Council of the Gods

The battle between gods, while seemingly long, actually lasted only a short while.

Until the battle ended, Walker on the ground had not even managed to react.

It was not until the voice of Huosi rang out across the heavens and earth that he finally realized the situation was beyond saving.

When their ancestor, Ryan, had died just moments ago, he hadn't even had time to grieve.

And now, even the war god of the empire, Lord Linggeste, had fallen.

In this moment, he knew they were completely finished; there was no room left for any turning back.

"Hahahaha!"

Walker could not help but look up and laugh toward the sky. As he laughed, tears began to stream down his face. In this moment, he suddenly remembered that elder from the previous family meeting.

"If only I had listened to his advice back then, perhaps everything would be different."

Walker sighed inwardly, then, without further hesitation, drew his sword and slit his own throat.

Before he died, he seemed to see the young elder as he had tried to persuade him.

[Patriarch, we cannot continue like this. We must move away from this mindless, tyrannical mercenary mindset; otherwise, I fear it will lead to our destruction.]

At that time, Walker had only felt such talk was absurd. In his view, as long as one's strength was sufficient, doing whatever one pleased was the natural order—whoever refused to submit would simply be killed.

He suddenly realized now that while this way of thinking wasn't necessarily wrong, it had overlooked one thing: what exactly did it mean to have sufficient strength?

Saint-level? God-level? Or something higher? Cultivation was clearly an endless journey.

With Walker's suicide, it meant the Ryan Family would soon be completely annihilated.

At the same time, the death of Linggeste signaled that the Linggeste Empire was about to fall into chaos.

"Linggeste was once a heaven-gifted talent, eventually reaching the God Realm. I never expected him to fall here today."

Accompanied by a sigh that echoed from the void, a graceful figure in a light blue shirt slowly stepped out, looking at Huosi with a touch of emotion.

Huosi was the only god on the continent who had become a deity by refining a godhead. No one had expected him to suddenly become so powerful, enough to kill Linggeste.

"I truly didn't expect your strength to have progressed so much, Huosi. Was that artifact you used just now one you refined yourself?"

As the words fell, another slender, brown-haired youth also appeared in mid-air, his tone filled with amazement.

"Long time no see, Salanna, Orsopu. You have both come."

Huosi looked at the two who had appeared without the slightest surprise.

The Linggeste Empire bordered the Orsopu Empire and the Ice God Empire, so the god-level powerhouses of both nations would naturally have noticed immediately.

The appearance of these two was entirely within his expectations—or rather, it would have been strange if they hadn't appeared.

As for the others, although they hadn't come, they surely knew about the whole affair by now; the divine sense of a god-level powerhouse had a very wide range.

Moreover, the fluctuations from a battle between god-level powerhouses could not be hidden on the continent, especially since Huosi had never intended to hide it from the start.

"You two have come here, surely not to hold me accountable?"

Huosi looked at the pair, his tone flat.

"Naturally not. The cause of this matter does not lie with you, and besides, it was Linggeste who struck first. Being killed can only be considered his own doing."

Salanna spoke softly, making her stance clear.

Over these years, although she had not concerned herself with the specific affairs of her empire, she had heard a thing or two about the actions of the Ryan Family.

When Huosi and Linggeste were fighting just now, she and Orsopu had already arrived, but they had simply chosen not to intervene.

They were generally aware of the entire sequence of events, so naturally, they would not force blame upon Huosi.

"That is good."

Huosi nodded slightly without saying more. He knew that holding him accountable was essentially impossible.

For one, he had not actually violated the covenant of the gods, and for another, although the gods had established a pact, they were all still harboring their own ulterior motives. Who would actually fight him for the sake of Linggeste?

"However, since it has been many years since a god has died on this continent, we should still discuss the aftermath of this event. What do you think?"

Orsopu also looked at Huosi and spoke in a low voice.

"No problem. The subsequent matters do indeed need to be handled."

Huosi nodded and sent a telepathic message to Adkins and Bernas, telling them to head back first.

Adkins and Bernas landed directly on the ground and rescued Saiwode, who had been imprisoned for a long time.

As for purging the Saint-level members of the Ryan Family, they didn't need to trouble themselves with that.

