It stood a full four or five meters tall.
Its form defied all biological common sense.
It was a pile of asphalt melted by high heat, a pool of industrially dumped waste.
The pitch-black, viscous substance writhed and flowed silently at a visible speed, as if possessing the lowest form of life.
From time to time, a nauseatingly slimy bubble would bulge on its surface.
"Pop."
The bubble burst, and a decayed stench wafted out.
This extreme ugliness, filth, and disorder sat openly upon the Temple's throne, forming the most glaring contrast with the morbid "perfection" of its surroundings.
The intense visual dissonance instantly triggered a wave of physiological discomfort.
Almost simultaneously, the same crimson data panel popped up in the corners of the four people's vision.
[Spirit of Pride (Boss)]
[Level: ???]
[Description: A pure aggregate of arrogance, the materialization of the emotion "Pride."]
It wasn't the Azure Dragon.
It wasn't even a single scale of the Azure Dragon.
It was merely a handful of... more advanced and purer "dregs."
"Pfft."
Lin Xiyue couldn't hold it in and almost slammed her shield onto the ground.
"I thought the Exalted Celestial Azure Dragon had suffered some trauma and his taste in aesthetics had degraded this badly... Turns out it's just a fake."
She sized up the lump of Black Sludge from top to bottom, suggesting with a dead serious expression:
"Say, isn't the threshold for this thing to cosplay as the Azure Dragon a bit too high?"
"I suggest it goes to a plastic surgeon first. Not for a full-face lift or bone shaving, but at least try to mold a face out of that mess."
"We're in trouble."
Lin Qingyue muttered softly. The usual laziness in her eyes swept away, replaced by a completely solemn gaze.
If even the one sitting on the throne is this thing...
Then, where has the real Azure Dragon gone?
"Sister Qingyue, what do you mean by 'in trouble'?"
Xia Lian sharply caught the change in her captain's mood. She drew her shortbow tighter, the bowstring emitting a taut, low hum.
"This fake lump looks disgusting, but it shouldn't be as hard to deal with as the Azure Dragon himself, right?"
Lin Qingyue didn't answer immediately.
She was thinking rapidly.
If this place were compared to a company, the Spirit of Pride at the door was the security guard, and the thing in front of them was at most a fake general manager sitting in the chairman's chair.
The real chairman had... disappeared from his own office.
"The fake isn't hard to deal with."
Su Wan's expression also darkened. "But the fact that a counterfeit can sit so openly on the throne means the original might have already..."
"Shh."
Lin Qingyue suddenly raised her index finger, pressing it to her lips.
The lump of Black Sludge on the throne, which had been slowly writhing, abruptly stopped moving.
Immediately after, a crack slowly split open on its pitch-black, viscous surface.
It was an eye.
Enormous, cloudy, with a pupil of an unsettling grayish-white, devoid of any emotional fluctuation belonging to an intelligent being.
There was only a condescending, looking-down-at-mud-underfoot kind of... contempt.
It didn't even look at them properly.
That giant single eye merely glanced slightly downward, like a human seeing a pile of non-recyclable trash on the roadside, feeling that even looking at it for another second would be a waste of life.
Buzz—
An invisible mental ripple violently crashed into the minds of the four.
There was no sound, yet it was more deafening than any sound.
It was a tremor acting directly upon the soul, carrying a nauseating sense of greasiness and decay.
"Another batch... that passed the screening... impurities."
The voice was intermittent, like countless rusted gears grinding in the depths of their souls, filled with extreme boredom.
"How... tedious."
The giant single eye slowly closed halfway, as if even the effort of keeping it open was too much.
"Now, answer me..."
"What kind of delusion makes you believe... you are worthy of stepping into my 'Divine Kingdom'?"
As these words fell, the originally dead and silent air suddenly became as heavy as lead.
Dust on the bookshelves moved without wind, condensing in the air into sharp geometric shapes, all aimed at the presumptuous intruders.
Faced with a question that struck the soul directly, ordinary people would have fallen to their knees long ago.
But of the four standing here, not a single one was normal.
Lin Xiyue scratched her head, asking Su Wan beside her with a confused expression, "Is it calling us trash? These days, even a lump of asphalt has such a superiority complex?"
