The People's God: Sacrificing Trillions to Ascend

On the Present path, Evilspawn had once again transformed into a monster. Greed, rage, and hatred clung to his body, twisting his form further. A tailbone made from segments of bones grew from his body. Each lash of his tail unleashed devastating force. Evilspawn was the strongest he had ever been.

Han Wu, on the other hand, had weakened after splitting off two powerful avatars. Worse still, the tight space prevented him from using the Demon King Transformation, forcing him to fight with the Duel God Physique and Peerless.

V observed Evilspawn’s every move. Each motion was new data for V to analyze as he searched for the weak point of Evilspawn’s latest transformation.

Meanwhile, Umbral Mouse channeled all of her Dark Energy into Dark Locust, pushing it to 200% capacity. Dark Locust patiently waited for Evilspawn to drop his guard so it could deliver a devastating blow.

The fight dragged on, with Han Wu barely holding the line just to stall for time. Evilspawn, on the other hand, only got stronger with every passing second. Something hidden was fueling him.

“There’s something wrong with him. Look at his shadow!” V called out.

Han Wu glanced at Evilspawn’s shadow and froze. Evilspawn’s shadow remained humanoid despite his monstrous form. That was deeply wrong. Han Wu became certain that something had latched onto Evilspawn and was controlling his body to fight.

Based on the information relayed from the other two paths, Han Wu theorized that another lingering will of a powerful being had attached itself to Evilspawn.

However, according to the intelligence from the other paths, only two powerful beings had fought here. So whose will was this?

While Han Wu pondered this, Evilspawn’s strikes grew ever stronger. Cracks spread across the Skyshell protecting Han Wu. It wouldn’t hold much longer, and the other two avatars were still some distance away. Han Wu needed another plan.

Retreating from this path wasn’t an option. The Past and Future paths had both yielded valuable rewards. The same was likely true for the Present path as well.

People died for lesser treasure. Han Wu firmly believed that growing stronger demanded risk, and this risk was nothing compared to the potential gains.

“Dark Locust, wait for my signal. When I tell you to self-destruct, you self-destruct. Buy me the chance to get past him!” Han Wu instructed.

Dark Locust nodded obediently. It was at Han Wu’s command.

When Han Wu found the right timing, he deliberately exposed a gap in his defense to draw Evilspawn’s attacks. “Dark Locust, now!”

Dark Locust fearlessly charged toward Evilspawn. Even when Evilspawn’s bony tail pierced clean through its body, it didn’t stop, resolutely getting close to Evilspawn to Self Detonate.

The explosion swallowed 500 meters of the corridor in absolute darkness. Dark Energy from the blast corroded massive sections of the stone walls. This intense corrosion left Evilspawn severely wounded, but it wasn’t fatal. The power of his emotions was already healing him.

Using the darkness as a cover, Han Wu grabbed Umbral Mouse and V, slipped past Evilspawn, and sprinted straight to the end of the Present path. There, Han Wu found a massive burial chamber with skulls lining every wall. In the center, surrounded by the bones, sat an ordinary-looking wooden coffin.

The coffin had no markings or engravings whatsoever. Everything about it screamed simplicity. Closer inspection revealed two characters carved into the coffin, but Han Wu couldn’t read them.

V hurried over and cross-referenced the carved characters against all the information he had gathered before concluding that they read “All Beings.”

This plain wooden coffin contained the remains of every living thing that had died during the two warriors’ battle: beasts, civilians, and powerful fighters alike.

It continuously absorbed the emotional energy radiating from every living being on the continent. The sheer amount stored within was beyond estimation.

The purpose of this coffin was to create a God capable of transforming the entire continent using that energy, and it had, in fact, succeeded.

Unfortunately, this God had no clear will of its own. It was more beast than deity. It had never even made it out of the ruins, let alone saved anyone. At the moment, this created God was actually attached to Evilspawn’s body.

Evilspawn recovered and charged into the chamber, teeth bared with snarled threats, warning Han Wu away from the coffin.

Han Wu ignored its clear warnings. Forget keeping away from the coffin; he was going to use Peerless to split it open!

“Dragon Slayer!”

A powerful azure dragon wrapped around Peerless, dramatically boosting its base attributes. Han Wu then followed up with Heaven-Earth Severance.

Evilspawn fought desperately to stop him, but Umbral Mouse was carrying V in his cannon form. A single blast knocked Evilspawn back.

Han Wu’s strike landed squarely on the wooden coffin. Heaven-Earth Severance was specifically designed to counter all manner of dark and evil entities, and an amalgamation of emotional energy was no exception.

The coffin cracked, on the verge of shattering, but the will attached to Evilspawn suddenly detached and pulled a trumpet-shaped object from within its own body. It blew into the object with all its might, producing a familiar, eerie sound.

Han Wu’s eyes widened. This sound had echoed in his ears twice a day since he had arrived on this continent.

The coffin stopped cracking. As Han Wu was about to deliver another strike, he noticed something deeply wrong.

His body was changing. He was transforming into a monster.