsome features, crimson eyes, and a thick beard that occupied almost half his face, presenting a rugged appearance, was standing by a grill, continuously adding fire to it.
Beside him were six other deities of varying appearances. Two of them were women, and the rest were men.
The two women were wearing blue and golden long dresses respectively, while the other four men were dressed in magnificent robes of yellow, cyan, black, and silver, displaying their different statuses.
And they were precisely the Seven Elemental Lord Gods of the Divine Realm.
As for why they were here? It was because every month, as they usually shared the same roots and had incredibly good relationships, they would gather at the God of Earth's place to chat, drink, and bond.
After all, as the soil that nurtures plant growth, the God of Earth's place was considered to have one of the better environments among the Seven Elemental Lord Gods.
Unlike the God of Fire's Temple and God of Water's Temple, which were surrounded by fire and water, or the God of Wind's Temple, which was wreathed in formless astral winds; the Temples of the God of Light and God of Darkness were perpetually shrouded in infinite light or darkness; and the God of Space's Temple was situated in the void, without the slightest trace of living beings, emphasizing nothing but emptiness.
But today, aside from the Seven Elemental Lord Gods, a blonde deity had come. And the arrival of this blonde deity caused the God of Fire, who basically acted as the leader among the Seven Elemental Lord Gods, to step forward and welcome him.
Of course, it wasn't necessarily out of solemnity.
It was more likely that if they let the God of Fire mess with the grill again, all the ingredients the seven of them had prepared would be completely ruined!
"Oh? How come you have time to come to our place today?"
Seeing the rare guest arrive, the God of Fire couldn't help but tease.
And this blonde man was naturally Rong Nianbing without a doubt.
The reason the God of Fire teased him like this was, of course, because although this guy Rong Nianbing had friendships with them, got along quite well, and even stood on their side, ever since he finished traveling the Divine Realm, this guy had basically holed up at home. Either he was being affectionate with his wives, or playing chess and cooking with his teacher—he was a total homebody!
Normally, it was basically them going to his house for a treat.
But if they wanted him to come to their gatherings? Hard!
If it was him voluntarily participating... then it was even harder!
"I just calculated that it happened to be the day of your gathering."
Under the God of Fire's teasing gaze, Rong Nianbing, with upturned lips, lifted a basket of dishes and shook it in front of the Seven Elemental Gods, letting the aroma waft out. "So I brought some snacks to go with the drinks, coming here to beg a cup of wine from you all."
"Hand it over."
Since he put it that way, the God of Fire naturally wasn't polite.
It was perfect; the ingredients they had prepared were pretty much ruined by him anyway. Even if they really made dishes out of the remaining ingredients, the taste would be worlds apart from what this guy, the God of Emotions, had brought.
Seeing his food snatched away, Rong Nianbing cheerfully pulled over a chair from the side, sat directly in front of the drinking table, and then helped himself to a wine cup, pouring some wine.
They were old acquaintances anyway, so they were used to each other.
After a round of toasting, the most hot-tempered God of Fire spoke up at this moment, "God of Emotions, with your personality, you never visit without a reason. Did you come find us today because you have some business?"
"Yes."
As soon as the voice fell, the gentlest God of Light smiled warmly.
"If there's anything we can help with, we won't refuse."
Facing the gazes of the Seven Elemental Lord Gods, Rong Nianbing sighed helplessly in his heart. Coming here today, he was ultimately doing so for the God of Destruction's request. Of course, the difficulty of this matter itself wasn't great.
What was more important was the connection between the Seven Elemental Lord Gods and the Sea God. Actually, if possible, he wanted the Seven Elemental Lord Gods to stop favoring Tang San and just remain neutral.
But obviously, this was unrealistic.
It was probably because the Sea God's inclination towards the development of the Divine Realm was conservative, which very much aligned with the interests of these veteran deities of the Divine Realm, so they were relatively close to the Sea God. Furthermore, among the seven elemental gods, the God of Water and the God of Light were already good friends of the Sea God.