Su Wan pushed up non-existent glasses and sneered, "It's obvious. Its self-perception is just like its appearance: a complete mess."
Xia Lian's legs were a bit weak, but she still insisted on complaining: "It says this is its Divine Kingdom? Is this an illegal construction or a squatter's occupation of public property?"
Lin Qingyue took a step forward.
She held no staff, nor did she chant any spells.
She simply pulled a clean handkerchief from her Storage Space.
Then, right in front of the giant monster, she slowly covered her nose.
"We really don't have the qualifications."
Lin Qingyue's voice came through the gaps in her fingers, carrying an undisguised sense of disgust.
It was a more genuine, physiologically instinctive loathing than the other's contempt.
"After all, it's too smelly here."
"That smell of grease from not bathing for centuries, mixed with over-fermented narcissism... hurk."
She even cooperatively gagged, leaning her body slightly forward as if she were really about to vomit.
"This is your 'Divine Kingdom'? Your taste is truly unique. I suggest you turn left out the door to the waste processing plant; it should suit your temperament better."
Silence.
Deadly silence.
The giant single eye on the throne, which had been about to close, suddenly snapped wide open.
The originally murky, grayish-white pupil was instantly dyed a completely tyrannical crimson.
In its logic, these few "insects" should be trembling under its pressure, should be kneeling and begging for mercy, or should be mentally breaking down from fear.
The only thing they should not do...
Was to despise it!
[Ding! Detected that the Host has not only trampled on the opponent's dignity mentally, but also insulted the opponent's form of existence physiologically. Elation Value +5000!]
The System's notification sounded at the perfect moment, like stamping a red "Perfect Score" seal on this provocation.
"You... how dare you..."
That grand spiritual voice became distorted and shrill, no longer condescending, but filled with the hysteria of being offended.
Rumble—
The foundation stones of the Temple groaned under the unbearable weight.
However, the Black Sludge on the throne did not explode as Lin Qingyue had expected. Instead, it seemed to be grabbed by an invisible giant hand, violently shrinking and condensing inward!
The originally shapeless puddle of waste began to be reshaped at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The pitch-black substance rapidly shot upward and stretched, sculpting long, powerful legs, followed by a slender waist, full breasts, and an elegant swan-like neck.
Finally, a face of flawless beauty took shape. Atop her head, two imposing and ornate black dragon horns burst forth, pointing straight to the heavens!
In just a few seconds, that nauseating puddle of black sludge had transformed into a nearly three-meter-tall, obsidian-black, perfectly proportioned and aloof mature woman!
She remained seated on the throne, her long legs elegantly crossed, one hand propping up her cheek.
Even without any expression, her arrogance, which looked down upon all living beings as mere dust, was now a thousand times stronger than before.
The panels before the four of them also quietly refreshed at this moment.
[Spirit of Pride: Azure Dragon]
[Level: ???]
[Description: After suffering the ultimate humiliation, it has chosen to manifest a "perfect" form that mortals can comprehend, to demonstrate what a deity truly is.]
"So impatient?"
Lin Qingyue put away her handkerchief. Her staff, [Beloved], instantly appeared in her hand, spinning out a beautiful spear flourish as its tip pointed straight at the throne.
The smile at the corners of her mouth vanished, her gaze turning as sharp as a blade.
"Just because you sculpted a new look for yourself, you think you're not trash anymore? Since you're not the master of this room, then get off that chair..."
"Get the hell down."
Those three words, "Get the hell down," were like a drop of cold water thrown into boiling oil, completely igniting the other party's fury.
The mental sound wave was no longer a mixture of countless noises, but had turned into a cold, aloof, yet infinitely furious female voice that exploded in the minds of the four.
"I am... perfect!"
"I am... the only... truth!"
"Insects, you will pay an eternal price for your ignorance!"
As her voice fell, the [Spirit of Pride: Azure Dragon] didn't even stand up. She simply sat on the throne, elegantly raised her hand, and gently clenched it toward the ground.
Without any warning.
The floor, walls, and ceiling of the entire Temple, and even the air itself, instantly sprouted countless pure black prisms and spikes!
They followed some absolute, cold geometric laws, sealing off all possibilities of evasion with an impeccable angle.
A perfect death cage, composed of absolute killing intent, descended over the heads of the four!