Watching the results of all this research, Huosi's calm heart stirred. He murmured softly toward the distance:
"The wind is rising. Qingya Continent, it's time for things to change!"
That day, a tremendous boom rang out in the east, marking the beginning of a transformation that would reshape the entire world.
The massive explosion was sensed by many across the Federation, and news of it began spreading throughout the continent.
Rumors spread among the Empires that the Federation had created some kind of new weapon with tremendous power.
Of course, those rumors only spread among the common people. The powerful, especially the god-level experts, paid them no heed.
But soon, they realized something was wrong.
Just three days later, the major powers across the continent all received invitations.
More precisely, every other god-level expert on the continent received one.
Drones delivered invitations to the continent's several god-level experts. For the first time in a hundred years, Huosi had summoned them all.
[To Brother Alsop: Since you became a god, you have guarded a corner of peace through your own strength. The people of the continent admire you greatly.]
[However, Qingya Continent has been divided for many years. Friction between the various sides has never ceased, and the ensuing turmoil has brought untold suffering to its people.]
[Therefore, I, Huosi, propose that we end the continent's chaos and achieve unification. I hereby invite the gods to the Hall of Gods to discuss this matter.]
[I hope you will come on the tenth of this month, Brother Alsop. Respectfully, Huosi.]
At the Holy War God Temple in the Orsopu Empire, Alsop stared at the letter before him, a dark look on his face.
"What's Huosi playing at? Has he gone mad?"
Alsop was baffled and couldn't help muttering to himself.
The rambling letter wasn't hard to understand. Huosi was inviting them to discuss unifying the continent.
There was no doubt that the others had received letters, too. He had merely changed the form of address, replacing "Brother Alsop" with "Brother Airlock" or someone else.
Speaking of which, how had he addressed Salanna? "Sister Salanna"? "Little Sister Salanna"? Neither seemed quite right.
Of course, that wasn't the point. The point was his goal: unifying the continent. That was easy enough to understand.
But that was precisely why it seemed absurd. Unification required absolute strength. Alsop admitted that Huosi was powerful; otherwise, he couldn't have killed Lingester.
But unifying the continent meant taking on the other six at once and defeating them single-handedly.
Otherwise, no one would give up their Empire and submit to someone else. At present, the only person on the continent who could accomplish that was probably Lord Kaido, the Plane Guardian.
But the Plane Guardians wouldn't interfere in the continent's development. They were only responsible for the teleportation arrays. At most, they might persuade someone to leave the Material Plane.
Could Huosi have the Plane Guardians' backing? They had come from the Divine Plane. How could they possibly help him?
Though Alsop was filled with questions, he couldn't shake a vague sense of unease.
He wasn't close to Huosi, but he knew the man wasn't a fool. He must have some kind of advantage to dare do this. Had his strength increased again?
Based on what he knew of Huosi, he must have made a new breakthrough and gained enough confidence to defeat the other six working together.
Only then would he have the nerve to do something like this.
But only a hundred years had passed. The old hands among them hadn't made any progress in nearly ten thousand years. How could Huosi have broken through in a mere century?
For a Lowgod to trigger a breakthrough and greatly increase his strength in a hundred years—anyone capable of that would be a genius.
If Huosi had been such a genius, he wouldn't have refined a Divine Spark back then. He could have become a god through his own breakthrough.
Alsop couldn't make sense of it. In the end, he gave up trying to understand and decided to meet Huosi first.
The appointed day soon arrived.
At the Hall of Gods, the gods sat around the round table once again. This time, the atmosphere was much more solemn than before. Alsop, Salanna, Airlock, the two Popes, and the Dragon God all sat with grave expressions.
"What's Huosi playing at? He still hasn't shown up. What does he think we are?"
Dragon God Pulixier's face twisted with anger. As a divine beast, he was more direct than humans. He had been in a foul mood ever since receiving the letter and was itching for a fight.
Huosi hadn't just said he wanted to unify the human Empires; he wanted the Dragon God and the magical beasts to join them, too. Pulixier hadn't stormed over to kill him already—that was restraint enough.
"Calm down, Pulixier. If he wrote a letter like that, he'll show up."
Alsop immediately tried to talk him down. Personally, he would have been happy if someone lost their temper first.
Ideally, that person would attack, giving the rest of them a chance to gauge Huosi's strength.
But in Alsop's mind, two or three of them should attack together. After all, the strength Huosi had shown when he killed Lingester wasn't something one person could withstand.
If Huosi could easily defeat three of them working together, then his unification of the continent would be inevitable. Alsop wouldn't be unable to compromise.
"He thinks he's invincible now and that we're beneath his notice."