The people under Xuanshen Island would naturally take care of it; the two of them were Saint-level, so they wouldn't personally lower themselves to deal with those of such low strength.

Of course, even if Xuanshen Island didn't take action, the Ryan Family would still be completely finished.

Not a single one of their clansmen would be able to survive.

For many years, the Ryan Family had acted tyrannically and offended quite a few people.

Those who had previously been afraid to make an enemy of the Ryan Family would certainly take frantic revenge now that Ryan was dead.

"Then, let us be off!"

Seeing that Huosi did not say much more, Alsop also breathed a sigh of relief and spoke up.

On the other side, at the peak of Mount Tai, the Hall of Gods.

Ever since the end of the divine war on the Qingya Continent ten thousand years ago, the landscape of the continent had basically been set.

At that time, there were multiple mid-level gods and many low-level gods on the continent; it could be said that it was a scene of total chaos.

Later, a great war broke out, many people died, and even mid-level gods fell.

In the end, the two remaining mid-level gods on the continent left the Yulan plane together after the battle concluded.

Furthermore, most of the remaining low-level god powerhouses on the continent left the plane, while the few who stayed established their own national powers and set the Covenant of Gods.

Initially, several low-level gods reached an agreement at the peak of Mount Tai: god-level powerhouses and Saint-level powerhouses were not to interfere in secular wars or fight each other at will, unless under special circumstances.

Alsop established an empire in his own name, Salanna established the Ice Empire in the name of the Goddess of Ice and Snow, Airlock controlled the original Qingya Empire, and the Light Church and the Dark Church each established their own churches, controlling a large number of kingdoms.

Over these years, they had continuously preached, attempting to continue breaking through using the power of faith; however, for them, this bit of faith power could not be said to be useless, but it was barely better than nothing.

The three great empires and the two great churches checked and balanced each other, and the only remaining god-level dragon god among the magical beasts, Pulamier, made a joint agreement with them that the god-level would not interfere in the battles below.

Until five thousand years ago, the genius sword saint Linggeste rose to prominence, unified several chaotic regions in the coastal areas, established a new empire, and broke through in one fell swoop to become a new god.

Because the region Linggeste occupied was already lacking in population and was adjacent to the seaside, and the territory was not large, the others tacitly allowed the establishment of the new empire.

More than three thousand years ago, the Saint-level powerhouse Huosi luckily obtained a lost godhead and became a new god-level on the continent, though Huosi seemed to have no interest in territory and had no conflicts with the others.

It was not until a few decades ago that Huosi relocated a population to an island and established his own power, Xuanshen Island, that Huosi had his own territory for the first time.

And today, the Hall of Gods, which had not been visited by anyone for ten thousand years, once again welcomed the figures of the gods.

At the round table, four figures were already seated, and three other chairs were empty, seemingly waiting for something.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Following three sounds of breaking through the air, three figures appeared directly on the chairs.

"You've caused quite a stir, Huosi."

A lazy voice sounded first; a young man with golden hair sat with his legs crossed, his expression frivolous.

The golden-haired youth was named Pulamier, the only divine beast present, whose true form was a Golden Iron-Armored Dragon.

"It has been many years since a god fell on the continent. How do you intend to take responsibility for something like this happening?"

The Pope of the Light Church, Cohen, spoke in a slightly heavy tone, directly questioning him with an accusatory air.

When Linggeste was young, he had lived for many years in the kingdom where the Light Church was located and had a certain fondness for the Lord of Light.

The Pope of the Light Church, Cohen, could be said to be the one with the best relationship with Linggeste among those present, so naturally, he would not give Huosi a pleasant look.

"What of it? Linggeste was just courting death himself. If he's dead, he's dead; it's no big deal."

The Pope of the Dark Church, Brent, immediately retorted, meeting him tit for tat.

Light and darkness were two opposites, and the doctrines spread by the Light Church and the Dark Church also contained a great deal of conflict.

Therefore, the two could almost be said to be natural opposites, and in their daily lives, the two sides often engaged in secret struggles.

The Dark Pope did not feel deeply about Huosi killing Linggeste, but since the Light Pope opposed it, he had to agree.

"Enough, we are not here to argue."

The blue-haired man in the middle frowned and interrupted the two directly; it was not the first time these two had argued, which left the others somewhat speechless.

