Quest Maker: 383

Title: Tribulation Galore (5)

Ja Sun always knew to horde. Despite that sappy growth in him to share the bare minimum with his family, he still saved many treasures greedily, and the chance of these treasures being of use but consumed nonetheless makes him—Mad.

His action of consuming a spirit bone surprises every spectator save for the Prince, Asura, and Heaven. But Xunji will be damned if he lets this menace complete his schemes without any hindrances! Ja Sun has only taken a bite of a golden, palm-sized ribcage. His jaws snap the spiritual treasure as loud crunches echo in the surrounding. Ja Sun’s body flickers around and dodges the tendril of bloody smoke that would cause his downfall without his domains helping him as the bulk of the bloody smoke clashes against the icy dome protecting the Sea God Island.

The moment he took a bite of the spirit bone, his fourth core—Beyond Evil—rouses to action and churns all the elements and energy in the spirit treasure into something pure.

Law.

An understanding of the Law.

That’s how the Dark Devilgod Tiger obtained mastery of so many laws. Yes, this is cruder, and Ja Sun will need to spend years manipulating the law immaculately as he can with the Law of Space, but he isn’t really in a position to choose.

Even if he survives the tribulation, many opponents await him.

His veins throb in excitement as his core puts all the abilities of the spirit bone in a complete piece of the puzzle that attributes to one law.

*Crunch*

He takes another bite and raises his right hand to let out another screeching blast of flames that barely deters a patch of bloody smoke.

‘No more running away!’

Xunji’s eyes exude a divine glow. He specifically chose such a loose form of matter to manipulate with his law as every bit of immortal qi in the smoke surround and locks the space with the virtue of being a superior form of energy.

Every spectator in the Sea God Island holds their breaths in terror as their current savior {A/N: lol} faces a tide of billowing bloody smoke from all conceivable sides. Like an unrelenting wave of Tsunami, the smoke clashes inward and devours Ja Sun, whose gaping jaws open to gulp the remains of the spirit bone.

*Gulp*

A sense of sharpness blooms inside Ja Sun, unaffected by the sizzling exo-skin as it bears the major brunt of the attack. Xunji needed to use the Immortal Qi to lock the surrounding space, so what attacked Ja Sun wasn’t a wave of unforgiving immortal qi but pure corrosive smoke that only held him in place.

‘Which means this is a fucking distraction!’

Ja Sun clenches the crystal saber in his hand and feels the sharpness travel to the blade.

Law of Sharpness.

Although the core in his body is beyond stable, one cannot understand a law willy-nilly. He could reach the comprehension of a master because of his other masteries acting as a crutch. If anything, Ja Sun’s understanding is far below the Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear in the King’s Lair.

But he only needed mastery of laws to support his current weaponry—The saber and the cannon.

Ja Sun trains his sense, but everything is limited within this smoke, and he isn’t willing to expend his more precious and limited divine intent using the Fiery Golden Eyes now. The Behemoth is still alive. It wasn’t about to go down that easily.

Swinging his left hand, a trail of sharp and cold energy cuts through the confines of the smoke.

Xunji isn’t targeting him.

Seven of his eyes narrow as he travels through the smoke cut open, and he charges his saber with a burst of a glowing golden jet of water. Ja Sun’s wild laugh booms as an arc of glimmering golden waves tumbles and crashes midair to impact against the tiny, condensed orb of blood that fell upon the Sea God Island.

Every drop of water seems to slice any and every particle in the air into impossibly small pieces.

Cold and sharp.

He cannot combine laws but he can sure as fuck use a complementary law to charge a divine weapon to have better results.

This attack surprises Xunji as the ball of blood is cut in half, then another half, and then on and on!

But…

‘Not enough.’

Ja Sun narrows his eyes and takes out another spirit bone.

Spirit bones are useful as crutches for mastering laws instead of equipping himself with them. This golden-clawed spirit bone is none other than the 400000-year-old Duskgold Dreadclaw External Bone.

