Historical Secrets

Jie Ning held the letter in his hand, a flicker of shock and uncertainty stirring in his heart.

Arannis asked in disbelief, "Jie Ning, do you think this news is true?"

"The War God and Thunder God intend to head to the Supreme Plane, and they plan to directly divide the territories of their two empires between you and Senior Gru?"

"As unbelievable as it sounds, that's exactly what Gru's letter says." Sensing the divine power within the letter, Jie Ning confirmed it came from Gru.

Jie Ning pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the whole affair was somewhat frivolous.

"Then we should go directly to Senior Gru and ask him," Arannis suggested.

"Mm, I was thinking the same." Jie Ning agreed. Such matters were clearer when discussed face to face.

West of Dalut City, two guests arrived at the entrance of the Temple of the Fire God.

"Haha, Jie Ning, it's been a long time." Sensing Jie Ning's approach, Gru came to the door and laughed heartily.

"And Arannis too—a rare guest."

"Senior Gru flatters me," Arannis replied.

"It really has been a while," Jie Ning sighed. "Ever since becoming a god, I feel like time has been passing faster."

"Haha, that's because you're still young. Give it a few more years, and you'll get used to it." Gru chuckled.

Jie Ning shook his head slightly. Such a perception of time could only be adapted to slowly.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the conversation turned to the main topic.

"Speaking of which, you came here about that matter, didn't you?" Gru said with certainty.

Jie Ning nodded solemnly. "I received your letter, but the matter is so hard to grasp that I had to come ask you for the specifics."

Gru spread his hands helplessly. "The truth is, His Highness Korur personally told me about this decades ago. We were planning to find you to discuss it then, but you happened to be away from the City of Life, so we put it aside."

"Recently, Their Highnesses Korur and Dinarl grew impatient, so I thought I'd leave you a letter first. I just didn't expect you to be home this time."

Jie Ning's expression turned serious. "Are they really planning to head to the Supreme Plane?"

"They've been gods for over a thousand years. Staying in the Material Plane no longer allows them to advance their strength quickly, so they intend to go to the Supreme Plane to pursue progress."

Jie Ning found it hard to believe at first. "Only a thousand years? There are plenty of Saint-level experts that age, let alone god-level beings."

Hearing this, Gru gave Jie Ning a strange look before countering, "Jie Ning, if it were you, staying on the continent for over a thousand years with no significant improvement in strength, what would you choose?"

Jie Ning instinctively wanted to argue, but then seemed to understand something.

Ignoring the shift in Jie Ning's expression, Gru continued, "Though not as talented as you, Their Highnesses Korur and Dinarl are rare geniuses of the Bana Continent. They aren't much older than me."

"I was born in Korur 021. Do you know how old they were when I was born?"

"His Highness Korur was ninety-seven, and His Highness Dinarl was ninety-five." Gru didn't wait for Jie Ning to answer.

"The two empires were founded the year they became gods. That means when they ascended, His Highness Korur was seventy-six, and His Highness Dinarl was seventy-four."

"They became deities in under a century. Over the years, their strength has long hit a bottleneck. With their pride, they can't accept their power stagnating." Gru said meaningfully.

"Especially His Highness Korur—he broke through to godhood via the Destruction Rule," Gru added. "The current peace of the continent has actually become an obstacle for him."

'That's absurd. When Duke Darut said the two gods gained enlightenment from magic, I thought His Highness Dinarl comprehending lightning law was already incredible. But the other one went straight to one of the four major rules...'

Moreover, Jie Ning had a subtle feeling that these two had unexpectedly high moral standards.

As if reading Jie Ning's thoughts, Gru explained, "Their Highnesses were born during the most chaotic era the Bana Continent had seen in over a hundred thousand years."

"Back then, there were no empires, only city-states. Only Saint-level experts could rule a city-state; everyone else had to live under the protection of the city lord."

"Conflicts often broke out between Saint-level experts, but most of the time, neither side could overcome the other."

"So, to vent the city lord's anger, wars erupted between city-states."

"Some city lords even started wars for entertainment."

"Their Highnesses grew up in such an environment..."

"Before becoming gods, they constantly worked to stop wars between city-states. My grandfather and the others chose to follow them during that time. It wasn't until Their Highnesses became gods that they finally used their power to end the continent's warfare."

Jie Ning felt a surge of respect. Now he understood why Gru, himself a god-level being, always addressed the two with honorifics.

"They chose External Godhood like you. Soul Division affected them greatly, slowing their cultivation speed." Gru gave Jie Ning a curious glance, knowing Jie Ning now had a Death God Avatar, but didn't pry.

