Hui Nie, the God of Destruction, said nothing. But the way his shoulders tensed and his jaw tightened said enough. His every fiber screamed for readiness, his divine essence stirred, but he held it back—like a predator recognizing one far more ancient than itself.
The silence stretched on, filled with observation, calculation, and unease.
Before them stood no ordinary being.
This was something else.
Something older.
Something more.
Asura stepped forward, his eyes narrowing with wariness. In a slow, deliberate motion, he released his divine soul rings.
Glowing bands of radiant light emerged around him—perfect circles of power that hovered like celestial halos, orbiting on back of body with a quiet intensity. There was gold and red rings.
Asura raised his voice, calm but laced with underlying challenge."Who are you," he asked, "and why have you come to the Dragon Realm?"
Zhongli tilted his head slightly, his amber eyes gleaming with faint amusement.
"I'm just touring the place," he said with a shrug. "Didn't really mean to end up here, to be honest."
The other God Kings—Xie E, Shang Liang, Hui Nie, and the Goddess of Life—exchanged glances. They could all sense it clearly: this man was not lying. His energy, though strong as Godking, carried no hint of malice. Yet the depth of his power made their hearts uneasy. This was no ordinary visitor.
But Asura didn't share their calm. His mind flashed back to the scars of the last calamity. Four First-Level Gods lost. Half the Spirit World shattered. And the unmistakable scent of Dragon God's energy now radiating from this man…
He wasn't willing to take that risk again.
Without hesitation, Asura summoned his blade—the Asura Sword, an Ultra Divine weapon forged in the deepest crucible of divine war. It tore into reality as it appeared, a monstrous fusion of metal and wrath.
It radiated an aura that made space shiver. The blade's broad core glowed with molten red energy, a vein of fiery power running through its center like a river of living magma. Ancient golden runes burned along its fuller, whispering old, forbidden tongues. Jagged edges serrated its form—this was a blade made not to cut, but to ravage.
The hilt was no less terrifying—horned, twisted, wrapped in what looked like bone and scorched leather. At its center was a stylized, glowing red eye—watching. Unblinking. Malevolent.
A voice cried out—Xie E.
"Asura, don't!"
But the God of War ignored him.
He raised his blade high, then vanished into a blur of crimson light. His divine energy erupted like a volcano, his very form melting into a living weapon. The skies darkened as the technique unfolded.
Asura Blood Sword—his ultimate art, born from the very core of the Asura bloodline.
The heavens cracked open as a titanic, blood-red sword descended from above, shaped by divine rage and forged from pure destruction. One slash. One strike. Enough to sever heaven from earth. Enough to obliterate even gods.
Xie, Hui Nie, Shang Liang—each of them instinctively stepped forward, compelled to intervene. But they were a breath too late.
The slash struck.
An explosion of divine force tore across the realm, shaking the Dragon Realm's foundations. Smoke and shockwaves flooded the battlefield. The air screamed from the pressure.
And yet…
When the dust cleared, Zhongli stood exactly where he had been. Unmoving. Untouched.
A translucent blue shield surrounded him, gently shimmering with sacred, ethereal light. As if the heavens themselves had wrapped him in armor.
Silence gripped the onlookers.
The God Kings stared, wide-eyed, stunned into silence. Even Hui Nie, the God of Destruction, unconsciously took a step back.
They all knew the Asura Blood Sword. They had seen what it could do. What it had done.
And now, it had done nothing.
Asura's pride smoldered beneath his skin.
He was a God King. The Enforcer of the God's Realm. At the apex of divine power. And yet… he had failed to even scratch the man before him.
Humiliated, he grit his teeth and unleashed his Domain.
Murderous intent roared through the skies as the very fabric of space twisted. Crimson energy bled from his body, coalescing into a storm of wrath. His divine power surged to its peak, transforming bloodlust into devastating force. The world trembled under the pressure, rocks levitating, the air splitting with violent howls.