Among them, the God of Water and the Sea God's lineage were closely related to the first-generation Sea God, Poseidon. When Tang San came to the Divine Realm, inheriting the position of the Sea God and Poseidon's network, plus the fact that he simultaneously inherited the God of Asura, becoming a God King, this was absolutely a great thing for the deities of the water element. It allowed many water-element deities to receive respect they never had before. Therefore, the God of Water had some admiration for the Sea God; even though she had been in the Divine Realm much longer, it didn't affect her admiration.
So based on the above reasons, coupled with the fact that these two female deities held very high statuses among the seven elemental gods—the God of Light was the wife of the God of Darkness, and the God of Water was the wife of the God of Fire—their filter for the Sea God was very, very high. Even if they truly knew the Sea God's true colors, as deities who had lived for who knows how many years, they would definitely prioritize the interests of their group of seven.
Unless...
They could find suitable inheritors for their god positions as they wished, so they wouldn't have to stay in the Divine Realm or care about its disputes anymore.
Perhaps this time, right now, was an opportunity.
Thinking of this, Rong Nianbing raised his wine cup, revealing a carefree yet somewhat reluctant smile. "Actually, the reason I came to your gathering is to say goodbye to you all, my friends. I'm leaving."
His voice wasn't loud, but it astonished the deities.
"Emotions, you... what did you say?"
The God of Water couldn't believe it, her eyes wide.
The God of Darkness, who had been silent for a while, looked up at this moment. "You mean, you've already found your inheritor?" Although his tone sounded like a question, his eyes were very certain, and in that certain gaze, there even revealed a hint of envy.
The other deities were no less envious than him.
Seeing this, Rong Nianbing nodded. "Exactly."
At this, the Seven Elemental Lord Gods couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.
Just think about it, God of Emotions, how long have you been in this Divine Realm! Less than thirty years. And what about them? They had lost count; probably around the time the Divine Realm was born, they were already here. Yet, not a single one of them could find an inheritor.
Even if some did find one, it ended in failure.
They could only stay in the Divine Realm living boring lives.
This was too unfair!
"You bastard!"
The God of Fire cursed with a laugh. "You came here to show off, didn't you!"
"Exactly!"
As his wife, the God of Water took up the conversation, speaking with displeasure.
"You've only been in the Divine Realm for a few years, and now you can be freed. Why aren't the rest of us so lucky?"
These words received the continuous agreement of the other deities.
Then, they launched into a condemnation of the God of Emotions, making Rong Nianbing beg for mercy repeatedly, but even so, they didn't stop.
Until Rong Nianbing said, "Then if I can provide a few suitable inheritors for you guys, how would you thank me? You have to know, if those few people were compatible with my god position, I would also be drawn to them. Anyway, from my perspective, those kids' talents can absolutely inherit your god positions smoothly."
In an instant, the voices stopped and the atmosphere froze, as if the entire God of Earth's Temple had been hit with a time-pause button.
It seemed like half a day had passed. "Emotions, what did you say?"
The God of Space was the first to react, his eyes wide, followed closely by the equally solitary God of Earth and God of Wind.
After that, the other four elemental gods also stared intently at Rong Nianbing, their fervent gazes seemingly capable of melting ten-thousand-year ice.
"You're not joking with us, are you?"
Rong Nianbing smiled, picked up his wine cup, and took a sip.
"Do you think I would joke about this kind of thing?"
This time, the God of Fire could no longer suppress the joy in his heart.
"Quick! Tell me, what are those people like?"
Thinking back, he, the God of Fire, had finally chosen someone from the Douluo Plane who possessed the Fire Phoenix Martial Soul. But at the very last stage, just missing by a little bit, the god position inheritance failed. He was so angry at the time! But even more than that, he felt regret.
But no matter what, finding someone this suitable again was too difficult, let alone someone even stronger than that person.
The God of Fire felt this way, and the other few were no different.
At least the God of Fire had found one back then, but what about them?
They hadn't even seen a hair.
Especially the three deities: the God of Light, the God of Darkness, and the God of Space. The attributes represented by their god positions were already rarely mastered by people in the lower realms, let alone mastered to a profound degree, not to mention reaching the level of inheriting their god positions.
And among the three, the most difficult was the God of Space.
From the God of Space's perspective, as long as someone could master the Dao of Space to a profound level, he would definitely bestow his god position!
