"Just as I guessed, my divinity's rank was the highest, and it was SSS."
"That meant the ranking of divinities was the same as the letter grades used in the human world. From highest to lowest, they were SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, and D."
Looking at the information on the divinity panel, Zeng Mo made a rough guess at how the divinity ranking system worked.
At the same time,
he took in the state of his own divinity, and surprise flickered across his face.
Then he examined his divine domain again.
His heart skipped a beat, and he grew even more astonished.
His divine domain was about the same size as Jin Hai City.
A river wound through it, its unseen source hidden in darkness. It flowed across the expanse his divine awareness could reach.
Farther along, the river grew clear and transparent. He could see colorful stones on the riverbed. Like a river born of the divine domain's mountains, it wound through the ranges, eventually gathering into the largest lake and forming a network of lakes and streams.
One branch flowed through an ancient forest far away, then across a vast plain, irrigating the land until it became fertile soil.
Another branch flowed between the mountains, winding its way through the dark region outside the Gate of Divinity.
Zeng Mo looked toward the distant river. His attention shifted, drawn to the deep valley formed by the crisscrossing mountain ranges.
In the distance, a magnificent palace stood, its white light shining brightly.
Zeng Mo stared at it.
The palace had been built against the sheer mountain cliffs.
Massive stone pillars supported its grand halls, which towered above the mountains. Strange, enormous dragons had been carved into the ceilings.
Those were dragons from the ancient land of China.
According to what he'd seen, thousands of dragons were carved into the halls and ceilings, their forms dancing through the air.
Zeng Mo moved his gaze beneath the palace's ceiling.
A sense of awe welled up inside him.
The palace was beautiful. Its exterior was built of white jade, shining like silver. From afar, it looked like a white rainbow stretching across the sky.
In front of the palace's grand entrance stood two enormous statues.
One was a giant wolf-like beast. Its gaping jaws breathed an unending stream of flames, and it radiated divine majesty. The other was a slender woman, holding a bow and arrow. She had an elegant figure, and behind her spread a pair of butterfly-like wings.
"Could that be the palace of the Divinity's Gate Guardian?"
"I wonder whose palace this is. It looks like some kind of sacred temple."
Zeng Mo lowered his voice, his curiosity piqued.
[The Lord is in the Gate of Divinity. As long as you gather divine awareness, you can open the palace's main gate. You can also focus your awareness to summon the Gate of Divinity Guardian, who will follow your commands. The guardian is an entity of your divine domain, and you may summon it anywhere within the domain.]
Zeng Mo listened as the system offered its explanation, then gathered his awareness and focused it on the palace's main gate.
In the blink of an eye, the gate opened, spilling forth a clear, bright light.
As the gate opened, Zeng Mo focused his awareness. The palace halls appeared within his mind, and he directed his attention to them. Before his eyes, the interior of the palace faded into translucency.
In the blink of an eye,
one of the palace's halls appeared clearly before him, filling him with awe and a strange sense of familiarity.
What astonished him was the palace hall itself. On its four walls hung enormous murals depicting the gods in the divine realm. Some wore crowns and held divine weapons, while others radiated divine authority. Their faces were solemn, and they seemed to be showing humanity the terrifying power of the gods.
But what drew his attention was the enormous statue placed in the center, facing the throne.
It looked exactly like him. The sculptor had carved every detail with exquisite precision, giving it a dignified and extraordinary presence. What's more, its aura was majestic and fearsome.
"Damn, that really does look like me."
Zeng Mo was stunned. He withdrew his gaze from the palace.
"I wonder how the people of the giant clan managed to enter the Gate of Divinity."
When Zeng Mo voiced his confusion, the system obligingly offered an explanation, its tone as ever gentle and considerate.
[The Lord only needs to gather divine awareness and call upon the Gate of Divinity. The gate will open before you, allowing your followers to enter the divine realm. At the same time, the Lord can summon the Gate of Divinity Guardian and direct it to appear anywhere in your divine domain.]
"So that's how it works. Then I'll summon one and take a look."
[The Lord only needs to focus their awareness on the highest point and call out.]
"I understand. I just need to gather my awareness and focus on a specific spot."
Zeng Mo finished speaking, then gathered his awareness and focused it on the highest point of the palace.
He could clearly feel his physical body standing motionless in the room.
Yet he also sensed that, with just a thought, he could instantly withdraw his awareness from the divine realm and return it to the highest point.
After withdrawing his awareness, Zeng Mo stretched his waist and knees, moving around a little after standing still for so long.
The long period of standing had left his knees a little stiff. He looked over at the group of followers gathered near him, greedily devouring the meat.
He focused his awareness and let out a call.
"Gate of Divinity, open."
In the blink of an eye, a spiral of white light appeared before him, eventually forming a thin, translucent ring of light.
Through the translucent ring, he could see a magnificent palace standing tall, radiating an overwhelming sense of divine majesty. Anyone who saw it would feel compelled to bow in worship.
Against all reason, this Gate of Divinity had suddenly appeared in the air before him.
It instinctively wanted to flee.
But the moment it sensed the palace within the Gate of Divinity, its body seemed to be pinned down by an oppressive force. It froze in place, not daring to move.
Zeng Mo's eyes lit up. His spirits soared.
He wondered how to summon the guardian into the divine realm.
As it turned out, the guardian had been too intimidated by the palace to move.
That was a stroke of luck.
Immediately, he reached out and picked up the big black dog lying nearby, then tossed it into the Gate of Divinity.
[Warning! Your follower's faith contains a trace of divine energy. Upon entering the divine realm, they will age and decay in a matter of seconds.]
"Wait!"
Hearing the system's warning, Zeng Mo's heart lurched. He was just about to reach in and pull the big black dog back out.
But the next second, another notification sounded.
[Divine Trait: Divine Constitution. The Lord's followers possess a trace of divine energy, allowing them to survive normally in the divine realm.]
"Phew, that was close."
"So things that contain divine energy age and decay quickly in the divine realm. No wonder the system warned me every time I drew those cards. It turns out that without divine energy, things simply can't survive in the divine realm."
Zeng Mo let out a breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He felt as though he'd narrowly escaped disaster.
It was a good thing his divine domain had the Divine Constitution trait.
Otherwise, his followers would have been doomed.
After a brief interlude, Zeng Mo hurriedly tossed the ten wild beasts and five small creatures to the side, along with his little black dog and the deer corpses on the ground, into the Gate of Divinity.
One after another,
he also stepped through the Gate of Divinity.
The moment he entered the Gate of Divinity, another notification sounded in his mind.
[Under the effect of the Divinity's Gate Guardian's ability, the Lord's original body, though not truly divine, will remain unharmed and can safely enter their divine domain.]
Hearing the notification, Zeng Mo looked at the magnificent palace before him, then glanced at the little black dog beside him, which was staring curiously at its surroundings.
"Good thing this palace has the Divinity's Gate Guardian. Otherwise, before I became a true god, I'd probably have to enter my divine domain using only my awareness."
"Woof."
Little Black gave a bark that sounded almost like a reply.
The wild beasts Zeng Mo had tossed in earlier were lying outside the palace's main gate. Even though they were this close to the palace, they didn't dare move.
Zeng Mo thought for a moment, then carried the dog to a forest about twenty meters from the palace.
Only then did the wild beasts dare to move, looking around cautiously.
However, Zeng Mo noticed that when the beasts looked around, just like the big black dog, they seemed to regard him with a trace of fear.
Before you continue