1108——————==

Soul of the Evil God

Following Shennong, I entered the grand palace of the giant race located at the heart of the Divine Temple, where there was a tiny giant race individual I had seen before.

‘Wait, not tiny, that size is just human…’

Among the giant race beings whose bodies typically exceed one palm in size, this one looked remarkably small. But by human standards, it was still pretty tall, about six feet or so. I took a quick glance at his appearance; he looked rather plain, with no outstanding features—just an ordinary man.

Is that [The One Who Destroys the Gods]?

As we arrived in front of him, Fuxi and Shennong appeared to be examining him closely. After a moment, Shennong remarked in disbelief.

“I’ve said before that this guy would become great, but that’s only after he finishes growing. For now, I can’t see him as anything even the Emperor would fear.”

“To me, he looks like an incredible monster. There’s no denying his potential is tremendous.”

“A mere incredible monster can’t wipe us out. If he were truly overwhelming, Fuxi, you wouldn’t be able to rate him so casually, would you?”

“…….”

“It’s just that he has a high possibility of surpassing us in the future, but for now, he’s nothing impressive.”

Fuxi fell silent, seemingly acknowledging Shennong’s words.

“However, if we exert our powers and awaken him, we can find out whether the Emperor’s words hold true.”

“Should we give it a try?”

As Fuxi muttered this, he conjured a Tai Chi symbol and scattered it into the air.

Swoosh—

A door to space opened, and naturally, Nüwa’s true form appeared in this space. Nüwa glanced at Fuxi and Shennong, then spoke with a displeased tone.

“Fuxi! Are you trying to do something useless again?”

“Don’t be too harsh, Nüwa. We can’t always just do useful things, can we?”

“Admitting it’s useless, huh?”

“Yep.”

“You always act like this. When will you grow up?”

Nüwa muttered in disbelief as Fuxi chuckled lightly and retorted.

“Nüwa, aren’t you getting tired of this? I’m tired of tiptoeing around the Emperor. It’s a hassle measuring ourselves against each other. Let’s just join forces and finish him off.”

“…Can we really win?”

“I’m not sure. If we had a solid chance, we wouldn’t have hesitated this long. After all, it’s the Emperor. But now it’s just a matter of whether we do it or not.”

“…….”

Nüwa appeared to be contemplating. Then Shennong addressed her.

“Nüwa, if we awaken this guy, we could have a decent chance…”

Nüwa suddenly burst out in anger.

“Shut up, you big oaf! Who told you to talk to Nüwa!”

Was Shennong also mad? Suddenly, silver flames erupted from his true form in response.

“What did you say? Did you forget this is my palace?”

“What about it? Your palace seems awfully small and pathetic!”

“You’re just throwing a tantrum! How pitiful you are, Nüwa, marching in and acting up in the palace of my sovereign!”

“Do you want to test me?”

“Anytime.”

Kugugugugu…

As Nüwa and Shennong squared off, their energies were almost evenly matched, distorting the laws between them. Trying to get caught up in their pressure, Fuxi easily created a Tai Chi to shield me and summoned a gentle breeze between them.

Hoo…

“Hmm.”

“Umm.”

It was something unidentifiable, but it seemed like divine arts. Fuxi lightly diverted the attention of both parties before speaking.

“Nüwa. I know you really hate Shennong, but set those feelings aside for now. This isn’t the time for us to fight among ourselves.”

“Fuxi! Have you forgotten that giant tried to attack me before?”

In response to Nüwa’s words, Fuxi sighed.

“I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve mentioned this. Didn’t I say it was a misunderstanding when we were traveling with the giant race?”

“But that jerk Shennong has never apologized to me properly!”

Nüwa yelled in anger, and Shennong confidently crossed his arms.

“Exactly! I have no intention of apologizing! Shouldn’t just explaining it as a misunderstanding be enough?”

“…….”

Fuxi chuckled helplessly.

“I’ve tirelessly tried to reconcile you two since primordial times, but your pride is too inflated. I’m starting to think more effort is futile, but for today, how about we temporarily put aside that pride and engage in some rational dialogue?”

“…….”

“Mm.”

Seeing Fuxi’s weary smile, the two seemed to calm down a bit. It appeared Fuxi had always taken on this role. After a brief silence, Fuxi spoke again.

“Nüwa. You must have sensed it, too, but that half-blood giant has incredible potential. The plan is to awaken that potential with our combined power and turn him into the power needed to take down the Emperor.”

“He definitely has great strength. But can awakening him really take down the Emperor?”

Nüwa continued with a somewhat skeptical tone.

“The Emperor has more than just four subordinates. He possesses unfathomable resilience, so it wouldn’t be surprising to face an opponent of equal standing.”

“I know. It seems he’s pulled in some powerful allies…”

Fuxi replied nonchalantly.

“But if the three of us join forces, and with the potential figure on our side, we won’t be outmatched that easily. We might even say now is the moment we can unleash our greatest power, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Hmm….”

“Besides, if the Emperor can read the law of cause and effect, the longer we delay, the worse it will be for us. We need to end this quickly.”

“He can read the law of cause and effect! Are you sure?”

Both Nüwa and Shennong looked at Fuxi, incredulous. I could tell at this point that Fuxi was the only one among the Three Sovereigns who had somewhat grasped the true abilities of the Emperor.

“I can’t say for sure, but if that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have been able to hold us back without really using any special tactics. Even the Emperor himself hasn’t launched any credible wars against us, yet we’ve done nothing. Ultimately, he’s been reading the enormous law of cause and effect and subtly crafting the future he desires.”

