Linley had only just been born, and there was little more to observe in the short term. Now was the perfect time for Hodan to go out and gain experience.
Hodan had reached the Highgod level, but the weapon he had used before was with his Thunder God Clone. Besides, ever since he had cultivated his Fate God Clone, it had been in seclusion until it reached the Highgod level.
Hodan's Fate God Clone was now completely unequipped. He had the power of a Highgod, but lacked a weapon for battle and a Defensive Divine Artifact. He also had no special techniques of his own. More importantly, he lacked experience fighting other Highgods. Without that, he couldn't bring out the full strength he had gained by cultivating to the Highgod level on his own. Even if Hodan fought a Highgod who had reached that level by refining a Divine Spark and had been one for a long time, he'd be in trouble.
What's more, Hodan had come from a peaceful world and had, at most, gotten into a few fights. He had never experienced the life-and-death battles of the Coiling Dragon World. Even if he had inherited all of his predecessor's memories, it was like learning martial arts by watching a video. Your brain might think you knew how, but your body hadn't learned yet. If you reached a life-or-death moment and had to think about how to strike, by next year the grass on your grave would probably be over a meter tall.
So Hodan planned to start by having a blade made to suit him. His Thunder God Clone used a standard sword, but blades actually had an advantage in battle. Hodan also needed suitable armor. Sometimes good armor was as good as having another life, and since his safety was at stake, he wouldn't be careless about it.
But Hodan didn't know any master weaponsmiths in Hell. The Renars Clan did have its own blacksmiths, and they had reached the Highgod level. The clan's smiths would surely be happy to make weapons and armor for him, but help from afar wouldn't solve his immediate problem.
Even if Hodan contacted the clan now, most of its smiths were gathered in the Tianji Mountain Range on Bloodpeak Continent, preparing weapons and armor for the clan's war against the Four Divine Beasts Clan. He couldn't use the equipment the clan made for him right away.
So all Hodan could do was ask the Silvermoon Fiend for help. After all, as the lord of Silvermoon City, the Silvermoon Fiend was sure to know the city's master smiths. With all the fighting in Hell, there was no shortage of such craftsmen.
Hodan rose, left his secret chamber, and walked from his estate toward the City Lord's Mansion.
When he arrived, the guards stopped him, but after he showed them his token from the City Lord's Mansion, they respectfully escorted him to the reception hall. Hodan asked them to announce that he wished to see the Silvermoon Fiend, and they readily agreed.
After waiting a while, just as Hodan was admiring the oil paintings on the wall, he suddenly heard a burst of laughter.
"Hahaha! What brings you here, little brother Hodan?" The Silvermoon Fiend had returned.
"I missed you, big brother Silvermoon, so I came by to spend some time with you," Hodan replied with a faint smile.
"You—" The Silvermoon Fiend began to speak, then suddenly froze. He studied Hodan, clad in a blue-green robe, for a moment before saying, "You've reached the Highgod level?" His voice was full of disbelief.
It had been less than three years since their last meeting. The Silvermoon Fiend could clearly sense that Hodan had only recently reached the Highgod level, and that his soul felt empty and weak. It was an obvious sign that he had only just advanced to Mid-God, before his soul had even had time to strengthen. How long had it been? And now Hodan had reached the Highgod level?
How could he be so powerful?
"I had a sudden insight and broke through to the Highgod level. I have you to thank for the Soul Golden Bead you gave me, big brother," Hodan replied.
What a sudden insight. The Silvermoon Fiend wished he could have one himself, but such opportunities couldn't be forced. As for the Soul Golden Bead Hodan mentioned, the Silvermoon Fiend didn't take it seriously. He had used countless beads like that, so why hadn't they helped him break through? Soul Golden Beads could indeed strengthen one's soul, but they had no effect on breakthroughs.
A god could break through only by relying on himself or on some rare treasure or wondrous item. But according to what the Silvermoon Fiend had learned, Hodan had never left his old home after entering it. It was clear that Hodan had probably broken through on his own, and the Silvermoon Fiend knew very well what was in that old home.
Everyone had their secrets. Since the Silvermoon Fiend thought well of Hodan, he didn't press him about it. He was merely curious about why Hodan had come this time.
Hodan didn't hide anything. He told the Silvermoon Fiend that his Fate God Clone had reached the Highgod level but lacked the appropriate Divine Artifacts.
The Silvermoon Fiend was taken aback. He hadn't expected it to be such a small matter. But inside, a storm of shock was raging. From Hodan's words, together with the sense of time he could feel from this Divine Clone, he deduced that Hodan's Fate God Clone had gone from nothing to the Highgod level in less than a hundred years.
That had to be the case, or Hodan would have had time to nurture Divine Artifacts of his own. Nurturing Divine Artifacts took time, and so did cultivation.
Hell was vast and full of wonders. The Silvermoon Fiend had even heard of people becoming gods in ten years, Mid-Gods in a hundred, and Highgods in a thousand. But reaching the Highgod level in under a hundred years was unheard of—not just in Hell, but across all the Material Planes and divine planes. Those who reached the Highgod level in a thousand years had all cultivated the Laws of the Elements, and done so by exhausting their potential. But Hodan had cultivated one of the Four Rules, which didn't involve exhausting one's potential. His future was still full of possibilities.
For a moment, the Silvermoon Fiend was stunned by Hodan's talent. He could already sense that a powerhouse who would become famous across the planes was about to emerge. Of course, that lay in the future. For now, Hodan had only just reached the Highgod level and barely left the ranks of the weak.
This only strengthened the Silvermoon Fiend's resolve to invest in Hodan. Everyone in Hell dreamed of building a relationship with a future peak powerhouse. A strong connection could sometimes save your life. Even if it didn't, you could still seek revenge later.
Don't believe it? If you were friends with a Paragon, how many people would dare attack you? Even if they did, they would hesitate and wouldn't kill you outright—unless they were a Paragon themselves. The threat of a Paragon's revenge was enough to give most people pause. It wasn't certain how far Hodan would go, but given the talent he had shown so far, it wouldn't be hard for him to reach the level of a Seven-Star Fiend like the Silvermoon Fiend.
Having another Seven-Star Fiend as a friend would be a great boon to the Silvermoon Fiend. What's more, Hodan had the Renars Clan, one of the Eight Great Clans, behind him—a great clan powerful enough to pursue the former Chief Sovereign's clan across planes.
When he heard Hodan needed to find a master smith to make Divine Artifacts, the Silvermoon Fiend agreed without a second thought. For him, it was a simple matter of saying the word. Soon enough, countless master smiths would come to serve Hodan.
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