Beirut's Appreciation

Kolan steadied himself.

He didn't let his blood go to his head and rush into the sixteenth level.

He picked up a Soul Gold Bead and absorbed it.

The battle had taken a heavy toll on his soul force, and he had also used up a lot of divine power. He needed to recover quickly.

Outside the Necropolis of the Gods, Beirut had been keeping an eye on Kolan. He looked pleased.

"Not only is he talented, but he's also a Soul Mutation. He has great potential. The fact that he can stay calm and not rush into the sixteenth level at a time like this means he should be able to become a powerful expert in the future." Beirut looked impressed. "It was worth my while to increase the reward and give him a soul-protecting Highgod Artifact."

Beirut had been watching Kolan ever since he entered the Necropolis of the Gods.

He had seen Kolan's progress and performance.

At first, Beirut had thought Kolan wouldn't be able to kill Sophia. Neither of them would be able to get the better of the other, and Kolan might even be forced to retreat to the fourteenth level.

But Kolan had actually managed to kill Sophia.

That was why Beirut had increased the reward in particular.

The soul-protecting Highgod Artifact was of excellent quality. It had belonged to a super expert who cultivated the Death Rules.

That super expert had come from the Netherworld and had been a Prefect there. He had once come to the Yulan Plane, only to be beaten to death by a single blow from Beirut's staff. Naturally, everything he owned had become part of Beirut's collection.

Beirut glanced again at the High Priest and the War God searching the fourteenth level, then shook his head.

Although the two of them had made some decent gains, they were nothing compared to Kolan's.

Besides, they hadn't gained the corresponding real combat experience. Their actual strength had barely improved at all.

Beirut suddenly smiled.

It was true that he was a Sovereign, and it was true that he wanted to nurture people from his homeland. Otherwise, he wouldn't have established the rule that the Necropolis of the Gods would open once every thousand years.

But this was a Material Plane. Reaching the Saint Realm was already difficult, and few managed to become deities.

If he truly spared no expense to nurture them, he could naturally make many people into deities, even High Gods.

But such nurturing wouldn't produce true experts.

It would be no different from doing nothing!

True experts had to make their own way.

What he provided was merely an opportunity to grow stronger.

Before long, several more months had passed.

At last, the ten-year period of the Necropolis of the Gods came to an end.

The Necropolis of the Gods shook, and a passage appeared.

Beirut personally led Kolan and the others out.

Beirut looked at the three of them with a faint smile. "It seems all three of you gained something in the Necropolis of the Gods this time. Congratulations."

The War God beamed. "We have to thank you, Lord Beirut, for giving us the chance to enter the Necropolis of the Gods—and Lord Kolan, too."

Their gains this time had been astonishing.

The last time he entered the Necropolis of the Gods, he'd been chased around and hadn't gotten anything.

This time, although he hadn't obtained a Godspark, he'd acquired two artifacts and several other treasures. One of them was even a Fire-type Artifact, far better than the one he used.

The High Priest, meanwhile, had obtained three artifacts and quite a few treasures.

"Lord Beirut, may I take the Nether Phoenix with me?" Kolan asked deferentially.

He might have cursed Beirut countless times in his heart, but in truth he was still grateful to him. Outwardly, he remained respectful.

"That's up to you. I won't interfere," Beirut replied with a faint smile.

The Nether Phoenix was completely different now from when she had first entered.

Her eyes were vacant. Those ten years had been worse than death for her.

She hadn't even been able to kill herself.

Hearing Beirut say that, Kolan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Kolan and the others left and returned to the Yulan Continent.

Kolan took the Nether Phoenix back to the Kolan Empire.

Kolan appeared at Life Castle.

His soul force spread out as he searched for his children.

With his current soul strength and Soul Mutation, he could cover the entire Yulan Continent.

After all, the Yulan Continent wasn't very big!

"Hm? Leo is on the Far East Prairie, and Hannah is on a mountain at the edge of the Forest of Darkness." Kolan quickly found out where his children were.

Then he sent a divine sense message. "Hannah, come to the castle."

At the edge of the Forest of Darkness stood a tall mountain, with a wooden cabin on it.

Hannah had built the cabin herself. Ever since returning to the Yulan Continent from the Necropolis of the Gods, she had always felt that something was missing.

Her husband had died in the Necropolis of the Gods, and it felt as though a piece of her heart had been torn away.

She had no motivation to do anything.

So she decided to wander for a while, eventually settling here in seclusion.

"Father!? Father's back!?" Hannah's face lit up with joy.

It was only after entering the Necropolis of the Gods that Hannah had learned how dangerous it was.

One misstep could lead to death.

Hannah had always admired her father. In her eyes, he could do anything.

The High Priest, the War God—none of them could match her father.

Still, Hannah had been worried about her father in the Necropolis of the Gods.

She flew through the air toward the imperial capital.

Soon, Hannah landed at Life Castle.

Among those in the Saint Realm, only she and Leo could fly straight to Life Castle.

Anyone else who dared to fly there would surely die.

"Father!" Hannah saw Kolan and looked delighted.

"Hannah, look who this is!" Kolan said with a faint smile, pointing at the Nether Phoenix kneeling on the ground.

"It's you! You wretch! You ate Hansen!" The sight of the Nether Phoenix filled Hannah with hatred.

"I'll leave her to you now. You can kill her or enslave her—it's up to you," Kolan said calmly.

"Father, I want to kill her and avenge Hansen!" Hannah took out a magic staff.

Kolan shook his head. "She's a Divine Beast. You can't kill her with magic, not even forbidden magic."

Then Kolan flipped his hand and took out a Midgod Artifact: a sword.

Hannah dripped her blood on it to claim ownership and was able to use it, at least a little.

Then she drove the sword through the Nether Phoenix's head and killed her.

Hannah still wasn't satisfied. She kept cutting up the Nether Phoenix's corpse, chopping it into pieces.

"Waaah—" Two hours later, Hannah threw herself into Kolan's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Kolan gently patted his daughter's back, comforting her.

He hadn't killed the Nether Phoenix in the Necropolis of the Gods. He had controlled her and brought her back so his daughter could kill her herself and vent her hatred.

Sometimes, hatred could fill someone with the drive to cultivate hard.

But often, it could also twist a person's heart without them realizing it.

Kolan hoped his daughter would grow into a healthy, well-balanced person.

Whether she had cried herself to exhaustion or had finally avenged her husband, Hannah fell asleep in Kolan's arms.

Kolan smiled and laid Hannah down in a wooden cabin by the Tree of Life.

Then Kolan began to recover.

In the Necropolis of the Gods, the Soul Gold Beads he had obtained could replenish his depleted soul force, but they couldn't restore his divine power. He needed to draw divine power from the Ocean of Divine Power.

Besides, a Divine Beast's corpse was a treasure, so he needed to make good use of it.

Every part of a Divine Beast was valuable—even its blood!