After Saving The Universe A Thousand Times: Chapter 19

Chapter 19: All Gods’ Descent 19

At this moment, the MVP highlights of Dong Jin were being replayed right outside the window.

As if echoing the black night rain from the screen, the planet beneath his feet began to rain without warning.

At first, it was intermittent, but after Dong Jin spoke, the sultry heat in the air suddenly peaked.

The next second, torrential rain poured down.

Receiving no response, Dong Jin quietly stared at Lei Ming outside the window.

In this precarious atmosphere, the “Eye of Truth” delivered information that only made matters worse.

The details on Lei Ming read as follows:

[Lei Ming, God of Night and Drama.] [Status: Restrained, suppressing, exerting self-control.] [In the deepest night, he holds back the heaviest killing intent.] [Cherish every moment now, as this might be your last breath.]

After sacrificing a day of his lifespan, Dong Jin rarely gained a glimpse into this god’s status, only to see words that seemed to seal his doom.

At that moment, he abandoned any hope of a fluke.

While trying to borrow more lifespan from the Cosmic Will, he secretly began sorting through the escape plans he had prepared earlier.

The gods and demons of the Supreme Universe, as organizers of the “Divine Selection,” could descend into any of the seven participating universes at will. However, their powers and authority were heavily restricted by the will of the respective universe.

Naturally, Lei Ming, being a god, was subject to these limitations.

If he acted directly against a trial participant during the Divine Selection, the backlash would hurt him far worse than it would the participant.

So as long as Dong Jin found the right moment to escape and relied on the Cosmic Will to obscure his whereabouts, he still had a chance to survive until the next trial began.

With this plan in mind, Dong Jin hadn’t even raised his hand to retrieve the weapon from the satchel at his waist. He merely, almost unconsciously, glanced toward Lei Ming’s right side—that was the direction of the planet’s spaceship terminal. 

In that instant, the long-dormant god moved.

In the blink of an eye, Lei Ming’s sharply defined hand gripped Dong Jin’s throat, smashing through a large section of the floor-to-ceiling window and slamming him against the cold wall of the bedroom.

Through the dust swirling in the air and the dampness that quickly pressed it down, Dong Jin suppressed the intense pain in his back, half-squinting as his gaze locked onto those beast-like golden eyes right in front of him.

Lei Ming’s status column, once reading “self-control,” had now changed to “rage.”

…This lunatic.

He should have anticipated this.

In a thousand midnights before, Lei Ming had chased him to the brink of destruction, even under the guise of being a judge. What about now?

Even though the backlash in the real world would be heavier and more severe, what did that matter to this madman who cared nothing for life or death?

—He had to say something.

—If he didn’t speak now, this might really be his last breath.

Just as Dong Jin was about to string together a series of flattering words and prepare a range of negotiation points, the God of Night and Drama slowly raised his other hand. His rough fingertip traced idly along the corner of Dong Jin’s eye as he spoke:

“Shh… don’t speak.”

“I’m tired of your silver tongue. If you say anything irrelevant right now…”

Feeling Lei Ming’s finger, capable of tearing apart any prey with ease, brush ever so lightly against his eye socket, Dong Jin instantly understood the unspoken threat.

Not wanting to lose his eyes, he wisely chose to remain silent.

As Dong Jin lowered his gaze in silence, the murderous intent brimming in Lei Ming’s eyes from discovering his escape plan gradually subsided.

In this delicate silence, fraught with deadly danger, the god’s cold golden eyes followed his fingers, tracing slowly from the corner of Dong Jin’s eye to the glass-cut wound on the right side of his face.

Fresh blood streamed down the side of Dong Jin’s face, winding its way down like a crimson tear.

Noticing the strangely beautiful streak, Lei Ming’s gaze lingered briefly. His fingers then slid further down, finally stopping at the earring Dong Jin had just put on.

Dong Jin had no idea what Lei Ming was thinking.

All he could feel was that every inch of his skin touched by the god’s gaze burned as if licked by a snake or scorched by fire.

Could this guy be trying to burn him alive?

“The Daytime God Fragment—Kai really is generous.” After a moment, Lei Ming’s wickedly sharp nail tapped lightly on the crystal hanging from Dong Jin’s earring, and his sneering words confirmed Dong Jin’s earlier suspicion.

That unknown crystal was indeed the Daytime God Fragment.

As for the “Kai” Lei Ming mentioned, he was probably referring to the God of Revelry.  

Just as Dong Jin started to zone out, this god who refused to kill outright yet didn’t give a swift end either, spoke again:  

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”  

You’ve already threatened my eyes; how could I dare speak?  

Dong Jin glanced at the deep, bone-revealing scars beneath the edges of Lei Ming’s mask that mirrored his own position, then at the blood-soaked right hand that had gripped his throat, clearly suffering backlash. He couldn’t even muster the energy to mock this moody lunatic.  

Noticing that Lei Ming’s killing intent had diminished, Dong Jin seized the opportunity and said, “If this item pleases you, feel free to take it.”  

“‘You’?” Lei Ming repeated the honorific with amusement, then smirked faintly. “Do you remember how many times you’ve cursed me before, Dong Jin? With your temper, don’t you think it’s a bit late to start pretending to be respectful now?”  

From Lei Ming’s tone, Dong Jin seemed to catch on to something.  

Testing the waters, he reached for the earring and removed it.  

When nothing stopped him, he decisively unbuckled his belt, removed the satchel filled with throwing knives, and tossed it aside. Then, raising both hands in a gesture of surrender, he said, “I surrender.”  

