Chapter 560: The Asura God Trial – Tang San's Scheme
The so called "villain actors" were select Evil Soul Masters assigned to commit heinous acts under Tang San's orders.
Then, at the most critical moment, candidates undergoing the Asura God Trial acting in Tang San's name would appear right on time to save innocent people, defeat the Evil Soul Masters, and publicly declare that all their power came from the benevolence of the great Asura God. They would emphasize that as long as one held "sufficiently devout" faith in the Asura God, they too could have a chance to obtain great power.
Naturally, those who were rescued would spread word of these events.
The more such stories circulated, the more Tang San's reputation would recover, and the number of people believing in him would grow.
He didn't expect to gain a large number of high quality fanatical believers in a short time. Although fervent believers provided greater faith energy, they were incredibly difficult to cultivate.
Thus, his primary goal was simply to increase the overall number of Douluo Continent inhabitants who worshipped him. Even if the new believers only had a shallow faith in him, as long as the numbers were high enough, the total faith energy generated would still be considerable.
As for the Evil Soul Masters selected as "villain actors," no matter how powerful they were, they would still follow his orders deliberately allowing themselves to be defeated, then disguising themselves and moving to the next location to commit more atrocities at the right moment, only to be "defeated" once again.
This cycle would maximize their usefulness.
However, Tang San faced a problem in executing this plan.
The truth was, when he had undergone the Asura God Trial himself, he had taken an unconventional shortcut his path to success had been entirely different from that of a normal trial candidate.
In his mind, the reason the first Asura God had granted him the divine position was twofold:
He was simply too outstanding, and the first Asura God couldn't resist choosing him.
The first Asura God was desperate to leave the Divine Realm and therefore cut corners in the selection process.
As a result, while Tang San had inherited the Asura God's position, he had missed out on a gradual adaptation period.
Compared to his mastery over the Sea God's divine position, he found that wielding the Asura God's power was far less intuitive. Even using the Asura Sword didn't feel as natural as wielding the Sea God's Trident. This was one of the main reasons he preferred using his Sea God powers in daily life.
With his current level of control over the Asura God's power, he was far from matching the first Asura God's authority he couldn't bend the rules of the trial at will like his predecessor had.
He could only administer the Asura Nine Trials exactly as they had been designed by the first Asura God before leaving the Divine Realm.
If the Asura Nine Trials were like an exam, then he, the so called examiner, couldn't even modify the test questions.
He could only grade the answers according to the existing rubric he had no authority to judge subjectively.
For example, even if someone he disliked passed a particular trial, he would still be forced to grant them their rewards according to the rules. He couldn't deny them what they had rightfully earned.
Compared to the first Asura God, his authority over the Asura God Trial was pitifully weak.
This meant that in the short term, he had no way of quickly grooming a candidate to complete the first eight trials and become an Asura High Priest to act on his behalf.
Thus, he had no choice but to administer the Asura Nine Trials step by step for the people of Douluo Continent.
Since he had no immediate solution to this issue, he could only set it aside for now.
"Next, I need to select suitable candidates for the divine trial. Evil Soul Masters are out of the question while they certainly have enough bloodlust, they are far too wicked, which would damage my reputation."
No matter what kind of person Tang San was in private, he maintained a public image of purity and righteousness, considering himself the very embodiment of justice.
With this thought, his Sea God attire instantly transformed into the blood red armor of the Asura God, and an even more powerful aura radiated from his body.
Unleashing his power as a God King, he began searching for suitable candidates. He didn't bother to conceal his actions after all, even if the God of Destruction noticed, there was no rule in the Divine Realm that could prevent him from selecting a successor.
After all, when and to whom a god passed down their divine position was entirely their own prerogative.
Before long, Tang San's expression darkened.
There were far fewer qualified candidates than he had anticipated.
Due to his limited control over the Asura God's powers, he couldn't even lower the selection criteria. If he had known this earlier, he would have had the first Asura God adjust the standards before inheriting the position.
But regrets were useless now he had no way to summon the first Asura God back to make changes for him.
Of course, even if he could summon the first Asura God, he wouldn't dare to make such a request. After all, he had already held the Asura God's position for tens of thousands of years, yet he still couldn't modify the trial requirements.
If the first Asura God found out, it would be an utter humiliation.
"Forget it. I'll just let these few candidates take the trial. They should feel honored to serve me."
With that thought, he waved his hand, and several beams of crimson light shot down toward Douluo Continent.
Divine Realm.
Above a pitch black castle, dark clouds loomed, and purple lightning roared through the sky.
The God of Destruction let out a surprised "hmm" before turning his gaze toward the Sea God's palace.
"Tang San has started selecting a successor for the Asura God's position?"
The God of Lust smirked and said, "Master, if Tang San truly passes on the Asura God's position, there's a good chance he will leave the Divine Realm with his wife and daughter. If that happens, your constraints in the Divine Realm will be significantly reduced. After all, a newly ascended Asura God would be much easier to deal with than Tang San himself."
The God of Destruction shook his head.
"No. Knowing Tang San's personality, he would never surrender so easily. Even if he is choosing a successor, it's probably just to create another God King on his side. In fact, the new Asura God might inherit only the divine position itself but not the Asura Sword.
"But even so, a new God King without an ultra divine weapon is still more powerful than a First Class God wielding one."
Nearby, the God of Greed asked worriedly, "Master, should we take action to interfere with Tang San's Asura God Trial?"
The other Seven Sins Gods attending the meeting also turned their eyes toward the God of Destruction, awaiting his response.
"There's no need." The God of Destruction waved a hand dismissively.
"An Asura God Trial is still a God King level trial. Do you really think someone can pass it so easily and inherit the divine position?
"The first Asura God was able to bend the rules for Tang San and lower the difficulty because he had absolute control over the Asura God's powers. But with Tang San's weak grasp over the divine position, he cannot manipulate the trial like his predecessor did."
Star Dou Forest.
A black haired girl in a dark robe walked forward at a steady pace.
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