Roger's Lure

Xiao Yan's cultivation chamber was beside a hot spring connected to underground fire.

Buried dozens of meters underground, the chamber was built entirely from a special meteorite metal that could interfere with Saint Domain spiritual power. It was very well hidden.

However, against Roger, who was already a Midgod, the chamber couldn't block a god's divine sense at all. Roger easily pinpointed its location.

"Huh... An unexpected bonus."

As Roger watched Xiao Yan, he suddenly sensed another unfamiliar Saint Domain aura within range of his divine sense. It was unsteady, as if its owner had only just broken through to Saint Domain.

"The fire-elemental energy around here has suddenly gone into turmoil, gathering toward Starfire City. Could it be that Teacher has broken through?"

Inside the chamber, Xiao Yan sensed the turbulence in the elements and opened his eyes, then walked outside.

At a glance, he spotted Roger standing in the sky.

"Someone!"

Xiao Yan's pupils contracted. From what he could sense, the place where Roger stood should have been empty.

Even now, though Xiao Yan could see Roger with his own eyes, Roger still seemed to be nonexistent to Xiao Yan's senses.

"This is an expert."

"At least at the peak of Saint Domain, maybe even... a god." Xiao Yan thought quickly, leaning toward the latter possibility.

"May I ask who you are, senior?" Xiao Yan asked cautiously.

Wearing a sky-blue robe, Roger faced Xiao Yan's question with a kindly smile. His voice was gentle, as though he were chatting with a younger man.

"I am the Plane Overseer of the Azeron Continent. You may call me Mr. Roger."

The Plane Overseer, Mr. Roger?

Xiao Yan was shaken. Anyone who could serve as Plane Overseer had to be at least a Midgod, far stronger than Xiao Yan was now.

Most importantly, in a Material Plane, a Plane Overseer was permitted to take action under the rules set by the Overlords. They could imprison anyone who offended them in the Plane Prison.

Xiao Yan had no choice but to tread carefully.

"So you're the legendary Plane Overseer, Lord Roger." Xiao Yan looked enlightened.

"You've heard of me?" Roger asked, sounding a little surprised.

"I was fortunate enough to hear about you from Senior Asers," Xiao Yan replied naturally.

"May I ask what brings you here, Lord Mr. Roger?" Xiao Yan lowered his head respectfully as he asked.

A great man knew when to bend and when to stand tall.

When you were weak, you had to know when to back down.

Instead of answering Xiao Yan's question directly, Roger posed one of his own.

"Xiao Yan, have you ever wondered why, despite the countless years in the Azeron Continent, several geniuses emerge every century and become immortal Saint Domain experts, yet Saint Domain experts remain so scarce on the continent after all these years?"

"Uh..." Xiao Yan paused, then asked respectfully, "This junior doesn't know. Please enlighten me, sir."

"Haha... It seems that fellow Asers still has some sense. He didn't tell you about the Divine Planes without permission and steal my job." Roger chuckled. Deep in his eyes, a trace of killing intent slowly faded.

Because he had refined a Divine Spark, Roger's strength had barely improved at all, despite having lived for billions of years. His heart had long since become twisted.

Roger enjoyed tricking Saint Domain experts and Lowgods from Material Planes. He simply wouldn't allow anyone else to spread information about the Divine Planes without permission.

If Roger found out, the offender would be imprisoned in the Plane Prison at best and killed outright at worst.

"The Divine Planes?" Xiao Yan's expression shifted. "Could those be where the three legendary gods went?"

"Exactly," Roger said with a nod.

"According to the rules, any life in a Material Plane that reaches Saint Domain has the right to travel to the Seven Divine Planes and the four Supreme Planes."

Xiao Yan nodded to show he understood.

"I came here to tell you about this."

"Your strength has now reached Saint Domain, and you've even comprehended a law. You're no weakling among Saint Domain experts. You can choose whether to remain on the Azeron Continent or... go to a Supreme Plane."

When he said "Supreme Plane," Roger paused deliberately, his tone utterly beguiling.

"Among the eleven higher planes, the four Supreme Planes are better than the Seven Divine Planes. Take the Heavenly Realm, the Supreme Plane I come from. It's full of experts. There, you can receive the best training, and countless opportunities await you. With a benefactor's help, a Saint Domain expert could become an Uppergod in a single day. It isn't impossible."

"Xiao Yan, are you willing to go to another Supreme Plane?"

According to the Overlords' rules, whether a powerful person from a Material Plane went to a higher plane was entirely up to them. A Plane Overseer couldn't decide for them.

"Heh... Become an Uppergod? More like turn into a Soul Gold Bead to nourish one." Xiao Yan sneered inwardly at Roger's description of the Supreme Planes, but showed nothing on the surface. Instead, he put on a conflicted expression, as if he found the choice extremely difficult.

"My lord, my foundation is still shallow. I don't wish to go to a Supreme Plane just yet."

"Hm?"

Roger furrowed his brow. "The newly ascended Saint Domain experts have been rather hard to fool lately. They're not as gullible as they were a thousand years ago. Should I arrange another act where a Saint Domain expert breaks through to Lowgod and returns to the Material Plane?"

It was one of Roger's usual tricks—or perhaps one of his little amusements.

Roger would choose a Saint Domain expert and provide him with a Lowgod Divine Spark, then make him disappear for several decades. During that time, Roger would announce that the Saint Domain expert had gone to the God Realm.

Only after the expert had refined the Divine Spark and become a Lowgod would Roger let him show himself again, claiming that he had returned from the God Realm.

Roger would then use that expert to spread false information to the other Saint Domain experts and gods on the Azeron Continent, misleading them.

A thousand years ago, Roger had used this trick to deceive many Saint Domain experts into going to the Supreme Planes. He had even tempted the three gods.

There was no doubt that the Saint Domain expert from a thousand years ago had played a part in the three gods' journey to the God Realm this time.

"Are you sure you don't want to think it over?"

Xiao Yan shook his head, his expression humble.

"Though the Supreme Planes are wonderful, I've only recently become a Saint Domain expert. There are still ties on the Azeron Continent that I haven't severed, so I truly can't bring myself to go to a Supreme Plane."

"Very well. I'll be on my way, then."

"If you ever decide to leave the Azeron Continent, come find me in the depths of the South Sea. I live there, and the teleportation array to the Divine Planes is there as well."

"Yes, Mr. Roger."

Roger turned and flew toward Starfire City, disappearing over the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Watching the direction Roger had gone, Xiao Yan fell into thought.

"With a Plane Overseer like that, it's no wonder the native Saint Domain experts on the Azeron Continent have such a distorted impression of the Supreme Planes, to the point that so many of them head there."

"...He's probably going to fool Teacher, who just broke through."

As he thought it over, Xiao Yan wasn't too worried about Yao Lao.

They had lived together for more than ten years, and Xiao Yan knew Yao Lao's temperament well. There was no way he would rashly accept Roger's invitation and go to a Supreme Plane.