Absurd Purpose

You're kidding.

Three gods.

Relying on memories from his past life, he instantly recognized who these three were.

Ares, Athena, and that blacksmith.

Zeus wasn't showing his face; getting surrounded and mobbed would be very dangerous.

Almost from the moment he first laid eyes on Diana, Shane pushed his combat instincts from over the past decade to their absolute limit.

There was no chance of a one-on-one fight.

Then he would have to think of another way.

Ares was roaring as he charged back. Athena raised the spear in her hand, aiming at the figure carrying the stone pillar away in the distance, but after several moments of hesitation, she still failed to hurl the spear.

Just as Shane was about to fly with the stone pillar to the spot he had come from earlier, the human world—acting with divine precision—once again tore open a slowly expanding spatial gateway, utilizing the energy and spatial data records from opening the divine realm's gate just moments before.

A pillar of lightning carrying majestic divine might descended amidst a slightly resigned sigh.

It instantly erased the spatial gateway right in front of Shane.

Shane was forced to halt mid-air while lifting the stone pillar, letting out a scoff.

They wanted to play the mystery card with him, yet in the end, they still stepped in to do it themselves.

Shane raised his gaze toward the dome of the temple, which was the source of the divine thunder just now.

"Enough."

The majestic voice lacked the sound of a thunderclap, yet it clearly penetrated the entire square, even drowning out Ares's roar.

Ares, who had been charging forward amidst a gale, stiffened in his movements, forcefully checked his momentum, and heavily crashed onto the flagstone floor.

The main doors of the temple slowly swung open, and a figure draped in gilt robes walked out step by step.

Faint thunder halos lingered around his body; with every step he took, fleeting divine runes would appear on the ground beneath his feet.

The newcomer's expression carried natural authority, his white hair and beard radiating a glowing divine light, and his eyes were profound. Just standing there was enough to make Athena and the divine blacksmith instinctively bow in salute.

The King of Gods of Olympus, Zeus.

Shane sighed inwardly.

Unsure whether it was divine might or the fact that the opponent had reached a terrifying extreme, Shane didn't even need to raise his eyes to observe it; he could feel the pressure of a mountain standing before an ant.

His combat instincts were screaming in a frantic warning.

Shane could practically hear his body and brain shrieking to warn him that if he chose glory, he would die very quickly.

He slowly lowered the stone pillar he was carrying, and it hit the ground heavily, kicking up a cloud of mist and stone chips.

His expression remained aloof as he quietly watched Zeus draw near.

Zeus stopped ten meters in front of him, his gaze sweeping past Shane before lingering on Diana, who was bound to the stone pillar.

Without opening his mouth, a grand wave of sound rolled toward them.

"Stealing a divine treasure and seizing the Authority of Discord, do you know that your sins are already grave?"

Even though death warnings echoed through his instincts, Shane's eyes remained indifferent, and he even raised a hand to pick an ear that had been rattled and tickled by the sound wave.

"By this world's standards, my sins go far beyond just this."

"...But the divine realm is not completely unreasonable."

Zeus raised a hand, and a gentle golden light landed on Diana, instantly lifting the restriction that had suppressed her vocal cords.

Diana looked at Shane with a complicated expression. Clearly, ever since she was dragged to the divine realm, she had learned the true motives of the gods, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words.

"I can waive your divine punishment and let you take Diana away, but you must first undergo seven divine trials. Pass all seven, and the authority will return entirely to the divine realm, clearing any grudges between you and us."

"What does Wonder Woman have to do with this?"

If not for the consideration that repeatedly poking at Zeus's pride was no different from dancing on the edge of a cliff, Shane would have even wanted to retort that Zeus had gone so far as to kidnap his own daughter.

A hint of sarcasm appeared in Zeus's eyes.

"Although the divine realm has withdrawn from the mortal world, we are not entirely ignorant of it. Diana is your teacher. After you obtained the Golden Apple, not only did she fail to persuade you to return the divine artifact, but she even tacitly allowed you to take it away. Now that the Authority of Discord is bound to you, she bears the fault of connivance."

Having spent over a decade on Viltrum growing accustomed to the concise and straightforward expressions of those equally imposing instructors, Shane felt extremely unaccustomed to such nitpicking phrasing.

