With emotion obvious in his voice, the Spider Immortal said, “Yang Shao, it pains me greatly to ask this. Please understand that two of my grandchildren are on this blimp. As I am now, I can’t protect them. Please, take up the mantle of the War God to protect them and to protect the world.”

  “You’re my brother, Xiahou Ren,” Yang Shao said with a sad smile. “You don’t have to ask.”

  The Wolf Immortal knelt upon the ground and closed his eyes. From his perspective, months passed. Within the confines of his mind, he slowly integrated the Dao of War into his Immortal Soul and underwent many tests to prove himself before finally showing that he was worthy to bear the mantle.

  From an outsider’s perspective, the Wolf Immortal knelt upon the ground for a mere second. His eyes closed for the duration of a single blink before he opened them once more. When his eyes opened, they were the eyes of the War God.

  His hand reached once more toward Cloud Razor, but it was interrupted. A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him sideways with continental force. If such a hand struck the ground, it would have enough force to crack the planet in half.

  The War God realized that, even with his newly-acquired mantle of godhood, his power still paled in comparison to this new enemy. How was this possible!? What entity could possibly throw around the War God like a boat in a storm!? He wrenched his arm aside, and the hand released him. The War God found himself floating high above Shigong Temple, and he slowed himself by hardening the ki in the air and grabbing onto it.

  “Show yourself! Who are you!?” The War God shouted, and everyone on the Island of Haishan could hear him.

  The assailant appeared a few steps in front of the War God. He moved with such speed that the War God had no idea how he had arrived there.

  The entity that had just appeared in front of the War God was dressed in ragged black robes, and he looked like an emaciated man from the Silver Hawk continent. Though the newcomer looked like a man, the suffocating ki flowing from his body made it clear that he could only be a god.

  “As the War God, you should know my identity already. I am your direct superior, after all.” The entity spoke with a quiet voice that sounded like a million insect legs against stone. Even to the War God, the voice was unpleasant. The voice was so grating and discordant that any non-Immortal would instantly die upon hearing it.

  Within the War God’s mind, the pieces began to fit together. As a god, he knew that all things flowed from the one True Dao. From this source, two streams flowed: yin and yang. Immediately after, this stream split into several much smaller channels, which included the Dao of War and the Dao of Death.

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  Standing at the two sources to the great Dao river, two gods stood above all else. One stood at the source that created all yin energy, the Creation God. The entity standing in front of the War God was the one who stood at the source of all yang energy, the Entropy God.

  “You’re the Entropy God!?” The War God shouted the moment he realized the truth. “Why are you here? We have done nothing to offend you!?”

  “We?” The Entropy God began to laugh. It was a long, hollow sound that caused the War God to grimace in pain. “You have nothing in common with the humans of this world now. Either way, I am not here because anyone has offended me. I am here to clean up. This kalpa is about to end, and my vocation is to render everything in the universe into nothing more than empty void so that the Creation God can make a new universe without the sickly remnants of the old one messing everything up.” Strangely, the Entropy God spoke with a great sense of satisfaction in his voice. He seemed to enjoy his job greatly, and the thought of tidying up clearly brought him great joy.

  In an attempt to buy himself and the two nearby Immortals some time, the War God asked another question. “Why did you attack us, then? You could have just destroyed the planet, and the vacuum of space would kill us.”

  “You understand the concept of vacuum, then,” the Entropy God said with surprise in his voice. “Surprising. I meant to offer the three Immortals on this planet the opportunity to join my retinue as Golden Immortals. Considering that four openings just opened up, the opportunity is still open to the other two. By transmuting their flesh into the purest gold, they will be able to survive the end of the kalpa. Of course, they’ll never ascend to godhood that way. Eh, it’s for the best, probably.”

  The War God took a breath, and a heavy wind began to swirl above Shigong Temple. Cloud Razor jumped to his hands, and he held it out in a defensive stance, solidifying the air beneath his feet to strengthen his stance. He breathed out, saying, “I can’t let you destroy this planet. My wife, children, and grandchildren live here, and none of them are Immortals. If you leave and come back in a hundred years, I won’t resist you.”

  The Entropy God paused for a long second. Then, with a smile dripping with the deepest malice, he said, “It’s funny. That’s exactly what the last three gods said.”

  Deciding to make the first move, the War God stepped forward and began to swing Cloud Razor toward his opponent. Before the War God could even commit to the attack, the Entropy God disappeared from his sight. He didn’t detect a single twitch of muscle, and his opponent was able to move out of his field of vision without any indication of movement.

  The War God jerked backwards. His hand moved to his chest, neck, and midsection. If the Entropy God had wanted to kill him, he would be dead. Yet, somehow, he was still alive. He looked around, furiously searching for any signs of the Entropy God. To his horror, he could immediately determine where his opponent went.

  High above, a bright orange glow replaced the blood red sky brought by the Entropy God. From the direction of the sun, a large object the size of a continent crashed toward the planet. After a moment, the War God realized the approaching object was his planet’s moon. The moon did not fall like a normal object. Instead, it crashed toward the planet below at a speed far greater than any Immortal could move. The moon would contact the planet’s surface in less than five seconds.