With a furious roar, Asura dashed at Zhongli.
Zhongli, who until now had remained passive, finally narrowed his eyes. He didn't want trouble—but this was no longer a challenge. It was a threat.
And threats had consequences.
With a calm, almost weary breath, he muttered a single word.
"Die."
A silent pulse spread through the air.
Instant Death.Instant Death is Yogiri's ability to kill anything with a single thought. Although he usually says something like "Die"
The concept itself distorted reality. Zhongli's will briefly overrode existence—and the Asura Sword, once so terrible and proud, crumbled into dust mid-flight, vanishing like smoke on the wind.
The battlefield froze.
Gasps rippled across the divine ranks as silence crushed the moment. The legendary Ultra Divine Weapon—annihilated without a sound.
Then it got worse.
Zhongli raised a finger. His voice barely above a whisper."Half-Death."
Asura's advance staggered. He clutched his left arm—and horror twisted across his face.
It had gone numb.
Completely.
He tried to call on divine energy, to regenerate, to heal—but nothing worked. The limb was there, but dead, severed from the grace of godhood. A limb cursed by authority that transcended divine laws.
"What… what did you do to me?!" Asura roared, panic rising in his voice for the first time in eons.
Poseidon's eyes widened. He surged forward, divine rings blazing to life behind him. He channeled Sea God's Light, the purest divine energy in all creation—capable of healing any wound, reversing even death.
He cast it on Asura.
And it did nothing.
Not a flicker. Not a pulse. Not a single response.
Shock spread across Poseidon's face—then swiftly turned to rage. He wouldn't accept this.
Behind him, the other God Kings—Xie, Hui Nie, Shang Liang, and the Goddess of Life—moved to stop him.
But they couldn't.
A weight pressed down on them. Immense. Immeasurable. Divine Authority of a higher plane.
None of them could move. Not even a step. Not even to breathe freely.
"He's above us…" Xie E growled, teeth clenched. "Above a God King. Maybe… more."
The others could only nod in silent agreement, struggling to remain upright under the suffocating presence.
Zhongli had no malice—but that only made it worse. He didn't even need to be angry to do this.
Poseidon didn't care. Not yet. His trident gleamed as he used his skill the Golden Thirteen Halberds.
First Form – Unfixed Storm.
Golden halos spun around him, layered with sea-blue energy inside, dancing in synchronized patterns. The sky shone golden as the storm of halos flew at Zhongli, locking him in space.
Poseidon believing the other part is immobilized.
Then— used the Third Form – One Goes Without Return.
A massive illusory beam of golden light erupted, as if Poseidon had split heaven open with his will. It tore through the air, howling toward Zhongli like the judgment of the seas.
Zhongli didn't flinch.
He raised one palm.
The golden beam collided—and stopped. Not absorbed. Not redirected. It simply ceased to move.
Poseidon's eyes widened, the trident trembling in his grip.
Zhongli's voice, soft as dusk, rang clear:
"Half-Death."
Poseidon's legs gave out beneath him. He collapsed to the ground, unable to stand.
The remaining gods stood frozen in horror. They knew what that meant. Zhongli had chosen not to end his life—but to break his divine mobility. Just as he had done with Asura.
Zhongli turned his gaze toward the others. His tone calm, but firm.
"Do you want to continue?"
For a moment, no one dared speak.
Then Hui Nie, the God of Destruction, swallowed hard.
"No. It was a misunderstanding."
Zhongli studied them. He could sense it—they carried no malice. They weren't enemies. Just cautious guardians who had overstepped.
He gave a small nod.
"I didn't want any trouble," he said simply. "But your friend here asked for it."
Xie E, Shang Liang, Hui Nie, and the Goddess of Life nodded solemnly. Their steps slow and reverent, they moved to the sides of Poseidon and Asura, who now sat in the dust—wide-eyed, breathless, and broken.
Gods they may be.
But they had just glimpsed something far beyond the divine.