"Emotions, does this recommendation you speak of mean every one of us has one?" Amidst everyone's excitement, it seemed the God of Water still maintained a trace of calm and hurriedly asked Rong Nianbing again.
But this time, they were going to be disappointed.
Facing the gazes of the Seven Elemental Gods, especially the solitary God of Earth and God of Wind, Rong Nianbing didn't know why, but he inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt in his heart.
But he still shook his head. "Where would we have such good luck? But the few I mentioned are no joke either. I can recommend three people to you, suitable for the God of Fire, the God of Light, and the God of Space respectively."
As soon as these words came out, the God of Earth and the God of Wind couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
However, they also understood; how could it be that easy.
But when the group of deities clearly heard the last deity Rong Nianbing mentioned, every single one of the Seven Elemental Lord Gods showed a look of surprise, and even the God of Space himself couldn't quite believe it.
What did you say!?
Me!?
There's someone suitable to inherit my god position?!
After confirming once more that he hadn't heard wrong, an expression of boundless pleasant surprise appeared on the God of Space's face.
In order to prevent his joy from ultimately turning into nothing, he immediately confirmed Gu Tianchen's talent and grasp of space with Rong Nianbing.
The most important thing was naturally the latter!
Rong Nianbing recalled for a moment, then informed the God of Space of Gu Tianchen's condition based on the feedback from the divine nature seed he had left with Huo Yuhao, letting him judge for himself.
Upon learning of Gu Tianchen's situation, especially knowing that Gu Tianchen was only around thirty years old, the God of Space could no longer suppress his excitement, even disregarding his demeanor and laughing out loud.
"Hahaha, enough, this is already enough!"
Hearing this, the God of Wind asked curiously, "Has that kid already met your requirements in the Dao of Space?"
"Of course not." The God of Space shook his head decisively, rejecting the God of Wind's inquiry.
But the God of Space's next words made the other six gods, who were somewhat puzzled as to why, understand why he still made this decision.
"Although that kid hasn't yet met the requirements to inherit my god position in the Dao of Space right now, my requirements only need to be met at the very end when inheriting the god position. With his talent and his age, he will absolutely be able to grow to the level of inheriting my god position."
Speaking to this point, it was as if a blazing fire was burning in the God of Space's eyes, filled with a determination to win.
After waiting for so long, he didn't want to wait any longer!
If he had to wait for the next one, when would that be?
Ten thousand years in the Divine Realm?
A hundred thousand years?
Or even longer...
So the God of Space made his decision: he was going to take the initiative and use the method of divine trials to cultivate this kid and accelerate his growth!
"That satisfied, huh."
Hearing this, the God of Fire couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder. But now, he was also looking forward to the person suitable for inheriting his own god position.
So, he turned his gaze to Rong Nianbing.
Just as he was about to ask, he found that the God of Light had asked first. But looking at her eyes, she seemed to have a conflicted expression on her face.
"Six-Winged Angel..."
When she learned about the situation of the child suitable for her god position, the God of Light instantly froze.
Of course, it wasn't that she was dissatisfied with this Ye Guyi, but rather she was so satisfied that it made her so conflicted.
Because regarding the Martial Soul of the Six-Winged Angel, the God of Light naturally knew its origin. After all, the Angel God, who became a god through this Martial Soul, was, to some extent, a deity of the light element just like her.
It was just that because the god position constructed by the Angel God when she became a god had snatched a part of the concept of the God of Light's god position, this led to a poor relationship between the two, with no interactions at all. The God of Light, on the other hand, had a good relationship with the previous Sea God, Poseidon.
Now, the Angel God's god position was shattered.
Without the Angel God, the God of Light's god position became the most suitable one for the owner of the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, and conversely, the owner of the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul was also extremely suitable for her god position.
To some extent, this could be considered a mutual connection. But the main problem lay with the Sea God's side...
"This conflicts with the Sea God, right?" The God of Water, who had been listening all along, suddenly spoke up. "If we choose her, how are we going to explain this to the Sea God's side?"
Hearing this, the God of Darkness, as the God of Light's husband, couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable in his heart.
Although he knew what the God of Water meant, the way she phrased it—"how to give the Sea God an explanation"—just sounded inexplicably displeasing.
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