Before their battle could continue, the floating iceberg that imprisoned the Behemoth shudders, and the space visibly fluctuates around it.

It is about to break free from the ice as Ja Sun snickers and pops the claw in his mouth.

*Crunch*

*Crunch*

*Crunch*

His jaw shatters and consumes the spirit bone by breaking it into pure energy to fuel Beyond Evil while standing atop the center of the dome that protects the Sea God Island.

Surprisingly, Ja Sun’s voice booms in an unnatural declaration.

“O’ heaven and Blood God, this island is under my protection! Poseidon may have given up on the people here, but I am alive!”

Taking the next step, Ja Sun fuels his voice with his divine intent and the law of space.

Silver glow visibly distorts his surroundings, and the seawater bursts out in draconic shapes that claw at Xunji!

“The Sea God Island and the King’s Lair are under my protection. Call me the Beast God or the Beast Sage! It matters not! Gods may abandon or hate them, but I won’t!”

The seven protectors of the island, alongside the 100000-year-old shark in the central plaza next to Bo Saixi, stare toward the sky dumbly.

‘What?’

When did their true calamity become their protector?

They were living a peaceful life until he came around!

But that’s the great thing about average men and women. They aren’t in a position to understand the truth.

It’s unknown who fell to their knees first, but soon, the majority of the citizens were on their knees. They have heard myths about the Sea God but the monstrous menace in front of them is protecting them. He is facing a true god to save their lives even if it means putting his body in harm’s way!

Gratitude and reverence mix into a shade of faith.

It’s still not pure.

It still needs to be tempered before it becomes an actual source of power, but Ja Sun feels it all the same, like a thin stream of growth—an untapped aspect of strength.

His mind, body, and spirit energy cannot grow any further, but his comprehension of the laws can, and their faith will boost his understanding tremendously!

The sea rumbles as if enraged by their wavering reverence and devotion, but Ja Sun smirks at this and looks at the gaping abyss in the sky surrounded by a whirlpool of dark clouds.

‘I’m not much of a planner in this life, but Bibi and others can learn a thing or two from me~! Of course, I’m going to return victoriously and see if they need any private tutoring.’

The only way Ja Sun could replace Poseidon’s standing in the Sea God Island is by demonizing him. With no priest standing in his way to keep the citizen’s unwavering trust in the God of Salami, he can use the wrathful tribulation to break the morality of the citizens and then protect them to earn their trust.

Meanwhile, the remaining seven protectors can try to reverse the effects of his existence, but it wouldn’t matter.

Why did the citizens of the Douluo Continent accept Xunji so easily?

Because the mediocre often believe what they see.

The tribulation is layered, and the emergence of Behemoth is a welcomed surprise. It allowed Ja Sun to achieve this standing in the hearts of the citizens of the Sea God Island more quickly. And ever the schemer, Xunji saw through all this and frowned.

“If you wanted to collect faith, why not aim for large civilizations like other continents? The Faith from this island is merely a trickle of growth. It is incomparable to the Divine Inheritance left here. Why destroy that?”

Ja Sun suddenly laughs out loud.

The icy cage of the behemoth trembles further, and the clashes resound more intense than thunder.

The Sea quakes in rage.

Lightning flashes from the sky.

Instead of wasting energy on the almost immortal Behemoth that only someone truly divine like Xunji can take care of, Ja Sun controls the purplish exo-skin to form a large, fleshy appendage that grows from his back.

A gigantic purple hand folds its four fingers and thumb.

Only one finger graces the sight of the divine beings beyond the curtains of tribulation.

A middle finger to the gods and heaven.

“This one’s for you, fish!”

Ja Sun laughs.

Even his family within his spatial artifact falls numb to his antics.

The gods come to realize that…

This man is crazy in divine proportions!

A golden trident flashes down from the abyss.