"Do you guys have to beat around the bush so much when you talk? Since you're so much stronger than me, wouldn't it be just as easy to strike me dead with a bolt of lightning to take back the authority?"

Diana's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't help feeling like Shane had undergone some sort of change over the last few days.

Wasn't he a pretty polite kid before?

"You kidnapped Teacher Prince, lured me alone to the divine realm, and you're being so 'magnanimous' as to set up seven trials?"

He raised his eyes toward Zeus, the detachment in his gaze vanishing.

By now, Shane was certain that this old man Zeus was plotting something.

"Your Majesty the King of Gods, you disrupted the spatial gateway and cut off my connection with the outside world, but the Justice League won't just sit idly by."

"The Greek gods once protected Earth, yet now you want to make an enemy of Earth's current guardians? If there's truly something you need from me, why not just come out and say it? Otherwise, if you spark a war of this magnitude, the one behind you is going to be overjoyed."

Ares hadn't expected the topic to suddenly shift onto him, and he lowered his head by a few inches.

To be honest, the moment Shane mentioned that the Justice League might storm in at any moment, he had indeed felt a surge of temptation.

If Olympus went to war with the Justice League, the power he—the God of War—could instantly absorb would surpass even ten explosive world wars in the human realm combined.

Would Zeus still be the one calling the shots then?

Hard to say, hard to say.

The square fell into a brief silence. Athena's expression shifted slightly, clearly weighing the pros and cons as well.

Zeus was silent for a long time. The patterns on his gilt robe dimmed slightly, and he ultimately shed a bit of his majesty, taking on a touch of candor.

"We have no intention of making an enemy of the mortal world. This incident is indeed related to you."

A trace of surprise flashed in Shane's eyes.

"Your physique is something we have never seen before."

Zeus's gaze fell upon him, carrying undisguised scrutiny.

"Without needing to rely on the Golden Apple, you possess a lifespan comparable to the divine race. Your physical strength and potential far exceed those of ordinary gods, and you can even compatible-sync with the Authority of Discord without suffering backlash."

Zeus finally spoke frankly.

"We want to absorb you into the divine race, and through divine power sharing and magic, imperceptibly acquire the traits of your physique to make up for the shortcomings of the gods."

Shane was somewhat startled halfway through hearing this and instinctively retorted.

"My physique? Isn't there still a Superman on Earth?"

Shane couldn't figure it out.

"Superman's strength far surpasses mine in ways I don't even know, and even if his natural lifespan is slightly shorter than mine, wouldn't using the divine realm's Golden Apples to extend it meet your needs?"

Hearing this, Zeus's gaze darkened slightly, and he gave no reply.

Ares, standing to the side, let out a cold snort, his tone brimming with utter disdain for Superman.

"Kryptonian genetic flaws and weaknesses are simply too numerous. They rely on yellow sun radiation and fear kryptonite. No matter how strong their power is, why should we burden ourselves with a mountain of shackles?"

Shane ignored Ares's mockery, keeping his gaze locked tightly on Zeus.

Perhaps Zeus's reluctance to mention Superman was a deliberate evasion.

Combining this with Superman's previous evaluation of Zeus's strength, a thought formed in his mind.

Even if Zeus was stronger than Superman, the gap was definitely limited. It wasn't that they hadn't wanted to choose Superman, but after weighing their options, it hadn't been convenient for them to act.

"So, this is the real reason you had me come alone?"

Shane found it absurd and ridiculous.

"If I agree to join the divine race, Teacher Prince can leave immediately, and the divine realm can avoid a war with the Justice League. If I refuse, you can just use the Golden Apple incident to sentence me to death by divine punishment?"

A trace of approval flashed in Zeus's eyes.

"You are very smart. This is not coercion; it is a transaction—join the divine race, and you will possess divine essence and boundless divine might, guarding the order of the universe alongside us."

"If you refuse, neither you nor Diana will be able to leave Olympus, and the Justice League storming in will only trigger a war between the divine realm and the mortal world."

Shane let out a long sigh, closing his eyes to feign deep thought.

After barely a few seconds, Zeus's voice began urging him, as if he didn't want to give him time to consider at all.

"I have locked down this space; the Justice League definitely won't be able to enter the divine realm anytime soon, so you don't need to stall deliberately."