Behind Fu Ya and Luo Hongyan stood a host of Outer Gods loyal to them. These followers, bathed in their brilliance and divine power, were immune to the pull of the massive skull, allowing them to stand firm as they witnessed this brutality occurring to the other Outer Gods. For low and mid-ranking Gods, simply being close to that skull meant being ruthlessly consumed. Yan Hao had perished an untold number of years ago. Still, even after so long in the bizarre mist, his skull, once free, could devour low and mid-ranking Gods as easily as swatting flies. No new God King had arisen in this era. The four Sovereigns reigned supreme over the Hall of Gods, and the concept of a God King had become akin to legend. Most only knew that a God King was said to be the true master of the Hall of Gods, with the tales of their unmatched might spreading wide. Even so, legends were just that—legends. There were many ways to dismiss such tales as exaggerated or mythologized. The emergence of this skull, however, gave the Outer Gods a glimpse of the terrifying power Yan Hao had in life. "God King! The true master of the Hall of Gods!" "There can only ever be one God King in an era. That's the unchanging rule!" "A being above even the Sovereigns, to whom all Sovereigns have to submit unconditionally! This is the terrifying might of a God King!" High-ranking Gods like He Motian, Luan Ji, and Zi Mo had sensed danger early and retreated far away from the Ruin Realm. The farther they went, the weaker its pull on them became. Still shaking with dread, they each took a moment to process the sheer terror of a God King. The space behind Luo Hongyan was fortified with walls of light that resisted the pull of the Ruin Realm. Lie Yang, Ah Man, and Sha Jia, all from the newer generation, stood together with Ying Yue and Han Yi. At this moment, they were all quietly grateful that they had chosen to serve a Sovereign, lest the skull devour them as well. Pang Jian is actually holding his own against that ancient God of the Spirit Race, Ling Yun! Lie Yang had previously felt superior to his peers from the Abyss after claiming the sun, but as he looked at that blazing skull, he realized with painful clarity that he was still nowhere near Pang Jian's level. A massive golden divine platform, wreathed in golden crows and blazing solar flames, was forcibly drawn toward the skull. The platform burst apart with a dull boom, and the God upon it was torn to pieces. Their Divine Persona fell into one of the eye sockets, while their body, divine platform, and divine power were sucked into the skull's gaping mouth. "The Sun God," Han Yi muttered, turning to glance at Ying Yue. A trace of sorrow could be seen on the Moon God's face. The Sun God had pursued her for years, and though she never reciprocated, she had not truly disliked him either. She had always just found him tediously persistent. As Ying Yue watched the Sun God be devoured, she could not help but think about how Yan Lie had driven him away from the sun not long ago. What would our fate have been if Sovereign Luo hadn't taken us under her protection? she wondered. Just Mou Qi alone would have been enough to doom us. Ying Yue glanced at Luo Hongyan's back with newfound gratitude. Sovereign Luo had accepted them despite knowing about their ties to Pang Jian, not only offering them shelter but also granting them everything they now had. Ying Yue tugged at Han Yi, and the two of them bowed deeply toward Luo Hongyan's distant back. Luo Hongyan, on the other hand, was focused solely on the God King's skull and the golden figure within. A dismissive snort left her lips, so quiet it was practically inaudible. Inside the Ruin Realm, the stars had stopped moving, and the continents had returned to the lower layer. Ling Yun's Dao of Life, embedded in the stars and continents, radiated with renewed wonder. Pang Jian had a vivid sense that the realm was coming alive, on the verge of nurturing living beings. A faint ghostly light took shape behind Ling Yun. As it appeared, it devoured the vast energies of the realm, endlessly refining and condensing them. Time seemed to accelerate. The ghostly light grew rapidly from a speck into a full-fledged star. Ling Yun was using the vast energies that the skull had devoured to create a new star! "I can restore what you've devoured." Ling Yun smiled faintly at Pang Jian as he gestured broadly toward the realm as a whole. "Pang Jian, the Ruin Realm needed you to enter it and perfect it. Now, your mission is complete." The immense power of the realm pressed down on Pang Jian like a crushing weight, leaving his body straining to bear it. Another force pushed against him, shoving him past the boundary wall and out into the starry skies. Ling Yun had taken full control of the Ruin Realm and claimed ownership over God King Yan Hao's skull. Has the battle for the title of the World God Paragon already ended? Does this mean the former World God Paragon won the battle? Bai Zi, Xing Huan, Fa Ji, and the other World Gods watched with their hearts in their stomachs as Pang Jian was expelled from the Ruin Realm. "The Divine Court of Thunder is still here!" "Sovereign Demonheaven's cloak is also here!" "And-and the World God Pendants of the Abyss and the Shadow Abyss! Both of Pang Jian's World God Pendants have been left behind in this realm!" This content belongs to novel_fіre.net The World Gods were alarmed. Without his divine artifacts and the World God Pendants, Pang Jian had no chance of survival against the two Sovereigns outside. The pure-gold sword that Pang Jian forged from the essence of metal in the Ruin Realm dissolved into golden lights and scattered across a stretch of continent below. Ling Yun had only sent Pang Jian's body out of the Ruin Realm. Pang Jian had not been able to take a single item with him, reduced to nothing more than a sacrifice sent to his death. Fa Ji's, Bai Zi's, Xing Huan's, and Mu Duo's World God Pendants abruptly flew out of their holds. All twelve World God Pendants arranged themselves before Ling Yun.