"Later, to pursue greater strength, they had their Sanctuary Main Bodies refine Divine Sparks..."

Jie Ning suddenly found it odd. "Are there that many Divine Sparks on the continent? Then why haven't there been any gods who refined Divine Sparks before?"

"No. Aside from the one my grandfather (Darut) refined, only one other Divine Spark has been recorded in the continent's history as a chance discovery." Gru didn't know Dale still had one in hand.

"You probably don't know this yet, but that one was found in your Life Duke's Territory." Gru raised an eyebrow at Jie Ning.

'Of course I know. I also know the God Corpse of that Divine Spark's original owner is right under my house.' Jie Ning thought wryly.

"For that Divine Spark, Their Highnesses fought a battle—the only one between them after becoming gods."

"But I've heard that through that fight, they realized god-level combat had too great an impact, so they never fought each other again."

Jie Ning suddenly noticed a strange point. "Wasn't there only one Divine Spark? Then why did you say both Their Highnesses refined one?"

"Because in the past, there weren't just two God-level experts on the continent—the other Divine Spark was a gift from this person to His Highness Dinarl." Gru's words were startling.

Arannis was immersed in all sorts of secret histories, but when she suddenly heard that someone had gifted a Divine Spark, she perked up with a jolt.

Jie Ning listened in confusion and asked curiously, "Then why haven't we heard of this person's reputation? Why would they give away a Divine Spark?"

"This God-level is called Dikas. I've never met him either." Gru shrugged. "But according to His Highness Korur, Dikas is a divine beast, likely born or grown after the Overgod's descent."

"Dikas especially loves sleeping. He usually slumbers at the bottom of the Southern Domain sea."

"Because the battle between the two lords made it hard for him to sleep, after discovering their fight was over a single Divine Spark, he gifted them another one."

Jie Ning couldn't help but exclaim, "That's incredible."

"Indeed." Gru agreed with Jie Ning's sentiment, then continued, "It's said that after stopping the two lords' battle, this Dikas went back to sleep."

Jie Ning speculated, "Maybe the Divine Sparks of all the divine beasts killed by the Overgod in the earliest days are in this Dikas's hands."

Gru waved a hand casually. "Who knows?"

"With two Divine Sparks, the two lords naturally had no reason to keep fighting. Each chose one to refine."

"Originally, they hoped their respective Sanctuary Main Bodies would refine the Divine Sparks and ascend to godhood, advancing on both fronts. But only later did they learn that refining a Divine Spark to become a god essentially meant losing all room for progress..."

"The consequences of refining a Divine Spark that we know of now—those are the revelations from those two lords."

Having his doubts resolved, Jie Ning felt an instant clarity.

Still, "Why choose to leave at this particular time?" Jie Ning had some lingering questions.

Gru gave Jie Ning a deep look. "Because you've stimulated them too much."

Jie Ning was baffled. "I don't know those two lords."

"Because your genius made them see their former selves." Gru explained.

Jie Ning fell silent, pondering whether, if he himself stalled at the lower god level, he would also choose to head to the Supreme Plane for a gamble, since comprehending the Heaven and Earth Laws there was far easier than in the Material Plane.

'Yes.' Jie Ning gave himself the answer in his heart.

Jie Ning calmed down and looked at Gru. "So what do the two lords intend?"

"They don't want the continent to return to that era of war. So they hope someone can maintain the current situation."

"Then why not merge and leave just one empire?" Arannis asked curiously.

"Because of Faith Power," Jie Ning answered for Gru.

"In the Material Plane, Faith Power is an important cultivation resource for ordinary God-level experts. One empire with two gods—mixing their faith would reduce the output of Faith Power."

"So splitting different gods into different empires is the most suitable approach."

"But why isn't Duke Darut included?" Jie Ning was a bit puzzled at the end. "Logically, by now the Duke should have refined his Divine Spark and become a god too."

"That's exactly the reason. As for my grandfather..." Gru nodded first, then a hint of envy appeared on his face.

"He said that refining a Divine Spark to become a god left him with no potential for growth, so he didn't need it. He's already hidden his identity and gone traveling."

Jie Ning nodded in understanding. That was exactly something Duke Darut would do.

But then Jie Ning suddenly remembered that his own grandfather also had a Divine Spark. He wondered if his grandfather had refined it yet.

"So, what do you think?" Gru looked at Jie Ning. "Which empire do you choose?"

To Gru's question, Jie Ning smiled calmly. "I don't need one. I'll give them all to you."

Thanks to the editor for the recommendation, and thanks to everyone who's been following along.

Special thanks: Dark Night Demon Shadow zy, Clueless Bookworm, Inputting

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