Lei Ming’s gaze drifted meaningfully to the discarded belt.  

With Dong Jin’s face and that earlier motion, it seemed less like a surrender and more like throwing himself into someone’s arms.  

Unfortunately, Lei Ming wasn’t Kai—such tactics didn’t work on him.  

Though his thoughts lingered, Lei Ming’s killing intent visibly subsided by more than half.  

After two consecutive tests, Dong Jin finally confirmed that Lei Ming didn’t absolutely intend to kill him tonight.  

It appeared that, for some unknown reason, this god wavered between letting him go and finishing him off.  

Dong Jin’s earlier attempt to flee had inadvertently provoked Lei Ming’s predatory instincts, breaking the delicate balance and momentarily unleashing his killing desire.  

With the imminent death seemingly easing, Dong Jin, unwilling to remain passive, began probing further:  

“Am I right to assume you don’t plan to strangle me to death? If so, could you loosen your grip on my throat? If this goes on and I’m seriously injured, I might just make a claim against you.”  

Lei Ming didn’t respond directly but instead asked meaningfully, “How much are you planning to claim?”  

Unsure of his intent, Dong Jin casually replied, “Maybe some energy you wouldn’t need?”  

Dong Jin believed there was nothing wrong with his words. In the next moment, Lei Ming indeed released his grip on Dong Jin’s throat.  

But after doing so, Lei Ming leisurely used his divine power to heal Dong Jin’s injuries and said, “Dong Jin, since you mentioned energy…”  

“Have you ever thought about where the energy you gained during those thousand midnights came from?”  

Of course, I’ve thought about it.  

Hearing Lei Ming bring this up, Dong Jin, usually shameless, surprisingly felt a rare pang of guilt.  

Lei Ming continued while tending to the wound on Dong Jin’s face:  

“The gods and demons of the Supreme Universe are fundamentally the same in terms of power, but other universes divide us into two categories: gods and demons. Do you know how they distinguish between the two?—It’s the way they obtain their power.”  

“Those labeled as demons disregard rights and morality. If given a chance, they’ll plunder lower universes without hesitation. As for those called gods, they engage in a game of clearing trials under the premise of fair trade, exchanging resources as the cost.”  

“The winner takes all, and the loser pays entirely.”  

“Dong Jin, does the word ‘game’ bring anything to mind?”  

“Those thousand midnights, those thousand dreams, were a thousand games.” 

“Although the grand banker for these thousand games was the will of our universe, as the one who constructed the dream worlds, I could also be considered half a banker. I presided over a thousand rounds and lost every single one…”  

“Dong Jin, take a guess: after those thousand nights, how much energy do you think I still have left?”  

I’m not guessing. Faced with Lei Ming’s knife-hidden-in-words declaration, Dong Jin had no intention of pretending he understood.  

However, the next moment, Lei Ming lifted Dong Jin’s chin, forcing their gazes to meet as he said,  

“The lifespan of a mortal is roughly a hundred years. If you calculate it this way, Dong Jin, my savings from a hundred lifetimes were completely wiped out because of you.”  

“Not only that, but to find you, I also owe the Cosmic Will a large amount of energy, I had no choice but to take that boring commentator seat, and was even forced to attend that ridiculous opening ceremony just now. So, what do you propose we do about this?”  

I didn’t ask you to find me. Feeling the weight of Lei Ming’s resentment, Dong Jin wasn’t foolish enough to say that aloud.  

Now understanding the backstory, Dong Jin realized what the key to surviving tonight was. Fixing his gaze on Lei Ming’s dark golden eyes just inches away, he slowly lifted his eyelids and said, one word at a time,  

“Then let’s make another bet.”  

“If a trial-taker who becomes FMVP can ascend to godhood, and a universe with an FMVP can elevate its rank, then what about a god who selects an FMVP? Wouldn’t they also achieve a qualitative leap?”  

“If that’s the case, then let’s gamble one more time.”  

“Bet that I can keep winning just like those thousand midnights. Bet that I’ll become the sole FMVP among the seven universes.”  

“When that time comes, what you lost in those thousand nights will be repaid a thousandfold—no, ten thousandfold—through me.”  

Lei Ming’s smile faded upon hearing those words.  

Lowering his gaze, he stared intently at Dong Jin’s one-of-a-kind eyes with an extreme calm.  

In that moment, golden flames seemed to ignite within Lei Ming’s eyes.  

Dong Jin could even feel the rising heat from Lei Ming’s hand resting on his shoulder.  

For a long time—a span marked by the intensifying downpour outside, by thunder erupting with no end—this god finally spoke, his voice low and hoarse:  

“…I’ve already been betting.”  

From the very first second Dong Jin stepped into the trial grounds, Lei Ming had gambled that Dong Jin would become the final FMVP.  

That’s why he hadn’t hesitated to choose Dong Jin in Divine Selection, even staking his only remaining true divinity on him.  

Though everything Dong Jin said now was something Lei Ming had already thought of, and though his purpose tonight was to ensure Dong Jin fully accepted his Divine Selection, why, when events unfolded exactly as expected, was his heart so shaken?  

Long accustomed to self-restraint, Lei Ming betrayed no outward sign of turmoil.  

He simply picked up the Daytime Godhood discarded to the side, reattached it to Dong Jin’s right ear, and said in an unreadable tone:  

“Remember what you said today.”  

“You’d better pray you stay the MVP. Because the day you fail will be the day you die.”  

To this, Dong Jin smiled and replied, “Of course.” 

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