The surface of the trident is made from seawater as it flashes down as suddenly as an arc of lightning, and it crashes into the block of ice holding the Behemoth before stabbing into the beast!

---

Poseidon’s faith does not only stem from the Sea God Island. Their Divine Realm covers many realities, and almost all the First-Class Gods like him have minor and major inheritances set in these realms.

Gods like Poseidon and Angel, who originates from the more flourishing Douluo Realm, left their primary heritage with their bloodline descendants out of sentiment. After all, the chances of another god birthing from their bloodline are relatively high when perceived from their perspective. So, even if the faith of the Sea God Island is only a drop in the bucket, it stung Poseidon when he felt this unhesitating stream of devotion dwindle.

The sea connected to him in the realm trembles in wrath.

Under the eyes of many shocked gods who reel from the middle finger sent in their direction, Poseidon silently takes his god tablet out again. It’s a blue jade crystal with a reflective surface. One could see a vein pop on Poseidon's temple through the crystal’s reflection.

Instead of coaxing heaven, Poseidon sends his God Tablet toward the curtain of tribulation.

“Are you sure?” Angel questions mockingly, “Haven’t you lost enough?”

Poseidon does not reply to the Goddess as the blue crystal lets out a sonorous cry.

“In my authority as the Great God of Sea and Enslavement, I exercise my right of avatar tribulation. In return, I relinquish my control on the Douluo Realm and all the items within.” Poseidon gives up his chance to repair his divine weapon within the Sea God Island and stares at Ja Sun with a silent and murderous gleam in his eyes.

This action instantly removed the restriction of the earlier tribulation as every god understood that even if Poseidon won’t fall from his position as the First Class God, he has taken a permanent hit. Gods don’t just let go of their divine weapons. Stronger ones may use it as an anchor of their inheritance, but the weaker ones are still in the process of forging their divine weapons. The situation between them is simply incomparable!

---

“What fresh hell is this?” Di Tian whispers. Fear seizes the once-unconquered God of the King’s Lair.

“Avatar Tribulation.”

Lady of the Lake whispers.

---

“Avatar Tribulation?” Ja Sun looks at Xunji, who reveals a somber expression.

Finding it better to just clear Ja Sun’s doubt since this tribulation now leaves the duo with no choice but to survive together, Xunji replies calmly. No expression betrays the surprise he is feeling internally. The action of Avatar Tribulation is not pragmatic in any manner. While the cost of such action fluctuates, it will always leave a permanent scar on the user of this divine right.

“It’s a right of tribulation that allows the expression of the casting god to appear in the mortal realm. It’s more of a cathartic experience than anything else. What stands in front of us isn’t a true god but said god’s copy controlled by heaven to execute the tribulation. The fact that it fused with a Behemoth is… concerning.”

Ja Sun nods and looks at the lone figure stranded in midair.

The raging sea is calm now. But the dull golden trident in the central plaza of the island cries silently in pain.

Violet mixes with blue in his hair and beard as it flows behind his back and chin respectively, and oozes arcs of lightning. His grey skin now held a prominent tan shade, and the carpet of fur is replaced by a living totem of the sea and its creature. The totem crashes and kills. It births thousands of animals. A tall and monstrous body almost 13 meters high is graced with taut muscles that would shame any mortal—including Ja Sun.

His eyes betray no emotion.

Indigo pupils stare at the sea, and mechanical emotions lick his gaze.

Golden-blue armor protects his lower half and shoulders. A trident in his hand.

A small command escapes his lips.

It's not Poseidon’s voice.

This voice belongs to a colder being despite sounding sweet and neutral.

Sensing this voice, the spectating prince’s body and the lake’s surface shudder violently.

“Arise.”

Ja Sun and Xunji experience the world turning over itself.

***

Alternate Title: Chewing Law; Treasures Become Useful; Law of Sharpness; Continue Feeding; I’m the Captain Now; The Finger; The Consequences of Finger; Giving Up Home for Catharsis; Avatar Tribulation