Chapter 117: Foolish Dragon God
A short sentence left the Scorpion and Three Dragons utterly shocked.
What? So all of this was actually your doing?
The moment they realized it, the expressions of the Scorpion and the Three Dragons turned strange as they looked at Lin Yun, filled with an indescribable complexity.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I already said I'm just the Dragon God's avatar, not the real Dragon God!" Lin Yun snapped in frustration, glaring at the four of them.
Damn it, who are they looking down on?
Was there any greater insult than this? The Golden Dragon King might be brainless, but he was still better than that idiotic, mentally crippled Dragon God!
Besides, Lin Yun was essentially still a human with the bloodline of the Golden Dragon King!
I've already accepted myself as the ruler of all soul beasts, and yet they still treat me like this?
Truly outrageous!
"No matter what, you can't blame me and the Silver Dragon King for the vile things the Dragon God did! I won't carry that burden!"
"Ahem, we never meant to blame you," the Fire Dragon King said awkwardly, coughing twice as he tried to calm Lin Yun. "We know who the real culprit is."
At the side, the Ice Dragon King looked a little sullen. Although she knew this matter truly had nothing to do with Lin Yun, she still couldn't shake off her discomfort.
"So, Respected One, what is your speculation?" Di Tian asked.
He wasn't overthinking it. Although Lin Yun's words had completely shattered his once invincible image of the Dragon God, his admiration for the Golden Dragon King remained unshaken.
He believed what Lin Yun said.
"It's simple," Lin Yun said with a faint smirk. "The Dragon God knew well how much his madness had cost the Divine Realm—not only were the Nine Dragon Kings nearly wiped out, but even the Beast Gods, the high-end combat force, suffered disastrous losses."
"With the Beast Gods' strength greatly reduced, their faction would inevitably be dragged into the Divine Realm's power struggles. After the Dragon God's death, during the reshuffling of divine authority, the Beast Gods might have been oppressed by the Human Gods, possibly even enslaved. After all, the Dragon God nearly destroyed the entire Divine Realm. Although most of the fallen deities were of the beast race, there were also Human Gods who died."
"Do you think they wouldn't resent the Dragon God? Wouldn't they vent their hatred and fury upon the remaining Beast Gods? The order that soul beasts could never ascend to godhood—first, it was to appease the fury of the Human Gods; second, in a sense, it was also to protect the beasts from divine oppression."
"Unfortunately, the Dragon God underestimated human nature."
"What do you mean by that?" the Fire Dragon King asked, puzzled.
He didn't fully understand the Dragon God's mindset, but Lin Yun's explanation sounded reasonable. The Fire Dragon King himself had witnessed that great war, had seen with his own eyes how many gods had fallen due to the Dragon God's demise. Those fallen gods—apart from a few loners—had families and friends.
Their deaths would naturally lead their loved ones to take revenge upon the declining beast race.
But what did Lin Yun mean by underestimating human nature?
Lin Yun sneered. "Heh, human greed knows no bounds. The Dragon God might have thought that forbidding soul beasts from becoming gods would calm the anger of the Human Gods, but desire is something even gods cannot escape."
"With the Dragon God—once the supreme deity of the Divine Realm—dead, and the Nine Dragon Kings—core strength of the beast race—vanished, the Human Gods held absolute dominance. Do you think they'd willingly give up their power? If another being as powerful as the Dragon God appeared among the beasts, who would control the Divine Realm then?"
"So my guess is this—the order forbidding soul beasts from attaining godhood was indeed given by the Dragon God, but the heavenly punishment that destroyed countless soul beast prodigies on the Douluo Continent… that was the work of the Human Gods!"
Heavenly tribulation—trial from the heavens. Those who survived it would be rewarded by the world itself, their future path smooth and bright. This principle was the same in every world.
The Heavenly Dao is merciless, treating all living beings as mere straw dogs. True heavenly tribulation never favors any race; at most, it targets a particular individual within that race.
But the tribulation of soul beasts is different. It descends with pure, destructive will—a punishment from the heavens itself. Even someone like Di Tian, who is infinitely close to true divinity, would one day perish beneath this heavenly punishment in the original timeline. And this punishment truly is divine retribution—there is no benefit even if one survives it.
Other than deliberate interference, Lin Yun could think of no other possible explanation.
No matter how foolish the Dragon God might have been, it was impossible that after issuing the decree forbidding soul beasts from becoming gods, he would then create such a punishment that almost completely severed all paths of advancement for them. Thus, this heavenly punishment was most likely created by the Human Gods, purely to crush the beast race entirely.
As a human himself, Lin Yun understood human thinking all too well—especially considering that a disgusting being like Tang San existed on the Douluo Continent.
Did the former Asura God truly choose Tang San because of his talent?
Highly unlikely.
Perhaps he was chosen because both Tang San and Tang Hao possessed that shameless willingness to use even their loved ones for their own gain. That must have been the very trait that made the former Asura God select Tang San as his successor.
Tang Hao turned Ah Yin into his ninth spirit ring. Tang San turned Xiao Wu into his sixth, and even took the spirit rings of the Sky Blue Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape, turning the two of them into his subordinates—nothing short of slaves.
In the eyes of the previous Asura God, Tang San was the perfect embodiment of extreme self-interest—a flawless right-wing extremist.
With Tang San around, it was impossible for the soul beast race to survive.
And indeed, Tang San ultimately pushed the soul beasts into the abyss, turning nearly the entire race into nourishment for the Tang family.
Didn't that perfectly reflect the mindset of the Divine Realm—to utterly suppress the soul beasts?
Although Lin Yun knew this was merely his speculation, it was far from impossible. In fact, it was almost certainly the truth. Otherwise, why would the Dragon God feel such deep guilt, hiding away, too ashamed to show himself, waiting for a scapegoat to take his place and help the soul beasts rise again?
He had failed to see the true nature of the Human Gods, issuing the decree forbidding soul beasts from becoming gods during a brief moment of lucidity in his madness—only to doom the soul beasts of the Douluo Continent to become a race of jesters.
If he didn't feel guilty, who would?
Lin Yun's mind was overflowing with thoughts, speaking almost as fast as he could think. Aside from the part of his knowledge that came from being a transmigrator, he voiced nearly all his conjectures aloud.
The Scorpion and Three Dragons fell completely silent.
Damn—it made perfect sense.
None of the four could think of any explanation more reasonable than Lin Yun's. It was impossible that the Dragon God had been so stupid as to cut off the beast race's path to godhood and then crush them further.
If that were true, what kind of Dragon God would he be?
Still, even so, the Dragon God's actions were already outrageous beyond belief. Including Di Tian, all five of them cursed in unison in their hearts.
Damn it—foolish Dragon God!
(End of Chapter)
Hey everyone! If you want to read ahead, consider joining my Patreon. Patrons get 40 chapters in advance, with 20 chapters unlocked instantly when you join. I also post 4 new chapters every day across all my series, available to every tier.
Patreon: https://patreon.com/anish_44
I'll be honest—my financial situation is rough right now, and it's getting harder to keep things going. Your support, at any tier, genuinely helps me stay afloat and continue posting daily chapters. If you can help, it would mean a lot. Thank you.