The Pope of Light sneered, rapping his staff against the floor with a loud clatter.
The Pope of Darkness, who usually liked trading barbs with him, merely raised an eyebrow. For once, he didn't retort.
The doctrines of the Light Church and the Dark Church were fundamentally at odds, and the two Popes had been at each other for years.
Yet they were also the two people on the continent most devoted to the power of faith. The Lord of Light could hardly care less about the faith of a single Material Plane.
But to obtain angels, the emissaries under the Radiant Sovereign and the Sovereign's armies had continued preaching for many years.
In the early days of the War of Faith among the Chief Sovereigns, they had all spread their faith on a large scale, and many conflicts had broken out.
However, as time passed, Utrede, Oufu, and Vivia each became a Paragon and no longer needed the power of faith.
The Death Sovereign and the other Sovereigns had not reached Paragon, but after countless years without a breakthrough, they had long since given up hope.
As a result, even today, only the Chief Sovereigns of Light and Darkness still spread their faith on a large scale. The Angel Rebirth Pool remained important to the Radiant Sovereign, and the same was true for the Lord of Darkness.
The two Popes of the Qingya Plane had grown up hearing stories of the Lord of Light and the Lord of Darkness. The Pope of Light, in particular, was almost fanatical in his devotion to the Lord of Light.
Neither of them would allow their Lord's faith to be taken away. They would never agree to Huosi's plan to unify the continent.
They were bitter enemies, yet they were also the only two people on the continent who cared so deeply about faith.
If Huosi tried to force the continent's unification, those two might set aside years of hatred and join forces.
"Sorry for the wait, everyone. I had a few things to take care of, so I'm a little late."
As they sat lost in thought, Huosi's familiar voice rang out, and he appeared out of thin air. Everyone present was taken aback.
They hadn't noticed how he had arrived. Only when Huosi spoke did they realize he was there.
They had all released their divine senses and scanned the area as soon as they arrived. Just moments ago, Huosi hadn't been within their perception at all.
"Midgod... No, that's not right."
Alsop had instinctively assumed Huosi had become a Midgod. After all, only a Midgod should be able to evade the divine sense of a Lowgod.
But then he realized something was wrong. They could sense that Huosi was still a Lowgod.
Besides, a Lowgod who had refined a Divine Spark couldn't break through on his own. Even if Huosi had found some way to become a Midgod, the fluctuations of the laws of the world couldn't be concealed.
They hadn't sensed any such fluctuations, so Huosi was still a Lowgod.
How, then, had he avoided their senses just now? Every one of them was wondering the same thing.
"Huosi, tell us what you're after."
After a moment of thought, Airlock was the first to ask.
"My goal should be quite clear from the letter. I want the continent to be unified."
Huosi looked Airlock straight in the eye without backing down, then swept his gaze over everyone.
"You want to unify the continent? Under whose rule? Yours? What do you take us for?"
The Pope of Light couldn't hold back. He rose to his feet, his expression dark.
As the Pope, he would never allow such an insult to the Lord of Light. He would teach this heretic a lesson he would never forget.
"Of course, the strongest should rule. I know none of you will accept my proposal so easily, since I brought it up so suddenly. So..."
Huosi paused, then looked around at them and spoke in a flippant tone:
"Come at me together!"
"Smack!"
"Arrogant!"
"Fine, fine, fine! You've got some nerve, boy. Then I'll teach you what happens when you run your mouth."
Dragon God Pulixier was so furious that his hair stood on end, making him look like an enraged lion.
In an instant, golden light shone across Pulixier's body, and a terrifying aura gathered in his hands.
"Die!"
Pulixier held nothing back. He unleashed his full strength from the start, sending a massive dragon claw straight at Huosi.
As a magical beast, he was naturally short-tempered. After Huosi had insulted him like this, he would make the bastard pay for his reckless words.
Huosi's expression didn't change. He merely waved a hand, and an invisible barrier appeared. The golden attack vanished in an instant without having any effect.
"How is that possible?"
Pulixier paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"I underestimated you. But this isn't enough. Again!"
Pulixier didn't stop. He turned into a streak of light and charged straight at Huosi. Clenching his right fist, he made his powerful divine energy resonate with the Dragon God's bloodline.
A golden fist took shape in midair and slammed down at Huosi with tremendous force.
"Your attacks are useless. Before my Interstellar Battle Armor, the body you're so proud of is as fragile as paper."
Huosi spoke softly, then slowly opened his palm. A slightly shimmering gauntlet appeared, and he met Pulixier's attack head-on.
The next moment, everyone's eyes widened.
Before you continue