“Hmm…!!”

“Now, there’s no reason to hesitate anymore.”

Fuxi stepped forward and placed his hand on the half-blood giant’s head. Shennong and Nüwa slowly followed suit. Once all three had their hands atop the half-blood’s head, Fuxi calmly proclaimed.

“I, Fuxi, stake my name’s power to awaken this being’s wisdom.”

“I, Nüwa, stake my name’s power to awaken this being’s spirit.”

“I, Shennong, stake my name’s power to awaken this being’s authority.”

Boom!!

The instant the Three Sovereigns uttered their commands, a blinding light surged, causing the half-blood to grasp at his head and shake violently, gray mist pouring forth from his crown.

Kugugugugu

“Graaaah…”

A roar like that of a beast escaped him. As the gray mist intensified, the half-blood’s body began to expand to match that of a giant, inscriptions of powerful sorcery appearing on the surface of his skin like tattoos. I could feel his magical power and the Power of Chaos rapidly amplifying.

‘Is he finally gaining the power of [The One Who Destroys the Gods]?’

And am I about to witness the immense power that even the Emperor feared…?!

I watched eagerly, my heart racing, but I could faintly sense something was off with the atmosphere.

“…?”

Why do all three Sovereigns look so stiff?

Moments later, the first to withdraw her hand was Nüwa. Startled, she exclaimed.

“What is this? What on earth is this guy…?”

Then Shennong pulled his hand away next, looking just as stunned.

“He’s empty… I didn’t even notice.”

Finally, Fuxi hesitated, deciding whether or not to withdraw his hand. Then, seemingly with no other choice, he pulled back and said.

“Something just slipped out.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is… a shell. Not a proper existence.”

A shell?

I was left baffled by Fuxi’s words, prompting him to elaborate.

“It’s a false body. It means there was no soul to begin with. The talent and power that were inside just a moment ago? That was simply a shell left once that ‘something’ exited.”

“What? Just a shell?”

I exclaimed in disbelief.

“But didn’t you say he had incredible talent at first sight?”

“…….”

Fuxi let out a short sigh.

“Even with just a shell, mind you.”

An awkward silence followed. Fuxi then turned to Shennong and said.

“Didn’t you pamper a descendant who has only appeared after millions of years without noticing it was just a shell?”

“How embarrassing. On the outside, he appeared to be a fully rational being, and there was no sense of discomfort. I never thought of it as a shell. His potential was also unquestionable.”

“If there’s no soul here, then where did his rationality come from? Hmm.”

Fuxi examined the half-blood with curiosity before continuing.

“Right. That makes sense. There were just residual thoughts remaining, but due to the overwhelming power residue, it acted like he had awareness. It’s quite rare for this to happen…”

Still not quite understanding, I asked Fuxi.

“Lord Fuxi, I don’t fully grasp the situation. If something has exited while leaving this shell, why is that?”

“I can’t say for sure. But if I were to speculate…”

Fuxi pointed with his fan to the half-blood’s lifeless eyes and continued.

“The entity that exited possesses power far greater than this shell. One other thing is that it’s a being we have never even encountered once in billions of years.”

“……!!”

“Hmm, the Emperor’s words are starting to ring true… Is this how it must be to qualify as [The One Who Destroys the Gods]?”

Nüwa, who was beside Fuxi, spoke with a hint of anxiety.

“Fuxi. This isn’t the time to be calm. We must catch the entity that just slipped away.”

“Why?”

“Why do I need to explain… Are you really asking this?”

“Of course, I know.”

Fuxi smirked.

“The entity that just slipped away is probably as strong as us.”

“……!!”

“Just looking at the residue of the power, we can guess how strong it is.”

What?!

As I was startled, Nüwa chimed in.

“That’s right. The bigger problem is that it will only become stronger from here.”

“That really is a big problem.”

Fuxi, however, didn’t seem too anxious. Instead, he nonchalantly turned to Shennong and continued.

“But what can we do? Now that this has happened, we’ll just have to proceed with our original plan to deal with the Emperor.”

“…Fuxi, are you serious? You think we can go into a full-scale battle against the Emperor while leaving this variable unchecked?”

Both Shennong and Nüwa looked at Fuxi with concern. It didn’t make sense to face the Emperor, a powerful foe, while a being of unknown power—possibly on par with them—was still around. It was clear this could lead to disastrous fishing and the mysterious entity would reap the benefits.

Yet Fuxi shrugged it off.

“After all, that Thunder God has been targeting us, right? At this point, caring whether one or two enemies join in doesn’t matter. In fact, our problems are multiplying, tightening our movements, but the Emperor will inevitably read the law of cause and effect to shift the flow in his favor. Again, I stress, if we’re going to fight, it must be swift.”

“All right, Fuxi. I’ll trust you.”

Shennong nodded, and Nüwa, after a long pause, finally relented.

“My kin! Should we both falter, remember that the balance of this universe will shake significantly.”

“Ha ha, how could I forget? As someone who knows best why Pangu embraced death of form…”

“Very well… Let’s go! Let’s take the Emperor’s head.”

The resolve of the Three Sovereigns united!

[Baek Woong.]

And in the midst of this, Fuxi secretly transmitted his will into my mind through telepathy.

[You stay here.]

[Huh? I should follow and keep watch too…]

[There’s something for you to handle on the surface.]

At Fuxi’s command, my expression grew stiff.

[Even if you restart after dying, there’s no reason to tag along and die in vain, is there? Go and meet Taishang Laojun.]