The moment the blue-haired man finished speaking, the others stopped talking.

The blue-haired man, Airlock Qingya, was the supreme controller of the Qingya Empire and was also the oldest and most powerful person present.

Back then, after the other gods left, it was he who pushed for the establishment of the new Covenant of Gods.

Of course, whether this "most powerful" title still held water now was hard to say; after all, the fact that Huosi could kill Linggeste so easily suggested he had also made a major breakthrough.

It was just unknown how he managed to do it; according to past experience, a god who refined a godhead should not be able to continue progressing.

Everyone was somewhat surprised by Huosi's increase in strength, but no one asked, as these were all personal secrets.

"Regarding the battle between Huosi and Linggeste, everyone knows the specific situation: it was Linggeste's subordinate, Ryan, and his family who provoked it first."

"Although the Covenant of Gods does not allow gods to interfere in the secular affairs of the continent, that is based on general circumstances. A god cannot be humiliated; the Ryan Family insulted a god, so being wiped out is just that. Linggeste chose to take action, so he should have been prepared to be killed."

"What we need to discuss is the subsequent handling of the Linggeste Empire and the impact of this incident."

Airlock spoke unhurriedly, defining the nature of the matter.

Although Linggeste's death surprised everyone, that was all it was. People were dead, and they did not have a deep friendship, so a casual sigh was enough; there was no need to think too much about it.

The only things they cared about were the subsequent division of the empire and the impact on the stability of the continent.

After all, under Linggeste there was a great empire, and now that it had lost the protection of a god, the empire would inevitably fall into chaos.

How this empire would be divided next and what impact it would have on other forces was what they were truly concerned about.

"Well, Huosi, logically speaking, the Linggeste Empire should belong to you entirely. That's no problem, but after all, the people of the empire have worshipped Linggeste for many years; I'm afraid this will trigger some problems!"

Alsop looked at Huosi and spoke first.

"Oh? So that's what you mean?"

Huosi narrowed his eyes, casting a faint glance at Orsopu.

He still had some impression of Orsopu; in the original story, Olivia had breached the Bosha Dike, releasing a large number of god-level beings from the Plane Prison.

At that time, it was the mid-god Orsopu who had occupied the Yulan Empire.

However, right now, he was merely a low-god.

Even Adkins had not yet become a god, and although Orsopu had the aptitude of a mid-god, it would likely be impossible for him to break through without a few million years.

Orsopu had been locked in the Plane Prison for hundreds of millions of years and was still only a mid-god; with such talent, it would probably take a very long time to advance beyond the mid-god level.

"If you want the territory, you can certainly take it, but if the people inside wish to come to my empire, I hope you won't stand in their way."

Orsopu rubbed his hands together, revealing his true objective.

Of course, he didn't actually want the Linggeste Empire; he knew himself that this was simply impossible.

However, he did not want the faith within his own Orsopu Empire to be affected.

Usually, the nobles and commoners under the various major empires and churches refused to submit to one another, each believing in their own god and considering their own god to be invincible.

With the Linggeste Empire changing hands, Huosi's prestige would instantly soar.

It might even lead the people of surrounding nations to wonder if Huosi's strength surpassed the gods they worshipped, and there was a chance that people in the Orsopu Empire might speculate that Huosi was stronger than Orsopu—a situation Orsopu did not want to see.

Although the previous battle made him feel that he might not be a match for Huosi right now, it was enough that he knew this himself.

The people of his empire should feel from the bottom of their hearts that he, Orsopu, was the strongest; only then would the power of faith be pure enough.

Therefore, Orsopu hoped he could take in those fleeing from the Linggeste Empire.

Generally speaking, Huosi killing Linggeste would cause his prestige to skyrocket in a short time, which would also make the faith of the people in the Orsopu Empire unstable.

However, many nobles from the Linggeste Empire would inevitably flee, and if the Orsopu Empire took in those refugees, the commoners would think that their own god was not afraid of Huosi, and they would continue to believe in Orsopu from the bottom of their hearts.

Although Huosi is very strong, our Lord Orsopu is not afraid of him; otherwise, why would he dare to take in people from the Linggeste Empire? Is he not afraid of a fight breaking out?

Once Orsopu returned and propagated such rhetoric, his faith would remain secure.