Unable to enter the Goddess's tutelage, the two genius Saint Realm warriors wore looks of deep disappointment, while the other honorary disciples who had failed to become direct disciples also showed their regret.
Yet Jiadeliya paid no heed to the thoughts of the Saint Realm warriors. Her gaze had already settled on a middle-aged man in a black robe, carrying a massive sword on his back.
This man was none other than Xilmon, whom Leian had requested.
Jiadeliya said, "Xilmon, you cultivate the Destruction Rule. From now on, follow Mr. Leian!"
As soon as she spoke, everyone froze for a moment before casting envious looks at Xilmon. Xilmon himself flushed red with excitement.
Now that they knew Leian was a god-level expert, how could they not know that he cultivated the Destruction Rule?
In their eyes, even a few casual pointers from Lord Leian would be an invaluable opportunity for Xilmon.
"Xilmon pays his respects to Lord Leian!"
Xilmon reacted well. He quickly suppressed his excitement and respectfully bowed to Leian.
Leian nodded without saying much. Andrew, standing nearby, chuckled. "This little fellow is quite lucky!"
Andrew made no effort to hide his teasing. Although the Saint Realm warriors could not help feeling jealous of Xilmon, no one dared reveal it in such a setting. They could only secretly resent their own lack of talent for the Destruction Rule.
Jiadeliya then informed the Saint Realm warriors about the matter of dividing the faith before dismissing them all.
The vast valley soon became quiet again. Andrew and the Elven King and his wife took their leave one after another.
Seeing this, Leian also departed. But just as he left the valley, the Elven King Kyle's voice transmission sounded in his mind.
"Mr. Leian, please wait."
Leian turned around and saw the Elven King and his wife flying toward him side by side. Puzzled, he sent back, "Is there anything else, Mr. Kyle?"
The Elven King smiled. "Nothing important. We simply have not yet congratulated Mr. Leian on becoming a god."
As he spoke, the couple arrived before Leian. The Elven King flipped one hand over and offered him a small red wooden box, continuing,
"Mr. Leian has entered the divine realm. My wife and I have little with which to offer our congratulations, so please do not disdain this small gift."
Looking at the small wooden box and considering the identities of the couple before him, Leian's eyes flickered. He already had some idea of what was inside, and his heart could not help stirring.
After a brief consideration, he accepted it and opened the lid. Sure enough, two familiar jade-green bottles lay inside. He did not even need to inspect them to know they contained Spring of Life.
The Elven King's generosity in giving two portions of Spring of Life at once astonished Leian, but it also made him hesitant.
As the saying went, one should not accept a reward without merit. They had only just met, and even if they wished to congratulate him on becoming a god, was there any need to give such a gift?
Could they be asking for something?
Leian pondered this silently. If it had been anything else, he would have politely refused long ago. Debts of gratitude were the hardest to repay, but the Spring of Life was simply too important to him.
His father Barry and mother Annie had made no progress in their warrior cultivation for several years. The former was stuck at level seven, while the latter was stuck at level six. It seemed their potential had already been exhausted.
Without outside assistance, they would likely remain that way for the rest of their lives.
Back then, he had been full of confidence, believing that his unique training methods and guidance could help his parents cultivate to the Saint Realm. In the end, reality had slapped him hard across the face.
That said, the Spring of Life had miraculous effects: it could cleanse the body and restore youth. If the two of them drank it, not only could they make further breakthroughs, but they could even cultivate to the Saint Realm on their own.
Although Spring of Life was not the only treasure capable of increasing battle qi and raising someone to the Saint Realm, quite a few god-level experts had emerged across the entire plane over the past million years. Those treasures had likely long since been plundered clean by them, and obtaining any would not be easy.
That was precisely why Leian hesitated.
The Elven Goddess was perceptive. She seemed to see through Leian's concerns and immediately explained,
"Please do not misunderstand, Mr. Leian. Ever since our race came into being, we have gifted Spring of Life to every fellow cultivator who reaches the divine realm. Even the popes of the two great churches are no exception."
Hearing this, Leian secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though he could not help feeling a little ashamed. He replied awkwardly, "My apologies. I overthought it. The Spring of Life will be of great use to me, so thank you."
As he spoke, Leian solemnly returned the bow.
In truth, Leian did not know that the Elven Goddess's words were only half true. It was true that they gifted Spring of Life, but in the past, they had only given one bottle.
The reason they made an exception for Leian was mainly due to his terrifying talent. In their eyes, it was only a matter of time before he became a Midgod, so it was better to befriend him early.
By coincidence, they had also learned of Leian's parents' circumstances from Jiadeliya, which was why they decided to give him two bottles of Spring of Life.
The Elven Goddess waved her hand and smiled.
"There is no need for this. If Mr. Leian has time in the future, you may visit our elven race. Compared to the other continents, the scenery of our Elven Continent is truly unique."
Leian was tempted. Come to think of it, he was indeed deeply curious about the elven race. He smiled. "All right. I will certainly visit another day."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the Elven King and his wife transformed into streaks of light and sped away.
Leian watched them disappear into the distance, then put away the Spring of Life. Just as he was about to leave, he had barely activated his divine power when Andrew's voice sounded in his mind again.
"Brother Leian, wait a moment!"
Leian raised an eyebrow. Could Andrew be here to give me a gift too? But why had he not come along just now? How strange.
As he pondered, a ball of fire came racing toward him. As it drew near, the flames dispersed, revealing Andrew.
Though that had crossed his mind, Leian did not truly believe Andrew had come to give him a gift. Still, he did not ask outright. He merely looked at Andrew and waited for his explanation.
Andrew had sent his voice transmission immediately after the Elven King and his wife left, so he clearly knew what had just happened. Seeing Leian's expression, he burst into laughter.
"Do not misunderstand, Leian. I have no meeting gift for you. I just wanted to ask whether you remember our earlier agreement."
"What agreement?" Leian did not understand Andrew's intention for a moment and answered instinctively.
"Of course, our sparring match!"
Andrew widened his eyes and exclaimed,
"Do not tell me you are going back on your word like those others. You cultivate the Destruction Rule, after all. Are you not even interested in combat and sparring?"
So he wanted to spar!
Leian could not help laughing at that. He was certainly willing to spar—he even eagerly wanted to—but not now.
He had only just broken through to the god level. Not only did he lack offensive techniques, but even his spiritual power was far inferior to Andrew's, who had been a god for tens of thousands of years.
During their earlier conversation, Leian had clearly learned that veteran gods like Andrew could use divine sense to cover an area spanning ten thousand li in every direction.
Even when he exerted himself to the utmost, he could only reach nearly six thousand li. The gap was simply too great.
If they were to spar, he would at least need to familiarize himself with god-level combat, grasp his own strength, and perhaps even develop techniques of his own first.
With that in mind, Leian explained some of his plans, then promised, "Do not worry, Andrew. Within a hundred years, I will definitely visit you on the Yulan Continent."
After hearing this, Andrew felt Leian's words made some sense. It would not be appropriate to force him, so he said, "All right, then. I will wait for you on the Yulan Continent."
With that, he waved in farewell before turning into a fiery-red meteor and shooting through the sky.
Before you continue